One Foot In The Grave (Conjuring a Coroner Book 4) Read online

  Clarke turned to Bishop.

  His voice started out calm but grew in intensity as he spoke. “You're right, detective, insofar as the policy goes, but what you both seem to be failing to grasp is that we aren't collaborating on this case. The NYPD's involvement here is over. Pack your gear and leave my scene immediately. If you have any questions, direct them to Chief West. My superiors are briefing him as we speak. This crime scene, and this case, are no longer your concern. Do you understand?”

  Kasey had dealt with the intractable ADI agent enough to know Clarke was not going to yield an inch.

  Bishop shrugged. “No worries, agent. Come, Kasey, looks like we get an early mark today. Pack up the kit. We’re heading back to the station.”

  Kasey trudged back to her kit, still lying by the victim. As she began putting her instruments away, she reached for the swabs that she had taken from the victim’s body.

  From behind her, Agent Clarke said, “Miss Chase, you can leave the samples by the body. My men will attend to them.”

  Kasey bit her lip to cut off her response. She resumed packing her kit; ripping off her gloves, then tossing them into the open pack before zipping it shut.

  Lifting the pack, she turned to Bishop. “Let's get out here and leave our federal friends to their crime scene.”

  “Don’t stress, Kasey. It's almost dinner, anyway. We can grab a bite to eat instead of moping around down here.” Bishop brushed past the agents as she strode out of the room.

  Kasey paused so that Bishop was out of earshot and then leaned into Clarke.

  With her voice barely more than a whisper, she asked, “Who the hell is that?”

  She pointed at the tortured wizard still strapped to the chair.

  “Nobody,” Clarke answered defiantly.

  Kasey leaned closer. “Bishop is gone, she can't hear us, and we both know that man is not a nobody. If he was, you wouldn’t be here. Who is he?”

  Clarke’s expression tightened. “I'm not at liberty to say.”

  “Don't give me that garbage,” Kasey said. “I know he's one of us and that he has been tortured to death by one of our kind.”

  “What makes you say that?” Clarke asked.

  “The glyphs around him on the floor, they are an enchantment to inhibit his magic. I felt it as soon as I passed through them. If it wasn't a magic user that did this, where did those wards come from and how would they know that they would need them? Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing, and they were willing to go to any length to get it done. Now tell me who he is.”

  Clarke ground his teeth, seemingly weighing his choices.

  As Clarke wavered, Kasey stepped into him. “If you want me out of here, at least give me that much. Who is he?”

  “This is all you get, nothing else.” Clarke tipped his head towards the victim. “Our friend there was Theodore Getz, the personal assistant to Chancellor Ainsley for twenty-three years.”

  Kasey's jaw dropped. Arthur Ainsley was the head of the Arcane Council, the Chancellor, one of the most powerful men in the World of Magic. The presence of the ADI made perfect sense now. Whatever information had been tortured out of the victim could have dire repercussions for the council or for Ainsley himself. There was no way of knowing what information he had given up. No wonder Clarke was taking such a hard stance.

  “Let me help you, Clarke. Together we can find who did this.”

  Clarke waved her off. “I've told you what you want to know, Kasey. Now, get out of here. I’ve got work to do.”

  Kasey had to bite her tongue. Any response was only likely to escalate tensions. Shaking her head, she made for the door. She had only ventured a step before Clarke's hand reached out and grabbed her, just above the wrist.

  Kasey whirled to face him. “What are you—”

  Clarke cut her off mid-sentence. “I mean it, Kasey. Leave this alone. The Council, and particularly Mr. Ainsley, will brook no interference here. They are on the warpath, and you don’t want to be caught in their way.”

  Kasey wanted to wrench her arm free, but Clarke’s warning seemed sincere.

  “Understood.” Kasey nodded. “I'll leave you to it then.”

  Clarke released her wrist. “See that you do.”

  Pack in hand, Kasey made her way out of the basement, trudging up the stairs and out the front door. Kasey braced herself against the cool November air.

  Outside, there was a flurry of commotion as the officers of the Ninth Precinct shut down their cordon, got into their squad cars, and drove away. Kasey made her way over to where Bishop was standing by the car. Bishop unlocked the door and opened it, then slid smoothly into the driver’s seat where she waited as Kasey ducked in and closed the door.

  “Find out anything interesting?” Bishop asked.

  Kasey glanced around. The doors may have been closed but the ADI were everywhere. She didn’t want to put Bishop in harm’s way.

  “We can't talk about it here,” Kasey replied, “but neither can we leave this alone. There is more to this case than meets the eye. It’s important.”

  Bishop smiled. “I had no intention of dropping it, but we had to make it look good for our friends back there. What do you say we get some gas and some food before we head back to the station?”

  “As long as we aren't eating corn dogs, I don't care. I need something a little more substantial than that to keep me going.”

  “Always thinking with your stomach. I was figuring that we’d visit that particular gas station.” Bishop tilted her head, gesturing across the street. This time Kasey caught her drift and cracked a grin.

  Bishop pulled slowly out and crossed the street, rolling into the gas station. Pulling up to the pump, she killed the engine. Kasey got out of the car and Bishop popped the gas tank before stepping out.

  While they waited for the tank to fill, Bishop turned to Kasey. “What do we know?”

  Kasey spoke in a low voice so they couldn't be overheard. “The man in the chair is connected. Apparently, he was the personal secretary for Arthur Ainsley. That's why the goons showed up. Whatever information he was privy to is of great concern to the Arcane Council.”

  “So, he was a wizard then?” Bishop asked.

  “Definitely and so was whoever killed him. The glyphs around his body are an enchantment designed to dampen magical abilities.

  Bishop nodded slowly. “So, they cut off his magic so they could torture him?”

  Kasey nodded.

  “Brutal,” Bishop concluded.

  “But effective,” Kasey answered. “The ADI are doing damage control and Clarke made it emphatically clear that our presence in this investigation is not welcome.”

  Bishop placed the gas pump nozzle back on the stand and the closed the squad car’s gas tank.

  She headed for the store. Kasey nodded as she followed Bishop inside. Posters in the window announced the gas station’s Thanksgiving promotion.

  Reaching the counter, Bishop took out her credit card and placed it on the desk.

  “Anything else I can help you with today?” the attendant asked.

  Bishop lifted her badge and placed it on the counter beside the credit card. “Sure can. Detective Bishop with the Ninth Precinct. We’re investigating a crime in the area and I'm going to need a copy of your video surveillance.”

  The attendant looked from Bishop to the badge and back to Bishop's steely blue eyes. His hands began to shake.

  Bishop relaxed a little. “We’re not here for you. There was a murder across the street last night. We simply want to know if anyone came or went from that property in the last few days. I can see you’ve got a camera outside. Can you help us with the footage?”

  The man nodded. He swiped Bishop’s credit card to pay for the gas before handing it back to her.

  Bishop reached into her pocket and drew out a flash drive before sliding it across the counter. “Load as much as you can onto that. Start with this morning and go back as far as you can.”

&nbsp
; The man nodded and disappeared through a narrow door into the back of the store.

  Kasey turned her attention across the street, watching the ADI agents as they bustled about the crime scene. The agents were efficient, hastily forming their own perimeter and shooing away any remaining police officers.

  The ADI had turned concealment into an art form. They would shut down the scene, drive out any non-magical passersby, and then conduct their own thorough investigation, free from the prying eyes of the world.

  Kasey understood their vigilance. Humans had a poor track record for dealing with those who were different. The ADI existed to ensure that it never happened again.

  The door opened and the attendant reappeared, flash drive in hand.

  “Here you go, detective,” he said, holding out the drive. “I hope it helps. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  Bishop reached for the flash drive. “Thanks.”

  Bishop turned to leave, then paused, staring at him over her shoulder. “Oh, and if anyone else comes in here asking about us, we only bought the gas. Understood?”

  The attendant cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, but if he had a question, he didn’t ask it. He simply nodded. “Got it.”

  “Excellent, I knew we could count on you,” Bishop replied, then exited the store and headed for the squad car.

  Kasey hurried to keep up. As she laid her hand on the door handle, Bishop turned and flashed a cheeky grin. “They may have kicked us out of the crime scene, but this should get us back in the game.

  Kasey nodded as she tried to return the smile. Unfortunately, all she could think of was the tortured wizard. Her stomach churned.

  What exactly did you know, Theodore, and who did you tell?

  Chapter Two

  Kasey stomped into the morgue and threw her bag on the countertop. The trip back to the station had been uneventful but she remained frustrated at the ADI’s stonewalling at the crime scene.

  Dr. Vida Khatri appeared from the adjoining office. He was a little taller than Kasey, a fact that was accentuated by his thick black hair that he habitually styled into an upward sweeping pompadour. As his name suggested, his family was from India, but Vida had actually been born in the United Kingdom. The contradiction between his accent and appearance managed to confuse most of the native New Yorkers he came across.

  Vida looked about the morgue, then raised his arms and shrugged. “Kasey, what is this? You've been to a crime scene and haven't brought me a body? It's almost unprecedented.” He grinned as he ambled over to her. “Normally you manage two or three by brunch, and that’s on a slow day.”

  She gave him a playful shove. “Look, I did my best, but unfortunately the ADI showed up and kicked us off our crime scene.”

  Vida's cheeky smile turned to a frown. “The ADI? What were they doing there?”

  “It seems the victim was a prominent member of the magical community.” Kasey leaned against one of the morgue’s steel examination tables. “Agent Clarke made it clear we were not to interfere in his investigation.”

  Vida raised an eyebrow. “I’m quite sure you took that well.”

  “There were more than two dozen agents armed to the teeth, so I didn't really have a choice,” Kasey said. She dragged a stool toward her and sat down.

  Vita looked at Kasey, his half-smile conveying his opinion that more remained to the story. When Kasey didn’t elaborate, he probed for more details. “What about the investigation? Are you going to stay clear of it as he suggested?”

  “Not a chance,” a voice called from the door. It was Bishop. She strode into the room, scowl in place. “They may have kicked us off the crime scene, but we have the security footage from the gas station across the road. Whoever came and went from that building is likely to be on it. If we can spot our suspect, we’ll be a step ahead of them.” Bishop held up the flash drive that she had brought back from the gas station.

  Vida bit his lip. “Do you really think it's wise to go against the ADI's wishes? We've cut things awfully close before. They are already skeptical about the attack on the precinct, and that little high-speed chase on the river could not have helped our cause. Aren’t you worried you are simply attracting too much attention? Who knows what will happen if they catch you directly ignoring their orders?”

  “Relax, Vida,” Kasey replied. “The ADI may be working this case, but we need to as well. Crime involving magic users is skyrocketing in New York City and it can't be a coincidence. The ADI have great resources but refuse to listen to reason. We can’t rely on them to do our job for us. Besides, the victim was an important figure in my community, so there may be more to this than we thought. We have no way of knowing if this homicide is connected to the attacks on the city but if it is, we can't afford to ignore it.”

  Vida rested both his fists on the steel examination table. “What makes you think they're connected, Kasey?”

  “For starters, the victim has been the personal secretary to Arthur Ainsley for the last two decades. Someone that close to the Arcane Council would be privy to all manner of information. Moreover, the man wasn't just killed, Vida. He was interrogated. Whoever did this wanted something specific out of our victim and they got it.”

  “What makes you so sure that they got it?” Vida asked. “The man was dead when you got there, right? How can you know what he told them? Did you see a vision?”

  “We don’t know what he told them,” Bishop said, “but the man's fingers had been severed one at a time, suggesting an interrogation. The fact that they only made it through three of his ten fingers suggests the poor man broke and gave them what they wanted. If not, they would have continued until they ran out of fingers or he died.”

  “Bishop's right.” Kasey folded her arms across her chest. “The amount of blood he had lost suggested his fingers were removed before he was shot in the chest. The resulting wounds in his torso bled far less than I would have expected.”

  “Suggesting he had already suffered significant blood loss from his severed fingers,” Vida concluded.

  “Precisely,” Bishop replied. “It's likely his tormentor removed the fingers and then upon learning whatever information he was after, paused the interrogation. Once he or she was confident the information was the truth, they would have returned to finish the job.” Bishop mimed firing a pistol.

  “So, the real question is, what was it our victim knew that was so valuable?” Vida asked as he began pacing the morgue. “Any luck with your visions, Kasey? We could really use some additional insights if we want to know why this happened to our poor victim.”

  “Unfortunately, I got nothing,” Kasey replied, downcast. “It wasn't my fault, though. There was some kind of arcane barrier around the victim, inside which all magic was nullified.

  “It left our victim helpless and also left me blind in terms of my prescience. No magic, and no visions, nothing but an empty void. So, no additional insights on that front, I'm afraid.”

  Bishop tapped the flash drive against the counter. “If we want to know the why, then we are going to have to find out who did this and ask them ourselves. The only lead we have is this footage, Vida, so I need you to peel through it and find our killer.”

  Bishop handed the flash drive over to him.

  “No worries, I'll do my best.” Vida turned for his office but called over his shoulder, “What did our victim look like?”

  “He was about five-six, with dark hair. It was lightly graying at the roots. He was impeccably well-dressed, tailored suit. Looked Italian to me. His name was Theodore Getz, so while you're at it, see if you can dig up anything else useful about him online.”

  Vida nodded. “I’ll get to work and see what I can dig up.”

  He disappeared back into his office.

  Kasey looked expectantly at Bishop. “What do we do now?”

  The edges of Bishop's mouth turned up into a sly grin. “We work the only other angle we've got.”

  Kasey raised an eyebrow. “I thought you
said we didn't have any other leads. Care to fill me in?”

  Bishop broke into a grin. “Well, it’s not so much a lead, as it is an inside angle, and you're not going to like it one bit.”

  What is she plotting?

  It took a moment for her to work it out, but eventually it dawned on her. There was one person with connections to the council and Theo who might be willing to talk to them.

  “Oh, no.” Kasey answered. “No way in hell.”

  “Oh, yes way, Kasey. If we want to know more about Theo Getz, we need to talk to the people who knew him best, and that’s the Ainsleys.”

  “That might be true, Bishop,” Kasey said, “but Arthur is far from my biggest fan right now. He'd rather throw me in jail than talk to me about his murdered employees. I think it's safe to say that is a dead end.”

  Bishop put her arm around Kasey's shoulders. “That’s not the Ainsley I’m referring to and you know it, Kasey, John, on the other hand… I'm sure John would be more than happy to talk your ear off, perhaps over dinner?”

  Kasey shoved Bishop's arm away. “You want me to go out with him, just to dig up the dirt on Theo?”

  Bishop shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Yes, I do. Right now there are no other leads for us to pursue. You said it yourself—we need more information or this case is going nowhere. If it's any comfort to you, I'm sure he'll take you somewhere nice.”

  Kasey shoved Bishop with both hands.

  Bishop chuckled. “I guess I had that one coming. I'm dead serious, though. Give him a call, see what comes of it. Whatever happens, we need to know what our killer is after. Whatever they got out of Theo is the key to this whole case, so take John out, see what you can get out of him. Who knows, you might even have some fun while you're at it.”

  Kasey shook her head, “You are the worst.”

  Bishop smiled as she headed for the door. “That's what partners are for!”

  She disappeared down the hall.

  Kasey sat staring blankly at her phone. The thought of calling John Ainsley for anything, let alone a date, was utterly alien to her. On one hand, she'd spent her entire time at the office of the OCME trying to distance herself from him and his boorish behavior. At the height of his teasing, Kasey had found herself praying daily he’d trip and land on his scalpel. On the other hand, his conduct in recent days had moved worlds in changing her opinion of him.