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“Oh, of course,” she said, and she looked embarrassed. She’d refused coffee and taken water. The glass of clear liquid sat on the desk in front of her, looking sad and incomplete, as if it had been cheated of its destiny to be made into coffee. Or maybe I was just fixating on coffee so I wouldn’t think too hard about Olaf being here without Edward to act as a buffer, or any of the men I was actually a couple with to help keep the big guy at arm’s length.
Livingston spoke from the other comfortable client chair, which he’d moved so that he sat by Duke’s big desk. His coffee was on a coaster at the edge of the desk. “It’s not about which marshal has the warrant now, Duke. The footprints at the crime scene don’t match the prisoner.”
Duke said, “And how do you feel about testifying in court about the innocent shapeshifter, little lady?”
For a second, I thought he was talking to me, but then Kaitlin answered, “Duke, I’ve told you before not to call me little lady.” I liked that she corrected him.
He rolled his eyes and sighed like she was being silly, but replied, “Fine. Have it your way, Kaitlin. Just answer the question.”
“I could testify that the prints don’t match Bobby Marchand’s. They’re close in size, but the shape of the foot itself isn’t even close. I could absolutely testify to that, but that doesn’t make him innocent or guilty of the crime. I don’t know for certain it’s the victim’s blood that was tracked from the crime scene to the bedroom. We assume it is, but for court, we’d need to be certain.”
“Since there were no other bodies or large pools of blood found at the scene, it’s a safe assumption that the bloody footprints were made from Ray Marchand’s blood,” Livingston said.
“We can assume that here and now. I’ll be happy to talk to the judge that issued Newman’s warrant to try to buy us more time to figure out if Bobby Marchand deserves to die for this crime, but you know that if we do find other viable suspects and have a trial, we assume nothing. You taught me that.” Kaitlin smiled at Livingston and took a sip from her sad glass of water.
“If we find another shapeshifter is guilty of the crime, there will still be no trial,” Olaf said.
“Only one name is on the warrant,” Kaitlin said. “If he didn’t do it, then you need a new warrant with a new name on it.”
I shook my head. “The warrant is worded to cover any supernaturals involved in the crime and any accessories to the crime, regardless of straight-up human or not.”
“But if Bobby Marchand is innocent, then he doesn’t have any accomplices, because he didn’t commit the crime,” Kaitlin said.
“True, as far as it goes,” I said. I’d finished my coffee, and no one else was headed for the pot. Would it be rude to take the last cup, and did I care?
Newman explained, “What Blake means is the warrant will still cover anyone involved in the crime, even if the person named isn’t involved.”
“I don’t understand,” Kaitlin said.
“The new time-limited warrants are in place because some of our newer brethren have refused their kills,” Olaf said, “but the warrants remain what they have always been: legal documents to cover any violence we do in the course of our jobs.”
“We understand that,” Livingston said.
?
?You would think that if we prove Bobby is innocent, the warrant is void,” Newman said, “and I will act as if that’s the case, but Blake and Jeffries are right. It’s a choice I would make not to execute the warrant to the absolute limit of its legality.”
“What does that even mean?” Leduc asked.
“It means that Newman will void the warrant if we find out that Bobby was framed. Even if we know who the killer is, he will not execute them,” I said.
“Why would you refuse to execute the shapeshifter guilty of this crime?” Olaf asked.
“I wouldn’t refuse to execute a shapeshifter that lost control and started killing people,” Newman said.
“Now I do not understand,” Olaf said.
“Newman and I don’t think the murder was done by a shapeshifter. We think humans did it to frame the only shifter in town,” I said.
“Why does that affect Newman’s ability to complete the warrant? The crime remains the same, and the warrant allows him to bring justice to those that committed it.”
“Are you really suggesting that Newman should kill any humans involved in the crime?” Kaitlin asked.
“Why should humans be treated more lightly by the law than shapeshifters?” Olaf asked.
“Because humans don’t have claws and teeth to tear your throat out,” Leduc said, and he sounded outraged.
“They may not grow their own, but if it wasn’t Bobby, then it was humans using something to mimic claws, and they still slit the victim’s throat,” I said.
