Page 60 of Deadly Deception
Thanks for the update, I quickly sent back to Tompkins. I’d thought about letting him know what we’d found out yesterday, that Vanja was female. I didn’t see what good it would do, and didn’t want to rehash everything right now. My calves and thighs were killing me. Indiana dunes were no joke. Walking through them was great cardio, and evidently an excellent workout for the legs.
Standing, I arched my back. Pops and cracks sounded. They were satisfying, but a little alarming too. Time didn’t stand still, and it was marching across my given allotment of years. Much to Warlock Holland’s dismay, Boone and I sailed the sea of aging together.
Gathering fresh clothes, I made my way to the shower. The warm water felt good against my aching muscles. I thought about asking Boone for a pain charm, but didn’t want to use one up for something like this. I’d powered through muscle strain before. There was no reason an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory wouldn’t work well enough. Boone might need those pain charms later.
Dressed in comfortable jeans and a henley, I walked back into our shared space. Boone hadn’t so much as twitched. We’d need to leave at some point today so the cleaning service could at least vacuum the floor. We’d tracked sand all over the place. I’d already shaken out my shoes, but wondered if they’d ever be totally clear of sand again.
Sitting at our two-seater table, I pulled up Officer Ebony Becks’s number. Mississippi and where we were staying in northeastern Illinois were in the same time zone. Becks should be at work by now. She answered on the second ring.
“O’Hare? Is that you? How the hell are you?” There was genuine curiosity and affection in Becks’s tone.
“I’m good,” I sort of half-ass lied. I wasn’t exactlybad, but saying I was good was stretching things.
“Bullshit. If you were good then you wouldn’t be calling me. What can I help you with?”
Warmth suffused my chest. This was what it was like to implicitly trust your colleagues. It was a feeling Sheriff Henson was currently unfamiliar with. Thus, the call to Becks.
“You’re not wrong. I’ve got something I’d like you to look into. Boone brought a soul back last evening. Daisy Maria Vasquez. She was something of an amateur journalist.”
“I take it since Erasmus was involved, Daisy is no longer living.”
“You take it correctly. She was able to give us a lot of information, but Miss Vasquez also said she kept her notes on the cloud. I’ve got password information. I’d appreciate it if you could do a little cyber digging.”
“You know my love language well, O’Hare.” Becks chuckled. She was our department’s go-to person when we needed something digital. “Hit me with it.”
I rattled off what we knew, and the password and username Vasquez gave us last night. I’d promised Henson I’d use resources outside his department to look into things, and I was a man of my word.
“I’ll see what I can find,” Becks said. “When are you headed back south? Captain Cicely said you had to extend your stay.”
“Hopefully soon. Honestly, I’m not sure what more Boone and I can do here. I’m going to follow up on a couple of things today, but my hope is we’ll be on a plane back by tomorrow, the next day at the latest.” I really hoped that was true. Halloween was right around the corner, and Boone needed to get back to fulfill his obligations. He also needed time to reboot after what he’d pulled yesterday.
“Okay. You two stay safe. We’ll see you soon.”
“Thanks, Becks.” I ended the call and stared at my phone. I wasn’t sure if Becks would find anything useful or not. But at least with her on the case, none of us had to worry about a dirty cop.
Boone’s phone rang and I cringed, expecting a call from his pops. I was cautiously optimistic when Tabitha Clark’scontact information showed on the screen. Without hesitation, I answered for Boone.
“Ms. Clark, this is Franklin O’Hare. I’m afraid Boone’s still asleep.”
“Is he not a morning person?”
“Yes and no, but in this case, it wouldn’t matter. Boone used up too much of his energy yesterday. I’m afraid he overdid it.”
“Ah, now that’s understandable. I’m certain you’re taking good care of him.”
“I’m certainly trying.” Boone just made it difficult sometimes to perform that duty as well as I’d like. “Would you like me to have him call you when he wakes up?”
“Only if he’d like. I trust you to pass a message along.”
“Of course. What do you need?”
“Nothing. I only wanted to let Erasmus know that I’ll be taking Navarre back to Minneapolis.”
“Minneapolis?” I sat up straighter. “Why?”
“It’s one of the Magical Usage Council’s hubs. It will be quiet, someplace I can work with Navarre that isn’t rushed. I promise he’ll be safe there. The more I delve into this poor necromancer’s condition, the slower I believe we should go. To do that, I need time. I will be pulled away to attend to other cases along the way. To be honest, Navarre will be an ongoing project. He’s the first necromancer we’ve had the opportunity to aid.”
I wondered what Boone would think about that. Most likely the Magical Usage Council had plenty of opportunity over the years and not a lot of will. “Will Boone be able to visit?” While I couldn’t question him directly, I knew my man well enough to understand he’d want to check in.
