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Chapter 15

A dler had put Bachmann in charge of having the local authorities inform their victim’s boyfriend while he had headed to forensics, hoping that Maxim—Willa rather, given she was the best tracker he knew—would find the missing fae.

Forensics smelled of chemicals, and Adler didn’t really know any of the technicians too well. One of them who sat at the desk just outside the actual lab area was on the phone with another department, and Adler paced in front of a cork board while he waited.

Two minutes later, all the technician could tell him was that they had found nothing unusual about the paper or the ink, but the handwriting looked like their graffito.

Back at his desk, Adler managed to confirm that the courier had been paid in cash. The delivery service had a rough timeframe, which would allow Adler to pull CCTV from the surrounding area. He put in the request.

Once that was done, there was nothing immediate he could do for the case. He looked around at the other desks and the people busy with their own workloads. No one was minding him. No one would so much as raise a brow at him calling Gordon. Plus, we are working together. It’s not like this is just private.

Before he could reconsider, Adler pulled out his phone and called Gordon.

It rang for a while, long enough that Adler was about to hang up again. The second before he did, Gordon picked up.

“You have some timing. Or did Maxim call you?”

Adler bristled. “Maxim? Yeah. About the missing fae.”

“Right. He told you about my corpse?”

Adler straightened. “You mean the fae he’s looking for is dead? And you already took custody of the body? I didn’t know you worked that fast. Where’s the scene?”

There was a pause. Adler cocked his head.

“He didn’t call you then. I have a corpse here—a fae, young girl. They found her passed out, called an ambulance, pronounced her dead at the hospital, and sent her our way. I seem to be the first person who noticed choke marks around her neck, and they match what we have from the first victim.”

“Wait. Are you saying we have two possible fae murders to add to the first?”

Gordon sighed. “Looks like it. I didn’t know whether I should call you or not. I wanted to, but it’s Maxim’s thing, you know, he’s the hunter. But…I’m happy to hear your voice.”

The angry detective part of Adler’s brain was cut off while his wolf part took over. He misses me. I should go to him, comfort him. He needs me. The urge was a primal one, Adler knew that, but the urgency of it was still difficult to ignore. It made his pulse quicken, and likely as not, he was salivating at the thought of Gordon.

He tapped his fingers against his desk as he tried to calm his wolf side down.

“Listen, if you want me to come to the Forum, I’ll leave now.”

Gordon huffed. “I’m a grown man, detective. I’m not scared of the Ripper.”

“I don’t mean that. I mean… If you say the word, I’ll come to you.”

“Okay,” Gordon said, then, “Is that a wolf thing?”

“Yeah. Is that bad?”

Adler heard the smile in Gordon’s voice. “Nah. It’s something though. But I can handle this. It’s my job. I take care of them, and I do it very well. Call Maxim, see if there is anything you can do there, maybe secure the scene of this crime.”

Adler nodded. “I’ll do that. Call if anything new comes up, okay? You can always call me.”

“Right,” Gordon said. “Well, I need to go now.”

“Okay. Talk soon.”

After they’d hung up, Adler dialed Maxim.

“Timing, Adler, is a wonderful skill, though it is fickle,” the hunter said.

“I can’t tell if you’re telling me I’m annoying you or what. I just got off the phone with Gordon.”

“Ah.” Maxim sounded sad. Adler was getting a bad feeling from the vampire’s tone of voice.

“Maxim, did you find the missing fae?”

“Willa did. I was about to call you. Glory was left in a dumpster. She liked rainbow nail polish, had a collection of her favorite colors on her desk. There were photos as well, those old-fashioned ones that the camera will print for you, and then you have to shake them. She used cute cat pins and put them up over her bed.”

Nothing of what the hunter said came in rhyme, and yet it hit hard.

Adler sighed and got up, heading to the elevators. “Where am I going?”

“I’ll text you the exact location, or Heath will. Head toward the NAU campus. Has Gordon started on the messy part with his corpse yet?”

The elevator arrived, and Adler joined a uniformed officer, greeting her with a nod. “I don’t think so. Don’t think he would have answered the phone if he had.”

“Call again. Bring him. I’d like him to examine Glory before we move her.”

Adler sighed, drawing a look from the officer. “Understood.”