Page 50 of Girl, Unseen

Luca's eyebrows shot up. ‘I'm sorry, we what now?’

‘You heard me. We go in, get a read on these crazies, see if any of them ping the crazy meter. Call it an inside job.’

‘An inside job? Right. Because nothing ever goes wrong when cops play dress-up with the looney tunes.’

‘You got a better idea?’

‘Ell, this is insane. We can't just waltz into a cult meeting with our tits to the wind and hope for the best.’

'Says who? Felix already laid out the welcome mat. Madame Butterfly's, nine o'clock sharp. We show up, say the magic word, and we're in.'

‘And then what? We sit around singing Kumbaya and wait for the killer to confess. Cults don't work like that, Ell. They're all paranoid bastards, and paranoid bastards have a nose for narcs.'

He had a point, loath as Ella was to admit it. Cults were insular, suspicious, more likely to close ranks than open doors. Luckily, Ella already had a plan in mind.

‘Then we play the part of Felix ourselves. We’ve got his uniform, after all.’

Luca stared at her and then burst out laughing. 'Ell, you gonna pretend to be Felix? You look nothing like him.’

‘No.’ She grinned. ‘But you do.’

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

The interrogation room had transformed into an impromptu dressing room. Ella circled Luca like a sculptor inspecting her work, comparing him to Felix Blackwood, who sat slumped in his usual chair.

The black hair dye had taken well enough. There was no hint of Luca's natural brown showing through. Amazing what you could accomplish with a box of Midnight Noir and the sink in the precinct bathroom. The airsoft mask covered most of his face, leaving just his eyes visible. Between that and Felix's oversized hoodie, he looked exactly like the kind of person who'd join an underground alchemical cult. Side by side, Luca and Felix could have been brothers.

‘Turn around,’ Ella said.

Luca rotated, the number 9 on his back catching the fluorescent light. The fabric paint had cracked in places, giving it that properly worn look that couldn't be faked.

‘Now walk.’

He took a few steps and mimicked Felix's slight slouch. They'd spent twenty minutes studying Felix's movements - the way he led with his right shoulder, how his feet turned slightly inward when he walked.

‘The stance is wrong,’ Felix said from his chair. ‘I don't walk like I'm about to arrest someone.’

‘Less cop, more farm boy,’ Ella agreed. ‘Try again.’

Luca adjusted his posture and softened his usually-rigid bearing into something more casual. ‘How’s that? This isn’t how farm boys walk, by the way. I was one.’

‘Better.’ Ella nodded. ‘Now let's hear the accent.’

Luca cleared his throat. When he spoke, his usual Boston inflections had vanished, replaced by pure New York attitude. ‘Yo, how's this?’

Felix winced. ‘Maybe dial it back like twenty percent. You sound like a cab driver.’

‘He’s right,’ Ella said.

‘How you doin’? This mask is itchin’ me somethin’ fierce. Not for nothin’, but it’s like gettin’ pulled off by a friggin’ horse.Ay, I’m walkin’ here!’

Ella and Felix stared at him like he’d grown a second head.

‘What? Too much?’

‘A little bit.’

'Well, I liked it,' Felix said. 'Throw some Jersey in there too. That's where I grew up.'

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