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The blossom had almost gone, leaving large green leaves in its place. Kai had taken to walking through East Park in her breaks. The fresh air helped her to think more than any coffee and since the destruction of Derwin-Hepler & Reading-Smith, she’d had a lot on her mind.
Melanie took to meeting her in the Tea House on the island in the centre of the lake once a week. They deliberately stayed away from talk of the cases, chatting more about fashion and the doings of various celebrities in an effort to relax.
“I have found the most gorgeous fabric. You wouldn’t have any recommendations on dressmakers, would you?” Melanie asked over Afternoon Tea, three weeks later.
“I know one lady who does the most fabulous work, she used to come to me for Divination regularly,” Kai replied, “I’ll get Edward to send you, her number.”
“Why did you close that side of your business? Lady Starwind was the toast of the town.” Melanie sipped her jasmine tea, “I heard all sorts of people used to consult you.”
“It wasn’t bringing enough money in to support its overheads,” Kai shrugged.
“That’s a pity.”
Kai nodded and they fell silent for a while.
A cough from SPO Amin behind her brought Kai out of her own thoughts, “Hmm? Is there a problem?”
He pointed to the entrance to the tea house, “Someone is looking for you.”
Over by the counter, the Suǒyǒu zhě was talking to a familiar figure. Kai grinned, “Melanie, you’d better be ready for this.”
“Oh?” the woman put her cup down and turned round, “Oh my, Tabatha!” she stood up as the young woman walked toward them.
“Auntie Mel!” Tabatha called out and rushed over to hug her.
“How about we celebrate a little?” Kai suggested and called the waitress over, ordering champagne and more cake.
Tabatha sat down beside Melanie, “Sounds like a wonderful idea to me.”
“I didn’t know that you’d found her, Kai.” Melanie hugged her niece again.
Kai sighed, “I only just managed to negotiate her release recently.”
“What about her parents?”
“They left for the UK aboard a private jet last week. Just tell her they were instrumental in my release.” Tabatha told Kai.
Melanie seemed to sense that something had passed between them, “Are they okay?”
“Oh yes,” Kai said, “They were flown back to the UK last week; something to do with the Prime Minister needing to see David.”
“And they left without coming to see me? I can understand not wanting to see Andrew, but Louise wouldn’t have left without at least calling me.” A wave of pain rippled out from Melanie and Kai automatically countered it with soothing.
“Damn, I forgot that’s what Mum would do... ah well, too late now.” Tabatha grimaced.
“Apparently it was rather urgent.” Kai shrugged.
“Maybe she’ll call me from England when she gets a moment then.” Melanie sighed, then slid her arm around Tabatha, “At least you’re still here!”
“We have a trip to Japan to take remember?” Tabatha hugged her aunt, “I couldn’t go home without doing that.”
“I did promise it and we will go, once I have managed to sort out the wreck of my business.”
The two of them drifted into planning their trip and Kai contented herself with listening and smiling at the appropriate moments.
Amin coughed again. This time when Kai looked at him, he merely darted his eyes in the direction that he wanted her to look. Mystified, she glanced that way over the rim of her champagne glass and spotted someone that no one else in the room seemed to see.
Crouched in the corner of the Tea Room, at a table covered with dirty dishes and cups, sat Andrew Reading-Smith. He was staring at Tabatha and Melanie, with occasional glances at Kai that left her feeling cold and worried.
“Tabatha, get Melanie out of here and take her to Zhao’s office.” Kai slipped the request into the girl’s mind quickly.
“Why?”
“You two are in danger; do you remember what we discussed at the last Triang meeting?” Kai laid a dart of anxiety and need for haste into the thought.
“Oh no.” Tabatha looked around casually, drained her glass and stood up, “Come on Auntie Mel, I need to go sign some documents at the Police Station and I don’t want to be late. We can talk on the way.”
Melanie nodded, “Fair enough. What about you, Kai?”
“I’ve got to go back to work. I’ll call you later.” Kai smiled, “Also someone has to take care of the bill.”
“I’ll pay you back with dinner if you like.” Melanie suggested.
“That’d be nice, thank you.” Kai watched the two women walk out of the Tea Room, before looking back at the corner table.
Andrew had gone.
“Damn. Where’d he go?” Kai muttered.
“Out the back door.” Amin said pointing at a fire door to the right of the corner table, “I kept my eyes on him while you were wrapping up.”
“Did he seem odd to you?” Kai stood and strode across to the Suǒyǒu zhě and paid their bill.
“In what way?” Amin seemed composed, but Kai could tell by the way the black scale pattern flashed in and out on his skin that he was worried.
“He doesn’t seem fully human. I’ve had this feeling about him ever since I first met him at Mother’s, but before it wasn’t quite so strong.” Kai quickened her pace out of the door.
“Do you want me to call the sighting in to Zhao?”
She nodded, “Tell him to meet me at my old divination office with Andrew Reading-Smith’s evidence bag and to get someone to protect Melanie and Tabatha. I’m almost certain that Andrew is a danger to them.”
Amin did as she asked, half jogging behind her until he’d finished, “He’ll be there. There are already a couple of plain clothes SDO’s on Mrs Reading-Smith’s protection duty anyway and I spotted a Fae Warrior doing a very bad imitation of a tea drinker in the Tea Room.”
“The Warrior left after Tabatha?”
Amin nodded.
“Then they’re as protected as they can be.”
Zhao was waiting beside the octagonal building as arranged. Behind him was a group of plain clothes SDO’s looking unhappy. He handed over the evidence bag, “You think he’ll try anything?”
“The killer said that I was next on his list, and I don’t think the Fae are going to touch Tabatha, but I wouldn’t put it past them to eliminate Melanie Reading-Smith as well as Tabatha’s parents.” Kai opened the bag, slipped one glove off and stuffed it into her pocket, “Amin, make sure I don’t fall over, please.”
She slid her hand inside the bag and laid it on the contents, her skin cringing away as she remembered what the contents were.
“Uh, uh, ah!” a familiar voice said in her mind as she touched the fabric, “I’m wise to your antics, Jade Cat. You can’t root through my mind like a pig at a trough.”
Kai backed off a little, but kept the connection, “Andrew, what is going on? I thought you were concerned for your niece?”
“Oh, I am, but she’s not my niece. She’s never been anyone to me other than an assignment. I kept her safe as a child and brought her back to my Queen when I was asked to.” He giggled and Kai was swept back to the roof of Derwin-Hepler & Reading-Smith by the sound.
“And your wife? Are you not worried about her?”
The giggle took on a malicious edge, “She’s nothing to me; she loves me far more than I love her. My Mistress is my one true love, and I would do anything for her. I’ll have my fun with Melanie soon enough. You are more important.”
Kai pulled her hand out of the bag, dropped it to the floor and scrubbing her palm on her trouser leg, tried to let go of the connection with Andrew, but he was stronger than she had imagined and held onto her mind.
“Oh no you don’t Jade Cat. You’re not going to get away from me and that group of traitorous police are not going to be able to protect you.” Andrew said.
She looked around the area and broadcast her next words to Zhao and Amin as well as answering Andrew, “So you can see us?”
Zhao came alert and looked around as well, gesturing to the SDO’s to spread out. Amin pushed Kai against the building and stood in front of her, unholstering his pistol.
“You think you’re so smart, Jade Cat. I’ll get you when you least expect me and no policeman alive will be able to protect you from me.” The contact faded from her mind, and she relaxed with a sigh against the rough stone.
“He’s gone?” Zhao groaned.
“There’s something different about him, Zhao. He’s not entirely human. Have you the DNA results back from his evidence yet?” Kai stood up again.
“They should be in the office by now. Let’s go and find out.”
The Special Division Office was heaving. Plain clothes mixed with uniform in a cacophony of noise overlaid with worry and frustration.
Zhao cornered one of his upper officers, “What’s going on?”
“There’s been a spate of attacks on Underworld citizens all over the city.” The SDO said, “None of them are of the same severity or on the same race, but they’re all involving explosives.”
“Any idea of the source?” Zhao glanced at Kai and waved her toward his office.
Kai nodded and left him to it, Amin following her.
“Can you find out where Melanie and Tabatha are?” She asked the Naga, “They were coming here, remember?”
He shrugged, “I’ll go talk to a few people; it’s not like you can get up to any trouble in here.”
“Cheeky.”
He grinned as she went into Zhao’s office and walked over to a female uniformed SDO at one of the desks.
Kai went in and sat down on the couch. On a stand in the centre of the table was Wei Tian’s Jian in its sheath. A sparkle of light around the hilt told her that the Spirit was awake.
“Good Afternoon, Wei Tian.” Kai said.
“Good Morrow, Riordan. It has been some time since I saw you last. How goes your work?” the spirit of the sword manifested as a faint blurry image above the hilt.
“We have solved several perplexing cases, but in the course of the investigations, turned up a more dangerous plot.” Kai replied, her mind wandering across the problems she was facing.
“The Fae Queen was ever a difficult one to deal with, even when I was alive. That’s the problem with Immortality, it warps your view of the world.” Wei Tian sounded more than a little worried.
“I hope it doesn’t do that to me.” Kai murmured aloud.
The door opened and Zhao came in with Amin just behind him, “Who are you talking to now, Riordan?”
Kai felt the faintest ripple of irritation from Wei Tian and stifled the need to laugh, “You mean you can’t hear or see him, Zhao?” she gestured toward the sword.
The detective shook his head. Amin looked at the blade and recoiled.
“The Naga sees me.” Wei Tian sounded smug.
Amin blinked, his eyes changing from human to reptilian and back again.
“And he obviously heard you as well. Please be polite,” Kai told the spirit.
“Oh, the Jian Spirit?” Zhao shrugged, “I’ve never heard anything from him, even when I pick the blade up.”
“The abomination has no psychic ability, Riordan.” Wei Tian said.
Amin growled and his tongue slipped out in a hiss.
Zhao looked at him, “Control yourself please, Amin.”
“Sorry, Detective.” The Naga shook himself and turned to look at Kai, “Mrs Reading-Smith and her niece have been in and left already. Their duty officers are still with them.”
“Well, that’s one less thing to worry about.” Kai said.
Zhao waved a folder at her, “The results you were asking about.” He began to pass it to her, but Kai shook her head, “I wouldn’t know what it was talking about, can you summarise?”
The detective sat down and opened the folder, “You’re right about him not being entirely human. He appears to be an uneasy mixture of Human, Fae and Ghoul.”
Kai shuddered, “Ghoul? I thought they were eradicated in the last century.”
“They’re supposed to have been. I don’t know how he came to be ghoul, but the Fae/Human connection now at least makes sense.”
“His abilities also tally with that blend,” Amin said, taking a seat opposite Kai, but looking toward the door, “Ghouls are incredibly strong and fast healing; Fae are light on their feet and quick. Between those two, it’s no wonder that we haven’t been able to track him down or capture him. We’d need a couple of Vampires and he’s been careful to stick to daytime activities.”
“Is he behind all the new attacks as well?”
“I very much doubt it,” Zhao frowned, “From what little information we have been able to gather, they’re more of a diversion than anything else. You let the rest of Special Division deal with those, and I’ll assign a couple more bodies to you so you can track down Reading-Smith.”
“If you have a particularly dangerous criminal to track down, Riordan, I would like to go with you.” Wei Tian said, “I can at least help defend you should you be attacked personally.”
“I would appreciate that, thank you,” Kai said, “I really ought to learn a bit more self-defence than the knife skills I’ve picked up.”
“When we have the leisure, I shall make it my personal mission to train you.” Wei Tian pronounced.
Kai wasn’t sure if she was happy about that or not. “I would be honoured.” She replied.
There was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Zhao called out.
Edward entered, “I was looking for Miss Riordan. This came for her via courier, and I felt it needed immediate attention.” He had a small box in his hands.
Kai waved him over and took the box.
She almost dropped it as a wave of pain, fear and nausea swirled around her, “I’m not sure I want to open this.” She placed it down on the table and rubbed her hands on her legs.
Wei Tian’s spirit manifested in seconds, “I can see why you would not want to, Riordan.”
Amin had paled and black scales began to appear on his face and hands as he stared at the box in horror, “Detective, who was assigned to Mrs Reading-Smith?”
“Ealdwine and Osbourne. Why?” Zhao said.
“You’d better check if they’re okay.”
Zhao’s face drained, he leapt up and ran out of the office.