Page 23 of Mystic Justice (The Other Detective #2)

I called Amber DeLea. ‘I need your help to look at some runes for me. I think they’re black runes.’

She sighed. ‘Hey, Crone, how are you? I’m fine, thank you,’ she sassed. ‘Then you launch into what you need from me.’

‘Right. Sorry. Hey, Crone. You okay? Can you help?’

‘Of course I can help,’ she huffed. ‘When and where?’

‘The morgue in half an hour? Three pm?’

‘It’s a date,’ she said flatly and hung up.

I checked SPEL. I had a notification, an update from Frost. Spoke to various members of the Grove. No one remembers hearing helicopters or planes before or after the trees’ unrest told them something bad had happened. I’ll get on to the private strips next.

I messaged back an affirmation then called the ME. ‘Dr Potter,’ she answered.

Following the Crone’s not-so-good-natured ribbing, I asked, ‘Hey, Kate, how are you?’

‘I’m good, thanks. Enjoying a nice coffee. My time is nearly up. Do you need me?’

‘Definitely. We have an ID for the centaur and Amber DeLea has agreed to come and look at the runes for us. If you’re ready, I’ll pick you up from the Storyhouse in ten minutes and we can go to the morgue.’

‘That works. I’ll join the queue for the portal. See you soon.’ She rang off.

I turned to Channing. ‘I’m going to pick up Dr Potter from the hall and head to the morgue. Can you speak to Ji-ho and tell him the location of the black tourney? When he’s verified that Sandra left at 3am as she said, tag me.’

‘Got it.’

I flashed a smile at Krieg. ‘Are you still chauffeuring me?’

‘Absolutely. I can wangle today and tomorrow off.’

‘Is this really how you want to spend your down time? Hunting murderers?’

‘Catching murderers is a fun side project. What I’m really doing is spending time with you so we can learn a little more about each other. I find I enjoy your company. Besides, it’s a real pleasure to watch your mind work.’

‘Why thank you,’ I said drily. ‘Come on, then. You can watch my mind work as you drive me to the Storyhouse.’

‘Are you itching?’ he asked, sounding concerned.

‘I’m fine. We’re going to pick up the ME. Let’s go.’

‘Wait for Loki!’ the bird squawked loudly as he came into land on my right shoulder. He was puffing.

‘You okay, bud?’ I asked.

‘Tired,’ he admitted. ‘Big fly. Little wings.’

Not to mention that until recently he’d been caged for years by Jingo, so his muscle tone probably wasn’t what it should have been. ‘We need to build up your stamina,’ I said, as I stroked his rotund tummy.

He made agreeing noises. ‘I rest here, Pigdog.’

‘You do that. I’ve got you.’

Loki gave a happy trill and nestled into my neck as Krieg unlocked the car and I climbed in the passenger side.

I pulled out my phone and checked SPEL to see if any more of the team had updates.

Elvira and Bland had confirmed Moss’s dad’s whereabouts, painstakingly poring through hours of CCTV to chart his progress on the roads of Liverpool as he’d driven aimlessly in search of his daughter.

Being smart officers, they’d figured he’d stick close to Moss’s last known whereabouts, which was Botany.

They’d tracked him through the local streets at the time when his daughter was dying. He was cleared as a suspect.

It was good that we were ruling people out but we needed to start ruling people in.

I had two kidnappers/murderers running around and we had precisely nothing.

I fired back an order for Elvira and Bland to work together to track down and speak to the remaining six staff members we hadn’t interviewed and identify any regular customers we could look into.

It wasn’t just the staff that we needed to investigate; we needed to widen the pool of suspects.

Loki snoozed on my neck. ‘Is he okay?’ I asked Krieg softly. ‘You know birds, right?’

He looked amused. ‘I have extensive knowledge of birds.’ He sobered. ‘But I’m not sure about him because I’ve never met a caladrius before. He does seem more tired than he should be. Maybe it is as you said – that he was caged for a long time and his stamina is low.’

‘I hope so,’ I murmured. Concern pricked at me but I set it aside. Loki wasn’t ill, he was just not his usual self. Maybe he had a cold. Whatever: I didn’t have the headspace to focus on him right now. I needed to focus on the dead.

We parked up outside Storyhouse and went inside to find Kate. As we moved into the public Other space, Krieg’s transformation was instant and remarkable, and he suddenly seemed even larger as if he’d drawn up to his full height.

His eyes swept the room, focusing on those who were clearly Other.

He was walking half a step behind and slightly to the side of me, like a huge ominous shadow, and I realised he was in protection mode.

His face had lost its warmth and was all harsh, hard lines.

A switch had been thrown and everything about him said predator.

And he was my predator; he was protecting me.

It was ridiculously sexy – and that was not the sort of thought process I needed right now.

We walked through the archway of books into the café area and scanned the cavernous space for Dr Potter. I loved the Storyhouse. It had scores of bookshelves in one corner, which made it feel cosy, and the rest of the whitewashed walls were decorated with uplifting quotes that spoke to the soul.

A stylised rainbow at the top of the stairs told all and sundry that this was an LGBTQIA+ friendly venue.

The toilets were gender neutral, and the cinema did special showings for people with autism or dementia.

It was a place that went out of its way to be inclusive and that vibe extended to the Other realmers who came here for the coffee and cake as much as they did the portal.

Even the creatures who had no need of the portal hung out here.

It was a veritable hub of Otherness, and I loved it.

We were rarely summoned to deal with disturbances, so most times I visited the place for pleasure.

Kate was standing in the library area next to a table where a blue-haired man was sitting smiling up at her.

She was looking at him affectionately as she played with a tendril of her hair.

He had the symbol of the Other on his forehead and his blue hair suggested he might be a merman – not that the Connection formally recognised the existence of the merpeople, much as they didn’t recognise the existence of ghosts.

However, there was no denying that a ghost was living in my flat.

The Connection frequently wore politically-tinted glasses, seeing only what it wanted to recognise and deal with.

It was one of its shortcomings that made it fail its people; one I wished I could repair.

‘Hold up,’ I murmured to Krieg. ‘I think she’s flirting.’

‘And we’re going to watch?’ he breathed back. ‘I had no idea you were a voyeur but I can get into it.’

I sent him a flat look as I debated how much time I should give Kate for her flirtation, but then she turned and saw us.

She gave a big wave and a happy grin as she saw us, said goodbye to her prospective beau and came over dragging a small rolling suitcase behind her.

‘Hey!’ she said brightly. ‘Thanks for coming to get me.’

‘No problem. Who’s the guy?’ I tipped my chin in the direction of the merman.

She flushed. ‘Just a friend,’ she said vaguely.

It looked more than friends to me, especially the way his gaze watched her hips as she walked away, but I let it go. For now.

‘Good work on getting an ID so fast,’ Kate said.

‘McCaffrey got the ID. Are you all done here?’

‘Yup. I’m recharged and ready to go.’ She looked around me to my ogre shadow. ‘Hello again, Your Excellence.’

‘Dr Potter,’ he responded smoothly, inclining his head.

‘Lead the way,’ Kate said.

‘He’ll follow behind,’ I corrected her. ‘He’s in protection mode.’

She blinked. ‘Do we need protecting?’

‘Someone is kidnapping and murdering Other folk,’ Krieg said drily. ‘Let’s err on the side of caution, shall we?’

I led the way to the car. Loki was still snoozing on my shoulder, which increased my worry. ‘Do you mind if Loki comes in when we reach the morgue? He won’t be a bother – he’s fast asleep.’

‘Not at all,’ Kate replied. ‘He looks like an adorable little guy.’

‘He’s a little shit,’ Krieg grunted.

I grinned. ‘That’s why I like him.’

When we pulled up to the morgue, Bastion and Amber were waiting outside. Bastion was in his human form but was no less deadly for it. Amber looked a shade impatient and I checked my watch. We were two minutes late.

‘Sorry to keep you waiting,’ I said as we approached.

Amber waved away the apology. ‘Show me these bodies.’ Straight to business it was, then.