handing it to Rhonda, “what are you going to do?”
“Bring him in for questioning.”
Joe sat forward quickly and waved at Mastiff. He made the sign, “What for?”
“Oh, come on, Joe. You know we can’t talk about that in front of the ladies. Or at breakfast.”
“You mean question him about the bodies with the drained blood and the wacky carvings?” Rhonda spoke up, her attention still on the photo.
The expression on Mastiff’s face was priceless. He blinked a few times and downed some OJ. “Uh . . . how did . . .”
“Society,” I piped up.
He nodded. That seemed to explain a lot in this group. Not that the rest of the Atlanta PD knew about them or their purpose in the South. Most of the members—including Rhonda—came from money, and with money, well, you gets respect.
And with the way my account is looking lately—I’ll be missing that respect bus for quite some time.
Joe was waving again and this time grabbed up the pen and notepad by his plate. He scribbled. I used to scribble too. WHY 4 THOSE? NO EVDENCE HE WS INVOLVE.
I winced at his misspellings. I used to do that too.
Mastiff shrugged. “Not my call. Talk to the captain.”
I could tell by the look on Joe’s face that was exactly what he was going to do.
“Anyway,” Mastiff said, “one of us will be with you at all times, Zoë. Or at least our presence will be known.”
Ominous.
Not.
“Are you first on duty?” Jemmy asked from where she’d been eyeing the poor detective from her perch beside Nona. Yeah . . . he’s cute, Jemmy, but a half and more younger than you. Down girl. Woof.
Mastiff nodded. “Yes. Halloran here was up early with the latest body.” He winced—but I wasn’t sure if it was from the taste of Mom’s coffee or the fact that we already knew about those. “I’ve put in to have the other two bodies moved to Dekalb. Made it a central hub of activity for the time being.”
So all the bodies were going to be in one place.
Rhonda asked, “You mean like that’ll be done today?”
Mastiff nodded. Rhonda looked at me, and I thought, Uh-oh. What is she plotting? I was making nefarious plans to grab Archer tonight and show him the bodies to get his opinion. And to find out if he’d maybe gotten an idea on that hair-monster thing. Pick his Symbiont brain about the First Borns.
But why is Rhonda curious?
With a full stomach—I was ready for sleep. Whether I wanted it or not. I gathered up my dishes, dropped them in the sink, and turned to find Rhonda directly behind me. I backed up, blinking. “Hello?”
“Going to bed?”
I looked past her to the tea shop, where everyone was gathered at the main table still eating and talking. Except for Joe, who was watching us. Refocusing on Rhonda, I nodded. “Yeah—like you said. Sneaking out. Tired.” And I even yawned on cue. Not made up.
But she wasn’t moving out of my way.
Instead, Rhonda narrowed her kohl-rimmed eyes at me. “You weren’t sneaking out to meet Dags—not like I thought. You didn’t even know he was in town.”
I didn’t have time for this. If I didn’t get at least a few hours of sleep, I was never going to last tonight while zooming to the morgue. I sighed. Okay . . . a half-truth was better than a no truth. Right? “Okay. Fine. No, I wasn’t sneaking out to see Dags. But first you have to tell me how you know. You keeping spies on me too?”
Rhonda’s reaction was perfect. She actually looked stunned. “Well, no . . . it’s just that you’re always sleeping. So I figured you were doing something at night and not sleeping.”
“I’m practicing—okay? I went nearly a month with no OOB, then poof”—I held up my hands for emphasis—“I’m not only a Wraith but part of a Horror. And then I’m slammed back together. So, yeah, I’ve been out practicing. Learning what it is I can do.”
She almost looked . . . happy. At least she didn’t look mad anymore. Instead, she reached out and hugged me. And I mean gave me
“Bring him in for questioning.”
Joe sat forward quickly and waved at Mastiff. He made the sign, “What for?”
“Oh, come on, Joe. You know we can’t talk about that in front of the ladies. Or at breakfast.”
“You mean question him about the bodies with the drained blood and the wacky carvings?” Rhonda spoke up, her attention still on the photo.
The expression on Mastiff’s face was priceless. He blinked a few times and downed some OJ. “Uh . . . how did . . .”
“Society,” I piped up.
He nodded. That seemed to explain a lot in this group. Not that the rest of the Atlanta PD knew about them or their purpose in the South. Most of the members—including Rhonda—came from money, and with money, well, you gets respect.
And with the way my account is looking lately—I’ll be missing that respect bus for quite some time.
Joe was waving again and this time grabbed up the pen and notepad by his plate. He scribbled. I used to scribble too. WHY 4 THOSE? NO EVDENCE HE WS INVOLVE.
I winced at his misspellings. I used to do that too.
Mastiff shrugged. “Not my call. Talk to the captain.”
I could tell by the look on Joe’s face that was exactly what he was going to do.
“Anyway,” Mastiff said, “one of us will be with you at all times, Zoë. Or at least our presence will be known.”
Ominous.
Not.
“Are you first on duty?” Jemmy asked from where she’d been eyeing the poor detective from her perch beside Nona. Yeah . . . he’s cute, Jemmy, but a half and more younger than you. Down girl. Woof.
Mastiff nodded. “Yes. Halloran here was up early with the latest body.” He winced—but I wasn’t sure if it was from the taste of Mom’s coffee or the fact that we already knew about those. “I’ve put in to have the other two bodies moved to Dekalb. Made it a central hub of activity for the time being.”
So all the bodies were going to be in one place.
Rhonda asked, “You mean like that’ll be done today?”
Mastiff nodded. Rhonda looked at me, and I thought, Uh-oh. What is she plotting? I was making nefarious plans to grab Archer tonight and show him the bodies to get his opinion. And to find out if he’d maybe gotten an idea on that hair-monster thing. Pick his Symbiont brain about the First Borns.
But why is Rhonda curious?
With a full stomach—I was ready for sleep. Whether I wanted it or not. I gathered up my dishes, dropped them in the sink, and turned to find Rhonda directly behind me. I backed up, blinking. “Hello?”
“Going to bed?”
I looked past her to the tea shop, where everyone was gathered at the main table still eating and talking. Except for Joe, who was watching us. Refocusing on Rhonda, I nodded. “Yeah—like you said. Sneaking out. Tired.” And I even yawned on cue. Not made up.
But she wasn’t moving out of my way.
Instead, Rhonda narrowed her kohl-rimmed eyes at me. “You weren’t sneaking out to meet Dags—not like I thought. You didn’t even know he was in town.”
I didn’t have time for this. If I didn’t get at least a few hours of sleep, I was never going to last tonight while zooming to the morgue. I sighed. Okay . . . a half-truth was better than a no truth. Right? “Okay. Fine. No, I wasn’t sneaking out to see Dags. But first you have to tell me how you know. You keeping spies on me too?”
Rhonda’s reaction was perfect. She actually looked stunned. “Well, no . . . it’s just that you’re always sleeping. So I figured you were doing something at night and not sleeping.”
“I’m practicing—okay? I went nearly a month with no OOB, then poof”—I held up my hands for emphasis—“I’m not only a Wraith but part of a Horror. And then I’m slammed back together. So, yeah, I’ve been out practicing. Learning what it is I can do.”
She almost looked . . . happy. At least she didn’t look mad anymore. Instead, she reached out and hugged me. And I mean gave me
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