Page 11 of Arresting the Warlord

Father ignored me and turned his attention to the Coletti warlords. “CeeCee will assist you in your investigation. She knows every inch of our lands and her knowledge of our people will be an asset.”

“Not to mention her unique talents,” Jake added snidely.

A spark of satisfaction lit the General’s eyes. “We welcome her help.”

Muttering curses under my breath, I opened the back door to the SUV.

“Where are you going, partner?” Jake’s tone was smug and delighted at the same time.

“To the new crime scene.”

“Teleporting is much, much faster.” Jake opened his arms. “Come to Papa.”

I set my lips in a stubborn line. “I’ll prefer to drive there. You try to stop me, and I will hurt you.”

“I’ll teleport you,” General Jones interjected.

My father said sternly, “Go with the General, CeeCee.”

“Fine.”I grabbed the murder kit from the SUV and stomped over to General Jones. “I accept your gracious offer.”

The General placed his hand on my shoulder and poof. We appeared at the crime scene.

Officer Tom Yellowhorse’s face was ashen. His partner, Yas Begay, was puking in the bushes. One look at what was left of the woman and my stomach roiled. Bloody body parts were scattered over the sand. The metallic stench of blood mixed with the putrid smell of ruptured bowls. Hundreds of flies crawled over the remains.

Jake teleported in with my Father. “Fuck.”

“Jake, I want you to do your magic with the witness while Elder Tsosie and I talk with the officers. Document the crime scene CeeCee,” the General ordered.

“Yes, sir.” I watched Jake stride over to a woman in her fifties, who was sobbing hysterically, and with one touch, she stopped crying.

The air shimmered like a rainbow around the body. I opened my psychic senses. Damn. The woman’s soul was still here. Trying not to breathe too deeply, I walked over to the woman’s ghost. She had been a pretty blonde in her thirties. “Hi, my name is CeeCee. What’s yours?”

“Kathy.”She stared blankly at her mangled body.“Am I dead?”

People could be as emotional in death as in life.“Why don’t we move over to that tree and I’ll explain what happened. Is that okay?”

She nodded.

I ushered her behind the tree and flashed her the image of the Chupacabra. “Is thatthe creature that attacked you?”

Horror filled Kathy eyes. “It hurt. It hurt so bad.

“Sssh. You’re safe. It can’t harm you any longer.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, I promise. Did you see where it came from?”

“It got out of an old, blue van. At first, I thought it was some guy in a costume.A shudder shook Kathy.“Then it attacked me.”

“Did you see the driver?”

“Yes. I think so. Everything’s kinda jumbled. I think it was an old Navajo woman. One minute she was there, then she wasn’t.”Anguish filled her eyes.“Why? Why did this happen to me?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s not fair.”

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