A Handful of Skulls (Here Witchy Witchy Book 9) Read online

  We pulled up to the PIB building, and I cursed. Liz looked at me. “What?”

  “I’m going to have to take the elevator.”

  We got into the building and to the elevator. When the doors dinged, I tried to take my time and not to shoot out of them. Falling and reinjuring my leg wasn’t going to help me at all. Liz put a hand on my back. “You handled that okay.”

  “Let’s just be grateful that it didn’t fucking blow up,” I growled as I tried to control the anxiety pumping through my chest.

  She nodded. “I’m grateful. I’ve had enough explosions to last me a while.”

  Wasn’t that the truth. I limped my way to Boss Man’s office with Liz at my back. I gave her points because when I stopped to give my leg a moment to rest, she didn’t automatically ask me if I was okay. She simply waited until I started to move again.

  We walked into the office to see Agent Thompson standing there. “Bout time, Agents.”

  “So sorry, they were out of bionical legs at the hospital. I’m stuck with an injured one.” I gave him a sarcastic smile, and I swore Liz muttered ‘damn it, Abby’ under her breath.

  “This isn’t a joke, Collins.”

  “I know it’s not, which is why I dragged my ass out here for this meeting, sir.” I slowly sat down in the chair in front of the desk.

  Liz sat in the other chair. “With all respect, Agent Thompson, Abby was just released last night. I’ve briefed her on the current facts of the case, and she has agreed to stay on the case, and at the very least, do research.”

  “I don’t think she understands how important this case is.”

  I counted to ten before I responded. “Our three main suspects and witnesses are dead, the one other person who knew Boss Man’s secret is also dead. That’s four bodies, not including the other victims of the explosions. Boss Man is still missing, though Agent Jefferson and I felt his magic in the first building, no body was recovered. Each moment we aren’t working on the case lowers the chances of finding him alive. I understand damn well. I’m in pain, and that makes me a bit grumpy when you pick on me about how long it took us to get here.”

  Liz once again muttered something under her breath, but Agent Thompson seemed to think about my words. “Then let’s get this meeting started.”

  That was more like it. “I would like to bring Kris Bittman in for questioning if anyone can find her.” I paused. “When they joined PIB, were they require to give a blood sample?”

  Liz’s eyes shot up. “If they keep the samples, we can use it to track them.”

  “We’ve thought about that, the samples weren’t kept then, just documented in case of medical emergencies.”

  Well crap. “We can do a tracking spell from an item from Kris’ office.”

  “So we get to go back to the academy.”

  I shook my head. “You get to go back to the academy. I have a meeting with a doctor tonight. But I can perform the spell from home.”

  “Get it done and tell me what you find. If we don’t make progress, we’ll have to hand the entire investigation over to internal affairs, which means more setbacks.”

  Interesting, he was from internal affairs. “Why did you take this case, sir?”

  He looked shocked by my question. “Cornelius and I were partners before he became Boss Man here.”

  “He taught at the academy?”

  “Occasionally. He wasn’t a full-time professor there. I don’t want this to hit internal affairs, because I don’t want it to get dropped through the cracks. Agents disappear all the time Abigail, you should know that.”

  I had a feeling he was talking about Nick. I understood where he was coming from a bit more now. Boss Man was his friend, an old partner, and he didn’t want to fail him. “Understood, sir.” There was no sarcasm to my voice. “I’ll do the spell as soon as I have an item.”

  “Thank you.” He looked down at his paperwork in the way of dismissing us. I slowly stood, and Liz and I walked into the hall.

  I took a deep breath. “I need to get back and take some pain killers.”

  “Did you bring some with you? You’re not driving, you can take some and not worry about the effect.”

  She was right. “Yeah, just promise me that you’re not going to kill me in a car wreck.”

  “I feel like it’d take more than a car wreck to kill you, but I promise I’ll drive safe.”

  “He dragged us all the way down here just for us to tell him what our next step was,” I muttered. “Either he was testing us, or he’s an ass.”

  Liz nodded. “I think he was testing us, but more in the way of making sure we were both okay to continue and that we’re dedicated than in a ‘being an ass’ kind of way.”

  “Yeah, I want to see more about the cases that he and Boss Man worked.”

  “Do you think there’s something there?”

  I nodded. “Think about it. He’s from internal affairs. Boss Man has a secret that someone is killing for. Thompson doesn’t want it to go higher up.”

  “He also took the other two agents off the case.”

  I frowned. “Why keep the two injured ones?”

  “We made more progress. Maybe he trusts us more.”

  That was almost a flattering thought. We made our way back to the car, and I took my pain killers. “While I wait for you and the doctor, I’ll do some research on the cases.”

  “I’ll have my phone on me if you need anything else.”

  I thought for a moment. “Actually, will you take pictures of the blast areas if they’ll let you in? Maybe ask a few innocent questions?”

  “Stay out of that case, Abby, until it relates to ours,” she reminded me. “Internal affairs has it.”

  I nodded. “I know, I really just want to know if it was magical or if it was a human-made bomb that caused the explosions.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  That’s all I could ask. She wasn’t like me. She didn’t like to poke around too much on cases that weren’t hers, but I needed the information, and I didn’t really have a way to do it on my own.

  I leaned my head back on the car headrest. “Have we heard from Detective Mason?”

  “Yeah, he told me to call him if we needed him, but until we had something else to look at, he really can’t help us.”

  I nodded. “Was he still on campus when the blasts went off?”

  “No, he’d left not long before.”

  Good, he was safe. I wasn’t sure if he’d be involved in this case at all at this point. It seemed that Agent Thompson wanted this to be strictly PIB.

  Liz started heading back toward the mansion. “You know it would be awesome if I could transport us that far.”

  I smiled. “You know, someone told me recently that two feet could save your life. I think being able to transport us out of the building was pretty damn awesome.”

  She chuckled. “Were they right?”

  “Yes, they were.” I tried not to think about how right my uncle had been about it. I closed my eyes. “Wake me when we get to the mansion. The walk through PIB has exhausted me.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Liz dropped me off, and I tucked myself into bed with my laptop and an icepack for my knee. The only downfall was the small haze in my brain from the pain killers. I used the virtual network log in to gain access to PIB’s database from my computer. I typed in Cornelius Davenport with a cross-reference to Joseph Thompson.

  A few files came up, and a single report with just Cornelius listed. Interesting. I double-clicked the file and saw Boss Man’s face and the words ‘MIA’ printed across it. I scrolled down to see what the report had to say.

  Boss Man had been handed a case and was told someone would fill in at our branch. A woman by the name of Kris Bittman.

  Holy shit. That’s probably what the meeting was about.

  The case Boss Man was assigned wasn’t listed, except that it an undercover assignment. When there was an attempt to contact him at the arranged time,
he never responded. After several attempts, he was listed as MIA.

  We really needed to find Kris Bittman. I texted Liz the information and the report number so she could look it up when she wasn’t on the road. Kris had never been to our branch. There were have been talk about a new agent or a visitor. Things like that were discussed in the cafeteria or around the water cooler. We were PIB agents, things didn’t typically go unnoticed. Especially if someone had to report to Boss Man and found her in his place.

  I closed out the report and opened the oldest one that was listed for Boss Man and Thompson. Their first case had been a missing person, a rookie agent who had been found dead twenty-four hours after they were put on the case.

  So this case was hitting closer to home than Thompson wanted to admit. He and Boss Man worked a few cases together, but other than that first one, nothing stuck out to me. At one point, they were both reassigned, but it didn’t seem like the reassignment had anything to do with a case gone wrong or anything malicious.

  I tapped my finger against the computer while I tried to think about what else to do. A knock on the door brought my attention away from the computer. “I’m awake.”

  Levi walked in and motioned to the computer. “Work?”

  “Bit early for you to be up, isn’t it? A couple hours before dusk.”

  He nodded. “I wanted to talk to you before the doctor got here. I know you went out with Liz today.”

  “Yeah, she texted you before she even told me where we were going.” I shut the computer and looked at him. “There’s a lot of history between the agent that gave us the assignment and Boss Man.”

  Levi nodded. “I figured as much. I also wanted to talk to you about the doll and the message you received.”

  “Mm, glad to see Mario is keeping you in the loop. I’m sure it’s nothing. Just a nut job trying to scare me.”

  “And if it’s Hannah and Keira?”

  “Then I’ll deal with it like I do everything. But something has you more worried than usual.”

  “I’m worried that Hannah is baiting you for Samuel. Samuel is more careful than Ira. More calculated. He knows that he’s bound by PIB rules in this territory, but if he can pull you into a territory that has no regard for PIB, he’ll kill you there.”

  I snorted. “This all sounds very familiar. How is that different than Ira? Samuel has already attacked me once. I doubt the fear of PIB will keep him away. I think you’re putting false hope into my job.”

  That stunned him for a moment. He sat on the bed in silence. “You’re right. I’m hoping that it’ll keep you safe, but there is a chance that it won’t.”

  I sat there and contemplated how many times he’d tried to keep me safe, the times we depended on someone or something else to keep the bad guys away. It rarely worked. “I think we just have to accept the fact that my life is always in danger. If it’s not from a vampire, it’s from PIB.”

  “No chance that I can get you to just move in and hide?”

  “Nope.”

  He laughed. “It was worth asking. The doctor will be here in a few minutes. I’ll bring you some food.” He motioned to the ice on my knee. “Since I’m assuming you don’t want to walk?”

  I nodded. “That would be great, thanks. Oliver still coming tonight?”

  “Yes, he’ll get you healed up and ready to get back in the field.”

  Good. I wanted to be in the field. “Liz is going to stop by later, we’re going to do a tracking spell.”

  “You sure you’re ready to perform magic?”

  “Levi, I’m injured, not on death’s doorstep.” I gave him a blank look. “I’ll be fine.”

  He studied me for a moment. “I know you’re not dying.” He stood. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  I nodded and went back to my research. My stomach let out a grumble, and I sighed. I could put the computer away for a bit and wait for food. I shut the lid and put the computer on the bed beside me.

  I grabbed my phone and texted Simon to check in.

  “How are pack things?”

  I didn’t get a response right away, which told me he was probably busy still dealing with pack things. With the full moon close, I didn’t doubt that he was dealing with some crap. I sighed. I didn’t really want to sit alone in my room. I glanced at my knee and then the door. The dining room wasn’t far away. I could waddle there and maybe enjoy Levi’s and Mario’s company.

  The thought made me smile. I was considering those two company, when chances were, they’d just sit there and stare at me. Levi was never really one for casual conversation, and I thought Mario might just be there to annoy the hell out of me.

  Maybe.

  I slowly got out of the bed and tested my knee. Not too much pain, resting did it some good. I slowly took a step and realized that I was going to be fine. I could use the wall for support and get to the dining room.

  It was time for a change of scenery.

  CHAPTER SIX

  I made it to the dining room to find Levi standing there with Mario. Levi had a plate with a sandwich on it in his hand. His face drawn together in concern at something Mario must have just said.

  “And you’re sure?”

  “I am.” Mario looked at me. “Princess Abigail.”

  I glared at him. “Drop the title. It’s weird. I don’t like it. And until I turn into a vampire, I’m not your princess.”

  Levi took a deep breath. “I thought you were going to stay in your room.”

  “I decided I needed to get out of the room for a bit. I was getting bored with it.” I sat down at the table. “So, what is Mario sure about?”

  Levi shook his head. “Vampire business.”

  “And as you just pointed out, you aren’t truly the princess.” Mario crossed his arms. “So we’ll continue our conversation at another time.”

  I held my hands up. “Fine by me. I think I’ve had enough vampire business to last me a lifetime.”

  Levi handed me the plate. “PIB is investigating Grayson’s disappearance.”

  I about choked on the first bite of my sandwich. “What?”

  “Apparently, they have him marked as possible AWOL or MIA.” Mario glared at Levi. “But the King will handle it.”

  “And leave me out of it?” I glanced at Levi. “We can’t prove anything unless you say who you are and why I had to kill him.”

  “You didn’t have to kill him. You could have let Levi handle it,” Mario stated.

  “The man literally delivered me to Ira, had I not done anything, the rest of the council would have thought me weak or doubted what I was saying.” I leaned back in my chair. “I took care of the problem myself.”

  Levi nodded. “And now none of the council believes you’re weak, and I doubt we’ll have problems with them betraying any of us.”

  I glanced at Mario.

  “I had no choice when it came to Hannah,” he said as if he knew what I was thinking.

  “I wasn’t even thinking about that. I was waiting for you to say something about my actions again. You always seem to disapprove of them.”

  He nodded. “Well, I disapprove of Levi’s actions most of the time too, if that eases you at all.”

  I snorted. “Kind of.” I took another bite of my sandwich and paused when the doorbell rang. Levi looked at his phone. “That would be the doctor. I’ll be right back.”

  Mario sat down across the table from me. “I am glad you did not shoot me for what happened with Hannah.”

  “To be honest, I probably would have if Levi hadn’t taken my gun.” I glanced at him. “But, what you did and what Grayson did are two completely different levels. You had no choice because Hannah is your maker. Grayson had a choice. Ira wasn’t his maker. My question is, what was Grayson supposed to get out of the deal. What did he have to benefit from delivering me to Ira.”

  Mario stroked his chin and was about to answer when Levi walked in with the doctor.

  She gave me a smile. “Abigail, I haven’t seen yo
u since you were a teen.” Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, her smile made her eyes shine, and I could see how comfortable she was taking a home call from a vampire.

  I didn’t remember her, but it’d been a long time. She looked young though, and when her smile widened, I realized that she was a vampire. Mario stood and straightened his shirt, running his hands down to smooth everything out. “Doctor Wilson.”

  If I didn’t know any better, I would say that Mario was nervous. I raised a brow. “Friends with the doctor?” I asked Mario, and he turned away from me. Oh, wasn’t that interesting.

  Doctor Wilson chuckled. “Let’s take a look at how you’re healing.”

  I put my sandwich down, and Levi and Mario left the room. I glanced at the doctor. “I can walk. I was told I suffered muscle damage and that I’d need PT, but I’m moving along fine.”

  “Levi said your healing was increasing.” There was something in her voice that worried me. “How’s your head?” She pulled out a small flashlight and started checking my pupils.

  “Much better than it was when I woke up in the hospital. I’m a witch, I heal quickly.”

  “You’re not a witch, Abigail. Levi told me you know the truth now, so I can be more honest. You’re healing like a vampire.”

  I shook my head. “Nope, healing like a witch. I’ve always been a quick healer.”

  “That’s denial in your voice. Your body is responding to vampire blood now.”

  I didn’t want to believe her. Ira had said something along the same lines when I could see his movements. I assumed it was because I’d injured him and slowed him down.

  “I can see the panic in your face and hear your heart. Take a deep breath. This doesn’t mean you’re turning.”

  I swallowed. “Are we so sure?”

  “Are you craving blood?”

  I shook my head, and she laughed.

  “Then you’re fine. Reap the benefits. The chart Levi got for me said that there was a chance that the leg wouldn’t heal right and you wouldn’t walk right again.”