Daysider

“I’ll stay awhile longer,” he decided. “She woke my curiosity.”

“Just your curiosity?” Jude asked drily. But he didn’t press the issue. Instead he glanced at his computer and said, “Chloe’s coming through. I can see she’s downloading things. Let’s go.”

Damien followed Jude into the next room with a mixture of reluctance and excitement.

There was challenge in the air, he realized. The challenge of solving a problem, the challenge of either wooing a woman or resisting himself.

But mostly, he decided, it was the challenge of a problem he hadn’t seen in centuries.

He was aware of unseen forces, and long ago, as a member of an esoteric Persian priesthood, he had had intimate knowledge of them.

With time those forces seemed to have largely weakened and he had wondered how much that had to do with lack of use. Perhaps they found it harder to draw energy in this modern world. Regardless he was looking forward to finding out what this one was and how it had been called.

It had been a while since he had felt seriously challenged. The idea quickened his step a bit.

* * *

Papers were stacking up on the out tray of the laser printer. Caro wondered where Chloe was getting all that information. The police were keeping the story close to their vests this early on, and reports to the press had so far been shocking only in that an entire family had been murdered. No other information, other than names and ages, had been released.

But the stack of paper was growing, and Chloe was gnawing her lip as she continued keying her way through computer screens.

What was going on here?

Jude and Damien emerged from the inner office and she looked up. Damien’s gaze raked her, causing her to shiver pleasurably and unwillingly before he looked away from her.

What was wrong with her? She had far more important things to think about than sexual attraction to a man. Worse, attraction to a man with a very strange aura, and she had enough strange in her life as it was.

The door buzzer sounded, and Chloe jumped up. “I’ll just get our food.”

“How much have you got here?” Jude asked, picking up the pages from the printer.

“Police reports, M.E. reports and the crime scene investigation. You’ll be glad to know they’re done with the house.”

Then she bounced out the door.

Caro hopped to her feet. “You don’t have access to all that stuff. You don’t have the authority.” She was appalled that anyone could hack into information that should only be accessible to investigating officers. “That’s not legal.”

Jude, holding the sheaf of papers, tipped his head a little. “I have special permission for special cases.”

She stood there, her mouth still open to complain. But Pat had recommended him, after all. Maybe they had some kind of agreement? She made a mental note to check with her.

Slowly she sank back onto the couch. “This shouldn’t be possible,” she muttered.

Damien answered. “There’s a lot that shouldn’t be possible, but as you’ve seen for yourself, it is.”

She tossed him a glare. “One doesn’t equal the other. Access to an ongoing investigation is severely limited.”

“Unless,” Jude drawled, “you’re part of the investigation.”

Now, what did he mean by that?

Still disturbed but realizing there might be good reasons for this, she settled down and accepted the lo mein that Chloe handed her.

She trusted Pat and Pat trusted Messenger Investigations. Pat was trying to help her.

But she wondered if Pat had some kind of offbeat secret life.

Because there was no question that Messenger Investigations was entirely offbeat.

ISBN: 9781460317020 Copyright © 2013 by Susan Krinard All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-

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