Chapter 53
I drove to the council offices to pick up the paperwork. Connor was waiting for me, warrant in hand, and just seeing him took my breath away. He was beautiful in a way I’d never been, not in his flesh but in his soul; something about him called to me like a siren.
His eyes met mine and his lips tipped up. I slid from the car, crossed the distance between us and kissed him thoroughly. After a few moments, he reluctantly pulled back. ‘We should always greet each other like that,’ he suggested.
‘I didn’t think you’d be into public displays of affection.’
‘I’m not. Usually. But nothing about us is usual.’
‘True,’ I conceded.
He tucked a stray hair behind my ear. ‘Be careful with Elsa. She’s a powerful witch, and chances are she’s truly deranged.’
‘You aren’t going with me to protect me?’ I teased.
He gave me a sharp look. ‘You’d let me?’
I grinned. ‘No, your instincts were right the first time.’
He laughed. ‘Good, because I need to run my business and you need to run yours. I trust you to take care of yourself.’ He paused. ‘You’ve got the vest on, right?’
‘I’ve got it. What are you doing after work?’
There was a quiet beat then his voice came back huskily, ‘Whatever you wish.’
My insides melted as warmth blossomed through my belly. My voice might have turned a little sultry as well; I’d be anticipating the ‘after’ all day. ‘I’ll hold you to that. Have a good day. Think of me.’
‘I always do.’ His voice was a little rueful. I liked the idea that he was battling thoughts of me all day long. I was happy to be his distraction; God knows he was mine.
I climbed back into the SUV and started driving the short distance to pick up Gunnar. ‘Well, Fluffy, I don’t know how I’m going to get through the day.’ I fanned myself. ‘Now all I can think about is getting horizontal with that man. And vertical. And maybe doggy style.’
Fluffy whined and covered his head with his paws. I laughed and he gave me a baleful glance. I wasn’t above a little bit of schadenfreude now and again.
And there was another mystery: my dog wasn’t normal. He’d always had above normal intelligence; without any discernible training, he understood and obeyed my every command. But now he wasn’t trying to hide it anymore. He was more than a dog, so what the hell was he? I met his eyes in the rear-view mirror. Whatever he was, he was still family. I hoped he knew it.
Gunnar and I headed to the Wintersteens’ new address. The house was suspiciously close to Vitus Vogler’s – had he been Elsa’s next mark? It was in the woods, away from prying eyes, only a short walk to spy on him. My gut said she was probably going to stage another theft: why settle for two gems when you could have three? Or more?
I shuddered at the destruction that she could wreak if all four gems were allowed to connect. Thank goodness Nora and Aoife had foiled her attempt to make a new cursed gem of her own because who knew what damage she could have inflicted with that? It had been bad enough with Vogler letting the earth gem out to play for a few minutes.
We’d seen plenty of fires lighting up Portlock, though it had been quiet on that front for the last day or two. I suspected that would soon change. Wintersteen’s strategy of burning the house down to confuse us had worked wonders – and Vogler lived in a log house…
Gunnar interrupted my thoughts. ‘This is your case, Bunny. How do you want to play it?’ He slid me a glance; this wasn’t him letting me lead so much as him testing how I would lead.
I thought about it carefully as I assessed our skills. Gunnar could open doors, so it made sense for him to take the rear entrance. Wintersteen would be braced for an entry at the front but maybe not at the back.
‘I reckon you should take the back door. I’ll go up front with Fluffy and the arrest warrant, so her eyes will be on me. If she doesn’t agree to cooperate, you might be able to get the jump on her through the back entrance.’
‘And what if she hurls a fireball at you?’ He was still scrutinising me.
‘I’m wearing my bullet-and-curse-proof vest that Connor gave me. Not to mention that I have fireballs of my own,’ I pointed out.
‘Fair enough. I don’t know if that vest is rated for fireballs, though.’
‘Connor said it was from MIB.’
Gunnar looked pleased. ‘I stand corrected – it might well be rated for fireballs. You got cuffs?’ I tapped the magic-cancelling cuffs on my hip. ‘Let’s hop to it, Bunny.’
‘You think you’re funny, don’t you?’
He grinned. ‘Hilarious.’
We got out, Fluffy stood stubbornly by my side and Gunnar slunk around back, his service revolver held down the side of his leg. I unsnapped mine but left it in its holster: starting out with a gun pulled would send the wrong message.
As I walked down the path, I concentrated on the fire within me and thought about the death, fear, and misery that Wintersteen had caused. I stoked the flames in my stomach until they were burning hot and ready. Then I knocked.
The door was answered in seconds. A sullen teenager, probably fourteen or so, answered. ‘Yeah?’ he asked mulishly.
‘Is your mother at home?’ I asked.
‘Mom!’ he yelled. Leaving the door wide open, he wandered away. Teenagers.
Elsa Wintersteen came to the door wearing pyjama pants and a baggy T-shirt. They must have been relaxing for the night, maybe getting ready for bed. ‘Officer Barrington? How can I help you?’
She looked so innocent that I doubted myself for a moment, then I said, ‘Elsa Wintersteen, I have a warrant for your arrest for the theft of the barrier gems and the murder of Aoife Sullivan.’
She looked stunned for a moment then her face changed: her features twisted into a mask of malevolence and her eyes leeched to black. Uh-oh. That felt like a bad sign.
Fluffy growled and crouched to leap at her. I summoned my flames – but as they licked out of me, Wintersteen effortlessly blew them out again. She blasted Fluffy and me off her porch with a barrage of wind. Okay: she was an air witch, a powerful one at that.
I managed to land on my feet before I lost my balance and fell onto my arse in the mud. Now I was mad. Gunnar had trusted me to do this right and she was wiping the floor with me. Literally.
Fluffy did better. He ran back to the house as I picked myself up. ‘Gunnar, she’s not happy!’ I yelled. ‘Go in!’
Vampire fast, I raced up to the house again. Elsa had shut the front door and was probably going for the gems. We had to get her before that or she’d be hard – impossible – to stop.
I was annoyed with myself for optimistically thinking that she’d go along with the arrest. I’d expected this to be easy and I hadn’t prepared properly. Obviously she wasn’t going to come along because I asked nicely; she’d been under the influence of a cursed gem for seventeen years and now she was under another. I couldn’t expect her to act rationally.
I tried the front door but it was locked. I didn’t have Gunnar’s magic, but I did have a fair amount of annoyance and a side portion of extra strength, so I put my foot to the lock and kicked. The door banged open easily.
Gunnar had entered the house from the back and met me in the hall. ‘What happened?’ he asked.
‘She’s going for the gems.’ The problem was that we didn’t know where they were. Wintersteen had the advantage but she would probably have to lower the wards; that was the only thing that might save our bacon.
We checked out the lower floor of the house. It had two storeys and vaulted ceilings. The kitchen wasn’t completely open-plan – there was a low wall and a pillar to one side – but it gave access to the living room, which was dark and unoccupied. There were stairs to the right of us, and a hallway to the left with a couple of doors.
Fluffy looked pointedly at the stairs, bounded up a couple of them and looked back at us. As we followed him, I drew my gun; I wouldn’t underestimate Wintersteen again. The house was unnaturally quiet. Where was the rest of her family, her husband and her other kids? Was she holding them hostage or were they potential combatants?
When we reached the top landing, Fluffy slowed down and slunk along the wall to the last door on the left. I went past the door and stood on the far side of it as Gunnar tried the handle. It was locked.
Just before he was about to do his thing, I heard the distinct sound of a pump shotgun.