by Gina LaManna
“Did you have the answers?”
“No. The only thing I could tell them was that I have a pickup and drop off location in The Depth.” He took a deep breath. “There’s a little nook, a cave of sorts, where we trade gold for goods. I get a rock on my doorstep when there’s a package for me. I pick it up, leave money behind.”
“What happens if you don’t leave the money?” I asked. “Ever tried?”
Nash’s face turned white, as did Dillon’s.
“You don’t not leave money,” Dillon said. “That’s not an option. If I didn’t have the money, I wouldn’t pick up the goods.”
“Do all your friends go into The Depth for drug exchanges?”
He shook his head. “I almost got the feeling my guy’s part of the pack. He’s in and out of the woods—never seems to miss a beat. I mean, nobody goes into The Depth willingly unless they’re blooded, right?”
“Um, you’ve gone in multiple times,” I pointed out. “You’re no wolf.”
“No, but I don’t go deep into The Depth. I just pick up my stuff and get out of there. This guy—he knows the place. Plus, I’ve seen paw prints around the site. I think that’s how he can watch me so well.”
“Have you ever had a drop off or pick up around the full moon?”
He thought. “As a matter of fact, I haven’t. I have to bring lights because it’s always the darkest nights, it seems.”
“Could be a wolf,” I said in Nash’s direction. “We’ll have to loop in Narcotics.”
“On it.” Nash shifted. “But what’d the mayor need from you?”
Dillon sighed. “You know it’s re-election year, right?”
“Vaguely aware of it,” I said sarcastically, thinking of my interaction with Blott. “Unfortunate timing about Mayor Lapel’s death.”
“Exactly my point. The mayor was a cool enough dude around the borough, but the rumblings were going around. People were starting to think Blott might have something up his sleeve that’d allow him to win the election,” Dillon said. “Mayor Lapel told me all that. Lapel thought that if he had something up his own sleeve, it might secure a win.”
“Something such as—a huge drug bust?”
“You catch on quick. He wanted PowerPax,” Dillon said. “Even the cops weren’t aware of its existence. No offense, dude,” Dillon said in the direction of Nash.
“How’d the mayor and Crystal link up?” I asked. “Did they say?”
“Crystal was a volunteer for Mayor Lapel’s campaign,” Dillon said. “But she had to drop out because she had bills. Volunteering doesn’t pay.”
“Right.”
“So, she became a Goblin Girl. She needed the money, but she still supported the mayor’s campaign in her free time.”
“I’m assuming she ran across PowerPax in her line of work?”
Dillon nodded. “Some highfalutin guy was boasting about it in the casinos. I guess he said something about how the government is all corrupt, so the big dogs could hide the drugs real well from the cops. When Crystal heard that, she brought it back to Mayor Lapel. The dude started looking into things and discovered a huge web of drug trade in the borough.”
“That’s what the narcotics unit is for,” Nash said. “He should’ve brought Crystal to us and let the professionals handle it.”
“Yeah, but no offense, sometimes cops muck things up. Crystal only got that information because she was a Goblin Girl. If she’d been a cop, she’d have scared him away.”
“Mayor Lapel thought if he and Crystal could work together to find some of the larger dealers,” I mused, “then they could expose them just before the election. The borough would be awash with excitement over the news, and the mayor would be a shoe-in for reelection.”
“That,” Dillon said, “and the fact that the dude cared.”
“Which dude are we talking about?” I asked. “Be specific.”
“Mayor Lapel actually cared. You could tell,” Dillon said. “He gave this huge long speech about wanting to clean up the city and make it a safe place for all of us who live here. Crystal totally agreed. I mean, it was hard not to agree when you heard him talk—the dude, er, Mayor Lapel was convincing.”
“They were working their way up the ladder by coming to you,” Nash said. “Crystal heard the gossip, heard you talking about it, put things together. They figured if you could get them some more, and they followed you—found your guy—they’d be close to the source.”
“Wait a second.” Dillon put a long finger on the table and tapped it. “You’re telling me Crystal didn’t like me? She just wanted to use me to get at my stash?”
“She might have liked you just fine,” I said. “But yes, I do think you were a tool in the scheme of things. You were going to help get them where they needed to go. Speaking of, what was the outcome of the Shusher? Did you agree to lend a hand to the mayor and Crystal?”
“Sort of. I said I’d put in a request for two more servings from my guy.” Dillon saw my searching gaze and rolled his eyes. “Yes, I did it—last night. I haven’t seen a rock on my doorstep, so he hasn’t delivered yet.”
“Where’d you get the money for it?” Nash asked. “You’re using SpellHash on the regular, which isn’t cheap. I’m going to venture your waiter’s salary doesn’t give you a ton of extra cash to blow on a new drug that you might not even get to use.”
“The mayor,” he grumbled. “I got a wad of cash.”
“You still have that wad of cash?” I asked. “Or did you spend it?”
“I have it.”
“Well, we might just look the other way about that money since it’s not in anyone’s books.”
“What’s the catch?”
“You draw us a picture to your little drop off and pick up place, and you let us make the next pickup.”
Dillon shook his head. “He’ll know I ratted him out. He’ll smell cops from a mile away. That’s a big fat nope. Ain’t worth a few grand to me. I can’t use it dead.”
Willa finally wandered back, her shirt free of liquid, but her eyebrows furrowed in concern. “I got the stain out, but I somehow turned the blouse permanently inside out.”
“Bad spell?” I winced, pointed my finger at her, and murmured a Straightener Spell. “There you go.”
“Ah!” She giggled, looking down at her fixed shirt. “Look at that. Thank you, Detective!”
“She can go,” Dillon said, flicking his chin toward Willa. “That’s the only way I’m taking the deal.”
“No, absolutely not.” I responded first, before Matthew or Nash caught on. Willa stared blankly at us. “She’s a civilian. It’s too dangerous.”
“Exactly; she’s a civilian. She’ll be fine—my guy will think I got a new girlfriend or something. We’ll go together.”
“No, absolutely not,” I said again. “Never gonna happen.”
“I want to help,” Willa said with a wide, earnest smile. “Please, let me help. If you can use me, please do.”
“Think about it,” Dillon said. “That’s my last offer.”
I looked around the table, sizing up Nash and Matthew. Neither of them appeared to have a solution.
“When will the pickup happen?” I asked. “We need to talk this over.”
“I can’t predict that.” Dillon looked both ways. “I’ve told you everything I know. Now, if you want any chance for the pickup to happen at all, you’ll let me go and we’ll pretend this didn’t happen.”
“Comm me, the second there’s a rock on your doorstep,” I said, sliding over a card. “And I’m going to want a map drawn up before you leave as backup. Non-negotiable.”
“Fine,” he said. “But if you try to send anyone but Willa, the deal’s off, and it’s your head on the line. I’ll deliver the map when it’s time to move. I don’t trust you not to blow it.”
I glanced at Matthew, but before he could chime in, the emergency Comm around his wrist went off. He stood, moved swiftly into the back hall and out of sight. Dillon took advanta
ge of his absence by squeezing out of the booth and returning to work. I let him go, watching until the kitchen door closed behind him.
“Whatever you need, I’ll do it,” Willa said in earnest. “I told you I’ve never been good at my job, but I’ll try my best. I want to do good, too, Detective. Please, trust me.”
I covered her hand with mine, gave a squeeze. Nash looked interested in the gesture, probably because I rarely showed affection and especially not on the job. But Willa was a special circumstance.
I debated the best way to let her down gently, but Matthew returned first. His face was gargoyle still; something was wrong.
“What is it?” I stood and moved around the table. “Who was that?”
“Lorraine,” he murmured. “She’s gone.”
Chapter 20
“What do you mean Lorraine is gone?” I finally asked. “Where did she go? Skip town?”
“Seems she didn’t show up for work today,” Matthew said grimly. “Grey called her brother to ask if he’d seen her, and her brother got worried. Went to her apartment and said she wasn’t there.”
“So, she got spooked.” I stood, threw enough coins on the table to cover Willa’s drinks and our time spent taking up a paying booth, and headed toward the door. “She took off. Do you want to put out a search for her?”
Matthew’s cool skin brushed against mine as he grabbed my wrist, pulled me to a stop. “What if she didn’t get spooked?”
I whirled in a circle, nearly slamming into Willa as I faced Matthew. “What’s the alternative you’re suggesting?”
His jaw set. We both knew the answer, I just didn’t want to hear it, and he didn’t want to say it.
Matthew recovered first. “We have to consider the fact that someone thought Lorraine was a weak link.”
“Not to mention,” Nash added, walking up behind us, “that’s two women gone missing in the last few weeks.”
“Women missing?” Willa’s face went white. “What did they do?”
Nash put his hand on Willa’s shoulder in a rare display of outward softness. “Don’t worry; it won’t happen to you. We won’t let it.”
Willa’s face furrowed into a frown, and she smacked his hand away. “I wasn’t worried about that, you jerk, I was worried about the poor girls! I want to help get them back!”
Nash stared at his hand, speechless.
I hid a smile as I faced Matthew. “What would you like us to do, Captain?”
“If we go after Lorraine—both of us—we might lose the opportunity to study Residuals at the real crime scene,” Matthew said. “We’re getting close to the crime scene, but if we delay by even a few more hours...”
“They’ll all be gone.” I allowed myself the luxury of imagining a perfectly intact crime scene brimming with Residuals, pointing a glittering finger at the guilty party. Then I thought of Lorraine, and whether or not she’d go on the run voluntarily. She might have, but it didn’t feel right.
“Lorraine,” I said quietly. “We need to go after her.”
Matthew leaned in, though he’d heard me quite clearly. “We can split up—I’ll take Lorraine while you hunt for the crime scene.”
“She’s alive,” I said. “The mayor and Crystal are dead. We have to go after the living first.”
“Very well.”
“Where’d the call come from?” I asked. “Any information on the last place she was seen?”
“Her brother called the station, and they directed his call to me. He seemed to think that Grey walked her home around lunch—possibly stayed to spend time with her, though that’s not been confirmed,” Matthew said icily. “Lorraine was supposed to return to the Howler for her closing shift and still hasn’t shown—she’s a few hours late and no sign of her.”
“Has this happened before?”
“I don’t know. I say we head back to the Howler.”
“Willa, I’m so sorry,” I said, turning to my new sidekick. “I’m going to have to leave you here. Are you okay to get home alone? What’s wrong?”
“I want to help, too!” she said. “I’ve come along this far and been useful, haven’t I?”
“Yes, but you’re a civilian,” I told her. “We barely know one another. I can’t involve you in police matters.”
She crossed her arms and pouted. “I gave you all that information about the councilman and helped at the bar. If I hadn’t been helping, you’d be ten steps back.”
“That’s true, and it was fortunate you were here,” I said. “But this is incredibly dangerous. And Nash is right. We have two unexplained disappearances in the last few weeks, and I’d just feel better if you left the case alone for now.”
“I’ll take her home,” Nash suggested. “Three’s a crowd, and you two have Lorraine covered. I’ll walk her back.”
“I’m right here!” Willa said. “And I can handle myself. No need to walk me back—I’ve been doing it every day of my life since I could stand, and I’m still here, aren’t I?”
“Nash, why don’t you take Willa to the pizzeria if she has time?” I suggested. “Jack’s been running the show all day. He’d love some help.”
“That’d be cool,” Willa agreed. “By the way, when’s my first shift?”
“Tomorrow?” I asked uneasily. “I would owe you big time!”
“Oh, perfect!” Willa returned to her natural bouncy state. Retrieving lip balm from her purse, she slathered something that smelled like strawberry across her mouth that seemed to interest both men. When she finished, she made a popping sound with her lips and smiled at Nash. “Ready?”
I had to elbow Nash to get his attention. As he did, he offered his arm to Willa like either an idiot or a gentleman—I couldn’t be sure which. She looped her arm through his as they disappeared from the Hollow Haven.
“My brothers better leave her alone,” I said with a groan. “What did I get that poor woman into?”
Matthew smiled, extended his arm to me. “She seems like she can handle herself. Shall we?”
I glared at his extended arm, left it hanging, and stomped out ahead of him. “Come on, King—death doesn’t wait for anyone. If we’re stopping Lorraine’s, we have to move fast.”
MATTHEW AND I HOPPED a trolley that shot us across the city. We leaped off a few feet from the Howler, just outside the shadows of The Depth.
On the way over, we’d discussed possible solutions to the Lorraine issue, but everything ended in a big, fat question. Had she left of her own free will, or had she been taken? And who had secrets to share?
The looming, unspoken suspect was Grey. He had seemed genuinely surprised about Lorraine’s lack of cooperation in the back room of the Howler—but had that been an act on his part?
We marched straight into the bar and found Liesel behind it. Liesel seemed to be a permanent fixture there. He was older than me and shorter, though he had the sort of look that grew more handsome with age. Salt and pepper gray hair, a dry, wrinkled smile and a well-maintained body that complemented his calm demeanor. Even our approach didn’t seem to faze him.
“Captain King,” Matthew said, introducing himself as he kicked off the informal interview. “We’re looking for Lorraine—can we ask you a few questions?”
“Off the record?” Liesel’s eyes landed on me as he polished a glass. “You were both here the other day.”
“I’m Detective DeMarco,” I offered. “We’re worried about Lorraine. We apologize for barging in on you, but we don’t have much time.”
He frowned. “You think she’s in trouble?”
“I don’t know,” I said, since Liesel seemed more responsive to me than Matthew. I slid onto a bar stool and made eye contact with him. “She didn’t show up for work this afternoon, did she?”
Liesel gave a brief flick of his head that signaled ‘no’. “Then again, you guys rattled her cage pretty well the last time you were here. Have you checked her apartment?”
“Not yet,” I admitted. “But her brother called the police af
ter trying to find her. It’s likely nothing has happened to her except a good spooking. I hope she just disappeared for a few days to gather herself, but...”
“Just in case, you have to act,” he said. “Or it wouldn’t look good on the department.”
“Or it wouldn’t help Lorraine,” I shot back. “Most missing persons who aren’t found within forty-eight hours aren’t found alive. I’d rather look like an idiot and find Lorraine back to work in the morning than find her lying dead in some alley because I didn’t do my damn job. Now, do you know where she is?”
Liesel’s face went slack at the mention of death. “No. And I did think it was weird she didn’t show up for work today. She’s not the type to do that, at least not without a good excuse. If she can’t make it in, she Comms. We all trade shifts on the fly, so it’s not unusual to get a last minute Comm from another employee asking someone to clock in on the hour. But we never leave each other hanging—except for today.”
“Did she say anything to you after we talked to her last?” I asked. “Even frustrated mumblings or things that didn’t make sense?”
His eyes flicked to Matthew for a quick moment, then back to me. “She had some colorful words to describe y’all, but I suppose you don’t want me laying them out.”
“What’d she say about Matthew?”
Liesel visibly paled. “Nothing. Just—girl talk.”
“Lucky thing I’m a girl,” I snapped. “What’d she say?”
Liesel blew out an annoyed breath. “I don’t see how it’ll affect the investigation at all, but—”
“Do you want to see your friend back alive?” I pressed. “What did she say?”
Liesel’s eyes glanced to Matthew again, then moved away, the glass in his hand shaking from the tremble in his fingers. He set it on the counter and gripped the ledge hard for balance. “Fine. Lorraine was mouthing off about how she wouldn’t have minded if he took a bite out of her. Then she wondered why you, Detective, had let him go.”
Matthew went perfectly still—a nearly imperceptible movement to most people, but not me. I was so dialed into him that I could tell when he was mimicking human behaviors—which was almost all the time—and when he forgot and slipped back into his natural state. This was one of those rare occasions where he’d gone all vampire.
