Her eyes jumped from circle to circle. “Son of a bitch,” she said quietly, little more than a whisper.
“What is it?” Jeremiah asked.
She looked up to find everyone in the room watching her and her cheeks heated.
“It was evident you were on to something. We were giving you time to work it out.” Thomas explained. “What is it?”
She carried the pictures over to one of the boards and turned it around so she had a blank canvas to work on. She tacked the pictures right in the center. She used the same marker to write under them “eyes, teeth, skin,” then tossed the marker down. “He’s taking what makes them different. What’s out of place about them.”
“What do you mean?” Leo asked.
“I’ll lay you odds they’re all half human, half Altered. The twins look all fae except for those brown eyes. Kelson looks human except for his teeth. Same with Pruett except with him it’s his skin that doesn’t look human.” They all just stared blankly back at her. “He’s taking what makes them hybrid. He’s making them one or the other. Altered or human, not mixed.”
“Why?” Jeremiah asked.
She shrugged. “Who knows? You’re asking that like anything he does makes any sense. Why does he take them in the first place?”
“I knew you’d figure it out,” Taft told her, excitement threading his voice.
She glanced at him and he looked slightly embarrassed. “I only meant I had faith in you, is all. I knew if you kept at it, you’d see the pattern. One of us had to, eventually.”
“Well, it’s still just a theory unless we can prove it. Start digging.” She gestured to the boards. “Let me know if you find something that says otherwise.”
Everyone split and began looking at the information for the parents for each of the children. Thomas moved forward to stand at her shoulder. He too had known that his mate would solve the puzzle, but he didn’t feel the need to announce his faith in her. She knew he had it and that was all that mattered. “The detective seems very eager.”
She glanced back at him. “I think he’s just happy we might actually have an answer for something. It’s depressing to walk around guessing all the time.”
His eyelids dropped as he took his attention from Taft to look at her. “He also seems to think very highly of you.”
“That’s a bad thing?”
Thomas shrugged. “Not necessarily. I would prefer it if he didn’t accompany you to any more dinners at my sister’s home, however.”
The corner of her mouth curled. “Jealous?”
He merely lifted his brows in answer, saying nothing. She always underestimated her appeal. She turned away when the fire elemental stepped up to them, two pictures in hand. “What did you find?”
“Cassie Richards and Brian Trout. Richards’s parents are human, which means the girl is, too. Trouts are both Altered.” He handed over the photos. Both children looked human, but that didn’t mean anything. Lots of things looked human that weren’t.
“Shit,” Juliana said as she studied them.
“Are you sure those are the real parents?” the serpentine fae asked.
“What do you mean?” Thomas asked.
“Just because they say they’re the parents, or act like the parents, doesn’t mean that they are related by blood.”
“Jeremiah, you take the Richardses. Leo, call the Trouts. We need to know if those kids are mixed.”
The elemental came back first. “Cassie Richards was adopted as an infant. They verified she’s Altered, gargoyle to be specific.”
Thomas glanced at the photo. “She’s a mix. She doesn’t bear any of the normal characteristics of a gargoyle.” Gargoyles were shape-shifters, but their human forms shared a tendency to white hair and gray eyes. And their skin generally had a dark pallor to it. The girl had none of these things.
“I talked to Mrs. Trout,” the fae said joining them. “She insists the child is not mixed. Says the boy’s her and her husband’s natural child.”
“So we’ve got one who doesn’t fit the profile. Either the mother is lying or there’s something different about that child and we need to find out what it is.” Juliana looked at the picture of the boy again as did Thomas. Nothing in the photo indicated what his heritage might be.
“The mother’s lying,” Taft said. “She has to be.”
“We can’t be sure of that, but given the evidence, I’d say it’s likely. Either way, it’s worth questioning them in person, I should think. I’ll be able to tell for sure then,” the fae suggested.
Juliana nodded. “I agree. You and I will see to that. Thomas, get a hold of Mephisto and see if he’ll cooperate on either shutting the carnival down or letting us have a heavy presence. Jeremiah, you and Taft start coming up with a plan for coverage of the fairgrounds. See if they found anything else out at the Georges’ place, too.” When they took Gregory George into custody, they’d left several uniforms to finish the search.
After she got confirmation they’d all do as she instructed, Juliana led the serpentine fae from the room. Thomas wanted to go with her, to stay where he could keep her in sight. He knew he was of the best use contacting his old friend, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
Chapter Fourteen
Juliana and Leo pulled up in front of a small two-story house. The yard looked well cared for, but the sun had faded the red paint on the house and dirt muddied the windows. “Let’s get this over with,” she said and stepped out of the car. She really hated talking to the parents.
She rapped on the storm door and waited for someone to answer. A small dog yipped in an incessant stream from somewhere inside. “Quiet, Chloe,” a man’s voice came from the other side of the door. “It’s all right.”
The door opened to reveal a large man with a full arsenal of tattoos holding a small terrier of some sort. “Can I help you?”
“Mr. Trout?” she asked as she ran her eyes over his ink. Several of the symbols looked familiar and indicated he was most likely a druid. She resisted flipping her gift on to double check. Glowing eyes tended to unsettle people.
“That’s me.”
“I’m Walker Norris with the Agency. This is Walker Leo. We need to talk to you about your son.”
The man grew pale and the dog whimpered. He scratched its head as if he wasn’t really aware he was doing it. “He’s not...”
Her brow furrowed until she realized what he was asking. “Oh, no. I’m sorry, Mr. Trout. We just need to ask you a few questions to help with our investigation. There’s no word on his status.” She should have sent Jeremiah. He never would have had the father thinking his kid was dead. Even for a second.
Tension flowed from the man and he opened the screen to let them in. “I wish you knew where he was, but I’ll take him not being dead. As long as he’s not dead, there’s hope.” The dog whimpered again and trembled in his arms. He hushed it.
“Is your wife home, Mr. Trout?” Leo asked.
“Call me Martin and this is my wife, Chloe,” he said gesturing with the dog.
Juliana blinked. Either he’d married a dog, or his wife was a shape-shifter.
He put the dog down and she bolted down the hallway. “She’ll be back as soon as she changes. She’s been spending a lot of time like that since Bri disappeared. Helps her deal with it somehow I think.” He sat in a recliner on one side of the neat but cluttered living room and gestured to the other furniture. “Please have a seat.”
Juliana and Leo sat side by side on the couch. A few minutes later a petite brunette dressed in a pink sweat suit came back down the hall. Her cheeks were flushed, either from embarrassment or the exertion of the change. Juliana couldn’t be sure. “What can we do for you?” she asked as she perched on the arm of her husband’s chair.
“Mrs. Trout, you spoke to Walker Leo on the phone earlier. He called to ask about Brian’s ancestry.”
Her smile grew brittle at the edges and her eyes turned hard. “Yes, I remember. But I answered his questions. There was no reason for you to come here.”
Juliana leaned forward and clasped her hands between her knees. She was doing her best to look nonthreatening. “I’m afraid there is. Obviously, you’re a shape-shifter. And you, Martin?”
“Mage. Druid, if you want to get specific.”
“So Brian is a druidic shape-shifter?” she asked, giving the woman a chance to change her story.
“Of course,” Chloe answered immediately. Her smile faded completely at that point and her eyes narrowed. It was obviously she didn’t like the questions. Leo tapped the side of Juliana’s leg to let her know the words were a lie.
Martin appeared as relaxed as when they arrived which led her to believe the child was the mother’s but not the father’s. “Can I ask why it’s so important that you have this information about my son?”
She studied the man. “I’m about to share details with you that haven’t been revealed to the press. I’d appreciate it if you kept it in confidence.”
“Of course,” Martin and Chloe said. They both leaned forward, obviously eager for any news on the case.
“All of the children who have been reported missing are mixed—half human, half Altered. We thought we’d discovered a big lead, a clue that could lead us to the kidnapper until we realized your son didn’t fit the profile. So now we’re wondering what it is about your son that attracted the Thief’s attention.” She sat quietly for a moment and just studied them both.
“Tell her the truth, Chloe,” Martin said, his voice rough with emotion.
His wife looked back at him in surprise. “What are you talking about? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” That brought another tap on the leg from Leo.
“It’s okay, sweetie.” He looked past her to Juliana. “I’ve known for a long time that Brian isn’t mine. There’s none of me in my boy. He looks nothing like me and if he was going to have any magic ability, it would have shown up by now. He’s got nothing. Can’t even light a candle. But he can shift, all right. Been doing that since he was an infant.” His smile revealed his pride in his child.
Chloe started to cry quietly. “I’m sorry. I wanted him to be yours. He might have been.”
Martin rubbed her back with his hand. “Chloe got pregnant early in our relationship. We were both seeing other people. When she told me about the baby I proposed on the spot.”
“Weren’t you worried it might not be yours?” Leo asked, his forked tongue darting out of his mouth to taste the air.
“I knew it was a possibility but I loved Chloe. And as soon as I saw Brian, I fell in love with him, too. He’s my boy no matter what his DNA might be.” His wife broke down into wailing sobs. He pulled her off the arm of the chair and into his lap. “Now, you’ve got what you came for. If you’ll excuse us?”
Juliana stood with a sick feeling in her gut. She’d needed the answers but hadn’t wanted to get them like this. She turned back when she got to the door. “I’m sorry, Mr. Trout, but I had to know.”
He nodded. “I know you did, Walker. I never would have admitted I knew otherwise.”
Thomas walked through the main entrance of the fairgrounds and took in the buzz of activity around him. The workers were trying to get everything ready for the carnival the next day. Some were testing rides, others were setting up booths, and still others were putting liners in the trash cans. Mephisto ran a smooth operation and he always had. Thomas started for the office.
“Kendrick,” a cry came from behind him.
He turned to find Mephisto scuttling toward him. Thomas put his hands in his pockets and waited for the dark fae to reach him. Mephisto’s upper half was an old man with a full head of wiry, gray hair and a grizzled beard. His teeth were yellowed and, as usual, he had a cigar stuck between them. Usually he just chewed on it without ever lighting it. His bottom half was that of a giant, fuzzy black spider with orange stripes. The closer his friend got, the more gray Thomas saw in the spider fur. “Hello, old friend.”
“Hello yourself. You said you needed to speak to me immediately. What’s going on?” Mephisto started walking and Thomas had no choice but to follow along.
“It’s about the carnival tomorrow. I want you to think about shutting it down.”
“Are you crazy? With the mayor cancelling everything in town we’ll be busier than ever.” He chomped on his cigar, turning it in his mouth.
“And did you stop to think about why the mayor cancelled everything?” Thomas asked.
Mephisto sighed. “I know, that damnable Thief. You can’t possibly think he’d strike somewhere this public.”
“I think he’ll take it as his personal challenge.”
“Careful with that!” he yelled to one of the workers. He stopped and turned to face Thomas. “I’ll increase security, but I won’t shut down. I’m sorry.”
“Juliana thought you’d feel that way.” He clasped his hands behind his back.
The old man smiled and his face lit. “Jules? Now her, I miss.” Thomas ignored the veiled insult. “What’s she got to do with this?”
“She’s a Walker. She’s in charge of the investigation against the Thief.”
His eyes grew wide. “Our Juliana? A Walker? I never would have guessed it. I’ve seen her a few times, but she’s never mentioned it. Not that she had reason to. Sorry, I won’t shut down even for her.”
“She did have an alternative suggestion that might benefit all of us.” Thomas started walking again. “We’re asking that you allow us to have a full contingent of agents and officers here tomorrow.”
Mephisto scratched his chin. “I don’t know. It might scare people off if they see a bunch of law enforcement roaming around.”
“Only the worst sort, which you don’t want here anyway. It would keep you from having to hire that extra security. We’ll do our best to interfere as little as possible.”
“And Juliana will be here? Not that I don’t trust you, but she’s a little more levelheaded.”
Thomas laughed. “I think that’s the first time I’ve heard anyone describe her that way.”
“I didn’t say she
was
levelheaded, I just said she was better than you. And if she’s going to be here, you’ve got a deal.”
“Yes,” he answered, still chuckling, “she will be here. She’ll need to be somewhere high and safe.”
Mephisto grinned, showing all his teeth. “I have just the tower for our princess.”
* * *
Juliana’s phone rang just as they reached the car. “Norris.”
“It’s me,” Jeremiah answered.
“I was just getting ready to call you. We were right about the kids. Trout’s father confirmed it for us.” She didn’t want to go into detail about how that had been accomplished.
“That’s good, because we were wrong about George.”
She rubbed a hand across her forehead. “Shit. What happened?”
“We’ve verified he was working during at least three of the most recent kidnappings. We’re still working on verifying the others. It’s taking a while for the employer to get the older records.”
“That doesn’t mean he wasn’t involved,” she insisted. “He could have a partner or the employer could be lying. Or he did it some other way.” She couldn’t give up on him. Because if she did, they were right back where they started. Nowhere. And there they’d remain until they picked up the ghoul or found another suspect entirely. She was tired of going backward on this case. A giant leap forward would be fantastic right about then.
“It’s a construction company. He was out of town working a job during one of them. Five guys on his crew verified it.”
She kicked the tire on the car. They couldn’t hold him, not with an alibi like that. His lawyers would roast them. “Cut him loose but keep digging. I’m still not convinced he doesn’t know something.” She snapped her phone closed and looked over the top of the car at Leo.
“I take it his alibi checked out?” he asked.
“Yeah. It checked out.” She got in the car and slammed the door behind her.
Leo got in more quietly.
“All right. Let’s think about what we know. We’ve confirmed the theory that the children are all hybrids.” She tapped on the steering wheel as she drove toward the Roma. “Now the question is, how does he know?”
“Can you tell?” he asked.
She glanced at him in surprise. It hadn’t occurred to her that the Thief could have a gift similar to hers. “Yes, I think I could. I guess I’ve never thought about it much. I just tag things with whatever’s dominant in them and ignore the rest. But if I took the time, I could decipher the signature to give you the ancestry.” The thought that she might have something in common with the killer bothered her. “He could be using a spell of some sort or an artifact.”
Leo flicked his tongue out. “It’s also possible he has a gift of his own, completely different from yours, that lets him sense them.”
Juliana nodded, distracted. “I guess we won’t know until we catch him, and maybe not even then. It’s not really the important thing anyway. We know for sure he’s targeting these kids now. We know who to look for, who to protect in the crowd tomorrow.”
Leo frowned. “Yes, except you’ll be the only one who can see them.”
“I guess y’all will just have to pay attention and do what I tell you then, won’t you?”
* * *
Thomas’s phone buzzed at his hip. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen. Michael. “What have you found?”
“You better get over here.”
Here was the house he used to share with the coven. The house he’d never stay in again now that he knew what had been done to his mate there. “Why, what’s going on?”
“Just come.”
Thomas cursed his enigmatic second in command for a moment then slid behind the wheel of his car and drove to the house. He strode through the front door in a foul temper and drew up short when Carmela greeted him in the entryway instead of Michael. His ire flared anew. “What are you doing here, Carmela? Where’s Michael?”
“I’m here,” Michael answered for her. He leaned in the doorway to the left that led to the library.
“And I am here for my portal mage.” Carmela’s words were clipped but were delivered in their normal haughty tone.
“What makes you think we have her?” Thomas asked without hesitation.
“Are you saying you do not?”
If she wasn’t going to answer his question, he wasn’t going to answer hers. “Did you know that your portal mage crafted a pendant for Raoul DeSoto that allowed him to evade capture?”
“As many times as he’s escaped, I’d say she’s crafted several of them,” Michael added.
“Of course I am aware. I paid for them.”
Fury flared through him and Thomas was in her space in an instant. He restrained his desire to slap her. Barely. “Choose your words carefully, Carmela. Think before you speak or you’ll doom yourself. When did you order these pendants crafted for Raoul?”
She blinked at him, obviously surprised by his reaction. He rarely, if ever, lost his temper with her. “Before you announced you were looking for him, of course. I would never cross you, Thomas. You must know that.”
He growled. “No. What I know is that you lied to Juliana, that you told her we were together. I also know that you did not mention your connection to DeSoto even after you discovered I hunted him.”
“My being his sire had no relevance. I do not have the ability to track my offspring. And you can’t honestly be mad about something that happened so many years ago.” Carmela waved her hand through the air in dismissal. “The girl was a nuisance. You left her. How much more of a clue did she need that you weren’t interested?”
Michael coughed, undoubtedly to hide a laugh. At least one of them found this amusing.