"True." He studied her for a moment, hazel eyes intense. "How did you drive the creature away? Stun rifles don't work on kites."
"No, but they definitely don't like it when you fire at their head. It seemed to lose its sense of place."
He raised his eyebrows in surprise, but any comment he was about to make was cut off as a viaphone beeped. His, not hers.
He reached into his pocket and dragged it out. "Stern," he said, a hint of impatience in his voice.
Given the tightening of his already annoyed expression, the news obviously wasn't good.
"What?" she said, the minute he'd hung up.
"Looks like our serial killer has struck again. Byrne wants me to investigate."
Me, not we, she noted, and wondered if, in fact, Stephan had said that, or if Gabriel was locking her out again. "Where this time?"
"Elwood."
She raised her eyebrows. If it was the same killer, then he was certainly showing no preference for a particular area. So far, he'd killed in Toorak, Broadmeadows, and now Elwood. And it was more than just miles that separated the three suburbs — each one held a different step on the social ladder.
"What about the blood bank watch?"
"Briggs and Francis have taken over."
Lucky them. Though she'd seen the two working together before, and she had no doubt that Briggs would be considerate enough to offer her partner a hot coffee long before his butt froze to the step. "So let's go investigate."
His gaze narrowed, as if he'd sensed the hint of sarcasm underlying her words. "You disobeyed orders and came after the kite. Now you're stuck with the case, I'm afraid."
And if the kite hadn't attacked, he would have found some other reason to keep her away from the murder investigation. Had it been anyone else, she would have sworn it stemmed from distrust — both of her and her ability to cope with the job. With Gabriel, it was something deeper. And if it was distrust, then it was more distrust of himself.
Not that that thought made any sense at all.
"Well, at least its better than filling in endless rounds of paperwork."
His brief smile held a grim edge. "You've been with the SIU for just on three months. You've yet to go through full training. Do not expect to be treated as anything more than a trainee."
She snorted softly. "Don't worry. Any expectations I might have had have long since died."
Anger flared briefly in his eyes. Then he glanced at the cell unit in her hand, and his face became impassive once more. "Keep in contact. I'll see you back at the office."
He turned and walked away, his movements sharp and somehow aggravated.
She stared at the door for several minutes after he'd disappeared, and then she turned and walked across to the bedroom to see what she could find.
* * * *
Gabriel showed his ID to the black-clad police officer keeping watch and then ducked under the yellow crime scene tapes. The rotating red and blue lights of the nearby police vehicles washed across the night, splashing the otherwise somber, glass-walled building with color.Like so many other buildings built in the area recently, this one had no real character. Its only purpose in life was to provide a decent view for those wealthy enough to afford an apartment so close to the city and the beach. He glanced up — ten floors in all. Surely, this time, they'd find a witness.
His brother walked down the steps as Gabriel approached. Stephan was a multishifter capable of taking the form of any human male he touched, but the shape he mostly wore these days was that of Jonathon Byrne, the head of the SIU. Gabriel raised his eyebrows in surprise. It was unusual for the head of SIU to become involved in routine investigations such as this. Something had to be up.
Byrne stopped in front of him, blue eyes narrowed. "Where's Ryan?"
Gabriel shrugged, even though he knew his nonchalance would only irritate his brother more. Right now, he didn't really care. "Handling the kite murder."
Stephan shot an aggravated look at the two police officers standing nearby. Gabriel smiled grimly. Their presence restrained Stephan from saying too much. It was a well-known fact that Byrne had very little to do with his six assistant directors. Being too familiar now might just blow Stephan's new identity out of the water.
"Damn it, Stern, you're supposed to be partners."
"I don't want or need a partner." And his brother, more than anyone, should have understood why.