Page 13 of Wake the Dream

He passed a dozen or so people on the street that he would never have dreamed existed before. A cyclops. A griffin. A peryton—half stag and half bird—one of the few denizens who did not change into human form. Some weren’t comfortable walking on two legs.

Basically, a normal Tuesday.

Cracking the car window a bit brought in the scents of the town: juniper, ponderosa pine, and an indescribable floral scent permeating the air even through the colder months.

No place like home!

He pulled into the last parking space in the lot next to the police station, a space the other detectives generally left for him because a large tree root had cracked the asphalt. He eased over it slowly and still managed to splash a bit of coffee on his seat.

Stretching his legs, Kieran drew in a deep breath until he’d filled his lungs. Sometimes the cold was better than any caffeine jolt. Certainly better for the body, in moderation. He stalled his steps on the way through the front doors. Hadn’t he been here mere hours before? Maybe he should set up a cot in the break room rather than wasting time driving to and from his rental apartment every day. It would sure save on gas money. He spent enough time at work to warrant it, too. He didn’t even keep live plants at his place due to the time spent on the clock.

“There he is! You get a good night’s sleep, princess?” Pembroke was awake and ready with the insults, on his way off the night shift. Shoving a powdered donut in his mouth made white dust cover the lower half of his face. He chewed with his mouth open.

Kieran wasn’t about to tell any of them jack. The scent of burned coffee filled the room along with a slight undertone of sweat and dysfunction. Known for notoriously scorching every pot of coffee they made, he always made his own and brought it from home rather than trust the precinct’s.

“Sure did get a good night’s sleep. Dreaming about your mom.” Shuffling across the worn black-and-white linoleum floor, Kieran dropped his coat on the back of his chair.

“Must have been a nightmare, then, since she’s been dead for the last five years.” Pembroke laughed like the joke wasn’t on him.

Osgood moved to the door of his office, his prodigious girth taking up the majority of space. “Yo, Shanahan. Get in here now.”

Pembroke’s mouth rounded in anoh, but Kieran missed whatever snide remark the other man planned. He didn’t like the way the boss ended his statement on a demand.

He hadn’t even had a chance to sit down and already he’d been singled out. One wistful glance at his half-finished coffee before he crossed the bullpen, then he let out an audible sigh. “I’m coming.”

It took effort to squeeze past the captain’s massive midsection when the older man refused to move. Kieran made his way to one of the two straight-backed chairs with threadbare seats propped in front of his inglorious leader’s desk. Then took the liberty of sinking down and allowed, for a brief moment, his exhaustion to show.

“What is it, Sergeant? I have a full load to tackle today.”And an irate fairy woman to soothe. “I don’t really have time for impromptu meetings when I’ve barely clocked in.”

Whoa, down boy. He didn’t need to antagonize his coworkers this early in the day. Especially his boss.

Kieran narrowly avoided slapping himself and drawing even more attention in his direction.

Osgood fixed the young detective with a harsh look. “Yes, and I’d like to talk to you about your ability to handle this case.”

“My what, now?” His eyes stayed in his head but only just.

“Your past two cases took reassigning for them to be closed. The one I handed off to Pembroke was closed in two days.” Osgood shuffled behind his desk, his belt brushing on a row of silver photo frames and knocking them out of alignment.

Kieran cracked his neck to the side in an effort not to say what was on his mind. It didn’t work. “BecauseIhad already done the legwork.”

“Still, you can understand my hesitation, and why I’ve been rethinking my initial decision to have you work this one. We don’t need another failure on our hands. And let’s face it, this would be a difficult case even without your track record. I’ve been giving this some thought—”

His track record? Was Osgood serious?

Kieran spoke before thinking, the knowledge popping into his brain like a memory he didn’t remember making. “At least I’m not the one cheating on my wife with a bank clerk.”

Oh. Damn. He probably shouldn’t have said anything. Most assuredly not, by the way a mottled flush rose up Osgood’s neck to his receding hairline. Which in itself was quite an epic journey.

“Look,” Kieran stumbled on in an attempt to redeem himself, “this is my case. You gave it to me because no one else wanted it, and I’m damn well going to close it, as unsolvable as you think it is. In fact, I’m about to head out to interview the witness again. I think we have a solid lead in place that I’d like to investigate. I just came in this morning to touch base with you and keep you up to date on my progress.” He stood and hustled toward the door, determined not to stick his foot in his mouth again despite the lie he’d blurted. “Give me until the end of the week. If I don’t find the missing woman by then, we’ll continue this discussion.”

“I did not dismiss you, Shanahan.”

Osgood’s tone brooked no argument and would have frozen a lesser man in place. Kieran, running on a combination of adrenaline, caffeine, and pride in his ability, turned but did not stop moving.

“Then please do dismiss me. I have work to do and we are wasting daylight.” He pointed to the wall clock. He hated getting short with his superiors, especially when he sought promotion for himself. Unfortunately, they weren’t making his job any easier.

He strode out of the office and fought not to look back over his shoulder a second time. Illaria wasn’t expecting him to stop by for another interview. At least probably not so soon, and probably not after he’d hung up on her this morning.

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