Shifters: A Samantha Reece Mystery Book 1, Page 3

  Something about what Josh said hit me and chilled my heart as I recalled what the AWFA constantly said about shifters and vamps being unclean.

  "Jeebus. What if it's not all about the hooker aspect? What if our victims are supernatural, too? What if Grisly is targeting shifter and vamp hookers?" My stomach sank and I just knew I was on the right track.

  "Call the coroner's office and see if they have the blood work back. See if the girls are humans, shifters, vamps, or any combination of the three. You're right, Josh, this priest might just be the break we were looking for. Good thinking, Sam." Quinn patted my shoulder.

  Chad had picked up his phone and started talking to someone at the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner's office. I was hoping we wouldn't have to drive there for info.

  Cooper Green Mercy Hospital, the facility that housed the coroner's office, was in the exact opposite direction from where our priest was and I really wanted to talk to God's representative.

  I breathed a small sigh of relief when Chad said, "I'll be right there. Thanks, Crystal."

  He hung up the phone and looked at us with a grin. "You're right, Sam. At least the first three vics were shifters. They're waiting on blood work from this last one. I'll head over there and wait. You guys finish brunch." He stood to leave and smiled at me. Then he hollered across the restaurant, "Genie, take care of these guys, will ya? I've got to run, sweetheart." He blew her a kiss and she giggled.

  "Mister Chad, if you were thirty years older, you'd sure be in my sights."

  "Aw, I'm not in your sights now? Bummer." He winked again, waved, and continued out the door. Genie made her way to our table.

  By the time she got there I knew exactly what I wanted.

  "Hey, sweet pea, what'll it be?"

  "I'd like an order of the corned beef hash with two eggs—sunny side up—a side of bacon, a cuppa coffee, and a Pepsi. With seedless rye toast please." I grinned at her as she shook her head.

  "Eat all that greasy fattening mess while you’re young, 'cos I tell you, girlie, when you get to be 'bout my age you'll need them delicious memories to look back on. I ain't allowed any of that good food anymore. The doctor says I have to watch my cholesterol. I says, Watch it do what, Doc, cry 'cos it ain't getting fed no more? That doctor don't like me very much. That's why I'm planning on sticking around to a hundred and ten. Give him hell as long as I can, I figure it's my duty. I'll start by telling all them students he has that it's all the bacon and eggs helping me live to such an age. That'll give him a heart attack. You know what they're making me eat? Cheerios. If I wanted to eat some damned horse chow, I'd head over to Ernie Basker's farm and gobble up some of his prize winning sweet feed!"

  "That stinks, Genie. I'm sorry." I really was sorry; Genie was a pretty cool woman.

  It sucked they had taken away all the good food from her diet. I didn’t know what I’d do if I had to give up bacon. Probably murder someone.

  I hope that when I'm her age I'll be as in possession of all my faculties as she was. Hell, forget the future, I wish I had her awareness now. She was sharp and always ready with a witty comeback.

  "Oh, it's okay, sweet pea. If I really wanted to eat bacon and eggs there ain't a doctor on this earth what could stop me. Besides, toss a few slices of banana in them Honey-Nut Cheerios and it ain't so bad. I'll go put your order in and bring back your drinks. Boys, your orders will be up momentarily, unless you'd like me to hold 'em until Sam's food is ready? Shouldn't be too much longer."

  "No, you guys go ahead and eat. Don't let me slow you down," I said and quickly thanked Genie for asking.

  "You sure?" Quinn looked at me like a kid begging for candy.

  "Positive. Kelly got you on a diet again?" The only time Quinn ever got emotional over food was when his wife restricted his intake.

  "Yeah. We must have the same doctor, Genie. He's making me watch my cholesterol, too."

  "Mmm. That explains the oatmeal and fruit with a big ol' plate of bacon." Her blue eyes twinkled and she pulled a stubby pencil from behind an ear and absently scratched her scalp with it.

  She reminded me of a thinner and sassier version of Mrs. Claus. With her snowy white hair and flushed cheeks set on a backdrop of porcelain white skin; she was quite a beautiful lady. I'd bet any amount of money she’d been one helluva spitfire in her day.

  "Well, I figure if I hold off on the pancakes and eggs, and get fruit and oatmeal, instead, then I've earned that bacon." Quinn gave us a huge grin.

  "More like he's hoping when he tells Kelly he had oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, she'll be okay when he adds and a couple strips of bacon." I couldn’t help myself and chortled.

  "Poor fellow. I can't imagine not eating good food and only choking down rabbit grub." Josh shuddered in mock sympathy and then ducked the balled up napkin Quinn tossed his way.

  "Could always be worse, kids. Don't forget that." Genie gave us a small smile and shuffled towards the kitchen to put in my order.

  "I love that woman. Wish I'd had a mom like her." I sighed wistfully.

  Quinn knew how bad things had been for me as a kid and he put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. My mom was pretty damned awful, like repeatedly-sold-me-to-pedophiles-for-overnight-encounters-from-the-time-I-was-three awful.

  All because she had wanted money more than a daughter. Sometimes folks don't exactly understand just how good they have it. I hated dredging up these memories. I preferred leaving my past shut away in a box deep in the attic of my mind.

  Josh looked over. "Does she have any kids?"

  "I don't know. She's never mentioned any. I suppose it's possible...." I looked at Genie behind the counter calling out orders and pouring coffee.

  I realized that we didn't really know her. We just knew, and accepted, what she told us about herself.

  "She could even have grandchildren. Hell, she could have great grandkids." Quinn seemed rattled.

  We had come to this diner at least three times a week for five years now and Genie was like an old friend to us. It seemed odd I’d not given much thought about her life outside the diner. Sure, we talked about the old age home she was living in, and I asked her questions about that, about her health, even about her youth. Somehow, though, I’d never thought to ask if she had family in the area.

  Mostly, we just talked about whatever she brought up. I guess I just always assumed she would share what she wanted to. She didn’t play a major role in our lives. She was our favorite waitress, sure, but we never visited her outside of the diner.

  I know you can’t take the time to befriend everyone who comes into your life, but sometimes I wish I knew more about her. I vowed then to ask her more about her life and really try to get to know her better.

  Chapter 3

  "YOU STILL WITH US, SAM?”

  "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking."

  "Careful you don't break anything."

  "Ha, ha. Very funny, O'Reilly."

  "Josh is going to give the priest a call and see if he'll talk with us. What's on your mind?"

  "Nothing. Sounds great. After lunch let's go chat up a merchant of the Almighty."

  "Merchant of the Almighty?" Quinn grinned.

  "Salvation salesman?” I shrugged. “God's gabby guy? The Lord's devotional dude?"

  "Funny, Reece." Josh rolled his eyes.

  "Seriously, though, I'm looking forward to hearing what the good father saw. I hope the sketch comes out looking like the guy we’re hunting."

  Sometimes eyewitnesses got a little confused on details. A guy with a blue shirt and red hoodie with light blue jeans can often be described as a man in black pants with a red flannel and blue jacket. It's one of the reasons that eyewitness testimony wasn't used as the sole evidence in trials.

  Occasionally, if there was only witness testimony in a case, the ADA would refrain from filing charges until more evidence could be uncovered, usually by way of another crime being committed.

  "I think it will,” Josh answer
ed. “Father Richmond is a pretty sharp guy. He was even able to remember everything Grisly said while he was there. I guess that sort of thing comes in handy when you have a ton of people to pray for every day."

  "Yeah, you'll forgive me if I don't trust him. Nothing against Catholics, I just tend not to trust anyone. I suppose you could say it's one of my best personality quirks." Before I could say more, or make a decision on whether or not I was going to ask Genie to dinner, she came back to the table with my coffee and Pepsi.

  I know, I'm a bad Southerner. I should prefer Coke, but Pepsi just tastes better. I immediately decided against asking her to dinner. It felt like it would be wrong to ask, as if I'd be intruding on her personal life. Maybe it’s just me being silly, but that is how I felt, so I let my idea die out for the moment and simply said, "Thanks, Genie."

  "You're welcome. So, are you kids going after a bad guy today?" She set a grilled cheese and fries in front of Josh. She moved on to Quinn and set his oatmeal, fruit, and bacon in front of him with a smile. Then she turned back to me and said, "Yours will be up soon, sweet pea."

  "Yes, we're after a really bad guy,” Quinn said as he devoured a strip of bacon like a starving man. “One of the worst I've ever seen."

  "Be careful, kids. Y’all worry me going after these monsters like you do. I suppose somebody's got to do it, but I'd rather it wasn't you two." She gestured towards Quinn and I, then smiled thinly at Josh. "No offense, son, but I don't know you like I know these two."

  "None taken, ma'am." Josh grinned and bit down on a fry.

  As his eyes closed in joy, Genie smiled. They served the best fries in the world at The Diner. The business earned its name because once you ate here there was no other diner for you.

  "I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. Taking down people who hurt others is the greatest thing I can think of." I felt some honesty was deserved here.

  "Wait until you have kids of your own. You'll realize there are greater things. Although, if I know you, you'll just work that much harder to make the world safer for your children." She smiled kindly at me and I saw my in.

  "Do you have kids, Genie?"

  "I did. We don't speak any more. I made some mistakes when I was younger. Put my career ahead of them, and look where it got me." She chortled. "Instead of working that damn stockbroker job, I'm a ruddy waitress and my kids want nothing to do with me. I really have no cause to complain. It's my own damn fault. I spent their youth ignoring them and working at a job that I wound up stressing myself out of, anyway. Oh, well, that's life. Regrets are something I have many of, but I don't like to take the time to dwell on them. You know what they say, time spent wallowing in regret is time regretted."

  I was shocked. I'd have never thought that she would be anything other than the devoted motherly type. I could no more picture her as a neglectful parent any more than I could picture Genie as a stockbroker.

  It's sad that her kids had forgotten about her. I wished there was something I could do to help, but knew it wasn't my place. Genie needed to be the one contacting her kids, not me.

  "Have you called them lately?" I blurted, like an idiot.

  "No. I might give them a ring sometime, but I doubt it. That sort of rejection isn't easy to face. I'll tell them everything that matters in the reading of my will." She gave me a tight smile and turned to leave.

  "Sorry, Genie," I said quietly.

  I felt awful. From now on I was just going to keep my big mouth closed. Then she turned back and clasped my hands in hers.

  "It's okay, sweet pea. Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine. Your order will be up soon." She gave another weak smile, squeezed my hands, and started the walk back to the kitchen.

  She seemed a lot older than she had when she first came over to us and I somehow felt responsible for that. I'd like to blame my maker because the guy threw me for a loop and turned everything upside down for me, emotionally speaking, but that wouldn’t have been fair.

  I excused myself and walked to the restroom. Once I had the door locked I sat down on a small bench (bench is a really polite term for it, as it wasn’t much more than a couple beat-to-hell boards on two cinder blocks) on the wall across from the toilet and sink. Without realizing I was going to, I started sobbing.

  I'm not exactly the emotional type, but today just wrecked me in a way I didn't see coming. I felt awful for dredging up Genie's pain. I felt like the world's biggest jerk in dealing with Chad, and I felt like a freak having met the man who turned me. Not to mention I hated thinking of my childhood.

  I knew I was just feeling overwhelmed and I needed to let it all out, so I did. I sat in that bathroom for five minutes and sobbed as quietly as I could, getting out all the pain and heartache I felt. I guess I had never fully come to terms with what had happened to me when my maker bit me and changed my life. I’d never fully grieved the loss of my old life. Of course, I never thought that I'd ever see him again, either.

  I meant what I said about him violating me. What he did was beyond wrong. The bad part is that I can't say I regret it, though. Especially since he had been right, my life needed changing. It's just not cool that he took it upon himself to change it without consulting me.

  I was, however, surprised that he owned up and admitted who he was. He could have hidden it and played on our obvious attraction to get further along with me before telling the truth.

  If he ever did tell the truth.

  So, at least in that respect I had to give him some points. Truthfully, I didn’t want to give him anything, but I tried not to allow my personal feelings to interfere with things. Going to someone you wronged and asking for forgiveness is not an easy or simple thing to do.

  I began to wonder if my thoughts were straying toward kindly because of the fact my jaguar was still excited over him. Sometimes she held sway over me in ways I didn’t fully understand. Fucking cats!

  I knew because of all this that my mood would probably stray towards grumpy all day, but at least by getting it out in the cheap little bathroom I had a chance to feel a bit better. When I saw I'd reached the end of the time I'd allotted to grieve the loss of my human self, I pulled it together, blew my nose, and washed my face with ice cold water from the tap. I looked like I'd been crying, but I knew the guys wouldn't say anything.

  That's the great thing about working with mostly men, they don't pry. Sure, Quinn will probably ask if I'm okay when we get out of here, but he won't do it in front of Josh. No way would Josh ask; he doesn't know me well enough.

  It's a strict part of the guy code; feelings don't exist unless it's rude not to acknowledge them. If you've no other choice but to do so, make said acknowledgement as quick and manly as possible. Guys have a tendency not to over complicate things. I appreciate that about them.

  I blew my nose on one of the rough brown paper towels, tossed it in the garbage, washed my hands, splashed some cold water on my face to hide the tear tracks, and returned to my table. I was sure that I'd hid the fact I'd been crying fairly well and figured Quinn might be the only one who'd notice.

  When Kelly was pregnant he had become extremely adept at noticing women's emotions. He once joked that he received his estrogen card when he married her, thus making him an honorary girl. Then he immediately recanted upon realizing what he said and begged me not to tell Chad. I didn't ... well, I haven’t yet, anyway. As I was sitting down Genie came up behind me and, when I was fully seated, she placed my food in front of me.

  "Thanks, Genie."

  "No problem, sweet pea." She looked at me curiously and I could tell she knew I'd been crying.

  I shook my head lightly and she nodded her understanding that I didn't want to talk about it, then patted my shoulder and walked back to the counter.

  I dug into my food and enjoyed every second of it. Some people think making corned beef hash is easy. It's not. If it's done right the tastes blend together in harmonious perfection causing near orgasmic joy on one's tongue.

  Do it wrong a
nd it's nothing more than a big, salty, globby mess. Luckily, the cook here was brilliant at it. The potatoes were never mushy, the corned beef never too salty or dry, and the eggs were always picture perfect.

  I think that's why we came here so often.

  Sure, sometimes we stole up the road for some Moe's Southwest Grill, but nine out of ten times you could find us right here enjoying food cooked by a chef who didn't have the attitude of a diva and knew how to ply his craft with expert skill. It was a rare find and it's why The Diner worked so well. Great cooks plus great waitresses and waiters equals great food and superior atmosphere. Okay, so I really like this place a lot, forgive me if I blather about how great it is.

  While I ate, savoring every bite, thoughts of my maker haunted me. His piercing green/gold eyes had bored into my own and I kept replaying that stupid moment in my head. The way my breath caught in my throat, my heartbeat accelerated, my stomach twisted; it was the weirdest feeling in the world and one I hadn't encountered since I was a kid.

  I felt like an idiot teeny bopper meeting their childhood celebrity crush. I'd just stood there gaping at him like a fish out of water. It's not like I'd never been attracted to a man before. I had, countless times; there was just something about this particular man that grabbed me in a very bizarre—and not all that bad—kind of way. There was an attraction I was convinced could be blamed on a sire bond.

  Speaking of, I really need to look into those and see if they actually exist. I’ve never heard about them outside of Hollywood. It's entirely possible that my attraction was nothing more than the aforementioned bond. It's also possible that I was an idiot who was excited about the fact that I'd met someone like me for the first time ever. Either way, I found myself wanting to know more about him.