Page 69 of Deadly Avarice
I swallowed my unease. “I think Peaches will keep his word, but sometimes rehoming animals takes time. If it takes longer than you think it should, then don’t assume he isn’t trying.” Most pixies had tender hearts and Peaches was no different.
Aurelia quietly contemplated my words and finally offered a faint nod. The hamster ball rolled closer and hit Aurelia’s combat boot. Reaching down, she easily plucked the ball off thefloor, opened it up, and deposited the hamster into the backpack she carried.
Standing, Aurelia glanced around the house as if seeing it for the first time. “Your home is very…festive. I have noted similar decorations around Peaches’s home and others he knows. It is an interesting change.” Head tilted to the side, Aurelia said, “Your mate has arrived,” before vanishing.
Sighing, I checked my phone and noted I’d missed Franklin’s text letting me know he was on his way. Most likely it had pinged about the same time Aurelia showed up.
Standing, I made my way to the door, eager to get Franklin’s arms wrapped around me.
Once upon a time, I’d been nervous and felt out of place when walking into the local police precinct. While it didn’t exactly feel like home, it was where Franklin spent a lot of his time. Just knowing he was inside went a long way to easing the way.
“Good morning, Erasmus.” Officer Ebony Becks was a lovely woman. Her dark skin looked beautiful against her police uniform and her grin was always welcoming. I’d liked her from the start and my fondness had only grown over the years.
“Mornin’, Officer Becks,” I greeted back. “How are things today?”
“Oh, you know, the same old, same old.” Becks’s smile faded around the edges. “I’m sorry but I haven’t been able to do much work with the list of necromancer mothers. I’m afraid we’ve gotten rather busy. Crime is an unfortunate constant.”
I waved her off. “Perfectly understandable. I appreciate any help you can offer and understand that current cases take precedence.”
“They do, but that doesn’t mean I won’t find a way to work on it,” she promised.
“I don’t want to cause you a lot of extra work. You already have so much to do.”
“Nonsense.” Ebony’s grin was back full force. “I love doing that kind of thing. Honestly, you’re doing me the favor, not the other way around. Besides, doing work I’m supposed to do keeps me out of looking into things I’m not supposed to.” Ebony threw me a wink before heading back to her desk and the computers waiting there.
Hands stuffed into my coat pocket, I fingered the charms resting there, finding comfort in their weight as I made my way to Franklin’s desk. He’d come in this morning to get some work done before we headed west to Louisiana. We hadn’t heard anything else from Detective Cardoza. As far as I knew, they hadn’t gotten any further on the case or the ID of the person who rented the vehicle that ran me off the road. Ebony Becks thought she might be able to pull an image off the dark purple hat the person was wearing. She was currently running it through some kind of program, attempting to clean up the image enough to make something sensible out of it.
It was more than we’d had but not enough to do much with. Frustration was an emotion I was becoming all too familiar with.
That constant frustration took a backseat to Franklin’s grin when he looked up and our eyes connected. “Hey, sexy, how are you feeling?”
I rubbed the back of my neck as heat flushed my skin. I’d fallen asleep in Franklin’s arms and woken up the same way. It was as if my body sought him out no matter my consciousness.While I hadn’t cried last night, I’d been morose and quiet. Franklin hadn’t complained. He never did.
“Better,” I truthfully answered while pulling over a chair, mindful of the squeak the feet made when dragged across the linoleum floor. Plopping down, I shifted my pants pockets so Pops’s charms settled more comfortably.
“Good. I’m just finishing up here, and then we can head out. That should get us to your meeting with Janet Meeker in plenty of time.”
I should have argued more, told Franklin he didn’t have to make the trip with me, but the truth was I was far too relieved to be that altruistic. I didn’t welcome the trip back to Louisiana by myself. Not that I wanted to place Franklin in danger, but I did want company.
“I just need to speak with the captain about a couple of things.” Franklin’s phone sounded and when he checked the number, a frown tugged his lips. Holding up a finger my direction, Franklin said, “Sorry, I need to take this.”
I didn’t mind and leaned into the hard chair. It wasn’t terribly uncomfortable but would become so if I had to hang out in it too long. Head tilted back, I was staring at the ceiling, but Franklin’s increasingly worried tone pulled me attention from my musings.
“Slow down, Billy. Tell me what’s going on.” Franklin sat up straighter, pen in one hand and scrounging around for paper. I pushed a piece toward him, and he nodded a thanks. “Okay. I got it. Are you somewhere safe?”
I could tell Franklin didn’t really like Billy’s answer by the purse of his lips and narrowed eyes. “Does he know where you are?” There was a pause before Franklin said, “Stay put. I’m on my way.”
Franklin pocketed his phone and began to rise when his gaze hit mine and I knew the instant he realized he couldn’t possibly be in two places at one. “Shit. Boone, I—”
“Someone’s in trouble.” It wasn’t a question.
Franklin swallowed hard and nodded. “Billy Davies. Looks like Boggs isn’t waiting until Thursday. Billy said he saw Boggs’s goons on his way to school this morning. He didn’t call me then, but Billy got called out of class. He was told there’s an emergency at home and he’s not sure if that’s true of if they’re just trying to get him out of the school building. Billy’s freaking out.”
“No kidding. I would be too. Don’t you have surveillance on Billy’s house?” I asked, remembering our previous conversation.
“We do and I haven’t heard anything. That’s my next call. Billy’s holed up in a bathroom in the school. I…I promised him I’d be there, but…” Franklin licked his lips, obviously torn. “Give me a few minutes. I can make some calls and see who’s available to pick him up. It doesn’t have to be me, I—”
“Absolutely not.” I stood, determination lighting a fire under my ass. “You will not let that boy down. You are the one he came to. You are the one he trusts. I’m not about to let you blow that trust now.”
