Chapter Six #2
“Yeah. I am a bit smaller at work. I was kicked out of my community because I hadn’t been able to shift.
The last wave gave me my birthright, but I never went home.
” She grinned. “I only shift to a giantess for special occasions. Iris asked, so I agreed. And they fed me.” She looked at Jennel.
“Not to be rude, but are you here for work?”
“Yeah. I am checking on some cold cases. I asked if you were authorized to take me around. Turns out, you are.”
“Ah. Of course.” She turned off her computer and made sure her credentials were around her neck.
“Do you do this often?”
“Often enough. My office is right by the walkway, so it makes sense that they would stop at my desk first.” She closed her office and made sure it was locked.
“Nice habits.”
“It only takes one incursion to foul an arrest case.” She smiled. “I know you have been here before, but this way.”
Amy walked with Jennel and smiled. “So, how annoying is the nose ring?”
“I got used to it. It makes Jennor all weepy when he sees it, so it’s worth it.
” She chuckled. “Also, with my orc and dark fae blood, I am going to be covered with piercings and scars before too long. The new tattoo artist that Nylora found can do dark skin, so I am going to haul Reymark in for some work as well.”
Amy chuckled. “With or without his authorization?”
“Oh, he will say yes. He’s into a bit of pain.” Jennel snorted.
“Unsurprising.”
They headed to the cold case storage, and Amy said, “Do you have any specific cases you are working on?”
“Yup. I have a list of case numbers.”
“Cool. Hand them over. I am part of this department.” She smiled. Jennel held up her phone, and the numbers were displayed. A request from a detective and an authorization number. “Neat. I will just log them and get them out here.”
Amy went and found the boxes, signed the sign-out book with each number carefully recorded, and then did the same in the computer logs. She stacked the three boxes and took them to the exam table, setting one close to Jennel and two on the far side of the table.
Once that was set up, she went to get a kit with alcohol wipes and new utility knives.
Jennel grinned. “You work with seers.”
“My aunt was one. She eventually went nuts and killed herself and two members of her family, but yes, I have worked with seers.”
Jennel blinked. “Whoa.”
“Yeah. Sorry. I don’t have good anecdotes.”
“Nope. It’s fine. I know seers can be a little much. Fortunately, I am not one of those.”
Jennel took out a recorder, opened the box with one of the knives, and removed the bags of evidence. “If you can clean the blade and open it, you will use the tongs to lift the item, and my recorder is set, so I will do the reading the moment it touches my palm.”
“Right. Well, here we go.” Amy slit it open, took the hammer out with the tongs, and when Jennel nodded, she put it in her palm.
Jennel did her reading of the provenance of the hammer, right up until the mechanic used it to kill his wife’s lover. She replaced the hammer in the bag, and Amy sealed the slit with red tape, which she initialled.
They went through more items, and Jennel recorded them all. Then it was time to go back, close that box, wipe everything down, and work on the next.
It took them two hours, and Jennel was limp, but the different files had been gone through, and everything was ratified and put in the rack for re-filing. Amy took photos of them in place, taped and signed, and locked the cold case room up as they left.
“How many keys do you have?”
“Lots of them. Bunches of them. Scads of them.” Amy chuckled. “You have sent the files off?”
“Yup. Did you want a set?”
“Sure. This is my email.” Amy held up a card and smiled. [email protected] blazed on the small card.
Jennel looked and laughed. “Nice email address.”
“It wasn’t taken, and it is rather descriptive, so they let me keep it.”
“I have to work on my email address. This is hilarious.”
Amy smiled. “I have to get my amusement where I can. Congrats on the wedding, by the way.”
Jennel blinked. “Huh?”
Amy tapped her own septum. “The I fuck minotaurs piercing.”
“Oh. Right. Thank you.” She chuckled. “That’s what I call it, too.”
“One of the ladies in the victim services department has a minotaur for a husband. He’s one of the cursed ones. Well, he’s been uncursed.” Amy shrugged. “She has a nose thingy.”
“Well, this is my engagement ring. The wedding ring is larger.”
“Interesting.”
“Do your people have any weird courtship rituals?”
“My people? The folks at the coffee shop?” Amy snorted. “I was disowned for not having an extranatural manifestation. Dishonour to the family.”
“But... you...”
“Oh, yeah. But I was already cut out of the family. Why call people who aren’t family just because you can cool a drink from across the room? So, I told my friends. They were excited for me. My bloodlines are my own business.”
“Noted.” Jennel smiled and shook her head as they got to Amy’s office door.
“Thanks for the accompaniment. It was way nicer than the guys who try to argue with me when I am doing a reading.” She paused.
“You should come to the wedding. It’s going to be huge, and no one will question why you are there. ”
“Uh. That isn’t necessary.”
“Well, we have a few more weeks before the big day. If you change your mind, let me know.”
“I might have something to do that day.”
“Really? Jennor throws a helluva party. What could be better than that?”
“Um, wearing fire and putting wedding bands on a minotaur.”
“Oh.” Jennel was surprised, and it showed. “I hadn’t thought about who would do that. I guessed it would have been a minotaur, but they wouldn’t be able to see to do it. Huh. How long have you been doing it?”
“Three years. Thankfully, there aren’t that many of them, but since I can portal, I can travel to do it around the country. They do throw nice parties.”
“Well, I will see you there, I guess.” Jennel sighed.
“Yeah, but I won’t look like this.”
“Oh. What will you look like?”
“Red skin and a lot of leather. I think one of my ancestors liked to dabble in volcanoes.”
“Oh. Whoa. I will be on the lookout for you.”
“Do you want there to be pain?” Amy asked. “For Jennor, I mean.”
Jennel smiled. “I can bring him pain whenever I want, but he’s such a sweet guy who appreciates everything about me. I don’t want unnecessary pain for him.”
“Good. Right, so start sliding metal beads onto your nose ring. One every three or four days. The weight of the wedding ring is no joke.”
“Thanks for that. Ambin mentioned the weight but not that I could prepare for it.”
“Oh, and if you are linking it to a chain that connects to an earring, enchant it to stop folks from grabbing it. The guys think it’s a toy.” She chuckled. “So do kids.”
“Wow. Solid warning.”
“Yeah, well, everyone deserves a nice wedding.” She nodded. “Have a good day.”
“Yes. You too. So, you are admin?”
“Long-term evidence storage. This will help me put certain files together. They have previously not been connected, so thank you for that.”
“You are welcome. Oh, can you sign my timecard?”
“Sure. Let me just get the time from my computer and your contractor ID.” She unlocked her office and got in to slide behind her computer.
She sent the information to payroll and confirmed that the files had been received.
“There you go. Straight to payroll. They should be processing you by the end of the day.”
“Wow. That’s fast.”
“I get shit done.” She chuckled. “Naw, now that you are a confirmed contractor and the information has been proven reliable, you get paid within forty-eight hours.”
Jennel smiled. “Thank you.”
“Still have them download that recorder when you leave. Protocols are protocols.”
Jennel looked at the time. “Amy, what are you doing for dinner?”
“Cereal? Maybe some reheated lasagne.”
“Do you eat spicy food?”
“Sometimes. Why?”
“Have you ever been to Dem-rah’s taco truck?”
“Sure. He gives me human food .” She snorted. “Disappointing.”
“So, he doesn’t know that you are extranatural.”
“Nope. Why would he? It got me the interview for this job, and every now and then, someone like Iris will call on me to come out and play, but I just live my nice quiet life with nice quiet people.”
“So... you aren’t seeing anyone?”
Amy looked at her with a slight smirk. “I haven’t gone blind, but I am not interested in social stuff.
I stood, I called, and no one came. If you need to know what that means, look it up.
Emmers would know.” She grinned. “Right. I am going to finish up, and then I can keep that date with my favourite cereal bowl. Don’t give me that look. I love breakfast for dinner.”
Jennel snorted. “I have a teen. If I did breakfast for dinner, I would be bankrupt.”
Amy chuckled. “Right. Well, have a great evening.”
“Show up at Dem-rah’s around eight thirty if you like. The guys like to take their break there.”
“Ah, you know just how to get a girl to stay in her fuzzy slippers.”
Jennel chuckled. “Really?”
“Really. I am very content with my life. I can belch in my dining room and fart in bed. My life is relaxing, and that is the way I like it.”
“Fine. I will come to you the next time I need to work on funds for giving Corit a spectacular eighteenth birthday.”
“Ah. Emily is going to do some tattoos.”
“And scars.”
“Nice. She can use the business.”
“If she wants, she can have all the business she wants. Now that Neekil has proved she can work with dark elf skin, she’s going to work as much as she wants.”
“Good.”