Page 40 of Death Raiser

Chapter Thirteen

Kang and Jacobs met me outside the tall apartment building. I’d walked past this place with Logan and Brandon countless times. Had I seen the victim before? Smiled and waved?

I snorted. Who was I kidding? I’d never smile or wave at a stranger. If anything, I’d give the typical closed-mouth half-smile with a chin lift—the acceptably awkward Canadian greeting reserved for accidentally making eye contact with a stranger.

The building looked like any of the others in the area. As though someone had taken a large rectangular block from a giant’s playset and set it down in nature, the structure sat there, bold, and completely at odds with the mountain-view behind it. The off-white paint covering the stucco siding hadn’t aged well, and a green film had begun to grow on one side.

A man waited on the other side of the glass door and straightened as we approached. Before Kang could knock, the man opened the door and stood to the side to let us in. Tall and lean, he looked like he’d snap in a strong gust of wind. “I’m Tom, the building manager.”

Jacobs showed Tom the warrant to search the premises. “My name is Detective Jacobs. We spoke on the phone.” He jerked his chin in Kang’s direction, then mine. “This is my partner Detective Kang and our consultant, Ms. Morgan.”

Tom nodded at each of us and offered his hand. After we took turns shaking his hand, he asked, “Elevator or stairs?”

“Stairs,” all three of us responded.

Tom rocked back on his heels and his eyes widened. He swallowed and nodded, waving his hand to a door on his right. No one spoke as we made our way to the second floor. Guess there was little need for idle chit-chat during a police investigation.

The apartment building had that universal smell of any building from the 70s in the Pacific Northwest. A mixture of stale cigarette smoke, dirt, sweat and mould. It wasn’t strong enough to be unpleasant, but if someone wanted to bottle “old apartment” as a scent, this would be it.

“Here we go. Apartment 207.” Tom knocked on the door and then turned to us. His black hair didn’t have any gray, but the dark bags under his eyes made him appear older than he probably was. “She had a roommate. Odette. Her sister, I believe.”

“When was the last time you accessed this apartment?” Jacobs asked.

The building manager frowned and stood by the door for the longest three seconds of my life.

“About three weeks ago?” he finally answered. “I’d have to check my notes. Odette had a problem with the circuit breaker. Amelia was already missing for about three months by then. I remember because Odette broke down and cried a few times while I was fixing the electrical panel.”

Kang nodded. “Thank you for that information. We’ll need you to stay outside to reduce contamination in case this is a crime scene.”

Tom nodded, unlocked the door, and stepped back. After calling out to announce themselves, Kang entered the apartment first, then Jacobs. Lucky me followed after them and death magic hit me in the face instantly upon entering.

There was a dead body in the apartment.

Keeping my mouth shut, I stood in the entry way and waited for Tom to give us some privacy. I didn’t need either of the detectives to tell me to keep my hands to myself. I’d been in enough of their crime scenes to know better than to touch anything. Tom reached forward, said goodbye, and closed the door, leaving the three of us in the apartment with the dead body while he went on with his night.

Finally. I drew in a deep breath while the death magic continued to buzz around me. “Ugh…guys?”

Kang held up his hand and drew his service firearm.

“We know,” Jacobs said. “We smell it.”

What the fuck did he mean by that? I couldn’t smell a thing. The apartment had a synthetic fresh laundry smell. I probably had the same plugin at one time.

“Stay here.” Kang pointed to where I stood near the entrance by the closet. A pair of black heels lay on the floor as if recently kicked off after a night out. I’d done the same thing countless times.

The wood flooring creaked as Kang and Jacobs moved through the rooms to clear the apartment.

“Jacobs,” Kang called out. “You need to see this.”

I drifted forward to peer around the corner, but I couldn’t see Kang.

Jacobs cursed and ice prickled my spine. My magical senses hadn’t led me astray. Someone had died here recently. But if I couldn’t smell the body, how did Kang and Jacobs?

Kang walked around the corner and froze. In a blink of an eye, he had his firearm pointed at me.

What the hell?

“Victoria Police,” Kang called out. “Drop it.”

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