Page 41 of Half Dead

“An undesirable human?” she asked, her voice rising in hope.

I grunted. “I wish.”

Leo rounded the corner of the house, looking worse for wear as he marched across the yard. Before either of us could speak, he held up a hand. “I’m stone-cold sober now, I swear, although I will say that one night at Monk’s was enough for the next month.”

Chief Garcia snorted. “Lightweight.”

Leo turned to observe the condition of the house. “What a shame. Looks like it was a cool place to live. Weird and wonderful.”

“It was,” I said. She was.

“I heard there was a fatality.”

“Kristabel Danvers,” the chief said. “Lorelei found her inside and carried her out.”

Leo gaped at me. “Dude, you ran into a burning building?”

The chief tilted her head to regard him. “This surprises you, why?”

“Fair.” Leo dropped into a cross-legged position beside us.

The chief looked at me. “Did you see how easily he did that?”

“Like a yoga instructor,” I agreed.

The chief pulled a face. “I’m not bitter. Nope. Not even a little.”

Leo offered a mock groan. “Ouch. My glutes are killing me.”

“Because of all those squats you do,” Chief Garcia pointed out, “not because of your aging body.”

Leo looked between us. “Are we done avoiding the pink elephant in the room? Can we talk about the situation now?”

“You know, in the before times, I would’ve known the pink elephant wasn’t real, but now…” The chief splayed her hands. “Could be an actual monster that wandered through the crossroads.”

I inhaled deeply. “Okay. I’m ready.”

Leo rubbed his hands together. “Great. What do we know so far?”

“Lorelei thinks this is her case.”

“Some kind of fire-breathing monster? A dragon?” Leo’s gasp suggested more excitement than fear.

“Not a dragon,” I said. But definitely a monster.

“Do we know the cause of death?” Leo asked. “Was it asphyxiation from smoke inhalation?”

“More likely from strangulation,” the chief said. “There were marks on her neck. They were faint, but they were definitely there.”

I silently chastised myself for failing to notice.

“So someone choked her to death and attempted to cover up a murder with arson.” Leo scratched his head. “I’m not hearing the paranormal part.”

I pointed to the broken door on the grass. “That was here when I found her. I don’t know any human strong enough to tear the door off its hinges and toss it across the yard, do you?”

Leo observed the door in silence.

“Birdie collected information,” I said. “I think she discovered something important about the wrong creature, and he or one of his minions came here to silence her before she could share it.”

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