My Warrior (Bewitched and Bewildered #12) - Alanea Alder Page 0,28
she said soothingly.
The queen turned to her. "Brie, I know I put you on the spot at the processing center, but I really would like for you to take charge of this entire disaster. Your clear-headed suggestions have created the start of processes that will least traumatize my people."
"Your Majesty…"
"You can call me Aleksandra, if you wish. Your mate, Ari, is one of my most dedicated warriors, and I have a feeling you and I will be communicating quite a bit in the weeks to come, and 'Your Majesty' is such a mouthful."
Brie inclined her head. "Thank you. Aleksandra, I know that this isn't what you want to hear, but unless River uncovers something substantial that was overlooked by the killer, there was nothing at the scene to give us a direction to go."
The queen's face fell. "But you said…"
Brie nodded. "I know. I was standing in front of over a hundred grieving family members; that isn't exactly the time or place to admit that we've very little to go on."
"There'll be more," Meryn whispered.
All heads swung to face her as the queen gasped. "A premonition?"
Meryn shook her head. "No, facts. We're missing more than the seventy-eight found in the warehouse in Monroe. I'm willing to bet tomorrow's scones that there are multiple processing warehouses across the country, probably centered on where fae congregated while living outside Éire Danu."
"What can we do?" the queen asked, reaching for her mate's hand.
Meryn lightly tapped her butter knife against the side of her plate distractedly. "Look for large buildings that may be housing kidnapped fae, I guess, but…" the knife stilled. "Something isn't quite right. Like the timing of it. I saw some of the photos that were taken at the scene; they hadn't been dead that long. So why wait? What was the determining factor to kill them? Was it all in one go?"
"Meryn!" Amelia whispered.
Meryn ignored her cousin. "Yeah, that's the first thing we need to determine. How and when they died."
Brie held out her hand, and Meryn passed her tablet down the table. Brie began to skim the notes that were beautifully organized by this Kari individual. If Meryn was focusing on cause of death, there had to be a reason.
Brennus, the queen's consort, changed the subject as the first course was brought out. The squire introduced as Leo took one look at the tablet in her hand and changed her food selection. Instead of soup, she received some of the easier to eat hors d'oeuvres. "Thank you," she whispered. He winked at her and also filled her wine glass. The man was simply amazing.
As everyone engaged in small talk, she continued to read. Every once in a while, she would look up to find that Meryn was watching her intently. It was almost as if she was hoping that Brie would be able to follow her train of thought.
As they were about to transition to the entrée, she read something that stopped her in her tracks. She must have gasped, because the conversations around the table ceased.
Meryn leaned forward. "See anything?"
"Hold on." She pulled out her phone and dialed River.
"Hey, Wilson."
"Hey, can you forward me the crime scene photos that I took?"
"Sure." He paused. "Did you catch something?"
"Not sure yet, I need to see the photos. Also, shift your focus to method and time of death."
"You got it. The photos are on their way. Call me back if you find something concrete," he replied, before disconnecting.
"What photos?" Meryn asked.
"Once we got back from getting Ari patched up, I needed a distraction, so I helped photograph the scene."
Meryn scowled. "I didn't see those."
"River is probably pulling them from the memory card now. We did have a lot going on."
"Patched up?" Rex asked.
She nodded as she scrolled through her phone. "Yeah, I shot him when he shifted into a lion and roared at me, then my dad accidentally neutered him."
Gasps were heard around the table.
"What!" Rex and Jedrek roared in unison.
"My baby!" Catherine, clutched at her chest.
Ari simply growled at her side. Gage, Priest, and Kincaid were laughing their asses off, and her father was sinking in his chair.
She looked up at Ari. "Still think it's funny?"
"Brie, you do not need Ari, become my mate," Gage offered.
Ari hissed at his friend.
"Will someone please tell me what in the hell is going on?" Jedrek demanded.
Ari, looking sheepish, told everyone about his earlier prank. Around the table, everyone began to laugh, including the queen.