Deadly Lover (12 page)

He turned to face the square full of Ormney of all ages as he continued, “Our laws, the Laws of Continuation were written to ensure the perpetuation of our species, not to ensure order and civil society. We do, and help others to do, what is required for our survival.”

Lily angled to take her own turn at studying his profile. “You sound more like a priest than a cop.”

“We do not pray to a god as you do.” The plains and angles of his face didn’t change.

Relieved she hadn’t insulted him, Lily shifted her attention back to the square. The children that would be the future of his race. “No. I know. You call on your descendants—”

“To help us see The Way.”

On the surface, it seemed beyond odd to expect guidance from some future generation, but she suspected the Ormney understood time differently. Or maybe it was just the consequence of fighting so hard to have a future.

Jolaj’s arm brushed hers and she realized he’d moved closer, but she didn’t feel threatened. Didn’t feel the panic. Something about watching the children play soothed her edgy nerves. Standing side-by-side, not looking at him, she could almost believe he was just like any other man.

Jolaj pitched his voice low. “You understand our ways better than any other human I’ve met.” His words sounded almost reverent.

Lily resisted the urge to turn and face him. She couldn’t allow the conversation to shift from safe territory to the personal. She slipped off her jacket and adjusted her feet so that more of her body rested against the wall. The cool of it soaked through the fabric of her turtleneck. She considered taking of her boots. It had been awhile sense she’d felt grass beneath her toes.

“Your people haven’t exactly tried to help us understand your ways. The programs you run in The Mixer are the only ones I’ve heard of that try to help people understand.”

“The Council doesn’t want us to be seen as invaders, conquerors, or missionaries.”

“Or do anything that could turn public opinion against you, like promoting your beliefs over ours.” Lily could see the logic. “But there are plenty of people who would like to learn more about the Ormney culture.”

“Nor do we wish to be seen as subjects for study.” Jolaj said the words, but they sounded empty. No outrage. No humor. No sparks of passion. Just rote recitation of prepared answers. “The Council has chosen to share the facets of our culture slowly, gradually, over time.”

For the Ormney, the good of the children and the children’s children was the measure of every decision. But she supposed that didn’t necessarily mean they always agreed. It was a logical conclusion, Lily had never thought through before.

Lily pressed her shoulders back and pressed her hands together in the small of her back. The movement brushed her arm against Jolaj again. “I met Councilor Vaj this morning.”

“He’s one of the more progressive councilors. He favors faster integration with Earther society.”

In the square, kids played a game involving sets of colored shapes painted on the ground. The shapes had been arranged with each color group following a basic
slip
pattern. The children
slipped
from one colored shape to the next within a color pattern, then ran to another color and
slipped
into the pattern of children moving along the new group of shapes. Standing with Jolaj she became part of the scene, despite being very aware that she didn’t really belong. Not in The Zone. Not in Jolaj’s life.

She cleared her throat to get rid of the inappropriate regret. “Human children would be playing some kind of game with a ball.”

“Our children also enjoy such games. But learning to master
slipping
is as important to us as eye-hand coordination. It’s a natural ability and children will
slip
whether or not they are taught. They play this game to learn control.”

“Kiq taught me about the basic
slip
pattern,” she said.

He turned, putting his shoulder against the wall again, but this time he was much closer. “That’s how you were able to defeat Lanyak?”

“Yes. But you don’t seem to follow the pattern.” She glanced at him them away. “I’ve seen you make impossible
slips
.”

“As the children master their abilities, they learn how timing and control allow them to expand the patterns,” he explained. “The more skilled children can move from one pattern to a related pattern in the field. With enough practice and talent it is possible to make nearly any
slip
.”

“Even into another universe.”

He made a murmured sound of agreement. In her peripheral vision she saw him lift his hand as if to touch her then let it fall away. “And everything we found in this universe has been beyond our expectations.”

Shifting from one universe to another. Lily thought about that for a long moment. She’d only been a child when the Ormney arrived, so she didn’t know how much people then understood about how the refugees had gotten to Earth. There had been a lot of talk everywhere about the refugee’s ability to
slip
, mostly worried people fearing how easily they could get through a locked door. What good were locks when these strangers could bypass them? But, the fears had faded, at least in her kid-world. She’d been taught in school that the Ormney abilities were limited. The Crossing had been a dangerous, once-in-a-lifetime event for them. It was the whole reason people trusted The Zone wall to enforce the curfew. It was supposedly taller, thicker than they could safely pass through. The more she learned, the more that rationale seemed laughable.

Lily and Jolaj stood in silence for several minutes, but she couldn’t ignore the problem that had brought her to this place. Not for long. Things were growing more and more tense outside The Zone. She needed to solve the puzzle of the murders before anyone else got hurt.

She turned to match his pose, wanting to see his response to what she would ask. They were closer than she should have been comfortable with, but his hands were out of sight and his pupils had widened and rounded in the shade. “Why didn’t you just tell us Oz doesn’t have claws?”

He hesitated. “It was best you saw this for yourselves.” His words were almost a whisper.

That couldn’t be it. He hadn’t even wanted them to know where Oz was. “We could have wasted a lot of time looking for him.”

A frown pulled his eyebrows together. “I wouldn’t have let that happen.”

Usually a skeptic, Lily realized she believed him. Sean had claimed that she trusted Jolaj. Why? He’d slipped into her apartment. He’d tried to keep information from her. She shouldn’t trust him, but in this she did. She held his gaze. “Okay.”

His frown lifted and the tightness that had been building in her chest eased.

He glanced up to the sun, narrowing his eyes to slits then quickly looked back to her. “It’s past the time when I had arranged to meet with the two men who found Fresna and the woman. Should I make arrangements with them for later tonight? It would have to be here, in The Zone. They cannot be out after curfew. Especially now.”

“Curfew doesn’t seem to stop you?” She made it a question, unable to curb her curiosity.

He didn’t look away, but he didn’t respond either. He couldn’t or wouldn’t answer.

“No,” said Lily. “Tomorrow morning is soon enough.”

“I’ll walk you to the gate, then.”

A smile slid onto her face. “Thanks, I’m not sure I’d find my way back.”

They stopped by the entrance to the center and asked the Law Keeper there to let Sean know where they’d gone.

They walked comfortably together. In the short time she’d been there, The Zone already felt more familiar. Less
other
.

Jolaj broke into her thoughts. “And what will you do next?”

“I need to go to the Forensic Arts building and see what I can find out.” Mary Santini’s death gave them a fresh crime scene with new evidence. The answers could be in the science.

“I should accompany you.” She might not have noticed the small change in his tone before, but she knew him better now.

“You have responsibilities to deal with here. I’ll be fine.”

“Take an escort then. You must be careful,” he warned, voice going stern. “Many people saw you come into The Zone today. If the person behind these events is doing this out of a hatred of the Ormney, becoming involved could put you in danger.”

Lily decided not to mention the lilies found on Mary Santini’s body. They had no way of knowing what the flowers might mean. “I can take care of myself.”

“That’s one of the things I like most about you, Agent Rowan.” This time his voice warmed like mulled wine when he met her gaze, approval softened his features. The heat in his look started a tingling low in her belly. The man was dangerous. Thank God there was nothing behind that warmth but protectiveness. The Ormney didn’t see Earthers in a sexual way. Everyone knew it.

She kept walking. They didn’t speak again until they reached the gate. She avoided his gaze as she promised to be careful and took her leave. With a Metro escort.

Lily stepped off the cross-town glide-rail and onto the platform. A brief afternoon sun-shower had left puddles dotted across the uneven pavement and brightened the central plaza just beyond it to a carpet of radiant green. With her destination in plain view, she’d left her escort on the train and on his way back to crowd control.

The walkway skirting the edge of the square provided a convenient path to the third building on the eastern side of the plaza. The Forensic Arts Building, with its vaguely medieval style, seemed to shun the technology it housed. What did it signify that the city’s best medical examiners and scientists spent their days in the shadows of gargoyles and gothic arches?

Her official ID code got her through the auto-secure door and allowed her to access the building’s automated manager. She requested the location for Sara O’Leary and waved to the lobby guard as she walked toward the elevator.

Despite the ancient feel of the architecture, the building was fully modern. The doors slid shut and a twenty-four-hour news feed appeared on the side vid-wall. Seconds later the vid faded to black and the elevator opened.

The locate request must have alerted Sara that Lily was on her way up. Her favorite cousin stood waiting in the corridor. The white lab coat she wore hung loosely around her reed- slender body and hung lower on her thighs than the silver-blue skirt beneath it. Sara had twisted her hair into a knot high on her head. Since the last time Lily had seen her, she’d dyed it a cotton candy blue a few shades brighter than her eyes.

A tight smile tugged at Sara’s lips and her hands tapped restlessly against her thighs. “Hey, stranger.”

“Sara...” Lily didn’t know what to say. She certainly owed her cousin an apology for not staying in touch, but somehow a simple “sorry” didn’t seem adequate. She could tell Sara she’d missed her. It was true...and still not enough.

Before Lily could work it through in her head, Sara sighed, a gesture that managed to involve her whole body. “I
would
kill you,” she said. “But this is my best lab coat and my laser scalpel is in the autopsy surgery.”

She stepped forward and embraced Lily tight enough to squeeze the air from her lungs. She didn’t smell like peppermint anymore. Lily clung to Sara and let go of another little piece of her childhood. Sara smelled of the forensics sealant all the evidence handlers wore to prevent contamination. A powdery, not unpleasant scent.

After a long minute, they shifted apart and Sara shoved her hands into the large pockets of her lab coat. “You’ll be here about the Ormney.”

Lily nodded. “Among other things.”

“Well, whatever you want, you’ve got the clearance. There was a priority one message waiting on my office unit when I reported in. OA? Bradley? I can’t believe you’re working with that jerk.”

“Believe me, I’m avoiding him as much as possible.”

Sara made a short, sharp
hmm
noise at the back of her throat. She led the way down the hall. “Come on. Let’s talk in my office.”

Lily followed her past the large semi-sheer wall panels lining one side of the corridor. Deepwater med and research facilities used similar partitions. A touch on any control pad could engage a full privacy mode or provide a clear view into any of the lab stations on the other side.

Sara’s office boasted a sophisticated com and data system, two comfortable-looking chairs, and a mini fridge with a large old-fashioned chain and padlock.

Lily eyed the fridge. “You keep specimens in your office?”

Sara grinned. “Nope. My lunch, drinks...” She waved her hand. “Stuff like that.”

That didn’t explain the padlock. Lily lifted her eyebrows and waited.

“You’ll understand when you meet my staff.” Sara sat in the oversized office chair behind her desk. “It’s a stellarly bad idea to leave food out where those pranksters can get to it.”

Lily opened her mouth to speak, but Sara cut her off. “Don’t ask. Trust me, you don’t want to know. Now, spill. I know you didn’t come here to check out my fridge.”

Lily sat opposite Sara. “So far there have been three women attacked that we know of. In each case it looks like an Ormney ripped them up with brute force.”

“So far? You’re expecting more.”

“Yes and soon. Two attacks in two days is pretty damn accelerated and frankly, alarming.”

“They brought your latest victim in a couple of hours ago. I’ve got my best forensic pathologist working the case now.”

Lily processed that, glad they were making it a top priority. The Medical Examiner served the entire Metro area and probably stayed backlogged.

Sara studied Lily from behind her desk. “Where does Bradley fit into this?”

“He asked me to get involved. Some double-talk about not believing Metro could get cooperation from the Ormney.”

“You say it’s double-talk, but you agreed to help.”

“Not to spend time with Bradley, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I know you’re not stupid enough to fall for his crap twice, but I couldn’t blame you if you wanted to get a little payback for what he and Rose did to you. He wants you back.” Sara looked thoughtful. “Has for a while.”