Chapter 1 #3
Sorcha always wondered why Helly did that at crime scenes. Though the imp wasn’t one of their detectives, she did have her own badge. And when she didn’t have horns, she appeared as human as anyone else. She could easily stay with them and pretend to be an investigator.
Then again, it made sense that she didn’t want to hang around. Homicide scenes were rough.
Especially with the memories Sorcha had. While she hadn’t seen Siobhan’s scene in person, she’d reviewed the photos so many times that it was impressed into her memory every bit as deeply as all the homicides she’d investigated since then.
One day, sis, I will bring justice for you and closure for Mom and Dad.
That was the one promise she prayed she’d be able to keep. Otherwise, the hole in her soul would never heal.
Then again, she doubted if even justice would close it. It ran way too deep.
Trying not to think about it, she pulled her latex gloves out of her crossbody bag. She caught up to Luke right as Rory’s black police Charger drove up and parked beside Luke’s possessed car.
Luke cursed at the sight. “Didn’t we just leave him? Can’t we have one case without Detective Dick shadowing us?”
“He’s a lead homicide detective.” Made sense he’d be here.
Luke screwed his face into an adorable expression of distaste as he headed for the body, and left her to greet Rory who felt the same way about Luke. They fought like errant brothers who’d been forced to live in a closet for a month.
Tall and lean, Rory Corvan would be devastating if she hadn’t just been talking to Luke. With short black hair and a well-trimmed beard, he held himself like most police officers. Tough, stern, and observant. Even so, his presence wasn’t nearly as commanding as Luke’s.
Nor was it as intimidating. Rory was too sweet for that, which was one of the problems Luke had with him. Luke always saw the angel part, and that ran up against Luke’s infernal tendencies.
“How did y’all beat me here?” Rory asked as he approached her.
She shrugged. “You have any details to share?”
“Not much. There’s been a couple of break-ins lately so patrol was doing a routine check when they spotted something on the ground. Once they got closer, they realized it was a body.”
Sorcha winced as pain swept through her. Those words always brought an image of her sister’s crime scene photos to her. God, how she hated the pain she knew this new family would feel.
No one deserved that.
“Anything else?” she asked him.
“They close at four and the staff normally goes home by six. So I would say it happened sometime in the last four hours. Not sure why they called y’all in, unless someone wants you to take statements from a ghost.” Rory laughed as if he thought that was funny.
Sorcha glanced to the ghost that was standing right behind Rory, making a face at the detective. “If only they could talk.”
Which they could, but only Luke could really communicate with them. Sometimes she heard them, but her powers were piddly compared to his.
“Shall we?” Rory jerked his chin toward the body as he pulled out a pair of latex gloves from his pocket.
“Sure.” Though, to be honest, she wasn’t really wanting to see another body today. The last one had been pretty grisly.
This one…
They passed two cops who were vomiting into bushes. Thank God it’s not me this time. She still couldn’t believe that had been her reaction on her first day at Infernal Affairs. As a veteran detective in New Orleans, she’d seen her fair share of nasty crimes.
Yet every now and again, there was always that one that hit so hard, it made everyone feel like a rookie again.
As they neared the decapitated remains, she understood what had their stomachs upset. The poor man had been laid out spread-eagle on the ground. In a weird way, it reminded her of a sacrifice, except he was fully clothed in a T-shirt and jeans.
“Where’s the head?” Rory asked the Medical Examiner who was taking photographs.
The expression on Luke’s face said that he might know, but he didn’t answer.
While Rory talked to the ME, Sorcha headed toward Luke. “What are you thinking?”
A tic started in Luke’s jaw. “Trophy hunting.”
That was the last thing she’d expected him to say. “Pardon?”
Luke sighed. “That’s Lawson Myers. I’ve known him for…hell, I don’t know. Centuries.”
She scowled at the body that looked like any other random male she’d ever seen. “How do you know who it is?”
“The scent. He’s a werewolf. Member of the Order of Blackthorn and the second-in-command for our vampire friend, Antoine Dufresne.”
Still that didn’t explain the missing head. “So what is this? There can be only one?”
He gave her a peeved glare. “It takes a lot to kill a werewolf, Sorcha. They don’t go down without a massive fight, and I don’t see any signs of one.”
“You sure? There’s a lot of blood here.”
“I know how canines fight. In both human and animal form. There wasn’t a fight. It’s like he knew his killer and was caught off guard with a single killing blow.”
A bad feeling went through her. “They’re not setting you up again, are they?”
He shook his head before he narrowed his gaze. “Hey, Torres?”
The police officer who was walking past them paused. Not much taller than her, Torres had short black hair and a chubby face that reminded her of an adorable toddler. “Hey, Luke. What’s up?”
Luke closed the distance between them. “Who was first on scene?”
“Me and Johnny, why?”
“Do you know who requested us to be here?”
Torres shrugged. “No idea. It looks like a straightforward homicide to me. I haven’t seen anything that makes this an IA case.”
Sorcha widened her eyes at that disclosure. Okay, that was peculiar.
As Torres went about his business, Sorcha pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Bernadette who answered immediately.
“Hey. You ogled King Cutie for me yet?”
Sorcha shook her head. “One day, you’re going to get into trouble for your inappropriate behavior.”