Deadly Arrogance (Necromancer Tales #4)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

Erasmus

I rolled the driver’s side window up all the way, not that the fully closed window cut out the raised voices outside my car.

The wild gesticulations and dramatic handwringing added a bit of needless drama to the whole affair.

Each ticking second made my trip to northeastern Mississippi appear increasingly futile.

Leaning back onto my headrest, I closed my eyes while waiting out the bickering less than five feet from my car.

No fewer than seven humans were out there, two of whom were lawyers.

Not the fairy kind, but the garden human variety.

Had fairies been involved, this matter would have been resolved long ago.

“We’ve got a legal injunction!” That obnoxiously loud voice would be Opal Veronal’s stepson, Devon Alcott. “You are not raisin’ Momma from her grave.”

I rolled my eyes beneath my closed lids.

“And I’ve got a court order here that says we are.

” And that would be Sheriff Melissa Andrews.

“There are too many questions regarding Miss Veronal’s death.

” One of those questions being why she’d asked to be buried under her maiden name and not that of her husband, Jackson Alcott.

Keeping one’s maiden name wasn’t unheard of or even slightly illegal.

The odd bit was that she’d still been married to Jackson at the time of her death—no pending divorce—but with a recent change in her will requesting a name change on her grave marker.

“As my son stated, we have a legal injunction stopping this…this…desecration.” Jackson Alcott managed to sound horrified, sanctimonious, and pompous all in one go. Honestly, the man had a gift.

I cracked open an eyelid, aiming my vision just enough that I saw Sheriff Andrews place her hands on her hips. The deputy beside her mimicked her position. “This is a criminal investigation, Mr. Alcott. As such, we have jurisdiction over any religious resignations you have.”

Evidently it was time for the Alcott’s lawyers to step in. “Be that as it may, you will need to provide more evidence regarding your belief that Mrs. Alcott—”

“Ms. Veronal,” the deputy cut in.

“Yes, well, Ms. Veronal’s death was due to anything other than natural causes.”

The deputy huffed and muttered, “Unbelievable.” While I couldn’t hear the word through the closed window, I could read his lips well enough.

I closed my eyes again, allowing the argument outside to wash over and through me.

I could have gotten out and added my two cents to the fiasco.

But, as the saying goes, this wasn’t my first necromancer rodeo.

My two cents would be less than worthless and would be the worst waste of breath.

Recent events had taught me just how important breathing was, and I had no desire to waste the effort on the humans outside my car.

My fingers touched my throat. The physical markings of my near strangulation long gone.

I doubted the emotional scars would ever truly heal.

I’d lost count of the times I’d woken, my fingers scrabbling at my neck as I gasped for air.

The nightmares were becoming less frequent but were far from absent.

Franklin lost just as much sleep those nights as me.

Thinking of my man, I glanced down at the band encircling my left ring finger.

My cheeks flushed and warmth filled my chest. And just like that, the arguing going on outside my car faded away.

Franklin wasn’t physically with me, but I felt his presence just the same.

The engagement ring on my finger was the next best thing to the man himself.

Pulling out my phone, I brought up Franklin’s details and started to text.

My finger hesitated. I’d started to type that I’d be home a lot sooner than I thought but an idea struck me.

I wasn’t that far from Leander’s Alabama home.

It had been months since I’d seen my fellow necromancer.

A few days after Winter Solstice to be exact.

Given that it was early April, I figured enough time had passed that Leander wouldn’t think I was stalking him.

I sent Franklin a quick text relating that my job today was a bust but that I was going to see if Leander was up for a visit.

Franklin’s response was quick and worried.

I told him that I was okay and would relate the story later when we were together.

While I liked texting, I drew the line at lengthy conversations.

I got a thumbs-up emoji along with a couple of hearts and a kissy face.

Before I could second-guess my plans, I sent a quick text to Leander letting him know I would be there in an hour or so. Leander never left his property, so it was a sure bet he’d be home, and I’d learned that telling him I was coming instead of asking was the route to success.

Why? was Leander’s first response.

Why not? I quickly typed back.

His brief whatever made me grin. The knock on my window made me jump.

“Sorry to scare you,” Sheriff Andrews said, her voice a little muffled through the window.

Lowering the window, Sheriff Andrews’s pinched eyes, tight lips, and drawn eyebrows verified my earlier assumption, as did the absence of five of the humans who’d been there before.

With a heavy sigh, Sheriff Andrews said, “I’m sorry, but it looks like I made you drive all this way for nothing.” She opened her mouth, ready to say more but took the professional way out and slammed her lips closed again.

The deputy wasn’t so closed-lipped. “Damn legal bullshit is what this is.”

“Carson,” Sheriff Andrews admonished but the lack of bite was confirmation that she whole heartedly agreed.

“Sorry, Sheriff.” Carson didn’t sound all that apologetic.

“It’s okay. I’m frustrated too,” Sheriff Andrews mollified.

“I’m more pissed than frustrated,” Carson shot back. “This religious claim is utter bullshit, and you know it.”

Sheriff Andrews’s lack of response was agreement enough.

Carson wasn’t done. “I’ll bet you Jackson Alcott hasn’t walked through the door of a church in decades, and now he’s claiming…” Deputy Carson let loose something closer to a growl than verbiage.

“Why don’t you call into the office and let the others know what’s going on while I speak with Necromancer Boone?”

Carson blew out a heavy breath before giving a nod and walking off. His footfalls were heavy as the deputy took out his frustration on the ground below his feet.

Sheriff Andrews watched her deputy walk away before turning back to me and leaning back down, her arms resting on my car as she peered through the open window at me. “Sorry about Carson. He’s still young.”

“But that doesn’t make him wrong,” I answered.

“No. No, it doesn’t.” The sheriff inhaled deeply. “He’s actually very right.”

I offered a commiserate grin. “He just has the luxury of spouting off his frustration while you’ve got to be the adult and swallow down the rage while projecting a professional image.”

Sheriff Andrews’s lips twisted into something akin to pain.

“That about sums it up. There’s something off about Opal Veronal’s death.

She was scared.” Sheriff Andrews’s voice had an icy edge that wasn’t there before.

“That woman suspected her life was in danger. That’s why she changed her will—not five days before her death.

” The sheriff shook her head. “From what I understand, Opal’s loving husband is challenging the new will, which, of course, left him and his children with absolutely nothing. ”

I wasn’t surprised. “Does he have a leg to stand on?”

Sheriff Andrews shook her head. “I hope not, but I’m no lawyer. Opal had money—lots of money. Her lawyer is one of the best. Not a fairy lawyer, but as good as human law can provide. I can’t imagine it will be an easy road for Jackson Alcott to haul.”

Humans typically used human lawyers for their legal needs. The rest of the magical world often chose a fairy lawyer if the occasion called for it. I hoped and prayed I never had such a need. Once Fairy was involved, all bets were off.

The sheriff blew out another heavy breath.

“Honestly, I suspect it will be more difficult for Jackson to get his hands on Opal’s money than it will be for him to stop her exhumation.

The law is on my side, but that doesn’t mean much when someone cries desecration of religious beliefs. This is Mississippi after all.”

While Mississippi was in the heart of the Bible Belt, I figured other states had similar issues when religious beliefs were brought into the mix.

The fact was that most mainstream human religions had a major beef with necromancers and what we could do.

Not that all necromancers were created equal.

As a matter of fact, it was looking increasingly likely that I was in that special unicorn division of necromancers.

As long as I had even a single piece of ash from a body, I could bring their soul back from beyond the veil.

That didn’t sit well with humans of faith.

“I suspect it’s going to be a long, legal haul to get Opal Veronal’s body exhumed.” Sheriff Andrews flinched. “Just thinking about the paperwork gives me indigestion.”

“But you’ll do it,” I confidently stated.

“You’re damn right I will. Opal deserves justice, and that man she married deserves what’s coming to him.” There wasn’t a shred of doubt regarding Jackson Alcott’s guilt in the sheriff’s voice. “I’ve got enough to warrant exhumation. I just don’t have enough to nail this fucker.”