Dirty Magic (16 page)

The CSI guys had erected a tent in front of the bank of glass doors. The covering protected the body from the drizzling rain and the helicopters full of cameramen hoping to get the money shot for the five o’clock news. Eldritch stood just outside the tent, speaking to Gardner. Behind them, an Adept CSI supervisor named Valerie Frederickson examined the body.

“Oh good,” I said to Mez. “The CSI lead today is a friend of mine. That should help if you need access to any of the samples the BPD gathers.”

“Cool.” The wiz looked over to where I was pointing. “But I’ve never had problems charming samples out of cute lab wizes.”

“You will if Eldritch cock-blocks us first,” Morales said, nodding toward Gardner and Eldritch, who looked as if they were trying very hard not to shout in front of so many subordinates.

The three of us skirted them and headed toward the other side of the tent for a peek at the scene. Val was kneeling in front of the body as she discussed something with one of the other techs. But once they moved and I got a clear view of the body, I wished they’d come back and block it again.

Morales whistled low. “Brother done lost his head.”

I cringed. What was left of the cranium was a red and gray pulpy mess mixed with skull shards. Except for the generous coating of blood, the rest seemed intact.

“Jesus,” Mez said.

“Amen,” I quipped. I suppose I should have felt more horrified by the scene. Normal people don’t gaze upon mangled corpses without some sort of visceral reaction. Instead, I felt completely detached. The only emotional thread—and we’re talking dental floss–thin here—was feeling relief that I wasn’t responsible for identifying the deceased or notifying family.

“Hold on.” Morales stiffened beside me. He raised a finger to point toward the body. “Look at the hands.”

The body had one arm extended up over the place where his head used to be, but the other lay palm down about a foot away from the hip. I squinted toward it, wishing I could get closer to see better, but also glad I couldn’t because being that close to a body wasn’t my favorite thing on earth. But sure enough, if you ignored all the blood, it was possible to see darker colors on the skin. “Is that a tattoo?” I glanced up at Morales.

His face was grim and he kept his eyes on the body as he shook his head. “It’s paint, Kate.”

I looked again. This time, yeah, I could kind of see splotches of green and black across the knuckles. “I don’t—” I began and stopped because my eyes had strayed toward the torso. The blood-soaked shirt had initially concealed the logo on the front.

“Fuck.” I grabbed Morales’s arm. “Fuck!”

He nodded back. “Triple fuck.”

“Does someone want to fill me in?” Mez asked in a dry tone.

I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. Luckily, Morales informed the wizard, “That’s the guy we interviewed yesterday outside the Green Faerie. Melvin.”

“Marvin,” I croaked. “His name was Marvin.” And he was dead because of us. I knew that as sure as I knew my own name.

Mez didn’t look convinced. “You positive?”

I nodded. “He was wearing that shirt yesterday.”

The wizard squinted at the logo. “Spirit of Vitriol, huh? Their last album was bullshit. It’s a cool shirt, though.”

“Or was before someone got blood all over it,” Morales quipped. I shot him a glare. How could he be so flippant about this? On my look, he sighed. “Relax, Prospero. This isn’t our fault.”

I snorted. “How can you believe that?”

He shrugged. “Because I choose to. Fact is, Marvin made his own choices. Members of street covens don’t have long life expectancies.”

“Right, because covens tend to take things like snitching to the cops pretty fucking seriously. I told you we should have taken him somewhere less conspicuous.”

“Hey,” Mez said, “how about we get busy doing our jobs so we can find out what really happened instead of bickering in front of everyone?”

I snapped my mouth shut and walked away. Someone needed to tell Val about Marvin’s identity and doing so was the perfect excuse for getting away from Morales for a few minutes.

“Kate!” she exclaimed when she saw me. Val was a petite brunette who looked as if she belonged on the sidelines of a peewee soccer game cheering on a kid named Conner or Scotty. Instead, she spent most of her time up to her elbows in dead people’s DNA, and to hear her tell it, she couldn’t be happier about hanging out with stiffs instead of rug rats. She snapped off a bloodstained glove and shook my left hand. “Heard you got a big promotion.”

“It’s only temporary.” Considering the politics and personnel issues, I didn’t think getting too hopeful was healthy at that point. Better to expect the worst and then be pleasantly surprised if things did actually work out. “Anyway, I think I know this guy.”

Her brows rose. “Do tell.”

I spent the next five minutes telling her everything I knew about Marvin, which, admittedly, wasn’t that much. “I know his prints are in the system because he’s been collared for tagging a few times,” I finished.

“He won’t be doing much of that anymore,” Val said in a dry tone. “Thanks, Kate. I’ll get the print techs on this immediately.”

“No problem.” I paused. “Listen, do you mind if our lab wiz takes some samples?” I pointed toward Mez on the other side of the tent. He winked at Val as though I were setting up a blind date instead of securing permission for him to take body fluids from a crime scene.

Luckily, Val didn’t see the wink since she was too busy looking in her gear bag. “As long as he doesn’t contaminate my scene, he’s welcome to.”

“Awesome.” I waved Mez over and made a quick introduction. With a final warning glare at him not to sexually harass my friend, I went to join the others.

By the time I headed back, Gardner and Shadi were with Morales.

This time, I kept my eyes averted from the body. Just yesterday, it was a walking, shit-talking, breathing human. Now he was just another casualty in a war that no one was winning. Morales was right: Marvin had made his own choices. But whether we liked it or not, some of the blood coating the pavement outside Volos Towers belonged on our hands. The only way to remove the stain was to arrest the responsible party, which, like it or not, was looking more and more like John Volos.

I joined the rest of the team in time to hear Gardner say, “Eldritch is allowing us to conduct interviews, but that’s it. I didn’t mention that we’d want to speak to Volos directly, but he’s not here yet anyway.”

“He’s on his way?” I said, trying not to sound as worried as I felt.

Gardner nodded. “We’re going to have to be smart and move fast to secure an interview. Eldritch has already warned me that the mayor’s expecting hourly reports on this situation. If we step out of line, we’ll risk this entire case. Got it?”

“Sir, I need to speak to you,” I said. If John was on his way, now was definitely time to come clean with Gardner about my connection to him.

She raised a brow. “What is it?”

“Alone?”

Everyone froze. Gardner looked curious, but Morales and Shadi looked like bloodhounds who smelled fresh drama in the air.

Finally, Gardner jerked her head toward a spot a few feet away. “Make it quick, Prospero.”

I turned my back toward the others, so I could ignore the fact they were not even trying to hide their eavesdropping. “Listen, there’s something you need to know—about me and Volos.”

She raised a brow. “You mean the fact you two used to be an item?”

The unexpected question struck me dumb for a minute. At my shocked expression, she sighed. “Prospero, do you really think I would have brought you on the team without doing some digging?”

“But—but—” I shook myself. “But Eldritch doesn’t know about that. He couldn’t have told you.”

She smiled like a sphinx. “I have other resources.”

I wanted to ask her what other skeletons she’d unearthed from my closet, but I didn’t have time for that. “Does this mean you’re not worried about my objectivity?”

“Why? Are you planning on freaking out?”

I reared back. “Of course not. A lot has changed since those days. I’m perfectly capable of doing my job.”

“I never doubted it,” she said in a tone that hinted she was well aware of my own doubts. “But just in case, Morales and I will be handling the interview.”

Relief flooded through me. It’s not that I didn’t trust myself. I just had no idea how John would react to my interrogating him. That wild card could fuck up our case about ten different ways. No, it was better I sat this one out. “Okay. You want me to help Shadi with witness interviews?”

“Yes, and then I want you to make a list of Marvin’s known associates. See if maybe one of them can tell us what happened after you two left him yesterday.”

“Got it.”

She was about to say something else, but her gaze jerked to a point somewhere behind me. I turned to see what was up and froze. A long, black car had just turned into the lot. The license plate on the front read
VOLO$
.

A buzz of excitement rose over the area as everyone else noticed the arrival of Babylon’s golden boy. My stomach suddenly felt as if it took a nosedive off Bessemer Bridge.

“Showtime,” Gardner said. She flicked a glance at me. No doubt she saw something on my face that betrayed my nerves at seeing John again. “Never let them see you sweat, Prospero.” With that, she walked away to join Eldritch at the curb. When the captain saw her approaching, his smile morphed into an acidic glare. If I hadn’t been so distracted by the imminent arrival, I would have enjoyed watching those two jockey for position.

I went to Shadi. “Let’s go,” I said, failing to keep the urgency out of my voice. She shot me a sharp look and hung back even as I started moving toward the door.

“Hold up,” she said. I turned to see her jogging toward me. “What’s your problem?” She didn’t sound confrontational as much as curious.

“Nothing. Just want to get these interviews done.”

While I spoke, the commotion at the curb caught her eye. By that time, the limo had pulled up directly in front of the building. Eldritch stood next to the door like a nervous teen about to help his prom date out of the car. Gardner stood next to him, looking cool but also determined. Two large bodyguards exited the front of the car and kept back the reporters who swarmed the area like locusts.

The redhead I’d seen with Volos a couple of days earlier stepped out first. She said something to Eldritch and pulled him a few steps away for a confab. He cast a worried glance back at Gardner, who was suddenly smiling like the cat about to eat the canary.

Volos unfolded from the backseat with the grace of a jungle cat: long, muscular lines and the barely leashed energy of a corporate predator. Gardner flashed her credentials immediately. If he was surprised to be approached by an MEA agent he didn’t show it. His smile was polite. Not the expression of a man who worried he might be the center of a federal Arcane investigation.

Everything about him was sharp: his suit, his posture, his gaze. He’d aged over the last decade—we both had—but damned if he didn’t look more handsome at thirty than he had at twenty. More dangerous, too.

Eldritch sidestepped the redhead and moved toward Volos and Gardner as the pair walked toward the building. In his eagerness to join the conversation, he looked like a puppy nipping at their heels. The captain’s admiration wasn’t a surprise. With him angling for chief, it could only help to have a man like Volos on his side.

Also, I couldn’t exactly blame Eldritch for acting like an idiot, since I wasn’t exactly immune to the Volos thrall, either. I could only stand frozen, waiting for the moment when he spotted me.

Time slowed. He frowned at Eldritch the way one might at an annoying housefly. The redhead kept pace behind the trio while she talked on a cell phone. Volos turned toward her to say something, but on the way his gaze intersected with mine briefly before continuing. Slammed to a halt. Reversed.

Boom.

I must have gasped because suddenly my lungs felt too full. Sweat broke out over my chest, where my heart thumped like jungle drums.

One second, he was as frozen as I had been, but then, inevitably, he left the others behind and came at me with the determination of a heat-seeking missile. His expression belonged in a high-stakes room in Vegas. I’d seen that poker face more times than I could count. I’d also seen the slight tightening of his jaw that indicated he wasn’t pleased by my presence.

“Kate.”

Jesus, his voice cut to the bone. Energy sizzled along my spine and put every protective instinct in my body on code red.

“Mr. Volos.” My voice was steady, professional despite the sweat on my palms and the slight tremor in my midsection.

It felt as if everyone in the vicinity stopped to watch this momentous meeting, but no one had. Not really. Just Eldritch, who didn’t make an effort to hide his naked curiosity, and Gardner, who had on her cop face. Morales came to join Shadi off to my left and the pair openly stared at us.

“Mr. Volos, about that interview,” Gardner said into the tense silence.

Those hard eyes left me alone to stare down my new boss. “I thought BPD was investigating.”

“We are, sir.” Eldritch stepped in. “The MEA is assisting because they believe the murder might be linked to an Arcane investigation they’re working.”

Volos looked back at me. “You’ve been spending a lot of time on this side of town lately. Thought you patrolled the east side.”

I stilled as his meaning sunk in. He’d seen me here the other day and he wanted me to know it. He also apparently had kept tabs on my position in the department. Dread settled over me like a cold mist. When a man like Volos kept tabs on you, it usually meant he wanted to use you—or he wanted you dead. I forced a casual shrug. “Things change.”

“Some things change.” His eyes performed a leisurely stroll over my body. I suddenly felt dowdy in the jeans and button-down I’d chosen that day. Especially since his suit probably cost more than my rent. “But most things stay the same.”

“Does that include you?” I shot back. “Are you the same, Mr. Volos?”

“Touché.” His expression lost its humor. “Who punched you?” He started to reach up, as if to touch my black eye, but then caught himself before he could invade my space. But my eye caught the Ouroboros tattoo he bore on his left wrist—the one that matched my own and that of every other Adept in the Votary Coven, for that matter—peeking out from under the French cuff of his dress shirt.