“Agreed. Unfortunately, with only the bones to go from…” Dr. Stowe held up her hands in awhat can you do about it?manner. Resting her elbow on her desk, Dr. Stowe’s gaze driftedover the different sets of bones. “There should have been more than skeletal remains.”
I’d been tapping a pen on her desk, and my tapping stopped. “All of them?”
She shrugged. “Maybe not all. The first victims… Maybe it would have been long enough, but not the more recent ones. We should have had a lot more to work with. There should have been…something. It’s almost as if… But there are no tool marks, nothing that I can find that indicates the flesh was carved away.” Dr. Stowe flinched before she shot me an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I know how gruesome that sounded.”
I shook my head. “No more gruesome than my thoughts. Now that we’ve got their identities sorted, I need to start researching ways to remove flesh from bones without damaging the bones themselves.”
“Warlock? The magic they twist is destructive in nature. Seems more fitting than witch.”
“Sounds possible, but I can’t rule out other magical beings.” I swallowed hard. “I hate to even think it but seems like something a fairy might be able to do. They’ve got different affinities. I’ve never heard of something like this, but I hardly think an affinity like this is something Fairy would broadcast. Maybe back in times of war, but not now.”
Dr. Stowe shrugged. “I can’t say that I’ve ever even met a fairy. It’s fair to say I’m no expert. It’s also fair to say that never having met one doesn’t bother me one iota.”
I smirked. “No argument here.” I rubbed the stubble on my chin. “Just so happens I know a necromancer who’s met one or two.” Phlox and Leon too. “I’m not sure if I can track down any information that way, but it might be worth a try.”
Eyebrows shooting skyward, Dr. Stowe blew out a whistling breath. “I’d say that’s your funeral, but I really hope that’s not the case.”
“You and me both.” I considered the other species. “A brownie might be able to do it, but I don’t see that happening.” Brownies were as powerful as fairies. They were also a hella lot more peaceful. Brownies were known pacifists. Then again, every tree had a bad apple or two.
“Zombies?” Dr. Stowe threw out. “They’re typically well leashed to a priest or priestess, but maybe we’ve got a rogue practitioner on our hands.”
“That might explain the missing brains but not the rest. Also, I’ve never known zombies to be terribly polite when obtaining their meals. They generally crack the skull open to get to the juicy middle.”
“Ugh… Why did I apologize earlier for being crude?”
“No idea,” I teased. “You’re right. This is grim talk.”
“But necessary.” Dr. Stowe hooked a thumb toward the skeletal remains. “Something happened to the flesh. Insects just don’t decompose a body that quickly, even in our southern climes and especially coming out of winter.”
I nodded, checking the time on my watch. Dr. Stowe took notice. “Get out of here, O’Hare. There’s nothing else you or I are going to do tonight.”
“I’m glad you included yourself in that category.”
“Damn right I did. Assuming nothing more comes in, I’ll reach out to a few colleagues tomorrow, see if I can pick their brains regarding our current fleshless situation.”
“Thanks, Dr. Stowe.”
She sighed. “I don’t suppose it will do any good to tell you to call me Evelyn again.”
I grinned. “Probably not.”
“Then I’ll stop wasting my breath.”
“Good night, Dr. Stowe.”
“Good night, Detective O’Hare.”
I walked out of the morgue and through the darkened hall. One of the overhead lights flickered, in need of replacement. The effect was eerie and cast uncertain shadows on the walls. I remembered what Boone told me Ajita said. Where Huxley was concerned, I was better off in a pitch-black room.
A longer shadow loomed ahead where the hall came to a T. I stopped, heart racing and breath quickening. Huxley meant me harm. I’d already suspicioned that was true but given what we guessed was happening with Holland’s wards, I figured we’d moved past the realm ofmaybe.
The shadow lengthened, and I braced myself for… Hell, I had no idea what. The patter of feet grew louder right before Detective Bethany Harrison turned the corner, nearly running me down.
The air trapped in my lungs escaped in a loud exhale. “Detective Harrison. It’s good to see you.” Harrison eyed me skeptically at the relief flooding my voice.
“O’Hare. You okay?”
“Fine. Getting ready to head out for the night.”
