SWNOVELS Chapter 31
"How
can I help you, Officer?"
AJ and I both turn to see Darius walking into the bar from the back entrance. He's inexplicably wearing a designer suit and tie, rather than his usual cos-play dress up, and his dark eyes are locked onto the Chief, who startles at the unexpected arrival. "Uh, yes, I have a few questions for all of you about the night of John Marsden's disappearance. But I'll need to speak with your... the other men as well?"
Darius crosses the room quickly--normal human quickly not vampire quickly--and stands in front of the chief, towering over the stout man by at least two feet. "There were only two of us, and my colleague is in the middle of an important meeting. I can answer any questions you may have."
What kind of brain damage is the good chief going to suffer after being blasted by both AJ's nymphness and the vampire's mind melts, I wonder. Poor guy. I feel bad for him, but not bad enough to intervene, cuz I sure as shit do not want to get caught up in John's well- deserved murder.
"Right, well, this is... as I said, a murder investigation," Chief Roland mutters, looking around like he needs that drink after all.
I reach for his arm to guide him to a table. "Why don't you have a seat, and I'll get you something to wet your whistle while you talk to Darius and AJ, hm?"
He nods vaguely and sits as I direct him. I give AJ and Darius pointed looks that I hope communicate something along the lines of 'do not mess him up too badly but also get us out of this stat' and start pouring a scotch on the rocks, which I serve with a napkin and a smile as Nanny always taught me.
I take the fourth seat at the table and wait for the chief to begin.
Relying on familiar habits, he pulls a small notebook out of his breast pocket and puts his reading glasses on, then takes a swig of the drink before clearing his throat. "Where were you the day of Mr. Marsden's disappearance?"
"We were all here," I say. "I had just had my baby, which Darius and Rune helped deliver by a miracle from heaven. AJ came over as planned to help take care of me, the baby, and the bar while I recovered, and we were dealing with the power outage and the storm." The chief nods, pushing his glasses up onto his nose before it slides off. "Right. Right. Can anyone else corroborate this?"
"Other than all four of us?" AJ asks with way too much snark. I kick her under the table and she flips me off when the chief isn't looking.
Darius rolls his eyes like an exacerbated teacher and leans in. "We know nothing of this man's disappearance. We were here throughout the power outage with no visitors. You will stop looking into this and determine John left town of his own volition. He was abusive, angry, and erratic. He walked around town looking for his wife, cut himself on a broken bottle of beer, grew frustrated, and left."
I sit silently, waiting to see if his Jedi mind tricks work.
The chief takes notes, then nods. "Right. Right. Yes, just had to dot all my i's and cross all my t's. You know how it is."
"Sure," AJ says, sitting forward in her chair, her face a mask. She doesn't have the same benevolent
relationship with the chief that I do To her, he's the dickhead who never stood up for her when she called in John's abuse. The jackass who always berated her for her youthful indiscretions. It's taken me too long, but I'm finally seeing the truth. AJ and I did not have the same childhood, despite growing up the exact same way.
My heart hurting, I reach for her hand and squeeze it, as the chief and Darius stand.
"How do you know Bernie, again?" The chief asks as they walk to the door.
Darius glances back at me. "Oh, I'm an old friend of her grandmother, Tilly's. We go way back."
His cheeky answer grates my nerves, but I hold in my ire until the chief is in his car and driving away. Then I walk up to Darius and punch him in the arm.
The act of defiance predictably hurts my fist more than it hurts his steel arm, but I don't care. "Don't you dare bring my grandmother into this again, you hear me?"
He stares at me long and hard, making me think the punch was a bad idea.
"First of all," he says, "it was a good cover. Second, it was a warning shot."
I raise an eyebrow, now more confused than angry. "A warning... what, to warn the police chief not to do his job?"
"You think we would have left any
we wou
trace of the man we murdered?"
Darius says; his voice utterly patronizing. "He's here on behalf of the same people who sent Kar The nymph's dead husband is just his excuse to get us all talking.
AJ and I share a look, both a little miffed by the vampire's assessment. Does this mean the whole police department's in on this? That seems excessive.
In any event, I can't think about that right now. I've got to save my baby from literally everyone and try to run a bar while I'm at it.
"Let's just get this pledge over and done with," I say, preparing to follow him upstairs, but he stops me.
"You cannot be present. It must be done with only those taking the pledge in attendance for it to work."
Sounds like a lot of bullshit to me, but honestly, I don't even care anymore. "Fine. Whatever. Go."
I wave dismissively, sending Darius
off to join the others for their little pledge, then turn to AJ. She's
chewing her nails and staring at the wall. With as much as I've been through, it's easy to forget the tumultuous times that befell my friend these last couple days: getting shot, losing her dickhead husband, finding out she's not human, becoming a full-time bartender.
"Hey," I whisper as I put a hand on her back. "How are you?"