Wizard in a Witchy World Page 20

  "I'd have done anything to get out of that house. Do you know what it means not to be alpha in a pack?"

  "What are we even talking about?"

  "Listen to her, Slade," Lozano said.

  "Alpha can do what he wants, when he wants," she said. "It's not even considered rape, because I consented to it. I couldn't say no."

  "It doesn't excuse terrifying a little girl and almost killing her," I said.

  "Next time you're in that situation, you can make whatever call you want. I can live with myself."

  "What's she even doing here, Joe?"

  He took a deep breath. "I apparently became alpha when we took down Shaggy."

  "Well, you look like shit. Have you thought about shaving and taking a shower? Your eyes are all bloodshot too," I said.

  "It's been a crazy couple of weeks. You have no idea what it's like to wake up in a different place every day. And, you didn't seem to mind my help last night." The pitch of his voice had risen and he'd slipped into a defensive posture.

  "Feel sorry for yourself much? Put yourself into Jen's shoes on this. After everything she's seen in the last few days, you show up here with another woman, looking completely strung out. I'm kind of with Jen in this. You aren’t thinking straight."

  "Sue is my responsibility. I can't leave her alone," he said.

  "Jen and your kids are your responsibility, too and you're going to lose them if you don't pull it together. What's going on with work?"

  "I'm back on modified assignment starting Saturday for two weeks. After that I'm back in, as long as I don't have any other incidents."

  "Then let's focus on that. What's going on with Daphne and Fred in that case?"

  Joe's arm caught Sue before she could jump me, but it didn't stop her from taking a swipe.

  "Don't do that, Slade," he warned. "You’re making it worse."

  "I think I'm starting to see the problem."

  "What would you do?" He asked, looking at Sue. I promised myself I'd make an effort to call her by her real name. "I need a safe place for Susan. Becoming alpha means I have responsibilities."

  "Like having her move in with your wife? I'd definitely cross that one off my list."

  "Someone needs to look after her, she hasn't been a… you know…"

  "Lycan," I helped.

  "Right. Lycan. Sue has been a lycan for as long as I have," he said. "She's scared."

  "No way. I'm not playing babysitter. She's a fricking time bomb. And, why haven't the cops shown up? Surely, someone called this in."

  "Response time in this neighborhood is a couple of hours."

  "First things first. Let me see if I can talk to Jen," I said.

  I made my way over to the pile of Joe's belongings and up the cement steps, knocking on the door.

  "Go away!" Jen yelled from inside, causing renewed crying from a child.

  "Give me five minutes," I said as calmly as possible. "If you still want me to leave after that, I'll make sure Joe goes with me."

  "Forget it." Her voice had lost much of its energy.

  "It's reasonable, Jennifer. There are things going on that you need to know about," I said.

  That must have gotten her attention because she pulled the door open violently. "What?" For a small, mundane woman, she projected a significant amount of energy. And it hit me that I had the blood line wrong. Nanna wasn't Joe's grandmother at all.

  "Is Nanna your grandmother?"

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Something she said. Is she?"

  "Yes. What's this got to do with Joe?"

  "May I come in? I think some things are better not shared with neighbors." I said.

  "You have four minutes." She stepped back, allowing me into the house and shutting the door.

  "Do your children speak Spanish?"

  "A little, not really. Is this really what you want to talk about?"

  "Joe is Hombre Lobo," I said.

  "Get out!" She pointed at the door.

  "Think about it. When did things come off the tracks? It was the full moon after he was attacked at Victoria Barrios's house."

  "You're not actually asking me to believe this is about him becoming a werewolf. You're crazier than he is," she said.

  "Talk to your Nanna. She knows the truth," I said. "This isn't about a woman, it's about Joe's survival."

  "You need to leave," she said.

  "I will. But, you need to call your Nanna. Better yet, drive out there and talk to her. She can't lie to you in person," I said.

  "What do you know about Nanna?"

  "You feel the truth in my words and it scares you. Talk to your Nanna, but when she says Joe can't be saved, don't listen. I don't buy it," I said.

  "Your time is up."

  I opened the door. "Joe has my number if you want to talk."

  "Why do you think I'll be talking to him?"

  "Because Joe is an honorable man." She was in no mood to hear anything else, so I moved through the doorway.

  "What happened?" Joe asked, still standing on the sidewalk next to his truck.

  "You're going to need to give her time to cool down. I'll help you load your stuff in the truck," I said.

  "This is my house," he said defiantly.

  I picked up an armful of clothing and walked it over to his truck as he watched.

  "Not tonight and it's going to rain," I said.

  Joe shook his head and pulled the cover back on the bed of his pickup. "I really want to kill that bastard for biting me! He’s lucky he's in jail."

  "Where'd Daphne go?" The moment I said it, I realized I'd already broken my promise.

  "Her name is Susan and she's just up the street."

  "Hang on a second," I said. I pulled out my phone and called Leotown Bank and Trust. Joe continued throwing his possessions into the truck bed.

  "David Phibbly, please," I said.

  "He's not available right now. May I take a message?" A woman informed me after I'd already been transferred twice.

  "No. How about Kim Munstel?"

  "I'll try her for you. One moment." I tapped my foot and looked at the ground, not making eye contact with Joe.

  "Who may I say is calling?"

  "Felix Slade," I said.

  Only a few moments passed when Kim answered. "Kim Munstel. How may I help you, Mr. Slade?"

  "I was trying to get ahold of Phibbly. I have a question about the trust," I said.

  "Sure. I can help with that," she answered.

  "Once I pass the test, how long before I can take possession?"

  "I'm not sure, but I can read through the trust and get you an answer. David said something about inspections," she replied.

  "I'm coming over to the bank right now. Will you be there?"

  "I will."

  "Would you see if you can find Phibbly?"

  "I'll do my best," she said.

  I hung up and noticed that Joe had finished loading his truck. "What was that about?"

  I ignored his question and handed him my apartment keys. "Take Daphne to my apartment. Make sure she behaves herself. I have something I need to take care of. And what happened to the light brown wolf?"

  He glared at my reference to Daphne. "Jerry is lying low. You don't need to worry about him," he said. "You're not going to tell me what you talked to Jennifer about?"

  "Baby steps. We'll talk tonight," I said and walked over to my truck.

  "Seriously?"

  "And, keep Daphne out of my stuff." I hopped in my truck and drove off.

  I dialed Gabriella.

  "How busy are you?" I asked when she picked up.

  "Why?"

  "I might need some lawyerly help."

  "Are you in jail again?" She asked.

  I laughed. "No. I'm getting some resistance from Phibbly. I think it might be because I don't talk lawyer."

  "He's good, but I've heard he can be a stickler for detail. That's actually a good thing for a trust administrator," she said.

 
"He lied to me today."

  "That doesn't sound like him. About what?" Gabriella asked.

  "I asked him if he knew how the police came up with the trust document. He said he didn't."

  "You're sure he lied about that? How would he even know you were being held by the police?"

  "I don't know. He definitely lied though," I said.

  "What do you think that’s about?"

  "There was a test I had to pass to prove my family lineage."

  "What kind of test?"

  "A dangerous one. You remember how I told you the lycan were trying to get Clarita to open a door in the mansion?"

  "Yeah…. What's this have to do with Clarita?"

  "Test required I open that door. There were bad things in that basement. I think someone has been trying their best to get me out of the way. Things that I believe Phibbly thought would kill me. "

  "You're serious."

  "I am. There were three other claimants listed on that trust and not one of them has returned from the mansion after being vetted by the bank. At least one of them was still dead in the basement. Phibbly thought I'd be number four."

  "What do you need from me?"

  "I guess I just wanted to talk it out. I think that old mansion is wrapped up in this mess." I said as I pulled into the bank's parking lot. "Ahh, shit."

  "What?"

  "Fred's here," I said.

  "The red lycan Amak was fighting with last night?"

  "The same," I said. Fred was seated on his motorcycle in a parking spot next to the front door watching me as I pulled in.

  "Get out of there," she said.

  "I'll call you back," I said and hung up.

  "Turn around, slick," the man growled as I approached.

  "Probably not," I said, making a bee-line for the door.

  With preternatural speed, he jumped from his motorcycle and blocked my passage into the bank. I pulled up short, inches from his face. The wet-dog smell and foul breath assaulted my nose as he jabbed his finger into my forehead. "You're not listening."

  I swatted his hand from my head, which was, of course, the wrong thing to do. It can't be overstated just how quickly a lycan moves. My hand barely made contact before he'd grabbed my wrist and pulled it behind my back.

  "What's going on out here?"

  The automated door to the bank opened behind us and a uniformed guard stood in the entry.

  "Back inside," Fred growled, momentarily loosening his grip. I used the distraction to release energy from my thumb ring. It was the same ring I'd underutilized on my first encounter with Shaggy and I wasn't about to make that mistake again. I dumped the entire energy store into the lycan's midsection and he dropped like a rock.

  The older guard looked from the fallen lycan to me and back. "Not sure what his problem was," I said. "But he said he had a gun. Any chance you have cuffs on you?" I pushed a suggestion on him that I was probably an officer of the law and he bought it enough to hand me the cuffs. I pulled the gun from the lycan's belt, laid it on the ground and then cuffed his hands behind his back.

  "Get inside." The guard's hands shook as he pulled keys from his pocket. I stepped over the lycan and into the foyer. The guard pulled the door closed and flipped the lock. "Heather, I'm placing Pine West on lockdown. I've detained an armed man who assaulted a customer," he said into a radio he'd pulled from his belt.

  "I'll just be upstairs. I have business in the trust department," I said, pushing him once again so that he wouldn't try to keep me from leaving the foyer.

  "Hello?" I said. The receptionist tore her attention away from the front door and looked at me, confused.

  "Mr. Slade," I heard from behind me. I turned to see Kim Munstel approaching. "Welcome back, I was told we shouldn't expect to see you."

  "Oh?"

  "Yes. David said you wouldn't be coming after all."

  "Weird. Is he in his office?"

  "I'll take you up." She led me to the elevator and we rode up to the third floor.

  "Knock, knock," I said as we arrived at Phibbly's office. He looked up from his desk, startled, as recognition set in.

  "Kim, would you give us a moment?" he asked.

  "Certainly," she said, looking at me for agreement. I nodded and she retreated down the hallway.

  I closed the door behind me as I stepped into Phibbly's office. "What do you know about all this, Mr. Phibbly?"

  "I'm quite sure I don't know what you're talking about."

  "You need to come up with a new line. That's the second time you've lied to me today. You're involved in two murders and the kidnapping of a six-year-old girl. How long are you going to keep your job when that gets out?" I asked.

  "That's not true. I've nothing to do with any of that," he said.

  "Maybe not, but you called someone when you heard I'd retrieved the jar. Whoever that was, they sent one of their killers to ambush me in front of the bank. Your guard has him in custody and I'm sure the cops are on their way. Whoever tried to kill me is linking you to the murders so you can take the fall," I said.

  "That's preposterous."

  "Maybe," I agreed and pulled the jar from my pocket and set it on the desk. "Regardless, it's time to finish the test, Phibbly."

  Phibbly looked at me, the blood draining from his face. To his credit, his hands were solid as a rock as he dialed the phone. "Kim, could you bring the Tenebris file?"

  Moments later, she knocked gently on the door before opening it. "Is that it?" She set a file box on Phibbly's conference table and nodded at the jar I'd put on his desk.

  "We'll soon see," Phibbly said, rising from his chair.

  "I've been reading the charter," Kim said. "It says we place the smaller phial that was activated with the applicant’s blood into the larger jar retrieved from the mansion. If the jar is authentic, it should turn a bright blue. Is it a chemical reaction? I've never seen a paternity test like this."

  "Must be." Phibbly removed the still glowing green phial from the file box and dropped it into the carved crystal jar in his hand. The glowing green showed through the jar as if it was simply glass, which I suspected it was.

  "What does that mean?" Munstel asked.

  "Looks like it wasn't a good match. I'm sorry, Mr. Slade. It doesn't appear to be your lucky day. I'm sorry for your trouble," he said. "Kim, would you escort Mr. Slade to the lobby?"

  "Odd," I said. "But that's not the jar I brought in."

  "How's that?" he asked.

  I'd felt a wave of unusual energy from him when he'd stood up from the desk and it had prompted me to pay closer attention. I didn't actually see him switch the jars, but he'd shuffled his hands in such a way that it didn't take much of a guess.

  "Altum Visu," I said, waving my hands in front of my eyes.

  "What's going on?" Munstel asked.

  "It's all right, Kim." I scanned Phibbly's office. As I suspected, the jar had a unique magical signature which was easy to pick up with my wizard's sight. "I think you'll find my jar in the fern."

  "Finis," I said. Strictly speaking, I wasn't supposed to cast spells in front of mundanes, but wizard's sight wasn't a particularly obvious spell.

  Neither Kim nor Phibbly moved, so I took a quick step over to the potted plant and retrieved the jar. It had been a nice bit of sleight of hand on Phibbly's part.

  "What happened to your eyes?" Kim asked.

  "Are our conversations confidential if I'm a customer?" I asked.

  "Of course," Kim replied.

  "I'd ask that you keep what you saw to yourself in that case." I set the jar on the table. "Let's give that one a try."

  "David. What's the meaning of this?" Kim asked.

  "Just do it," he sighed, his cocky attitude deflating.

  A bright blue glow emanated from the jar as it was combined with the green glowing phial containing my blood.

  "That's it!" Kim exclaimed. "It's blue. It's magic." She clasped her hand over her mouth as realization sunk in.

  "Maybe we could
avoid using that word, eh?" I asked.

  "Really?" she whispered.

  "What now?" I ignored her question. "When do I take possession?"

  "It's immediate," Kim said. "I read the charter through this morning. There's no provision for inspections. Mr. Slade, you're now the proud, probationary owner of the property at 230 Happy Hollow Boulevard."

  MONEY PIT

  "This is a nice upgrade from the interrogation room," I said as I was dropped off at an office where Lieutenant Dukats sat behind her desk. "Does this mean I'm not under arrest?"

  The police had arrived at the bank shortly after I'd finished up my business with Phibbly and Munstel. One thing had led to another and after a call to the station, Dukats had requested a visit.

  "We're still checking your story. According to bank personnel, you were assaulted on your way to a meeting," she said. "There's more to it though, isn't there."

  "Joe Lozano should be able to identify this guy as being one of Clarita Barrios' kidnappers," I said.

  "You know we take a dim view of vigilantes, right? You need to leave the police work to us."

  "I was assaulted," I said. "If it weren't for that guard, I might have been shot."

  "Don't play me, Slade," she said. "We both know the guard wasn't physically capable of taking that man down. I haven't looked at the bank's video yet, but I'd be willing to bet when I do, your story falls apart. Fill me in. What’s really going on?"

  "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I said. I mentally face palmed, realizing my statement was chum in the water for a curious mind like Dukats'.

  "You don't think I know this has an occult angle? I've been to your apartment, Slade."

  "I really can't say anything about that," I said.

  "I’ll bet you wouldn't be surprised to learn I've received a call from the Feds. They insist we keep Flaeger in solitary and I suspect they're going to want me to do the same with Bothelman."

  "Bothelman?"

  "The gentleman you claim assaulted you outside of Leotown Bank and Trust," she said. "Both Flaeger and Bothelman lit up AFIS like a Christmas tree. The thing is, they read more like muscle for hire than they do brains."

  "I've no idea what AFIS is or why you're telling me this."

  "National fingerprinting database. And I'm telling you this because you need my help. You're in over your head, Slade. Feds are about to take this case and my Captain is going to shut it down. Bad guys are behind bars, case closed."