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“Not at liberty to discuss?” The detective pointed a finger at the middle of the taller man’s broad chest. “Well, I think you better get some liberty, Dr. Teague. This is a murder investigation, and if you don’t come up with a damn good reason for me not to, I might decide to arrest you for obstructing it.”
Sergeant Giovanni held up a hand in her friend’s defense. “It’s really nothing he can talk about, Detective. I’m sorry. You just don’t have the clearance.”
“Why is he even here? Just what kind of—” Detective Jackson made air quotes with her fingers. “—special consultant are you, Doctor Teague?”
“I’m an expert in um…biological anomalies?”
“Biological what?” Her eyebrows shot up. “Biological anomalies!” Detective Jackson took a deep breath and let it out in a relieved sigh. “Now I get why you two have been driving me nuts, speaking in half sentences since I met you. You are exactly the man I want to talk to. There are some things you just can’t ask the forensics folks here in Fayetteville.” She sat down in Liliana’s cedar wood porch swing with the bright blue and green cushions. “So tell me, in your expert opinion, Dr. Teague, what sort of Other kills with acid venom like this?”
“You know about…uh…uh…” the wolf-kin stuttered.
“Others. I transferred here from N’Orleans. If you think the Other activity level around here is a little high, the Crescent City during Mardis Gras would have you crying to your momma.”
Liliana nodded to herself. So, they were all three aware of the hidden peoples. Useful information.
Sergeant Giovanni held up a hand. “The United States government cannot officially confirm such creatures exist.”
Detective Jackson waved that away. “I don’t need official confirmation of diddly. What I need is a clue as to what I’m looking for.” She rocked the porch swing in a slow glide. The height was just right for her. “I’ve been thinking maybe a Fae with toxic thorns, or maybe some kind of poisonous snake-kin, because of the huge puncture wounds, like fangs.”
Peter Teague shook his head and sat down next to her. His knees poked up, but it didn’t seem to bother him. “I thought the same thing at first, but not plant, and not snake. I analyzed the protein structure in the venom. Spider.”
“Spider.” Detective Jackson rocked and considered.
“Definitely spider. It has all seven of the black widow venom toxic protein structures, but with a much higher proportion of vertebrate neurotoxin and a completely unique organic acid.”
“And why do you think Madame Anna is spider-kin?”
Peter Teague rocked with her, letting the detective’s shorter legs set the pace. “She did a good magician’s job of keeping us distracted when she was reading Zoe, but I spotted her opening two extra sets of eyes. My guess is she has another set I didn’t see. Eight eyes. Spider-kin.”
The spider-kin under discussion stubbed her bare toe on a tree root. The toe throbbed with far more pain than such a minor injury merited.
Why do stubbed toes sometimes hurt more than broken bones?
She added a bit more attention to her human eyes so she wouldn’t trip again and berated herself for not being careful enough about hiding her spider eyes from the three strangers.
Back on Liliana’s back porch, Detective Jackson nodded. “All right. I’ll buy that. Having more kinds of vision would explain why she was the most precise and accurate fortune-teller I’ve ever met—and I’ve met a few in my day. She didn’t use any of the usual vagueness, optimistic platitudes, or data fishing attempts, and she had no way to research our backgrounds before we arrived. But what brought us here in the first place? You two were awfully cagey about your reasons. I assume they’re Other related?”
Sergeant Giovanni, who was leaning against the porch railing, crossed her arms and gave Peter Teague a pointed look.
His smile turned sheepish, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “You know Siobhan, the little person who owns the custom weapons shop down the street, Emerald Arms?”
Detective Jackson nodded. “She modified my backup pistol. They don’t make the grips with hands my size in mind.”
“She’s Fae and knows nearly every Other in North Carolina. She said Madame Anna was the only spider-kin in Fayetteville. Plus, Anna matched the description from the security cameras at the dance club and the witnesses at the game.”
Liliana bared her fangs at the sandy path under her feet. Siobhan, the seelie Fae flower sprite, had put a mercenary on Liliana’s trail. The spider-kin would not forget that betrayal.
“Dammit, Pete. I told you we shouldn’t listen to Fayetteville’s resident cuckoo cyber-fairy.” Sergeant Giovanni sighed. “Your relationship with her is bad for your career and your mental health.”
“Siobhan isn’t crazy,” Peter Teague hastened to reassure Detective Jackson. “She’s just a little…obsessive.” He turned back to the Army sergeant. “And Zoe, you shouldn’t call her a fairy, at least not where she can hear you. The Fae consider that an insult.”
“What’s she going to do, take me out at the kneecaps?”
The red-headed man grimaced as if in pain. “Possibly with a machine pistol, yeah.”
Sergeant Giovanni wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Even the supposedly sunshine and rainbow Others will stab you in the back. You need to spend less time with them, Pete. They’ll warp your brain. They just don’t think like people.”
Detective Jackson raised an eyebrow at that, but she continued rocking without comment.
