For a moment, she thought he wasn’t going to answer. “All along the Western seaboard. We got thirteen hits over three states.”
A muscle worked in her jaw as she clenched her teeth. When a crime crossed state lines, either the Agency or the FBI got involved. As the Bureau wouldn’t touch anything even remotely Altered, that made it hers. There was just one more thing she needed to know. “And when did you present this information to the commissioner?”
“Two days ago.”
“I always knew you weren’t a team player, Taft.” Phipps spat the words at the detective. Quite literally actually as spit flew from the corners of his mouth. He was in full fury mode. “You’ll regret this, Detective.”
Now she understood why Taft had waited for her to arrive on the scene with the twins. He knew it should be the Agency’s investigation and he was covering his ass. Sliding her chair back, she pressed her fists into the table and stood. “Right. You want jurisdictional politics, I’ll give you jurisdictional politics.”
Jeremiah was at her back and leaning to speak in her ear almost before she was fully upright. “Should we call Ben first?”
She jerked her head to the side. This was the Agency’s case, her case. She wasn’t going to argue that point with Ben or anyone else. Besides, as the old phrase went, it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. She stared at Phipps. “You want to tell them or shall I?”
“Tell who what precisely?” He stood, mirroring her position.
“Tell your officers that you’re no longer in charge here.”
His face grew crimson again, but he said nothing and kept his spot at the end of the table. She shrugged, then turned from the table and threw open the door behind her. Striding into the other room, she motioned to Jeremiah and he let out a piercing wolf whistle. She’d always been envious of his ability to do that. The bustle around them came to a halt as everyone turned to look at them. Phipps bumbled out of the conference room. “Now see here, Norris.”
She turned her glare on him. “No, you had your chance. Another word and I’ll take it to the mayor and file a formal complaint with the Agency.”
His mouth snapped shut. Muscles worked in his jaw and neck. His skin remained an unflattering hue of red.
She put her attention back on the officers in the room. “The Thief now falls under Agency jurisdiction. My jurisdiction. That doesn’t mean I’m shutting you out and it doesn’t mean that I don’t need your help.”
“What does it mean?” a voice called from the far side of the room.
“It means I need copies of everything you’ve got and I need them yesterday. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Not just what Phipps told you to give me.”
When no one moved for a long moment, Taft piped up. “You heard her. Get busy.”
“Ben isn’t going to like this. He’s going to like you doing it without talking to him first even less.” Jeremiah kept his voice low enough only she and Leo could hear it.
“Don’t care,” Juliana said. She’d never make it beyond her position as a Walker because she wouldn’t play the games. She did her job and she did it well, but that wasn’t enough. She looked at Leo. “We’re still going to give them their task force. You’re going to be involved in all the interrogations, obviously. Jeremiah, you’re the liaison. You’re good at that.”
She went back to the conference room, motioning for Taft and Phipps to precede her.
“I don’t know what you think you’re playing at, Norris,” Phipps said as soon as the door was shut. “I ask you here as a show of trust, of cooperation, and you pull this bullshit. You just can’t stand to have anyone telling you what to do, can you?”
“I’m sorry. Did I give you the impression you were allowed to speak? Sit down.” The opportunities she had to put Phipps in his place were rare enough. She took full advantage when she had the chance. “We’re going to go ahead with your task force because I value the work your men have put in to this point and the assistance they can offer in the future. But do not mistake the fact that I am in charge from this point forward.
“There will be no more press conferences without my permission. There will be no interviews, no leaks and no hints to the press about our cooperation. Taft is your lead on this, so he’s now teamed up with me for the duration. He does nothing else. Pull his caseload and give it to someone else.”
“Actually, Gifford is the lead,” Taft piped up, a smile playing at the edges of his lips.
“Who’s Gifford?” she snapped.
A short, balding man to Phipps’s right raised his hand.
“What’s the total number of victims?”
“Excuse me?” the man asked, a tremor in his voice. If she said “boo,” he’d probably pee his pants.
“I suppose if that one’s too much, ages or names are out of the question.” The man looked at her blankly. She glanced at Taft. He didn’t say a word, but she knew he had all that information and more stored in his brain, just as she did. But he had more. He knew about thirteen kids she didn’t.
“I’ll take Taft. Leo will assist with any and all interrogations,” she ordered. “If any of the rest of you need anything, talk to Jeremiah. Phipps, do what you do best and sit in your office and stay the hell out of my way. You pop up on my radar and you’re going to regret it.”
“I’m the police commissioner, Norris.” Phipps’s voice was low, lethal. “You can’t just tell me what to do.”
“Actually, I can. And I’m pretty sure I just did.” She leaned on the table. “You want to complain to someone about it, you make sure you mention that you’ve known this was ours for two days and didn’t report it. See how that goes over.”
She held his gaze for a long moment making sure he was the first to look away. When she was sure he was done, she turned to Jeremiah. “Have everything delivered in my name to the Roma.”
“The Roma?”
She grinned. “Thomas is out of town. He’s got more room than I do.”
Chapter Five
“You’re sure he’s in there?” Thomas asked his second, Michael Bishop. Their eyes stayed fixed on the ground floor windows of the building across the street from their hotel. If you could call it that. The place was dilapidated enough that Thomas was reluctant to touch anything. It was more like a dirt hole that they had to pay to stay in.
“He went in about four this morning. No one’s seen him come out. I’ve got men on every exit.” His voice conveyed his irritation at having to wait for Thomas. As competent as Michael was, Raoul DeSoto had managed to slip away from him too many times. It wasn’t going to happen this time. Thomas was going to make certain of it himself.
“And you’re positive it’s him?” Ever since Thomas had put a rather large bounty on Raoul’s head, they’d been getting reports from all over the world. Most of them worthless.
Michael nodded. “Saw him with my own eyes this time. The side of his face was melted, just as Juliana said. I wonder what the hell happened to him. Not that I care, the bastard deserves it. I just hope it hurt. A lot.”
Thomas grunted in agreement. Although it didn’t matter. Any pain the man had previously experienced in his life would pale in comparison to what Thomas would mete out.
“Does she know what you’re up to?” his second asked.
Thomas clenched his teeth and worked the muscles in his jaw. His bride had enough to deal with right now without knowing about his current task. “No. I considered telling her, but she’s needed where she’s at. And she’s handled this long enough on her own. It’s my turn.” He was also afraid that she would keep him from doing all the things he so desperately wanted to do to the man.
Michael frowned. “What’s going on?”
“She’s working on the case with those missing children. The Thief.”
He frowned. “Is she all right? You know how she is about the kids.”
Thomas started to say that he didn’t know when his phone buzzed at his hip. He glanced at the display. Juliana. “Well, I guess we’ll be able to find out,” he said as he answered. “
Joya
, how are you doing?”
“Phipps is a bigger prick than I realized and I’m now in charge of the whole damn thing.” Thomas could almost feel the weight of her burden in her sigh. “There’s more, Thomas. So many more than we realized.”
He sat on the edge of the bed stunned by both her words and the hopelessness in her voice. “What can I do? Tell me what you need.”
“I need a base of operations, somewhere neutral where I won’t have Ben or Phipps constantly trying to take over. I told them to send everything to the hotel.”
He said nothing. As much as he desired to help her, he didn’t want people he didn’t know in their home, their sanctuary. She gave a low laugh, obviously knowing what he was thinking without him having to voice his concern. “Don’t worry, Thomas. There’s only going to be a handful that have access to this area and none of them are getting into your rooms. I need you to call and arrange for us to have the largest conference room they’ve got, two if they aren’t very big.”
He began running through the appropriate locations in his mind, quickly settling on the best one. “I’m not even going to ask how this landed in your lap. I’ll do my business as fast as possible and get home. The hotel will give you whatever you need. All you have to do is ask. You didn’t need to call me.”
“I think they’ll take it better coming from you. Especially when you tell them I’m going to need four rooms, as well.”
“Juliana,” he said, a warning in his voice.
“Not for me. But we are going to be putting in some late nights. They’ll need somewhere to crash on occasion. I don’t know these people that well and I’m not sure I want some of them knowing I have a permanent residence in the hotel should I choose to use it. Or that you and I are that close.”
“You don’t trust them?”
“I told you, I don’t know them.”
“That’s not an answer and you know it.” If she was working with people she couldn’t trust, he needed to get things wrapped up here and get back to her as quickly as possible.
“I trust Jeremiah and I trust Leo. That’s it. Everyone else I’ve met is Phipps’s men. Except for maybe Taft, the one you pointed out at the press conference. But I don’t know him, so, no, I don’t trust him.”
“All right,” he said. He could understand her reluctance to put her trust in people who hadn’t proven themselves. “I’ll make the arrangements with the hotel. Check in with the desk when you get there.”
“Thank you.”
He smiled though she couldn’t see it. “Will you get angry if I thank you for allowing me to do something for you?”
“Well, I wouldn’t have,” she snapped and hung up.
He gave into a sharp bark of laughter then turned his attention to Michael. “I have a call to make and then we take Raoul. I need to get back to her.”
* * *
“You mind telling me what the hell that was about?” Taft said from behind Juliana as she wove through the dense foot traffic on the street. She ignored him and continued toward her destination. Her eyes seemed to find every child on the street. Why were there so many out with their parents? Why weren’t they tucked away at home behind locked doors and heavy wards? Which of them would be the next to disappear? She shook the thoughts away.
She’d had Taft wait for her while she placed her phone calls, both to Thomas and to the mayor. Regardless of his apparent capitulation, Phipps would be making calls of his own as soon as she left the station. When Juliana saved the previous mayor from a succubus on New Year’s Eve, he’d been forced to resign in the scandal that followed. She figured the current mayor owed her a favor or two. Fortunately, he agreed to rein Phipps in, mostly because it was the right thing to do.
They finally reached the overpriced coffee shop on the corner. All she cared about was that it was away from the station and they knew what they were doing with a bean. “Large black coffee,” she said when she got to the counter. “What do you want?” she asked Taft.
“What?”
“Coffee. What kind?”
He glanced at the menu. “Medium pumpkin-spiced latte.”
Juliana arched a brow but didn’t comment on the beverage choice. Whether it could actually be called coffee was debatable. After the barista handed over their cups, they commandeered a table in the corner. “Does Phipps know?” she asked. She took a sip and sat her cup on the table, wrapping her hands around it in an effort to chase away some of the chill that had taken up residence when Phipps declared there were thirteen more victims.
“Know what?” His voice had an edge to it, an indication of his irritation with her.
She leaned back in her chair and looked him over. “I understand that I’ve just made your life with your boss a lot more difficult. Harder still if I tell him you’re a witch.” Taft paled, telling her Phipps
didn’t
know. “While I appreciate that and maybe even feel sorry for the crap you’re going to have to put up with when this is all over, this is about the victims. It’s not about you or me or Phipps and his cursed political agenda. Remember that and drop the attitude, huh? You’re stuck with me whether you like it or not.”
“How did you know?” He kept his voice low so he wouldn’t be overheard.
Her gift flared to life only long enough for her eyes to glow. His soft gasp caused her to smile.
“I thought I saw you do that when we were up on the hill, but I wasn’t sure. What are you?”
“That doesn’t matter so much as what I can do. I can see the signature of any living being. I can tell you what they are or what they aren’t. Every signature’s a little different. That’s how I know you’re a witch. And I guessed Phipps didn’t or he wouldn’t keep you around no matter how useful you are.”
“I do what needs to be done and keep my head down. That’s all I can do.”
She nodded once and sipped her coffee. “That’s all you can do, Detective.” But she was giving him the chance to do so much more and they both knew it. It was up to him. She wasn’t Phipps. She wouldn’t force him to stick around if he didn’t want to, but he’d want to. Good cops wanted to make a difference. It’s why they became cops in the first place.
He sighed and shook his head. “I have a feeling I’m going to regret this, but all right, Walker Norris. What’s the plan?”
“Jeremiah will make sure everything gets sent over to the Roma. We’ll set up operations there. It’s neutral ground, so to speak. Hopefully it will keep the Agency or Phipps from getting too territorial.”
“Good idea,” he said, nodding. “It will let us work without them underfoot, too.”
She glanced around. It didn’t appear anyone was eavesdropping, but she got up and motioned for him to follow just the same. The last thing she needed was for some overzealous bystander to sell what they’d overheard in the coffee shop about more missing children to the press. She headed back toward the precinct. “How much information do you have on the new ones?”
“Quite a bit. Most of the stations were forthcoming when I explained why I was asking. It wouldn’t hurt for you to do a follow-up inquiry since you actually have jurisdiction. They may have information they didn’t want to share with me since I was just another local cop.”
“Give Jeremiah the list of victims and the local jurisdictions. He’ll take care of it.” They stopped when they got to her bike. “Well, Detective Taft, I suggest you go home and pack a bag. And if you have any loved ones, kiss them goodbye. You aren’t going to be seeing them for a while.”
He shook his head. “There’s no one but me. I just need to get my things together.”
“All right. Do what you need to do and meet up at the Roma in a couple of hours. Just ask for me when you get there.” Juliana got the feeling he thought she was joking about not seeing home for the duration. Wasn’t he in for a surprise?
* * *
She had barely made it home when her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen. Ben. She stared at it, uncertain what she was going to do. She could avoid her boss now, but eventually he’d catch up with her. The longer it took, the angrier he was likely to be. The vibration on her phone seemed to increase in intensity, as if it too, was getting angry. She sighed and flipped it open. “This is Norris.”
“Are you trying to piss me off?” Ben spoke in a low tone, his words precise and clipped.
“It seems like I don’t really have to try anymore, boss.” It was the closest she’d gotten to having a conversation with him about his attitude.
He was silent for a long time, which meant either he was getting ready to blow up at her, or he was calming himself down. She sincerely hoped it was the latter. “What are you thinking, Juliana?” His voice was more level, more composed. “I sent you to join a task force, not to take over the whole frigging investigation.”
“The Thief’s operating across state lines. It’s ours whether we want it or not.”
“Shit. How did they find out?”
“Computer search. Phipps has known for two days and didn’t turn it over.”
He sighed. “You’re right. He is an asshole. Did he really think it wouldn’t come out eventually?”
She didn’t answer, as the question seemed more rhetorical than anything else. “I kept the task force. And I’ve made arrangements to set us up at the Roma hotel.”
“The Roma? We can’t afford that. I can clear one of the conference rooms here for you.” He was beginning to sound agitated again.
“We’re not paying for the space at the Roma. Thomas Kendrick owns it,” she said. “Besides, if I set up in the Agency, the locals will have a fit and call favoritism. If I set it up at a precinct, the Agency will say I’m trying to shut them out. We need neutral territory.”
“I can see your point but I don’t like you taking favors from Kendrick even if you are sleeping with him.” Her eardrums had busted during her last case and Thomas had fed her blood to heal her. The Council frowned upon the sharing of vampire blood with a human unless the parties were intimate. Thomas had led Ben to believe that was the case. She had been unable to argue or the Council could have fined Thomas for healing her.
“You don’t have to like it, Ben. You just have to appreciate the fact it will save you money.”
“All right, Norris. It’s your case, your responsibility. Station yourself wherever you want. Keep me posted.” With that, he hung up.
* * *
It took Juliana an hour to get her bags together and take a portal to the sidewalk in front of the Roma. The concierge rushed to meet her the moment she stepped through the door. “Let me have someone help you with your bags, Ms. Norris.” He signaled to the bellhop.
“I’d rather he didn’t.” She adjusted her grip on the bag that held enough firepower to take out a small village. Her sword was also in that hand, as she didn’t think wearing it in the hotel was the best idea.
“As you wish,” the man said smoothly with a slight bow of the head. He motioned the bellhop away and turned to walk with her to the desk. “Mr. Kendrick called. I believe you’ll find everything to your liking. He also instructed me to tell you that should you need anything at all, you need merely ask.”
“Thank you...” Juliana trailed off as she realized the man had never introduced himself.
“Please call me Nicholas. Now, would you like me to show the rooms we have arranged for you, or would like to take your bags upstairs first?”
She hefted the bags in her hands again, trying to get a better grip. Carrying an armory around got heavy fast. “Let’s get these upstairs. I’ll need a key for the back elevator as well.”
“It’s already been arranged.”
The main elevator to Thomas’s suite was the private one that ran straight up from the lobby. However, there was a back entrance that could be accessed by the service elevator. A key was necessary to access Thomas’s floor and a code was required to open the rear door. It would enable her to reach the other floors in the hotel without having to go down to the lobby just to catch another elevator.
The concierge stopped at the counter as they passed by and grabbed two regular keys and a stack of key cards. After riding the private elevator up and dropping the bags off in Thomas’s suite, she followed Nicholas out the back door. He showed her how to use the key on the service elevator and took her down to the third floor.