Page 56 of Soul Sucker

“I know Vadim is important to this case and he has a connection with you.”

“Yeah, we’re colleagues.”

“It’s more than that.”

“Oh jeez, you’ve got that faraway look in your eyes again.”

Liz shrugged. “I can’t help it. The Fae-Web knows stuff I can’t yet comprehend. But I can tell you that Vadim Morosov isn’t going away anytime soon.”

“Great. I’ll see you later. I have to call a dude about a giant caterpillar he saw in his yard last night.”

When Liz shut the door, Ella finally let her smile slip. She covered her face with her hands and simply sat there in silence. It was all well and good telling herself that she was going to avenge Laney and catch the killer but it didn’t make up for the hole left in her life. Normally she would’ve been calling Laney right now to tell her about her embarrassing evening with Vadim so that they could pick over the details and laugh hysterically. She’d never even got to hear what Laney really thought about Peter Jameson…

Ella slowly inhaled and then let out her breath. She had to get her shit together or the department would be pensioning her off to the empath nuthouse out in Marin County and letting Sam take over the case. That would never do. She had to survive this for Laney, and for all the other empaths that had died so horribly.

She picked up the phone and dialed the number Peach had left on her desk.

“Hey, Mr. Collins? I understand you have a giant bug problem…”

* * *

Vadim looked around the foyer,but there was no sign of Alexei. He walked by the reception desk for the second time and stopped to talk to the pink-haired administrator who smiled so enthusiastically up at him.

“Can I help you, Mr. Morosov?”

“Have you seen Alexei anywhere?”

“Oh yes!” She fished for something on her desk. “He asked me to give you a message. He had to go out and assist on a case with Ella and he’s not sure when he’ll be back.”

“They both went out?” He checked his watch. “Is Liz here?”

Peach picked up the phone. “I can check for you.”

“Thanks.”

While Peach chatted, he paced the lobby, watching the lights on the elevators flash up and down. Ella came in from the street eating an ice cream cone.

“Hey. Are you waiting for me?”

He studied her flushed face and whipped out his handkerchief. “You have ice cream on your nose.”

“Thanks.” She took the handkerchief from him and patted her face. “Is that better?”

He nodded as Liz came out of the elevator and advanced toward them.

“Where’s Alexei?”

Ella finished her ice cream and used Vadim’s handkerchief to wipe her fingers before stuffing it in her pocket. “I left him with Mr. Collins.”

“The guy who saw the caterpillar?” Liz asked. “Yeah, wellapparently, Mr. Collins is one-eighth Fae, and he’s related to Alexei, who is also related to the young Fae Mr. Collins trapped in his yard.”

“The caterpillar, right?”

“Exactly. Apparently it was some kind of legendary Garden Fae family hazing joke, which Mr. Collins didn’t know about, being as he doesn’t live in Otherworld anymore. Alexei had to explain it.”

“So you didn’t have to wipe his mind?”

“Not this time. Alexei said he would take care of it for me before he departed. When I left, they were still catching up on ancient family history.”

---