I waited until Crane had loaded up the body and Ed had finished with the scene, and then Loki and I went in to see Kate and her beau.
The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the noise. Kate’s dogs were barking, and the sound only increased when they spotted my bird flying tauntingly out of reach.
Play nicely,I murmured to Loki, and he chortled back.
Kate’s poor sister was clearly flustered by the dogs’ nonstop barking.
‘If it’s okay,’ Beth said to me over the din as I walked in, ‘I’ll take the dogs out so you can actuallyspeakto Kate. Otherwise you won’t hear a thing.’
‘Sure, sounds good.’
Beth started snapping on leads. They had two fluffy blonde Pekingese dogs and two miniature Schnauzers. The fluffy blondes looked like adorable miniature teddy bears; though with their teeth bared at Loki, theyresembled teddy bears who’d seen combat, enjoyed it, and were ready to go another round.
I followed Beth to the entrance hall and crouched down to give the dogs some attention, distracting them from my cocky caladrius with cuddles.
Evidently enjoying my strokes, they leapt onto my thighs like enthusiastic toddlers but did not cease their relentless barking.
‘They’re not usually like this,’ Beth hollered over their noise. ‘I think they can sense our agitation with it all.’
I looked at the fluffy things. The only thing they could sense would be dinner.
‘Just a few questions before you go,’ I said over the racket. ‘Did you see or hear anything unusual tonight?’
Beth grinned. ‘Well, I saw my sister fussing over hair and makeup. That’s new. She was excited for her …visitwith Troy. I was planning on making myself scarce. I’ve got plans to go to a friend’s house tonight. I told Jacky I’d be late though, you know, because of the body.’ She looked at the dogs. ‘Jacky’s not really an animal person, but I’m sure she’ll be okay with the dogs coming too, once she understands the circumstances.’
I made noncommittal noises. I’d had a dog called Gus growing up, but I vividly remembered my nana’s disapproval should we ever dare to bring him over to her house. Nanawas old school and believed dogs should be kept outside, not in the home. If ever we brought Gus with us, she would shove him into her garden, no matter the weather.
‘Did you know the deceased?’ I pressed on despite the racket.
‘Nope,’ Beth said. ‘Never seen the guy before. Sorry I can’t be more help, but I didn’t see anything, didn’t hear anything, and I don’t know the dead guy. I’ve honestly got nothing helpful to say.’
I surreptitiously checked her knuckles. No redness. Nothing to indicate she’d thrown a punch recently, and though I was loath to agree with Crane regarding literallyanything,he was right that she certainly didn’t have the strength to sever a spinal column the way Ash’s had been.
‘No problem,’ I said. ‘Have a nice night with Jacky. Kate’s got my telephone number if you do remember anything pertinent.’
‘Sure. Nice to finally meet you, Stacy. Kate’s always talking about you.’
I straightened from stroking the dogs. ‘Nice to meet you too, and same. She talks often of you.’
‘We should do drinks one time,’ she suggested. ‘I’m always trying to get Kate to do things that don’t involvedead bodies.’ She eyed me. ‘I suspect you have the same penchant for dead things.’
‘You could say that,’ I replied lightly. Standing for the dead was my job. ‘Drinks sometime sound good.’
I saw Beth and the four dogs out of the house, and the noise level diminished significantly.
I joined Kate and Troy in the living room. They were sitting next to each other on the sofa, quietly murmuring. It was a cosy scene. In fact, the whole room was a cosy assault of warmth and softness. A red-and-white gingham pattern was liberally scattered across the cushions and the curtains. Small cushions were piled on the sofa in deliberate excess, throws were folded just so, and lamps cast a honeyed glow to highlight the overflowing bookshelves. The whole place felt lived in, loved and comforting, with sprinkles of the two sisters everywhere, in photo frames, knick-knacks and Disney-related paraphernalia scattered around.
Loki circled overhead until he landed on a lamp.
Troy watched my bird as he flew, eyes alight with curiosity, and I took the opportunity to check his knuckles unobserved. I felt utter relief when I saw unblemished skin. Not a hint of a cut, scrape or red knuckle in sight.
A third partymusthave been involved. Mers had access to the IR, but I had never heard of a mer that could heal.Even if Troycouldheal, everyone knew you couldn’t use the IR to self-heal; it was one of the absolute laws of the magic, just like you couldn’t use the IR to bring back the dead or create something from nothing.
Out of completeness, I looked over Kate’s hands too, but they were unmarked as well. Tension slid out of me. At least Kate wasn’t a suspect.
I wasn’t sure if Jingo would ever take a woman’s body as his next host. In all of the bodies I’d tracked of his so far, they’d all been male, but was that opportunity, preference, or an absolute? Did he alwayshaveto be in a male form?
I cleared my throat and focused on the not-quite-a-couple sitting opposite me.
