Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Sorcha stared at the “imp” that currently appeared more demonic than she’d ever imagined. Just what have I gotten myself into?
While Helly was still tiny, she was terrifying in this form. Enough so that Sorcha stepped back and made room in case she needed to run screaming from the mansion.
Luke gently put his hand on Helly’s shoulder to keep her in place. “We’re good, Imp. No need for bloodletting…quite yet.”
Senechal went pale instantly at the sight of Helly. “You have your own imp?”
“I do.”
He went down on his knees. “Forgive me, dominus. I didn’t realize who you were.”
Sorcha arched a brow at that.
Luke passed an amused smirk toward her. “He still doesn’t really know who I am.
But he’s getting there.” With a heavy sigh, he turned back to Senechal.
“Get up. I’m not my father. And you’re not Luciferian or a Satanist. Groveling doesn’t appeal to me, and while Dad likes it, it doesn’t cause him to suddenly discover mercy.
It just amuses him before he rips out your spine and beats you with it. ”
Senechal rose to tower over them again. “I don’t know anyone who would take a soul. It’s not particularly helpful to any Malum I know. We can’t use it for a spell, and my coven’s charter forbids such acts. I don’t know any Malum who would dare such a sacrilege.”
“Could you use it to barter with?”
Both of them turned to stare at Sorcha for her question. “Well, could you?” she asked again.
Luke considered it. “Actually, you could in theory, but I’ve never known anyone to do that.”
“Me, neither.” Senechal scratched at his cheek. “A soul holds no intrinsic value to any Malum. Maybe a Witchbreed? They might have use of one for who knows what.”
“Well, this just sucks.” Luke growled low in his throat. “We’re back to square one.” He turned to Helly. “Guess we’re out of here, Imp.”
Helly wasn’t so quick to leave. Instead, she continued to glare at Senechal as if she was every bit as tall and not some tiny, little gnome who barely came to his knees.
The two of them reminded Sorcha of a Chihuahua staring down a Pit Bull—and causing the Pit to tremble. “Sure you don’t want me to make a point, dominus?”
“Please don’t, Imp. It’s too early in the morning to hide a body. Especially one that size.”
Senechal paled as Helly vanished.
Luke pulled his card from his pocket. “If you think of someone or you hear something, don’t hesitate to give us a call.”
“I will.”
Luke inclined his head. “Thanks for your time.”
And with that, he gestured toward the door for Sorcha to lead the way.
She went outside, but her thoughts were whirling. Honestly, she hated bum leads, especially when it involved a young victim. Why couldn’t they catch the killer right away like they did on TV?
Find a body and thirty to forty minutes later, arrest the killer and see them in prison for the rest of their lives.
Sadly, real life was nothing like that.
And what really bothered her were the cases like her sister’s that went on forever without any conclusion.
Which made her thoughts wander back to what she’d been discussing earlier with Luke. “Is your closure stat really one hundred percent?”
“Yes.”
She paused on the sidewalk to look at him. “That’s impossible. No one ever closes every single case.”
“Not for me, it’s not. I have special skills and I cheat.” He stepped past her and continued on to the car.
She wasn’t sure if that made her feel better or worse. Her own was ninety percent, which was exceptionally high.
One hundred…
She couldn’t imagine being that skilled.
Or lucky.
Sorcha rushed to catch up to him. Helly was again lying down on the seat as if she’d never popped into the house to threaten a mountainous man.
Luke gave Sorcha a peeved expression. “The only outstanding case is the matter of the asshole who caused me to be kicked out of Hell. That’s ongoing and annoying. So it’s more ninety-nine point nine, nine, nine, nine.”
She heard the anger in his voice. “Sorry. I know it stings to have something like that hanging over your head.”
“I know you do. You’re the only one around me who does and I promise you that we will find out what happened to your sister. And I’ll personally make sure they regret it.”
For some reason, those words touched her a lot more than they should. “Thank you.”
He inclined his head. “Send me all the files you have, and I’ll see what I can find.”
“I will.”
As she pulled the UGA ball cap on, she considered everything she’d learned. “So, no witches were involved…”
Luke tied his hair up. “Not if the Malum didn’t do it. Witchbreeds wouldn’t dare take a soul. They have other malicious things they do.”
“Gotcha.” Sorcha sighed.
As Luke got into the car, his phone rang. “Teivel, here.”
He listened for a few minutes before he nodded. “Thanks. We’ll be there shortly.”
She arched a brow at his serious tone. “Where to now?”
“Morgue. Conspiracy has something for us.”
“He couldn’t tell us over the phone?”
Luke started the engine. “Said he wanted us to see it. Apparently, the police looked at it and shrugged. But he thinks it’ll interest us.”
Sorcha pulled her tablet out and jotted down notes about their encounter with Villan.
Helly leaned over the seat to watch her.
Cringing at the sensation of hot breath on her neck, Sorcha scowled at the imp. “You should be wearing a seatbelt, you know.”
“There aren’t any.”
That stunned her. “What?”
Luke slid her an amused gaze. “1957. They didn’t have seatbelts in most cars back then.”
She looked down at the one over her lap with a bemused frown.
“Those are aftermarket installs. There’s not one for Helly in the backseat.”
“What if we get pulled over?” Sorcha asked.
“Luke will handle it like he always does.” Helly flashed her fangs at Sorcha. “So what are you writing?”
“Just making notes about what I’ve learned and what Mr. Villan had to say.”
Helly leaned closer so that she could read them. “You always do that?”
“I do. Doesn’t Luke take down his own notes?”
They both looked at him.
“I make a few on the board, from time to time, but most of it I keep in my head.”
That surprised her. “Aren’t you afraid of forgetting something important?”
He snorted. “I wish. Sadly, details stick with me, even when I want to forget them. Like the smell of that cheap ass cologne Villan was wearing.”
“Understood.” She had a lot of things she’d like to forget, too. Including the stench of Villan’s cheap ass cologne.
By the time Sorcha finished making her notes, they were pulling into the Medical Examiner’s parking lot.
She looked up and frowned. It was down an inconspicuous street, nestled near a credit union and salon. “This is the morgue?”
“What did you expect? Neon flashing lights that say Dead Bodies Kept Here?”
No, but this was a strange place. The rough gravel road, style of the buildings and broken asphalt reminded her more of Florida than Georgia.
Luke didn’t speak as he got out. As usual, Helly climbed over the back and followed him.
With a peculiar feeling in her stomach, she left the car and rushed to catch up to them as they entered the unassuming building.
“Well, hello, Mr. Luke,” an enthusiastic female voice called out to them instantly. The receptionist couldn’t be any older than her early twenties and the light in her eyes and breathless quality in her voice said that she wanted to wear Luke like a coat. “What can I do to help you today?”
“Looking for Kyle. Is he in his office?”
“Yes, sir.” Her smile was wide and flirtatious. Until she saw Sorcha. That smile died instantly.
If looks could kill, Sorcha’s head would have exploded and she’d be a pile of ash on the floor. Which made her wonder if Luke could do that to others. Was it one of the powers he refused to talk about?
Personally, she’d love to have that ability. Especially in five o’clock traffic.
Or in the grocery store whenever someone parked their buggy sideways in an aisle.
No wonder the captain didn’t give me a gun. She totally understood now. With her temper, it was a definite liability.
At any rate, she stepped forward and offered the girl her hand. “I’m Luke’s new partner, Detective Sorcha O’Malley.”
“Oh.” That did away with most of the vicious glare, however ice remained in her demeanor. “Taylor Gaines. I’m the receptionist here. Nice to meet you.”
“You, too.” Sorcha headed down the hall, after Luke and Helly.
By the time she caught up, they were entering a small office where an adorable man sat, looking very boyish.
Probably in his mid-thirties, Kyle had a mop of dark curly hair on top of his head.
His dark brown eyes showed immense intelligence as his gaze darted all over the place as if he had a hard time focusing on any one thing.
“Glad you got here so fast.” Kyle started pulling papers and files out. “You’re not going to believe what I found…it was a canine attack.” He froze as he finally saw Sorcha behind the mountain that was Luke. “Who are you?”
“Luke’s new partner. Sorcha O’Malley.” She held her hand out toward him.
He stared at her hand with a frown. “Did you wash your hands?”
She hesitated as she suddenly felt awkward. “Not since I’ve been here.”
His frown deepened. “Have you any idea how many germs there are? And those are just the regular ones. You could have easily picked up some bio-engineered something. Those are fatal. Horribly fatal.” He grabbed a mask and put it on, then handed her a massively large container of hand sanitizer.
“Thank you?” She wasn’t sure what to make of this. Especially when he made her do it twice.
By the way he was acting, she half-expected him to raise both hands, form a cross with his forefingers, and hiss at her as if she were a vampire after his blood.
Luke grimaced at her. “Thanks,” he grumbled under his breath, letting her know he was rather peeved she’d reminded Kyle they were “unclean, disease-ridden parasites.”