Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

After Dante left, I went to check on Murdoch. As I opened the door, Jangles came racing down the hall and leaped around me, into the bathroom. I froze, waiting, as she bounced up to Murdoch, but the expected fight didn’t come. Instead, he purped, she turned and ran, and he followed her.

“I give up. If you two want to be buddies, that’s good. I’m still putting you in the bathroom for the night, Murdoch,” I said, carrying the dishes over to the sink where I rinsed them and stuck them in the dishwasher.

Then, I grabbed the sweeper and quickly ran it over the floor, sucking up any stray crumbs. When I returned to the living room to dust, Jangles and Murdoch were curled up together on the sofa. I stared at them for a moment, then chuckled.

“All right, you two win. You’re already best buddies, so I’ll let you be.”

I finished cleaning, locked up, turned on the security code, and headed for the bedroom. I removed my makeup, then stripped out of my clothes and popped into the shower. As I lathered up, I replayed the conversation with Dante.

He was right, I was afraid to let people into my life. I’d seen my demon nature come out twice, and I had no clue on how to handle it except for stuffing it down and keeping a tight lid on it. I had thought, several times, that aspects of my nature might be useful, but only if I could learn how to handle it and keep the out-of-control parts in check. If there was some way to do that—some way to train myself—then I’d be willing to learn.

I kept the two times I lost control under lock and key. I hated remembering the rage, and the anger…the lack of remorse. I wasn’t sorry that the men I had attacked were dead, but I didn’t like being swept under a tide of rage, because that meant I had given up control—and if it happened with strangers, could it happen with someone I cared about?

I scrubbed my skin, using pumpkin swirl bath gel—one of my nods to the season—and rinsed off, then dried my hair. It was so long and thick that I had to blow dry it or it would stay wet all night. When it was almost dry, I braided it back. It would finish drying into a cascade of waves by morning.

Finally, I sorted through the closet, choosing a pair of leather pants, a blue corset, and a short black bolero shrug for the next day. After sliding under the covers, I perked up as both Jangles and Murdoch jumped on the bed, curled up at the bottom, and began to sleep.

“I guess you needed a friend, too,” I said softly, stroking Jangles as she snored. “Maybe we both need somebody,” I added, setting the alarm. As I fell into a deep sleep, I realized I was smiling.

Come morning, the cats were acting like they’d always been together.

“I guess you have a new home, Murdoch. Angela will be grateful for that. I don’t know how Letty was with you, but you’ll get plenty of food and attention with me,” I said. “And when Penn moves in, both of you’ll be getting the royal treatment. She loves cats. But you have to leave her bird alone. She has a parrot, and he’ll make mincemeat of you if you bother him.”

Once again, Murdoch gave me a long look. Jangles groomed herself, then started on him, holding him down to frantically lick his head. He huffed, but let her do it.

I grabbed a sandwich for breakfast and a quad-shot latte, then headed out for work. We had a busy day, and I had a lot on my mind.

The morning was cold and wet, with the wind whipping the boughs around like they were streamers on a breezy day. As I parked and stepped out of my car, the tangy smell of wet earth filled my nostrils. We were close enough to the greenbelt that, on wet days, the smell of cedar and fir filled the air, along with the scent of decaying leaves and moss and mushrooms, all combining into the pungent smell autumn brought with it in western Washington.

It occurred to me that it might be nice to take a walk over to the greenbelt during lunch, if the rain let up. Right now, the drops splattered to the ground, breaking as they hit the pavement. But it was supposed to clear, at least partially, near noon.

I entered the building and waved at Ami, who waved back as she peeked out of the salon door. “Hey, getting ready for the day?” I asked.

She nodded. “You still on for Friday at 5:00?”

I nodded. “Yeah. My nails can use it.” I held out my hand. I’d broken two nails while I was chasing down Benny. I always had her file them down and put on gel polish to harden them up. I didn’t bother with fake nails—I was too hard on my hands. But I tried to keep them from getting raggedy, and I liked color. I usually opted for black polish, or cobalt blue, but I thought I might go festive and have her paint a couple of autumn leaves on them.

“See you then,” she said, waving as I hit the stairs. I seldom bothered with the elevator—running the stairs was good exercise. I worked out once or twice a week, as well, spending two to three hours at the gym every week.

As I entered the office, Sophia looked up and waved from her desk. “Hey, boss!” She held out the mail.

I took it, skimming through the pages. Same old, same old, except for a letter from our landlord that he was planning on raising the rent when the lease came up for renewal. However, he was also promising to insulate the building and upgrade the heating system, so it sounded like a fair exchange to me. New furnaces could be expensive.

I slid onto the front of her desk, resting my hip on the surface as I sorted through the rest of the letters. “Did you get in touch with the Windchime Magical Academy yet?”

Sophia tapped her appointment book. “You’re in at 2:00 pm today. Don’t be late.”

I set down the letters, impressed. I hadn’t expected her to produce results quite so quickly. “You work fast.”

“That’s what you pay me for,” she said. “Your contact is a Philip Groveletter. He’s the vice-principal there. He’s likely to become the new principal, as well, according to my sources.”

“Who don’t you know?” I asked. Sophia seemed to have connections everywhere.

“That’s a good question,” she answered with a laugh. “Remember, your nine-thirty’s Tana Weathers. She’s the representative from the Supe Community Action Council. Do you want a staff meeting this morning?”

We had a meeting almost every morning, but given not much had changed since the day before, I shook my head. “Maybe this afternoon. Okay, I’ll be in my office. And, I think we should all be present when Tara comes in. This could be a serious matter.”

“Okay, conference room?” she asked.

I nodded, then headed for my office. As I closed the door behind me, I could hear the faint strains of music coming from Carson and Orik’s office. I didn’t mind music, as long as they didn’t overpower the firm with it.

As I settled into my chair, I decided to start with a text to Angela. murdoch seems to be doing well. he and jangles are getting along a lot better than i expected, so unless something unexpected happens, consider him a permanent fixture in my house.

wonderful, she texted back. i ’m so glad to hear it. i wish i could take him but it wouldn’t work, given i’m allergic.

I stared at her text. o kay. i’m going through her office this afternoon. i’ll talk to you after i see what’s there.

After I set my phone down, I turned to the mound of paperwork. We still hadn’t cleared out our files from the last case. I sighed and began sorting out the important documents that had to be scanned from the ones that could just be filed. Even though Sophia was our secretary, we all pitched in with reports and paperwork.

After I made it through the pile of papers, it was nine, and we had half an hour until the first appointment of the day. After visiting the bathroom, I poked my head in the breakroom. The coffee was on, a box of pastries sat on the counter, and Orik was fiddling with one of the light fixtures.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Light’s flickering, so I’m checking the connection.” Orik was a talented handyman, despite his protests that he wasn’t good with plumbing. He saved us a pile of money in bills. He had built the house he and his wife lived in, with the bare minimum of help, and everything had been permitted and met inspections. It was a snug four-bedroom house, too, so it hadn’t been a small project. He was always ready to help out a friend, too, when needed.

“If you need any supplies, bill them to the firm,” I said, picking up a chocolate cake donut covered in sprinkles. “Okay, we’ve got a meeting at 9:30. Conference room.”

As I left the room, Orik grunted, returning to the wiring. I trusted him, but I had no desire to help him. I knew nothing about electricity except how to turn on a switch, and that it could give you a nasty bite if you weren’t careful.

I was slipping into my chair when I got a text from Benny.

hey, thanks. i appreciate the work, legs. you’re all right.

I snorted, then went back to my work.

Tana Weathers was a coyote shifter, and she was the current director of the Supe Community Action Council. She was a thin woman, on the gaunt side, dressed in a pink sheath dress with a white pea coat over the top. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a smooth ponytail, and she had coffee-brown eyes and naturally tan skin. She carried a camel color briefcase and looked every inch the professional.

“Good morning,” I said, standing as Sophia escorted her into the conference room. “Have a seat, please. Allow me to introduce our crew.” I made introductions all the way around and Tana gave each person a nod of acknowledgement as she greeted them.

“Do you mind if I record our meeting?” I asked.

“Go right ahead,” she said. Her voice was pleasant, a mid-range that bordered on monotone. It felt almost like it was a studied performance, but I also knew that coyote shifters often received more than their share of suspicion, along with an entrenched view that they were stupid and impetuous, thanks to the coyote and roadrunner cartoons. They had to work harder for respect than most shifter types, so they often had a ‘practiced’ feel to their demeanor.

“So, Sophia told me that the SCAC was vandalized?” I asked, after I turned on the recorder and took her name, along with the statement that she agreed to being recorded.

Tana sighed. “Yes, it’s been happening off and on for the past six months, but this time, it was more than a slur painted on the front door. We always have our share of crazies calling to tell us what freaks of nature we are and that we’re mutants, aliens, or whatever their flavor of the day is. But this is different.”

“What happened?”

She pulled out her tablet and opened it up. “This happened last Friday. I have photos, and I can send them to you via email, or I can text them. Here we go.” She propped the tablet up on the table and scrolled through various photos that all looked like promo and event pictures.

The pictures were appalling. In one, someone had hung an effigy of a half-wolf, half-man creature in front of their front door, with the words “The only good shifter is a dead shifter” spray painted on the door. The second was of shattered window. It was barred, so they couldn’t get into the actual building, but they had taken the opportunity to turn on the garden hose and spray water through the broken window, leaving the hose on to flood the building.

“That’s fucked up,” Carson said.

“So fucked up,” Dante said. “Was anybody hurt?”

“Only the people who needed our help and had appointments this week. We can’t do any intakes or give out any vouchers until this mess is cleaned up. We’re working on it, but it’s costing money that would have gone to the clients we help.” For the first time, the smile slipped and I saw the anger below the surface.

“Do you have any idea who’s doing this? You said you get harassed regularly.”

She shrugged. “That’s the thing. Most of our regular crackpots are relatively mild. We get some graffiti tags, we get protestors out front, but they don’t try to stop people from entering the building, nor have they ever done anything violent before. There are several groups who don’t like us. We received a letter two weeks ago from one of our regular haters. I wrote it off, because it’s the same sort of crap we get about twice a year. But then the damage this morning…Well, we’ve never dealt with this.”

“Did you bring the letter with you?” Dante asked.

“Yes. After the other day, I thought it might be a good idea.” She brought out an envelope and handed it to us. I motioned for her to set it down on the table, which she did.

“Sophia, grab a kit. There might be some fingerprints on it, though if they’re smart, they remembered to wear gloves. But we can check.” I waited till Sophia returned and put on the gloves she handed me. Then, trying to touch the envelope as little as possible, I shook the letter out of it and opened the piece of paper. The front of the envelope simply read “FREAKS” in block letters. But the letter inside elaborated far more than a simple insult.

Freaks:

Cease operations and go back under the rock you freaks climbed out from. If you do not cease operations, we will take action and force a closure, and we will do so by any means possible. Do not stand in our way or you and everyone in your business will be targeted and we are not afraid to stand up for the rights of all full-blood humans everywhere. You present a threat to society, one that will affect our children and livelihoods, and you are abominations in the face of nature.

We are dedicated to eradicating the Supe threat throughout the world, and we will use whatever resources necessary. You have one month to cease operations, to disband, and to publish a public apology for spending our hard-won tax dollars on a godless section of society. If you do not comply, we will take any and every action necessary to disperse and destroy your organization. Punish the sinner, punish the sin.

The Society For Pure Blood Humanity & Decency

I placed the letter in the bag after holding it so Dante could take a picture of it. Then, after sealing the bag, I handed it to Sophia.

“So, we have a hate group. Have they gone after you before?”

Tana nodded. “Yeah, but it’s been about six months. They tend to do this about twice a year since I’ve been president. I’ve been with the SCAC for five years now, in my job. Before then, I was a client. My daughter and I were homeless. If it wasn’t for the Supe Community Action Council, we might not have made it.”

“So you’ve been there a long time,” I said.

She nodded. “I love the organization. I give everything to my job because when I needed it most, they saved my ass, and in extension, my daughter’s life. My ex beat the crap out of me and left me and my daughter, destitute, without food, without money. We had two weeks left on the rent, but I didn’t dare stay in the apartment in case he decided to come back and finish the job.” Her eyes were glossy—the memories seemed hard for her to talk about.

“What did you do?”

“Left. Went to the council and they found a shelter for us and our cat. They helped me enroll in school so I could learn a skill. I took classes in business administration and in social welfare studies. Meanwhile, I was given a job at the council. They hired me to file forms and do data entry on a part time basis. Between that and grants and student loans, I earned a four-year degree in three years. I was about ready to look for work when the old director of the council decided to retire. I applied and…here I am. If I can do even half that for anybody else, I will. And the Supe Community Action Council makes it possible. We won’t knuckle under to threats of this kind, and I’ll fight tooth and nail to keep my people safe.”

There were times we took jobs pro bono, and I decided this was going to be another of those. “We’ll do what we can, free of charge. Dante, can you get Ms. Weathers a list of what we’ll need—client names, names of vendors. Anybody you’ve had dealings with in the past year or so. Carson, start looking into this group. They gave us a name, and my guess is their egos won’t let them play undercover. Sophia, start a file for us and contact the police. Ask them if they’ve ever had dealings with this…” I glanced at the letter again. “Society For Pure Blood Humanity & Decency. Find out if there has been any trouble connected to them in the city or surrounding area.”

I stood. “Tana, thank you for coming in. We’ll do everything we can to help. So, welcome aboard.”

A smile of relief spread over her face. “I can’t thank you enough. We barely have the money we need to help our clients?—”

“We can’t promise anything but we’ll do everything we can,” I said. As I shook her hand, it occurred to me that this was one of the reasons I started this agency. To stop people who were screwing with others.

Sophia took over, gathering information for the file, Carson returned to his office to start investigating the hate group, and Orik headed back to the breakroom to finish repairing the wiring on the ceiling lights. I stopped in Carson’s office for a moment.

“What do you think? Have you ever heard of them?”

He shrugged. “There are always a lot of names on the domestic terrorist rolls. If it wasn’t the Supes, they’d be back to hating somebody else. Some still do,” he added, staring at his computer.

“I know prejudice still exists among humans, as well.” I sat down beside his desk. “I really want to move on this case. We can’t let the SCAC be harassed like this. Don’t worry about costs, unless it’s over the top. Move on it.”

“Will do,” he said. “Don’t worry,” he added as I stood. “I’ll find out whatever I can about those assholes.”

As I headed back to my office to get ready for the next appointment, I hoped to hell we could find the culprits and lock them up. Nobody needed domestic terrorists running around. Especially ones willing to hurt or kill the targets of their wrath.