Page 79 of Ghost
Matheus, my jiangjun, had paused in the doorway. Due to events in his past, he wasn’t fond of enclosed spaces. But I could see the conflict in his eyes—as the wolf alpha he wasn’t supposed to show such a weakness in front of outsiders.
I couldn’t intervene, not here, but didn’t need to anyway. An instant later, the struggle was over, and Matheus stood behind my right side.
“I heard there was an incident at the scene of Caleb Weaver’s suicide?” He crossed his arms, leaning forward on his desk. “Why were the police not called for this incident?”
“You know procedure,” I replied, ignoring his attempt at intimidation. “Your police force has enough work with outside cases. Only incidents that have the potential to go public require your intervention. Besides, it wasCaleb Weaver. You know that the family would want to keep it internal.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but I continued. “But it wasn’t a suicide. Caleb Weaver was murdered. Damen Abernathy had a suspicion, but our medium confirmed it.”
Alexander narrowed his eyes. “Since when do you have a medium? They avoid you, and Mr. Abernathy doesn’t interact well with those types. If it’s a murder, you’re at greater risk for exposure. I’m assigning someone to it—”
“There’s no need for that,” I cut him off, not wanting him to get any ideas. “It’s very well contained. We already have a suspect. This is well within our jurisdiction.”
Alexander frowned, unhappy with my answer. But there was no evidence to indicate Caleb Weaver was killed by a qualifying individual.
Instead, he tried a different approach. “Who is it? Do you need my assistance?”
Something about his tone caused my instincts to rise. Since Alexander had decided to focus on being a mediator between the general population and us, there was no need for him to focus on internal affairs. Why was he offering now?
“No,” I answered, watching him for anything suspicious. “But thank you.”
His mouth dipped, he was displeased.
Taking a note of this for later, I moved on. “Now for our main topic of discussion. We need to discuss the recent recruits that have been assigned to my company.”
Alexander sighed, sitting back into his seat. “What about them? Are they—”
“They aren’t trained! Upon further investigation, it seems as though all certifications that they received were fabricated, by thestate. They’ve never even gone through basic coursework.”
It was almost indistinguishable, but with my senses entirely focused on it, I didn’t miss the miniscule lift at the corner of his mouth.
He already knew.
“Ada Sartore is re-evaluating all recruits from this office,” I continued, not willing to call him out on it. Yet. “But I’m more concerned as to why this happened. We cannot uphold our end of the bargain without your collaboration. Do you require more funding?”
“I am as surprised as you are,” Alexander rested his chin and mouth in his hands. “But I will look into it as well. I have a thought. We lack suitable volunteers. Fighters of a certain type are required to pass the training that is required from you. I understand that the guild is a threat, but we simply do not have volunteers to meet that quota. Perhaps this was an honest mistake in order to fulfill your demands.”
“Don’tlieabout it then.” I fought to maintain my calm. My mind already whirling with theories about what he might be plotting.
“You are frightening.” Alexander shrugged. “Perhaps our representatives were afraid to let you down. In either case, I’ll follow up on it. But in the end, it’s not such a big deal. You’re only dealing with internal cases, a certain leeway is acceptable. So long as the job is done.”
“Impersonating a police officer is a crime.”
“If we’re only protecting vulnerable members of society, certainly.” Alexander sounded as unconcerned as ever. “But, you’ll agree that our criminals require a different approach.”
Even though he was using one of my own lines, it felt foreboding. When I created my company, I envisioned individuals who used their abilities to protect the population: both those with abilities and those who did not. And certainly, criminals who had abilities had to be handled in a different manner… But the way he spoke sounded evil.
And then there was this: My teams hadn’t graduated from police academy, then whatdidthey become trained in?
How had we missed this?
His face was carefully blank now, and I fought the urge to rip off his head and toss it across the room. I had already learned the hard way that the paperwork involved in such an action would erase any satisfaction gained.
“I will personally make sure that your next recruits attendallyour requested programs. Don’t fret.” Alexander began to write something in his notes. “Beginning tomorrow, I will supervise—”
“It is no longer necessary.” My smooth voice didn’t match the fury building inside of me. I had been in contract with Alexander Cole for two years. How many crimes might have gone unsolved in that time? If there was one thing I was depending on, it was the professionalism and attention to detail officers would bring into my practice.
Chapter Thirty-One
