Page 77 of Charmed Forces

“Much better idea,” agreed Lily. “And when he kills you for doing that, I’ll deliver the best eulogy at your funeral.”

“Thanks?” I dug into my chips and conceded she did have a point. Tom Victor, by all accounts, was not a man to mess with. If I were going to find out any more information about him and his connections, I could only do so while being far under his radar. So far, Angelica gave me the perfect cover: self-absorbed and ditsy, entirely concerned with her appearance and the trade I could make for it, just like her. Although I had to admit she did seem genuinely excited about throwing a party for her cousin. In all her prattle, she didn’t express one iota of jealousy about the engagement or say one snide thing apart from refusing to understand why Louise could possibly want a career.

When Lily’s phone buzzed, she pulled it from her purse and sighed. “Poppy has a slight fever,” she said. “I have to pick her up from daycare.”

“Of course,” I replied.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” said Lily, getting to her feet. “I don’t want to miss out on something. It’s hard being a mom. You don’t get to do all the fun stuff you used to do and you have to not mind because parenting is so important. I don’t get to help out and everyone is so understanding while they’re busy running around being helpful. And I have to keep telling myself not to mind.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, thinking about my own future. Could I keep my career once I had babies? Or would it become an endless cycle of giving up all the things I once enjoyed? Would Solomon be a hands-on dad like Jord is with Poppy? Or wind up making me resentful? As much as I thought Solomon would be a great dad, I knew no woman could ever tell what life might be like until the baby was in her arms and everything stopped being hypothetical. “I never thought about parenthood like that.”

“It’s okay,” said Lily. “I’m just having a moment. It only lasts twenty hours at a time. And I didchooseto be a mom. I like being a mom, but I want to be me as well. I like being useful too.”

“You are,” I said. “You got us into that party and that’s exactly where we want to be. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

She hugged me. “Thank you. I guess I needed to hear that.”

I dropped Lily off at her house so she could pick up her car and I was halfway back to the agency when my phone rang.

“I heard the coroner is finished with the autopsies,” said Garrett, “but I can’t get my hands on the report. Orders came down that I’m on leave for the foreseeable future and forbidden from entering the station on any account.”

“You’re kidding!”

“I wish. I’ve never been put on leave before. I don’t know whether to be furious, or do all the chores that I never had the time to do before, or go to Mom and Dad’s and make sure they’re okay.”

“How about all three?” I answered. “Where can I get a copy of the autopsies?”

“My guess is from the coroner’s office.”

“Do you have a contact that can get me in?”

“None that won’t come flying back at me when the proverbial hits the fan. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’ll find a way in.”

“Call me if you need anything else,” he said before he disconnected.

The coroner’s office was closer than the agency and I really wanted to get a look at those reports. Most specifically, I wanted to know what the toxicology report determined regarding the stomach contents of all the victims. Who ate the pizza and who drank the coffee? And how did those results correlate to the toxicology report? The idea of gaining some answers excited and grossed me out at the same time.

I’d visited the coroner’s office a few times so I was familiar with the layout and as I headed in, I was pleased to see my cousin, Tara coming out, dressed in her police uniform.

“I’m not going to ask what you’re doing here,” she said as I approached her. “Word from the family is to help if you need anything, but don’t ask any questions.”

“Who told you that?”

“A variety of people on Uncle Steve’s side and several on your mom’s side too.” She held up her hands. “So I’m asking no questions. What do you need?”

“A coroner’s report.”

“I don’t have access to their systems, sorry, but Special Agent Maddox can probably help you. I saw him heading down to the mortuary not more than five minutes ago.”

“Maddox? Really?”

“Yeah. He’ll help, right?”

“Maybe,” I said, frowning. “Where’s Special Agent Farid?” I cast an eye around for Maddox’s partner but he was nowhere to be seen.

“I think he went to get something from their car. He said he’d be back in a moment. I’m going to wait up here for him but I don’t know if I feel comfortable about waylaying him.”

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