“I am not here to kill you. I am here to protect you.”
Becka tried to imagine how those words could be twisted to mean something else, but came up empty.
“Perhaps, despite your earlier claims, you can lie and it doesn’t diminish your ability to hear the truth.”
“If that’s what you think, then there’s nothing I can say to convince you.”
“Then explain what I overheard.”
“Those calls are a part of my case.”
Becka wanted to believe him. Even more, she wanted to think she was an able judge of character and she wasn’t attracted to a killer. “Do better than that, Quinn. Part of your case...how?”
“As a detective, there are roles I play. It’s all a part of the job.”
“So, who were you talking to on the phone? Elowen?”
He cut his chin to the left. “No.”
“A suspect?”
He hesitated. “A person of interest. One who is obsessively interested in meeting you.”
Chills ran down her spine. “Who are they?”
“I do not know yet.”
His severe expression quelled her sarcastic response. How could he not know who he was dealing with?
“You must know something about them. What house are they with?”
“They are fae, but their house is a mystery.”
“Okay, why don’t you explain from the beginning? How did you come into contact with this mysterious person?”
He hesitated, but then she watched his resolve crumble. “I will explain, but only because I hope it will help keep you safer.”
“We agreed to work together to find Tesse’s killer.”
“Yes, I know, but it is hard for me to trust anyone. In my line of work, most of the people I deal with are hiding something. Or hiding a LOT of somethings. Even my coworkers. My boss.”
“Have I lied to you?”
The honesty in his confusion surprised her. “No. I mean, you smuggled in the forbidden hot sauce, which I could cite you for. But you have yet to lie to me or anyone else.”
Becka suppressed a smile. “You’re just itching to give me a ticket for my illicit hot sauce?”
“Enforcing the laws is an element of my job I find most satisfactory. Despite your reckless sauce imbibing, I have come to trust you.”
They shared a rare moment of connection, where their posturing faded and Becka felt she was talking to Quinn. Not Enforcer Quinn. Not charmer Quinn. And not the working the crowd for information Quinn.
Despite his history and his vocation, his disarming demeanor and direct answers to her questions eased her anxieties. She believed him, and in him, at least for now.
“Tell me about this mysterious person who wants to meet me. Or is it abduct me?”
Quinn ran a hand down his face. “A few months ago, I found a phone in my jacket. I held onto it for days, curious what it could mean, before a text message came through. It was a time and date. When the phone rang, I was ready. I had a recording device, a transcriber, even a tracer.”
“You do have a lot of toys.”
“Yeah, since we are an inter-species task force, we get access to all of the tech from all three. Anyway, the call comes. The speaker has a masculine voice, but it’s masked. Altered. I am unable to get any sort of read off of them via the phone connection.”
“Is that typical? Do you need to be in person for your gift to work?”
“In the flesh is much stronger, but usually I can still pick up a general leaning from the voice. Not so with this one.”
“That must have been unnerving. What do you think they want?”
He shook his head. “They offer trades. Always trades. Something they want for something I want.”
“How do they know what you want?”
“That is a question which has haunted me.” He stared off into the gardens, his attention seemingly drawn into another time and space. “I assume they have had access to my employee files. Perhaps also connections in House Oak.”
“Are they blackmailing you?” Becka asked, not wanting to pry, but needing to understand how far he’d been pushed. Perhaps how far he’d, in turn, bent to this others will.
Her question appeared to startle him out of his reverie and back into the present moment. When his gaze met hers, he was again clear eyed and focused. “No, no threats. Rather...incentives.”
“Could be worse.”
“Yes, I suppose it could have been worse. Mostly they offered me clues to solve cold cases. Or provided a line on evidence to pin down an unethical coworker and catch them in the act.”
“It sounds like they barter in secrets. They must be well connected to have access to all of that information. Or be a part of a larger network?”
“That’s what I am trying to figure out.”
“Did you tell Chief Elowen or your coworkers about this caller?”
“No. Some of the information I am angling for would incriminate my boss.”
The pieces snapped together like magnets in her brain. “Information they’ll provide if you bring me to them?”
“That is the offer.”
Becka took a deep breath, trying to release the anxiety constricting her chest and solar plexus. Instead of settling her mind, his confessions had built up her anxiety breath by breath throughout their discussion. “You don’t strike me as the power-hungry type.”
“Oh, I am not after my boss’s job.”
“Then what’s the motivation?”
“I think the person who wants to meet you may be responsible for your sister’s murder.”
Chapter 19
His revelation hit her square in the gut. “You’re planning to hand me over to a murderer?”
He held up his hands. “No. I intend to draw them out. Find out who they are. Who they are connected to. I will keep you safe.”
“And you were planning on using me as bait from the start, or did that turn of events develop after we’d met?”
He swallowed like Becka did after trying Aunt Lydia’s favorite fruited cake recipe and trying her darnedest not to gag, while also pretending she didn’t hate every bite.
“I was on the task force working your
