Read Online Companions by Susan Sizemore - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Susan Sizemore
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and all that crap. She had a certain skill at it, but —
"How fresh is he?" Raleigh inquired.
"Rigor's set in," the forensic tech said. "From that and the flies, I'd give a rough guess of four to twelve hours."
Page 33
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Selena put away her notebook. She checked her watch and glanced at the position of the sun in the sky.
It was her guess that somebody dragged the body outside soon after dawn. She didn't think any vampires lived in this neighborhood, but there could be a safe house around here somewhere. "Any neighbors recognize him?" She didn't.
"Everybody that's had a look so far has tossed their cookies."
"Wimps." She stepped up to the torso propped against the wall. "Heart missing?" she asked.
The tech looked up in surprise. "How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess." That explained the burned meat smell. The killer had destroyed the heart. Wise move.
"You've seen something like this before, Crawford?" Raleigh asked.
She grinned at him. "Oh, yeah." She pointed at the victim's several severed pieces. "There's this game chicks play at wedding showers, called Maenads, where we run around ripping guys to shreds. You should have been at my place yesterday."
Raleigh shook a finger at her. "You know I don't want to hear about that girly stuff." He grew serious.
"You know something I don't about this case?"
Sort of. Maybe. Well, she knew who — what — the victim was, at any rate. "Nothing," she said to her partner and friend, looking deeply into his eyes. "Nothing at all."
He believed her because, of course, she wanted him to believe her. She hated that she was able to do that to him. She could deal with Raleigh on this investigation, but he was the least of her problems. She looked around. There were people everywhere. How was she supposed to control a situation involving a vampire's murder when so many mortals had already seen the thing? It was only going to get worse. Wait until the coroner had a look at the corpse. This was not her job. She should just leave it alone. She was not the goddamned Enforcer of the City.
She wanted to spit on the damned corpse. She was not going to get involved in Enforcer business. She said, "I'll take over interviewing the neighbors."
"Get in the car."
Ariel bridled exactly as she'd expected him to when she pulled over to the curb and spoke. It was past ten, and traffic on this street off Lake Shore Drive was sparse. Nobody, not even the building's doorman, was anywhere near the vampire on the sidewalk. Ariel brushed pale hair off his shoulders as his head went up proudly. He stared through her with eyes pale as ice cubes. A sneer curled his beautiful mouth.
The Enforcer of the City was not accustomed to being addressed with anything less than groveling respect. Selena couldn't recall ever having groveled for anyone. Showing respect to a mere Enforcer was out of the question.
Ariel was the most beautiful creature she'd ever seen. Tall and elegant, he reminded her of silver and mercury, and — What was that stuff? — mithril. Not only did his name sound like it belonged to an elf, he looked like one. Very Tolkienesque was Ariel.
Page 34
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
She'd left a message on his answering machine during the day. They were both surprised that he'd met her on the sidewalk outside his high-rise condo building. He hesitated long enough to give her a disdainful sneer, then slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door. The first thing he said as she pulled into the street was, "I should kill you for this, mortal."
She'd expected him to ask how she'd gotten his phone number. "You and what army of darkness, Tinkerbell?" she answered as she turned a corner.
She was terrified but had long ago learned not to let it show in her attitude or her surface emotions. Bad guys could sense fear. Vampires ranked high on the empathic scale, but she dealt on
"How fresh is he?" Raleigh inquired.
"Rigor's set in," the forensic tech said. "From that and the flies, I'd give a rough guess of four to twelve hours."
Page 33
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Selena put away her notebook. She checked her watch and glanced at the position of the sun in the sky.
It was her guess that somebody dragged the body outside soon after dawn. She didn't think any vampires lived in this neighborhood, but there could be a safe house around here somewhere. "Any neighbors recognize him?" She didn't.
"Everybody that's had a look so far has tossed their cookies."
"Wimps." She stepped up to the torso propped against the wall. "Heart missing?" she asked.
The tech looked up in surprise. "How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess." That explained the burned meat smell. The killer had destroyed the heart. Wise move.
"You've seen something like this before, Crawford?" Raleigh asked.
She grinned at him. "Oh, yeah." She pointed at the victim's several severed pieces. "There's this game chicks play at wedding showers, called Maenads, where we run around ripping guys to shreds. You should have been at my place yesterday."
Raleigh shook a finger at her. "You know I don't want to hear about that girly stuff." He grew serious.
"You know something I don't about this case?"
Sort of. Maybe. Well, she knew who — what — the victim was, at any rate. "Nothing," she said to her partner and friend, looking deeply into his eyes. "Nothing at all."
He believed her because, of course, she wanted him to believe her. She hated that she was able to do that to him. She could deal with Raleigh on this investigation, but he was the least of her problems. She looked around. There were people everywhere. How was she supposed to control a situation involving a vampire's murder when so many mortals had already seen the thing? It was only going to get worse. Wait until the coroner had a look at the corpse. This was not her job. She should just leave it alone. She was not the goddamned Enforcer of the City.
She wanted to spit on the damned corpse. She was not going to get involved in Enforcer business. She said, "I'll take over interviewing the neighbors."
"Get in the car."
Ariel bridled exactly as she'd expected him to when she pulled over to the curb and spoke. It was past ten, and traffic on this street off Lake Shore Drive was sparse. Nobody, not even the building's doorman, was anywhere near the vampire on the sidewalk. Ariel brushed pale hair off his shoulders as his head went up proudly. He stared through her with eyes pale as ice cubes. A sneer curled his beautiful mouth.
The Enforcer of the City was not accustomed to being addressed with anything less than groveling respect. Selena couldn't recall ever having groveled for anyone. Showing respect to a mere Enforcer was out of the question.
Ariel was the most beautiful creature she'd ever seen. Tall and elegant, he reminded her of silver and mercury, and — What was that stuff? — mithril. Not only did his name sound like it belonged to an elf, he looked like one. Very Tolkienesque was Ariel.
Page 34
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
She'd left a message on his answering machine during the day. They were both surprised that he'd met her on the sidewalk outside his high-rise condo building. He hesitated long enough to give her a disdainful sneer, then slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door. The first thing he said as she pulled into the street was, "I should kill you for this, mortal."
She'd expected him to ask how she'd gotten his phone number. "You and what army of darkness, Tinkerbell?" she answered as she turned a corner.
She was terrified but had long ago learned not to let it show in her attitude or her surface emotions. Bad guys could sense fear. Vampires ranked high on the empathic scale, but she dealt on
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