\u201cYou know the routine. You go where they send you,\u201d Gamble grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow is your wife doing?\u201d Graham asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They kept talking while I scanned the people along the barrier. Most were curious onlookers and press. One man stood out. A white guy in a navy blue hoodie, jeans, and a brand new Yankees cap. He had a cautious expression instead of a curious one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy is Gamble here?\u201d I asked Val. She shrugged and continued writing. I assumed Graham called him, but he didn\u2019t know either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I walked to the barrier and the officer standing guard. A man in the Yankees cap watched intently. The officer standing guard kept glancing in his direction every few seconds. Yankee’s cap looked like he was about to panic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs there somewhere nearby I can get a decent cup of coffee?\u201d I asked the officer, ignoring the smell of shrimp fried rice and pepper beef coming from nearby. I was glad I was finally outside of the alley, but the smell of food wasn\u2019t appealing at the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cExcuse me?\u201d He said with a little attitude. Letting it slide, I glanced back at the man in the hoodie. He hadn\u2019t moved, although he was shifting like he was about to rabbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a native New Yorker. I grew up in Nebraska.\u201d Have I been here long enough to have gained the accent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAh. Three blocks west, one south. They close in twenty minutes,\u201d he said, checking his watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo problem, ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou sir. What\u2019s your name?\u201d I smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His eyes went wide, and he stepped back. \u201cCould I trouble you for a coffee run?\u201d I asked before I\u2019d need to chase him down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d the officer whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe looks like a nice guy. Maybe he\u2019d like to buy a girl a coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man in the cap seemed to grow a spine and stepped forward, smiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow do you like your coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAdulterated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSay what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot plain. Creamy and sweet with real sugar, none of that artificial crap.\u201d He was quiet for a moment, then a soft chuckle escaped. I handed him a ten and watched him vanish around the corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou just lost ten dollars,\u201d he said and laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know. Wait and see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy did you do that? What if he doesn\u2019t come back?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted his fingerprints. If he doesn\u2019t come back, then I\u2019ve only lost ten dollars. I\u2019ve also attracted enough attention that the people with the camera phones got his picture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSneaky.\u201d He sounded impressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet me know when he returns?\u201d I smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSure. Um, what\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cApril Matthews. You?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJason Lewis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood to meet you, Jason Lewis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre you busy sometime tomorrow? I know a great pizza place over on 56th.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I handed him my card. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cApril,\u201d Val said, and motioned me over. I stepped aside while they rolled Eden to the ambulance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She leaned in closer and whispered in my ear. \u201cIf you let him get away with murder again, I\u2019ll make sure you lose your shield.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d I crossed my arms. I wasn\u2019t happy with where she was taking this conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWarren Edward did not kill Natalie Maguire, and you know it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUm, no I don\u2019t. I wasn\u2019t involved with her case beyond her kidnapping. Homicide took over after the grounds keeper found her body. I\u2019m not taking the blame for whatever you think I did wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It would have been easy to get angry at her insinuation that I let Warren get away with Natalie\u2019s murder. He had motive, opportunity, and he even pled guilty. Yet, I agreed with her. Warren was guilty of something, but I had no idea how the entire situation went down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The entire case was truly bizarre. First, she goes missing, and the entire world hung on the news for every little clue. The hotline phones rang non-stop for weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was found her early one morning in Central Park where everyone could\u2019ve seen her. She hadn\u2019t been there very long. A groundskeeper was the only one who saw her. He was the prime suspect for a second, not her fiance Owen Griffith. Owen didn\u2019t stay in the suspect pool for long, either. Finally, Warren Edwards, her father\u2019s former partner, hit the top of the list and stayed there. Owen had a valid alibi and was in Brooklyn at the time Natalie was taken. Warren had offered to take her and her father, Ron Maguire, to lunch. Ron declined because he had another lunch meeting and she accepted. Natalie didn\u2019t return to work after lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was in city hall the day the FBI took over. Police Chief Karson Cane was sweating bullets when he willingly handed over the case. Kris contacted me with questions about her case a few times, even bought me dinner at O\u2019Malley\u2019s Pub.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know that it\u2019s not completely your fault-\u201d she started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause I couldn\u2019t find her while she was still alive? What do you know, Dr. Stuart?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s dangerous to be a mage in the city. It has been for centuries. Do you understand me?\u201d she said through clenched teeth, pointing at me. Maybe she\u2019s been hanging around the Italian\u2019s too long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I let my senses explore her and the surrounding area. She had a familiar type of magic. She was a medium like me, but not near as strong. I didn\u2019t know the full extent of my abilities, though. Long story. I have a love hate relationship with my magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe was a mage,\u201d I said, softly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd so are we. You and I are both very rare these days. We have few family left.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI grew up in Nebraska. My family is there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s beside the point,\u201d she spat. \u201cA certain vampire views us as threats. He has spies all over the city. Trust no one, not even a mage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy did he kill her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAsk her. I know you can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not here. There was another spirit here. A man in a chocolate three-piece suit, but he didn\u2019t say much.\u201d Which was fine with me because ghosts terrify me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDid he give you anything?\u201d asked Val.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe man who killed her was a vampire. He gave no description, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe did light a pipe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her eyebrows raised in surprise. She looked at the man with the clipboard, the one who commented about the smell of pipe smoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s his name?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBenito Montoya.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBenito?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you have a problem with that?\u201d The scent of her anger hit me like a bitter-scented gust of wind on a hot day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot one bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood. He\u2019s a good man with a wonderful family.\u201d The scent of anger left her. \u201cWho are your parents?\u201d Her magical senses explored mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBrendan Matthews and Carolyn Nolan but I doubt you know them. Is this really a good time to talk about genealogy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou cannot be the daughter of Carolyn Nolan. She has no fire magic at all in her lineage.\u201d How does she know what type of mages my parents are? If she knows my lineage, then why wouldn\u2019t she know Natalie\u2019s and Eden\u2019s as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cExcuse me? How do you know I have fire magic?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can see magic. I might not be a strong medium, but I\u2019m damn good with precognition-.\u201d She started, but pulled herself back to the topic at hand. \u201cBrendan is a medium, a Morgan. Your mother has to be a Darby. Carolyn is not a Darby.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow do you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow do you not know that? Didn\u2019t anyone teach you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoing magic earned stiff punishments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy whom?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCarolyn. She caught me lighting candles like Grandma Esther and Aunt Daphne showed me and freaked out. I had to weed the garden every day all summer long.\u201d I hadn\u2019t thought about that day for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHer name is Delilah, not Daphne.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDelilah? Are you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She glared at me with a don\u2019t be a fool expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFine. How are we related?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just told you. We\u2019re Morgan\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She rubbed the bridge of her nose. \u201cMy great-great-grandfather was a wealthy landowner in South Carolina. He had slaves, and he fell in love with my great-great-grandmother Mary. They had several children, but only one child survived.\u201d She sighed. \u201cIt would be easier to show you.\u201d She wrote something down on a slip of paper. \u201cHere\u2019s my address. What are you doing tomorrow night?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m out of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I let my wolf shine through my eyes. It was easy to do with the full moon so close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow did that happen? You didn\u2019t get bitten intentionally, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo. I didn\u2019t ask to be a monster. I was on the menu. They did not survive, I did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Val squeezed my arm consolingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cApril?\u201d Jason tapped my shoulder. He stood beside me with a steaming pumpkin spice latte in his hand. Pumpkin spice was still a thing every fall. Of course, they might mask any drug he added between here and there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I took a deep sniff, checking for any potential toxins and enjoyed the spices. I found none, but that didn\u2019t mean there weren\u2019t any. It was far better than the corpse stink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve already taken the fingerprints from it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBeautiful.\u201d I smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not going to drink coffee from a stranger, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I laughed, pretended to take a sip, and nodded to Yankees cap. The Yankee\u2019s cap man couldn\u2019t see me as I strolled further into the alley. I poured the contents into a leak-proof specimen cup and placed the cup in an evidence bag. Iceman put the evidence into the plastic tote that all the evidence went into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I nodded at Jason once he looked back at me. He smiled in return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOliver, did get pictures of the wall behind her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes ma\u2019am.\u201d So that\u2019s what Iceman\u2019s name was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood. We\u2019re done here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Stuart and the F squad were efficient. Once they removed the body, they were pretty much done and cleared out. The reporters and the small crowd followed until only Kris and I remained. Doyle sat in the patrol car blocking the alley. Looks like he\u2019s holding the scene for the night. I wondered why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDid we get any witnesses?\u201d I asked Kris. He was busy jotting down notes of some sort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOfficer Lewis and I went through the crowd. Nobody seemed to know anything or willing to talk. I have a list of names and contact info.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s call it a night. Are you hungry?\u201d Kris said. I nodded and walked to the car. Kris stood there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI need a shower.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy place is a few blocks away. It doesn\u2019t matter how bad you smell. I\u2019m just as bad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot tonight. Thanks. I fished the keys from my pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSee you tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I decided to do the one thing I swore I\u2019d never do again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If I can talk with the dead detective in the brown suit without freaking out, then maybe I can talk with Natalie Maguire. Could her spirit still be around? I\u2019ve seen ghosts of British soldiers wearing red coats and Native Americans in traditional clothing. They walked through buildings like they didn\u2019t exist. These buildings didn\u2019t exist when they were alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cYou know the routine. You go where they send you,\u201d Gamble grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his face. \u201cHow is your wife doing?\u201d Graham asked.…<\/p>\n