Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
HAVEN
My house is eerily quiet as I lie in bed staring at my ceiling. The events of the last forty-eight hours do not seem real at all. Diesel growls at my bedroom door, and I sigh, sitting up.
“What now, Loki?” I call out, petting my dog’s head, so he stays calm.
“Sorry,” she says, opening the door to look at me.
All I can see is the silhouette of her body and curls. She looks like a damn pinup doll. I reach over to my nightstand and flick on my light so I can see her face.
“Nightshade is here and is going to take the next watch.” I flip the blankets off my legs, ready to go meet this stranger, but I shouldn’t have bothered.
An of a woman walks in, and I strain my neck to look up at her face.
“Christ, you’re tall.” I’m beyond caring about manners at this point.
“No.”
I frown at her one-word greeting.
“I didn’t ask you anything.”
She rolls her eyes and starts listing things she must hear on a daily basis.
“No, it’s not hotter up here. No, I can’t tell it’s raining first. No, it’s not nice to be able to see over people. No, I will not let you ride on my shoulders.” She points at her fingers as she counts them out.
“Fuck, people want to ride your shoulders?” That seems a little extreme.
“Women more than men, but yes. I look like a jungle gym to them, I guess. The guys are usually intimidated by me or think I’m a man.” I cross my arms and study her closely.
She may be tall and built like a Mack truck, but she’s all curves.
“Fucking idiots. I’m Haven, welcome to my house.
This idiot is Diesel. No matter how much he acts like he’s starving, do not feed him.
Never leave him in the house alone without putting him in his kennel, or he’ll be on the eleven o’clock news.
” I glance over my shoulder at him and catch him yawning.
“Understood. When you wake up, let me know. I’ve got my piercing kit with me.” I groan but nod.
I’d been able to forget all about the body doubling for a few minutes, but now it’s back in the forefront of my brain. I stomp back to my bed and throw myself over my dog.
“Being human is hard, Diesel. You wanna trade?” He licks my face and lets up a pitiful whine that makes me love him even more.
“Love you too, you big, nasty asshole. No more destroying my house.” I scratch behind his ears and place a kiss on his nose.
“Let’s get some sleep.”
BEEP BEEP BEEP
BEEP BEEP BEEP
I peel my eyes open to the sound of my phone. I search blindly in the dark for it.
Fuck it all! It feels like I just closed my eyes a few moments ago.
I find it tucked under my pillow, and the harsh light from my cell phone makes me wince as I try to focus on the time displayed on the too-bright screen.
“Ugh, four in the morning? Really. What the fuck is wrong with people?” I turned the ringer off and opened the text thread from the police department.
They use a secure server to alert all emergency personnel to crime scene requests, and luckily, I’m still on call until six this morning.
“Knock, knock. Everything alright?” I jump at Nightshade’s voice, having forgotten she was here.
“Yeah, I gotta go to work.” I stand and stretch.
“It’s not even dawn.” I yawn as I walk into my bathroom.
“Murders don’t keep normal business hours.” I pee, then brush my teeth, while the woman in charge of my security watches me closely.
“Listen, if you’re going to be all up in my vagina later to give me this piercing, I should probably know your real name.” I look from her to my closet.
Fuck I forgot to pick up my dry cleaning.
One glance at my laundry basket tells me sweats are also out of the question. Well, if I time it right, I can just go into the office after. Decision made, I grabbed a skirt suit and blouse.
“Valerie Sheppard.”
Momentarily caught off guard by my own thoughts, I’d forgotten I had an audience, let alone that I had asked her a question.
“How’d you come to be known by Nightshade?” I mean, Loki, I kinda got.
It fit her first name, Lourdes, and if I had to guess, she was a prankster when her life wasn’t imploding around her.
“I know my way around plants.” She doesn’t say anything anymore, and my eyebrow raises.
“I see.” Note to self, never drink tea made by this woman.
“When you say you’re going to work, do you mean the funeral home?” I sigh as I pull on a pair of stockings.
“Nope. I’m on call at the City Morgue. I’m heading to a crime scene.” She frowns and rubs the back of her neck.
“I can’t really follow you then.”
I shake my head as I stand and step into my high heels.
“The place will be crawling with cops.” She curses and shakes her head.
“Nah, I can’t let you out of my sight.” I shrug.
“Your funeral.”
In the end, she decides to follow me at a safe distance and then come closer on foot so her Harley doesn’t draw unwanted attention. She’s wearing an old hoodie over her cut and blending into the crowd of onlookers gathered behind the police tape.
“Morning, gentlemen. What do you have for me?” I lay my case full of supplies down by my feet and look over the body lying on the grass in this little suburban town.
“Haven, you look fresh as a daisy. Walk of shame?” I roll my eyes at Detective Cruz.
“In these heels? Never. Just up early to start my day.” I point at the body with my pen, ready to take notes.
“GSW to the back of his head. This was execution style. No shell casings or witness accounts of gunshots. We’re thinking the body was dumped here.” I nod as I jot down the info.
“Then there’s this,” he hands me a note with a few drops of blood on it inside a sealed evidence bag.
I turn it to the street light to read, and my heart stops in my chest because I know that handwriting.
Danica.
What is done in the dark
Will always come into the light
WE SEE YOU
I clear my throat and hand it back to Cruz.
“ID?” he nods.
“Jensen Walters, forty-five, address is listed in Delaware.”
I sigh and nod.
“Let’s figure out why you were dumped here, Mr. Walters.” I pull out a pair of gloves and get to work.