Be My Banshee (Purple Door Detective Agency Book 1) (17 page)

The two women gazed over the rooftops around them. In the distance, huge ships were coming into harbor for repair and replenishing of their supplies. Birds cried as the lights of the city went dark in preparation for the coming day. Early risers were making their way to work and nightshift workers yawned as they started home.

“Looks like a whole new day. We survived the night. If you and Mr. Bad think we can kill this thing, I promise not to go off half-assed again. But now we have to find her and we know she’s still hunting for those other shifters.”

“Perhaps we should do some hunting ourselves,” Aine said. “If we cannot search out the creature, let us find those she hunts and give them shelter from her rage.”

Sunshine considered it. “Great idea! Thanks, Aine. Let’s get off this roof. I need a shower and a change of clothes. Are you sure you can’t change yours, except for the three forms you do by magic? The green dress and crown are kickass, but the black cloak and the rags—not so much. I have a little black dress that would really show off your legs. And we could go shopping for others.”

“Why do you travel in the purple car when you can fly invisibly anywhere?” Aine asked.

“Because I like my convertible. And I like celebrating my humanity.” Sunshine rose slowly into the air like the sun coming over the ocean. “I’m not just a good-looking witch with extraordinary magic, you know. I’m a gorgeous woman who enjoys being seen.”

Sunshine became invisible for the trip back to the detective agency. Aine was never visible when she rode the air currents. They arrived at the same time in the outer office giving Jane such a fright that she dropped her cup of tea and scurried away in her mouse form.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Sunshine said. “I’ll feel better after I’ve had something to eat and drink. I think you’d feel better if you had something too.”

Aine began to search for the mouse. “I appreciate the thought, but it is not necessary. The form you see me in as the tattered crone is my true form as my body falls to dust in my tomb.”

“Really?” Sunshine kicked off her purple heels. “We’ll have to visit sometime. Is it a national monument or something?”

“No. It is part of my penance that I lie alone within a mountain where people have forgotten me. Very few, if any, still know my name.”

“Except on
Wikipedia
,” Jane squeaked before she resumed her human form.

“
Wi-ki-ped-ia
?” Aine asked. “They know me in that land?”

“Going to shower now.” Sunshine called the elevator. “Keep that page open when you find it, Jane. I want to see it too.”

Leaving the two women to search for Aine’s history, Sunshine went up to her room and showered. She felt better until she glanced into the steamy mirror. Aine was right. No healing spell she’d tried had eased the wound on her face. It wasn’t painful, which was a blessing, but it was ugly and raw.

She tried a stronger spell on the scratch before she went to find a dress for the day. Only purple would do for the mood she was in. The dress had a shirt waist and full skirt with embroidered violets along the bodice and hem. Her purple pumps were filthy from running through the park and other endeavors of the night. She reached for a black pair but longed for the purple. A small spell made them look good as new. She put them on and went back to the bathroom mirror.

Her hair was full of nervous energy tinged with fear, which made it a shade darker, almost red. She studied her face again before ignoring the cut and adding lipstick. She wasn’t going to let some bare-breasted harpy with poison claws ruin her day.

“And you just watch out,” she warned the creature. “I’m going to find you again, and this time I’m going to kill you.”

Was it her imagination, or had the cut on her face begun to burn?

Sunshine went back downstairs to look at the
Wikipedia
page and find something for breakfast. A painting of Aine, and a wonderful old tapestry that depicted her life, were on the computer screen.

“You were a warrior!” Sunshine clapped her on the back in her excitement at seeing Aine in silver armor on a white horse.

It was embarrassing for Aine to see her life spread out in this fashion. She’d always bemoaned her fate to be forgotten by the world, and yet this was far worse.

“Is there some way to remove it?” she asked Jane.

“No. It’s part of Irish history—you’re part of ancient history.” Jane frowned at the dates listed on the page. “Were you really alive back then? And why isn’t there a date of death listed?”

Aine turned away from the computer and walked into Sunshine’s office.

“I think she might be a little more sensitive about being dead than she realized.” Sunshine hugged Jane and followed Aine. She closed the door behind her. “Sorry about that. Sometimes the internet is wonderful but sometimes not. Would you like to talk about it?”

“I would not.” Aine left the window and sat in a chair by the desk. “How shall we lure the other shifters into a trap for the harpy?”

Sunshine went along with the abrupt change in conversation. “We’ll have Jane find their addresses and bring them here for their own good.”

“Here? There could be catastrophic damage to your home.”

“It’s the safest place I know. I can start working on new protection spells right away. Once we get the harpy here, we should be able to deal with her—one way or another.”

“Please tell me you do not believe you can talk to this creature and win her over in your favor?”

“I don’t see why not.” Sunshine glanced at her email as she spoke. “People have feared many types of creatures, and yet now we know they mostly live among us without incident.”

Aine shook her head. “It is your plan, but be prepared to use more than spells and good wishes to keep her from killing you. We should acquire modern weaponry as well if we hope to prevail.”

Jane knocked at the door. “O’Neill is here. Do you want me to tell him that you’re in a meeting?”

Sunshine heaved a heavy sigh. “You can’t ask me that with him standing right behind you.” She waved to O’Neill. “It’s all right. Come on in. We were actually just talking about you.”

O’Neill had showered and changed clothes too. Aine sniffed the artificial scents both he and Sunshine wore. It reminded her of how different—how
not
human—she was. She turned her face away from him in shame as she remembered her moment of weakness when she’d felt something else about her charge. She couldn’t let that happen again.

And yet she couldn’t quite forget the firm pressure of his lips on hers.

“Would you like some coffee, O’Neill?” Jane asked sweetly as he walked into the room.

“Thanks, Jane,” he said with a smile. “I could probably use another cup.”

“I’d like another cup of tea,” Sunshine said. She glanced at Aine but didn’t bother her about it. “Did you learn anything from Marcus Fletcher’s death?”

O’Neill took a seat. “Good morning, Aine.”

When she didn’t reply or even look at him, he moved on to the question Sunshine had asked. “Not really. Nothing new anyway. We know he was killed by the same method that killed the other men. We even found another feather. My assistant medical examiner says that the feather is artificial. He says it doesn’t come from a real bird and has nothing to do with the case even though this is the second time we’ve found one.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Sunshine took her cup of tea from Jane with a thank you. “People want to ignore things they fear or don’t understand. Trust me. I’ve had a lifetime of experience with it.”

“So what’s on the agenda for today?” He thanked Jane for the coffee. “I figure I might as well shadow the two of you since you seem to be at the heart of it all.”

He stared at Aine as he spoke, but she still gave no acknowledgement that he was there.

“Excuse me.” Sunshine smiled. “I need more honey for my tea. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as she was gone—taking Jane with her—O’Neill put down his coffee.

“Are you all right?” he questioned Aine. “I thought about you all night. It’s difficult for me to understand any of this with it coming at me so quickly. I know you’re here to warn me of my death and help me after I die. I even found a few other aspects to the
beane sidhe
on Google. I’ve been doing a lot more reading since I met you.”

Aine shook her head. “The magic box is a curse.”

“A lot of people think so.”

“I am ready to answer any questions you might have. It is part of my service to your family to see that you are properly educated.”

“I get that.” He stood up and cornered her, managing to make her face him. “What about last night? I can’t find anything about
beane sidhes
having romantic feelings toward the people they serve. Does that always happen?”

She immediately became the tattered crone, black eye sockets staring into his. “Do not mention it again, O’Neill.”

He moved away from her quickly, shuddering despite himself. “I guess this is the harbinger of death mode you go into. What about the sweet, young woman in green? Where is she?”

“Leave it be, boy.” Her coarse voice was filled with the terrors of the grave, shaking the room around them. “Do not mock me.”

Sunshine had purposely left the two alone since they were obviously having difficulties. She hurried back when she realized those difficulties could involve wrecking her office.

“Plenty of honey now,” she said nervously as she took her seat. “Shall we take a look at the board?” She snapped her fingers, and the clear board became visible.

O’Neill wasn’t quite prepared for that. He was still stunned by Aine’s warning. Confronting a magic suspect board was nearly his undoing. He rapidly sat down and clutched his coffee cup.

“Oh. Sorry. I’ve gotten so used to you being here.” Sunshine patted his hand. “I forget that some of these things are new to you.”

“Yeah.” He dared a peek at Aine.

Sunshine laughed and got up to point out the faces on the board. “These are the last three shifters that we think are being targeted by the harpy.”

He stopped writing in his notebook. “Shifters?”

“You know—all of them might be cat shifters of one kind or another. I think John mentioned that Tom Knox shifts into a lion, but don’t quote me on that.”

“And what did John Lancaster shift into?” O’Neill picked up on the pattern.

“John was a werewolf, like Marcus Fletcher. A shifter of sorts,” Sunshine explained. “Except that he only became the wolf when the moon was full. Most shifters are like Jane and can change whenever they like.”

O’Neill clutched his coffee cup again. “Jane? What does she shift into?”

“A mouse. Well, actually she’s a mouse who shifts into a woman. Would you like to see?” Sunshine offered, ready to call her assistant.

“No. Not really.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s stay focused. What are you thinking about these…shifters?”

“We were thinking about bringing them here so the harpy has to come to us instead of her randomly picking them off on the street. Doesn’t that sound like a good idea?”

Chapter Nineteen

“Maybe it would be better if Malto and I bring them in for questioning,” O’Neill suggested. “That way we’ll have the entire police department backing us.”

“Except for one small detail,” Sunshine said. “The harpy can’t be killed by normal weapons, nor can she be killed with magic alone. We’re going to have to combine our strengths if we want to get rid of her. That would be better done here, without Malto and the rest of the police department.”

She wanted to slap Aine. The
beane sidhe
was sitting there like a lump in her black gown and cape. At least she wasn’t going all dead crone on them, but this was her idea too. She was supposed to help with it. What was wrong with her anyway? She’d caught a little of their conversation but not enough to know what was going on, though she had her suspicions.

“I suppose that makes sense,” he agreed. “I’d rather Malto not know about all this. I don’t think she’d take it well. What can I do to help?”

“What’s the biggest gun you can lay your hands on?”

He thought it over. “Probably an assault rifle. A friend of mine has a grenade launcher, but I don’t think you’d want to use that here.”

Sunshine’s blue eyes got wide. “No. I definitely wouldn’t want to use a grenade launcher here. But thanks for asking. I guess an assault rifle will have to do. The first thing is to find the three shifters. Once we get them all under one roof then we can proceed with our plan for the harpy.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out.” O’Neill nodded. “I could bring in one or two of the shifters.”

“That might be dangerous for you.” Sunshine didn’t want to discourage his participation, but an angry shifter could kill him which would fulfill Aine’s death prophecy and set off a chain reaction that none of them wanted. “Why don’t you let us handle that? You bring the rifle when I tell you. Is that okay?”

“Why don’t you let me come with you?” he proposed. “That way I don’t feel like a woman in a dress with violets on it is doing my job. I promise to stay back away from claws and teeth, unless you need me.”

Sunshine looked at Aine for input. How would she feel about endangering O’Neill’s life? “Does that work for you?”

 “You know my feelings on the subject.” Aine didn’t look up, her words muttered from beneath her hood. “O’Neill’s life must be safeguarded.”

“Wait a minute,” he protested. “This is part of my job. We talked about this. There’s some danger to being a police detective. It goes with the territory.”

“If ‘twould be simpler for you,” Aine offered, “I could lock ye in a cellar somewhere.”

O’Neill got to his feet, ready to confront her.

Sunshine got between them. “Why don’t we plan on you helping us? Get the rifle you need and come back. We’ll wait for you. Aine and I will talk this over while you’re gone.”

“I’m not hiding out somewhere because my
beane sidhe
doesn’t want me to die.” He glared at Aine. “I’m doing this. You might as well get used to it.”

Aine opened her mouth, and Sunshine put her hand over it. “All right. See you later.”