Page 60 of Deadly Avarice
Captain Cicely gave a single nod. “Appreciated, O’Hare. As of now, you have my permission and support. Please inform Officer Becks that current cases are still her priority, but she may feel free to use whatever department resources she needs to help weed through this problem.”
“Thank you.” It wasn’t so much relief that hit me, more like satisfaction knowing I’d been correct. “I’d much rather use office resources than the alternative.” I winced, considering what that might be.
Captain Cicely cocked her head to the side, eyes narrowed in thought. The minuscule widening of her eyelids let me know she’d figured it out. “Director Huxley?”
“Call me crazy, but I think the less we involve him, the better.”
“That’s not crazy. It’s wise.” Captain Cicely’s eyebrows scrunched into a tight V. “I only know the man by reputation and that information is sparse. I think that’s what bothers me the most—not what we know, but what we don’t. It’s always been unsettling, but honestly, I’ve never had much need to interact with the Magical Usage Council. For the most part, witch covens police themselves. It varies from species to species and the Magical Usage Council certainly has its place. In the past, they’ve advocated for rights and changes in Fairy Law.”
A wave of unease slithered down my spine. “From what I understand, arguing with a fairy isn’t a light undertaking.”
Captain Cicely barked out a laugh. “No. Honestly, the only thing I think that saves us from fairy domination is their love for the law. Not the law itself, but the intricacies of it. It’s a type of warfare—a verbal battle of wits for dominance. It’s been speculated for decades that Fairy Law is little more than a game to them. A game with deadly consequences.” With a headshake,Captain Cicely leaned forward and said, “None of us individually would stand a chance against a fairy in a court of law. It takes a fairy to beat a fairy. Unless you’re the Magical Usage Council. They’ve got the resources to enter that arena and truly win. At least occasionally.”
I swallowed hard, at a loss for words. For better or worse, as a lowly human, arguing Fairy Law wasn’t a problem I’d ever confront.
Tapping a finger on her desk, Captain Cicely’s tone was sharp when she said, “You don’t get to be the Director of the Magical Usage Council without a decent ability to go against Fairy. At the very least, that makes Tenzen Huxley a master of wordplay. Do you get my meaning, O’Hare?”
“I understand.” At least as much as I could. Feeling cold from the pit of my stomach to the soles of my feet, I said, “I’ll go have a chat with Becks. I’m sure she’ll have a lot more ideas of where to start than I’ve got.”
“No doubt,” Captain Cicely answered, her body easing back as she relaxed now that the subject was on lighter ground. “Keep me updated and also let me know when you need some time off to accompany Boone back to Louisiana. And before you argue, I completely agree. Until this perpetrator is caught, I don’t want him going anywhere alone either.”
“That’ll be a little difficult considering his lack of transportation.” St. Tammany Parish still had Boone’s car impounded as evidence. He’d called his insurance company and they were setting up a rental for him. Boone’s momma offered to drive him over to pick the rental up. I couldn’t remember if they planned on doing that today or tomorrow.
“Fair enough, but regardless, you’ve got my blessing to go with him.”
“Thanks, Captain.”
“Anytime.” Captain Cicely waved me off. “Now, go talk with Becks. You’ll make her day with this shit.”
A chuckle rumbled through my chest as I stood and walked to the door. That humor was short-lived. Thoughts of Tenzen Huxley were never far behind, ready to burst those warm bubbles.
“Easy peasy,” Becks said while staring at the long list of names.
My eyebrows hit my hairline. “How do you figure that?”
With a roll of her deep brown eyes, Becks scooted toward her desk and began typing. I swear the woman’s fingers had rockets fueling them. The speed and accuracy with which that woman typed was awe inspiring.
“I just need to set up the right program.”
“Set up? I get the feeling that meanscreate.”
Becks casually shrugged, as if computer programming wasn’t a big deal. I suppose to her it wasn’t. To me it was like trying to speak Chinese. “Building the program will be a bit time consuming, but not difficult. I just need to set the proper parameters. What’s the end goal?” Becks’s fingers stopped their frenetic movements as she turned an expectant stare on me.
“Uh…to find living necromancers,” I lamely offered.
Becks nodded. “That’s a good start. We need to eliminate, or at least sort out, those that are already deceased.” Becks winced. “Sorry, that sounded more callous coming out of my mouth than inside my head.”
“No offense taken. Besides, you’re right. That’s the most obvious first step.” The deceased were beyond our help.
I rarely saw Becks pull out a piece of paper, but that’s what she did now. “Write down some suggestions based on need and practicality. We can always change the parameters later. Right now, it might be best to start with easy.”
“Such as?”
“Those within a five-hundred-mile radius,” she answered with a shrug. “The exact mileage isn’t the main point, more the fact that we’re looking for necromancers within acceptable travel distance. What that distance is, is up to you and Erasmus.”
My fingers danced along Becks’s desktop as I contemplated the question. “I think I need to have a chat with Boone.”
Becks waved me off. “Chat away. I can start setting up the program and tweak it later when you have specific parameters. I’m happy to help with that if you need it but I think to start, it would be a good idea if you and Erasmus had a clear idea what you’re after. Computers are great, but they’re currently limited. From what I understand, humans have been working on AI programming, but so far, Fairy Law isn’t supportive and I doubt that will change.” Becks swallowed hard. “You know I love everything cyberspace, but once again, I think Fairy is saving humanity from a clusterfuck.”
