“Sheena.” I squatted down, getting my eyes to her level. “Why did you take the candy bars?”
Her voice dropped lower. “I don’t know. I’d been so angry when he said no. So I grabbed all of them after I . . . you know.”
Harris exhaled, seemingly more disappointed than disgusted. “You killed a man and stopped for a snack?”
“You don’t understand.” Sheena blinked away tears. “I wasn’t even hungry. I asked for the candy bar because I saw it, and wanted to make conversation. Get on his good side, like I said. But when he said no, it was like . . .”
“Like what?” I said.
“Like I wanted to tear apart the whole world.”
Worthington shuffled the prisoners outside, to the back of his snow-runner. Harris headed out as well, so that he could warm up his vehicle. Jax and I stood in the entry area, along with Guyer, all three of us putting on our coats. Across the room, Vandie Cedrow and a crew of burly figures in security jackets stared daggers our way. Never one to shy away from people who hate me, I strolled over.
The guards tightened into a half circle between me and Vandie. I stared past their shoulder muscles at the woman who had bought their loyalty.
“You got your killer.” She spoke loudly, putting on a show for her crew. “Now you can get out.”
“My job’s not done, Miss Cedrow. I need contact information for one of your workers. Saul Petrevisch.”
She widened her stance, arms crossed. “Why are you harassing my men?”
“Is Saul one of your men? I was led to believe he’d been let go?”
“He moved on. You want to talk to Petrevisch, go back to the squalor of the city.”
She turned away and walked back into the hive of the tents. One by one, the former rig workers followed her. The arrest of out-of-town dancers was one thing, but they had little interest in talking to cops about one of their own.
Eventually, only a single man was left. The wind-battered rigger, Murphy CaDell.
“She’s done amazing things, Vandie has.”
“Is that so?” I said.
“She’s put furloughed rig workers back to work, after the government was happy to let them starve. She’s advocating for safety requirements, pensions, and stronger unions. Hells, if it were up to her, she’d rerun all the geo-vents in Titanshade to bring warmth to the outer edges of town. I’m telling you, when the wells open up, they’ll be a better, safer place because of Vandie Cedrow.”
I glanced down the corridor Vandie had taken. The tent fabric pulsed and fluttered like a living thing. “So about Saul Petrevisch . . .”
“A good worker,” he said. “Chemical engineer, before the furloughs. But he struggled with personal issues. I’ll send you his information.”
I gave him my card. “I’ll be expecting it tomorrow morning.”
“It’ll be there.” He dug into a pocket and handed over a card in return. “Be seeing you, Detective.”
I stalked back across the room to rejoin my peers. The politicians may have liked the idea of putting furloughed roughnecks back to work, and the concert promoters liked the idea of a setting outside police jurisdiction, but the waters around us teemed with sharks.
“I’m glad to be out of here,” I muttered.
Guyer frowned. “Speak for yourself.”
“What do you mean?” said Jax. “Everything about this crime indicates Sheena killed Bobby, then got assistance from her brother. Everything backs that up, including Sheena herself.” He ran a hand over his head, gingerly probing the damage along his head plates where he’d hit the floor.
“I mean you’re the homicide guys. You solve that and go home. My job is to worry about who caused the victim’s transformation.”
Guyer’s eyes were on me as she spoke, and for a long moment I thought we’d have to rehash the whole question again. Then Jax chimed in.
“Do you need help? We can stay if you need us.” He winced, and reached a hand to his head plates. The poor SOB needed a doctor, not an all-night hunt for magic.
Guyer’s expression softened. “No. But thanks for the offer.”
“But—”
“It’s Titanshade, Jax. Money and magic outrank simple murder every time.” Drawing my coat tighter, I prepared to reenter the frigid cold.
Jax headed out, but I hesitated, catching Guyer’s eye once more. “Let’s talk about it when we have that beer and sandwich?”
After a moment she gave me a brusque nod. The truce was holding. I could flap my mouth all I wanted, but the truth was that the transformations were far more my problem than hers. I had to find out what had caused that transformation and drag it into the light. Prove that it wasn’t me. And to do that, I’d have to track down the man who supplied the snake oil, Saul Petrevisch.
Beyond the entrance, Sheena and Michael were heading back to Titanshade. At least this was one death that hadn’t gone unsolved, and one case that we could cross off our list and forget.
That, of course, turned out to be a lie.
7
IT WAS LATE INTO THE night when we arrived back in Titanshade, but I insisted we head downtown. I’d learned the hard way that it was vital to get paperwork drawn up and done as soon as possible. Jax made an effort to follow me to the Bunker, but I held up an arm.
“Go home, kid. But first, get someone to look at your head. I don’t need you bleeding to death and leaving me with even more forms to fill out.”
He assured me he would, and left me to finalize the reports that would clear the case to the City Attorney’s Office. Already, Sheena and Michael were making their way through the gears of the justice system. It was neither efficient nor pleasant, but it was part of the job.
I ended my day and staggered past the glass doors of the Bunker, waving a hand in the thermal vent by the entrance, mumbling the prayer of departure. For your suffering, which brings us safety and warmth, we thank you.
It
