Pure Blood_ A Nocturne City Novel - Caitlin Kittredge [13]
Morgan strode back to her seat and picked up the papers she had been reading. “The next time you disrespect me will be your last as a member of this department, Detective Wilder. Clear?”
“Clear, ma’am,” I whispered, looking at my shoes because if I looked at Morgan, I was going to rip the bitch’s head off.
“Then we’re done here.” She motioned me out, and I left, shutting the door carefully behind me.
CHAPTER 5
Shelby was looking over the lab results Kronen had given me when I got back to my desk. I snatched the folder from her hands and slammed it onto my desk with a bang. “Let’s get one thing straight, miniskirt. I don’t want you, and I’m not inclined to like you, so don’t expect some sisterly bonding experience while we catch bad guys and make the world safe for justice and puppies, all right?”
She didn’t react to the slur except to shake her head slowly and smile. “Whatever you say, Luna. I’m here to do my job. If you have some sort of issue about partners that’s your thing.”
Hex her. What gave her the right to be so laid-back?
“I see that you’re working a possible OD case,” Shelby said, picking up the folder again. “What’s our next move?”
I wondered if tearing her throat out would be classed as justifiable homicide once a jury heard her talk?
“Don’t tell me you don’t have any leads,” said Shelby in a snippy tone. “Have you talked to his dealers, his shooting partners?”
“It’s an accidental death,” I said. “The ME is going to rule it that way as soon as the autopsy goes through.” And then, I had the perfect way to get rid of Shelby for the night. “All that’s left for us is family notification.”
No cop in their right mind wants to be the one to ring the bell and tell a mother or husband or child that their loved one is dead. Especially when that loved one had more tracks than a railroad yard and showed up dead in a sleazy part of town. I figured Shelby would remember a pressing manicure appointment or have a waxing emergency as soon as I brought the subject up.
Instead she shrugged and said, “Okay. We can grab some dinner on the way back.”
Hex it, I was really starting to hate her.
In the car Shelby said, “You haven’t mentioned my last name yet.”
I kicked the Fairlane up to fifth as we merged onto the expressway and heaved a sigh. “Am I supposed to be impressed by the great O’Halloran moniker? Quiver in awe, perhaps? Genuflect?”
The O’Halloran family is Nocturne City’s fairy tale—poor Irish immigrants who started as servants and laundresses and grew to be a worldwide banking conglomerate. There was also the business of Siobahn O’Halloran, a member of the original family, stabbing the wife of a prominent society man to death back in the 1880s. And the rumor that the O’Hallorans were caster witches, every one of them.
“You have heard of us?” said Shelby in the same tone her rich relatives probably used on the maid.
“I’ve heard of you, and I’ve heard all the rumors too,” I said. “If you’re expecting me to be afraid, forget it. My cousin’s a caster witch.”
Shelby laughed, brushing her honey-streaked hair behind her ears. “If we’re trading rumors, Luna, should I mention the ones I’ve heard about you?”
My fingers tightened on the wheel and the Fairlane slipped slightly to one side. “What have you heard?”
“Just that you’re a were,” said Shelby with a sly grin. “And that you were phased when you killed Alistair Duncan. Under the law, that makes it murder.”
I turned my eyes on her, and the dry sting told me they were blazing gold. “You want to see the truth firsthand, Shelby?”
“Oh, relax.” She flapped a hand at me. “I’m just getting under your skin. Fair play for that ‘miniskirt’ remark.”
“Word of advice, Shelby. You don’t want to find out what’s under my skin.”
“I apologize.” She sounded sincere. “I didn’t know you had so little … control. I’ve never spent any time