Page 22 of Shadow Seeking

“Sophia, grab a kit. There might be some fingerprints on it, though if they’re smart, they remembered to wear gloves. But we can check.” I waited till Sophia returned and put on the gloves she handed me. Then, trying to touch the envelope as little as possible, I shook the letter out of it and opened the piece of paper. The front of the envelope simply read “FREAKS” in block letters. But the letter inside elaborated far more than a simple insult.

Freaks:

Cease operations and go back under the rock you freaks climbed out from. If you do not cease operations, we will take action and force a closure, and we will do so by any means possible. Do not stand in our way or you and everyone in your business will be targeted and weare not afraid to stand up for the rights of all full-blood humans everywhere. You present a threat to society, one that will affect our children and livelihoods, and you are abominations in the face of nature.

We are dedicated to eradicating the Supe threat throughout the world, and we will use whatever resources necessary. You have one month to cease operations, to disband, and to publish a public apology for spending our hard-won tax dollars on a godless section of society. If you do not comply, we will take any and every action necessary to disperse and destroy your organization. Punish the sinner, punish the sin.

The Society For Pure Blood Humanity & Decency

I placed the letter in the bag after holding it so Dante could take a picture of it. Then, after sealing the bag, I handed it to Sophia.

“So, we have a hate group. Have they gone after you before?”

Tana nodded. “Yeah, but it’s been about six months. They tend to do this about twice a year since I’ve been president. I’ve been with the SCAC for five years now, in my job. Before then, I was a client. My daughter and I were homeless. If it wasn’t for the Supe Community Action Council, we might not have made it.”

“So you’ve been there a long time,” I said.

She nodded. “I love the organization. I give everything to my job because when I needed it most, they saved my ass, and in extension, my daughter’s life. My ex beat the crap out of me and left me and my daughter, destitute, without food, without money. We had two weeks left on the rent, but I didn’t dare stay in the apartment in case he decided to come back and finish the job.” Her eyes were glossy—the memories seemed hard for her to talk about.

“What did you do?”

“Left. Went to the council and they found a shelter for us and our cat. They helped me enroll in school so I could learn a skill. I took classes in business administration and in social welfare studies. Meanwhile, I was given a job at the council. They hired me to file forms and do data entry on a part time basis. Between that and grants and student loans, I earned a four-year degree in three years. I was about ready to look for work when the old director of the council decided to retire. I applied and…here I am. If I can do even half that for anybody else, I will. And the Supe Community Action Council makes it possible. We won’t knuckle under to threats of this kind, and I’ll fight tooth and nail to keep my people safe.”

There were times we took jobs pro bono, and I decided this was going to be another of those. “We’ll do what we can, free of charge. Dante, can you get Ms. Weathers a list of what we’ll need—client names, names of vendors. Anybody you’ve had dealings with in the past year or so. Carson, start looking into this group. They gave us a name, and my guess is their egos won’t let them play undercover. Sophia, start a file for us and contact the police. Ask them if they’ve ever had dealings with this…” I glanced at the letter again. “Society For Pure Blood Humanity & Decency. Find out if there has been any trouble connected to them in the city or surrounding area.”

I stood. “Tana, thank you for coming in. We’ll do everything we can to help. So, welcome aboard.”

A smile of relief spread over her face. “I can’t thank you enough. We barely have the money we need to help our clients?—”

“We can’t promise anything but we’ll do everything we can,” I said. As I shook her hand, it occurred to me that this was one of the reasons I started this agency. To stop people who were screwing with others.

Sophia took over, gathering information for the file, Carson returned to his office to start investigating the hate group, and Orik headed back to the breakroom to finish repairing the wiring on the ceiling lights. I stopped in Carson’s office for a moment.

“What do you think? Have you ever heard of them?”

He shrugged. “There are always a lot of names on the domestic terrorist rolls. If it wasn’t the Supes, they’d be back to hating somebody else. Some still do,” he added, staring at his computer.

“I know prejudice still exists among humans, as well.” I sat down beside his desk. “I really want to move on this case. We can’t let the SCAC be harassed like this. Don’t worry about costs, unless it’s over the top. Move on it.”

“Will do,” he said. “Don’t worry,” he added as I stood. “I’ll find out whatever I can about those assholes.”

As I headed back to my office to get ready for the next appointment, I hoped to hell we could find the culprits and lock them up. Nobody needed domestic terrorists running around. Especially ones willing to hurt or kill the targets of their wrath.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Our next appointmentshowed up right on time. Rowan Leaf breezed through the conference room door like a leaf darting in the wind. From the gauzy dress to the paisley scarf that wrapped around her head to the fringe suede jacket she wore, everything about Rowan shouted hippie-wannabe, and the clothes swamped her frame. She had that tall and gangly ugly beauty that so many too-thin, ultra-tall models had.

“Have a seat,” I said, gesturing to a chair at the table. For Rowan, only Dante and I were interviewing her.

She slid into the chair as Sophia handed me her intake file, then said, “Would you like some coffee or tea? A pastry”

Rowan shook her head. “No, but water would be good. I don’t eat sugar or white flour.”

Sophia nodded. “Would you like your water with ice?”

“No, room temperature is fine.”

As soon as Sophia left the room, I glanced at Dante, who gave me a nod to begin. “Do you mind if we record the meeting for accuracy’s sake?” I reached for the recorder but stopped when Rowan gave me an abrupt frown.

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