Noon and Wilder

Their guide, Sandeep Singh, met them in the hallway of the hospital. “Did you find what you needed?” His voice had a faint British-Indian accent.

“Yes,” Belinda told him. “I released the spell keeping him in a coma.”

Sandeep’s dark brown eyes, so dark as to be indistinguishable from black onyx, bored into hers. “You have power.”

“Yes.” She held his gaze, but waited. He seemed to expect her to do something, so she obliged by doing nothing.

His eyes narrowed. “You aren’t what I expected.”

“What, ten feet tall and fire-breathing?” Jon snapped from next to them. “The dancing’s getting old, Sergeant.”

Sandeep transferred his gaze to her partner. Jon outstripped him by several inches of height and at least fifty pounds of solid muscle, but Sandeep looked as though he wanted to test him in a boxing ring or something.

“Gentlemen,” Belinda soothed. “Let’s not fight. We’re on the same side.”

“Are we?” Sandeep asked.

“Yes!” Belinda frowned. “What would make you ask that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. The first time in living memory that a Gary comes out of Madison, she’s after a dangerous artifact. The only victim in Milwaukee is taken by a sorcerer and left in a magically-induced coma that you just happen to remove when you get what you need from the victim.”

Jon stepped closer, menacing suddenly. “I don’t like your tone, or the implication.”

Sandeep swallowed but resisted stepping back. “I don’t like your partner in my city, Mr. Taylor.”

“It’s Detective, Sergeant, and she can go anywhere she damn well pleases. You’ve got something to accuse her of, then do it. Otherwise, back the fuck down before you and I have a problem.”

Belinda eyed her partner in shock. He defended her with no self-consciousness, radiating sincere outrage. She had to admit, it felt good.

Of course, if they got into a real fight this far from Madison…

“Please. Let’s not fight. Let’s share tea, and have no lies between us.” Belinda stepped closer. “Please.”

Sandeep flicked his gaze to hers and back and then nodded. “Fine.”

Of course, finding tea in this hospital wasn’t exactly what one would call a simple matter. They ended up in the cafeteria, which did have a large selection of tea packets. She grimaced and picked out a Blackberry leaf tea and went to pay.

“Allow me,” Sandeep put in, handing the cashier a twenty. “You are in my town.”

She hoped she only imagined the slight emphasis on ‘my,’ but Jon’s glower let her know she probably wasn’t the only one to do so.

Sandeep led the way to a table. Even here, the odor of disinfectant permeated the place. She lifted the cup of tea and let the steam wreath around her face, trying to ignore the depressed feeling the room evoked. Hospitals weren’t places where healthy people went.

They all sat down, and Sandeep jumped right in. “Why don’t you explain to me, Detective, why you’ve come to my town and interrogate a sick man?”

Okay, this time she knew she didn’t imagine the superior tone. Jon shifted in his chair and drew breath to speak, but she shook her head slightly. The big man subsided, but the glare on his face endeared him to her.

“We are following a string of burglaries turned homicides. When we heard one of the daggers was here, we came to check it out.”

Sandeep sat back, playing with his paper cup with long fingers. The water’s surface trembled slightly with the vibrations of his hand, and she wondered if he’d knock it over.

“Does Ashara know you’re here?” The Sergeant’s black eyes snared hers and he gazed at her with such intensity, it sent chills down her spine.

“What does the High Priestess of the Temple of Bast have to do with this?” Belinda frowned. Part of the Protective Circles of Madison, Ashara Kendrick wasn’t a Gary herself but Belinda knew her from childhood. “I’m not here on her behalf, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It’s well known the Garys do not travel beyond their borders. Yet here you are, Miss Gary.”

“Detective,” Jon snarled.

Sandeep bared his teeth and waved his palm in Jon’s direction, but didn’t look away from Belinda. “I think that Ashara would have much to say if she knew you came here without Mathilda Gary’s permission.”

Belinda blinked. Hearing Gran called by her first name, and by someone with such an urbane accent, made her want to laugh.

Yeah, that would be appropriate…

Instead, she allowed herself a small, sardonic, smile. “You want me to believe that you know her so well personally? Then you know that anything that annoys my grandmother she would support, as long as it does not bring danger.”

Sandeep snorted. “Perhaps.”

“Look, Sandeep. I’m not trying to do anything wrong. I’m trying to solve a murder. Please, help me.”

Jon cleared his throat. “All of this is wasting time. Why are we indulging this man’s crap?”

Belinda winced. Subtle, Jon. Subtle. She turned to him. “Jon, we need his help. His and the unit’s.”

“How?”

“When I leave, the victim needs police protection.”

“Why?” Jon demanded at the same moment that Sandeep rumbled, “How?”

“Police protection as well as magical.”

Jon and Sandeep gazed at each other as though trying to decide how to best take each other apart. Oh, dear. This was not going well, dammit!

“Gentleman, please. Let’s start over.”

Sandeep glared at her, but she sensed a slight softening of his manner. She wished she dared go deeper into his thoughts, but knew he’d sense it.

“You think the killer will come back.” Sandeep eyed her and then Jon, and it wasn’t a question. “Why?”

“To finish their work,” Jon responded. “But we disagree on that.”

Sandeep studied the big man. “Oh?”

Jon shrugged. “Belinda thinks it’s two perps. I think it’s one.”

“Explain.”

A flush crawled up Jon’s throat at the order, but he answered readily enough. “They’re devolving. Started out organized but getting steadily more desperate.”

“If that is the case,” Sandeep mused, “then they know what they are after.”

Belinda felt a chill walk up her back on cats’ feet. “What do you mean?”

“If the legends are even halfway true, it is an artifact of rare and frightening power.”

“You say ‘it.’ There is more than one dagger.” Jon studied Sandeep like the man had finally done something interesting. “Why?”

“The Year Sword can be reformed from the daggers.”

Belinda felt like the air went out of the room. “You can’t be serious!”

Jon looked back and forth between them, his nostrils flared. “Will one of you please explain what you’re talking about?”

“You can’t be serious!” Belinda leaned forward, fear growing in her belly. “They’re daggers! How can they make the sword? I thought the legends told of the daggers being formed from the sword!”

“The daggers are the sword.” Sandeep sat back. “And now, I think I believe you when you tell me that you are here for nothing more than to find a dagger.” He paused. “You are a fool to leave your protections like this.”

“You go too far!” Jon shouted.

Several people nearby glanced over, startled.

“Jon, keep your voice down!” Belinda hissed.

Sandeep chuckled. “If you have collected all the information from the victim that you need, I suggest you come back to the station with me and then leave Milwaukee with all possible speed.”

Belinda gaped at him, the fear that started in her belly now out to her arms and chilled even her fingers. “You’re scaring me.”

“Good. You should be scared. Forewarned is forearmed, and you have been treating this like a teenager sneaking out of her room at night.” He leaned forward so suddenly it stopped her breath. “And the monsters out at night really can hurt you, Miss Gary.”

“Detective,” Jon growled.

They stared at each other for another couple moments and then Sandeep stood. He finished his tea in one swift swig and crumbled the cup. “Come.”

Jon rose. “Are we done with the victim?” He asked it of Belinda, ignoring Sandeep entirely.

“I guess so.” She frowned, trying to think. She finished the rest of her tea and stood. “I think so.”

Jon narrowed his eyes and glared up at Sandeep, still seated. “You really want a pissing contest? To act like her self -appointed curfew officer? Have her running home scared like she’s ‘all alone’ out here in scary Milwaukee?”

Sandeep smirked. “And how can you protect her here? You are so out of your depth you only understand half of the discussion.”

“I don’t have to.” Jon flipped open his phone and punched a number. “Somebody is trying to push Belinda around here.”

Jon snapped it shut and sat back with a smug expression.

Belinda glared at him even as she took a deep breath and relaxed. She could feel it, familiar and unwelcomed. Her twin connected with her, not mentally but magically. Her aura deepened and expanded as Brock’s energy flooded into her.

And though she might have distanced herself from the Gary Covens, the energy of them pulsed from him straight to her. A part deep inside her stirred and began to sing. She wanted to crush it and push it away even as her soul soaked in like parched earth waiting for the rain.

Sandeep’s eyes narrowed. “What just happened?”

Jon laughed outright. “Not so smug now, eh?”

Belinda looked across the table at Sandeep, who still stood by his chair. She might not want this power, but she certainly wasn’t going to waste it. She just held his gaze without speaking.

“I sincerely hope, Miss Gary, that you do not need to use that power for anything more than your shields.” Sandeep bowed from the neck and then strode to the door without looking back.

“Arrogant son of a bitch,” Jon snarled half under his breath. “And it’s Detective!” Jon called out after the retreating cop.

Laughing, Belinda turned to follow. “Come on. We don’t want him to leave us behind.” She winked and let the grumbling detective stomp after her.

Thursday morning, Jon pulled onto the highway and Belinda stared out of the window, watching the city turn to fields and rolling hills. This being the first time she ever left Madison, Belinda decided to enjoy every moment of her unexpected freedom. She remembered Sandillo giving her a long look that morning before they left. Jon suggested they travel to Milwaukee to interview a possible victim and she pretended to flip though the file while waiting for her Lieutenant’s reaction. He didn’t forbid her to leave, but his look conveyed to her that he knew her family would.

What her family didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt them.

Jon slipped in a CD and she leaned back in the deep leather seats while the deep bass of Nickelback rolled around her.

She woke with a start. Dammit, she hadn’t meant to fall asleep! Then she looked up at the building Jon parked behind, still groggy from her nap. She didn’t realize they’d actually arrived in Milwaukee.

Then she craned around, confused. “This isn’t the hospital.”

“Nope, that explains the squad cars instead of ambulances. Good job, Detective.”

Bee glared at him. She’d missed the whole drive and saw nothing, dammit! Her first time out of the city and she had to fall asleep!

He just gazed back at her, impassive. “We need to talk to the local cops first. We can’t question, or even gain access, to the vic without them. And looking over their files might give us more clues.”

“Sounds good,” Bee admitted. She craned her head around, trying to see everything at once without looking like a tourist.

“Of course, it was my idea.” Jon grinned at her. “Oh, a tip. I was here for a seminar on Jeffery Dahmer, no Laverne and Shirley jokes.”

Belinda rolled her eyes as she climbed out of the car. Jon seemed in a good mood, driving on the highway and letting the Cobra gobble away the miles must have mellowed him out. They walked into the precinct together, but soon her steps lagged. While her partner strode up to the Sergeant’s desk, her shields went haywire. She tightened her magical barriers and glanced around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but it ‘felt’ odd. Distinctly odd.

Jon touching her elbow drew attention back. “Their supernatural division is handling it.”

“Huh? Why?” Belinda started following him down the hallway.

“I guess the crime scene reeked of magic, from what the Sarge said.”

“Then it sounds like our perp from the last one,” Belinda told him. “Especially if there’s a physical mess to match the magical one left behind.”

He didn’t argue her ‘two perps’ theory, just led the way to a double door with inset frosted glass windows. “It’s in here.” Jon opened the door to a larger room with more detectives than Belinda expected. Jon seemed to agree with her unspoken opinion. “Damn, why doesn’t Madison have a Supe Squad?”

A masculine voice nearby answered. “Because a roach can’t fart in Madison without their witches’ permission.”

Belinda turned her head to glare at the speaker. She might not want to be part of the coven anymore, but they were still family.

She also thanked the Goddess that she strengthened her shields in the lobby. This room reeked of some kind of strange, electric energy. The big, bearded man returned her glare. His East Indian features seemed exotic to her and he smelled like unfamiliar incense.

A trim middle-aged woman bustling towards them broke the staring contest. Her sharp gaze flicked between Belinda’s and Jon’s faces to their badges flipped to hang from their belts. “I’m Lieutenant Marjorie Bells. The front desk called back, can we help you?”

Jon smiled and offered his hand. “We hope so; it looks like our cases are overlapping.”

Belinda offered her hand next, the shake aborted when a charge passed between their palms. Bells jerked her hand away and stepped back. Filling the awkward silence, Jon continued his introduction.

“I’m Detective Jon Taylor and this is my partner, Belinda Gary.”

“Did you say… Gary?”

Belinda nodded and offered a small, hard smile. In the stillness that now filled the busy room, she bet anyone could hear a roach fart.

“Did you hear?”

“No shit!”

“She’s a lot smaller than I thought.”

“Is that her brother?”

“No, he said Taylor…”

The whispers continued in that vein until Bells cleared her throat. Absolute silence fell. “This way, please.” She spun and strode toward the glass-walled office at the back of the room.

Jon glanced at Belinda and then followed the older woman. Feeling like she was on stage, Belinda trudged along behind. Lieutenant Bells waited for her to enter and then swept the door closed. “Sit.”

Jon sat down and Bells walked behind her desk. She regarded Belinda with a raised eyebrow.

“I’d prefer to stand.”

“Sit down, Gary. I don’t want to get a crick in my neck staring at you. I’m not going to eat you, for the love of Pan.”

“Who?” Jon asked.

“Never mind,” Belinda muttered. She sat down.

“Your Gran know you’re here?” Bells demanded.

“Excuse me?”

Bells leaned forward. “I’ve been a Witch for longer than you’ve been alive, girl. And I know Mathilda Gary, I trained with her when I walked from Maiden to Warrior Circle. So don’t play stupid with me!”

Belinda swallowed. “I…”

“This is a police investigation, Lieutenant, not a personal visit,” Jon snapped.

Bells leaned back in her chair and regarded Jon with a sardonic expression on her face. She transferred that gaze to Belinda, her brown eyes thoughtful and slightly mocking. “You didn’t tell him, did you?”

“Tell me what? I’m beginning to lose patience,” Jon growled.

“Your partner,” Bells stressed the word, “is out of Madison without permission.”

“She’s a grown –”

“From the coven,” Bells interrupted. “Which means, she’s in danger.”

Jon’s eyes widened and he swiveled around to stare at Belinda. “Is what she says true?”

Belinda waved her hand in front of her. “Let’s stay on point.”

“Is it true?”

“Jon, just focus –”

“Answer me!” he shouted.

She blinked, startled. “Yes.”

“Yes. That’s all you have to say? You drag my ass across the state after God knows what and that’s all you have to say?”

Bells chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Jon snapped.

“Think about it from her perspective, Sergeant Taylor,” Bells said. She glanced at the windows behind them and the blinds swiveled shut.

Jon whipped his head around and swallowed audibly. To his credit, though, he said nothing.

“You never played hooky?” Bells asked him.

“What?”

“Hooky, Taylor. You ever run off where you’re not supposed to, kiss someone you’re not supposed to, smoke in the bathroom?”

“I don’t smoke,” he said almost reflexively. He studied the Lieutenant. “So what you’re saying is that she’s sneaking out of town because she can?”

Bells nodded. “Not very smart, with a killer on the loose, but totally understandable.” She shifted that brown-eyed gimlet stare to Belinda. “If you get me in the middle of a family fight with your grandmother, however, and you and I will have words.” She leaned forward. “And I guarantee you, you will not like the results.”

Belinda felt a chill and her shields wavered. Bells was a crone, all right. “Yes, ma’am.”

She saw Jon’s eyebrows shoot up but couldn’t look away from Bells to say anything to him. The Lieutenant’s gaze bored into hers and Belinda could feel the edges of the older woman’s power beat at her shields like an axe. She strengthened them and waited, wondering if the woman meant to attack her.

“That’s better,” Bells said then, startling her. She reached into a drawer and pulled out a small crystal decanter and a matching chalice. “Keep them that way while you’re here, Gary. There are things in this city you don’t want to meet.”

“Like what?” Jon asked.

“Like nothing you need to worry about. You’re here on a case. Do your business and get out. The less I have to explain to her family, the better. The boys outside may joke about the Garys, but the truth is, they’re strong mojo. You may be a Christian, Mr. Taylor, but that doesn’t make their power any less real. Or needed. Your partner would be a powerful tool in the hands of an enemy strong enough to use it.”

“Are you?” Jon asked.

Bells shook her head and took a sip. “No. That’s what that was just now, a pissing contest. Her shields are stronger now, thicker. I can’t do anything to her.” She passed the chalice to Belinda first. “May you never thirst.”

“Thank you.” Belinda sipped and passed it to Jon. “May you never thirst.”

“Huh?”

“Just take it and sip it,” Belinda growled. “Don’t be rude. It’s a sacrament,” she added when it looked like he’d refuse.

He hesitated and then took the glass. He sipped it and his eyes widened. “Wow! That’s really good!”

Bells smiled, a kinder, gentler version of her more ferocious expression of earlier. “It’s Barenjager. Honey liqueur.”

He took another sip and handed it back. “May you never thirst.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “We’ll make a Wiccan of you yet, Mr. Taylor.”

“Call me Jon.”

Belinda smiled to herself. She’d have him charmed in no time. “So will you help us?”

“Will it get you the Hells out of my city faster?” Bells shot back. “What are you here for?”

Belinda pulled out her case file. “A Mr. Daniel McCaffey. He owns a…” She trailed off, seeing the expression on the lieutenant’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Bells pulled a file of the stack to her left and flipped it open. “Mr. McCaffey hasn’t woken up. He’s at Aurora St. Luke’s.”

Belinda went cold all the way to her toes. “What happened to him?”

“Home invasion. The attacker probably meant to kill him. Skull fractures in four places, subdural hematoma, a bunch of unpronounceable medical crap; the usual.”

“Can we see him?”

“Belinda!” Jon protested.

“Jon, I need to see him. I may be able to help him!”

Bells picked up the telephone receiver. “Get me Sergeant Singh when he’s done with the staff meeting, Destry, please?” She hung up. “I’ll have a Sergeant take you over. He’s in a meeting for the next thirty; take a desk and look over the file.” She stood and handed the file to Jon. “Good luck, and keep me informed.”

The blinds flipped open and Jon flinched. He shook hands and turned.

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”

“Call me Marjorie, Belinda. I’ve known Tilly for years. When she forgives you, tell her hello for me.”

“I will,” Belinda promised. She followed Jon out of the room.