Page 66 of Aberrant Monsters
“Not to mention the glaringly obvious fact,” Archie said.
We all turned to look at him.
“Oh, come on.” He rolled his eyes. “The longer an eldritch is left unchecked, the farther it has time to roam. We’re tracking one that’s been here for months.”
Damn, that was an excellent point.
“Well done, Sherlock,” Nandi said.
Quentin nodded. “That’s a valid point. In the past, eldritch have been picked up within a week or so of entering our world, but now things are…complicated.”
“How so?” Devyn asked.
He opened his mouth to respond, then snapped it closed. “Nice try, Miss Silvercrest, but this is Order information.”
“And the information we just provided you was Night Guild intel. Quid pro quo is also a valid process.”
“Yes, it is.” Quentin smiled politely before turning his attention to Nandi. “Tell me about these attacks.”
“Nice deflection, subtle too,” Devyn drawled.
Nandi gave her an apologetic look before answering Quentin. “I’m not sure attack is the right word. Four perfectly healthy humans dropped dead.”
“We have the cases on record because we were called in to check for supernatural foul play,” Devyn said. “Hexes, that kind of thing.”
“And?” Quentin prompted.
She pressed her lips together as if she was considering holding back information. Kind of redundant considering Archie and Nandi had already seen the files. She must have come to the same conclusion because she continued with a sigh.
“We didn’t find anything. The coroner ruled heart attack for two of the humans and brain aneurysm for the other two.”
It didn’t sound like this had anything to do with our eldritch, but like Quentin said earlier, we still had much to learn about these creatures.
“I know it doesn’t sound related to our case,” Nandi said. “But it’s all we have.”
I nodded. “It’s worth checking out the area for residue.”
“I’ll drive you,” Quentin said. “But you’ll have to make your own way back. I have to check in with the Order.”
“You’ll be back for dawn?” I looked up at him hopefully.
“Yes, August. I’ll pick you up from home at sunrise.”
“Thanks for the help,” Nandi said to Devyn.
The officer nodded grimly. “We all want the same thing. To keep the streets safe.” She gave Quentin a pointed look before dropping her attention to me in a quick assessment.
We hadn’t admitted that I’d been attacked by the humans, but she’d deduced it, and my state after the interview with Detective Peterson had pretty much confirmed her suspicions. She was probably wondering how I’d recovered so fast.
“Give me your phone and I’ll add my number.” She held out her hand for it.
I passed it to her.
She inputted her details, then gave it back. “If there’s anything else I can do, don’t hesitate to call.”
I held her gaze. “Thank you.” I hit dial on her number so that she had mine. “Likewise.”
She smiled and her baby blues warmed. “I might hold you to that.”
