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"Which isn't often. What happened at Dunleavy's?"
I gave him a quick roundup of events, including my thoughts on Gautier, the details about the ring, and who the little girl's mom was.
"The thing I don't get is how Gautier is getting around after sunrise."
"I don't know. He shouldn't be able to."
"Well, he is, so we'd better find out real quick just how."
He grunted. "It's a shame both victims were dead when you got there. You could have read their minds to see what information they had to pass on."
Which was my cue to tell him about what I'd seen - and heard - in the bedroom. "Well, Dunleavy was sort of alive when I got there."
"Define 'sort of.'"
"He was groaning when I walked in. As I got to his side, his body sort of collapsed, and I saw his soul rise." I hesitated again. "I swear it said Dahaki."
"Dahaki?"
"Yeah. And I'm not sure whether it was simply air rushing out of a dying body or whether his spirit was actually trying to communicate." Or whether I was as crazy as I sounded.
"Given the reports that suggest your clairvoyance is developing strongly in areas that are not the norm, I'd say there's a fair chance you did hear his spirit speak. Which is interesting, to say the least."
"It's creepy, that's what it is."
"Maybe. But the ability to question the truly dead sure as hell would give us an advantage against the freaks we hunt."
"Only if I'm there when they die, Jack."
"Or if their spirits hang around."
A chill ran across my skin. I did not want to think about spirits hanging around waiting for a chat.
"I've asked Cole to send me a transcription of the writing on the inside of the ring as soon as he can, but if you want to have a look at it, it'll be on the recordings I sent via my phone."
"I'll get Salliane to dig them up. I'll also order a check on the design and see what we come up with. What about Trudi Stone - any luck on your follow-up?"
So the caramel cow had gone tattle-telling. Again. "I went to the club where she worked and talked to an Asian fellow. He was wearing a ring with the same design as the ring I found at Dunleavy's."
"Could be a coincidence."
"Could be. I'm doubting it, though. I have a date with him tonight, and I'll do a little mind-probing then, but I was wondering if you could break into the Cattle Club's records and look at his file."
"What's his name?"
"First name is Jin. He was born here, because there's no trace of an accent."
"Human or non?"
"Human."
"Tread warily, then. Don't let him suspect you're something more than human."
"Boss, I think the only thing he cared about was me being a hot-to-trot female."
"Then keep it that way."
"I will." I paused and started the engine so I could turn up the heater. It was beginning to feel like a tomb in the car, and I wasn't sure whether it was the cold weather or trepidation. "How'd Rhoan's investigation go?"
