They had women and plenty of them. No one knew if those women would be able to handle them. Then Rena showed up. Now Dee was in their lives. He could only look forward to the next mate to show up.
The police followed Niko into the room.
“Who’s in charge here?”
“That would be me.”
“You are?”
“Aran.”
“Nice to meet you Aran. I’m detective Johnson.”
He reached out his hand and shook Detective Johnson’s hand. Then he moved and showed him the office.
“Whose office is this?”
“The director of the department, Vance Baal.”
“There’s no body.”
“No, it was like this when we opened the door.”
The detective moved away and started directing people. Aran and his brothers moved back and watched as the office was declared a crime scene and the police began taking pictures.
They waited until the lead detective came back to them.
“Do you know who saw Vance Baal last?”
“No, we have all been out of the office lately.”
“What brought you in today?”
“I noticed that several bills went unpaid. This is highly unusual and I wanted Dee to look into it.”
“I thought Mr. Baal was the director of the department?”
“He is. I talked to him several days ago with no result. Dee was the original one to pick up on the discrepancy. I trust her completely.”
“Why is that?”
“She is my fiancé.”
“But she is not the head of the department.”
“At the time, I thought it best not to muddy the waters. I see now that I was wrong.”
“It could have been her life.”
“I find it best not to speculate like that. We still do not know what has happened to Vance.”
“I would like the names and addresses of the employees that worked in this office.”
“I will get them for you.” Dee walked over to her computer, looking more composed than she felt.
“Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt Mr. Baal?”
“No, but if you check your records, I am sure it will show that someone had made several moves on the organization that could have put many of our employees’ lives in danger. We have surveillance tape that we have not had a chance to review. If you will follow Ash, he will show you the way. Dee will have the information you requested when you’re done.”
He watched as Ash led Detective Johnson out of the door. The male was used to solving crimes. He could see it in the detective’s eyes. He was a predator of the human variety. One predator acknowledged another. He would watch out for him.
“What do you think they will find?”
“Whatever the created left for them to find. To try and stall or to look at the video feed first, would imply guilt. Ash will minimize any damage done on the video.”
“You really are a family.”
“Yes, the six of us are intimately linked, but it goes further than that. The Created are a family. We have bonded because of what and who we are. We watch out for and help each other, whether we are genetically linked or not.” Aran replied.
“I have known siblings from the same parents that hate each other, yet all of you go out of your way to help each other.” Dee looked at him with respect.
“Those siblings never went through hell together. Their lives never depended on their brothers. They never spent weeks at a time in the same dark hole, waiting for a chance to attack. They were raised in privilege, whether they know it or not. Luxury at times can breed contempt.” Niko told her.
Their conversation died as they heard the footsteps of Detective Johnson in the hallway. Ash came in on silent feet.
“Were you able to retrieve any evidence from the surveillance feed?”
Aran looked at Ash, then at the detective.
“I saw, but I am not sure I believe. We made out the shape of what looked like an animal, one I could not identify. It came into the office and soon after Mr. Baal walked out, looking the worse for wear. All we are sure of is that he exited on his own two feet.”
“I would have thought that was impossible, considering the amount of blood in his office.”
“I would have originally agreed with you Ms…”
“Jones. Dee Jones.”
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Jones.”
She walked over to the detective and handed him a list of names. “Those are the names and addresses you asked for.”
“Thank you. I will be in contact with you shortly. We will be putting out an APB on Mr. Baal.”
Thank you they all said at once, as Ash escorted the detective out of the building.
“I didn’t have time to mention this, but it seems we also have a missing woman or two from this department. Neither were here today. Both have been rumored to be showing signs of having their psyches messed with.” Tina had not been in the office when Dee came in.