Chapter 35 #2
It was a picture of three people, Mark in a graduation robe framed on both sides by Adelaide and a very familiar alchemist. He was the one I’d seen at Acacia’s hotel, the one in the Alchemist’s Society.
For a moment, Nick craned his neck, then pushed up and inspected the photo. He huffed out a breath.
“That’s my Uncle Theo,” he said. “I remember he had a kid, but I’ve never met him.”
“Wait.” I held up a hand. “So, Mark Woolworth is a member of the King family?”
“I guess,” Nick drew out the word. “But I’ve never heard anyone mention him by name. And you said we’d trained together? Or there was a photo of us together? I mean, I probably would have remembered meeting my cousin.”
I watched the paramedics calling for a shifter ambulance. The wolf moaned.
“Unless that was why Woolworth was pissed at his mom? He should have inherited all that legendary King power,” I said. Nick threw me an annoyed look. “And instead he’s left with dregs. Dad doesn’t even recognize him to the rest of the family.”
Slowly, Nick nodded. “That makes sense.”
I squinted at the photo. “Uncle Theo isn’t the one who’s missing, is he?”
Nick’s eyebrows shot up. “Yes. He is.” Pulling out his phone, he tried a number, but it wasn’t picked up.
He frowned and scrolled to a new contact.
“Sam. Did you find Theo? Okay, I need you to listen carefully. You need to call the police. Now. Tell them he’s missing, and I told you it’s involved with a Paranormal Crimes case. ”
He hung up and began texting, his eyes on his phone.
“Who’re you texting?” I asked.
“Everyone in Paranormal Crimes,” he said. “One of them has to be free to track down Theo before—”
“Listen,” I said. “I’ve been thinking about everything and I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. So, he collects this power. Makes it his. Why? To what end?”
“Maybe he just wants to be the strongest,” Nick said. “Be as strong as any of us Kings.”
“Maybe. But how does he prove that?” I waited for the beat to sink in. “What if he calls up one of those demons from the demon realm? You said that would take a storehouse of power. No better way to prove himself as the most powerful guy in the room than to summon one without breaking a sweat.”
Nick was frowning, his head tilted down. “You think he’s targeting the Alchemist’s Society meeting tomorrow.”
“Yeah, and maybe he wants to make sure your Uncle Theo has a good view of the son he abandoned ascending to the throne.”
As a paramedic taped down a bandage, the wolf yelped and transformed back into a naked man. A very familiar naked man.
“Are you kidding?” I muttered.
Dieter Rossi, the guy who wanted me dead more than anyone else in San Amaro, blinked his eyes open, staring at the ceiling in a daze.
“Dieter Rossi,” I said. “Will you look at that?”
“You,” he growled, but didn’t move more than a twitch as the paramedic began his examination again now that he was fur-less. “Why can’t you just die?”
“I’m that kind of guy,” I reassured him. “Hard to kill. God-like, someone might call me.”
“Cockroach,” Dieter countered. Nick snorted, and I glared at him.
“Okay, Dieter,” I said. “But you’re about to discover exactly how mortal you are. So, good luck surviving when you have two packs coming after you.”
“What?” Dieter asked.
“Well, I mean, you aren’t even holding him for anything, are you?” I asked Nick.
Still examining the photo, Nick glanced down. “No. Right now, you’re considered a victim.”
“And you probably don’t offer most victims protection in the hospital, do you?” I asked.
“It depends,” Nick said. “We might.”
“What does it depend on?” Dieter asked.
“Whether you’re in danger.” Nick looked at me, and I could see his amusement at how easy Dieter was to play. “Are you in danger, Dieter?”
“Yeah, I’m in danger,” Dieter said. “Almost got blown up!”
His wounds were healing, the skin closing up, and the two paramedics began talking over their next options.
“Really?” I said. “From who?”
“You just said it, from the SoPa and the Five Dragons.” Dieter grinned. “I’ll tell you all about them.”
“That’s nice, but it seems like a job for... oh, man, Detective King, what was the name of the team again? Criminal Gang and Pack Department?”
“Division,” Nick corrected. “I could give you their number, but I think they’re not too interested in little fish like you, Dieter. What do you even know?”
“I know all the drug routes,” Dieter said.
“Because you were driving them,” I said. “I don’t think they’re going to protect you so they can only arrest the guys who work under you.”
Dieter’s face was going pale, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t from blood loss. “I’m a lieutenant with the SoPa, I’m valuable.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Keep telling yourself that.”
“What do you want to know?” Dieter asked, wincing as the paramedics wiped off his wounds with antiseptic.
“It sure would be useful if you knew something about what happened here,” I said. “I mean, if you confessed. Well, then he’d go into protective custody, wouldn’t he?”
Nick cocked an eyebrow and pursed his lips. “Yes, if you confess and agree to testify against Mark Woolworth, then we can get you into protection.”
“You might even get back into the SoPa’s good graces if you help us find the guy who killed off their alpha,” I said. “I’d start talking before one of the cops downstairs tips them off to what hospital you’re headed to.”
Dieter glared at us, lifting his lip in a snarl. “Fine, I’ll talk.”