Fire Within - By Ally Shields Page 0,1

“Yeah, right. You’ve shown such good judgment up to now. Get yourself a lawyer.”

She was walking a fine line. As the investigator for the Magic Council, the governing body for the magical races, she needed to ask questions, get the facts. As Eddie’s friend, she didn’t want to push him into confessing again or giving her the damning details. If he did, she’d have to report his admissions to Lt. Ryan Foster, her human police partner on joint investigations. And Ari already had more than enough to report. She sighed, wishing Eddie had never confided to her about his troubles with the now-dead victim.

“What could a lawyer do? Maybe you should have helped me when I asked.”

She looked at him sharply. “So, you blame me for this?”

He kept his gaze averted, smoothing his jumpsuit again. “I tried to tell you.”

Ari leaned back in the chair and watched his discomfort. Eddie’s words explained his sour attitude. A month ago he’d come to her office seeking advice as a friend and complaining that the victim was dating his sister Lorraine. Eddie wanted the relationship to end. “I think she’s agreed to a vampire bond,” he’d shouted. Ari had been stunned by his vehemence, and she’d tried to reason with him. Consenting adults, the course of true love, all the arguments for Eddie not to interfere, but he’d been adamant that Jules was ruining his sister’s life.

“Are you suggesting you had no other choice? When I told you the bond was permanent and could only be broken when one of the two died, I didn’t expect you to go out and kill him.”

“She’s free now, isn’t she?”

Holy crap. Until today Ari had assumed Eddie had adjusted to the situation. Now the vampire was dead, and Eddie was under arrest. Ari wondered if she had inadvertently suggested the solution.

She drummed her nails gently on the cool top of the metal table, her bracelet of protective charms—silver cross, vial of holy water, amulets—jingling against the surface. When Eddie glanced at her hand, she stopped.

Ari allowed the silence in the cramped visitor’s room to lengthen. The black-and-white NO SMOKING sign bolted to the stark white wall seemed to be the only thing interested in making a statement. She crinkled her nose against the scrubbed, antiseptic smell and checked her watch. Not much time left in the fifteen-minute visit. Of course, she could extend it, but Eddie’s anger and evasiveness had her baffled. When she had arrived, she’d hoped he could convince her this was a mistake, that he had an alibi. Instead, he’d offered nothing at all.

“Fine, if that’s all you’ve got to say, you can deal with the PD. But don’t fool yourself that refusing to talk about last night will get you out of this. They have your confession and corroborating evidence. All they need is a strong motive, which we both know you had.” Ari shoved back her chair. “Maybe Lorraine can tell me what tipped the scales. Give me some reason that could lessen the charge or the punishment.”

Bringing up his sister’s name was a calculated risk.

Immediate anger flashed across Eddie’s face. “Leave her out of this! I’m warning you, don’t bother my sister. She doesn’t need any more grief.”

“You think I don’t know that? But you’re leaving me no alternative. The police will talk to her, too. And whose fault is that?” She studied his pinched face and tried again. “Let me help you. Make some sense out of this.”

She saw him hesitate, waver, then his chin rose. “Forget it. And stay away from my family.” He got to his feet, his back rigid, unyielding. “Where’s the guard? We’re done.” He pounded on the metal door until the guard came.

The grim-jawed jailor rapped his baton on the door and motioned for the prisoner to back away. “Finished, Ms. Calin?”

She shrugged. “I guess.”

They left, and Eddie didn’t look back.

Annoyed with the course of the interview, Ari followed them down the hall, then turned toward the stairs to the main building of the Riverdale police annex. What a way to start the morning. She rubbed her temple. It was about to get worse.

Ari exited the stairway onto the third floor of the four-story building that housed the Westside contingency of the all-human Riverdale Police Department. The main building was in the new downtown area several miles away. As she approached Lieutenant Foster’s office, the 1900s gray floors and mostly barren walls did nothing to lighten her mood. She noted the framed photos as