Chapter 11

"What the hell, Harry?" Karrin Murphy grumbled when she opened her front door to find us all standing like waifs from a Dickens novel on her front step. She was still dressed in what I assumed she'd been sleeping in; a pair of sweat pants and a loose T-shirt. In her hand was a compact automatic gleaming lethally in the early morning light.

"It's a bit of a long story, Karrin," I said adjusting the position of my burden before he slipped off my shoulders. "I need a place to hide this guy."

Murphy narrowed her eyes at me, caught sight of the truck and grudgingly stepped back. "Come on in. This had better be good."

Inside I dumped the guy on her sofa and stood stretching my back to get the kink out. Mouse found a comfortable spot in the corner and Molly stood just inside the doorway of the living room while Karrin eyed her new guest. She looked at me questioningly.

"Remember the body that Butters called you about?" I asked her. Karrin nodded. "This is him."

"Why, Dresden, did you bring a dead body to my house?" Murphy asked causticly. "Why is it now on my sofa? And just what the hell happened to the truck?"

"He's not dead anymore. I need to hide him from someone. Somebody tried to run us off the road and Molly creamed them," I said answering her questions in order. "And I think he's the guy we've been looking for."

"Not dead ANYMORE? Molly creamed who?" Murphy half turned on my apprentice. "What's going on? Who is this guy, Dresden?"

"I don't know yet." I spent the next few minutes explaining what had happened last night and what we had been up to this morning. Murphy didn't relax through the whole explanation. "I think if you were to cross reference the fingerprints from the hotel room and the prints taken from this guy you'd find a set to match. I'm pretty sure this is our mystery man. I'm also pretty sure that things would be bad if either Lara or Gray Eyes were to get their hands on him."

"And you have no idea who he actually is?" Murphy asked. "Is he a wizard or something?"

"All I know is that the mystery man flew to Chicago from Alaska. Danica made the arrangements for both the flight and his hotel room. Lara gave me three hairs so that I could track down the mystery man. When I used those hairs they pointed me to the morgue. At first I thought Lara might have gotten hairs from Danica but she didn't have any."

"Wait," Murphy interrupted me. "What do you mean she didn't have any? I saw the body. That wasn't a wig."

Molly coughed to catch Murphy's attention. Murphy looked at the girl and Molly pointed down to her belt line.

"Oh," Murphy said catching on. She rolled her eyes. "Those hairs."

"Um... Yeah. Those hairs," I said not looking at either woman. "Anyway, this guy was taken to the morgue after he'd jumped in front of a train. I don't know why he jumped in front of the train. I don't know what the vampires want with him. I don't have any idea how he was able to put himself back together. But I think that is at least part of why the vampires are interested in him." Things were whirling around in my brain again and suddenly I was reminded of what had happened when I had opened my Sight at the hotel. "I don't think he's a wizard, Murph, but I'm starting to think that he was the cause of Danica Raith's death. I have a feeling, though, that he wasn't trying to murder her."

"So what do you want me to do with him?" Murphy moved to a chair and sat unhappily.

"Keep him in protective custody." I sat down in the other chair. The effects of a nearly sleepless night were starting to catch up with me. "Maybe you could find out something about the sedan. The usual stuff."

"More than likely it's either stolen or otherwise untraceable," Murphy grumbled. "It's worth a try though. What about the Land Rover?"

"I never got a look at the plates," I said.

"It was in the morgue parking lot this morning, right?" Murphy asked. I nodded. "Then it'll be on their cameras. I know one of the guys that works security there. He used to work with my dad. I'll give him a call and maybe we can come up with something."

"Have you learned anything from your guys canvassing the hotels?" I asked.

"They just started last night. Their reports aren't even filed yet." Murphy slumped back in her chair. "What do I do when this guy wakes up? Think he's dangerous?"

"He could be," I admitted. "Mouse doesn't seem to be concerned about him though."

Mouse thumped his tail at mention of his name. I really wasn't too worried about the guy at this point. Mouse can feel things that go right by me. He'd growled at Molly the very first time he'd met her. Back then she'd been dabbling with the dark side of magic. She hadn't known how dangerous such dabbling could be and hadn't had anyone there to warn her or teach her. She'd gotten into some serious trouble trying to do something good for her friends. Her heart had been in the right place but her method had nearly driven her friends insane. After a major ordeal and a trial by the White Council that had nearly turned out bad, Molly became my apprentice. Mouse didn't growl at her anymore. And right now he wasn't growling at this guy.

"So what do you want to do with him?" Murphy prodded.

"Is your guest bed made up?"

Molly and I lifted the guy off Murphy's sofa and hauled him into the guest bedroom where we deposited him onto the bed. Murphy spent a minute tucking him in while I took a second to check his pulse. It was steady. Though I couldn't say that it was strong I knew it wasn't weak. Through all this Mouse looked on sedately. I patted the big dog on the head and told him to keep an eye on things. He wagged his tail and gave me a doggy grin that told me he would see to it. A few minutes later Molly and I were pulling back onto the street headed for Mike's Garage. If anyone could fix bashed in fenders and bullet holes it was Mike. He certainly got enough practice.

Mike wasn't around and his tow truck was gone. I figured he must have been out on a call. I scribbled a quick note and slipped it under his door. The Beetle was parked out front but I didn't have the keys. I opened the door, which Mike has instructions to leave unlocked, and got my staff from between the seats. Not wanting to leave the truck just sitting there Molly and I drove home. I really wanted some sleep and my stomach was starting to think my throat had been slit so a meal was in order. This time Mister found me ready for his usual greeting and looked a bit disappointed when I was left upright after the impact.

Once inside I left Molly to stoke the fire and I made sandwiches. One day I'm going to have to learn to cook. The bright side is that I'm hell on wheels when it comes to making a good sandwich. I can knock one together in no time and nobody complains about the quality or quantity of the fillings. We had just settled down to our lunch when my phone rang.

"Harry?" Murphy's voice sounded stressed. She was on edge the way she gets when we're about to get into something dangerous. "I think you need to get over here. The guy is awake and nearly lucid. Mouse is acting kinda funny."

"Funny?" I asked. "Funny how?"

"He got up a few minutes ago and he's walking around looking at all of the doors and windows. I can't figure out what h..." That was when her phone died. It was too sudden to be caused by me and besides Murphy is across town. Even I can't knock out a phone that suddenly from so far away.

I didn't hesitate and Molly was right there with me. She drove the battered pickup through the late morning traffic like a cabbie in hopes of a big tip. When we got to Karrin's house there was a big black mark on the front door. As I got closer I was able to make out the tell tale signs of a heel print. Karrin has more than just a stout door. Unlike mine it was installed by a pro. Steel faced and solid cored it's hung in a reenforced frame with two dead bolt locks. The door was still sound but badly dented where the heal had struck. I was about to press the button for the bell when the door swung open and Murphy greeted me with a large frame automatic in hand. I recognized the gun as her Model 1911 .45 calibre Colt. A round from such a gun will knock you on your butt and if it doesn't kill you it will make you want to do nothing more than curl up and cry.

"Get in here!" Murphy barked at us waving the gun. Her eyes scanned the street looking for any sign of a threat.

"What happened?" I asked as Molly came through the door. Murphy shut it and threw the locks.

"Couple of guys tried to get in," she said as she lead the way back to the guest bed room. "One got me to come to the door. Claimed he was a phone repairman. I didn't open the door. While he was distracting me I heard the window break and mouse started barking. By the time I got back here there was blood on the floor but no sign of an intruder."

I looked to the window where Mouse still stood guard warily. There was a good deal of blood but it wasn't the crimson of a human. It was pinkish, thin. The blood of a white court vampire. I looked to Murphy.

"Did you see anyone?" I asked.

"Black hair. A male." The voice came from the bed. Our man was awake and sitting up. "I'm pretty sure it was White Court."