Ari nodded toward the body, “wanted to buy a love potion in the worst way. Just wouldn’t give up. Believe me when I tell you, she was intense.”
“Aren’t all teenagers intense?”
“Not like this.” Ari paused, the scene vivid in her mind. Angela had stood out in the crowd of mostly teen girls. Insistent, verging on desperate. Ari had felt sorry for her, especially after the boyfriend walked in. He butted into the class, loud-mouthed and angry. Angela had turned red with embarrassment.
“The jerk boyfriend came in with an attitude, ranted and raved about Otherworlders, and then stomped out. He seemed to hate witches in particular.”
“So, he wasn’t a fan.” Ryan showed the first spark of humor for the day. “Doesn’t make him a killer.”
“Fine, laugh at me, but this guy was a real dipshit.”
“Did he make threats? Against you or the girl?”
“No. Pretty much like I told you. Insults, wild accusations. Otherworlders are demonic. Illegal drugs are produced by dark magic. Accused me and my kind of conspiring to control the human race. Crazy stuff.”
Ryan’s forehead creased in a brief scowl. Even he didn’t believe that kind of drivel. “Maybe he was on drugs. The autopsy will tell us if she was using.” He picked up the pamphlet and dropped it in an evidence bag. “All right, from what you’ve said, this guy has a nasty temper and was on the verge of losing control. If he got mad enough, maybe he could kill.” Ryan glanced toward the victim again. “But look at this scene, Ari. I’m not convinced a human could do this. It took a lot of force.”
“And we’ve got claw or teeth marks. Yeah, I get it. But I’d like a chance to jerk his chain.”
Ryan gave her a sly grin. “I’ll try to arrange that. Give my sketch artist a detailed description before you leave.” He scanned the room quickly. “We’ll play this as usual, if that’s OK. My department takes the lead with human suspects and physical evidence. You handle the magic stuff. Otherworlders won’t talk to us anyway. I hope the ME gives us a better cause of death, but I’m not counting on it.”
Ari agreed. Unless the medical examiner found evidence for the magic lab to analyze, his autopsy report wouldn’t help at all. The cause of death was sure to be multiple trauma, but the assailant hadn’t been human. The cause of death wouldn’t narrow the pool of suspects. Too many Otherworlders possessed the necessary strength, and the natural weapons, to inflict the victim’s injuries.
It was after 5:00 a.m. when they left the crime scene. They had a few potential leads. Ryan’s officers located two witnesses who reported a silver sedan in the neighborhood; another described a black van. They would try to locate both. Bags of debris had been sent to the lab for analysis and a rush put on the reports. They’d found no evidence of forced entry or an apartment-wide search. Except for the kitchen/dining area, the rooms were undisturbed. That had tentatively ruled out random violence and burglary, leading them to one inevitable conclusion: the victim had known her killer.
Ari’s first job was to find the vampire boyfriend. As she left Ryan outside the victim’s apartment building, she glanced at the sky. Streaks of gray indicated dawn wasn’t far away, too late to search for a vamp, and she’d be sharper after three or four hours of sleep anyway.
By the time she collapsed across her bed, the sun peeped through the window. She drifted off with a final weird thought: their prime suspect would be doing the same.
Chapter Four
It was just after 8:00 a.m. when Ari appeared at Claris Denning’s storefront.
“Coffee,” Ari croaked, setting the bell jingling as the door closed. Even over the rich smell of herbs and spices that habitually permeated the shop, she identified the tantalizing aroma of rich, black caffeine. Humans had definitely got one thing right. Coffee was essential, and Claris always had the pot on.
A young woman with long brown hair tied at the back of her neck looked up and smiled. “Hard night?” Without waiting for an answer, Claris nodded toward a beaded curtain at the back. “It’s brewed.” She set down an armful of dried herbs, sorted and tied in small bundles, and smoothed her long skirt. Claris tried hard to present the expected Mother Earth image at the shop, and her amiable personality fit, but Ari had seen her too often in cutoffs and a skimpy tank top to