Dark Wings Descending (11 page)

“I don’t want you employing your shape-shifting,” Rafe said. “If I do decide to introduce you to the team, what do I tell them?”

“Tell them exactly what I am. A private investigator placed on the case.”

“Placed by whom?”

Ashley hesitated. “A higher authority.”

“The chief of police?”

Ashley laughed loudly, drawing the attention of the passersby. “I am going to love working with you. You’re such a riot.”

“I’m not trying to be funny. Who is your boss?”

“Someone who wants the demons put back in their rightful place. Can’t I just leave it at that?” She recognized the suspicious glint in Rafe’s eye, as well as the look that spoke of questions she wanted to press further on, so she was surprised when Rafe remained silent.

“Eli’s your boss, though, right?” Rafe finally asked.

“Kind of. He’s the one I get the heads up from to go find these ladies left in the dark.”

“That might work. Still doesn’t explain how you get a call to the sites before the police do.”

“The demon telegraph has its own nine-one-one.”

Rafe looked up at her building then back again. “Don’t make me regret bringing you in on this with my people.”

“You won’t. And for the record, strictly between you and me, I’m not a demon. Not entirely, anyway.”

“There are degrees of demon?”

“You’d be surprised what there are.”

Rafe stood and reached down a hand to help Ashley to her feet. “I really don’t need to hear any more. I already know way too much for what’s left of my sanity.”

“I can try to filter information to you on a need-to-know basis, if you like.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“Do I get a desk right next to yours?” Ashley asked, smiling innocently up at Rafe.

“I’ve got enough trouble trying to work out some kind of plausible cover story for you as it is without you distracting me.” Rafe led them both across the street with more care this time, then courteously held the door open to her HQ for Ashley.

Ashley smiled inwardly, enjoying the sweet kindness Rafe just couldn’t hide from her even when she knew she drove her to distraction. It seemed only fair, as being in the presence of Rafe Douglas did curious things to her too. “I have a degree in religious and occult ideology and symbolism, which might be a way in for me here.”

“You can get degrees in the occult?”

“I believe I mentioned religion first in that statement.”

“Yeah, but no one studies religion unless they want to be a priest or something. You studied the occult in class? How does that work? Does everyone bring in their own Ouija board for ‘Spook and Tell’?”

“Aren’t you a wit?” Ashley made a show of looking around the police station. “This is a novelty. It’s the first time I’ve stepped foot in here as myself,” she said for Rafe’s hearing alone and got a sharp glare in return. “Don’t worry. I promise I’ll always tell you who I’m glamouring as so you don’t look like a total ass when everyone sees one thing and you’re stuck seeing just little old me.”

“Thank you, I think.”

“I’d hate to make your life difficult.” Ashley chuckled at the incredulous face Rafe made at her. Ashley followed her into the elevator, trying not to be obvious about checking out Rafe’s butt in her suit pants.

“Difficult seems to be par for the course these days,” said Rafe as she pressed the necessary button.

“Then let me try to make it a little less fraught for you. We’ll catch this guy, Rafe. I know we will.”

“From your lips to God’s ears.”

“Amen to that.”

Rafe wasn’t entirely surprised by how quickly Ashley won over Dean and Alona. There was something about Ashley that drew people to her and put them instantly at ease. Rafe was at a loss to explain it; she was afflicted with the same pull, no matter how hard she tried to fight it. She tried to pretend to be interested in something on her desk and not watch Ashley totally wrap her team around her little finger. She was brought out of her musings when Ashley brushed against her shoulder and handed her a USB stick. Rafe lifted an eyebrow at it suspiciously.

“You’re about to let me in to share your work. Turnabout is fair play. I have my own photos of the scenes,” Ashley whispered in her ear. Rafe’s body instantly reacted as the erotic heat slammed straight down to her gut, causing her muscles to twitch. She barely heard Ashley continue. “I thought it would be prudent to share these, now that we’re a team.”

Rafe willed her body to stop reacting and coughed to draw everyone’s attention. She shot up from her seat, careful not to touch Ashley and slipped away from her. She reached out a hand for the USB.

“I need to ask you both a very big favor,” Rafe said, looking first at Dean and then Alona.

Dean seated himself on the edge of Rafe’s desk. Folding his arms over his chest, he nodded. “Yes.”

“I haven’t told you what it is yet.”

“I’d follow you anywhere, into anything, Rafe, and pretty much do anything you asked. I’m in, whatever the favor is.”

“I second that,” Alona said.

“Even if it might cost you both your badges?” Rafe watched them closely. Neither changed their expressions.

“If it comes to that, then we’ll deal with it.” Dean shrugged. “Now I’m just really intrigued.” His grin ignited a matching one in Alona, and Rafe had to smile at their excitement.

She flashed a look over her shoulder at Ashley. Could she put her trust in a woman she barely knew? She took another look into Ashley’s clear blue eyes and, choice made, held up the USB stick. “Ashley has certain information on this case that we don’t have access to. I’m asking for you not to question it or her and definitely not to speak of it outside this room. We just need to use it in conjunction with what we gather ourselves. She’s here to help us.” Rafe paused before she continued, hoping she was doing the right thing. “There might be an occult angle to these killings. Ms. Scott is going to work that angle for us. She has a degree in religious and occult ideology and symbolism and is going to use her expertise to see if we need to look further in that direction.” She hoped that was an explanation her team would accept and leave it at that. She caught Ashley’s look of surprise.
Well, I can hardly tell them you hunt demons, can I? This way I’m touching close enough to the truth so I’m not lying to my team.

“The occult?” Dean’s eyebrows rose and he gave Ashley a steely glare. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Stranger things have happened,” Alona said. “You can’t honestly say this killer is normal. He’s got something weird fueling his need.”

“The bosses don’t know about this. Detective Powell is not to hear a word about this. It stays in this room. We continue our side of the investigation, and Ms. Scott will follow her own leads. But we’ll work both angles together.” Rafe stared Dean down until he calmed.

“I don’t give a fuck about jurisdiction or who’s in the lead. I want to just get this bastard and take him off the street.” Dean looked over at Alona. “What say you, Officer?”

“I deal in information that comes from many sources. I don’t care what its origin is as long as it’s accurate and can be used in a court of law.” She held out her hand for the USB stick. “What do we have here?” she asked as she began pulling information from the device as soon as it was in her computer.

Ashley moved before the big screen as the photos were uploaded. She pressed into Rafe to whisper, “Why does no one pay attention to the religious bit?” before stepping away. Rafe barely heard her as her full attention was on the screen, her mouth dropping open as the first photo was one taken from a height above the alley. The vantage point clearly showed the victim’s blood had been spread around the body as if fanning it.

“Why did none of our crime scene photographers go above the area?” Dean hastened to enlarge the photo. “Look how small she looks, yet check out all the blood. That isn’t a natural pooling; it’s spread too high.” He looked at Ashley. “Did you take these?”

Rafe grimaced. So much for no questions asked.

Ashley merely nodded. “I was on a fire escape in the apartment overlooking the alley. I only had a few moments with the body on the ground.” Copying what she’d seen Dean do, Ashley pulled another photo to the forefront, and the tide of blood was more visible around the body. “It looked like the blood had been
disturbed
.”

“He’s playing in it?” Alona asked, joining them.

“It looked spread out, messed with, as if its pouring out underneath her just wasn’t enough for him,” Ashley said.

“He needs a broader canvas for his art,” Rafe said.

“He needs time for this,” said Dean. “And he needs to be clean enough from spreading it that he doesn’t draw attention to himself after. Christ, what does he look like when he’s finished with this? He’s got to be covered in blood.”

“Which brings us back to the butcher in our profile.” Rafe brought up a picture from the most recent killing, again, taken from above. The blood was once again spread out. She tilted her head a little to get another view. “He only managed to spread it on one side this time.”

“We still think he picked a poor area to do all he wanted to for this one,” Dean pointed out. “Too many chances of being caught by the people at the bar nearby.”

Ashley pointed to a photo. “Can you get anything evidence-wise from him running his hands through the blood?”

“Not if he’s wearing gloves, and we needed to have checked the previous scenes closely in the blood itself.” Rafe groaned as a thought struck her. “Oh God, how many walked around her blood and never considered it was an actual clue here?”

“We’ll consider ourselves warned for the next time.” Dean made a face at his own comment. “Unfortunately.”

Rafe continued going through the photos. The rest were like their own scene of crime pictures. She gave Ashley a sideways glance. “You should have been a CSI.”

“Been there, done that,” Ashley said. She then spoke under her breath for Rafe alone, “How do you think I get in so close once the police start arriving?”

Rafe asked Alona to make copies of the photographs. “Please send a copy to Blythe and tell her we think he’s playing with the blood for some reason. Maybe she can add it to her profile for us.”

“You have a profiler?” Ashley asked.

“She’s a friend helping me out.” Rafe felt Ashley’s stare burning through her before she looked up.

“A
friend
?”

“We were at the academy together. She joined the FBI and I chose a detective’s shield. We’ve been friends for years. I decided to ask her advice; she’s not officially assigned to the case. It’s strictly off-the-record.”

“Oh, a sneaky friend. I like the sound of her already. I’d be very interested in what she has to say about this killer, if I can read her profile?”

Rafe reached over for the printout she kept on her desk. Ashley read through it quietly, then nodded. “When do I get to meet this marvel?”

“I might have to keep you two apart for my own sanity’s sake.”

“Oh, now I’m really interested in meeting her. I’m sure she could tell me plenty of stories about you.”

“I’m sure she could, which is exactly why I’d make sure you two never meet.” She caught Dean watching them with a thoughtful look in his eye. “Detective?”

“I’m just mulling over how Ms. Scott gets to the crime scenes before we get a call.” He shrugged. “I know we’re not supposed to ask questions, but you can’t blame a guy for being curious.”

“I have a great many informants on the street. I’ve cultivated them for years, both in this city and in others. Not everyone turns a blind eye to what happens in a city. They are the ones who call me.”

“But you’re just a PI. Don’t you usually get the errant husbands to follow or the cheating wives to chase?”

Ashley laughed. “They are the bread and butter of my existence. It’s a dirty job and someone has to do it. Some of my earlier cases had heavy religious undertones, so I took it upon myself to learn everything I could about the good and bad side of all beliefs, recognized and otherwise. It pays to know what you’re dealing with. But, as in this case, sometimes I get a call that’s a little more than I can deal with on my own, so here I am. Not everyone wants to talk to the police, Detective Jackson. Call me the go-to girl for those who’d rather not be seen talking to cops.” Ashley ran a finger along the lapel of his jacket coyly. “Does that answer your questions?”

“Glad to have you on board.” He nodded and gave her a small smile, seemingly disarmed. “Where do you hide your crucifix and holy water?”

Rafe’s bark of “Who wants coffee?” was met by a unanimous agreement and effectively stopped Ashley from answering Dean’s question.

“Ms. Scott, you’re with me.” She purposely steered Ashley out of the office, waiting until they were past the doors before asking, “What did you do to him?”

Laughing, Ashley shook her head at Rafe’s bold accusation. “I did nothing, Detective. My glamour doesn’t give me powers of persuasion. I merely wowed him with my charm and beauty.” She looked up at Rafe. “Then I got a little too close for comfort to knock him off-kilter a little. Men are so easy. Their minds are easily distracted.”