Deadly Lover (25 page)

Lily keyed open the lock and slid the door slowly open, pulse pistol still in her hand. As soon as the door opened the smell of death assaulted her senses. She jerked back, an involuntary response to that awful, unmistakable scent that Jolaj had caught all the way up on the roof. The sound of a familiar old jazz number registered, but she didn’t allow herself to consider it. She took two paces into the room and Jolaj followed.

Her gaze swept the single room apartment, noting the body, sweeping past, refusing to see the detail. She had to be sure the room was clear first, but there was something about the size and shape of the body. Not Bradley. A woman. And familiar.

Lily’s gaze jerked back to the body. The woman lay on her side, facing away from the door. A mass of blood-matted hair obscured her face. A dark stain marred the back and shoulder of her winter white sweater and blood pooled beneath her. There wasn’t a great deal of it anywhere else. It was all there as if she hadn’t resisted. Simply laid down on the floor and allowed her attacker to kill her. As if she’d bled out from a single wound.

Everything about this murder was different. The victim had died too clean. The timing was all wrong. And how had the woman gotten into Lily’s home, past her security?

Realization slammed into her as she stepped closer, the pistol suddenly heavy in her hands. Oh, God. It couldn’t be.

“Lily, the woman is dead. You should alert Metro.” Jolaj stood next to her, but his voice seemed miles away. A shadow sound, receding into the distance as the jazz swelled to fill the room and memories filled her head. The sultry rhythm of her father’s favorite late twentieth century tune competed with the sharp staccato pants of her own breathing. She hadn’t heard that music in over a decade.

Somewhere far away Jolaj called her name as she knelt by the body. She could see now that the woman’s hair had been a pale, champagne blond and her perfect manicure had been princess pink. The inescapable truth lodged in Lily’s chest as she reached out with a shaky hand to push the hair out of the woman’s face.

Her voice shuddered as she breathed the name. “Rose.”

Jolaj had stood by uncertain as Lily approached the body. The woman was clearly dead and he’d expected her to caution him not to disturb the scene—she might not be a cop but she thought like one—but Lily had touched the dead woman. He recognized the name Rose, but he wasn’t prepared for the shock of seeing a slightly softer version of Lily’s face when she pushed back the mop of blood-soaked hair.

The sight tore at him, but he knew his shock was nothing compared to Lily’s horror. He picked his way carefully around Rose’s body and squatted down, pulling Lily into his arms. He drew her around, pressed her cheek against his chest. “I’m sorry.”

Jolaj looked down into the dead woman’s familiar green eyes. They were wide with the fear that had gripped her as she lay dying.

It could have been Lily.

The woman who had touched his soul and given him back hope for his own future could have lost her life, facing the same terror. She could still be in mortal danger.

Before that moment, he’d been afraid for his people. Afraid for the men who’d chosen human mates and afraid for the women they loved. He’d even feared for Lily, but she was a strong, smart woman who could protect herself better than most. Now the fear had become more personal and more terrifying. More real. He couldn’t lose her now. His soul couldn’t survive it.

She was quiet in his arms, but the dampness of her tears soaked into his tunic. He stroked the back of her head and bent low to fill his lungs with her scent. “You must call Detective O’Leary.”

“Sean?” Her voice shook as she attempted to speak through short, shallow breaths. “I should call Sean.”

She didn’t move and it became clear she’d only repeated his suggestion without any real understanding. Her grief had left her disoriented and vulnerable. It clawed at his heart to see her so shaken.

“Lily, you must call Sean and tell him your sister has been murdered. You must make the report.”

She lifted her head from his chest and nodded, straightening her spine. She looked down at her own hands as if they were strange and unfamiliar. They were shaking. He steadied her hand as she touched the com-link over her ear.

“Rowan. Activate. Link to Sean O’Leary.”

It took only four seconds before O’Leary’s sleep slurred voice came over the link. “Lil? Damn, what time is it? You okay?”

“I’m fine, Sean. I just arrived at my place and found Rose here. She’s been murdered.”

Jolaj watched as she spoke in near-normal tones. He doubted O’Leary would hear the lingering traces of pain affecting the pitch of her voice.

“No,” he denied. “That’s not… Fuck. Damn it Lil, are you secure?”

“The scene’s secure. I’ll wait here for your team.”

“I’m not getting a fix on you.” A thread of panic wormed through his voice. “I’ve never been to your place.”

She took a deep breath and spoke clearly. “Activate locator.” Her posture softened as she continued. “You should have my coordinates now.”

“Yeah, got ’em. Hang on. I’m sending units. I’ll be there. Just hang on.”

“I’ll be here.”

“Wait, Lily—”

“Close link.”

As Lily’s head dipped downward, Jolaj cupped his palms along her jaw line and urged her face up. Despite her calm demeanor her cheeks were wet and shining with tears. He pulled her toward him and bent his head to press his forehead to hers. He made the low rumbling sound of mourning and comfort in the back of his throat, willing her to understand. Among his people the sound of mourning served as a shared release of grief, their way of strengthening each other and their identity as a people through generations of harsh and often deadly times.

Lily listened to the comforting sound of Jolaj’s rumbling bass and pressed her hands over his, held them for a moment then pulled his hands away. She turned back to her sister’s body, whispered her goodbyes, then wiped the tears from her cheeks with her fingers, hands still shaking. The years apart only sharpened her grief in that moment. She would never be able to tell Rose how much she’d loved her. Rose had died angry and thinking Lily had betrayed her. God, how had she let this happen? How had she screwed up so badly?

If only she’d answered Rose’s call that morning. If only she hadn’t taunted the killer. If only she’d been home.

Lily pushed the self-recriminations aside and tried to look at her sister objectively. Rose’s hair was a snarled mess around her head. A small purple shadow marred her temple. From this close she could see what hadn’t been visible from the door.

She had to wipe fresh tears away. Rose’s sweater had been ripped open. Blood soaked the material and coated the bared flesh. She could see several parallel slashes beneath the dried blood. Like a single slash from a handful of claws. But Mary Santini’s injuries had looked like claw wounds. There had been more. Many more. “Something stopped him.”

“He attacked her with blades to imitate claws.” Jolaj stroked a hand down Lily’s back as he spoke. “But the wound on the back of her head is the one that killed her.”

“A stab wound, probably. Straight in.” Lily paused to clear her throat and stop her voice from shaking. “A deliberate death blow.”

“This is different from the other attacks.”

“Yeah,” Lily agreed. “But this guy hasn’t exactly been consistent.”

“He has used Ormney men as the weapon and he has used a bladed weapon to make a murder look like an Ormney attack.”

Lily flinched as the music began again. She’d pushed it out of her consciousness and hadn’t noticed when it stopped. The sudden sultry jazz notes battered her. She found the music cube pressed into Rose’s hand. Had Rose brought it with her or had the killer somehow known about her father?

“Music off,” she commanded firmly and the cube went silent.

Lily pushed to her feet and Jolaj stood with her. Together they moved away from the body.

“Jolaj, you should go.”

He reached for her, lifting her chin with the edge of his hand. “I won’t leave you.”

Lily tried several times to convince him to go. The big stubborn bastard wouldn’t budge. Did he think she couldn’t handle herself? Especially on her own territory with Metro on the way? No, she realized, he thought she’d crumble again. Well, that wouldn’t do Rose any damn good and Lily was determined to find justice for her sister. She had to hold it together, so she would.

Lily had expected trouble when Metro arrived. After all, Jolaj was out of The Zone during curfew hours. She hadn’t anticipated they’d be impossible to reason with and on edge. She’d thought his Law Keeper uniform would afford him some professional courtesy. Instead, the officers ordered him face down on the floor. Something that wasn’t going to happen.

The Metro officers were barking orders and pointing weapons in their direction. She could feel the aggression roll off of Jolaj in waves as he tried to edge between her and the officers. She stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“They’re probably afraid you’re drugged and dangerous.” Every one of them had probably seen the vid of the attack at the hospital. She focused her attention on the officer who seemed to be leading the others, a stocky woman with silver streaks in her short cropped hair. “Look, Law Keeper Jolaj isn’t under the influence of any drugs. He’s here at my request. Please lower your weapons.”

The woman kept her department issue stunner aimed at Jolaj. “Sorry, Agent Rowan. We’re not taking any chances. This Ormney is in violation of the curfew decree and at the scene of a violent crime.”

“Damn it. This is stupid.” She couldn’t get Jolaj to go and she couldn’t get Metro to stand down.

“I’m only going to repeat this once more,” said the officer. “Law Keeper, get down on the ground. Hands and feet spread wide.”

The room was so filled with tension Lily thought it a wonder they didn’t all choke on it.

 “Out of the way!” Sara’s voice rang out from the hallway, capturing the attention of everyone in the room. “Oh, God.” She pushed her way into the apartment and took in the situation so quickly Lily could almost see her thought process spinning in her eyes. “Jolaj, Lily,” Sara acknowledged them then turned her focus on the Metro team. Dropping her ME’s bag on the floor, She waved her credentials in front of her. “Chief Medical Examiner, Sara O’Leary. This is my crime scene. Everyone out.”

Reluctantly, the cops backed out of the room. The female officer was the last to budge, her weapon still aimed at Jolaj. “Dr. O’Leary, we need to restrain the Ormney.”

Sara tried to stare her down and when that didn’t work she strode over to Jolaj to stand in front of him.

“Jolaj,” said Sara. “Are you going to get scary on us?”

His eyes widened. “No, Dr. O’Leary.”

Sara curved her lips in a grin that didn’t reach her eyes and nodded. “Good enough for me.”

The officer let out a huff of breath and lowered her weapon, and backer toward the door. “You people are insane.”

The moment the woman was out of the room, Sara stepped away from Jolaj and pulled Lily into an embrace. “Oh, Lil. I’m so sorry.” Her arms tightened then far too soon she released Lily and turned back to Rose’s body, all business. “I was on my way home and heard the call go out. “How many people have been in here?”

“Jolaj and I found her. We checked her for signs of life. The four cops came a few feet into the room.”

“You touched her?” Sara’s attention snapped to Lily, clearly appalled.

“Her hair was in her face” Lily shrugged and her voice tried to desert her. “I had to make sure.”

Sara pinned her with a look full of sympathy. They both knew Lily was referring to being sure of Rose’s identity, not life signs. Rose was unquestionably gone and had been for hours before they’d arrived.

“Okay,” said Sara. “You two will have to wait inside until the techs get here and can process you for trace. Will you be okay if I get started?”

Lily nodded and had to swallow down the ball of grief in her throat before she could speak. “You’ll take good care of her.” It wasn’t a question. More an acknowledgement between them that this would be difficult for Sara and her handling it meant a great deal.

Sara went back to the bag she’d dropped and pulled on white jumpsuit, perfectly tailored to her small frame. Sean arrived as she started her initial assessment and the forensic team wasn’t far behind. The Metro officers fanned out through the building, each taking a tech with them. Doing it by the book, Sean said. And that also meant separating Lily from Jolaj and getting their stories separately.

Detective Newman led her back to the stairs and she sat on the upward staircase while he pulled out his e-notepad. When she answered his questions, she refused to be specific about where she’d been before she and Jolaj had stepped into the building. She said only that he’d been concerned about her safety and insisted on seeing her home. It would be interesting to see what they made of the rail and street view vids from the area. The rail vids would put them in the vicinity well before they arrived at her building, but the street vids wouldn’t show them much.

Her lack of cooperation didn’t win her any brownie points with him, but she didn’t give a damn.

Lily’s position a few steps up on the wide staircase put her eye to eye with Newman and he took advantage of that to level her with a look of contempt. “I’d think you’d want to make this easy, considering it’s your sister dead in the floor of your apartment.”

Lily stopped breathing as the pain of his blunt statement tightened her chest and throat. The disapproval in his stocky, compact body broadcast loud and clear he thought she was to blame. The hell of it was he was right. She forced herself to pull air into her lungs. To breathe in and out as if everything was normal.

“Look.” She kept her voice steady and calm. “I know I’m a suspect, and as soon as we know time of death, I’ll report exactly where I was at the time. So, let’s worry about that when we get there.” His disapproving scowl deepened the lines in his face and made his bulldog jowls droop even more than usual. “For now, can you focus on the fact that I’m the person who found the body and let’s stick to that?”