Last time…
Owan and Roe find the owner of the ring, Allan, and have an uncomfortable conversation him and his wife, Missy.
I looked at Roe as we started to walk away. “Well, that was something.”
“Something is...a word for it,” Roe said. She held up her finger to her lips, then I saw a flicker of glamour around her form, outlining her curves. For a split second she almost seemed to fade from view, then solidified.
I almost asked her what she was doing, then realized...she’d used her glamour to turn herself invisible. I could still see her, but that was because I was looking straight at her. If I’d been looking away and not known what she’d done, I wouldn’t have been able to find her unless she wanted me to.
I walked away, continuing to talk and making my tread a little heavier than usual, hoping that if Missy was listening, she’d be fooled into thinking that both Roe and I were leaving. I’d have stayed, but as a half fae, my glamour wasn’t nearly as strong as Roe’s.
So, for the second time that day, I found myself kicking my heels while I waited for Roe. I didn’t mind too much. All things considered, she was the perfect partner. I mean, a whipsmart dame who could disappear at will so she could eavesdrop on suspects? What private investigator wouldn’t give his left eye for that kind of help?
I lingered on the corner of the stairs two flights down in the building—close enough I could hear Roe if she shouted for help, but far enough away that no one would associate me with that particular apartment. I got a few glares from a couple of folk who passed up or down—one a fresh guy who stopped and stared at me as if he hoped to intimidate me out of my corner spot. I just stared back at him and after a bit he dropped his eyes and moved on.
At last, I heard the familiar gait of Roe's heels coming down the stairs.
"What'd you get?" I asked.
She caught my elbow and pulled me down the stairs after her. "I'll tell you when we get on the street."
We passed a couple of old biddies chatting in the lobby, who clucked their tongues at how scandalously close Roe and I walked. I ignored them and kept going, focused on how stiff Roe felt next to me. What had scared her that she was this worried?
She didn't speak until we'd turned the corner, then she leaned her head back and blew out a deep sigh of relief. "Something's wrong there, Owan," she said quietly. "Something's really wrong."
"What did you hear?" I asked again.
"Once they thought we had left, Missy started shouting at Allan—it was all garbled, but I'm pretty sure she was swearing at him. My grandmother would've said she sounded distinctly not ladylike." Roe chuckled a bit, then sobered again. "And then I heard someone get hit."
"Allan hit Missy?" I asked.
"No...I think that Missy hit Allan."
I paused and looked over at Roe, frowning. "That little girl took out a man half again her size?"
"She’s hardly a girl, and let me finish." Roe shook my arm. "So he slammed up against the door, and it rattled so hard I thought it would fall off the hinges. And then I heard Missy slap him again, and he said, 'I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'll never do it again!' And she hissed, really quietly, 'I'll kill you if you even so much as think about leaving me again, Allan.' "
We were silent for a minute as we walked. I chewed over Roe's report. Had we had it wrong? When I'd first laid eyes on Missy, my bet had been that she was the human, somehow kept under thrall—or just terrified into staying—by her husband, the kelpie. But...was Missy the kelpie? Was Allan, the human, covering for her?
"What do you think that means, Roe?" I asked.
She shook her head. "I don't know. This whole thing is so mixed up. Maybe the ring doesn't mean anything—maybe one of the men at the dock bought it from a pawn shop, or had stolen it. Maybe Allan and Missy are just two people with a troubled marriage. And even if one of them was the kelpie...would we really turn them over to Niall?"
I caught her meaning straight away. The kelpie, whoever it was, was a killer. They deserved being brought to justice. But Niall was also a criminal--and he was cruel, besides. He’d once threatened to poison me with rusted iron, which would’ve been a death sentence for me--just for stickin’ my nose where it didn’t belong.
It would be better for everyone if we turned the kelpie over to the police, though for that we’d need a sight more evidence.
Couldn’t imagine Niall would be too understandin’ of our reasoning there, though.
As if on cue, the necklace around my neck tightened a bit. I winced. It had been getting tighter all day, chafing like an uncomfortable collar, but until now, I'd been able to ignore it. Now, with a pinching sensation, I could feel it shrink down again, just enough that it dug into my throat.
"Owan?" Roe looked up at me, concern in her bright blue eyes.
"I'm fine," I said, just managing to keep my voice from croaking.
It was now dark enough that the street lamps were coming on. A golden halo surrounded each globe, showing the gathering fog as the wind swept inland from the ocean.
As we turned away from the shoreline to head toward the subway station, I paused. When Roe started to ask me what was wrong again, I held up my hand, shushing her.
The sound came again—a wet clopping sound, like a horse trotting through a puddle. Roe and I glanced at each other, eyes wide, and without a word we turned and ran.
The streets were even more fog-shrouded now, deserted even though the hour wasn't that late, and echoing from the building around us was that damned clopping as whatever was chasing us—the kelpie, most like—picked up its pace as well. It clattered in my ears, and before too long I could hear the huffing of breath.
I turned. There, bearing down on us with the fog swirling around its form, was the kelpie. Black, oily fur rippled over thick muscle. It’s lips pulled back in a rictus grin, pointed teeth streaming foam and slobber.
Roe caught my sleeve and dragged me into an alley. She pulled her pistol from the holster under her coat. I followed her lead, my panting making the barrel waver as I aimed it at the entrance of the alley.
The kelpie came around the corner. In the glow of a close street light, I could see drops of oily water streaming through its mane, dripping onto the brick streets.
"What do we do?" Roe whispered to me.
I risked a quick glance behind me. The alley stretched long and straight behind us. If we bolted, the kelpie would run us down before we reached the end.
"Back up," I whispered to her. "Slowly."
We began to edge down the alley.
The kelpie lowered its head and huffed. In the dark silhouette it presented against the street lights, I couldn't see its eyes, but I had no doubt it was watching us very, very carefully.
Suddenly it dashed forward.
Roe and I fired at almost the exact same time. The sound of the shots echoed off the bricks around us. The kelpie snarled and stumbled. I fired again, this time taking more precise aim.
The kelpie's back leg buckled, and it tumbled forward. As it rolled, it suddenly shrank, the black fur disappearing, replaced with pale, freckled human skin.
Roe made an embarrassed noise and turned away.
I stared at the body lying on the ground in front of us. "Allan. Fancy meeting you here."
Allan glanced up at me, grimacing as he pressed his hand to the bullet wound in his calf. "How—"
"Silver bullets. The little buggers work wonders like you wouldn't believe." I hadn’t been completely certain the silver bullets would halt his ability to hold his kelpie form, but I’d hoped that it would at least sting a bit more than usual and maybe make the kelpie think twice about attacking us.
Allan let out a sharp laugh. "Well done."
I leaned down and offered my hand. "Let's get you up and decent, and then find a place to talk."
Allan's eyes snapped to me, widening in surprise. "You—I thought you'd just kill me."
"We don't work like that," Roe said. "Now hurry up. I'm getting a crick in my neck from standing this way."
I chuckled and shook my hand. "C'mon, Allan. This offer won't last forever."
Allan suddenly grabbed my hand. His eyes locked on mine. "Just do one thing for me. I'll tell you everything, but then...you have to help me get away from Missy. Please."
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Roe frown.
I merely shrugged. "Let's see what you have to say."
Allan hesitated, then said softly, “I guess it’s better than nothin’.”
Once I'd gotten him standing, I shucked my coat and tossed it to him. He pulled it on and belted it tightly.
"You're safe, Roe," I said. "No need to be shy, doll."
If looks could kill, the one I got from her would have put me in the ground in ashes.
"Back to the office?" she asked.
"Seems like the best place," I said.
Thank you for reading! If you’re enjoying The Case Files of Owan Craig and don’t want to wait to read it week by week, it is available in ebook or print form on Amazon!