“Nell,” I said, smiling, because Stapp looked nervous and I wanted to put him at ease in case his nervousness was due to us being Unit Eighteen, the only PsyLED unit known to be mostly paranormals.
“Etain Doyle,” the Irish witch said. “Catriona Doyle is ma sister and you people took her.” Etain’s voice went higher. “And you kidnapped her child.”
“If you’ll excuse us, ma’am,” Gerry said to Etain, “I need to speak with the special agents.”
“I’ll be staying right here, unless you plan to cart me away too.” When Stapp started to protest, she raised her chin and added, “You send me away, I’ll cast a hearing workin’ and listen in anyway.”
I hadn’t known that was possible, but it made sense. I wondered if the media had witches capable of that particular magic. That would be bad. I dragged my attention to Gerry.
None of us shook hands. Gerry looked over our shoulders at the other law enforcement officers before returning his attention to us. “I’m sorry about your sister being taken in,” he said softly to Etain. “It wasn’t my idea. And I didn’t know about the child until it was too late.”
To Occam and me, he said, “I don’t have much time, so listen fast.” His words were rapid and low, so his voice didn’t carry. “I’m here to cause trouble and make a stink, per orders of the senior special agent, Macauley Smythe. In a minute I’m going to act like an ass and you’re going to tell me to go to hell.”
“Why’s that?” I asked. “Why are you going to make a stink?”
Still soft and fast, he said, “Because Smythe is my boss and he said to. I toe the line for two more months until he formally retires. Everyone knows he hates anyone who’s not just like him. I’m black, I’m gay, he hates me, and he likes making my life a living hell. And before you tell me to write him up, his sleeve is checkered with racist incidents, use-of-force violations, and, way back when, at least one witness-tampering incident. He was always reprimanded up and promoted into a more rural sector. Either no one cares what he does or he has a protector up-line. These days, he has illusions of an easy retirement as a county sheriff or PD chief around here. Anything he can do to stymie your investigation and make the witches look responsible, he’ll do. Two months more and I can take over this office and make things right, so I’m following orders.” He made a little snorting laugh. “And because I’ve heard that Unit Eighteen are mostly paras, I’m hoping that will keep you from reporting me for talking against my up-line. That enough reasons?”
“Not gonna happen!” Occam said loudly, stepping between Gerry and the onlooking LEOs. He bunched his fists and stuck his head forward, for all the world as if he was mad. I hadn’t known he could act that well and a little churchwoman voice inside my head called it lying. I knew it wasn’t lying. But my brain and my history didn’t.
“We have Catriona and you have the property,” Stapp said, loudly. “Smythe wants info. He wants this site and he wants PsyLED off it.”
“Not gonna happen,” Occam said again. “He isn’t equipped to work it up.”
“And no one is gonna be able to work it wit’out us,” Etain said, joining the play. “I can feel the bizarre energies through ma boots.”
I slid a look her way. I had felt nothing. But then, I hadn’t tried, not with so many people around.
“He’ll keep you from Catriona Doyle no matter what it takes,” Stapp said. Softer he added, “He’s started on the paperwork to charge her with multiple counts of first-degree murder by magical means. Whoever you have up-line needs to get on this now, not tonight, not tomorrow. Now. Before he can push the paperwork through. Before it hits the media.”
“Even if it gets thrown out, if he gets an arrest this early in the investigation, the media firestorm would be huge,” Occam said, his eyes moving to the road where the news vans were parked.
“It’s already huge and Smythe intends to fan the flames,” Stapp said.
“I’ll curse him and turn his pecker into a toad,” Etain said. She had an impish face, but she looked anything but cute now. She looked dangerous.
“You can do that?” I asked.
“No. But he doesna know’t.”
“No threats,” Gerry said. “Anything you do along that line will play into his