Page 90 of Booked for Murder

“Yeah, that one. That was one rather awkward conversation, honestly. I had to say nice things about myself, and I didn’t like it. Actually, I hated you for a full week after that. You don’t even like blood. You’re not supposed to openly praise me in such a way where I’m forced to agree with you.”

Everyone laughed, Mickey included. “My opinion has not changed.”

I sighed. “Beatrice, please change his opinion. I’m his walking nightmare.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Janette. He remembers how you rescued a kitten from a storm on the day of your interview. That memory is permanently imprinted on him. I try to convince him you’re a terrible, awful person every time you annoy me. He laughs at me. Things like rescuing kittens really impress him, and that you’re that compassionate while being his walking nightmare has made his fanboy crush even worse. He also adores your cat, and he was pretty sad this morning when he learned she’s at the Hamptons’ home. In the Hamptons. That will never fail to amuse me. You’re just going to have to deal with it. Do let him ask you all of his burning questions, please. It might even convince him to work on his phobia.”

“Sure. When things quiet down, you can ask all the questions you want, Mickey. Pick your favorite and ask it now, just to get it out of your system a little.”

Once Mickey fixated, if he got no answers, he’d go mad.

“Did you really spray blood six stories up?”

“That’s my record, yes.”

“So that exsanguinator at our library wasn’t all that strong, was he?”

As I was the only known woman with the ability, I ignored his assumption about the exsanguinator’s gender. “I’m not sure it was an exsanguinator—or if it was, the exsanguinator was holding back. I’d say that spray is about average for how the job seems to have been done. Unless we can get access to the body or the full autopsy report, I won’t be able to tell for certain. Mr. Tawnlen? This is more your ballpark than mine.”

“From the little I’ve gotten about the murder, I’d point at telekinesis as the primary culprit behind death and the blood spray, primarily due to the damage to the skull. The force from the skull being ruptured as it was would have accounted for some of the spray, too. The rest is likely theatrics to put the blame on exsanguinators—or possibly an exsanguinator helping to pin the blame on users of your ability. I’m looking into other cases with similar damage to the victims, and I speculate that there is an exsanguinator somehow involved with the killer, but the exsanguinator’s rating is likely somewhat low.”

My ability level gave me almost complete control over blood, while those with lower ratings could do some baseline manipulation of blood, usually in terms of forcing it to exit the body in some fashion or another. My ability to oxygenate blood, handle circulatory flow without the benefit of a heart, and even filter out impurities separated me from most.

I blamed my interest in being a nurse for how my magic had developed.

“Thoughts, Meridian?”

“We’re up a creek without a paddle or a boat until we have more information on potential motivation. Once we have an idea of motivation, we can maybe figure out the who. The cops have been after Mickey like crazy, and he can’t even look at pictures of the crime scene without fainting. They haven’t talked to me much; I guess they don’t think a woman could have pulled the crime off.”

I raised my hand. “Outside of shattering his skull, I definitely could have pulled the crime off.”

Everyone glared at me.

“Behave, Janette,” my mother chided.

“What? I’m just telling the truth. I’m a woman, and I’m definitely capable of pulling off the majority of that crime. The skull, however, is an issue. I can’t do that, not even in my prime on a good day. Well, I guess I could with a baseball bat.”

“The skull was broken outwards, not inwards,” Mr. Tawnlen stated.

“Well, I guess I’m not going to be doing that with a baseball bat, unless I rammed it completely through his head. He tempted me to try something like that some days.”

“And that would not match the lethal damage inflicted.”

“But how would a telekinetic do that?”

“We don’t know. That’s the problem. I’ve looked at all the records I could get ahold of regarding the bodies, and I just don’t know of a singular talent that could be used to replicate the skull damage. A telekinetic would need to be involved, but the damage is severe. The level of force required to break through the skull as was done in this killing is phenomenal. It resembles a gunshot wound without an entry hole.”

“So why are they giving Mickey a hard time, then?”

“I’m a convenient scapegoat,” Mickey said with a shrug. “They don’t have anything solid, and they need someone to blame. I was the only librarian in visual range of the senator when he died.”

“But you’re a librarian,” I muttered.

“So are you. Don’t sound so incredulous, Janette.”

“I became a librarian because nobody would believe an exsanguinator like me would become a book dragon guarding the public library stacks. I’m somewhat talented at faking being a librarian. Honestly, I feel I should officially become a book dragon guarding the public library stacks now that everyone knows I’m an exsanguinator. Being a guardian book dragon is usually a hell of a lot safer than the other options.” I peeked under the table at my cast and the ridiculous number of pillows I wanted to catch a nap on. “I feel my parents led me astray in my youth.”

“Janette,” my mother warned again.