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Darby
“You’re sure the warden is okay with this?” Will asked from the pilot seat of his luxury sedan.
We drove along the surface streets. While some luxury vehicles had hovers, this particular model didn’t, and I was a bit relieved. I wasn’t ready to be back in the air yet.
“The ‘warden’ doesn’t make the rules.” I nestled deeper into the heated leather seat and tried not to purr.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” He glanced my direction. “You did have a major car wreck. Most people would be staying the night in the hospital.”
“I’m just glad the Flexions are well-built. They’re virtually indestructible.”
“From the images I saw on the news, you’re lucky to be alive, let alone walking away. Do you know how many times your car rolled?”
I shook my head. I didn’t really want to know.
“Seven times. One of the officers guiding you caught it on cam. You shouldn’t have walked away. Either of you.”
I shuddered. “Someone was watching out for us, I guess.”
“Don’t tell me you believe in guardian angels?” He scoffed.
I shrugged. “There are a lot of unexplained things in this world. Like how I’m the only super we know of who can raise the murdered back to life.”
“That’s a strange way of putting it.”
“If I happened, why couldn’t someone else have the same powers?”
Will chewed on that for a bit. “Well, either way, I’m glad you’re no worse for wear.”
I stretched my feet. “Don’t get me wrong, I fully expect to be sore tomorrow.”
“I could call a buddy of mine, a doctor, and have him prescribe you a muscle relaxer.”
“If I can, I try to avoid drugs. They affect me in weird ways.” I tried to stretch my back muscles, but it would have to wait until I was in the women’s locker room. Besides, a hot shower was exactly what my body needed.
“You’re stiff. And hurting.”
“It’s not the first time my body’s taken a beating. I’m a cop, after all.” I gave him a small smile.
He smiled back. “Are you sure about driving? I could give you a lift tonight.”
“I need to do something normal, and battling my car is as good an option as any.”
“Or it’s liable to give you a worse headache.”
“There is that.”
We arrived at HQ, and he helped me inside. Riding in the car had already made my muscles tighten up, so I was glad for the extra hand.
When we got upstairs, my homicide colleagues swarmed me. William said he’d meet me downstairs in half an hour as Celia Mendez hugged me tightly and the men in our division clapped and patted my back.
“That was one hell of a scary ride,” Celia said when she pulled back. “Most of us watched it live on CCTV. Is Mark okay? Are you?”
I nodded. “He’s getting sprung soon. And I’m a little sore, but I’ll be okay.”
“Good. I’m so relieved. They had us shut it off before you were pulled out, and I’ve been so worried!”
“Thanks, Celia.” I turned to the other detectives in my unit. “You guys act like you’ve never seen a detective before.”
They grinned. A couple playfully shoved my shoulder. But mostly they patted my back and said things like, “Glad you’re okay, Darby.” and “Wouldn’t be the same around here without you.”
Slowly the guys dispersed.
Celia turned back to me, but the elevator behind her opened and out stepped Nettie. She caught sight of me and hurried over. In her arms was my bag and Mark’s too.
“I thought you wouldn’t be back over here,” Nettie said, her brogue thick with emotion. “But I asked the sergeant at the front desk to call if you came back. Figured you’d want these.”
I hugged her. “Appreciate it. Any news on what happened with our car? Why it fell out of the sky?”
She shook her head. “Sorry, not yet. Maybe we’ll have some prelims by morning, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
I scowled. “Has anything like this happened to Bendex’s airlift system? Since they went mainstream in the cruisers?”
Nettie shook her head again. “No, and I was looking as soon as I learned you were in trouble. There hasn’t been anything like this since testing finished and they started putting them in their Flexions.”
I glanced at Celia.
She shrugged.
I turned back to Nettie. “Okay, keep us posted.”
“Trust me, I have a list of people who want to know what happened, from R&D to the chief of chiefs in Phoenix, to everybody who is in your chain of command.”
“So you’re overseeing the inspections?”
“Well, technically it’s Xander. But I’m right in there, too.”
“Since I talked to him this morning, have you found anything about...the thing I asked you guys to look into?”
She pursed her lips. “Yeah, but I’m not sure how much I can tell you here.”
Celia folded her arms over her chest. “What on earth is going on?”
Nettie flicked her eyes to my fellow detective. “I want to tell you, but we need a secure room. And it’s late, and Darby’s been in a wreck.”
I glanced at the clock. It was past end-of-shift, and I was exhausted, plus Will was waiting on me, and I still wanted that hot shower before heading to the SHS meeting.
“I can spare about five minutes, Nettie.” I turned back to my desk and grabbed a couple things, then locked it up. I didn’t intend on coming back.
“Do you want me to come?” Celia asked.
“It’s kind of eyes only,” Nettie said.
I smiled at my fellow detective. “If you were going to have to stand in for Mark, maybe. As it is, maybe you should get home to your husband? I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Celia gave me another hug, and went to the lift bank with us, waiting on a ride down as Nettie and I waited to go upstairs.
Once we were inside the secure room, Nettie sealed the doors.
I dumped my stuff on the table and plopped my butt down next to my bags, scooching back until my knees were along the edge of the table.
Nettie said, “We’re still looking into the computers like you and Mark asked. But we found something on Prairie’s home computer. I wish I could show it to you, but I’ll summarize. He sent her a message a few days before she was murdered. It’s a bit cryptic, but she may have been trying to back out of whatever they were doing.”
“Which was what precisely?”
Nettie shook her head. “That’s more for you to figure out than me. We haven’t found anything yet to shed light on it. But what’s more interesting is after she sent this e-mail, Richard Pierce messaged her back and threatened her.”
“Threatened how?” I put my hands to my lumbar and leaned back, stretching.
“The usual bad guy kind of thing. If you stop before I have what I need, I’ll kill you.”