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"It may make sense but that still doesn't mean the people being sliced open aren't some part of the mage's effort to raise demons."
"No, it doesn't, but I doubt it," Jack replied. "I've seen ritual blood magic, and these murders just don't have the same feel."
Meaning we had three kooks running loose in the city? Great. Just what Rhoan and I needed with the moon heat rising. Not that we were the Directorate's only guardians, but we were the only ones currently capable of moving around in daylight.
"Okay, so they're not connected. But are we any closer to the source behind the murders?"
Jack grimaced. "Not really."
I raised my eyebrows and said, teasingly, "So sexual frustration isn't the only reason for the temper overload earlier?"
He had the grace to look uncomfortable. Which was why I liked him - he acted more like regular folk than a vampire. Mostly, anyway. "Well, I'm sure it had a bit to do with it. And being nagged by my PA is never pleasant."
"And now you appreciate my do-the-work-fast-gotta-get-out-of-here attitude, don't you?"
"Yeah. Though I have to say her scenery is better."
I grinned. "She's hot for you, boss. I have no idea why you're holding back if you're so attracted."
"Mixing work with pleasure is never a good idea."
"Then she's going to keep doing what she must to keep her voice and her body in your mind."
"Meaning the tops will get more revealing?" Rhoan piped up. "Cool."
I picked up a pen and flicked it at him. "You bat for the other side, remember?"
"Never stopped me from admiring a well-stacked frame."
I looked back at Jack. "So, besides Sal breaking your balls over me putting in an unapproved search request, what else went wrong?"
"Everything." He blew out a breath and grabbed another coffee from the dispenser. "We've had a report of another body. Rhoan, I want you to check it out."
Jack grabbed two files from the top of the coffee dispenser and tossed one of them to Rhoan. "This one has been found up near the Ford factory in Campbellfield."
Rhoan frowned. "Near? The rest of the bodies have been found in abandoned factories, not near fully functioning ones."
"I know, but we have to check it out."
"What about sending cops in?"
"If this is one of ours, I don't want them fouling the area. Peri Knowles will be waiting upstairs and will accompany you. Because this death is apparently very fresh, she might be able to sense some residual magic and give us more a clue as to the people behind these murders."
Peri? I glanced at my brother and he shrugged. Obviously, it was a new name to him, too. Rhoan slapped the folder against his thigh as he rose. "I'll report in as soon as I get there."
He walked out. Jack handed me the second file.
"I want you to go chat with this man."
The man's name was Bob Dunleavy, and a quick flick through the file's paperwork and photos revealed a petty criminal who'd scored numerous jail terms that had never curbed his thieving ways. "He doesn't seem the sharpest knife in the drawer," I commented. "So why am I going to talk to him?"
"Because Dunleavy has, over the years, provided some good information in exchange for lighter sentences. He rang yesterday evening to say he desperately needed some help and that he'd trade some information he'd picked up from his girlfriend. Information about our current case."
"So if he called yesterday, why are you only acting on it now?"
"Because I didn't have any free staff until now. And if that free staff doesn't get her butt off the desk and get it moving, I'll give it a good kick-start."
"You're such a charmer when you're sexually frustrated," I said dryly, then waved the folder in the air. "To go chat to Dunleavy, I need a car."
