Page 29 of Darkness

“Doing what?” Morrisey studied the sanitized office and gray walls again. Not the sort of place he'd want to spend his days.

“Precisely what you’re doing now—investigating crimes. You’ll just have more knowledge and deal with perpetrators few know about and fewer understand.”

“The case… the dead women…”

Leary nodded. “Has been transferred to us. We don’t believe the average human is capable of such violence.”

“I’m not so sure. I’ve seen meth addicts—”

“Trust me. No human destroyed those people. Deep in your heart, you recognize the truth, don't you?" Austen asked, his voice a soothing murmur.

Were they for real?

Leary stood, ending the interview. “Maybe you’d like to sleep on the matter. Give us an answer in the next few days. Meanwhile, you can study this.” He removed a manila envelope from the desk and handed it to Morrisey. “Let me remind you of the agreement you signed. This is to be kept confidential,” he stated, as if the big, red “Confidential,” stamp across the envelope wasn’t hint enough.

Sleep, hell! There wouldn’t be much sleeping happening for Morrisey anytime soon. He gave the expected empty platitudes, clutched the envelope to his chest, and stumbled for the door.

Austen appeared out of nowhere. Or maybe Morrisey had gotten sidetracked. “I’ll escort you out.”

Morrisey offered a feeble nod since words wouldn't come and followed Austen down the hallway, purposefully avoiding looking at the receptionist.

Even with her, “Have a nice day, now!”

When he stepped off the elevator onto the main floor, Morrisey once more spotted the man he’d seen before. No, not a man.

A demon.

Chapter Eleven

Farren escorted a somewhat shell-shocked Morrisey from the building. Strange how Farren already thought of the detective on a first-name basis.

Morrisey stumbled, nearly running into a parked truck once or twice. Poor guy. He’d had his entire worldview upended.

A well-traveled path for Farren. “Are you okay to drive?” What was the expression? Oh. Been there, done that.

Morrisey scowled over his shoulder. “Just try to stop me. I can’t escape this nightmare fast enough.” Despite his words, he sat in his RAV4 for at least twenty minutes before starting the engine.

Tumultuous emotions ran through Morrisey at a marathoner’s pace that Farren couldn’t read. Humans usually had to be taught in order to keep their thoughts private, as Leary had learned. Somehow, Morrisey’s inhuman perception seemed natural.

Farren waited until Morrisey left the complex, then reentered the building and rode the elevator down to a level restricted to only the highest security clearances.

Arianna glanced up from her desk, addressing Farren in English. “New recruit?”

“Possibly.” If the poor guy’s mind didn’t snap first. Farren would’ve had Morrisey stay longer to ensure he didn’t go into shock, but Leary called the shots. Maybe dismissing Morrisey had been a test of how well the detective could handle the bizarre, life-changing information so common within the task force.

“He’s cute, in a broken, probably needs an intervention kind of way,” Arianna commented offhandedly. “Sort of like the scruffy stray you bring in off the street and then hope they don’t bite you.”

High praise from a woman who took on boyfriends as projects. Farren’s mouth lifted on one side before he could stop himself. “A pretty accurate description.”

Arianna popped the gum she’d been chewing. “I can’t read him.”

Interesting, since Arianna came from a hierarchy geared toward public service and tended to be among the more perceptive team members. “Me either.” Really interesting since Farren’s very nature should have guaranteed a certain amount of instinctual knowledge about anyone he met, whether they were human or traveler.

"I suspect he's not entirely human." Arianna punctuated her verdict by popping another bubble. She returned to typing on her laptop, dismissing Farren without further discussion. Asking her to explain would get him nowhere. Like an oracle of old, she spoke, then expected him to puzzle out her meaning.

Unless in a chatty mood—then nothing could silence her.

Farren fully understood the sensation of being “not entirely human.” He’d met many travelers and humans. Morrisey didn’t appear to belong to either group. Farren returned to Leary’s office to find his boss staring at nothing, index fingers steepled against his lips.

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