"V for Vengeance"
Chapter 6
We left the bloody boxes on the stoop and went inside. Lash locked up and enabled the wards while I called Murphy. She answered on the second ring.
"Sergeant Murphy." Her voice was all business over the crackling on the line.
"Murphy, its Harry, we've got a problem. How soon can you be here?" I asked.
"Harry, what happened?" Murphy asked quietly into the receiver.
"Not over the phone, you'll want to bring some black and whites with you. My stoop has become a crime scene while I was out. Murph, you may want to come alone at first." I finished.
"Understood, I'll be there shortly." The line went dead.
"She's on her way." I told Lash over my shoulder.
Lash stood against the sink after taking her pills, looking weak and pale. I moved to her side in the blink of an eye and Mouse was by my side as I entered the kitchen.
"Lash, are you okay?" I said quietly, putting an arm around her to hold her up.
"I'm fine Harry. I've seen hundreds of dead people before, but for some reason, this time… It's really bothering me." Lash's eyes welled with tears as she forced herself to stand straight.
"It's because your mortal now Lash. The smell and sight of death is overpowering when you are subject to it. It's never easy, but you sort of get used to it eventually." I mumbled.
"You do?" Lash asked quietly, turning her face to me, wet lines marking her cheeks.
"Don't worry, it's perfectly normal. It's that fear and reaction that either freezes you or moves you to action to keep you alive. You're a fighter and stronger than most, you'll be fine." I said pulling her head to my chest hugging her tight.
We walked to the living room and sat down, Mouse at our feet, his big head resting on Lash's lap eliciting scratches and pets from her nervous hands.
"So what are you thinking, Harry?" Lash's voice was quiet but steady.
"I'm going to save the girl, vanquish the bad guy and then go to Mac's for a steak sandwich, so pretty much the same old thing." I said smirking.
"Sounds like fun, can I go too?" Lash said with a wry smile.
"Well I could always use the company, if you're up to it."
"Just so long as we don't stay out too late, you know how I get cranky if I don't get my beauty sleep." Lash grinned.
"If it gets too late you can nap in the truck."
"That works."
We sat for a few long moments petting Mouse and just enjoying the quiet. Finally Lash looked at me, her eyes wide with excitement.
"I know how you can find her!" Lash said rising from the sofa and hurrying into the bedroom.
She returned with a short white piece of shoe lace.
"She left this in our room when she was getting dressed. At least I think it was her, it's not mine."
"It could be Molly's." I said.
"Molly doesn't have white shoe laces, usually purple or orange if I remember properly." Lash grinned.
It was true. Molly wasn't one for standard colors. That went for her nails, hair, clothes and I didn't want to speculate about her under garments, but if what she helped to pick out for Lash was any indication, white cotton was a rarity.
"That should work, I think were in business!" I said bringing my mind back to the situation at hand.
It didn't take long for Murphy to arrive. After filling her in on what had happened she scowled and shook her head. "So how do I explain this to the chief? Obviously you knew these men, why would their heads show up on your door step?"
"Actually the vampires wanted to let me know they have the girl and I failed. It's their way of mooning me as they take off. As far as the chief needs to know, they were friends of mine and someone like Marcone decided to send me a message?"
"Do you want to explain your relationship to Marcone to the chief? I don't think you could spin it so that they would allow you to continue to work for the CPD even as a consultant if you have ties to him." Murphy grimaced.
"Okay, maybe they were delivered to the wrong house then."
"Nobody's going to believe that either Harry. I think the best cover story is they are contacts of yours and someone is trying to get you off the case. That will give you a reason to stay on the case and it's not a lie." Murphy postulated.
"I don't care what you tell them, I think I may have a way to track Megan and the sooner I can get this show over with and get to my tracking spell the better."
"I understand. Just let your wards down so you don't fry my men when they arrive. That wouldn't go over too well." Murphy warned.
"Ya, no problem Murph."
"Harry?"
"I know what you're going to ask and the best I can guess is they had vanilla human mercenaries grab the girl and deliver the heads to taunt me. My wards didn't go off because they didn't try to enter my house, just left boxes like the UPS guy." I answered her unasked question.
"I guessed that much but where are the bodies? Maybe if we knew where they were grabbed it could tell us something about who took them. If we can grab one of the mercenary's then maybe they'll tell us where they dropped the girl off. Since the sun's only been down a few hours they can't have that big of a head start on us if they've left, if not we may find where they are." Murphy said in typical investigator style.
I thought about what she had said and it wasn't a bad idea. This way while I went looking for the girl Murphy and the cops could track down the execution detail and maybe keep them out of my hair.
I pulled a hair from each body and headed down stairs. Since I was only going to use the model as a map and not try to actually enter it, I didn't need to go through the ritual cleansing as I would if I wanted to see the area remotely.
I tied one hair to my crystal and stepped into my multicolored circle of brass, sliver and other metals braided into a continuous loop. I closed the circle and cast my tracking spell focusing on the decapitated body of the dead man. I pushed my will and power into the image and pushed it into the crystal and bound it with the hair. I held the binding in place as I mumbled the words to the tracking spell and broke the circle, feeling the rush of power over my skin as the spell went to work.
I was able to get a fix on the body and called Murphy down. Lash and Murphy stood on either side of me as the crystal pulled towards the docks. I moved the crystal until it swung between two old buildings near the passenger terminal at the port. It seems they were taking Megan to Canada and I assumed that an organization with their resources would have a private boat they would ferry her privately to the final destination.
Murphy took notes and scratched a crude map into her notebook and gave me a quick thank you as a knock came from upstairs.
"That's my cue." Murphy said as she closed and pushed her notebook into her coat pocket and headed up the rickety stairs to my apartment. Lash and I quickly followed closing the door and covering it with the usual rugs. I didn't need anyone poking through my ingredients or work room as a lot of it was dangerous and some of it illegal and I had neither the time nor patience to explain why I had it. Hell they wouldn't believe me if I told them the truth.
Through the cracked door I heard Murphy giving orders and having them close the area as a crime scene.
I walked over and opened the door to see a couple of grim faced uniformed police men starting to tape off the area.
"Hey guys, could you leave me a small path to get out of my house so I don't have to cross the crime scene tape to get to my car?" I asked in my most polite voice.
The closest one gave me a skeptical look, "You probably won't be going anywhere for a while Mr. Dresden, I'm sure the homicide investigators will want to have a long conversation with you about this." He smirked pulling the tape and attaching it to one of the hand rails leading down to my apartment.
"Don't be an ass, he has a point unless you want to explain to forensics why everyone's been stomping through the crime scene. Put up some plastic to keep debris from blowing down the stairs or from the walk way while you're at it." Murphy barked at the plain clothes officer, turning his face an interesting shade of crimson.
"Whatever you say, sergeant." He replied without looking at Murphy, accenting the last word contemptuously. Murphy scowled and let it go. She'd make sure he had a long night for that remark.
After the area was secured, the young officer was sent on the first of many errands. To my delight he returned with coffee and donuts and then was sent to canvas the building next door to see if anyone had seen anything. The building across the street wasn't the nicest building on the block and since the rent was cheap, it tended to attract a less than desirable element. His partner was sent with him, just in case. Who knows, maybe they'll get some information or find someone who jumped bail, I thought to myself as he walked rigidly across the street while Murphy headed up to my land lady's apartment to start asking questions of her own.
My land lady is an elderly lady who thinks I'm a nice, albeit strange tenant. But I pay rent on time, usually, and help with yard maintenance and take her trash out when I can. Molly had taken to helping her with her shopping and even played cards with her over tea on a few occasions. I hated that I had brought such gruesome trouble to her building once again, but it couldn't be helped. Trouble seems to have a way of finding me.
Lash and I had cemented our story while they taped off the landing. Eventually the suits showed up glanced around and headed inside to talk to me and Lash. I hadn't met these detectives before, which considering the many times I've had to talk to homicide in my career made it seem odd. The two of them looked like Laurel and Hardy when they walked in. A portly man in his late forties maybe five foot eight with lifts and jet black hair with a permanent scowl came to talk to me. Lash was taken into the bedroom by a tall thin woman, maybe mid to late thirties. She had red hair and a thin build. I'm guessing she could have been a model in her younger years but she carried herself with poise and confidence and the large bulge under her designer jacket spoke to a large caliber hand gun not well concealed.
"So you're the infamous Harry Dresden." He said as he dropped onto my couch causing the old piece of furniture to groan under the stress. "I'm detective Schwartz. I wondered when I'd get a chance to meet you."
"Well here I am, in the flesh. I suppose you've heard that there's no love lost between myself and detective Greene." I snorted.
"I got that impression, yeah." He chortled. "I don't know what you did but you really got under his skin."
"He was getting pushy with my friends daughter a few years back when she was just a teen, I convinced him to back off. I guess he didn't like having his authority questioned or being out maneuvered by a nut job." I said rising off the couch. "I'm going to grab a coke, would you like one?"
"I'm on duty, thanks but no." he mumbled watching me go to the ice box and grab a can.
"So what's the deal here, did the electricity not get run to this apartment or is it for ambiance?" He asked waving to the candles and wood stove.
"Let's just say I'm not big on modern conveniences." I said walking to my overstuffed chair.
"Modern conveniences huh, you could at least get a lamp down here." He said squinting at his notebook. "The whole wizard thing is a good hook but you're going to ruin your eye sight without proper lighting. It's a lot of trouble to go to for a gag." He said looking up at me.
He didn't seem to mean anything by what he said and actually seemed to be good natured enough, most police only believe what they can see and catalog as evidence. Something like a psychic or wizard where the powers are unseen and hard to prove brings out the natural skeptic that is in every good cop's makeup. Since they are lied to by most everyone they talk to it's not only a defense mechanism but a survival trait. They look for flaws and inconsistencies in what their told since most of the time their given bull to begin with and most criminals aren't the brightest bulbs in the box skepticism and sticking to the facts is not only how to build a strong case but also a well honed talent.
A few years ago I would have probably cast a light spell over his head just to prove I'm not a quack but I didn't want this to take long and something like that would cause more questions than letting him think It being a wizard is a gimmick to get business. So I just smiled and shook my head in agreement.
"So how can I help you detective Schwartz?" I said in my best polite voice, hoping to move things along.
"Well you can start by telling me who those two heads belong to." He said, pencil poised above his note book.
"The older one is Mr. Sparks, I never got the other guys name. I met them today and asked them to poke around regarding the disappearance of Miss Forthright. I can only guess they found something out that they weren't supposed to and this is a warning to me to back off." I said mentally kicking myself for letting Megan go anywhere with those two.
"Did they tell you anything about who they were going to talk to or give you any information on any leads they may have had?" He asked as he scribbled in his note book.
"No, they just said they'd look into it for me."
"Now let me get this strait, you're a PI and a wizard but you go to these two to do your snooping? Couldn't you have done it yourself or maybe cast a spell to get the information you needed?" He asked with a bit of a scowl on his face. I could tell his Bull meter was nearing the red line.
"You're a detective, you know how this works. There are some places you can't go into without drawing too much attention and people who know who you are won't talk to you. So you use snitches and people who move in those circles to poke around until you have enough information to go in yourself." I replied evenly.
"You're telling me these two moved in nefarious circles?" He asked writing again.
"Let's say they know people I don't and might get a different perspective on things than I would." I told him.
"From what I've heard you've had a run in or two with John Marcone, I get the impression you two aren't friends. Yet he has gone to great lengths to make it known that you two have a relationship. Do you think he may be the one sending you a message?" He asked.
"Let's say I've been a pain in his side on more than one occasion. This is not his style. When Marcone wants to send me a message it usually entails explosives or a visit from his pet gorilla or other friends. He's more hands on then this. My guess is it's someone from out of town." I said scratching my chin.
"So you do know him then, Marcone?" The portly detective asked looking at me studying my face.
"It's hard to be an investigator without running into something he doesn't have his fingers in. I'm sure you've had leads to his organization more than once." I said looking him in the jaw.
"I'll agree it's not like him to leave a body lying around but it's also not like him to snatch a kid. If it is someone from out of town working in his back yard I don't think he's going to like that too much." The detective said noticing I wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Probably not, maybe you should go have a chat with him, he may have more information on this than I do." I said looking squarely at the tip of his nose to avoid a soulgaze.
"So you're hypothesis is that someone from out of town pulled the kidnapping and these two got too close and got dead for their troubles. Then the person or persons unknown cut off their heads and dropped them on your door step to get you to back off. Is that about it?" He asked.
"You're the detective, I'm just a PI, but that's my take on it, yes."
"Okay, right off the bat, here's my problem with your story. First off, if it's a group from out of town how did they know where you lived or that these two were working with you? There's no sign of torture on the faces, not even a split lip, so how did they know to deliver the heads to you?"
"Maybe they were watching them or me?" I offered.
"How would they know to watch you, I mean you're not well known outside the police department except for the time you appeared on The Larry Fowler Show and failed to do any magic. I bet that didn't help bring in any new cases did it? John Marcone on the other hand knows right where you live and you have a history with him. He'd know to watch you for this sort of investigation and he knows where to find you. All things being equal doesn't it make more sense that you and Marcone worked out this kidnapping and when he saw you working with Murphy decided to send you a message to shut up and sent your henchmen's heads to you as a warning? They were probably the two that grabbed the kid and this way he shuts them and you up at the same time."
"Okay, then answer me this. If like you said I'm in league with the biggest scumbag ever to dirty our city, why would I call the cops when two heads fall on my door step instead of putting them in a hefty bag and ditching them behind a convenience store across town and keep my mouth shut? If this is a message wouldn't I be stupid to call the cops? I could either shut up or go after him myself and let's face it if John Marcone ended up dead would the police really take much time to look into it? A mob boss ends up dead, who'd of thunk it? You'd take notes and pictures and assume it was one of the thousands of people who he's pissed off in the past that got some pay back or one of his lieutenants making a career move. Why would I involve you?" I said a little louder than I intended, I could feel my face getting hot as I finished.
"So you're telling me that you could take down John Marcone? Do you know him that well?" He asked evenly, knowing he had pushed a button.
"He's a scumbag and a criminal, what else do I need to know. We aren't buddies if that's what you're getting at. As for taking him down, I wouldn't know, but if someone was trying to double cross and kill me I wouldn't simply sit idly by while the CPD looked into it." I finished.
"No I believe you wouldn't." he said simply. "Don't leave town and I'll need you to be available in case I have more questions."
"Yeah, I know the drill. How long will my front door be a crime scene?" I asked.
"A day maybe two, we'll get the heads out of here and over to the forensics team in an hour or so, but try to stay out of the marked area until we take the tape down. Also here's my card, call me if you think of anything else." He said dropping a business card on my coffee table. He walked over to the bedroom door and knocked twice then opened the door. "I'm done here, you about ready?"
Detective Schwartz turned and his companion emerged from my bedroom with a slightly dazed look on her face. "I'm done too." She said in a dreamy voice walking past Schwartz and heading for the door.
Lash emerged a few moments later looking a little shy and lingering near the doorway.
Schwartz hurried to follow his companion out the door and to their car. The detectives left quickly, leaving the uniforms and lab guys poking around my doorway.
I went to close the door and Murphy waved at me to wait. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
"Can you sound proof the living room?" she asked.
"Sure that's a simple spell." Lash said and waved her hands and mumbled a few guttural words and I could feel power spread throughout the room. "All done!" she said with a satisfied look on her face.
"How'd it go?" Murphy asked me.
"Well the fat guy thinks Marcone and I orchestrated the kidnapping and the heads belong to the henchmen who grabbed her. I tried to shoot holes in his theory but I don't think he believed me."
"How did it go for you?" Murphy asked Lash.
"Well at first she was nice then she started throwing accusations around and accused me of lying so I helped her calm down and it went really well from there." Lash said with a sheepish look on her face.
"What do you mean you helped her calm down?" I asked not sure if I wanted to know the answer.
"I didn't break any of the laws of magic if that's what you're worried about. I simply suggested that she listen and I would tell her the truth and she'd believe me." Lash said.
"Suggested how?" I asked.
"Well you could say it was subconscious, but I didn't enter her mind and I didn't enthrall her." Lash said.
"You can do that?" Murphy asked me.
"I can't but Lash and Molly are better at the subtle magic's than I am. Yes you can plant a suggestion in someone's mind without tampering with it." I said. "It's not something I'd try but it's this side of the gray line of the law of magic. She sets the mood and suggests to the target something that isn't out of their character and isn't against their will, like the Jedi mind trick. Now if she had forced her way into the detectives mind and planted it or had forced the detective to believe or do something it would be a different story. Still it's not the sort of thing you want to make a habit of doing lest the council get suspicious." I told Murphy. I wasn't happy she had resorted to that but it seemed to work for now and it got them out of my house.
"You hypnotized the detective?" Murphy said incredulously. "You can't do that! What happens when it wears off or if they compare notes? She looked a little loopy when they left, do you honestly think her partner won't think there's something up?" Murphy said.
"Hey she was getting to be a real pain and was trying to make me angry. I could have simply blasted her through the wall or opened a portal to the ways and pushed her in but I played nice." Lash said getting a little red faced.
"All things considered, I'm glad you kept your cool. However, we're going to have to have a long talk about how to deal with police in the future." Murphy said to Lash with a wry smile on her face.
"If you think it's necessary…" Lash said simply.
"I've got work to do. Can you keep them out of the house for a while so I can do my thing Murph?" I asked pulling the shoe lace from my pocket.
"Sure, no problem let me know when you're done." Murphy said and headed for the door.
Lash released her spell and followed me into the bedroom.
"Harry, wait a second." Lash said as I headed for the bathroom.
"What's wrong?" I asked seeing her look very serious.
"Well, the officer I spoke to asked about your relationship with Marcone. I know that you and he have a strained truce at best, but isn't he a signatory of the Unseelie Accords?" Lash asked.
"Well yes, why?"
"Well it does seem odd that the red court would move into his territory and run an operation like this without his knowledge." She said.
"Well the White court is a signatory as well and they had no information on this. Any way John Marcone may be the biggest scum bag in the world but even he wouldn't sign off on a young girl getting hurt." I said simply.
"If you say so Harry." She said giving me an unsure smile.
I went ahead with my ritual washing and meditation and when I was ready I headed down stairs. I bound the shoe lace to the shoe and the shoe to the girl and girl to the crystal then the crystal to the model of little Chicago. I pushed power into the image and intentions of what I wanted and cast the tracking spell then broke the circle loosing the energy to do my bidding.
I started near the docks where the bodies were supposed to be and got tugs leading the crystal to an area of the Gold Coast a few miles from where the White Court's palatial estate sat. Since I hadn't taken samples of every house in the gold coast due to security concerns I didn't have a model of the grounds or house at this location. That meant I couldn't search inside with any surety of success. Instead I pushed my will into the model and stood on the street outside the large gated estate. They had a gate house equipped with a guard with an automatic rifle leaning against the wall just out of sight and there was a faint line just outside the wall. It shimmered red and glowed in the models ghost like environment. It was a ward of some sort and if I could see it here I could trip it her too. I decided against it. Instead I stood on the street looking at the large iron gate that blocked the drive way and memorized the address. As I stood there looking at the gate somewhere in the void that was the representation of the estate I saw a gold shimmering light that told me Megan was there.