5. You’re stuck with me, so you better like me. #2
“Odd.” Wrinkling his nose, Quinn reviewed something on the laptop.
“No, none of your former co-workers were questioned. I’ll have that rectified.
” He grabbed his phone, dialed a number, and waited.
“Hey. It’s Sam. I need you to pull up the original file for the gorgon dust bomb incident at my wife’s former apartment.
It’ll be listed under Gardener. I need a pair to head over to her former workplace and question all of the employees, including the owner of the shop, Mary.
We need to know why they didn’t show up to work that day.
Get as much information as you can on it.
You might need to get on the phone with the Queens chiefs for more information on the file, as we only have a partial record.
If you need approvals, get ahold of the commissioner and tell him I’m pursuing an old lead for a live case.
If anyone gives you trouble, have them call me.
” After listening for a moment, he sighed.
“Yes, that’s a good point. Tackle anyone in the stations who has gone to her former workplace and question them, particularly about the McGee family and any noticeable weird behavior by the employees.
I’d like to get to the bottom of the gorgon dust incident.
While we’re at it, reopen the files about 120 Wall Street and do another review of everything we have on it.
I want a brief on my desk in a week. I’ll swing by to pick it up, so call me when it’s ready.
Is there anything important I need to know about? Good. How is the new pair working?”
While Quinn chatted, I returned to my rabies case tracking, making a list by city or town to get an idea of where outbreaks had happened, leading up to when New York and the surrounding cities and states had become the epicenter of infection reports.
He hung up, set his phone down, and glared at it.
“No throwing your phone,” I rebuked.
“I was only thinking about it a little.”
“Temper, temper. What has you worked up now?”
“That was Paul Rudani, one of the more senior cops in our precinct. A detective. He usually works on the tenth floor, but he’s working on our floor until we’re back. He wants to question you.”
“Well, yes. That makes sense. It’s a questioning session, Quinn, not torture. I didn’t do anything wrong, so it’s no issue. And if there’s something I know that’s important for the investigation, it’s worth the time. What’s the problem?”
“He can be a little ruthless.”
“Isn’t that a good thing during a questioning session? He wouldn’t do a very good job if he bit his nails and fretted over hurting my fragile little feelings.”
“He has zero idea of personal boundaries during an interrogation. It’s something we’ve been working on.”
“I’m not seeing the problem.”
“He will ask you about my visits to your workplace. Extensively.”
I loved my husband, but sometimes, he confused me.
“And then I will extensively tell him you have a rap sheet of incinerated panties. Mine, for the record. I will even think I shouldn’t say that, but then it’ll fly right on out.
And then I’ll start complaining how it’s your fault for daring to walk away from me.
The view is pretty divine. You were put on this sweet Earth just for me.
Maybe Audrey was like a set of training wheels?
To be honest, I can’t ride a bike, so I’m not really sure. ”
“You can’t ride a bike?”
I stared at him. “Do you think my asshole parents would spend that sort of money on me?”
“Damn it.” Slumping against the couch, my husband sighed. “He’s good at his job, he just doesn’t really understand how to be sensitive on certain matters. I don’t want you to get your feelings hurt because he can be harsh.”
“Well, he’ll find out you are hot and bothered me, so I’m not particularly worried about that. I mean, it’s a good thing you’re hot and bother me, as the infection spread to you, so now we’re married.”
“You’re not a disease, Bailey.”
“No, I’m not an infection. I’m the best parasite!”
“Symbiont.”
“Parasite.”
“You’re going to tell him you’re a parasite, aren’t you?”
“If I’m going to be embarrassed during an interrogation, I’m taking him out with me when I go.”
“You’re something else. Did you find out anything while I was being scolded about personal involvements in an ongoing investigation?”
“Yeah. New England is definitely the epicenter of this rabies problem; while the Long Lake outbreak is the highest in number, Vermont trended upwards in cases starting eight years ago. There was one smaller outbreak in Maine, and two in Massachusetts prior. There’s no way of knowing if they’re related to the Vermont outbreaks, but we definitely need to make a trip to Vermont and Maine to have a look.
Do you think we can get around the personal involvement issues? ”
“I think I might be able to, although we’ll have to link everything we’re doing with the gorgon dust and rabies outbreaks.
Because of my heritage and your immunities, it makes sense for us to work the investigation; it would be potentially lethal to others, where we’re only mildly inconvenienced at most. We will be strictly warned off about the Morrison issue, but if we can happen to connect the dots to him from the gorgons he worked with, accidents happen. ”
I’d observed Quinn often enough to recognize the accident wouldn’t be an accident at all, and that my husband would use every weapon in his arsenal to make certain ex-Chief Morrison would never bother me again.
I doubted Sariel would even have to undergo extensive questioning, especially as the bastard would skip out of town to dodge conviction.
Morrison lacked ethics like that.
“So, we look into the rabies and the gorgon dust issue, figure out how they’re related, and figure out if the 120 Wall Street incident was also connected to that mess. I mean, it probably was. It was the same grade of gorgon dust, wasn’t it?”
“It probably was from the same batch. Gorgon dust is not commonly manufactured, although we have no idea if they were making multiple batches. That’s possible, especially since we saw evidence of dust production in that gypsum mine.”
“But that was a new batch, wasn’t it?”
“Probably the replacement batch, and the hive was infected with rabies to get rid of them. That’s my suspicion.”
“Do you think that male gorgon was that hive’s male?”
Quinn shook his head. “No. A gorgon male would never treat his fallen like that.”
I pondered what had happened in the gypsum mine up until I’d taken a rather unexpected trip to where the Egyptian pantheon dwelled away from the mortal coil. “That asshole recognized you.”
“I have no idea who he was, but gorgons are aware I exist, as I’m the current prince of my line.
My father is king in name only, although he’s definitely embraced some elements of gorgon society.
When he gets tired of staring contests and dealing with pissed gorgons who can’t petrify him, he’ll pass the title to me. ”
“And since you’re a shapeshifter, you’ll be justified in having it?”
“And should we have a son, he’ll probably pick up more of my traits than yours, so he’ll be the next prince of the line. Sons are rare for gorgons.”
“You could control that, you know, Mr. Samuel Quinn.”
“I could, but maybe I like the surprise.”
“If I want a son, if you won’t self-manipulate to do your job appropriately, I will bring your uncle into it.”
My husband’s chuckle was enough to curl my toes.
“I’m not even going to battle with you over this one.
Why don’t you surprise me when you decide we should have a boy?
Otherwise, we’ll probably get girls constantly.
My grandfather and his brother have over thirty older sisters, although it was unusual that they were in consecutive hatchings.
There were no other boys from their parents.
Then it was really unusual my grandfather had my father fairly early.
I suspect my uncle or one of my grandfathers had something to do with my birth, truth be told. ”
“Because your father is consistently producing sisters for you to spoil?”
“Spoil? You mean flee from at the earliest possibility. My sisters are vicious. The only reason I haven’t been ambushed is because I’ve been hiding in here with you. I’m hoping they go home before I have to face them.”
“Do you love or hate your sisters?”
“I love them, but I am severely outnumbered, and they lack mercy. When we were young, I appropriately defended them. Now? I run away so I don’t need to be rescued from them.
Sometimes, I consider warning the gorgon males they will bring in true predators should my sisters decide to become brides.
Gorgon males like to think they’re the kings of their harems, but the brides are really the rulers. ”
“I definitely noticed your grandfather is the definition of hitched and whipped, and that your grandmother is the primary culprit. His other wives are more reclusive. Have I even met them?”