For a Few Demons More(85)

My eyes met Glenn’s, and he set the Were’s foot down. Without finding the tape, this speculation didn’t mean squat. From the blood on his teeth, it looked likely that the leg wound he’d bled himself out from was self-inflicted, but now I wondered if “looked” was the key word. It had been given more succinctly than in Mrs. Sarong’s secretary’s case, as if someone were gaining experience. Blood matted his hindquarters and soaked the ground. It was probably Were blood, but I doubted the blood on his fur and the blood on the ground was from the same person.

“Jenks, any needle marks?” I questioned, and his wings hummed to life. He hovered over the ruined leg for a moment, then landed on Glenn’s offered hand.

“I can’t say. There’s too much hair. I can go with you to the morgue if you want,” he offered to Glenn, and the man grunted an affirmative.

Okay, it’s only a matter of time before the two crimes are linked. “Think it’s worth flossing his teeth?” I asked, remembering the medical tape in the woman’s teeth.

It was Glenn’s turn to shake his head. “No, I’m guessing the body was cleaned before it was dumped.” A heavy sigh came from him, and he stood. Jenks took flight to land on the tombstone behind the Were. I tried to memorize the name on it, wondering if it might be important. Crap, I wasn’t a detective. How would I know what was important or not?

“Proving he’s been moved isn’t a problem,” Glenn said from above me. “It’s tying this one to Mr. Ray’s secretary that’s the problem. Maybe after we get him turned back, he might have pressure or needle marks.”

I rose as well, noticing that whoever had dumped the body had taken the time to press the Were’s paws into the grass to get them dirty, but it was obviously surface dirt. His nails were as clean as if he’d been working at a desk the last twelve hours. Or strapped to a medical gurney.

“At the very least, you can get a proper necropsy,” I offered. “The body has been moved. The I.S. has to admit that murder is a possibility. You’ll find a link to Mr. Ray’s secretary.”

“And it might give the I.S. time to fabricate whatever evidence they want,” Glenn said bitterly, pulling a pack of wipes out from a breast pocket and handing me one.

I hadn’t touched the body, but I took it since Glenn obviously felt I should. “He’ll have needle marks. Someone killed him. I mean, how do you tear yourself up enough to kill yourself but leave your feet clean and smelling of alcohol?”

Glenn’s eyes were on the Were. “I have to prove it, Rachel.”

I shrugged, wanting to get home and shower before my meeting with Mr. Ray. Prove it, shmove it. That wasn’t my job. Just point me at someone to bring in and I’m there. “If we can find out who is doing it, we’ll have a better idea how to find the proof,” I said, but I wouldn’t meet his eyes. I had a bad feeling the why they’d been killed was sitting in my freezer, and the who was a short list of Cincy’s finest: Piscary, Trent, Mr. Ray, and Mrs. Sarong. I think I could cross Newt off the list. She wouldn’t bother to cover anything up.

“Do you need me anymore?” I said, handing the used wipe back to him.

Glenn’s eyes had lost their sparkle and were tired again. “No. Thank you.”

“Why did you have me come out here, then?” I chided him. “I didn’t do a flipping thing.”

His dark neck reddened, and I followed him to the FIB vehicle. Behind us was the chatter of the ambulance guys getting to their feet to move the body to the city morgue. “I wanted to see Denon’s reaction to you,” he muttered.

“You got me out here because you wanted to see Denon’s reaction?” I exclaimed, and several heads turned. The FIB officers were smiling like it was a joke—and I was the butt of it.

Inclining his head in amusement, Glenn took my arm. “Cut me some slack, Rachel,” he said. “You saw him in the morgue. He didn’t want you there and was afraid you’d see something us poor humans would miss. That points to obstruction of justice. Someone is looking for that statue you have, and you’re damned lucky they aren’t looking at you. Is it still in the mail system?”

I nodded, thinking it would be a mistake to do otherwise. Glenn’s grip tightened as he walked us forward. “I could force you to give it to me,” he said.

Ticked, I jerked away from him and stopped. “I brought that jar of salsa you wanted,” I said, almost loud enough for the surrounding FIB officers to hear, and the man went gray. It wasn’t my threat of withholding it but that I’d make public he liked tomatoes. Yeah, it was that bad.