Grief worked in mysterious ways, and while mine washed away and crystallized into new purpose, Sassy fell beneath its weight. She clung to me except for rare moments dictating we be separated, but she always came back with her steps dragging, her head bowed, and the life beaten out of her. It took me a while, but realization sank in.
For all we’d investigated crimes and dug into the secret lives of people in the search for justice, I’d always sheltered her from the worst parts of our job, carrying the burden of it so she wouldn’t have to. I’d walked in her shoes the first few murder cases we’d pursued on behalf of the defense, and I’d accepted more than my share of the work to keep her from experiencing the bitterness of life at its absolute worst.
My caring came at a price, and she paid it in a blow so heavy we’d all falter for a while.
I couldn’t protect her from everything, and I hadn’t done her justice in sheltering her. Her father carried some of the responsibility as well, although I’d never blame him for trying to safeguard his little kitten for as long as possible.
Sassy wilted, but when she worked her way through her grief, I’d watch her grow and blossom into someone new and ready to face the world. How she would emerge would dictate a lot about our future, and I held my breath in anticipation of the moment she progressed beyond mourning.
Sassy’s father tired of his little kitten’s grief by breakfast the next morning, and he decided to take matters into his hands, scruffing me and dragging me off while Joe contained his struggling sister. “I’ll return him. You’re going to mat his damned fur sobbing on him all the damned time. The damned holes are closed, he ain’t got no broken bones, so stop treating him like a box of tissues already!”
Someone needed to tell Sassy’s father a swift kick in the ass and a short-term kidnapping wouldn’t stop his daughter’s grief.
Within twenty minutes and one future father-in-law induced transformation, which also featured a scalding hot shower to get the blood off, I contemplated killing the bastard for running me through a wringer and dumping me on his bathroom floor. He dropped a towel on my head. “As no one except my daughter would ever want to see you naked, dry off, wear the bathrobe on the vanity, pull yourself together, and stop that train wreck. I don’t care how you do it, just make the crying stop!”
“I thought Joe said three days.” I groaned and debated if I had the energy to wear the damned bathrobe. My chest ached the worst, but after a brief inspection, I’d emerged from the shooting with dark bruises. My shoulder screamed protest when I tried to put the towel to good use, managed to tolerable levels, and struggled to shrug into the bathrobe. I ultimately needed help to get into it. “That was not three days. That was a single night.”
“And my little kitten spent the entire damned time sobbing her heart out because she doesn’t know how to handle this.”
Who did? “I’ll do what I can.”
“You always have. Now get your ass out there and make the crying stop.”
I secured the bathrobe, sighed, and worked the kinks out, wondering how lycanthropes dealt with shifting when it hurt so damned much. I wanted to find the nearest soft surface and flop onto it without moving for a week. With a little luck, I could make Sassy the soft surface and keep her from driving her father insane.
I recognized a lost cause, so I gave up hope of making the crying stop anytime soon and braved the storm.
Joe still fought to keep his sister contained, and I closed the distance between us, wiping her cheeks with my thumbs. “Your daddy’s mean,” I complained. “I’m going to need you to dry those eyes and start getting ready for work, Sassy. We’ve got names, so instead of tears, we’re going to give them the balance of heartache and make them regret the day they thought they could get away with this. And however tempting, we won’t be getting revenge. That’s not what Maxwell would want. If you want to cry, wait until the funeral. There’ll be time enough for that then.”
“I’m so mad.”
Ah. I reevaluated my opinion about her state of mind, and had I been thinking clearly, I would’ve remembered Sassy’s response to frustration in safe places was to cry it out since murder was illegal. “We still can’t kill them.”
“That’s why I’m mad.”
I shot a glare at Sassy’s father. “I think she’s moved on to the anger stage of grief.”
“We’re all there,” he replied. “And don’t you look at me like that, boy. You couldn’t tell that was angry crying, either.”
While he had a point, it didn’t stop me from giving him another dose of my glare.
“Daddy, he’s a first shifter,” Sassy whispered. “He’s a territorial first shifter. And you’re turning gray-green, Aaron. Go sit down.”
“Remember that part I warned you about when he first shifted, Sassy? It’s starting, and he’s going to be miserable. Nausea, fever, chills, you name it, he’ll experience it. You have two jobs to do.”
“Two? What two?” she demanded, and after consideration, she placed her hands on my hips to direct me to the living room couch. “Your sides aren’t hurt, right?”
“My back’s fine,” I told her. “And I’m feeling more bruised than anything else.”
All in all, I’d gotten lucky. I supposed I would never learn if I’d gotten lucky, or my lively state had been by design.
The instant I sat, Sassy stretched out, used my lap as a pillow, and passed out. I lifted my hand and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Joe? Can you grab me a pillow and her blanket? What were her two jobs supposed to be, anyway?”
“Keep you calm and feed you whenever you can keep something down. I’m exaggerating on how bad it’ll be. I have several pill bottles with your name on them. You’ll have the fever and chills, but the nausea should be manageable and the pixie dust will make sure you don’t give a shit you’re miserable.” With a little help from Sassy’s father and brother, I made myself comfortable and tucked Sassy in so she could rest. Even in sleep, her expression seemed pained, and I stroked my hand over her head, not sure what anyone could do to give her respite from everything.
“I don’t use pixie dust often,” I admitted. “It’s not my thing.”
“You’re a restrained, sober man. We can barely get you to have a beer. We know. But you’re going to have this pixie dust. It’ll help you keep your temper controlled, and the last thing we need is you getting snappy. I’ll start you off on a light dose. We want you in a decent mood, not higher than a kite.”
“As long as I’m not impaired for this.”
“It’ll hurt,” he warned.
“I’d rather hurt and be functional. I need to be able to think.”
“If you change your mind, let me know.”
I nodded. “I’ll take some painkillers, but we’ll leave the dust for if I start going for someone’s throat. Deal?”
Joe chuckled and shrugged. “Whatever you want, Aaron. I’m not going to argue with you over it, not when you’re itching to catch these bastards.”
“What do we have on them, Joe?”
“A lot of names, recording devices like I hoped, and some interesting evidence left in Sharon’s apartment. I don’t know where Sharon got it, but we have some non-circumstantial evidence to work with.”
Non-circumstantial evidence, glorious, wonderful, hard, useful evidence sounded better than even painkillers. “What type of non-circumstantial evidence?”
“Financials. Bank accounts, amounts, more names, and more than a few of them match what Sharon told you,” he announced.
In so many investigations I’d participated in, the financials often told the most accurate story, leading to convictions, exonerations, and in one case, even a complete overturn of an old conviction. “How does that fit with what we know of Sharon, the outfit, and our culprits?”
“If accurate, planted evidence is still evidence, and the police have the evidence. Maxwell’s partner has already been arrested on a charge of conspiring to murder a law enforcement officer. Rob’s been feeding me intel.”
That led me to a concern I didn’t want to think about too much. “Is Rob part of the conspiracy?”
“Not as far as I can tell, but anything’s possible at this point,” Joe admitted. “Your brother’s looking into it. Several police commissioners are being arrested by a mixed hat of the CDC, the FBI, and the military police for their part in Maxwell’s murder. A lot of the evidence seems to be a paper trail leading to Maxwell’s murder.”
“He was the target?”
“It looks like it, and you and Sharon were just the extras. Perhaps they didn’t account for the lycanthropy virus? The virus is a major contributor to why Sharon made it to the hospital, taking a close second place to you administering CPR. And yes, I saw everything. You did the only thing you knew how to do, and while you got fucking lucky, you made a difference. Try to focus on that in the days moving forward. Also, if you could stop petting my sister, that would be great. It’s making me uncomfortable.”
“Joe, I’m going to be marrying your sister. I recommend you get used to it.” To prove I refused to be cowed by him, I kept stroking my hand over her hair. “She’s had a hard few days.”
“You marrying my sister is also uncomfortable.”
“Maybe you need to see a doctor. You’re the one who wanted this to happen.”
“The consequences of such actions weren’t yet apparent when I opened my mouth and encouraged you.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’ll probably survive.”
“Wait. You’re going to be marrying my sister?” Joe scowled. “Cheetahs don’t marry.”
“Like hell we don’t,” Sassy’s father muttered. “See this ring?” He held up his left hand. “This ring is evidence that cheetahs definitely do marry, and if you had a single functioning brain cell in that skull of yours, you’d drop it. If your sister hears you, you’ll never hear the end of it. Also, as you’re giving Aaron a hard time, you can help plan the wedding, since their elopement plans are officially canceled. It’ll give Sassy something to look forward to after the rest of this mess has been sorted out.”
“I have to return to work.”
“If you even think of skipping your sister’s wedding, you will be returning to work in pieces.”
While I really doubted Sassy’s father would kill Joe, I worried enough I rested my hand on Sassy’s shoulder and stared at him. “I’d give up now.”
“I should’ve just told you it was better to be a coalition male. Damned breeders.”
“I’d watch your mouth, Joe. He wasn’t born a cheetah. They might have nothing but girls. Then you might be surrounded by nothing but breeders. And if their children’s children have daughters, you coalition males are going to rue and lament the day you made fun of him for loving your sister.”
Joe scowled. “They’ll be lucky to have a single girl.”
“Don’t count your eggs until they hatch. Your sister’s more stubborn than a rock, and her male’s not much better. They’ll have a bunch of baby girls just to spite you.”
“That’s not even biologically possible, Dad,” Joe complained.
I knew one way I could make it biologically possible. “Don’t worry, Joe. I’ll just ask a succubus and incubus for help. I’m sure they’d be delighted to help with the conception of many little girls to help boost the breeding cheetah population in the city.”
Joe’s eyes wouldn’t. “You wouldn’t.”
I cocked a brow. “Try me. Keep complaining, Joe, and we’ll see what happens. Now, being serious. Where are we at with the investigation? How can I help?”
“The first problem is the infiltration into law enforcement. Losing several commissioners and a handful of cops involved with the original investigation hurts. Add in the fact that several of the judges who issued warrants will face accusations for their involvement, and this is turning into a mess. In good news, the judge who approved Rob’s warrants seems to be outside of the conspiracy. The FBI, CDC, and military are cleaning house, and they’re armed with angels. Because they’re law enforcement officers accused of the murder of another law enforcement officer, a lot of those pesky human rights laws simply don’t apply. If they can’t claim they weren’t involved, they’ll be questioned until we get the information we need. The angels will see it’s done fairly, but while they retain their right to remain silent, doing so is an automatic imprisonment without bail until the completion of the trial.”
I grimaced. “And it’s essentially an admission of guilt if they can’t verify to an angel they are not guilty of the crime.”
“Right. Not very satisfying for us, but we catch the bastards. Maxwell’s death ensures they’ll live the rest of their lives in prison. And if any of them have the talents required to pull off the murders and mask the truth, well, it wouldn’t surprise me if Texas temporarily revived the death sentence specifically for this case. It’d drag out in the courts, but with so many women and children dead, it might happen. And if they don’t, they’ll be locked in maximum security, and kept in a cell that nullifies most forms of magic. Either way, they’ll have hell to pay.”
“Will eliminating the law enforcement participants and judiciary participants be enough to bring the mountain down?”
“It’s only the first pebbles of the landslide. We’ve cut off their easy way of obstructing the investigation, though.” Joe paced the living room.
Someone knocked on the door, and Sassy’s father went to answer it. Moments later, my parents stepped into the room with my brother in tow. I lifted my hand off Sassy’s shoulder and waved. “If anyone else cries today, I might snap. Please no crying. I’m done with crying for now. Thank you, Mom.”
My mother sighed and shook her head. “All right. I got it out of my system last night, anyway. How are you feeling?”
“Bruised but otherwise fine.”
“I’m sorry about your friend, baby. How’s Sassy holding up?”
“She had a rough night.”
“So much crying,” Joe muttered.
“Couldn’t kill anyone over it, got frustrated?” my mother guessed.
“How’d you know?” Joe blurted.
“We’re southern women, Mr. Chetty. When we want to start with the killing and can’t, that’s frustrating. Someone tried to kill my baby twice. You better bet I was frustrated. You’ve got a lot to learn about women, bless your heart.”
“He’s a coalition cheetah, Mom. He can’t help it.”
“Ah, yes. I’ve been learning about you coalition males. From my understanding, you are relentlessly into other males unless a female forcibly evicts you from the coalition?”
Heaven help us all, my mother had taken an interest in cheetah breeding habits. “Good luck, Joe.”
Sassy’s father grinned at my mother. “Yes, Mrs. Clinton, that’s exactly how it works. My little kitten wisely captured her breeding male before his induction into a coalition. I raised her to be smart. Her momma’s mad she didn’t get to wrangle him properly, but I figure she’s been wrangling him for years.”
I wouldn’t tell my mother the bastard had popped me in the mouth to help his daughter get what she wanted.
“I will hope they have many daughters despite the odds being against them. I know a succubus. She owes me a favor. We could arrange for a girl or three. Cheetahs need more girls. I’d be helping your species out a little.”
Sassy’s father turned his attention to me. “I see your threats about sex demons was not an idle one.”
I shrugged and held my hands up in surrender. “I had no idea Mom had any dealings with demons.”
“Just because they indulge in sin doesn’t make them monsters,” my mother replied. “No, there are other monsters worth worrying about, and they’ve tried to kill you twice. Is there anything we can do to help? Also, if you need a succubus and incubus for the strategic planning of my granddaughters, I know a pair who’d love to meet you.”
I smirked in Joe’s direction. “Try me,” I mouthed at him.
He flipped his middle fingers at me.
Sassy’s father excused himself, went into the other room, and returned carrying a box, which he set on the floor with a loud thump. Five more trips later, and he patted the stack. “This is a complete newspaper archive of all dates we think are relevant from the murders. We need a complete collection of any articles that may involve those on the list Aaron got from Sharon Gray. In addition to this, we’re trying to form profiles on all political activities of those involved. We’re hoping to get a complete picture of what led up to the mass murders. Hopefully, we will also catch the killers hired to pull off the killing, but I doubt we’ll have the resources. We also speculate they’re providing some of the information to make sure their hires are brought to justice.”
“With one hand they giveth, with the other they taketh away,” my mother grumbled.
“On our breaks, we can plan a wedding,” Sassy’s father announced.
“I brought a binder.”
I rolled my eyes so hard I hoped to give myself a concussion, but I remained conscious. “No marriage license, no wedding. That’s how it works.”
“I’m friends with one of the county clerks,” my mother chirped. “I’ll give her a call. I’m sure she’ll have no problem sneaking out of work with the seal and all the information you need.”
“Mom,” I complained. “We can handle going to the courthouse on our own to get the paperwork when needed. There isn’t going to be a wedding until after we’ve caught these bastards and made sure they’re so ruined they’ll wish we’d killed them.”
“That’s my boy. What can we do to help so we can get to the wedding planning?”
I considered my parents. “You’d take on a bunch of ultra-wealthy politicians and conspirators if they’re in the way of a wedding, won’t you?”
“Well, that other son of mine isn’t getting married, so if I want a wedding, I have to get rid of a bunch of corrupt politicians. And those corrupt politicians hurt my baby boy. What do you think?”
I coughed. “I think I should have just dumped the case on your lap from the start.”
My mother shot me the look, the one that meant I’d skated out onto thin ice and was a single step from regretting it for the rest of my life, however short that might be. Very short, according to her expression. “I love you, Mom.”
“I knew you were always smarter than your brother.” My mother snagged one of the boxes, set it beside my feet, and joined it on the floor. “For the record, I have a strong dislike of politicians, I will enjoy this far more than I should, and I know how to use a gun.”
“You’re a Texan, Mom. Most Texans know how to use a gun. It’s in the guidebook on how to be a Texan. You told me this when I was four, which was when you told me I’d get a switching I’d never forget if you caught me treating any gun like a toy.”
“You were one when I first told you that, boy, and I told it to you every month once a month, while slapping my leg with a switch I’d picked just for the purpose of scaring obedience into you. It worked. I’m still a better shot than you are.” With a delicate sniff, my mother removed the cover from the box and pulled out a newspaper. “List, please.”
“I’ll go print a copy, ma’am,” Sassy’s father said, leaving the room.
Mark plopped onto the couch next to me. “How’s Sassy holding up, really?”
“I forgot she’ll cry if frustrated enough, and she’s probably frustrated she can’t indulge in multiple cases of homicide. Add in Maxwell, and well, what were you expecting? Her father got tired of it not long before you arrived, dragged me into the bathroom, made me shift, and demanded I make the sobbing stop. I guess it counts if she passes out from exhaustion?” I smiled at Sassy and brushed her hair away from her face. “She had her spats with Maxwell, but…”
I shrugged.
Sassy’s father returned with several printouts, which he handed around. “She’s Sassy. She liked she could sass him without fear of rebuttal. She could be herself around him, and that’s rare for her. All of the cheetahs she knows wouldn’t give her the time of day most of the time. Coalition males do not pay much mind to breeding females, and they don’t handle her sassing very well. He did, and that hit her hard. To almost lose you, too? She needed to get it out of her system. When she wakes up, all hell is going to break loose.”
Keeping Sassy from taking over the world in her quest for vengeance would occupy me for a while. “We just have to convince her that sinking them is the best we’re going to get.”
“She’ll be fine,” her father assured me. “She’ll be pissy about it, but we’re all pissy about it. These fuckers killed a good man for no other reason than disliking his politics.”
The truth would hurt for a long time. “No, they killed him because of his ethics. He’s the type of man who would’ve worked relentlessly to stop them. He dedicated his life to making up for a bill he wasn’t even fully at fault for.” I regretted not learning that truth sooner. Things might’ve been different.
Sassy’s father sighed. “And had they been smart, they would’ve made sure you hadn’t survived the shooting, because you’re cut from that same cloth. You tossed your career down the drain just like he did for the same reasons. Justice will be served one way or another. There’s a lot we can’t do without a badge, but there’s a lot we can do. Working with the DA is untraditional, and we’ll step on FBI toes, but we can present enough evidence to point the FBI in the right direction, and that’s what this is all about. We won’t get our share of the glory, but we will make certain every last one of those asses pays.”
“In blood would be nice,” I muttered.
My brother yanked on my ear. “No. You may not indulge your lycanthropy virus with brutal violence, no matter how satisfying it might be. I had to turn in my gun until it was determined I would not participate in vigilante justice.”
“Be nice to your brother, Mark,” my father ordered.
“For the record, I find your favoritism disturbing,” my brother complained. “Why are you siding with them, anyway? They took my gun!”
My mother smiled. “You do not need to carry around that nasty rifle everywhere. And as for your brother, he was always the nicer child, that’s why.”
“You suck, Aaron.”
“How is the loss of your rifle my fault?”
“You got shot, and for some reason, my commanding officers determined I would leave a pile of bodies in my wake if I got a list of the assholes responsible. They found out I had a list of the assholes responsible. Joe? Tell them I can have my gun back. They seem to think you can handle a psychiatric evaluation.”
“No. And you’re not going into the field until you have a high-sensitivity lycanthropy scan done. You’re as vicious as your brother, and he’s fresh off his first shift. With the way you sleep around, you probably got infected years ago. That’ll serve you right, too. And if you did get infected, I bet there’s a cranky lady waiting for her chance to land you permanently. So, Mark. Have you had any cranky ladies hanging out in the wings lately? Maybe a reoccurring dalliance somewhere? A favorite brothel?”
I relaxed and waited for the real show to begin, one where two military-trained assholes went in for gold and emerged battered and bruised. I put my bets on my brother; he needed the vent before he burst. “I’m not sure I classify as vicious, Joe. I’m with you on my brother being short a few cans of a six pack, though. If you’re going to go bust him up and make him a cat, too, do it outside. Keep the infections to the younger generation.”
“For that, you’re not getting pixie dust or painkillers until you’re begging. Anyway, you’re really non-violent for a first shifter. You were remarkably well behaved at the hospital. Good job, by the way. The one nurse said you’d limited your aggression to flat ears and hissing. No swipes, and you kept your blood to yourself. You score full points and a best first shifter award.”
“There’s an award? What do I get?”
“One get out of ass-kicking free card. You need it. I don’t know what the hell you did to my sister, but she wouldn’t stop purring until we got the call you’d been shot. You get a second card for your work with Sharon. You might need two. My sister wouldn’t stop purring. It was disturbing.”
“Maybe if you were better to your coalition buddies, they’d purr, too,” I countered.
Sassy’s father howled his laughter. “You just lost that one, son. Give it up. Your sister was purring because she was happy. She’s been waiting a long time for him. Let her be happy. She’ll start purring again once she feels like she’s able to do something. And she probably won’t stop for a while.”
“After the first few kids, maybe,” Sassy’s mother said, striding into the living room carrying a tray loaded with mugs, which she set on the coffee table. “I’ve soup warming for you in the kitchen, Aaron. There’ll be barbecue in a few hours, but the soup should tide you over while you do your reading and planning. Joe, I don’t want to hear you getting mouthy with the guests again.”
“Aaron doesn’t count. He’s stealing my sister.”
“Boy, you’re so jealous you can’t see straight,” Sassy’s father scolded, grabbing Joe by the ear and dragging him towards the kitchen. “We’ve mouths to feed, and when your mother says we’re having barbecue, that means we get to make it. Leave Aaron alone. You’ve checked him over plenty, and your sister’s fine, too. You’re just mad she went to him and not you, and your delicate big brother sensibilities are offended. Don’t you be minding him any, Aaron. I swear, some days, this one wants to be a breeding male and is too much of a chicken shit to tell his coalition he wants a lady to catch him so he can raise a litter, too.”
“Dad!”
“Don’t you ‘Dad’ me, you brat. March. Your momma wants her turn helping with the hunt, so we get to provide the meat so she doesn’t come after us when she’s hungry in a few hours, and you know how your momma gets when she’s hungry.”
I waited for them to leave before grinning at Sassy’s mother. “Thank you kindly, ma’am.”
“You’re welcome. Now, you just tell us what we need to do so we can get the real work done while the boys play in the yard.”
“We need to get as much dirt as we can on these assholes so we can bury them with it,” I said, pointing at the boxes of newspaper articles. “And we start looking there, because there’s nothing newspapers love more than getting dirt on filthy politicians.”