Author's Note: Not much action, but moving the story forward…I have a plan you know ) Remember, reviews are crack so please feel free to feed my addiction, hey I can handle the constructive stuff too ;

Chapter 14

We didn't spend much more time in the morgue. I blotted up a bit of blood, Bob showed us what Murphy's John Doe looked like; a forty-something, average looking guy with a previously broken nose and Butters came in and told us that his preliminary exam showed the guy was alive when his face, and other parts, were cut off. YUCK!

On the way down to our cars Murphy called the hotel Zella told me she was staying at and when no one answered she dialed the cell number Zella gave me and left a voice mail message. Murphy and I were standing in the parking lot discussing what we thought we should do next when her phone rang. She turned her back and answered it with her usual curtness while I headed over to the beetle only to be stopped by Murphy grabbing my arm and then pointing at her car. I raised my eyebrows and she pointed at the car again. I sighed, but slumped over to her car, leaned against the passenger door, and waited for her to unlock the doors.

She drove a newish model, typical, police issue sedan. It was comfortable and had air conditioning, which in July was a blessing. Unfortunately, the air didn't always work when I rode with her and her security system and power locks no longer worked, even when I wasn't around. All of which, she never forgot to remind me of every time I rode with her.

I eyed Murphy as she spoke on the phone. She pushed her bangs out of her face then ruffled the hair at the back of her neck before checking her watch and nodding. As she finished up her conversation she caught me watching her and glared at me over the top of her sunglasses. I rolled my eyes, and smiled just as she flipped her phone shut.

"So, what are we doing?" I asked, pushing away from the car.

She walked around the car and using the key, for which I received a stern glare, she opened her door and slouched into the driver's seat. She reached over and unlocked my door before pulling her's shut. Once I was settled and my door closed she answered.

"Hope you don't have any appointments this evening. Ms. Marshalikov called back and she wants us to meet her in an hour. I figure you can have Bob do his little magic trick with the hair and blood and see if she recognizes either of them." When I nodded she added, "Now buckle up Dresden." She proceeded to fasten her seatbelt and left the parking lot.

I sat my eyes half-closed enjoying the coolness of the air conditioning while watching the city go by and trying to figure out what the hell was going on. If the Merlin was really involved I was pretty much screwed, if he wasn't that was simply one more unknown for me to deal with. My thoughts wandered and I must have fallen asleep, because I woke to Murphy parking the car. I glanced out the window and smiled.

"Murph, I've got you thinking like a wizard." McAnnally's, with its ability to disrupt magical energies was the perfect place to meet with Zella. If someone was attempting to harm her with magic said magic would be dispersed harmlessly by the layout of the pub.

I pulled myself upright and undid my seatbelt as Murphy answered me.

"Yeah, well he also has the best steak in town and I'm starved. I never did finish my sandwich this morning." She snarked and glared at me.

I climbed out of the car and crossed the street to the pub, leaving Murphy behind me. I ducked through the door and headed to the bar. Mac, seeing me enter, already had an open beer waiting for me on the counter. I held up two fingers, and he was going through the motions of opening the second as I slid up to the bar.

"Hey, Mac." He grunted in response, "Murphy and I are going to want steak, rare, and all the fixings and since we're having a guest I guess just make that three."

Mac didn't answer, just turned and threw some steak onto the grill. I headed to a table directly between two ceiling fans and chose the chair directly in front of a post, facing the door. The reflection of spinning fans caught in the mirrors was a little disorienting, as I gazed around the room. I took a long draw from my bottle and sighed in contentment. It was room temperature, which according to Mac was the only way real beer was supposed to be drunk, but it was nonetheless refreshing. I titled back a bit in my chair and rested my head on the post behind me, all the while watching the door.

Murphy, who I had left by the car while she made a phone call, dragged herself through the door. She had removed her light jacket and shoulder holster and was now clad only in jeans and a black tank top. I lifted my beer and caught her eye as she scanned the dusky interior of the bar. Since, Mac didn't have electric lighting, relying instead on gas lamps and candles it was actually more dark than dusky. The little electric Mac did have running through the place was used to turn the ancient ceiling fans.

She came down the last two steps and made her way in a zigzag pattern to my table. She zigged to avoid the tables that were arranged at all angles to each other, after all Mac's was a Feng Shui nightmare, and slung herself into the chair next to mine, her beer to her mouth before her butt hit the seat.

She took a sip, letting it linger on her tongue before she swallowed, her eyes closed. She made a small sound of contentment in the back of her throat prompting visions of last night to ricochet through my head and I almost groaned aloud as I sat beside her. I watched her blush. Her eyes popping open as she suddenly realized what she'd just done.

I couldn't help but look away and pretend I hadn't heard it, in part because I'm a gentleman and in bigger part because I was afraid she'd kick my ass. I knew for a fact that Murphy felt ass kicking was an appropriate punishment for the crime of teasing leading to embarrassment. So I acted like she hadn't made the same sound she'd made last night when I kissed that little spot behind her knee.

I was saved from my traitorous thoughts as I saw Zella. She had somehow seen us first, despite the gloom and was already headed to our table. I elbowed Karrin and raised my beer in Zella's general direction. Murphy, who hadn't met her yet, glanced up and then did a subtle double take.

Zella had on some sort of gauzy, flowy, floral print, curve hugging, skirt that ended asymmetrically at her knees. Her blouse was a white off the shoulder number that somehow managed to convey innocence while showing off plenty of skin. Her brownish hair streaked tastefully with red and blond was pulled back into a thick pony tail at her nape. She wore earrings of rough blue topaz artfully wrapped in copper wire and a silver Celtic cross on a thin polished leather choker.

Once again I was struck by how sensuality seemed to surround her. It was obvious that Murphy felt it too. I stood as Zella approached and Murphy huffed from her seat. I almost laughed and accused her of being jealous, but that would have been suicidal, so I smiled.

"Hello again, I ordered you a steak, hope that's OK." She nodded and I motioned to the seat and waited until she sat before taking my own. I made the introductions, "Zella, this is Lieutenant Karrin Murphy of the Chicago PD, officer in charge of Special Investigations. Karrin, this is Zella Marshalikov, my client."

Mac, who must have been in an energetic mood, stalked over to our table with three more bottles and plunked them down one at a time, then placed two in the center and the third he opened and placed daintily in front of Zella, who he eyed critically. She met his gaze evenly and then smiled. He cocked his head to the side, grimaced and then grunted something even I couldn't understand.

He then ducked his head close to mine and in his low, gravelly voice told me quite comprehensibly, "Be careful and play nice. Beer's on the house tonight," before heading back to the grill behind the bar.

Murphy's and my confused looks followed him back to the bar.

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Murphy asked, as she finished off her first beer and opened the second.

I shrugged. I had no clue. Mac rarely spoke, but when he did I tended to pay attention, even if his advice was often cryptic and only seemed to be half-lucid.

"You two know each other?" Murphy, always the cop, questioned Zella.

Zella, who sat across from me and on Murphy's left, tasted her beer warily. After a sip she smiled and took a long drink, then answered Murphy's question.

"Not really. I think he's heard about me. He a wizard?" She asked and glanced around the pub. "Funny layout in here, very disruptive to natural energies," Zella observed as she continued her perusal of the room. "That's gotta make using magic pretty difficult."

I shook my head, "No, Macs not a wizard, and the no magic thing is pretty much the idea," I waved my hand around, "Neutral ground and all."

I heard Mac bang on the bar and glanced over to see him moving three plates onto the bar. He pointed at me and nodded. Mac was the cook, barkeep and wait staff and that pretty much meant if you wanted something you got up and got it yourself. I pushed away from the table and headed to the bar, only to find Murphy had joined me.

Murphy leaned a shoulder against mine as we reached the bar and declared, "Something doesn't feel right, Harry."

I glanced at Murph and grabbed two plates, while Murphy grabbed the other. I was turning when Mac tapped his spatula lightly on the bar to get my attention. "She's brought trouble with her Dresden. See that it doesn't find its way into my pub." He then turned back to his grill.

Murphy glared at me. I sighed as I headed back to the table and set a plate in front of Zella before sitting down with my own. Mac's steaks were something to be enjoyed and since trouble always seems to follow me I chose to enjoy my meal and then deal with whatever I needed to deal with. Murphy must have had the same idea because she was already eating.

The three of us ate in relative silence with me occasionally asking Zella a question and her answering. She didn't really tell me anything new, but she did rehash her story for Murphy.

I told her that I wanted her to look at a couple of people, see if she recognized them and she agreed. I told her that it would have to wait until we got back to my apartment and she was fine with that. We drank another beer after dinner and then headed toward the door.

Zella exited first, only to stumble back down the steps when she attempted to step through the doorway. Murphy, who was behind her caught her as she fell, which was OK until Zella instinctively reached out to steady herself on Murphy's shoulder.

Murphy stood there for a second then crumbled like a ragdoll. I managed to catch her just before she her head slammed against the bottom step. Zella backed away from the door and fell to her knees in the corner by the steps. I pulled Murphy against me and looked up at the door.

So magic couldn't be used in Mac's pub, but it obviously could be performed from the outside and based on what I saw it was methodically being applied to the doorway. There was an obvious barrier at the threshold.

As I watched two people came through it, a couple of witches with little natural ability that I was barely acquainted with. They saw us at the bottom of the steps and then turned to look behind them, only to see the barrier. The older of the two, I think his name was Jeff, attempted to push against it and after trying for several seconds he did manage to get his hand partially through.

He started chanting something. I tried to warn him, but he either didn't hear me or chose to ignore what I was trying to tell him, so he finished chanting and then touched the pentacle on his wrist. There was a sudden green flash and Jeff and his friend were both flung to the bottom of the steps with Murphy and me.

Great! I turned and saw Mac standing in front of his bar, spatula gripped in his left hand and arms crossed over his chest with an 'I told you so' look on his face.