78. Anna

78

Anna

I stared at Officer Jones's blank face as he held the door open to the station. The sharp metallic smell of blood overwhelmed my senses as I stepped closer. Kenzi grabbed my arms but was careful not to say anything. Janelle had been very clear that the officers would remember everything we said.

This was the man who'd beat Jax. There wasn't a mark on him. My mate really was trying to play by the rules.

In a game where no one was playing by the rules, it would get him killed. "I find it alarming, Officer Jones," I said loudly. "That my husband has been beaten but there's no one in the cell with him. I'm sure you have an explanation for this."

"No, ma'am," he said woodenly. The spell would only allow him to say yes or no.

"I see. When my husband's lawyer arrives, I'm sure he'll be looking into the matter. In the meantime, if any more marks appear on him, we will sue this department for every little penny that you have. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Kenzi practically pushed me out the door, and Janelle murmured something before the door closed. When we met the other on the other side of the parking lot, I looked at the witch.

The use of the magic was taking a toll on her. "What did you say to them?"

"I instructed them to follow the procedure in their handbook for two hours. They may awaken prior to that if anyone else interacts with them. This will protect them if anything violent happens but also keep the spell quiet."

"Shame. I'd be tickled pink if a car ran them over," I muttered.

"Tickled pink?" Saul echoed. "That's an interesting thought."

"Officer Jones was beating Jax. Emerson probably paid him," I said bitterly and sighed.

"Let's get this over with. Where are the dead bodies?"

I was in a hurry. One day until Emerson killed Cindy. Sweet and innocent little Cindy. I'd thought she was a plant. I'd thought they were all plants.

No, they were all just victims of Emerson's cruelty. Now Cindy was going to die if I couldn't end this before the deadline.

One day. Everyone stared at me when I demanded they help me. I knew what they were all thinking. There was no way I would get this all done in one day.

But I had to try. I couldn't just sit around and do nothing.

Saul had rightfully assumed that the local doctor was also the coroner. Janelle used magic to get us in and then sagged against the wall with the effort. She'd had enough for one day. Saul silently pulled a chair up for her and directed her to sit.

The door to the morgue was locked, but only with a simple deadbolt. Apparently the doctor was more concerned with their drugs than their dead people.

That was just fine with me.

There were three bodies in the morgue. One elderly woman and the two victims. Pulling the drawers open, I took one look at them and inhaled sharply.

"Creepy," Kenzi muttered as we both stared at my dead body. "It's pretty perfect."

I wrinkled my nose. "It's covered in magic."

Saul pulled down the sheet, and I cleared my throat before he could get too far. He bowed his head. "I'm only looking to see if they've performed an autopsy. They have not. I'll just check on the other body while you undo this atrocious spell."

We all knew it wasn't me, but I wasn't all that keen in learning if the rest of the body would resemble me as well. Kenzi handed me a pair of latex gloves, and I touched the cold skin. Memories flashed before my eyes. All of my father's victims that I'd had to bury.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry that you had to die because of me."

"Not because of you," Saul interjected crossly. "We've talked about this. You are not responsible for your father's kills. You are not responsible for Emerson's."

No, but I thought of Marsh and wondered just how many times one had to deal with psycho men before they started to think that maybe they were the problem.

"Stop it," Saul growled again. "Whatever you are thinking of, just stop it."

"Sorry," I muttered and focused on the spell instead. The tendrils of colors were tightly woven around the body, but as soon as I focused on them, they immediately loosened and started to dissipate.

"Huh," Kenzi said over my shoulder. "Well it still kind of looks like you."

When I opened my eyes, I saw that she was right. The woman was about my age with similar coloring, but it was clearly not me.

"No autopsies, but a ton of screening was done. Let me see if I can pull up the doctor's notes." Saul sat at the computer.

I focused on the second body and was done by the time he grunted in victory. "Login was written under the keyboard. I have a feeling Dr. Kelp is an older gentleman. Now then, let's see."

While he scrolled through the computer, I returned to Janelle.

"The glamour is gone, but the photos will still look like me. How do we fix that?"

"The photos will change. Glamour will cling to photos, but once the original spell dissipates, it will as well. That must be why Emerson found people who looked like us. The spell wouldn't last forever."

At least that made things a little easier. It still wouldn't be enough. Saul and Kenzi joined us a few minutes later. "The doctor suspected the victims were drugged from the lack of defensive wounds, so he ran a toxicology. They were not. Likely, they were spelled and then killed. There was blood collected that does not belong to the victim."

"Great. It won't belong to Jax either." So why the hell was the detective holding him?

"Anything else in the file that's useful?"

"As a matter of fact, there is. The name of the witness. Michael Jones."

Kenzi inhaled sharply, and I looked at her. "You know who that is?"

"I sure do. We've got one more place to break into."

I glanced at Janelle. "I don't know that she has it in her."

"I wouldn't worry about it. I'm pretty sure we can break into this place all on our own."

Glancing around the office, I felt a cold fury settle in the pit of my stomach. "So first he reports to the police that he saw the two missing women at his motel, and then he conveniently witnesses Jax murdering them. The motel manager has been a busy man, hasn't he?" I pointed to a picture on the wall. "Jones and Jones. Looks familiar."

The motel manager was brothers with the cop. Things were starting to look too convenient.

"Emerson must be paying them quite a bit of money to lie. Not everyone has the stomach to see an innocent man go to jail." Saul said quietly. "Then again, if Jax is facing police brutality, it's possible that these men are already not as innocent as I like to think."

"Definitely not innocent,' Kenzi said darkly as she picked open a locked cabinet in the manager's private office. There were four computer screens tucked inside. When she turned them in, it was clear that they were not for security. They showed four motel rooms."

"Shit, those aren't our rooms, are they?" I gasped.

"No. I bet Mr. Peeping Tom here only puts women traveling alone in these rooms." Using the mouse, she went to the menu and pulled up some saved files. There were nearly fifty saved videos.

We watched a few before I asked her to turn it off.

Michael Jones wasn't just a Peeping Tom. He was also a rapist. "What do you want to bet that Officer Jones takes the reports and immediately throws them in the trash," I said in disgust.

"Saul, do you know if officers have to have their DNA on file?"

"I do not believe so."

Motel manager and/or his officer brother were our killer. I would have bet just about anything on it. Emerson liked to make sure nothing could be traced back to him. He probably used them to keep an eye on any of his wolves that came to town, and they were eager for a bigger job when he offered it to them.

"We can turn this over to the detective, but he might also be covering for them," Kenzi sighed. "And even if we did, it's not likely that it will free Jax in time."

"We'll turn it over to him anyway, but we'll save a copy. Tomorrow, we'll just have to convince Michael Jones to recant his statement." I grinned coldly. "And if his brother tries to cover for him again, I'll leave his body on the doorstep with a note that even the chief can't ignore."

"Learn a few things during your time with Emerson?" Saul asked quietly.

I whirled around and glared at him. I wasn't doing anything that Jax wouldn't do for me. I wasn't doing anything these men didn't deserve.

It wasn't cruelty. It was justice.