10. I can’t help but notice you got about five times the amount of milk.

TEN

I can’t help but notice you got about five times the amount of milk.

Thursday, May 3, 2057

North Lake Education District, Precinct 153

Cauldron City, Nebraska.

Tucked in a corner lot near where North Lake Education District met Mid North Lake, my parents’ home counted as both an eyesore and a historic landmark. It had been one of the first homes built in Precinct 153, and it had endured through thick and thin. The place needed to be repainted, the eaves could use work, and I feared the roof might peel off the building during the next bad blow.

I sighed, wondering if I could afford to get the repair work done.

To trick my mother into believing I hadn’t bought too much on purpose, I’d engaged in an argument with Miranda over what we should get, ultimately purchasing everything and extra. At home, we’d stocked the fridge with what we actually needed and packed up the rest.

The largest of the roasts would become dinner, the bulk packages of chicken that were on sale would keep the whole family fed for a month, and I’d cleaned the entire store out of pork sausages, which my mother would turn into soup because there was nothing more us Lovells loved than sausage soup.

“Your mother tried to tell you that this wouldn’t all fit,” Miranda muttered, helping me unload the cruiser.

I snickered. “I knew it wouldn’t all fit, but the whole point is to help out through sacrificing some of my dignity. According to my parents, I am incapable of handling grocery shopping like a sane sentient.”

I checked on Marrinni, who slept in the nest dangling from the rearview mirror of the cruiser.

Yuri had given me six nests suitable for the little bird, one of which could be attached to Pumpkin’s vest.

Like the hummingbird, the puppy dozed. Halfway through the grocery shopping trip, she’d wobbled, resulting in me carrying her while Miranda and my mother had handled the cart. Marrinni had ridden on my shoulder when he’d gotten tired.

They’d attracted a great deal of attention, and I had taken advantage of the situation to do some public outreach.

“According to this, you are worse than merely incompetent at judging how much space you have in your fridge and freezers.”

I hauled the first load of groceries to the door, set them down, and hurried back for the next batch. “I took advantage of the sales. My grocery budget is going to be a thing of beauty for at least three months.”

“That’s true. I was genuinely impressed with how much you could fit, and your mother even let you get away with it. You packed your spare freezer with enough stuff she really couldn’t tell if you’d gone overboard on purpose.”

“That’s the idea.”

“I can’t help but notice you got about five times the amount of milk.”

“It was on sale, and that was the only thing I told Mom was for them since she said she was out. With an elephant coming over? Half that milk is going to be gone before we leave.”

Miranda’s eyes widened. “Paul runs on hugs and milk?”

“Basically.”

“What’s your excuse for the eggs?”

“I have no excuse for those. The store had a lot of good sales.”

She nodded. “I was quite impressed at how you could gesture at the sale sign and rein her in whenever she tried to protest.”

“And she won’t ever protest about the bacon. My family lives for bacon.”

“Which also happened to be on sale.”

“That was a pleasant surprise.”

It took us four trips to get everything to the front door. My mother, who had beaten us to her place, shook her head and handled carrying everything inside, screeching for my brothers and sisters to make themselves useful. While I was rounding up the sleepy puppy and unhooking Marrinni’s nest from the rearview mirror, Paul pulled up in his cruiser .

Unlike us, he still wore his uniform.

Like us, he’d come armed with groceries, and judging from the bags, he’d located similar sales to ours. Snickering, I herded Pumpkin his way and took one of the bags while Miranda grabbed as many as she could carry. “I’d grab more, but I don’t want to wake Marrinni. He’s had a busy day seeing a grocery store for the first time. Pumpkin is going to go right back to sleep the instant I get her inside I suspect.”

Paul bumped elbows with me, careful not to disturb the sleeping hummingbird. “Have they heard you’re running the dead weight case now?”

I shook my head.

“I’ll keep quiet, but I make no promises Captain Farthan hasn’t talked. He started looking into coffee roasters that can handle fifty pounds and realized he’d have to dish out for the best or there’d be whining. He no longer wants your opinion on the roaster, and he’s not accepting advice on the cooling rig, either. He knows you’re going to throw magic at it, so if he buys the best on the market, everyone is happy. His budget won’t be happy, but he’ll cope with it. He’s not sure if you’ll be happy with the Arabica beans he’s sourced, but he’s getting it at wholesale. The only problem is he has to get two hundred and fifty pounds a day worth.”

“What a tragedy.”

Paul laughed. “Yeah, I thought you’d be happy with that. Every time you need to think in private, you can visit your coffee roaster. When I pointed out that you usually need an hour a day to think without anyone bothering you, Captain Farthan realized you could probably do your thinking while your coffee is roasting. ”

“You’re probably right. What’s this I’m hearing about schooling?”

“Captain Farthan thinks it’ll work well. It’ll be two days a week, and it should help with our investigation work.”

“That’s great. You don’t mind?”

“Not at all. You’re going to have your hands full with your cadet.” Paul waited for Miranda to skitter to the door to deliver her latest load to wave at her. “How are you handling Mr. Grump?”

I grinned at the nickname, something that came out when I was forced to drink Robusta and work had gone to hell. “Paul would love to tell you stories about my stints as Mr. Grump. I’ll go get Marrinni and Pumpkin settled and help unload after.”

I left the two chatting and headed inside. Pumpkin paused long enough to do her business in the grass, and I cleaned up after her, praising her for taking the initiative. Inside the house, which had withstood the test of time better than the exterior, I left the entry for the living room, hanging the hummingbird nest from one of the planters dangling from the ceiling. Someone must have warned my family of the puppy, as there was a brand new dog bed between my mother’s armchair and the couch. I settled Pumpkin, removed her vest, told her she could go back to bed, and petted her until she curled up to sleep.

My father, who occupied his favorite chair, raised a brow at me. “You and that partner of yours seemed to have taken leave of your senses today.”

“There was a really good sale at the grocery store. I forgot how much was in my freezer, so I overbought. You can even ask Mom. She was present for the rampage through the meat section.”

“Babe?” my father hollered.

My mother came in from the direction of the kitchen. “What’s going on?”

“Is it true he forgot how much was in his freezer?”

“It’s true. The only thing he overbought on purpose was the milk, eggs, and bacon, and when he showed me the sales, I couldn’t argue with him. His partner is unloading his cruiser now, and you know how he goes through milk.”

“I ain’t ever seen someone drink that much milk in my damned life,” my father muttered.

I grinned, saluted my old man, and went into the kitchen to help my mother get everything put away. Most of the time, her two chest freezers ran close to empty, but my foray had done a decent job of filling one completely and putting a dint in the second. They wouldn’t be running out of bacon anytime soon, they’d be set on chicken for a while, and I’d probably come over to steal back a pack or two of sausage they wouldn’t miss.

My youngest brother, who had just turned eight, clutched a packet of bacon to his chest.

Kenny could eat an entire pack on his own and be ready for more.

“Hey, squirt. How’d you talk Mom out of a whole pack of bacon?”

“Mowing,” he replied in a solemn voice.

Sometime sooner than later, I’d have to take Kenny to see Dr. Erik and get recommendations for a speech therapist. While we didn’t think there was something wrong with him, he preferred to communicate in one word statements whenever possible. “That’s a good deal. How long is she goosing you for handling the mowing?”

He held up four fingers before saying, “Weeks.”

“Let me finish putting stuff away, and then I’ll help get that cooked up for you.” I ruffled his hair and resumed helping my mother before carting the next wave from the door into the kitchen. Paul hadn’t gone quite as overboard as I had, but he’d brought enough milk for himself and extra, meaning my family would be set for the next week or two.

Kenny alone could drink down an entire dairy farm if allowed. For a rare change, my mother would be able to let him drink as much as he desired.

Wasting food simply wasn’t done.

Once I’d finished making everything fit, I took Kenny’s pack of bacon, dug out one of my mother’s baking sheets and a dripping rack, and set up my little brother’s pack of bacon to bake. I expected most of it would disappear into his cavernous belly by the end of the day. At the rate he kept on growing, he’d be the tallest of us all and a prospect for being a quarterback.

Amalie, the youngest of my sisters and a year older than Kenny, barreled into the kitchen and attached herself to my leg. Much like Kenny, she had trouble with communication, although once she decided to talk, she did so with exhausting enthusiasm. Either silence or chatty chaos reigned, and nobody could guess which path she’d choose. Once I had Kenny’s reward in the oven, I bent over, picked her up, and settled most of her weight on my hip.

She held on tight and rested her head against me. “The news said there is a scary person, and they had pictures of you with pretty unicorns as part of the investigation team. Mommy and Daddy are worried, because that’s what Mommy and Daddy do when you do big adult things.”

So much for hiding my involvement. If I judged by my mother’s sigh, she’d intended on flying under the radar. As my involvement had already been exposed, I said, “Yes, I’m having to do big adult things at work lately. Right now, I’m spending most of my time in the station putting together clues and trying to figure out what this criminal is going to do next. You know how I like puzzles, Amalie.”

“Mommy says this isn’t the right kind of puzzle.”

I rolled my eyes before attempting to stare my mother into submission. “What kind of puzzle is the right kind?”

“The one that gets you into a nice suit and attending a wedding as the groom,” she replied, planting her hands on her hips. “You are far too old and handsome to still be single. Your sister is getting married next year, and you’re the eldest. You should be leading by example.”

The age gap between me and Lily had fooled most in our family into believing my parents wouldn’t be trying to have a lot of children. I’d been six when my sister had come around, and I enjoyed teasing Lily about her delayed entry into the world. With my luck, my sister would show up and join my mother in implying I should have even more kids so the Lovell family took over Cauldron City through sheer numbers. “I am leading by example. I’m keeping the streets safe so Lily can help your plans for domination.”

“I heard that!” my sister hollered from the other room.

Yep, I had no luck. Before I could run away, Lily stomped in, planted her hands on her hips, and glared at me. Her fiancé followed in her wake, and like Paul, he hadn’t had a chance to go home and get changed out of his uniform before heading over. Ruben grinned, came over, and hugged me, thumping my back. “Captain Wellens would like you to come pay us a visit about the case this week. He sacrificed me to pass the message along. It’s not hugely important, but he missed the last meeting because we had a 10-55, and we didn’t know who needed the ambulance. It turned out to be one of the patrol officers. If you think Captain Farthan is bad, the blues completely lose their shit if there is any code dealing with one of us doing our jobs.”

“Is the officer all right?”

“She’s fine. She’ll be sidelined for two weeks. There was a pursuit on foot, and she broke her ankle taking the perp down. The perp is cooling his heels in jail, and his arraignment is scheduled for tomorrow. There’s no point in trying to hide your involvement with the big case. You’ve been showing up in a lot of clips in the news with Paul, and it was only a matter of time before the brave reporters decide to try their luck.”

Of everyone in the household, my mother would be the most likely to take the initiative. “You didn’t bother Captain Farthan about this, did you?”

My mother’s smile warned me of trouble lurking nearby. “I did not. I didn’t even abuse Paul. I went for that little black you sometimes bring around, and I swore I’d take all his coins from his desk with some help from his boss. He confessed.”

I appreciated that Hardy Grimstone understood my mother would not be deterred, surrendering without a fight. “ It’s barely been confirmed I’ll be leading the case, and I haven’t even had a chance to do a complete case review yet.”

“That’s what that little black said,” my mother replied, and she dodged my little sister to kiss my cheek. “You’re doing a good job. Now, tell me about that pretty lady you brought with you.”

“She’s our new partner, Mom.”

“Well, that’s disappointing.”

I chuckled, handed my little sister over to my mother, and checked on Miranda and Paul, discovering that the pair had been cornered in the living room, where my father interrogated them. The elephant held his ground, swearing he had nothing to do with my assignment.

Snickering over the situation, I went in, bumped elbows with him, and said, “It’s fine, Dad. Thus far, the culprits have been smart enough to avoid targeting law enforcement. Should that change, they’ll rile everyone up and lower their general chances of survival. And anyway, if Paul had been given a say in it, we would be assigned to interceptor duty.”

Everyone relaxed, especially my father, who understood we were exact opposites on the driving spectrum. “You can’t do that to him, Paul. He won’t make it.”

“We’ve been put on interceptor duty once or twice. I handled the driving.”

“My boy probably handled the whimpering and cursing.”

“A little of each,” Paul stated, and he regarded me with a raised brow. “You should be more concerned that the captain is sending him for remedial driving lessons.”

Traitors surrounded me. “Why are you siding with him, Paul? What did I do?”

“You have the station’s nicest digital board now. ”

I stared at him. “I’m trying to figure out how you and Miranda are going to fit in the office with me and the board, honestly.”

“We aren’t. We’re going to have offices flanking you, and there will be more shuffling.”

Miranda stared at the elephant with wide eyes. “Shouldn’t he be sending me to the nursery rather than giving me an office?”

I laughed at that, plopped down on the couch beside Paul, and decided humor would be the only way to escape the dangerous situation we’d been thrust into intact. As such, I replied, “You got accepted by the detectives quickly, and we have mastered the art of whining. If they take you away, who happens to be our latest present, we will all whine.”

Paul jabbed me with his elbow. “She’s a person. People aren’t presents.”

“People are presents when they’re given to us as gifts from the judge,” I countered.

Paul took his time thinking about that. “Sorry, Miranda, but he does make a most excellent point.”

“I feel I should warn the captain that you two are not handling separation well.”

Busted. “We’ve been partners for years. A few months probably won’t kill us. Oh, Paul. Since Miranda has to study for her courses, too, my house has been volunteered as the location for your new study group. Once Jace is done with his hospital duty, I’ll invite him over if you need any tutoring.”

Paul perked up at my comment. “He’d mentioned something about that, but I had thought he’d been joking.”

I would need to remind Captain Farthan that Paul needed reminders that we didn’t speak sarcasm when discussing long-term scheduling. The elephant often struggled with some elements of sarcasm, searching for it at every opportunity and becoming confused on when it was to be used at work.

In good news for everyone, Paul tended to take everything more seriously, sparing us from him trying to actually use sarcasm.

Some species just lacked the ability to utilize sarcasm reliably, and I suspected elephant shifters were one of them.

“You’re going back to school?” my father asked.

I held up my hands and shook my head. “I’m not. They are, though. I’m just the responsible adult who will be making sure all students attend their courses and do their classwork in a timely fashion. The current precinct shuffling means Paul has a chance to take off the time needed for his schooling on their dime. I’m not sure what he’s taking, but apparently, it’s relevant, so he’s getting paid to do it.”

Miranda grinned while Paul sighed.

“Why aren’t you going back in for schooling?” My father crossed his arms over his chest.

“I already have a bachelor’s degree, and I don’t need a more advanced degree to do my job well. However, after Paul does his stint and gets whatever schooling he wants, I might take a turn to enhance my skills.”

Unlike the rest of my family, who aged at the expected rate, my magic meant I’d be alive and well—and probably appear to be no older than twenty-five—long after they had all passed on to the next life. I questioned how I’d gotten the magic I had, as nobody else in my family had the aptitude. The mirror suggested my parents were actually my parents, as I’d come out resembling my father while having a few of my mother’s features, notably her dusty brown hair, her eyes, and her father’s height, which made me taller than everyone else.

There was also sufficient photography evidence of my mother’s pregnancy with me to indicate I was, in actuality, their child.

“You’re the smartest of our children,” my father complained. “How are we going to be able to tell anyone we have smart children if they all stop schooling after getting a bachelor’s degree?”

Sometimes, my father drove me close to becoming crazy without quite pushing me over the ledge. “Maybe you should be happy with a cop and one married to a cop.”

He sighed.

Paul snickered, elbowed me, and said, “I’ll talk to Captain Farthan about expanding his general education and a degree program. He’s never going to be a doctor, though. He has zero talent at anything other than CPR.”

Gloria and her father must have spoken to Paul recently. “Dr. Erik is going to be forcing me to get my paramedic certification through him. Apparently, they have a magicker program. Maybe I won’t dismally suck there. In bad news, Dad, I’m never going to be a doctor. I have zero aptitude for it.”

“Unless you have to do CPR, in which case, you’re the best man for the job,” Paul countered, once again jabbing me with his elbow.

I read between the lines: the elephant needed to be physically engaged or the property damage would begin at the first hint of provocation. As my father’s living room could withstand a magicker and a shapeshifter romping, I engaged.

As expected, it devolved into jabs.

My father wisely moved the coffee table while sighing. “Try not to do destroy anything, boys.”

That much we might accomplish, maybe.

Thursday, May 3, 2057

North Lake Education District, Precinct 153

Cauldron City, Nebraska.

Sometimes, the best way to make progress on an investigation was to abandon it altogether for an evening. Miranda meshed with my family better than I expected, and the woman delighted in how everyone welcomed her. Paul helped in his unique way, providing a hug and encouragement whenever she flagged or seemed uncertain.

Magic worked in mysterious ways, and he managed to do what I couldn’t through the force of his personality. Those who met the elephant left with the understanding he cared .

I came across as a steady hand in the face of chaos and insanity, which brought people in need of help to me. Unlike Paul, I couldn’t set them at ease while solving their problems.

On the other hand, unlike Paul, I could go just about anywhere without something or someone getting broken.

In good news for my father’s beloved coffee table, the damage could be fixed with some elbow grease, some glue, and patience.

After dinner, with Pumpkin and Marrinni passed out so hard I doubted either one of them would budge until tomorrow, I headed home, wondering if the circumstances of Dr. Lerrans’s childhood had been the true motivating factor behind his decision to found Mercy and do his best to rid the world of people like me and my family. I found it unlikely he blamed his father for anything; everything we knew of the man indicated he wanted dragons to survive through his horrific concoction.

Did he blame his mother for his inability to shapeshift?

Unless I could find some way to speak to the dead, I doubted I’d ever get the answers to my questions. While Dr. Lerrans was the kind to gloat, I doubted he’d gloat to law enforcement. As nobody deserved what the bastard did to others, I wouldn’t sacrifice even a serial killer to his vile ways.

That meant I would have to evaluate the puzzle pieces I had, dig into the past, and attempt to find someone who had known him before he’d made the decision to be a mass murdering asshole.

I doubted I could trust his military buddies.

However, his military buddies, assuming any lived, might be able to point me in the right direction. Some might betray the man, but others would likely warn him I was sniffing at his trail.

The last thing I wanted or needed was to become one of Dr. Lerrans’s victims.

Once in the cruiser, Miranda asked, “How often do you take Paul to see your family? ”

“We go over once or twice a week. He gets the socialization he needs, and he tends to help with the grocery problems, though that was excessive for both of us. Normally, he brings a bag of canned goods and claims he ran out of room in his pantry. He loves big family affairs, but elephant shifters don’t tend to have big families. Pairs have one child, and in most cases, they stick together with their family and be reclusive. Paul isn’t your normal elephant. He wants to be part of a huge herd, and should he get married, may his wife go in with her eyes wide open.”

Miranda giggled. “You’re saying we need to find him a woman who requires a great deal of affection and wants at least ten children?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Do you think he’d be into a reformed criminal? If so, I know a few women who’d love to get out of the life of crime in exchange for a life of children.”

It saddened me how my experience in the force supported her claim of there being a lot of women ideal for Paul in the underworld, looking for a chance at a better life—and a family life—if only one came his way. “Definitely tell Captain Farthan about these women. It wouldn’t surprise me if he spoke to a judge or two about the situation to see if he can help get them off the streets. Our job is to help the community, and that often means doing outreach work like this. We don’t want people on the street as much as people don’t want to be on the street.”

“Some do, though.”

I nodded. “Some do. I’ve found that most don’t, though. If someone is given a chance to reform in such a way they can actually succeed, they’re pretty likely to succeed. But it takes programs like the one you’re in, where you’re eased back into society, given a true chance to build good habits, and take away the elements that often lead to failure. Paying rent tends to be an obstacle, because those in that position often have no idea how to manage money. Your case was set up so you could learn to manage money before you had to add paying rent to the equation.”

“Money’s hard.”

It was, and it’d taken me a few years of struggling to figure out how to create and stick to a budget. “I’ll help you figure out your budget, and I’ll teach you all the tricks needed to stick to your budget. For now, your job is to learn about being a cop, getting the schooling you need, and worshipping the animals.”

I checked on Marrinni, who slept in his nest dangling from my rearview mirror before checking on Pumpkin, who remained where I’d put her on the back seat. As all seemed well, I started the engine and headed towards home.

“This initial assignment doesn’t seem to be too hard.”

“I’d even call it enjoyable, assuming you enjoy schooling.”

“It’s been so long I truly don’t remember if I actually like school. By the time I dropped, it had been a while since I’d actually gone to class. I’d been looking for somewhere to go instead. I’m the first to admit I had a lot of issues growing up.”

“People change, and I think most forget that someone in school is still a child and has a lot of growing up to do. We—society, that is—tend to treat teenagers like they are experienced and mature adults. They aren’t, even the ones who act the most experienced and mature. Worse, I think the kids who are treated like full adults from an early age are the ones who suffer through breakdowns and excess stress later in life because they were never taught that unwinding and having fun was allowed.”

“Did you fall into that group?”

I nodded. “My parents are big into education, and as the eldest of the lot, I got the short end of the stick for that. By the time Lily came around, they realized they’d made mistakes with me. They are smart, so they did their best to avoid making the same mistakes. It worked out well, as my younger siblings won’t be heading to college likely, not unless they get through speech therapy. I’ve been considering asking Dr. Erik to figure out the cause of their learning disabilities, but I think having kids on both ends of the spectrum really helped them become good parents.”

“Are you the smartest among your siblings?”

I shrugged. “If we’re talking book smarts and ability to go to school, probably. When I was in high school, I had become obsessed with improving my magicker skills, so while I did well at my education and got my bachelor’s degree, there wasn’t an advanced degree for magic usage. Had there been, I likely would have gotten a doctorate.”

I could spend the rest of my life studying magic and never get my fill. In some ways, I’d settled with being a cop.

Even a decade ago, magickers had been the oddballs, around to make some tasks easier, safeguard objects, and otherwise get out of the way of species with innate abilities.

Had there been schooling for magickers to learn medical arts, I likely would have taken them.

I wondered if Dr. Erik had tricks of the trade people like me could learn .

“A dollar for your thoughts? I don’t think a penny is going to foot the bill.”

“What do you know about magickers?” I asked, wondering how I’d explain the conundrum that was my life.

“They’re the group that always gets short changed. They provide a lot of services to make our lives easier. Take the whole sewer system here. Without magickers, that system wouldn’t exist. If there’s a problem with someone’s sewer lines, rather than destroy half the house pulling the floors up, magickers can only pull out what is needed—and the magic restores it to the same condition. They take magic and make it useful .”

Well, someone liked magickers about as much as I liked magic, if I were to judge from both her words and her tone. “And a lot of people look down on magickers.”

“They do. People value the ‘natural’ order of things far more than the magic of hard work. And that’s what being a magicker is all about. It’s all about that hard work. Nobody starts off as a strong magicker. Sure, there are people more inclined for the usage of such magic, but anyone can learn magicker tricks. And I mean that. Anyone can. There are no known instances of someone failing to do the basic tricks.”

I hadn’t considered that element of it before. When I’d been a child and first discovered magic, I hadn’t known how the world worked. I’d assumed everyone could use magic the same exact way I could.

By the time I’d become an adult, the realities of the world had come calling, and I’d understood magic was a personal affair.

I still failed to understand why my magic presented itself as the steadfast nature of a rock. I suspected my fascination with stones as a child, especially shiny ones, had played a role in my nature. I still loved shiny rocks, but their price tag caused me problems.

One day, I might ask Jace about one of his stones for my magic, if I could find some way to pay him for the fruits of his culinary labor.

“If everyone viewed magic the way you do, the world would likely be a better place.”

Miranda shook her head. “It would be one filled with even more crime and greed. People would use their magic to take who and what they wanted. Right now, there are strong magickers, and most of them have a code of ethics. If everyone could use magic with grace, finesse, and skill, anything would go. Power corrupts.”

That it could—and did. “That’s part of why I became a cop. I have power, and I didn’t want it to corrupt me, so I decided I would serve the people instead of trying to rule over them. And at my level of skill? That could be done. That scares me.”

“So, you make coffee and work as a cop instead?”

I nodded.

“How do you keep from becoming corrupted as a cop?”

“Carefully. Mostly, I remind myself that I serve the people, not the other way around. When I pull someone over for speeding, I’m doing it to protect other people. In the park, my concern was to make certain that gunman did not open fire. When I try to solve some form of crime, I’m doing it all for the sake of the people. I put myself last whenever possible. So far, I think it’s working.”

“That’s a good way to look at it. Do you think someone like me can really become a cop? ”

“The fact that you’re trying despite the bounty out for you tells me that you can. Only you can decide to change. Nobody else can change you. They can try to force you into making changes you don’t like, but ultimately, you decide if you’re going to allow that. That’s hard, though.” I drummed my fingers on the wheel, turned onto my street, and sighed at the sight of the Black Dragon of New York loitering on my porch, keeping my flock of hummingbirds company. “Well, I’m not going to be worried about anyone hurting my birds or robbing my house with that menace on my porch.”

Miranda snickered. “You just can’t escape him, can you?”

“Jace must either be at the hospital or at home with his granddaughter. If he leaves that pair alone long enough, he’ll end up rolling in great-grandchildren. Jace adores kids, and everything I’ve seen of Alicia indicates they’re going to have an entire brood of children and need that big house to hold everybody. Neither will be upset over this, especially since they’re both independently wealthy.”

“I wonder what it’s like to be independently wealthy.”

“I wouldn’t have the foggiest. I’ve been pinching pennies since the day I got hired as a cop. My coffee supplies are my primary luxury.”

I parked my cruiser in its spot. “I’ll get Marrinni, you get Pumpkin. If we’re lucky, neither will wake up while we put them to bed.”

“It’s like having children, but should we fail to move them without waking them, we’ll get squeaks and whines rather than screams.”

“They’ve had a busy night being worshipped by everyone.” I chuckled, eased Marrinni’s nest from the mirror, and got out of my vehicle .

The hummingbird slept without budging.

I checked to make sure he still breathed just to be sure, and I smiled at the little bird, who dozed without a care in the world.

Luck was with us, and Miranda managed to extract Pumpkin from the back seat without waking her. The Black Dragon of New York chuckled and observed while I hung the nest in its proper spot and greeted the waiting females, praising them for keeping the black dragon company. Then I opened the door so Miranda could put the puppy to bed. “Yuri needed to head off, so she summoned reinforcements?”

“She did need to head off, but I arrived just as she was finishing checking on everyone. All your birds are hale and hearty, and she thinks the weaker eggs will pull through just fine. She thinks they’re seven to nine days from hatching, and Marrinni will want to stay home all the time starting five days from now until everyone has hatched.”

I would make certain to thank the woman tomorrow. “What brings you my way?”

“The toxin showed up in New York. Captain Farthan thought it was important enough to send me over to fill you in while he handles discussing the situation with the FBI.”

I winced, headed for my kitchen, and grabbed one of the newly roasted bags of beans. “I’m going to need coffee for this, and I’ll be adding alcohol to mine. You can only have the alcohol if you’re planning on flying out of here rather than driving.”

“I’m flying, and I’ll take a spiked coffee. Thanks.”

“Are you having your coffee straight up or spiked, Miranda?”

“Spiked, please. ”

I dug out my bottle of creme liquor, plunked it onto the counter, and went for the brewing machine. If the conversation went as expected, we’d want more than one cup of coffee. If we didn’t end up wanting more, I’d put the leftovers into the fridge for tomorrow, turning it into a sugary, creamy concoction reminiscent of coffee. “How bad is it in New York?”

“When I left this morning, there had been six hundred deaths. The last death toll count was at over nine hundred. It’s been classified as a terrorism event, and the developers of the toxin have been publicly accused. Dr. Lerrans has been blasted in the media. Captain Farthan sacrificed me to warn you.”

I whistled at the death count, which would make international news and bring a great deal of attention to the case. “Who did those bastards target in New York?”

“They went for the homeless shelters. The source of the poisoning was discovered about an hour after the toxin started killing people. Someone matching Dr. Lerrans’s description was seen with a few others planting the toxin among bags of liquid sugar. As just about everyone in the shelters was drinking tea or coffee, there were mass deaths before anyone realized anything was wrong.”

Miranda sucked in a breath.

The shock of someone deliberately murdering the homeless kept me quiet for several dragging minutes. It fit well with what I knew of Dr. Lerrans and those he worked with, but that they would follow through with an act so despicable reminded me of a simple truth.

I hunted a monster.

Before, while I’d been repulsed and determined to see the man fall for his crimes, his latest pursuit kindled a flame, one that would not be extinguished until justice was served—not that justice could truly be served.

Nothing could bring back the dead, and he’d eliminated the most vulnerable members of our society, the people who needed our help the most.

I went through the motions of making coffee. Once the machine worked its magic, I focused on the source of the toxin: liquid sugar. “Homeless shelters use liquid sugar? Why liquid sugar?”

“The shelters were big ones, housing several hundred people at a time. This group hit them all, and it’s currently estimated that there are at least three thousand people being treated. There’s no way of knowing how many of them will survive. They use a cafeteria setup, so they’d ordered liquid sugar for something. I’m guessing sweetened drinks they’re making, like teas or coffees. It’s faster than trying to dissolve the sugar when they have to make a lot of it.” The black dragon growled and paced around my kitchen, reminding me of a caged beast contemplating an escape through brute force. “Nathan wanted me to warn you, as he’s not even capable of communicating without cursing or growling.”

Right. When Captain Farthan truly lost his temper, he recruited other dragons to do the speaking for him until he calmed. I expected everyone in the precinct suffered from similar struggles. Digging out my cell, I called Paul.

“What’s wrong?” he answered.

“Mercy hit New York, and it’s bad. Don’t watch the news, get your doc to give you a prescription dose of a chill pill, and come to my place in the morning after you’ve taken it. Let’s minimize property damage tomorrow. ”

“You got it. How is the captain?”

“He’s angry enough he sent the Black Dragon of New York over to warn me about the situation in person.”

“What’s the death count?”

“It’ll probably be over a thousand once it’s said and done.” I sighed. “They targeted the destitute.”

Paul snorted, a precursor for him trumpeting his fury for the world to hear. “I’ll give my doc a call. Thanks for the warning. Are you going to go in early?”

If I showed up early because of a case, the entire station would freak out. I had a reputation, and that reputation involved only working early or late if there was trouble. Sometimes, the trouble involved dangling the captain’s shoes from the ceiling.

The rest of the time, it involved a case that might cost someone their life should I spend too much time at home relaxing.

With more than one life on the line, I foresaw a lot of overtime. “Yeah, I’m going to go in early.”

“I’ll bring good beans for our floor. That’s the least I can do.”

While Paul could level a building when he shifted and rampaged, he also understood his tendencies and did as many of the little things as possible. “I’ll bring my roaster and supplies. Roasting beans in my office will let me think while trying to figure out what is going on, why, and where this bastard is going to strike next.”

“Do we know his location?”

“He was seen in New York, but who knows now. But he won’t be flying on a plane again without a lot of plastic surgery. ”

His new designation as a terrorist would see to that, and airport security policies indicated that all passengers would be screened with magic numerous times during the security and boarding process.

With luck, he wouldn’t know and be caught at an airport, giving us a chance to take him out.

“I’m going to get six hours of sleep and head into work. Hopefully, by then, we’ll have some FBI reports to work with and extra information on what this bastard is doing.”

I could guess at the why of it, and I expected every major city with a high homeless population would find themselves the center of a tragedy.

Most of the homeless were the victims of bad circumstances. Some were drug addicts, but many more were single moms who couldn’t make ends meet, young college graduates who hadn’t figured out life yet, veterans, and those who’d just been dealt a bad hand.

“Try for seven,” Paul advised. “You’re a beast if you haven’t gotten enough sleep. Eight would be better. I can work on six and start setting things up at the station for you—and warn everyone you’ll be coming in like a wrecking ball.”

That would work. “Thanks, Paul.”

“We’re still partners,” he reminded me in a quiet voice. “You’re just training our new partner while I’m getting some advanced schooling. And don’t act like the captain didn’t break your heart with the illusion of splitting us up.”

His commentary helped me to relax, and I even managed to crack a grin despite the severity of the situation. “I’m going to make myself a cup of coffee, I’m spiking it, and I’ll get eight hours before coming in and getting to work. ”

“I’ll acquire some raw beans for your home stash as a present for getting eight hours of sleep. And I’ll be nice and not get the Robusta.”

“Appreciated. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I hung up, relayed Paul’s side of the conversation, and focused on Miranda. “Are you okay with this?”

“If it means making certain that bastard burns, I will do a lot more than work some overtime. I don’t even need to be paid for it, as long as I can contribute to destroying that piece of filth.”