Page 16 of Midnight Auto Parts

“Alien technology or not, it’s harder to disappear a vehicle than a person.” Kierce held a branch aside for me to duck under, which was good since I hadn’t noticed it and would have smacked right into it. “Any ideas why they would want what must seem to them like outdated technology?”

“Maybe they crash-landed and need the parts to repair their ship?”

“Then why not steal unoccupied vehicles?”

“What if their tech only works in close proximity to their ship?” I felt like an idiot saying it out loud, treating it as if it were a possibility. “The majority of humans believe aliens visit Earth to perform experiments on them—most involving anal probing for whatever reason—or to breed human women or to eradicate mankind or to steal our planet because theirs is dying or to further their goals to colonize the universe. Something along those lines.”

“The abductees have all been women,” he reminded me, his jaw tight as possibilities sank in.

Women were popular targets for predators, so that didn’t surprise me. The light show and vehicle snatch were unconventional methods of abduction, but that didn’t mean it was dreamed up on another planet.

“Tractor beams aside, how are they disappearing tons of metal from an active roadway?”

The universal symbol foralienwas a small, neon-green man with a giant oval head leaning out of his silver flying saucer to watch as a cow was sucked out of its pasture inside a cone of blinding light.

“Magic is the only logical answer.”

Magic was my first thought. How could it not be? But the vehicles made it dicey. “Iron repels magic.”

“Black magic could accomplish it, but not without sacrifice. Iron-touched fae are rare, but they do exist.”

Iron-touched fae. Say, gremlins. Like the one I was hunting.

One gremlin because Tameka lost her magic in death. Only Keshawn retained hers, but gremlin talents weren’t a magician’s disappearing trick. Even if they were, to have a role in this,Keshawn would have had to know where to go and what to do. Which meant she would also know what happened to the others.

As much as I wanted to avoid further involvement with the 514, I didn’t have much choice if Tameka was involved in this. I was allowed to run my business in peace because it harmed no one. Leasing to Tameka for the purpose she gave, one confirmed by her daughter, meant nothing if they had lied to me. But that didn’t make sense either. Pascal became obsessed with Pink Panic after meeting Tameka. He tracked her wins across the circuit. She had accomplished what she set out to do. She couldn’t be responsible, right?

“We need to get the makes and models of the vehicles from Carter, see if those have any relevance.” I touched my pocket then let my hand drop. “We’ll have to walk back to tell her.”

“Badb has offered to replace her phone,” he said after a moment. “She feels bad about breaking it.”

I doubted that very much, but Badb had him wrapped around her little claw.

“Carter probably has insurance on it,” I rushed out. “Most folks do. Her cell provider will replace it.”

“Ah.” Crinkles fanned out from the corners of his eyes. “You don’t want her to steal one.”

“Remember the tracking app? Everyone uses location services these days. Phones cost an arm and a leg, so people want to find them if they get lost. Or if, say, a crow steals it. Carter enforces the law. She would be in trouble if she got caught breaking it by the owner, who was desperate to save their score in Candy Crumble.”

“I’ll let Badb know.” His focus slid outward before returning to me. “I passed along your concerns.”

Once the road came into view, I noticed two patrol cars parked behind the wagon.

And sitting on the passenger seat of the nearest car smiled a man I wasn’t eager to see again.

Apolished man in his midfifties with silver streaks at his temples exited the second patrol car wearing a politician’s smile and the suit to go with it. The amusement in his gaze, as if he could read what I thought about him, curdled my gut, but I held my ground. With Kierce on my right and Carter to my left, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Everything in me screamed to run, to hide, to jump in the wagon and drive.

But this had been a long time in coming. Chief Leer was a sharp man, and he was aware I had been using his resources for my own purposes. Of course, he would be curious about me.

“This is Chief Leer.” Carter arched a brow at his approach in silent question. “Our fearless leader.”

“I don’t know if I would call me fearless.” His bright-white smile matched the rest of his gleaming façade. “I had a fright when I heard one of my top agents was sprinting down US-17 barefoot and tearing off her clothes. I came right out when I read the report, but you don’t appear to have lost your mind, Carter.”

A tug on her untucked shirt did nothing to make her more presentable. “Looks can be deceiving, sir.”

The cause of her earlier meltdown chose that moment to land on my shoulder to bolster my confidence. Carter, however, gave serious consideration to punching the crow, if the fist clenching and unclenching down by her side was any indication.

“This must be Frankie Talbot.” Leer stuck out his arm. “I’m honored to meet you at last.”

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