A hint of something beneath one of the slippers. Was it anything? I swept the light back, and it pinged, ever so subtly beneath the heel of the soft footwear. I nudged the slipper out of the way with my knee, exposing a small patch of brownish-yellow.
No matter the color of a pod, the trace it left behind was always brownish-yellow. Pod traces were hard to find because there was no way of knowing how long they would last, often, only a few hours, sometimes longer, or not at all.
A trace of pod in the bedroom? There was that link to the paranormal I was looking for. I took some pictures with my phone, using a specially designed filter I’d made to compliment the UV light.
Giving Pip one last fuss, I made my way out of the apartment, back down to the street.
There were a few people pointing at the green pods, discussing them loudly in Dutch as I got back on my bike. I’d need to head back to the office before going home.
I wheeled the bike across the road then stopped, taking out a small pouch holding a special camera. It was a tiny disc, no bigger than a one-cent coin, with the ability to match the environment it was placed in. I fixed to the wall. It would survey the building, running a live feed to my phone, blending in with the brickwork.
With that done, I drove away from the scene a little way, turning a few corners, so enough distance was put between me and the Visser apartment.
I pulled out my phone.
“Are you okay?” Jake answered on the second ring.
“I’m fine, baby.” I told him what I’d found.
“Bloody hell! What does this mean?”
“Mr. Visser is a suspect. He could’ve killed her in a fit of rage on a bad trip.”
“You said he had a temper. But to remove all her bones and put her down a metro station? That’s not really selling itself to me.”
“Me neither.”
“Could Mr. Visser be a pod-born, then? Got himself some bone-sucking powers?”
“If he is, he hid it well.”
“Not the way I thought this case was gonna go.”
“Nope. You okay?”
“Yeah, got Cherry here.”
“Cherry?”
“She had a run-in with our new friend Tessa.” He went on to explain the incident to me. “She can’t go home.”
“Of course not.”
“Please, don’t go near the office.”
“I have to, Jake, to make sure everything’s okay.” If the wards had been triggered there, the alarms would have been going crazy. Everything was linked to our phones and computers, so we’d know.
I checked the app on my phone that linked to the CCTV cameras we had inside and outside the office. “There’s no sign of trouble over there. We’ll have to check the footage of Tessa later, hand it over to Lars.”
“You don’t need to go. Just come home.”
“I’d like to be sure, one-hundred percent.”
“Bollocks, Dean! If you’re doing that, then I’m coming over.”
“No, you’ll have your hands full with Lou.”
“She hasn’t surfaced from her pit yet.”
“Seriously?”
“I know. I’m just as shocked. I can get Sophie round.”
“There’s no need, Jake.”
“There is a fucking need if the office is being watched. It could be. I don’t want you ambushed by Tessa or any crazy wanker from the Conclave. Meet me in Spui, then we’ll go together.”
“Jake, there’s—”
“Then come home.”
“Jake—”
“Don’t give me any excuses. You can work from here. If you’re gonna insist on going there, then so am I.”
Shit. He was panicked. “We can’t let these people intimidate us, Jake.”
“No, but that doesn’t mean you have to go and be a knob head martyr who loves his pride more than his own safety.”
“That’s not—”
“If you go there and get killed, I’m not talking to you anymore.”
“How does that work if I’m dead anyway?”
“Don’t get smart!”
“I’m not, it’s logic.”
“Daddy?” I heard Louise’s voice in the background.
“Finally, she rises,” Jake said. “Dean, I’m not trying to be difficult. I’m worried, and I can’t have you going over there by yourself. Not fresh off Cherry’s harassment. We need to talk about this. Please, come home.”
I sighed. He was right, but that didn’t stop me from being pissed off. I couldn’t wait to run into Tessa and this Parker guy—if he was involved too.
“I’ll come home.”
“Thank you. Lou wants to talk to you.”
“Pass her over.” I wouldn’t seethe, wouldn’t let this get to me. I wanted to be home to see my daughter receive her gifts.
Deep breaths …
“Papa?”
“Hi, sleepyhead.”
“Hi, Papa. Happy St. Nicholas Eve.”
“And to you, darling. Are you excited for tonight?”
“Yes, Papa. But I have to chill out and eat my breakfast.”
There was some Jake in her words. “Good girl. You go and eat. I’ll be home soon.”
“Yay! Here’s Daddy.”
“Hi,” Jake said.
“Hi. See you in a bit.”
“You think I’m a bitch for making you do this.”
“No, I don’t. I know I need to be on present-guarding duty.” That was to placate him. St. Nicholas Eve was going to be messed up again. He’d know that, but sometimes, it was good to sweeten things for him if only for a short period.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Twelve
Jake
I felt like the bossiest boyfriend on the planet. Whatever. It was that selfishness I had for my loved ones coming out again.
Cherry was in the bath, Sophie having tea with me in the living room while Lou played with her toys by the Christmas tree.
“I hope the clothes are okay,” she said.
“They’re great, thank you. I really appreciate your help.”
“Always, Jake.” She pushed a blonde curl behind her ear. “Is Cherry okay?”
“Rattled.”
Sophie nodded. “As she would be. I would like to say I’m shocked by this, but I’ve seen so many reports of these incidents that it is hard to be. Such deplorable behavior. They have no right to act this way.”
“They don’t. They’re sick in the head. And it can only get worse. Just wish I had some clue as to what the hell is being planned.”
“You’ll figure it out. If I can
