Page 44 of The Hive Queen

Her eyes unfocus as she relives the moment. “The closer I got to the bedroom, the heavier the air became, and I knew Carlitos was in there with whatever was making that weird sound.” She hangs her head. “I thought of running. I didn’t want to go in there, but if Carlitos was hurt...”

“No one would have faulted you for running.” I grip the Zippo tighter. “Fear makes everyone react differently.”

Josephine nods and wipes her cheeks before lifting her head. “The bedroom door was open, and when I looked inside, that’s when I saw Carlitos. He was lying on the bed, and he hadthatlook on his face. You know, the one guys get when they’re about to...” She makes a crude gesture with her hands. “But it wasn’t natural. It was like his face was frozen, and he wasn’t moving. But the thing on top of him was.”

She shudders, her slender shoulders pulling inward. “It looked like a woman, but the proportions werewrong.” She looks at us. “Have you seen those drawings of what Barbie would look like if she were a real person?”

Sharpe and I both nod.

“She looked like that. The proportions were all wrong.” Josephine closes her eyes. “And she was...grindingon top of Carlitos. He was just lying there, not moving, and she just kept...” Tears trickle out from beneath her eyelashes. “There was something wrong with her face, too. At the end.”

She opens her eyes, tears glistening in their darkness, and lifts her hands to her mouth. She tucks all her fingers against her palms except for her index and middle fingers. Those, she hooks in and out a couple times.

Her voice comes muffled from behind her hands. “Like that alien movie with the action hero.”

I pull out my phone to find a photo and show it to her. “Like this?”

She leans forward to examine the image and nods. “Yeah, but without the teeth. Just the pincer things. And she had a really long tongue. Like...” She moves her hands from her mouth down to her stomach. “Really long. She was...licking Carlitos.”

Sharpe stiffens beside me, and I struggle to keep the excitement off my face. If she licks her victims, we might be able to pull DNA off the two newest ones.

I tuck my phone away. “What happened after that?”

“I got too scared.” Shame twists her features. “I didn’t want to leave Carlitos, but I knew if I went in there that I would die. So I hid in the hall closet and called the cops.”

She tries to wrap her arms around herself, but the cuffs clank together, stopping her. “I was in the closet with the dispatch when I heard a muffled sound, like a blast. I panicked and raced back to the bedroom. The thing was gone, and Carlitos... There was this big— h-hole—” Her face turns ashen. “But he was still breathing. I tried to help—”

A sob chokes her off, and Sharpe pulls a handkerchief from his pocket to offer her.

She takes it gratefully and wipes her eyes. “He stopped breathing before the police arrived. I tried to give him CPR, but...” She sobs into the handkerchief. “They thought I killed him. How is that even possible? I’m not an explosive expert! We didn’t even own a gun!”

“Your case has been moved to my jurisdiction, and we’re re-examining the evidence,” Sharpe assures her.

Josephine nods and presses the handkerchief harder against her face to stifle her sobs as her shoulders shake.

Guilt and helplessness war within me. If I’d taken her case a month ago, we could have gotten her out of jail already, but then she wouldn’t be here now to give us our first break in the case.

No one has dealt fairly with Josephine, not the Clearhelm police, and not me. If I could claim she’s witchblood and get her moved to the jail beneath the JTFPI, I would. At least there she’d have a cell to herself and be more comfortable.

But she’s been screened too many times to suddenly claim she’s Other. Whatever ghosts her mother could speak to, she didn’t inherit that gift. She’s human and therefore belongs here until we can prove her innocence.

Once Josephine calms down, Sharpe walks her back through the details, digging out every nugget of information he can glean from her. He ferrets out a few more details of what she felt outside of fear, but nothing of use.

The guard returns with my license to tell us our time is up.

Josephine returns Sharpe’s soggy handkerchief and thanks him for looking into her case again before she’s hauled off.

As we head out, we pass a different officer bringing in a woman covered in what I hope is mud.

Sharpe curses softly under his breath and sidesteps to walk on my other side, using me as a barrier between himself and the woman.

“Sharpe, is that you, baby?” The woman lurches toward us before the officer pulls her back. “Long time no see, my man in blue. Why don’t you ever come visit me anymore?”

“Hello, Vicki. Up to your usual antics, I see.” Sharpe hustles me past her. “Enjoy your stay.”

“It was more fun when it was you wrestling me to the ground!” she calls after us. “Such nice hands. Unlike this wimp here!”

We pass out of the building, heading down the stairs, before I arch a brow at him in question. “Something you want to tell me?”

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