“Someone came in the middle of the night and made sure no one was able to get anything from clues that might have been left behind. Standard protocol here. Bodies were still in there when the place was demoed. You might well want to remember that if what you say is true and someone sends in troops that aren’t ready for their work.”
Harris knew in some countries, they did make sure there wasn’t evidence when Americans were killed. But this wasn’t one of those places. And the bodies would have been burnt beyond any reasonable recognition, not to mention so hot there would be nothing left to ID them with.
“I need your help with this. First of all, I’d like to get the IDs of the victims that were there from my end. After that, I’m thinking I can narrow it down to see where I have to look next.” Voice told her it wouldn’t work. The men, five of them, didn’t have any idea of what happened other than it was her that sent them. “You can read minds. You’re a shifter, then. Are you being safe?”
“Not that it matters a hill of beans to you, but I’m nearly never safe.” Harris couldn’t help it, she burst out in laughter. She felt the touch of someone in her mind. Harris could have blocked the person, but she thought that Voice would trust her more if she were to let her find what she wanted. “What do you know of a man by the name of Lakeside? He’s a colonel. I don’t know what branch, but he’s been mentioned a few times around the place that was taken.”
“The only Lakeside I know is Patty. I don’t think I ever heard that he was in the service or not. Why are you asking?” No answer, but she did give her a social security number. “Hang on, I’m pulling it up now.”
Harris closed out the program for trying to find Voice. Putting in the social, she got seven hits on it right away. With four of them, there were even pictures to go with the numbers. Looking at them side by side, she could tell it was the same man, but he was changing his hair color just enough where he might have been mistaken for Lakeside.
“The same person has been using the number since numbers were given out. The first time he got it, he said he was nearing sixty.” She told Voice she could see that. “Also, if you’ll notice, he’s aging himself. Or he looks really good for being nearly one hundred and fifty years old. There are only a few shifters that can do that with any amount of success.”
“Vampires and witches.” She thought about telling her she knew a witch but decided she more than likely knew that. Voice seemed to be one step ahead of her on a great many things. “This person, Avery, do you know him?”
“Would you believe me either way?” She told her she would. Definitely. “Maybe. I don’t trust you any more than I can toss you. And I’m pretty good at tossing shit out when I’ve no use for it. Just like you were before getting fat with a kid.”
There wasn’t anything in her voice that told her shit. No accent that she could determine. There were no words she used that Harris could pick out that were hers alone. No hint as to where she might be at any given second. Pulling up the search for the IP address that she was calling from had hit seven thousand places so far and was still chasing her. Fuck. Harris hated the unknown.
“I tell you what, Agent Harrison. You find out what is going on with the restaurant, and I’ll do something nice for you.” Harris asked her how nice. Would she give her a name to work with? “Never. Unless I need something major from you. Which I’m thinking will never happen between the two of us.”
“You don’t know that. We could be besties.” The laughter again, devoid of anything other than just the sound of it. “I’ll do you a solid, Voice. You need me for anything, and I’ll move heaven and earth to get whatever it is. Even if it’s coming to pick you up because your ass is blown to shit.”
“Yeah? Even though you don’t trust me?” She told her once again that she did, for some reason she didn’t have an answer for. “I might take you up on that, Agent. I might just. I have a couple of major jobs coming up, and I’m hoping that I get my ass blown to shit anyway. But if I change my mind, you’ll be the first that I call.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t end your life. Living has got to be better than death.” Voice said nothing. “I don’t know shit about you, Voice, but I do know you’re making a difference. No one ever said that to me when I was on the job. Now, look at me. I’m a soon-to-be mom. A wife and I have more money than I could ever spend.”
“Tangible things have never meant shit to me, Agent. But it was nice of you to think we’re the same.” Her laughter this time sounded sad. Like she’d already given up on her life. “Avery’s family will be coming in on the next flight from Paris. They didn’t come from there, but that’s how they were routed. And trust me when I tell you that they will tell you less about their lives than I have about mine. Avery will be in on a military plane, then a domestic that lands at the Columbus airport
