I choked. Killed? “What happened to protect and serve, huh?” I scowled at the chief. “Guess we denizens of the Darkmoon District have good reason to think you cops are all dirty.”
It probably wasn’t a good idea to antagonize the man threatening to kill you, but then again, it hadn’t been a good idea to come down here with them in the first place. No way was I going down meekly.
I inched back as Taylor continued to advance. He stepped slowly, casually my way, the tip of his wand leveled at my chest. I forced myself to stop staring at it and meet his eyes.
“So what? Emerson paid you off to help his son and then cover it up when he killed Davies?” My heart pounded in my chest. I was trying to buy myself time, plus I was just genuinely curious. I gulped, my mouth dry.
Then again, no one was coming for me. Peter hadn’t even been into the station for days—he wasn’t coming to help. And why would anyone else from the station show up? Their chief told them he was taking care of it. I gulped. I’d taken the bait, and now was caught and cleaned.
Chief Taylor glowered at me under his heavy brows. “Emerson didn’t kill Davies.” He didn’t look particularly amused or proud, just serious and matter-of-fact.
I felt the blood drain from my face. “You?”
He didn’t react.
“You killed Davies? One of your own officers?” I glanced around at the buzzcuts. Did they not find this alarming?
Taylor’s eyes glittered, reflecting the strange blue glow from the fish tank. “He was out of line.”
I snorted. “This—this is out of line.”
“You wouldn’t understand, Ms. Hartgrave. We have a code of honor among the police. We take care of our own. Davies couldn’t be trusted—he broke the code by going above my head and confronting Emerson on his own.”
I shook my head, disgust making my skin crawl. “So you apparently take care of your own and anyone else who pays enough.”
His cheek twitched. “Emerson and I go way back. He’s one of the force’s most generous donors. You have no idea the politics and compromises needed to keep our men and women in uniform funded and safe—which in turn keeps the public safe.”
I raised my brows. “I know I’m feeling so safe right now.” I glanced over my shoulder. I stood near the center of the tank, with buzzcut at the end. I was running out of room. Still, Taylor advanced slowly on me.
“I’m of the opinion that the ends justify the means. Sometimes you have to crack a few clams”—Taylor’s eyes narrowed—“for the greater good. So of course, when Emerson’s son got in trouble a few months back, I told him I’d take care of it.”
I shook my head. “Gross.” I couldn’t believe I’d ever tried to impress my former boss. It made me reconsider all the cases I’d taken on, fought so hard to win, even when my gut was telling me these people deserved justice. My desire to get ahead and make something of myself had overridden that.
I bit my lip. Maybe it was Peter’s influence and—even facing death I could barely admit it—Daisy’s too—but I suspected that I was now a more honest and moral person than I’d been a few years ago when I was a lawyer. Weird.
The tip of Taylor’s wand glowed white and jolted me back to the present moment. Snakes! I scrambled for something to say—a way to draw this out. “So Emerson put up the funds to pay off Davies and you ordered him to kill that witness—” I searched my memory. “Gregor Caron—the guy who would’ve testified against Emerson’s reckless son.”
“More or less,” Taylor growled. “That, and I offered Davies the Officer of the Year award—money and accolades. The guy was more than compensated. He shouldn’t have gone against orders and hit up Emerson for more gold.”
I scoffed. “Oh! Money and a trophy were enough for killing an innocent man?”
Taylor scowled. “Innocent? Caron was a career criminal.”
I scowled back, though my legs threatened to buckle every few steps. “He was innocent of attacking Davies.”
Taylor’s dark eyes darted to the other two officers. “After Emerson told me that Davies had demanded more money, I had no choice but to take care of it. If he’d just followed orders, he’d be rich and well positioned to move up the career ladder.”
I glanced around. The two buzzcuts nodded their agreement. Oh good—glad this was a teaching moment for these three. I splayed my hands, my tone exaggerated.
“Well, yeah, you have to be corrupt in the right way.” I shot Taylor a flat look. “What’d you do? Pull him out the back door”—I jerked my head to my right at the door that stood behind the fish tank“—and shove him overboard?”
Chief Taylor glowered at me but didn’t speak.
Ah. So I’d guessed right. “Classy.”
His wand glowed brighter.
My breath caught and my panicked brain raced. “Like anyone’s going to believe that three officers had to kill me in self-defense.” I blurted the words, then looked between the three. No one would believe that… would they?
I thought of Peter. Would he? Then my stomach clenched. Taylor had said that Peter and I couldn’t leave well enough alone… did that mean Peter was in danger, too?
Chief Taylor seemed to consider a moment, then shrugged. “Again, you were unhinged. Spouting nonsense. Two upstanding officers and the Chief of Police all telling the same story?” He smirked at me, though his eyes held no humor. “Against a dead pet psychic from the Darkmoon District? Who do you think people will believe?”
I gritted my teeth. He was right, of course. I balled my hands into tight fists, angry at the injustice of it all.
In a whirl of movement, the chief extended his arm
