Chapter 71 #9
Waiting for the weather forecast, Beth half listened to the morning news while she finished getting ready for work.
She had spent the weekend reviewing her possessions.
There were plenty of things, like her winter clothes, already stored in banker’s boxes, so the review was for deciding what else to pack up and what to leave behind so it didn’t look like she had moved out.
She had the file box that held all her important papers hidden in a banker’s box, and she’d used a set of bath towels as packing material.
Her checkbook was in her purse. She’d culled her books, packing only her favorite comfort reads along with the new books she’d binged on when she went to the bookstore for a couple of collections of comics she enjoyed, along with graphic novels she hoped would be suitable for a young boy.
She’d packed her second set of bedsheets and a quilt that made her feel good when she cuddled under it to read.
She figured she could do without those things for a couple of weeks while she worked out her two weeks’ notice, then…
“And I have proof! D-N-A proof that one of the detectives working in Penwych isn’t a true human.”
Beth spun around and stared at the TV. Stared at Bonnie Wilson’s furious—and triumphant—face as she stood on the steps of Penwych’s courthouse. Below her was a crowd of people waving signs that read Al Palmer Was Right! and Weed Out Weirdo Police!
It didn’t matter how Bonnie had connected with the anti-Arcana people whom Albert Palmer had gathered after his son died. It didn’t matter whether anything she said was true. There were people in Penwych who wanted to cause trouble, who wanted an excuse for violence—and Bonnie had just provided it.
“She’s a half-breed spawned by those weirdos on the island,” Bonnie shouted. “Who knows how many other public officials are contaminated like that? If this was my town, I’d find out fast how many of the police who investigate crimes connected to that island are really human.”
The reporter stared at the camera. “Upon hearing the accusations made by Bonnie Wilson, who claims to have been a neighbor of Detective Beth Fahey when Fahey was growing up, Mayor Edwena Bang said she would have her most trusted officials looking into Ms. Wilson’s claim.
Of course, that begs the underlying question: Who can be trusted now? ”
Shaking, Beth picked up her cell phone and called the number on the slip of paper she had tucked into her purse. “Ashley? It’s started.”
“How soon can you have your things packed?” Ashley asked.
“They’re already packed.”
“We’ll be there around lunchtime. Take a long lunch, just in case we need a little more time.”
No point mentioning that she might be packing up her desk at work. Her name was out there, and any detective who worked with her could be tarred with the same brush. At the very least, every member of the team could be required to submit to a DNA test to prove they were pure human.
And if they took that test and found out they weren’t pure human? Would this become a kind of witch hunt where an accusation could tarnish a person’s life—or worse?
Beth turned off the TV, left her apartment, and prepared herself for whatever would happen when she reached the precinct.
48
Standing in Captain Forrester’s office, Tom Castelletti gripped the phone’s receiver and listened to the controlled anger in Mayor Edwena Bang’s voice as she asked questions he couldn’t answer. That none of them could answer. Except, perhaps, the detective who hadn’t reported for work yet.
“Captain Forrester is on vacation, but if you can produce a court order to have it done, I can get DNA collected from every member of the team,” he said.
“We have an accusation, mayor, without any proof. This woman could be a nutjob that came here to cause trouble, and whatever DNA she claims to have could have come from anywhere or anything.” He winced as he listened to her response to that.
Apparently calling a woman of a certain age a nutjob was not politically correct—even if it was accurate.
“Yes, ma’am. I understand. We’ll expect Detective Gibson’s team and give them our full cooperation. ”
He hung up and stared at Ian Kuhn.
“We’re fucked?” Ian asked.
“We’re fucked. A court order is already in the works.
Gibson from the twelfth precinct is coming in to take DNA samples from everyone on the team, including Monkton and Reynolds.
They’ll take a sample from Captain Forrester once he returns from his vacation.
” Tom scowled. “We’re not supposed to contact him because he might do a runner. ”
“You’re joking.”
“No, I’m not. Where the hell is Fahey?”
“She walked in a minute ago.”
“Then let’s get some answers.” Tom headed out of the captain’s office, with Ian right behind him.
Beth folded the letter and slipped it into an envelope before looking up at Tom Castelletti and Ian Kuhn.
“Did you see the news?” Castelletti asked.
“I saw it,” she replied.
“Anything you want to tell us before detectives from the twelfth show up to take samples of our DNA?”
“Yes.” Beth took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Bonnie Wilson is a liar, a manipulator, and a gambling addict. After my parents disappeared, I lived with her until I was eighteen. Then I got out and kept my distance as much as I could because the woman is toxic.”
Beth took another deep breath and kept going before either man could interrupt. “But what she said is true: I am part Arcana. I found that out a few days ago when I went to Wyrd.”
“Shit,” Kuhn said. “Did they know? The ones across the river?”
“Before I did their little test? I don’t know.
It doesn’t matter now. They didn’t know how, they didn’t know when, but they saw that Bonnie was going to tear apart my life.
And she has.” Beth picked up the envelope and held it out to Castelletti.
“My letter of resignation. I’ll work out my two weeks’ notice. ”
Castelletti took the envelope. “I’ll let human resources and the higher-ups know about this.” A beat of silence. “Your name is all over the news. If we get called to investigate something that seems connected with Wyrd, other cops aren’t going to want you there.”
“I know. I’m taking a couple of hours of personal time for an appointment that I need to keep. Otherwise, I’ll hang around here today for whatever questions people want to ask. Then I’ll see what I can do about finding Yaron Kali.”
Castelletti nodded. “Anything else?”
“Yes. The timing. A PI approached me while I was at the hotel on Wyrd, but he was held by hotel security and escorted to the ferry. If he’s working for Bonnie, part of his assignment might have been to let her know when my boss wasn’t going to be available for a few days.”
The phone on Kuhn’s desk rang. He answered, listened, and hung up. “Detective Gibson is on her way up to take those DNA samples.”
Castelletti looked uncomfortable. He tapped a finger against Beth’s desk. “I’m sorry it came to this. Truly sorry.”
Beth tried to smile. “So am I.”
49
Beth heard the rattle of the security chain on her neighbor’s door. She unlocked her own door but looked over her shoulder and smiled at the old woman peering at her through the narrow opening. “Hi, Mrs. Myers.”
Mrs. Myers fussed with the chain, then opened her own door. “Is everything all right, Beth? You don’t usually come home in the middle of the day.”
No need for security cameras in the public areas of the building when you had a neighbor like Mrs. Myers.
Before Beth could think of an answer that would satisfy, she heard the voices of people coming up the stairs. A moment later, Ashley, Jack, and Ethan headed for her.
“We brought pizza,” Jack said.
“And ale,” Ethan said. “But it’s the ginger kind because we all have to work this afternoon.”
Ashley flashed a smile at Mrs. Myers. “We’re having a decluttering party. Beth helped the three of us this weekend as we packed up the extra bits and pieces in our places. Now it’s her turn.”
“Not much room for storage in a studio apartment,” Mrs. Myers said.
“No, indeed,” Ashley agreed.
Jack gave Beth a nudge. “We’re on the clock, girl. Let’s get to the pizza and packing.”
Beth wasn’t sure what sort of smile Ethan had leveled at Mrs. Myers, but the woman blushed before retreating to her own apartment.
“I’ve already packed up my things,” Beth said.
Jack found the dishes and brought them over to the tiny dining table. “Good. More time to eat.” He opened one of the bottles of ginger ale and held it out to her.
Ashley studied the living area, then the bedroom alcove and tiny bathroom. “You’ve left some things.”
“I didn’t want it to look like I’d moved out if the building manager needed to come in for something,” Beth replied. She set the bottle on the counter in order to hold the plate and eat a slice of pizza.
Ashley took out her cell phone and began taking pictures of the bookshelf and other parts of the room.
Beth almost admitted that she’d already done the same thing—taken pictures of the books and other items she was leaving as stage setting. Why? She wasn’t sure, especially since the books she’d bought as replacements were packed in the boxes that the Arcana were going to store somewhere.
“My laptop and e-reader are in one of the boxes,” she said. “They’re fully charged, but I’d like them to be handy, if that’s possible.”
“Show me which box, and I’ll make sure it doesn’t get buried when we get the boxes into storage,” Ashley said.
“That’s all the music CDs you own?” Ethan asked as he examined the handful of discs beside the CD player.
“The rest are packed. The ones I left behind are ones I don’t listen to anymore.”
Ethan gave her a long look. Then he unplugged the player and set it on top of the banker’s boxes.