Chapter Two #2
Jasper looked away. He came with a bunch of complications that not many people would’ve been ready to deal with.
Hell, most of them would’ve run away screaming as soon as they’d realized who Jasper was.
Not only had he been a hunter, but his father was Leroy, one of the higher-ups in the Association.
Most people, but especially monsters, wouldn’t want anything to do with that.
Most days, neither did Jasper. But Archie had seen his mess and had decided that Jasper was worth it, and Jasper would always be glad for that.
“So you recognize the symbol?” Archie asked gently.
Jasper wrinkled his nose. “I’m not sure. I feel like I’ve seen it before, but I can’t place it.”
“Well, if you feel that way, then you have seen it before. That might link you to Daniel.”
“To his death, anyway,” Jasper murmured, once again staring at the symbol.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember where he’d seen it.
Something told him that maybe, part of him didn’t want to remember.
There was only one reason he could think of for that.
Considering where the symbol had been found and that Jasper felt like he remembered it, he could only have seen it at the sanctuary when he was a child.
That meant that Daniel had probably been involved with whatever had happened there.
Jasper remembered Daniel from Daniel’s days as a hunter, but he didn’t think he’d ever met the man before then. He would’ve remembered if he had, right?
Except that he didn’t remember anything from his early childhood.
He hadn’t even remembered that his parents weren’t his parents and that he was part monster.
He still didn’t. As far as his memories went, he’d grown up with his parents and the hunters and had never known another family before.
He knew that wasn’t true now, but he didn’t think he would ever remember his early days at the sanctuary.
Maybe that was for the best. Maybe not knowing exactly what he’d lost would shield him from pain.
It was hard enough to deal with the knowledge that Leroy had taken him from a loving family.
Jasper still didn’t know if Leroy had killed his biological parents to get him or if he’d decided to take advantage of the situation after they’d died.
He wasn’t sure Leroy would ever tell him, but he was going to find out eventually. He wouldn’t let it go.
He couldn’t.
* * * *
JASPER HAD BEEN PENSIVE when he’d left the office after they got lunch together.
It hadn’t been a surprise to Archie, considering they’d talked about Daniel and the case.
Jasper had told Archie that he’d known Daniel when they were both hunters, but Archie suspected there was something more there.
The symbol connected Daniel and Jasper at a deeper level than just as hunters.
It seemed like Daniel had been present when the sanctuary had been destroyed, and Jasper had been there, too, although he’d been too young to remember anything now.
That had been the case that had gotten Daniel to quit being a hunter, even though he’d been around the hunters a few times after that.
Whatever had happened that day, it hadn’t been good, and Archie dreaded finding out.
This was what he’d signed up for, though.
It was what both Petra and Jasper wanted.
That meant Archie would do what he could to find out and pray that no one would get hurt in the process.
But he’d been hired to find out who’d killed Daniel, and that was what he would focus on. It might not be related to the hunters and the sanctuary at all. The symbol pointed otherwise, but until Archie investigated, he wouldn’t know.
Which was why he left his office after lunch. He had people to talk to, and the sooner he did so, the better.
He knew where Daniel and Petra had lived. Petra had given him their address, and he hadn’t been surprised to see that they lived in a known monster community. Since Daniel had been found at home, Archie wanted to talk to the neighbors.
He thought as he drove there. Petra had said that she and Daniel didn’t advertise the fact that they were dating, but they were living together.
Their neighbors no doubt knew that they were a couple, and the police weren’t taking this seriously because of where Daniel had been found.
Maybe Daniel and Petra thought it was smart for them not to tell people they were together, but they hadn’t hidden it, either.
If Archie had to guess, the police were never going to find Daniel’s killer.
They didn’t care because he’d obviously been a monster sympathizer. He lived with one.
Archie wasn’t sure where Petra was staying right now.
He doubted that she was still at home considering what had happened there.
He wasn’t there to talk to her, anyway. He was there to talk to the neighbors and ask if someone saw anything, but he knew it would be complicated to get answers.
Monsters didn’t like getting involved in things they felt weren’t their business, and it was usually a smart decision.
Unfortunately, it also made Archie’s job harder.
He drove past the address Petra had given him and glanced at the house.
There was still tape on the door, but no activity.
He continued driving until he reached a grocery store and parked his car at the back.
No one would notice that it didn’t belong there, and it would give Archie time to poke around.
For the first fifteen minutes, he just walked around, passing in front of Petra and Daniel’s house a few times. He kept an eye on the neighbors and the people he crossed paths with, and he was surprised by nothing he encountered.
Even though this was a monster neighborhood, it was neat and cared for.
A lot of humans believed that monsters didn’t care about that and lived in hovels, but that was almost never the case.
Archie had to smile at a small group of children playing in a sandpit in their front yard.
This was just like any human neighborhood.
Hell, it was probably better because, as far as he knew, no one had anything to say about Daniel and Petra living together, while humans would definitely have had something to say about a monster moving into their very human neighborhood.
After walking past a few times, Archie had decided who he wanted to talk to first. Petra and Daniel’s neighbors on the left seemed to be gone because he hadn’t noticed anyone, but on the right of them was an elderly neighbor who’d been watching Archie with eagle eyes.
She hadn’t said anything to him, but he could feel it coming, which was why he stopped in front of her house and smiled at her.
Luckily, the weather was still warm enough that he wouldn’t have to knock on doors.
Most people were outside, enjoying the sunshine in their front yards and porches.
“Hello,” he told the lady.
She tilted her head. Her skin was a light purple, and she blinked all three of her eyes. They were focused on Archie. “I don’t know you.”
“You don’t,” he confirmed. “My name is Archibald. I’m a private investigator.”
The lady’s expression changed. “Petra hired you, didn’t she?”
“She did. She wants me to find out what happened to Daniel.”
“And you think you can do that?”
“I don’t know. I told her I couldn’t make promises, but that I’d try.”
The lady stared at Archie for a moment. Archie had been doing this job for a while now, so he knew what to do. He gave her time to process what he’d said and to put order in her thoughts. It was the best way to keep her talking.
“He was human,” she finally said. “But he wasn’t a bad man. He fixed my stove when it broke a few months ago. The people I called asked me for three hundred dollars to fix it. Can you believe that? But he did it for free. He didn’t even ask me to pay for the part he needed to fix it.”
“He sounds like a good man.”
“I was wary of him when they first moved in, but he was. What happened to him was horrible.”
“I agree, and I don’t like that the police haven’t looked into it.”
“Well, you are now. You’re one of us.”
“Which is why I’m going to do everything I can to find out what happened to him. Are you willing to talk to me about whatever you saw?”
“Not much. I don’t make a habit of spying on my neighbors, and Petra and Daniel were pretty quiet.
They had their routines, just like everyone else.
I know Daniel was alone that day because Petra was at work, but he did shift work, so he didn’t usually have the same days off week to week.
I didn’t hear anything. I would’ve tried to do something if I had, even though it probably wouldn’t have helped. ”
“And is there anything else you can think of that might help me?” She was only the first person Archie had talked to, so he wasn’t yet desperate for information, but considering how little he’d found out until now, he suspected this case was going to be complicated.
He’d known that would be the case as soon as Petra had told him that Daniel had been a hunter. There was something about hunters that made Archie’s skin crawl, even though Jasper had been one.
“What about the other dead hunter?”
Archie blinked. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
The lady looked around, but no one cared that they were talking. Archie had noticed a few people looking at him, but that was probably because they didn’t know him, not because they suspected him of something nefarious or because they were spying.
“My daughter lives a few cities over with her family. There was a case that ended up on the news of an ex-hunter getting killed.”
“I didn’t know about that.” Fuck, Archie hadn’t thought to check. He’d thought that the hunters were probably involved in Daniel’s death, and they were a local organization. They wouldn’t have a reason to kill a hunter, or an ex-hunter, in another city.