Cause of Death: Unnatural (The Cause of Death Series) by Eliza Ford Page B

dull murmur.
    There he was. Not in a corner as she'd been
half expecting, but right out in the open, leaning against the bar. Em pushed
her way through the people gathered around him and suddenly stopped short. She
hadn't actually expected her hypothesis to be right.
    She did know this drug dealer. He was her dealer.
    Em took a deep breath as the man turned a
happily surprised smile toward her. "Em!" he exclaimed. "I've
missed you. Let me buy you a drink."
    Em stepped in and kissed him on the cheek.
She whispered into his ear, "Will, we need to talk."

 

 
 
 
 
 
    Em, Nick and Jarek stood outside an old warehouse at
the end of a narrow alley. The alley ran down to the business end of the
harbor. The marinas full of white super yachts, the boardwalk restaurants and
cafes were way up the other end of the waterway. Down here it was all rotting
fishing trawlers, barges spilling oil and old dinghies rocking against the
seaweed covered harbor walls. There was a smell about the place, an old weary
smell of things decaying. It was in the water, and in the buildings all around
the water's edge.
    Em had told Robert of her suspicions about a
dealer associated with Alina's club. Her boss had quickly set the wheels in
motion. A few meetings with Bec's lieutenant
boyfriend and some others from the narcotics division and they'd all given the
go ahead for a chat with Will. He wasn't the main picture, narcotics had said.
Small fry compared to the meth heads and crack dealers in the main gangs.
Talking with Will wouldn't disrupt any of their existing investigations, so
pathology were free to step right in.
    "Generous of them," Robert had
muttered in disgust. He didn't do bureaucracy very well. "I'm glad to know
our quest for justice and truth doesn't inconvenience their 'further
investigations'."
    He looked at Em over the messy collection of
files on his desk. He was catching up on some paperwork.
    "Take Nick and go pay this dealer a
visit. See what he knows about Alina's club. We need a lead of some sort. We've
got a morgue full of seriously mauled bodies and no clue at all as to what
happened." He lowered his head into his hands and massaged his temples. He
looked tired.
    "Oh, and take that English guy with you,
will you? What's his name again? Edwards. Jarek, wasn't it?" Em stiffened
slightly. That wasn't going to be pleasant. She really didn't want Jarek and
Nick anywhere near each other, but Robert was
determined.
    "He's after a full time role here, or a
three year professional exchange, at any rate. Says he's got a girlfriend here
and wants to live here eventually. He seems a nice enough guy, but check him
out, will you? I can't offer him the role if he's not up to it."
    Em had nodded. What could she do?
    And so here they all were. One
big happy criminology team - her human boyfriend, her demon ex-lover and the
man who fetched her blood waiting just inside the warehouse door. Life
couldn't get any more complicated, thought Em. She tried not to listen to
Jarek's smug laughing inside her mind.
    "It's locked," said Nick.
"Damn. What a waste of time."
    A look of intense scorn crossed Jarek's face
and he turned to Nick with a sneer. "Since when is that a problem?"
he hissed. "Are you as stupid as... " He
stopped abruptly as Em whipped out a tendril of dark energy that smacked him
upside his mind as thoroughly as if she'd punched him in the stomach.
    Have
you gone insane? she threw at him. British medical examiner,
remember? You're supposed to be a dork.
    Jarek's thoughts came back to her in a millisecond,
his mind cool and dangerous in hers. Careful,
my darling, he said. I'll tolerate
this little game for you, but I don't like having to tolerate this ape you've
dragged along.
    His
name is Nick, said Em hotly, and
I'd appreciate it if you'd ...
    You're
sleeping with him, aren't you? Jarek's voice in her head was
dripping with disgust. You've fallen in
love with a mortal. You're weak Em.
    Em yelled into his mind. Jarek! Save it.