Unspoken (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3)(28)

Chapter Twelve

Afraid he knew where this was leading, Chase clenched his jaw so hard he was amazed his teeth didn’t crack. Don’t lose it. Don’t lose it.

“What else am I wrong about?” He breathed in through his nose, hoping the oxygen would help calm him.

“About me respecting that you and Della belong together.”

His eyes grew warm as they did when he started to change into vamp mode. “Careful,” he cautioned and gave himself the same warning. His gut said Burnett wasn’t making idle threats about kicking his butt out of Shadow Falls.

Steve shook his head, ignoring the warning, and that pissed Chase off more.

“You see, the only thing I have to respect is Della. Not you. And not what you think you two have. And personally, I think she’s capable and adamant enough to make her own decisions. And you, Mr. Tallman, need to wrap your head around that.”

Steve turned and walked away.

Chase gripped his fist so tight his hand ached. It wasn’t his head having a hard time accepting the guy’s words. It was his heart. But if Steve thought Chase was just going to roll over and give up, the shape-shifter had better think again.

*

Della remained in the chair across from Holiday’s desk. She wouldn’t—couldn’t—allow her father to go to jail. But how she was going to stop it was still a mystery.

Burnett spoke up again. “For the Chi case, we got prints. Unfortunately, there were a lot of prints in their shop. So far, there’s no match to anyone in the FRU fingerprint database. And we got a shoe print. They’re trying to identify it.”

“The autopsies haven’t been done yet?” Della asked.

“No. But I’m hoping we’ll have results tomorrow.”

“What about the weres that were arrested?”

“None of their prints matched either. Chase says they aren’t the ones he’d traced earlier with the animal blood. It could still be the same group, and the ones guilty of murder got away.”

“So make them tell us who they were with!” Della snapped.

Burnett sighed. “We tried. None of them would give us anything.”

“Let me talk to them,” Della insisted.

Burnett laced his fingers. “Chase interviewed them. Did a great job, I might add. They’re either that loyal or that scared. And I would bet they’re scared.”

Della shook her head. “So we don’t have anything?”

“Yet,” Burnett said. “It’s early.”

Holiday readjusted Hannah on her hip. “Burnett said you saw Mrs. Chi’s spirit? Did she give you any clues?”

A bloody image of the woman sitting at her mom’s kitchen table flashed in Della’s mind. “No, she doesn’t even know what happened to her. But…” Della reached up and touched her neck. “I think her neck was cut.”

“That would be right,” Burnett said. “It was stated in the report.”

Della inhaled, trying to deal with the ugly truth.

“I know this is hard to talk about,” Holiday said. “But sometimes they try to tell us something in odd ways. They say something strange, or might be wearing something that doesn’t fit their character. Can you remember anything odd about her visit?”

“No,” Della said, wanting the image of her out of her head. Then she remembered. “Wait. That’s not true. She had a basketball. It was bloody.”

“A basketball?” Burnett asked.

“Yeah,” Della said.

Holiday shifted Hannah to the other side of her lap. “And I’m assuming Mrs. Chi didn’t play ball.”

“No.”

Holiday raised a brow. “Then this is a sign. Either the killer had a ball with him, or she’s seen the killer play ball. Or maybe both.”

“Is there a park with a basketball court near your house?” Burnett asked.

“Yeah,” Della grasped on her first ray of hope at finding the killers. “At the front of the park where we caught the other weres.” She stood up. “Should we go there now?”

“No, I’ll send Lucas.” Burnett pulled out his phone. “If he runs into any weres they might be more forthcoming with him.”

“But—”

“Don’t even start.” Burnett looked up from his cell. “First, I already told you that you weren’t working this case. And second, if you go there, they’ll recognize you or your scent from last night.”

“And I’ll recognize them,” she said. Right then the lights in the room flickered and went off. The dead silence of a power outage filled the room.

Burnett moved to the wall where the controls were for the alarm system. While he hit a few buttons, he continued speaking. “Being this close to a full moon, it’s best to let another were handle this.” A light beep came from the controls.

“Problems?” Holiday asked, looking at the alarm.

“Probably not.”

The lights flickered on again. He looked back at Della. “Now go catch up on some rest. You look like shit.”

Holiday pulled her daughter closer, pressed a hand over her ear, and shot her husband a frown.

Burnett made an apologetic shrug. “Sorry. I mean, you look … awful.”