A Mate Worse Than Death (15 page)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Tony headed up to the landing zone on the Bureau’s roof to catch her flight to New Jersey as quickly as she could, but before Cal and the Lieutenant could head over to Monster-Mate, Caligari called them down to go over details from the case. Then the
Lieutenant spent more time than he wanted to getting permission from the Powers That Be, through a judge in New Jersey, for Tony to interview Adonis in person and after normal hours. He managed to convince the judge, but it was a close thing. By the time they were able to leave for Monster-Mate, it was almost 5 p.m.

As they parked in front of the building Cal asked, “They are still open this late, right?” his voice hinting at the reprieve he hoped might save him from an encounter with the witch at the last moment.

“Yes, Detective. Mephistopheles indicated that Heraphina worked this evening until 9 p.m., so we should find her there, hopefully none the wiser about our purpose in questioning her.”

“So,” Cal asked Azeem casually, “I should let you take point on the questioning?”

Azeem chortled. “No, Detective Kelly. This is the perfect chance for me to observe you for a performance review. You’re due one in a month or so anyway. We can get it out of the way now, and as soon as this case is solved, you and Detective Newman will go on at least two weeks’ vacation,” he looked up into Cal’s face, not a big difference in their sizes, but when the Lieutenant was on four paws, Cal still stood another foot over the Lieutenant’s shoulder height of six feet. “You need to spend some time with your new spawn.”

Cal nodded glumly, “I’ll be glad for the time off, but I hadda feeling you’d make me do this.” He sighed as they got to the entrance to the lobby of the building containing Monster-Mate. “Okay, okay, I got this. I mean, I’m an Ogre, right?” He squared his considerable shoulder mass and went through doors that, like any building with businesses catering to Supers, had been Supersized.

The two walked to the general reception area, expecting to see Heraphina at work. But when they got to the front desk, Serena’s bouncing blonde curls and blinding white teeth greeted them.

“Hello, officers, what may I do for you?” She managed to make both men feel just a little more attractive, slightly naughty, and ultimately virtuous for doing their jobs. Technically, rather than glamour, she exuded basic nymphic charm.

“Hiya Serena, is the boss in?” Cal asked casually, working his way around to Heraphina’s whereabouts.

“Oh, no, he isn’t. I am so sorry,” she told Cal breathlessly, for all the world as if she was breaking the worst news she could and would do anything to change it. Then she giggled, “He didn’t come into the office at all yesterday, and he was apparently out all night.” She added with a wink, “I think he was with your partner. He came back here by himself, but she joined him pretty soon after that, and they shut themselves up in the office for an hour. Then they left, together.” She beamed at him as she imparted the details, obviously feeling as if she was telling him m
uch more than she actually was.

Her description made Cal glad that he knew exactly where the two had ended up after they left Monster-Match. At least he hoped he knew where they had gone. He didn’t think they’d had time to...Serena interrupted his thought.

“He called once, but he was only checking in about work. He said he wouldn’t be in until late tomorrow. Something about an out-of-town trip.”

“Ah,” Cal commented, doing his best to keep any reaction off his face when he just knew that damned demon, no pun intended, was probably dogging Tony’s footsteps all the way to Jersey. “We had a few more questions for him, which I guess we gotta wait to ask tomorrow, when he gets back.” Then he gave himself a theatrical V-8 forehead smack for Serena’s benefit. “Hey, I bet Heraphina could help us with a couple of those questions. Is she working this evening?”

Serena suddenly looked incredibly nervous, which set off both cops’ internal radars. “Uhm. She called me a few hours ago and asked me to take her shift tonight. She should be back in tomorrow--at least she had better be! I have someone else covering my desk this evening. It’s a good thing we don’t have much on the schedule right now. In fact, we plan to close early because of the reno we’re in the middle of doing to the offices downstairs.” She shook her head, and her bouncing blonde curls shook with her. “Shiny, silk bustiers and thigh highs! I will be glad when that’s done.”

Cal nodded. “I bet it really messes up everything for the employees--probably makes it hard to get a decent schedule. Maybe Heraphina’s doing some job on the side?”

“Oh, I don’t think so. That might violate her probation terms. Of course, so does getting out of her required shifts.” Serena’s voice took on a scolding tone, “I am so glad the boss is away! This just is not the way he would want things run.”

Cal slumped over the desk a bit to make himself
smaller and more approachable and leaned forward like an old gossip, “Gee, does this sorta thing happen a lot?” Immediately Serena looked uncomfortable, so Cal added, blinking his large brown eyes, undeniably his most attractive feature, at her, “It just seems so unfair to put so much responsibility off on your little bitty shoulders.” He smiled at her in sympathy, his lumpy ogre facade somehow actually managing to pull that one off.

“Oh my peep-toe pumps, no!” Serena breathed out. “In fact, it has only happened in the last two weeks. Heraphina has called in sick a few times, and lately she has asked me to cover for her or to bring in a temp to cover for her. And since I am the office manager, it is my job!” she added clasping her hands together virtuously.

Cal shook his head, “It sounds to me like she’s taking advantage of your good nature, is what it sounds like. And there’s you, just helping her out.” He looked mournful. “She doesn’t sound like a very good employee. Is she new?”

Serena shook her head, “No, no. She’s been here longer than most of the other employees!” She leaned forward toward Cal, and if he’d been interested, he’d have gotten a good long look at the rounded pink mounds attempting to spill out of the frilly pink bustier Serena wore with her frilly pink business suit. No fan of pink, he was too intent on reading her face as she talked, which the Lieutenant quietly noted with approval. “I think she bargained her way out of Lock Up several years ago, at least that’s what I heard. She ended up here to work off her time.”

Cal leaned his head on his hand and gave her a calculated, admiring look, “I’ll bet you know all the tales of the employees and clients here, huh?”

Serena giggled and leaned further in. Her generous C-cup bustier hung on for dear life, but to the Lieutenant, it looked like a near thing. He was beginning to wonder if he needed to give Cal a medal for heroism. Somehow, the detective still seemed to have his eye on the right prize, more information.

“Detective Kelly, you know I signed a confidentiality clause when Mr. Mephisto gave me a job. I wouldn’t break my clause for the world!” she sighed. “But I keep hoping that Mr. M will fire Heraphina.” She frowned, an adorable little pout. “I think she scares away some of the clients out of sheer spite!”

Cal put his
free hand up to his mouth in shock, and Azeem held on to a rumble of laughter. “Why in the world would she do that?” he gasped, very girlfriend to girlfriend.

Serena batted her eyes, “Well, you know, she is a witch, after all. I always heard the only reason there are not more witches than there already are is that only the prettiest sister gets a mate. Then she keeps him prisoner until she has enough daughters. Then, she kills him!” She nodded, “And I’ll bet that Heraphina isn’t that sister. Really, think about it. No sex at all? That would put a big, Troll-sized cramp in anyone’s attitude!”

“Oh my yes,” Cal replied, hoping to get her to go on. “But still, she needs the job to finish her Lock Up term. You’d think she’d do more to hang on to it. Am I right?”

Serena shook her head and frowned. “I would think so. But she worked with Adonis when he first started, so she’s been here over five years. I think she liked him a lot.” She grimaced, “From what she has said, I even got the feeling that he, well, might have, uhm...”

“No way!” Cal breathed at her.

“Seriously!” she answered. “It’s just icky to even think about it. I don’t know which is worse, the boss having sex with a co-worker, especially with his...tastes, or that evil old witch with anybody!” She slapped a hand to her mouth. “I try not to be prejudiced, but she’s so mean! Anyhow, since Adonis left and Mr. M took over, I think she’s had a real bug up her granny panties.”

Cal had gotten enough from the nymph to feel positive that they were finally on the right track to finding the vampire, and more importantly, its creator. He patted Serena’s arm, “Well, sister, just put that right out of your mind and think of good things, like, uh, kittens and rainbows and uh...”

She giggled, “The semi-annual sale at Victoria’s Secret!”

“Yeah,” Cal chimed. Then he handed her his card. “If Heraphina does show up for work, could you give me a little buzz on your f-light?”

“Anything for you detective,” she gave a little
wiggle that pushed the bustier’s max capacity to its limit and a smile that suggested she really did mean anything.

“Thanks, doll,” he told her, once again grateful to be happily married to the sexiest ogre he’d ever met.

As he and the Lieutenant left, Azeem purred, “A very good job in there. High marks for keeping to your task and not being sidetracked by the...er...view.”

“Are you kidding me? Berthell’s better looking than Serena any day of the week. Besides, I bet that nymph is high maintenance!” He leaned over and whispered to Azeem,
“And apparently she had some kind of rhyming hex that comes with the sex.” He heard his own words and looked horrified. After a few seconds he said, “I think that was just an accident.” He waited another second or two, and then slumped with relief. “Oh wow. I was worried it might have rubbed off even when I wasn’t thinking about sex.” He turned a horrified face to the Lieutenant. “I mean, I kinda was, but not with her!”

“I’ve never heard of a rhyming curse with sex,” the Lieutenant remarked. “Well, at this point it sounds as if Heraphina may have anticipated being caught. We need her address and we need to get there quickly, in case she tries to run.”

While the Lieutenant and Cal worked on investigating Heraphina’s connection to the murders, Tony went
up to the roof of the Supernatural Crimes Investigation Bureau to talk to the DragonMaster about a ride to Jersey. Only cities with a million or more inhabitants had multiple dragons on staff at with Supernatural Crimes for faster travel, so because she worked in Washington, Tony had access to three possible rides. All of them were Silverbacks, the largest of the dragon race. They could carry as many as ten people at a time, and while the dragons were happy for any excuse to go up in the air, the DragonMaster, a wily old Natty from the mountains of North Carolina, acted like any dragon requisition might lead to some kind of abuse of his charges. She knew that getting Hoot Polk to agree to let her take a dragon for a one-person trip would be an uphill battle.

She went up into the rooftop hanger area, ready to good-ole-girl him, just one Natty to another, when she stopped short, floored by the site of Hoot and Phil, squatting down by the enormous paw of Nancy, one of the Silverbacks, the two chatting away and pointing at Nancy’s paw every once in a while. The juxtaposition of Hoot in his black overalls and white t-shirt, a chaw of tobacco pushing his lower lip out, and Phil in a business suit, impeccably well-groomed, left Tony standing, dumbfounded, long enough for Phil to notice her arrival. He stood up from a crouched position with effortless grace, his double-button wool in subtle charcoal plaid and his black shirt underneath echoing the black in his hair. Only his honey brown eyes added warmth to a color palette dominated by his dark clothing, the silver and black dragon, and the black overalls that Hoot insisted on wearing to work in the hanger. Apparently, the casual clothes Phil had been wearing before weren’t adequate to whatever he was up to now. She wondered what it was.

“There she comes now, Mr. Polk. My knight in shining armor!” Phil said this to Hoot, his comment completely bare of any irony. “Detectives Newman and Kelly are working overtime to save me from the effect of the Geas, even though Detective Kelly has just become the proud papa of a lovely new boy.”

Hoot turned his head to spit some tobacco juice out into a spit cup he held shielded from view in his hand. “Yup. Them two are right good at that, ain’t they?” He turned to Tony and asked, far more pleasantly than normal, “And y’uns need yourselves a dragon to go to Lock Up, do you, sis?”

“Why yes, yes I do,” she told him, and decided to throw herself into the role, whole hog, since it looked like they were going to score the fastest route to questioning Adonis. “I would hate to see someone like Mr. Akkadian here, someone who is giving back to the society that I’m sure he has taken from time and time again, someone who probably still owes more than he can every repay to that society, lose his chance at redemption when this time, he really isn’t guilty.” As she spoke, Phil lowered his head and nodded humbly, only the sly grin he shot her from behind Hoot’s back giving away his true reaction.

“Uh huh,” Hoot nodded thoughtfully, shifting his chew around a bit in the front of his mouth. “Well, I’ll leave that to y’uns down in the policing side of things. I jus’ need to see the writ from the Judge givin’ permission for the interview, and then I’ll saddle up old Nick for you two to fly.” He pointed at Nancy, “And thank you Mr. Akkadian for showing me why Nancy’s been so doggone upset and cantankerous these last two days. I’ll get that boil between her digits lanced, and she’ll be just as good as gold then.” He turned to Tony and added, “She purt near took the head off the last fella I checked her out to carry. I thought we might have to retire her, but your consultant here found the problem.” He turned to spit again and then headed to the next holding area to wake the sleeping dragon there.