Page 53

“Exactly.” Natalie nodded, pointing at her and looking at Oz, as if proving a point. “See, she gets it. I’ve been telling him that this is ridiculous, but he won’t listen.”

“And you’re not even a hero, you’re a villain.” Verity reminded her.

“But one who mainly beats the shit out of rich people. So… all the bases are covered.” Natalie ate another Dorito, then made a hashtag symbol with her fingers. “Hashtag ‘Winning!’”

“Why is she here again?” Verity asked Oz. “Does ‘Ariel’ here have any qualifications for this new role?”

“I’m the world’s greatest detective.” Natalie declared seriously.

“No, you’re not.” Verity deadpanned.

“I most assuredly am.”

“Today.”Oz clarified.

“Rondel is the world’s most diabolical criminal.” Natalie chewed on her snack thoughtfully. “I have been taught investigative techniques and criminal justice by all the beasts of the jungle, and have come to this city because it’s my mission to take him down.”

Verity gaped at her. “…The fuck?” She breathed in horrified confusion, obviously hoping she’d heard that wrong.

Oz shook his head. “There’s no proof he’s behind this.”

“I don’t need proof, I just know .”

Verity rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t sound like something ‘the world’s greatest detective’ should be saying.”

“Did I ask you?” Natalie crumpled up her empty bag, then moved to put it into her pocket, only to remember that she was wearing a loincloth.

The movement did allow Oz the pleasure of watching her graceful fingers glide over her hips though, which was a wonder .

He had no idea that such a tiny, unconscious little motion like that could have such a staggering effect on him, even in this gruesome location. “Who the fuck are you anyway?”

“Also not something the ‘world’s greatest detective’ should be saying, since I just introduced myself.” Verity tapped her chest. “ And I’m wearing a nametag.”

Natalie glanced at Oz. “Can I kill this bitch, please?”

“Um…” Oz swallowed, “I think murdering a police officer would irrevocably move you from the ‘anti-hero’ role into the ‘villain’ category.”

“And I care about that?”

“Hopefully, yes.”

“Listen,” Verity ran her hand through her hair, “I’m starting to think this was a mistake. It’s obvious that you’re not even taking this seriously and…”

“Where’s her daughter?” Natalie interrupted.

Verity stopped. “Excuse me?”

“Look at the shit this skinny bitch is buying,” Natalie squatted down to the basket of groceries on the floor, “candy bars, snacks, sugary fruit juice…” She shook her head. “You don’t buy that if you’ve got to squeeze into a spandex unitard every morning.”

“She’s retired.” Verity reminded her.

Natalie snorted. “There’s ‘ retired’ and there’s ‘I don’t even give a fuck.’” She pointed at a bottle which was wedged under the shelf. “Children’s vitamins. In Darci fashion doll shapes.” Natalie stood back up. “Thus: ‘Where is her daughter ?”

They were all silent for a moment.

“Shit.” Verity sighed. “She is a good detective today.”

Natalie smirked. “Told you.”

Oz thought about it for a minute, wondering how he could quickly figure out the personal details of a Cape’s life.

His eyes flashed to the dead woman’s pocket, recognizing that she’d probably have pictures of any children she had in there.

But… that would mean to uching her bloody clothes and reaching into her pocket, without knowing what he’d find.

There could be needles, glass, metal shards…

Things which could cut through his gloves, getting her blood on his hands, and possibly even cutting his own skin.

Then, her blood would be mixing with his and that was out of the question.

Luckily, Oz had a plan B.

He removed his gloves, put on two fresh pairs, and fished his phone out of his pocket. He pressed several buttons. “Harlot?” He asked into the phone and the other woman’s voice came over the line.

“Oz?”

“Yes.How’s Wyatt?”

“Much better, actually.” Harlot sounded significantly stronger than the last time he’d spoken to her, much more like herself. Wyatt must have gotten a clean bill of health from his doctors.

“Excellent. Please give him my best.” Oz cleared his throat. “Listen, I’m working his case and without going into too many details, I’m wondering if you can tell me if Kailee Kennedy has a daughter?”

Harlot had spent her entire life being a super-fan of the Cape set in town, and she ran one of the biggest blogs dedicated to the topic. Oz had complete faith in her ability to give him an answer.

“Yes.” Harlot thought about it for a beat. “Her name is… uh… ‘Ember.’ She turned six in October.”

Oz nodded. “Okay, thanks. I’ll let you get back to your husband now.”

“Bye, Oz. Be careful, please.” Harlot hung up.

Oz looked at the others. “She’s got a daughter, yes.”

“Well, she isn’t here now.” Verity announced.

Natalie leaned against the shelf. “So when was the last time anyone saw Amber?”

“Her name is ‘Ember.’” Oz corrected.

Natalie scoffed at the news. “What the fuck kind of name is ‘ Ember’ ?”

“Hers.”

“Does she at least have fire powers or something?”

“She’s six.”

Natalie rolled her eyes. “Fucking hipsters can kiss my ass. Who names their kids something like that? No wonder this generation is so fucked up. Everyone is named like a goddamned video game character.”

Oz put his phone away. “Perhaps this isn’t the best time to criticize parental naming choices.”

“I think her parent has bigger problems right now than me hurting her feelings, Oz.” Natalie gestured to the corpse.

“Jesus!” Verity gasped in astonishment at that. “What the fuck is wrong with you!?!”

Natalie waved a dismissive hand. “I was raised by a family of leopards in the jungle, lady, I don’t have time to coddle people as they learn about the circle of life.”

“She’s not herself today.” Oz explained, holding up his hands to calm the other woman. “Well, she is , but it’s not a ‘herself’ that she’ll be tomorrow. And it’s not a ‘herself’ that is an accurate representation of the ‘herself’ she normally is.”

“This was such a mistake…” Verity decided again.

“Fine.” Natalie rolled her eyes. “When was the last time anyone saw ‘ Ember’ ?”

Verity began to massage her temples. “I can’t believe my name is actually associated with this…”

“Your name is stupid too, so don’t even start with me, ‘ Verity .’”

“Speaking of ‘stupid,’ what the fuck are you wearing right now!?!” Verity gestured to Natalie’s outfit. “Jesus! I’m a gay woman and not even I want to see that much of your body, lady! Christ! And it’s fucking winter! ”

Oz ignored them, remaining focused on the case.

“So, Ms. Kennedy comes into the store, someone tries to rob the store, she tries to stop it, then a second person arrives and attacks her.” He considered that.

“Which means that either he or she was following her, or else Ms. Kennedy was just spectacularly unlucky.” He looked down at the floor tiles, absently counting them again and again while he considered the matter.

“There’s no point to this.” He decided.

“Killing this woman got them nothing…” He paused, a new thought occurring to him.

“…Unless it wasn’t about her at all. Maybe our unknown individual was after Ember.

Maybe the girl was here , and they grabbed her… ”

Natalie casually walked over to the counter to stare at the owner’s parrot, which was continuing to squawk wildly.

“If our unknown attacker was using the robbery to get the drop on our vic, so that he could steal her daughter, that’s going to be tough to track down.

” Verity shook her head. “Security camera footage is melted and the clerk was no help. The only other person in here was the original robber, who was wearing a mask, so we have no idea who that...”

“The bird says the robber was in here before.” Natalie informed them seriously. “Drives a piece of shit blue van. Only thing he took in today’s robbery was some scratch-off tickets.”

“How in the hell can you possibly…” Verity began, then changed topics. “Wait, the fucking bird told you!?! It’s a bird! ”

“I can talk to animals today.” Natalie reminded them. “The bird told me.”

“Bullshit!”Verity snapped.

“Okay, that’s it.” Natalie shook her head angrily. “You’re getting on my last goddamn nerve , lady. Yesterday, I would have taken it. But today? Today I’m gonna go Rambo on your ass!”

“Rambo loses in First Blood .” Verity reminded her. “The cops take him to prison at the end.”

Natalie was silent for a beat. “…Did we just become best friends?”

“God, I hope not.” Verity looked appalled. “Because I fucking hate you.”

Oz ignored the by-play, then let out a disappointed sigh. “I know who our robber is.”

****

Twenty minutes later, Mull was walking down the hall of an apartment building, apparently going to confront the robber.

This was not the most exciting morning she’d ever had.

Truth told, she wasn’t overly thrilled with her personality today.

She didn’t like being so… cold. Mull had often been accused of being an unfeeling maniac, but it felt different now.

Part of that could be the loss of her mask, which still hadn’t been completely repaired, but it most likely had more to do with being around Oz.

She’d been feeling… vulnerable lately, and this was probably just her powers’ way of dealing with that. Turning her into an uncaring bitch.

It felt wrong to be so callous about things.

There really wasn’t anything funny about a dead mother and a missing kid. Mull didn’t take a lot seriously, but that was something that even she recognized as a solemn occasion.

No, she’d be glad when Jungle Lass went away.

To say nothing of the fact that her current outfit left very little to the imagination. Mull wasn’t really a shy person, but she was used to wearing body armor and a baggy white outfit. She w asn’t used to her current attire. She felt naked.