Fire Within - By Ally Shields Page 0,37

These supernatural elements are beyond me.” He stood, gave himself a visible shake, and gestured for her to follow him. “Come on. Your buddy should be in Interview by now. I told the jail to bring him up as soon as you arrived. Thought you’d want to be in on his release. Let’s go do this.”

Before she could respond with more than a big grin, her cell rang. She stopped to answer, while Ryan waited. “Yes, Mr. Shale.”

“Really wish you’d call me Harold.”

“Okay, Harold. How can I help you?”

“Carl asked that I call and see if you’ve made any progress. Anything I could tell him might help.”

Ari wondered if this was going to be a daily annoyance. She gave him the standard line. “It’s early in the investigation. We’re still pursuing leads.”

“Good. I’m sure you and the lieutenant know what you’re doing.” There was a short pause. “The, ah, other man, the vampire with you, is he a cop, too?”

“You mean Andreas?” She frowned at the phone. “Why do you ask?”

“He practically accused someone on my staff of being a killer.”

“It wasn’t personal. It’s routine to consider everyone. Andreas isn’t a cop, but he’s our liaison with the vampire community. We’ve worked with him before.”

“Oh, yes, I see. Suppose a go-between would be useful.”

“Yes, but he’s more than that, and he’ll be especially helpful if the killer turns out to be non-human.” Ari wasn’t sure why she’d chosen to defend Andreas. She just didn’t like Shale’s dismissive attitude.

“You think that’s possible? That an Otherworlder did this?” The counselor’s voice sharpened with interest, and Ari backpedaled.

“Hard to say. The ME hasn’t confirmed the cause of death, which makes everyone a suspect at this stage. We consider all possibilities, no matter how remote.” There, she thought, that was vague enough.

“I see. Well, here I am keeping you on the phone when you have work to do. We’re all anxious for these killings to be solved, but I’ll tell Carl to be patient.” Shale gave a noticeable sigh. “And I’ll try to follow my own advice. If you learn anything new, please let us know.”

When she disconnected, Ryan looked at her with a question on his face.

“Shale. For an update, he said, but I think he really wanted to know about Andreas. Didn’t like being questioned about his agency or staff. And, it isn’t often you see a vampire working with the police. Which reminds me, have you heard from him?”

Ryan slapped his forehead. “Dammit. Didn’t I tell you? Tonight, 7:00. He’s bringing in three members of some vampire gang called the Pure Bloods.”

“As in ‘vampires are the only pure race’?”

Ryan shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll tell us.”

“What’s next?” Ari mused. “Actually, bigots might fit the profile. Racial purity as a motive.”

“Didn’t know we had a profile.”

“Two vampire victims. Both romantically involved outside their species. Looks like a developing pattern to me.”

Ryan shook his head, probably regretting he’d chosen law enforcement as a career. The topic often came up when things weren’t going well. “I suppose you’re subtly reminding me Eddie only hated one particular vampire. So, OK, let’s talk with him.”

* * *

Ari decided the redheaded reporter looked worse than the last time. He’d lost weight. His face was gaunt; the blue jumpsuit hung loose. Jail life didn’t agree with him. Ari supposed a really good friend should ooze sympathy, but she was annoyed. Patricia’s death confirmed for her that Eddie was innocent, but his false confession had sidetracked the investigation and delayed the search for the real killer. He should have trusted the system. Or at least trusted her.

“Sit down, Eddie,” Ryan began. “We have a few more questions for you.”

“I’ve told you both I have nothing more to say.” Eddie’s voice was weary.

“There’s been another killing,” Ryan said.

“What?” The reporter’s eyes bugged, face paled. “That can’t be! Is this some kind of trick?” He searched Ari’s face, then back to Ryan. “Who?”

“Thought you’d consider this good news,” Ryan said, studying his reaction. “Obviously you weren’t the shooter this time. If you have something more to tell us about Jules’s death, now’s the time.”

Eddie hesitated, and Ari threw him a lifeline. “Your mom gave me her gun. Lab tests confirmed this morning that it hadn’t been fired in months.”

His shoulders slumped, and he let out a long breath. “Thank God.”

Ryan looked at Ari and shook his head. “OK, Eddie, tell us exactly what you know about this mess.”

Eddie brushed back his rumpled hair. “I really thought my mother shot him.”

Ari sat back