Page 7 of I Ain't Lyin'

Ashton

“Thank you for coming sooner than planned.” I led the GSC agents into the hallway and closed the door to the interrogation room. “I really want to be able to clear him so we can get him out of here.”

“We’re glad we could get our stuff straightened out quickly and make the flight.” Willa pulled out her phone and checked the time. “Can we head down to the morgue now and see if I can get anything off the body?”

“Yeah.” I headed toward the elevators and waved over the one officer I felt was legitimate in this station. “Officer Miller, I’ll take my partners down to the morgue. If the captain or anyone is looking for me, please let them know.”

“I can do that.” Officer Miller leaned against the wall next to the elevators. “I’ll let you know if they try to harass your mate as well.”

“Thanks.” I shook his hand as the elevator’s doors opened. “We’ll be back soon.”

Stepping into the elevator, I hit the button for the basement where this station held the morgue. Though most cities did not have the medical examiner’s office housed in the same building as the police station, this one did. Which I honestly preferred since I didn’t want to be too far away from my mate.

We were silent as we rode down to the pit of the building. Willa would need to ground herself before attempting to speakwith the dead. And Dean and I tried to make sure to refrain from speaking while she prepared. This was not the first time the three of us had been partnered up for a case, and I had learned that Willa needed to be left alone for several minutes leading up to her using her abilities to get the best results. Communicating with the dead or the energy they left behind required a lot of focus. I always wished I had the power until I witnessed how draining it was for Willa.

Once we arrived on the correct level, I stepped into the hallway and led Willa and Dean to the double doors at the end. I had been down there earlier to let the coroner know not to touch the body until my team arrived. The officer at the desk just outside the examination room motioned us to stop.

“I need to see your identification, and you need to sign in and state the reason you are coming down here.” Officer Ruiz handed me the clipboard. “The Medical Examiner is out to lunch, but he knew you were heading down here, Agent Carrington. He wanted me to ensure you that he hadn’t touched the body and to let him know when he can begin his process.”

“Thank you, Ruiz.” I handed him back the clipboard with our information. “We should be able to get the information we need quickly so he can begin his examination, but I will let you know on the way out.”

Entering the room, I felt a shift in the energy as it slithered across my skin. The deceased left lingering impressions of their final emotions when they passed on. I was sensitive to that energetic frequency even though I could not communicate with them. I knew Dean was also affected by it; we had spoken about it in previous cases. I could only imagine how much more potent it was for Willa.

“He’s over here.” I went to the area of the room that held Harvey’s corpse. “I asked for very little to be done on him until you could see what information you could get.”

“Thanks.” Willa closed her eyes as she stepped up to the body. “I can feel the spirit here. I see him. But a bubble around him isn’t allowing me to hear him. A spell has been cast upon his spirit so he cannot communicate. Whoever did this knew how to craft a strong spell, but I can tell it was quickly composed. There are points on the bubble that show weakening. I’m not sure if I can burst it quite yet, but maybe we will be able to with some force.”

“Can we do anything to help?” I could try merging my magic with hers and Dean’s for power. “You can borrow from us if you need to.”

“That may work. Grab my hands and focus on sending me the strength to unweave the spell.” Willa enclosed our hands in hers. “I can already see tiny tears appearing.”

I closed my eyes and focused on the energy exchange. Tingles ran throughout my arm as the magic transferred conduits. “Can you hear him yet?”

“Not yet, but—” Willa fell silent, and I knew she was communicating with the spirit of Harvey. After several minutes, her eyes popped open. “Fuck, he’s gone, and I didn’t get much out of him.”

“What did you learn?” I dropped her hand and stretched out my fingers. “Please tell me you got enough to clear Leo.”

“Harvey did confirm Leo did not kill him and that he had no part in the situation besides being at the wrong place at the wrong time. He told me I had to keep Leo safe because the people responsible may come for him.”

“And who are they?” Fear for my omega made me want to run to him right this moment, but I needed to ensure we got everything we could from Harvey first. “Who killed him, and is maybe after my mate?”

“That’s the problem.” Willa sighed. “When I tried to find out the name, Harvey opened his mouth, but nothing would comeout. I think the witch that did the bubble managed a silence spell as a backup. Brilliant move, but I won’t be able to get the information that way now.”

“Fuck.” I slammed my fist on the table next to me. “What do we do now?”

“Don’t forget, I can access Harvey’s last moments if his brain is still intact,” Willa reminded me. “Let me see what he saw and heard in those last moments.”

“Willa.” Dean stepped closer to her and touched her shoulder. “That’s going to be a lot of emotions to feel. Are you sure?”

“We need to know.” Willa smiled at Dean. “Hold my hand and make sure I don’t stay there too long. If it’s more than five minutes, pull me away. If I begin to show signs of extreme distress, get me away from the body. Otherwise, let me try this.”

“Okay,” Dean said, grasping her hand in his.

Willa held Harvey’s head with her right hand as Dean grounded her on her left. Several minutes passed before she broke the contact and swore again.

“I can tell you that whoever it was brought two associates with them and a witch. Leo was knocked out, and the witch put a spell over him to block his memories from being accessed. It was a rushed job, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the wall keeping them hidden falls within a few weeks or months. The witch wasn’t supposed to be involved, but the man in charge called her in for advice when Leo arrived in the middle of the action. The other two wanted to kill him, as well as Harvey. Harvey begged to let Leo go, so they gagged him. Once Leo was dealt with, they decided to frame him of it all and made a phone call to someone reporting the crime and offering money to help cover their tracks. I couldn’t tell who they spoke with though.”

“Did you see who they were?” I needed to catch these people.

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