Chapter 2

I jogged back to my desk to answer the phone. ‘Nomo. This is Officer Barrington.’

‘Hey, what’s up, doc? It’s Stan.’ I let the Bugs Bunny joke slide since he carried on talking and his tone was brisk. ‘I’m at the corner by the mayor’s office. The barrier protestors are getting agitated. They’re blocking the road and access to local businesses. It’s probably time to come by.’

I looked longingly at the kitchen: no tea for me. ‘Thanks. I’m on my way.’

I hung up, stuffed Shadow in his carrier so he couldn’t run loose around the office and gave him an apologetic kiss that he clearly didn’t accept. I retrieved the black bag from the back room and put Fluffy’s K-9 vest on him; my German Shepherd would be an asset in rounding up protestors if they got out of hand.

Next I popped my head into Gunnar’s office. ‘The protestors are getting unruly. I’m going to go and visibly be the law.’

Gunnar had had two close calls with fisheye and was still recovering. His wife, Sig, had him parked at a desk so at the moment I was handling anything physical.

I could see he was wrestling with himself. He wanted to come with me, but if Sig heard he’d be sleeping on the sofa for a week. ‘Take the megaphone. If it looks even a little violent, you call me for back-up.’ His tone brooked no argument. ‘Strong as you are, you can’t handle twenty or thirty protestors by yourself if things get messy.’

‘Will do – though Stan is there to help.’ I paused. ‘Oh, and the lynx cat we rescued is in the office. See you later.’ I dashed out before he could reply.

I grabbed the megaphone, clipped on Fluffy’s lead and headed out. It wasn’t far. When we arrived, it was less of a protest and more of a mob. People were throwing insults and there was some argy-bargy going on; we were minutes from punches being thrown. I should have called Gunnar but I didn’t.

‘This is a mess,’ I said to Fluffy. He barked agreement.

I clicked on the megaphone. ‘This is the Nomo’s office. You are ordered to disperse.’ There was a little shriek of feedback – then a rock came soaring at my head. ‘Motherfucker,’ I swore as I ducked. Fluffy growled loudly.

No more Miss Nice Girl. This time, I hit the siren feature on the megaphone. After it howled for thirty seconds, I tried again. ‘This is the Nomo’s office. You will cease and desist or I’ll start arresting people.’

A few listened and drifted off, but the majority of the protestors stayed put, determined to stick it to The Man. The citizens who were upset by the protest also remained and the yelling continued. Despite my instructions, they were neither ceasing nor desisting.

I got out my phone and took photos of the protestors. After all this was over, I could ID them if we needed to. Then I sidled up to Stan. ‘Do you know who the ringleaders are?’

‘Your main men are Ezra, Maverick, and Grayson.’ Stan pointed to three men spread through the mob, each visibly stirring the pot and riling the crowd.

Stan and me against thirty protestors wasn’t good odds. I needed backup but I didn’t want Gunnar to be it, so I texted Sidnee. Hopefully she’d barely had time to get home and sit down, and she’d still be dressed for work. If she saw the message, she’d be here in minutes. She was my best option: that’s what I’d say to Gunnar later when he bitched at me for not calling him.

‘All right,’ I said. ‘I’ll go for Ezra. You get Maverick. Whoever is free next gets Grayson. Hopefully nabbing those three will calm things down.’ Or it would light a fuse to a powder keg. I handed Stan some flexi cuffs from my trusty black bag. ‘I’ve contacted Sidnee. Hopefully between the three of us we can get this situation under control ASAP. Okay?’

‘You got it.’ Stan mock saluted me and waded into the crowd. I went the opposite way towards Ezra.

He was tall, muscular, blond and dressed neatly compared to a lot of the protestors; if it hadn’t been for the sour expression on his face, he’d have been handsome. Fluffy stuck to me like glue and I used the microphone again to set off the siren sound. The people nearest clutched their ears and glared at me. Look at me making friends.

‘You’re disturbing the peace,’ I said loudly to Ezra. ‘Disperse, or I’ll take you down.’

His eyes flicked up and down me, making my insides squirm, then he raised an eyebrow and smirked. ‘You and whose army, babe?’

I moved lightning fast and had him on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back before he could blink. Vampire speed had its advantages – that and Gunnar’s hours of training. Getting someone down safely was a big deal, but after practising felling my boss, Ezra was a breeze.

His little cohort was gaping at me. ‘Fanged Flopsy,’ one of them whispered loudly. I glared at the ridiculous nickname then took advantage of their dismay. ‘Leave!’ I barked. They turned tail and scarpered, leaving me with Ezra. Lucky guy.

I hauled him to his feet. The smirk was gone and he glared at me. ‘You can’t do this! I have rights.’

‘You have the right to protest peacefully,’ I agreed. ‘But you were inciting violence and there’s a difference.’ I tugged him towards the Nomo vehicle. He clearly intended to drag his heels but Fluffy growled sharply and he rapidly changed his mind.

I was shoving him in the SUV as Stan appeared with two other men in tow. ‘Show off,’ I muttered.

Stan smirked and sent me a blinding smile. Stupid sharp supernatural hearing.

With the three ringleaders taken care of, the protest died a rapid death. Sidnee rocked up looking glum. ‘Looks like things are cooling down. Colour me disappointed.’

‘Sorry to have hauled you out for nothing,’ I apologised. ‘I was worried taking these three down would stoke the fires.’

‘No biggy. It could have gone the other way. For what it’s worth, I’m glad it went this way.’

‘You can’t do this! This is still America,’ a greasy-looking man objected. His white T-shirt was decorated a handwritten word, BARRIER, surrounded by a red circle with a slash through it. It was covered with the remnants of his last meal.

‘Shut up, Grayson,’ Stan rebuked him.

‘You are entitled to peaceful protests, not brawling in the streets,’ I told him.

I secured the three men in the back then closed the door so I could talk to Stan and Sidnee without being overheard. ‘What do we do with them?’ I asked. ‘We could arrest them, but I think that will add more fuel to the protestors’ fire.’

Stan shrugged. ‘Removing them de-escalated the situation. It was the right call,’ he said approvingly. ‘I’d say giving them a verbal warning and letting them go is also the right call. Tension is ramping up, and a lot of it is over the expense of the barrier. This is something the council will need to address sooner rather than later. I’ll raise it – but everyone has their own agenda.’

Wasn’t that God’s own truth? In a town full of every type of supernatural, was it any wonder that tempers were reaching boiling point? I hoped we could cool things down before the inevitable explosion came.