Death's Daughter by Kathleen Collins Page A

to nail his ass to the wall. As much fun as that would be, she was really hoping she was wrong. She didn’t want to be in charge of this case. Didn’t want the responsibility. “Where, Detective?” she asked again, her voice sounding tired even to her own ears.
    For a moment, she thought he wasn’t going to answer. “All along the Western seaboard. We got thirteen hits over three states.”
    A muscle worked in her jaw as she clenched her teeth. When a crime crossed state lines, either the Agency or the FBI got involved. As the Bureau wouldn’t touch anything even remotely Altered, that made it hers. There was just one more thing she needed to know. “And when did you present this information to the commissioner?”
    “Two days ago.”
    “I always knew you weren’t a team player, Taft.” Phipps spat the words at the detective. Quite literally actually as spit flew from the corners of his mouth. He was in full fury mode. “You’ll regret this, Detective.”
    Now she understood why Taft had waited for her to arrive on the scene with the twins. He knew it should be the Agency’s investigation and he was covering his ass. Sliding her chair back, she pressed her fists into the table and stood. “Right. You want jurisdictional politics, I’ll give you jurisdictional politics.”
    Jeremiah was at her back and leaning to speak in her ear almost before she was fully upright. “Should we call Ben first?”
    She jerked her head to the side. This was the Agency’s case, her case. She wasn’t going to argue that point with Ben or anyone else. Besides, as the old phrase went, it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. She stared at Phipps. “You want to tell them or shall I?”
    “Tell who what precisely?” He stood, mirroring her position.
    “Tell your officers that you’re no longer in charge here.”
    His face grew crimson again, but he said nothing and kept his spot at the end of the table. She shrugged, then turned from the table and threw open the door behind her. Striding into the other room, she motioned to Jeremiah and he let out a piercing wolf whistle. She’d always been envious of his ability to do that. The bustle around them came to a halt as everyone turned to look at them. Phipps bumbled out of the conference room. “Now see here, Norris.”
    She turned her glare on him. “No, you had your chance. Another word and I’ll take it to the mayor and file a formal complaint with the Agency.”
    His mouth snapped shut. Muscles worked in his jaw and neck. His skin remained an unflattering hue of red.
    She put her attention back on the officers in the room. “The Thief now falls under Agency jurisdiction. My jurisdiction. That doesn’t mean I’m shutting you out and it doesn’t mean that I don’t need your help.”
    “What does it mean?” a voice called from the far side of the room.
    “It means I need copies of everything you’ve got and I need them yesterday. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Not just what Phipps told you to give me.”
    When no one moved for a long moment, Taft piped up. “You heard her. Get busy.”
    “Ben isn’t going to like this. He’s going to like you doing it without talking to him first even less.” Jeremiah kept his voice low enough only she and Leo could hear it.
    “Don’t care,” Juliana said. She’d never make it beyond her position as a Walker because she wouldn’t play the games. She did her job and she did it well, but that wasn’t enough. She looked at Leo. “We’re still going to give them their task force. You’re going to be involved in all the interrogations, obviously. Jeremiah, you’re the liaison. You’re good at that.”
    She went back to the conference room, motioning for Taft and Phipps to precede her.
    “I don’t know what you think you’re playing at, Norris,” Phipps said as soon as the door was shut. “I ask you here as a show of trust, of cooperation, and you pull this bullshit. You just can’t stand to