Thaumatology 05 - Disturbia Read online

  ‘Well, my tables are full,’ Ceri said. ‘I can get you onto one of Sasha’s tables. She’s the blonde with the tight arse, quite fancies you, who doesn’t?’ She watched his cheeks start to redden. ‘Or you can sit at the bar since you’re a friend of the family, so to speak.’

  ‘Uh, the bar will be fine.’

  Ceri grinned. ‘C’mon then.’ She turned on her heel and started into the club, putting some extra sway into her hips. ‘Michael needs cheering up,’ she said as she approached the small group of staff waiting there.

  ‘I think you did that already,’ Lily commented. ‘His eyes didn’t leave your butt the whole way over.’

  ‘If not, I’m sure we can get him cheerful somehow,’ Sasha added, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

  Michael climbed onto a stool, his face about the colour of a traffic light on stop. Alec patted him on the shoulder from across the counter. ‘You eventually get used to it, kid. It takes about fifty years, but… Wolfsbane?’

  ‘Uh, yeah,’ Michael responded. ‘That’d be great.’

  Carter looked down the bar, a slight smile on his face. ‘We’ll line them up,’ he said. ‘Cheryl’s coming over later.’

  ‘Another new dress?’ Lily asked, a smirk playing around her lips.

  ‘I may have found something I thought she would look stunning in,’ Carter admitted.

  ‘Personally I prefer her in nothing,’ Alec muttered under his breath. Ceri and Michael were quite close enough to hear him and she looked across at him and grinned as he finished off Michael’s drink.

  ~~~

  Alec was not too far off having his wish. The gold dress was floor length, but halter necked with a very deep back and low neckline, and it was fairly sheer shading to almost transparent over the legs. A thirty-something college researcher was drawing as much attention as the two film stars in the club as she swished in and planted a kiss on Carter’s cheek.

  ‘Good evening, Doctor Tennant,’ Carter said, lifting her hand to his lips; always the charmer, even when his “victim” was already charmed.

  ‘Good evening, Mister Fleming,’ she replied. Turning on the spot she added, ‘What do you think?’

  ‘I think,’ Carter said, offering his hand to help her onto a stool, ‘that every man in the room is lucky to be here to see you.’

  Perched on her stool with her legs delicately crossed, Cheryl slapped him on the shoulder. ‘Flattery is not going to get you any further than you were going to get anyway.’

  ‘It’s not flattery when it’s true,’ the playboy said.

  Alec placed a glass of white wine down beside Cheryl. ‘He’s right, you look good enough to eat. Suck it up.’

  Michael, a few stools down and on his third ‘Bane, nodded. ‘I have to agree with my fellow males, ma’am, you look fantastic.’

  Lily giggled as Cheryl flushed down as far as her chest. The half-succubus leaned over, placing her mouth close to Ceri’s ear to whisper, ‘Maybe we could get Cheryl to cheer Michael up. Quickie in the back…’

  ‘We can cheer him up ourselves later,’ Ceri replied quietly. ‘He’s drinking more than usual.’

  ‘He’s all right. He’s just a bit more moon-down than usual.’

  ‘What does he want?’

  Lily turned to look at their toy wolf-boy, then looked back, smirking. ‘Right now? Cheryl.’

  Ceri smirked back. ‘I don’t think she would.’ She glanced around her lovers to where her bosses were chatting. ‘Not tonight anyway.’ She caught something out of the corner of her eye, a movement; table ten needed her. Slipping away from the counter she headed over to see what they needed.

  They were all humans, though one had the slight development of his Chakral Median which suggested some, but not professional, magic use. At first, Ceri wondered whether the feeling of unease she felt was to do with him, but when the feeling turned to shock and narrowed so that she knew it was coming from Lily, Ceri turned to glance back at the bar. John and Kate were there, talking to Carter. Cheryl had a disbelieving look on her face.

  She finished taking the order as quickly as she could, but by the time she turned again to head back to the bar, Carter, John, and Kate were gone. Cheryl still looked confused with Lily standing beside her, looking consoling. Alec was hovering behind the bar, Sasha and Tess were looking bewildered, not sure what to do. Ceri marched over to the group.

  ‘Alec, two red wines, one white, one glass of Glenmorangie.’ She scanned the figures around her and fixed on Sasha and Tess. ‘You two calm down. Don’t freak the customers.’ Looking back to Lily she asked, ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Susie Stacks,’ Lily said, ‘remember her?’ Ceri nodded; how could you forget someone that top-heavy? ‘She was murdered last night. They’re asking Carter about it.’

  Carter accused of killing some porn actress? That was plain dumb. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘that’s standard procedure. You know that?’

  ‘Yes,’ Lily said picking up on Ceri’s intent. ‘Of course. He’ll have been one of the last people to see her so they’ll have to talk to him. That’s all it is.’

  ‘Alec,’ Ceri went on, ‘a whiskey for Cheryl too, calm her nerves. Everyone back to work. Sasha, Tess, if anyone asks it’s normal police procedure, nothing to worry about.’ She pulled Lily down the bar a little way and spoke quietly. ‘How did John look?’

  ‘Really serious,’ Lily said. She sounded worried, almost frightened.

  ‘Crap,’ Ceri muttered. ‘Just keep acting happy. Turn your aura up a little. Make it subtle.’ Lily nodded, the glow in her pupils ticking up a barely perceptible notch. Ceri shivered slightly. ‘I’ll take care of your tables, you handle Cheryl.’

  ‘Just like old times,’ Lily replied, turning back to where Cheryl was sipping whiskey and trying not to look worried. Lily had attempted to comfort Cheryl with her aura before; she was way better at controlling it now and there probably would not be a repeat of the horny thaumatologist.

  Ceri grabbed her tray of drinks and headed out to deliver them, noting the empties on another table so she could return there on the way back. There was a lot of muttering among the customers. The detectives had been in plain clothes, as usual, but John just emitted “cop” like a beacon.

  It was about fifteen minutes before Carter and the two cops emerged from his office. Everyone looked their way. John did, indeed, look very serious. Carter looked annoyed and a little confused. They stopped near the end of the bar so that Carter could speak; what he said was not good. ‘I need to go over to Greycoat Street with the detectives. Alec, would you please take care of the club and Cheryl.’ With that they started toward the door.

  Ceri caught Kate’s arm. ‘Kate?’

  The detective’s expression was a mix of anger and sadness. ‘You can’t help on this one, Ceri.’

  ‘But…’

  ‘He knows what he’s doing. He’s got his lawyer meeting him at the station so he doesn’t screw up. You’re too close to this, stay out of it.’

  Nodding, Ceri allowed the sergeant to continue after her partner. Turning, she looked at Cheryl. The older woman’s eyes were brimming and Lily was standing beside her, trying to provide some comfort. It was not going to be easy; Ceri was not feeling too comfortable herself.

  Kennington, August 21st

  With Michael depressed and Cheryl verging on hysterical, Ceri persuaded Alec to drive everyone back to High Towers once the club was closed up. She was not drunk enough and spent the entire trip with her eyes closed concentrating on not feeling anything about the way Alec drove. Why did cars have to be so damn convenient? Why couldn’t tube trains get you door to door? Why couldn’t Ed have taught her a mass teleport spell? Oh no, they had to go by car and it seemed to take hours, though at almost four-thirty in the morning the traffic was fairly light and it probably took fifteen minutes.

  Ceri marched into the house. ‘Everyone in the lounge,’ she said. As she had expected, the sudden arrival of more than the usual number of people produced a ball of
blue white light which zipped down from the stairs at speed and resolved into Twill. ‘Is there coffee, Twill?’ Ceri asked.

  The tiny woman’s eyes flicked over Cheryl, Alec, and Michael. ‘I’ll put some on,’ she said. Rolling in the air, she reformed her flight orb again and zipped off into the kitchen. Ceri pulled in a deep breath and headed for the stairs.

  Cheryl in her gorgeous gold dress was perched on Alec’s lap in the guest chair. Her head was tucked against his shoulder though she did not appear to be crying. Michael was standing in front of the unlit fire, staring at his feet. Lily was perched on the footstool beside Ceri’s chair, leaning on the padded, leather arm. Ceri could tell she was out of sorts as well; she was still dressed. Lily’s head jerked up, her eyes wide as she looked at Ceri. Ceri knew why. Ceri was trying to hold back on the anger.

  Dumping her coat on the couch which sat in front of the big TV and kicking her pumps at the nearest wall with considerably more force than was necessary, Ceri marched across to her chair and crashed into it with enough force to make Cheryl look up.

  ‘Ceri?’ Lily said quietly.

  ‘They shut me out,’ Ceri snapped, her voice dangerously low. ‘There’s no way Carter killed that woman. There’s no way they can believe that. They’re barking up the wrong tree in the wrong forest and they shut me out!’ Her voice had been rising through the diatribe and she jerked as Lily’s hand settled gently on her forearm. Forcing herself to calm down, she eased back into the chair.

  ‘Like you said, Ceri,’ Alec said, ‘procedure. You can’t be involved while he’s a suspect. You know him too well.’ He had not called her “kid” or some similar, vaguely patronising but affectionate term. He could tell she was past angry and was being careful. That more than anything else made Ceri realise she needed to put a lid on it.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said.

  ‘I’m supposed to be the passionate one,’ Lily said quietly. ‘You’re the calm, intelligent, considerate one.’

  ‘Sorry,’ Ceri said again. ‘What’s the point in this stupid Special Advisor thing if I can’t help when someone I know is accused of something? If we hadn’t taken the stupid badges we could be doing something.’

  ‘Like what?’ Lily replied calmly.

  ‘Like… Like…’ Ceri’s fists clenched and she glared at her pet. She saw Lily’s eyes widen slightly. She saw the slight stiffening. Ceri closed her eyes and sagged. Her voice was a whisper. ‘I’m sorry, love. It’s not your fault.’

  Twill flying in with the tray of coffee mugs was a good distraction. Even Michael turned around to get his mug. The fairy settled onto the arm of Ceri’s chair in full lotus and looked up. ‘Assuming you can tell me without blowing up again,’ the tiny woman said, ‘what happened?’

  Ceri sighed. The adrenalin was starting to run out of her and she was left hoping the coffee would replace it. She took a sip; damn it felt good. ‘The woman Carter took home last night was murdered at some point. John and Kate came to the Dragon to talk to him and then took him into Greycoat Street.’

  Twill was silent for a few seconds, her tiny face screwed up in thought. ‘No,’ she said, ‘I’m quite convinced that Carter Fleming could kill someone, but not some random girl he’s taken to bed. I highly doubt they have evidence to suggest he is responsible aside from recent proximity.’

  ‘He didn’t do it,’ Cheryl insisted. ‘He couldn’t.’

  ‘So,’ Twill went on, ‘are you going to sit here all night in the hope that they let him out?’

  Michael’s voice broke the silence after Twill’s comment. ‘Mister Fleming’s been good to me,’ he said. ‘I’m waiting for him to be released.’

  ~~~

  The sun was well up, light pouring in through the big, leaded window in the lounge, when Alec’s phone rang. It was Carter asking whether he would be good enough to collect him from Greycoat Street. Alec went off to do just that with orders to bring him back to High Towers whether he wanted to or not. Twill flew off to the kitchen to check they had something strong for him to drink. Cheryl rushed off to the bathroom to wash her face and reapply her makeup, determined not to let Carter see she had been crying.

  Carter looked tired when he walked into the hall, his jacket draped over his arm. His expression was impressively hard to read; the man had to play a mean game of poker. His gaze moved over the three women waiting for him, and then to Michael standing on the stairs looking uncertain. His attention was drawn to Twill as she floated up to him and his jacket started to lift. He smiled. ‘Thank you, Twill, most gracious.’ He looked back toward Cheryl just in time to catch her as she rushed into his arms.

  ‘I was so worried about you!’ Cheryl said. Her voice had held-back tears in it.

  ‘You’re still in the dress, then,’ he said, a hint of humour in his voice.

  ‘I wanted to look nice for you when you got out.’

  ‘I’m afraid it’s not over yet,’ Carter said. ‘I’m not allowed to leave the city. They don’t have another suspect, so I’m not off the hook. They also don’t have enough evidence to keep me locked up.’

  Ceri’s curiosity was verging on spilling over, but she forced it back. The man had just been through a police interrogation, he did not need one from her too. ‘You’re welcome to stay here,’ she said. ‘The spare bed is made up.’

  It was always a shock when the playboy wizard showed vulnerability. The gratitude and relief showed on his face for a fraction of a second, but it was there. ‘I would appreciate it, Ceridwyn, thank you.’ He looked around at Alec. ‘You’re not going anywhere either, old friend. This young lady, who seems most reluctant to let go of my neck, needs comforting and pampering.’ He lifted Cheryl easily into his arms and started toward the staircase. He stopped briefly beside Ceri. ‘In the morning… When we get up I’ll tell you what I know.’ Ceri nodded and he carried on up the stairs followed by Alec.

  ‘So what do we do?’ Lily asked.

  There were a lot of things Ceri wanted to do, but she could do none of them without information. She walked the few steps to Lily and looped her arm around the half-succubus’ waist. ‘We’re going to take the example of our elders,’ Ceri said and nodded up the stairs toward Michael. ‘That young man needs some pampering.’

  Lily smiled. ‘You’re right, he does.’

  Together they advanced upon Michael.

  ~~~

  The shock Cheryl had got from the events of the night before became evident as they congregated in the lounge in the early afternoon. She lay in Carter’s lap on the big, wing-backed leather chair. Her legs were hooked over the so that she could rest her feet in Alec’s lap; he was sitting on one of the uprights beside the wing-back. Cheryl’s head rested against Carter’s shoulder, and she showed no desire to move any time soon, but the most telling thing was that, at two in the afternoon and quite sober, Cheryl was still naked.

  Lily, perched on the foot stool beside Ceri, had noted Cheryl’s state of undress when she had come down wearing a jersey-dress and decided that if the older woman in the room was showing off, she could. The dress was in a crumpled heap on the couch.

  Michael was sat on the floor at Ceri’s feet. At least Carter was still dressed in his suit, the shirt collar undone in a more relaxed mode than the club owner generally employed. Michael did not feel entirely wrong sitting there in club wear.

  No one spoke until they had all had at least a couple of gulps of coffee and Twill had settled onto Michael’s shoulder. Ceri felt his body relax slightly as the fairy assumed her position; fairies gave off positive thaumitons as a side-effect of their thaumic energy production and that usually made people feel good.

  ‘I suppose it would be best,’ Carter said, ‘if we got this out of the way.’ Cheryl shifted slightly against his shoulder and he smiled. It was rather sweet, Ceri thought; despite what had happened, the three of them looked rather contented, driven closer together by adversity.

  ‘As you’re aware,’ Carter went on, ‘I took Suzie home the night before last. A
ctually, she proposed that we go to her flat and I now rather regret agreeing. Perhaps if we had gone to mine she would still be alive.’

  ‘Why did you agree?’ Ceri asked.

  ‘She was most insistent that I see a new… item she had obtained. I won’t go into the details, let’s just say that Ms Stacks was into bondage and leave it at that. We had a pleasant couple of hours and I left around six-thirty. I know her and I’d have got no sleep if I’d stayed. The police have me on tape leaving the lobby at that time and their time of death estimate is about an hour later.’

  ‘Then surely you’re out of the frame,’ Lily said.

  ‘Unfortunately,’ Carter said, ‘the manner of her death means that it is not entirely impossible that I did it. She died of slow blood loss. Very slow.’ His skin was paling visibly as he spoke. ‘They showed me some pictures taken at the scene. It was… distinctly unpleasant. The person who killed her was clearly very angry about something. I’d suggest it was something to do with her work. The method of death…’ He swallowed. ‘There was a sexual element to it.’

  Ceri frowned. ‘Would you say it was violent?’

  Carter nodded. ‘Sickeningly so.’

  ‘Lily, did Suzie ever do any illegal stuff?’ Ceri asked.

  ‘She was legit as far as I know,’ Lily replied. Then her voice turned thoughtful. ‘I did say she was pushing things a little, age-wise. It’s possible she took a few… borderline parts if she was having more trouble getting legitimate work.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘There are some people I could ask.’ She raised her chin so she could look up at Ceri. ‘You think it’s tied into the werewolves.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Ceri said, ‘I do. Just one of those feelings I get sometimes, but I don’t like the coincidences. Three werewolves known to be employed in illegal porn get dead, and then a porn actress. And all in high-tension circumstances… We’re going to look into this whatever the Greycoats think.’

  ~~~