Familiar Desires: 5 (Protective Affairs) (8 page)

When they turned into the parking lot at the police station,
Alana glanced at the large building. It looked to be fairly new. She certainly
didn’t remember it from any of her previous visits to Corona Springs. She
opened the door before Kane could get to it and straightened her black uniform
jacket. Her hands smoothed down the black pants, trying to brush away any
wrinkles. She hadn’t expected to have to wear this uniform much while she was
here, but she’d packed it anyway. It was amazing the way the uniform helped
loosen tongues or simply removed the people who thought to stand in her way.

She squared her shoulders and cast a look at Michael and
Kane. She hoped they realized this was the type of situation where they should
hang back and let her do the talking. The new chief already distrusted the
wizards. He’d probably just had his ass chewed on and it wouldn’t be conducive
to a good mood. Dillon Arronson didn’t play around when he dealt with people.

She skirted a grouping of seats in the open lobby area and
walked to one of the two desks. A mural near the second reception area depicted
mountains in the distance and horses on a grassy plain. The vibrant art stood
out against the cream color of the wall surrounding it. Her eyes slid to the
doors that would lead into the heart of the building. She noticed a plaque
above it, but couldn’t quite make out the words with the way the light
reflected off the metal.

When Alana told the woman they were here to see the chief of
police, the woman unlocked the entry for them. She wasn’t surprised to find a
man wearing the chief of police’s uniform waiting for them or to see several
people loitering near an unoccupied desk.

“Hello, I’m Captain Noble Parker, the chief of police, for
Corona City.” He held out his hand as Alana stepped within reach. He glanced at
Michael and Kane, but the look was openly dismissive and suspicious.

“Operative Alana Cohl.” She shook his hand. “It’s good to
meet you.”

Her hackles rose at his attitude toward Kane and Michael.
She bit back the angry words that rose to her lips. It wouldn’t help and she
knew it.

“Dillon told me you’d be with two wizards, but neglected to
tell me why the two were necessary.” His eyes again fell on Michael and Kane in
almost silent accusation.

Oh, yeah, the man had a definite chip on his shoulder. An
attitude that big usually had something behind it. She wondered what had
happened to him. Did some witch or wizard do something to his family or steal
his girlfriend?

“We have plenty to discuss and that’s something I’ll explain
once we’re somewhere more private.” Alana kept her tone of voice even and managed
to keep the smile on her face. She wasn’t going to get into the reasons why
Michael and Kane were necessary out here where anyone could hear them.

“Let’s go into my office. We can talk privately there.” He
nodded and turned to lead the way. She didn’t miss the suspicion in his eyes
when he looked at Michael and Kane, but they’d have to work around it.

Alana was aware of the attention they were attracting, but
ignored the looks. She was sure very few nonhumans made it back here. He opened
the door to his office and allowed them to enter before he did. A black desk
with a gleaming top dominated the room. Framed certificates and awards hung on
the cream wall behind it. The chief strolled around and took the plush leather
seat. Alana dropped into one of the cushioned but not-quite-comfortable chairs
in front of it.

“So tell me why they had to be with you.” The chief scowled
at Michael and Kane.

“Because there are indications that a witch might be
involved in at least the abductions of the people from Devoe. They’re
protection. The humans down here, I don’t know if they’re connected to the
others.” Alana leaned forward and looked at the officer. She hoped he could put
aside his prejudices and look at the evidence alone.

“They’re connected. We have the same tire treads from some
type of van or SUV type vehicle at three of the scenes. Are you here to help
them cover their crimes?” Captain Parker folded his arms across his chest and
glared at her.

“There will be no cover-up. I’ve already told you we suspect
the involvement of a witch in this in some way.” Alana clenched her jaw and
locked her leg muscles. She wanted to get up and shake him. This wasn’t helping
them discover what happened. “I don’t know what a witch or wizard did to you
and I don’t care. You need to put that aside and start behaving like a cop who
wants to solve these crimes.”

He straightened abruptly in his seat, but didn’t lunge out
of it as she thought he would. “And will the witch or wizard be punished? Will
they go to jail?”

“Yes, they will and in ways, the witch’s punishment will be
more severe than a human’s would,” Michael said in a calm voice.

“How could their punishment be worse in ways?” Captain
Parker looked genuinely curious.

“Their magic will be taken away from them, most probably for
life. When a human goes to jail, any talents or skills he has are still his. A
witch or wizard’s magic is part of them and some commit suicide rather than
face life without it.” Alana had seen it happen. Particularly in the younger
wizards who never thought they could be caught. The sudden loss hit them hard.

“You’re giving me your word as an operative that any witches
involved will be punished?” He raised a brow.

“Yes. I know Dillon told you everyone involved would face
justice. Let me tell you a little about shifter and witch towns though. They
have laws just like this city does. Causing harm to someone is just as bad as hurting
them with magic.” Alana took a deep, calming breath. He was doing this on
purpose. She knew it.

“So why haven’t they stopped this person?” Captain Parker
raised a challenging eyebrow.

“The same reason you haven’t arrested anyone. No real
suspects, just suspicion of a certain group. If they had proof and knew for
certain who did it, the problem would be solved. But there are humans involved
also.” Alana wasn’t going to let him forget that there were other players in
this drama other than the witches he vilified.

“And how can you be certain that there are humans involved
in the kidnapping as well?” Captain Parker leaned forward, his attention
centered on Alana.

“Human scent was found at the kidnap scene in Devoe. It was
the only scent there other than the shifter who was taken. Aside from that, if
it were only the people we suspect, they’d have no reason to keep them. They’d
leave the body and they’d have no use for the humans,” Alana bluntly stated.

Captain Parker blinked and sat quietly for a moment. “Why do
you think the witch or wizard involved is doing this?”

“They’re simply getting rid of people in their way or that
they feel superior to. There are people who believe they’re better than
everybody different among the wizards and shifters, the same as there are among
the humans. Like the radical humans, they’ll use violence, other people or fear
to get what they want.” Alana sighed. It irritated her. It was such an inane
and futile motive. No matter how long they got away with their scheme, the
Familiars would stay in Devoe.

“Now, I understand why you didn’t think they would be
related.” Parker nodded.

“I’d like to see the evidence you have and photos of the
kidnap sites and a list with the addresses of those. I’ll want to visit those
places to see what the area is like.” Alana sat back in the chair.

Captain Parker took a small tablet off his desk and punched
in something before passing it over to her. “The photographs of the tire treads
are linked to the overall crime-scene photos. Most of them are isolated.”

Alana looked up from the tablet. “Most?”

“Yeah, the last human abducted, which would be the next-to-last
victim chronologically, was taken minutes after she got off the bus. She was on
a city street, full daylight, but no one saw anything.” Captain Parker drummed
his fingers on his desk.

“Do you know in the cases of the human kidnappings, if the
place they were taken was part of their routine? Was it something they normally
did?” Alana met the chief’s eyes. “From what I know of the shifters and witch,
they were taken from a place out of their normal travel.”

“All of the women were taken from places that they normally
frequented, at the normal times they’d be there.” He shrugged. “They put some
effort into discovering their schedules, but they weren’t chosen in the same
way you suspect the shifters and witch were.”

“Two ways of victim selection.” She scowled. That wasn’t
going to help discover what they were doing, why or where these people were.

“Yeah, until we discovered the matching treads, we were
going on the theory that they were probably separate crimes or at least
separate offenders.” Parker leaned back in the chair and sighed loudly.

“I’ve seen a lot of strange operations, but I can’t make any
sense about these kidnappings. If the group we suspect is working with them,
they’d want assurance the victims wouldn’t be returning to implicate them or
muddy their perfect place again. I can’t think of how they’d keep shifters and
a witch this long if they are alive or why they’d want to do it. Both groups
are hard to keep caged.” Alana’s mind spun trying to discover some connection
or some clue to what they were doing with these people. Long-term sedation of a
shifter wasn’t easy. The shifter metabolism became accustomed to medicine and
burned through it.

“Just the numbers would make it difficult to maintain
control,” Parker agreed. “We’re thinking they keep them drugged somehow, if
they’re alive.”

“They’d need to use something strong, but there’s also the
possibility that the witches are working closely with them,” Michael offered
from beside her.

“Do you think that’s a possibility?” Parker glanced at
Michael with interest.

“Anything’s possible, but with the witches’ goals, not likely.”
Michael shook his head. “They’d want some kind of incentive to get involved,
something they gained.”

“They’ll be with you when you visit the sites?” Parker
turned his attention back to Alana.

“Yes, the best way to combat a witch is with someone who has
more magic. So I won’t be alone while this case is open. If I get close to
anything, you can bet they’ll consider me a threat.” She knew it would probably
happen at some point.

“I’ll be sending the files of the kidnappings to the secure
email address your commander gave me as well as to the chief of police in
Devoe. Since these are linked, we’ll need to cooperate to solve this.” Parker
stood.

“I’ll have the file from the kidnapping that occurred in
Devoe sent to you along with any photos of evidence so you can compare the
details to what you found at your scenes.” She rose to her feet and stepped
forward.

“If you need any more help, come by or call, I’ll tell my
officers to give you all the assistance you require.” Captain Parker extended
his hand.

“Thank you and we’ll keep you apprised of any information we
find or any developments with the people we suspect.” Alana shook his hand.

Michael and Kane said goodbye to Captain Parker as well and
then they left the police station. Since they were down in Corona City and it
wasn’t even lunchtime yet, Alana wanted to do a little scouting. The street
where the woman had been taken after she’d gotten off the bus seemed like a
good place to start.

She drew her pad out of her bag and logged onto her email to
get to the file with the details. After finding the address, she rattled it off
and Kane drove them there. She glanced around when Kane guided the Jeep into a
parking spot. Overall, the area was clean and the buildings were well tended.
Although the side where the woman had been taken had a couple of small
businesses, the opposite side and farther down the street was entirely
residential.

Alana got out of the Jeep and walked down the sidewalk. Using
the evidence pictures, she tried to decipher what had happened. The Corona City
police had thought it was a snatch and grab. Maybe she’d gotten too near the
edge of the street and someone had hauled her into a vehicle.

“So what do you think?” Michael asked as he came up behind
her.

“Well, we know it was a snatch and grab, but the being
pulled into a vehicle here, I’m not so sure. Seems too open and no one noticed
a vehicle circling or parked nearby. There was a broken shoe heel there. They
have some notes in their file about how everyone said she was so cautious. Then
there’s her purse and cell phone near the building, not the edge of the street.
They could have been thrown there, but from the pictures here, it seems like
they were dropped in a struggle.” She walked over to where they were found.

“So if not taken into a van here, where?” Kane asked.

She looked up and noted a narrow alleyway between two
businesses. It was paved and tended, but obviously used as a service corridor. “Here
I think. I think she might have caught sight of them or they didn’t get her
right away and that’s why her purse is near the door to the computer shop. She
might have been trying to get inside and away from them.”

“But this isn’t isolated, someone should have seen her trying
to get away.” Michael frowned and looked down the alley.

“You’d think, but they chose this location for a reason and
would know the best time to make a grab for her. And every street has quieter
periods. I don’t see anyone out and looking now. This isn’t Main Street.” Alana
looked down the street again. The computer store was a repair and customization
shop, the business next to it was an accountant’s office. Not the type of
businesses that received a lot of walk-in traffic.”

“All right, so they could have taken her into this little
alley and carried her to a waiting car.”