Chapter 2.

10 minutes later I was dressed in a pair of black slacks, a black t shirt with the words "SPLATTERCON!!!" sprawled across it in spidery red writing, and my heavy leather duster. It flapped reassuringly around my ankles. I pulled my door closed behind me. It took several tugs. Ever since it got battered in by an army of zombies it tended to stick a little in the frame.

As soon as I had bullied the door closed I bent down and picked up the sports bag by my feet, griped my staff and made my way up the stairs that led to my basement apartment. I made my way over to the Blue Beetle. The blue beetle is my car. It's a battered old Volkswagen beetle that was once powder blue, but resembled a clown car. The doors, trunk and hood were all different colours and I've lost count of the amount of times I've had the windscreen replaced. My mechanic had skills only matched by Jesus, or Frankenstein.

I threw my bag into the back with my staff and pulled out onto the road, and made my way towards Chicago PD.

I parked on the curb and scrabbled in my pockets to pay for the meter. I walked into the building, flashed the card Murph had given me and made my way up to special investigations.

I could hear Murphy before I'd even left the stairs.

"For the love of God Stevens! All I asked you to do was to get the fucking forms and you even managed to fuck that up! What is wrong with you were you dropped down the steps at city hall as a child! Was your mother drinking meths! Who, for the love of god, is responsible for this mess of an officer in front of me!!!"

I walked into Special investigations and could see that Murph was throwing things. I walked up to a dark stocky officer, who was leaning by the water cooler watching the lanky detective in front of Murphy fall to pieces.

I stood next to Rawlins and lent on the wall. I let out a breath and smiled.

"New guy?"

He smiled "Oh yeah! He tried to flirt with Karrin. She's making him pay for it."

I laughed "I bet she is. What he do wrong?"

Rawlins leaned his head into mine "He got the wrong forms from city hall. He was supposed to get an application to withdraw some high priority evidence for a case the boss's got her following in exchange for you to go and visit this detainee of hers; instead he got an application for a search warrant." He snorted, still smiling. "In all fairness it's a pretty annoying thing to get wrong. And for God sake, the forms are two completely different colours!"

He held up his right hand, in them were some dark pink forms that had been filled-in in Rawlins hand. He smiled wickedly "The ones he was supposed to of gotten were 'fuchsia'"

I grinned back at him "You're a bad man, Henry."

Pushing himself of the wall, he hitched his belt a bit higher on his hips. "Time to save the day."

He strutted over to the still screaming Murphy, lightly touched her arm and started to speak gently to her. She scowled and snatched the papers out of his hand and stalked over to her cubical. Detective Stevens collapsed into a nearby chair and mouthed his thanks to Rawlins. He ran his hand through his hair and stated to pick up some of the things Murphy had thrown around the office.

I walked over to Murphy's cubicle. "That time of the month, Karrin."

She glowered at me from her desk. "Shut it Dresden. And stay right there."

She leaned under her desk and turned off her computer. As soon as she sat up, I walked around the beige screen and slumped into the plastic chair next to her desk.

"Soooooo...." I said as she banged her head on the desk. "Bad day?"

She banged her head a few more times. She left it there and said "Please Harry, save me from the well-meaning newbie's of this world."

"How'd a sweetie like him get dumped down here?" I asked. Special Investigations was generally a dumping ground for cops who had annoyed someone high up. It tended to create a close nit comradery between the officers.

"Like I said. Well meaning newbie. He's been passed around all the CPD for the last 2 months for some training. He drove every other department mad so he got dumped here. Lucky me." She shook her head on that last comment.

I smiled at her. "Think happy thoughts Murph. So you want me to take a look at a prisoner. "

She looked up sharply "How'd you know that?"

I raised an eyebrow and used my 'mystic' voice. "I'm a wizard, Murphy. I know many things."

As Rawlins walked past and lent over the screen "I told him."

"Spoil sport." I muttered to no one in particular.

Murphy sighed. "Enough of the jokes, Harry. This is serious."

I swallowed my witty comeback and tried to sober a bit. Murphy was clearly upset by some thing.

Scowling a little, Murphy began. "Last night a woman was brought in for questioning. She was put in the cells because she attacked one of the officers sent to pick her up. Broke his nose."

I whistled "You know why she attacked him."

Murph smiled "Detective Sergeant Greene thought it was because she was trying to resist arrest. Paul said it was because he told her something she didn't want to hear."

I raised an eyebrow "Paul."

She grinned "He's my bitch in homicide."

I leant back I my chair. "So who's this girl?"

Murphy pulled out a file with a picture paper-clipped to the top. It was of a smiling girl with straight brown hair and hazel eyes. She had a heart shaped face that was very pretty in a wholesome sort of way.

"Name's Alicia Lord. Her roommate turned up flouting face down in Lake Michigan yesterday morning. Someone saw a man fleeing towards the lake and screaming at the top of his lungs. They reported it to the police and they found him. He had ID on him so Homicide got to his apartment and tried to talk to his roommate, see if he had any enemy's, was in trouble with anyone, you know, the usual. Paul told Alicia that her roommate was dead and she went ballistic and started to attack him. Greene had her arrested because he thought she was trying to resisting arrest."

I raised an eyebrow. "Did he consider that maybe she was just a little upset?"

Murphy laughed "Have you met Greene? No, he saw 'suspect' in great big flashing neon lights and thought he could finish this one early."

I grunted in acknowledgement. "What was the victim's name?"

Murph went through some papers on her desk "Err... Sam something. Um... Sam Greenslate."

I leaned back and put my hands on the back of my head. "So you want me to talk to this girl? Find out what she knows?"

She ran her fingers threw her hair. "No." She grimaced "Last night Paul asked me to try to do some 'girl talk' with Alicia."

I tried really really hard not to laugh. Really hard. 'Girls talk' was not Murphy's forte. If anything, she was hopeless at it. As far as I was aware the only person Murphy used to 'girl talk' with was her mother. And I don't think that counts. I rubbed my nose to hide my smile. She carried on.

"She wasn't talking to anyone and wasn't eating either. Greene thinks she knows something and is playing hard to get. Then Paul had this brilliant idea last night, and went looking around, and lucky me, I was the only female officer left in the building. He sent me in to do some 'girl talk'. I only did it cos' Rawlins said I had to." She paused for a second and lowered her voice "But when I went in I got hit with some serious De Ja Vous."

She paused and looked me in the eyes briefly. "She had this blank look on her face..." she looked around briefly and all but whisper "Like those Renfields."

I sucked a breath in through my teeth. Renfields were thralls of sorts, some one who was bent to the will of another through magic. Except Renfields were bloody, violent and completely mutilated. Well there psyche's are anyway. They were complete slaves to the will of him, or her, who had enslaved them. I don't think they were even people anymore. Just empty shells filled with obedience and violence.

A couple of years back Murph and I had come across one during a raid on a vampires den, as you do. Murph had shot it before it had a chance to kill me. I know that she still has nightmares.

I looked at Murphy's face. Her nose had wrinkled at the top, in a way so cute that she would kill me for even thinking it. She looked worried. And I hated seeing her upset.

I sighed. "I hate pro bono... OK! I'll take a look. But only because I've got nothing else to do and I would hate to see you have to 'girl talk' again."

She punched my arm, but she was smiling. "You're a pig Dresden."