Kylian and Brett Read online

  “Believe me, I’ll well aware of that. Two of them are here, however.” Kylian took out his phone, turning away to place a call. When it was answered, he said, “I need you and Ronnie here on the double.” He chuckled. “Yeah, that would help. The plaza in front of St. Louis Cathedral.” He replied “Yes,” when Todd asked if he meant in New Orleans.

  “They should be here soon,” he told Brett after hanging up.

  “Meaning I should get my ass out of here.”

  “Why?” Kylian replied. “You could be a help, if you’re willing.”

  “How?”

  “This whole thing is a crap shoot, since we’re going to have to talk to homeless kids and they’re not going to want to rat him out if they’ve seen him. Hang on.” Kylian called Todd again to tell him where Emile was. “He should have copies of the sketch by now. We need four of them.” He nodded when Todd said that could add a few minutes to their arrival time. “We can’t do anything without them. We don’t know the kid’s name.”

  “Okay,” Brett said when Kylian shoved the phone into his pocket. “Back to what you were saying. How can I help? Okay. Never mind. I show the picture to anyone I talk to, and then read their mind to see if they know him and, hopefully, where he is, right?”

  “Right. You probably know the city better than I do. Where’s the best place to start?”

  “Where was the murder? Or should I ask, in which cemetery this time?”

  “Saint Louis One,” Kylian replied.

  “Then I’d start along Rampart. There’s plenty of places the kids can use because some of the buildings still haven’t been restored since the hurricane.”

  “Katrina? Wasn’t that years ago?”

  “Twenty-oh-five. But sadly, there have been others since that put a crimp in the renovations.”

  “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.”

  Brett cocked his head. “If your business is here, why don’t you know that?”

  “One of my offices is, but I work out of my headquarters in Denver. I haven’t been out here in forever. My brother called to ask for my help with the Slayer murders.”

  Brett didn’t look as if he quite believed him. Kylian was glad he had a block on his thoughts when he felt Brett trying to read them. He smiled slightly, saying, “That won’t work with me.”

  “Can’t blame me for trying,” Brett replied ruefully.

  At that point, a man and a petite woman came across the plaza to join them, the man handing Kylian copies of the sketch of the teen. “So what are we doing?” he asked.

  “Making introductions, first,” Kylian replied. “This is Brett. Brett, this is Todd and the redhead is Rhonda, or Ronnie for short.”

  Ronnie looked Brett over and grinned. “You’re a big one, aren’t you?”

  “Ronnie, behave,” Todd said. “You’re taken.”

  “Doesn’t mean I can’t admire a good-looking man,” she retorted. “Nice to meet you, Brett.”

  “You, too,” he replied, seeming a bit nonplused.

  “Let’s get down to business,” Kylian said firmly. “We need to find this kid, fast. He’s the only person who’s seen the Slayer and lived to talk about it. At least we hope he’s still alive. Every cop in the city should be keeping an eye out for him by now, but he’s a street kid, so finding him won’t be easy.” He handed the pictures to the others. “We’ll spread out from here, working our way toward Rampart, talking to any of the homeless we find.”

  Brett frowned. “Can Todd and Ronnie, umm?”

  “Are they telepaths, like you? Yes. That’s why I brought them in, specifically,” Kylian replied, both in answer to Brett’s unstated question and to warn Todd and Ronnie, so that they’d block their thoughts from Brett’s possible probing.

  “What the hell kind of organization has telepaths as regular employees?”

  “Mine,” Kylian replied with a smile. “When we’re searching for someone, it helps.” He wasn’t about to reveal that, since all the people working for him were paranormals, by their very nature at least half of them were able to read minds—some more easily than others. “Brett, we need your phone number, and vice versa. If one of us finds him, or at least learns where he might be, we have to let the others know.”

  After they traded numbers, they took off for Rampart.

  Chapter 2

  As he walked down Daumier toward Rampart, Brett checked every doorway and accessible courtyard for homeless kids, or adults. He even went down the narrow walk-ways between the buildings to see in any of them might have crashed behind them. He found a couple of guys, but neither of them recognized the kid. Not too surprising, Brett figured, given the size of the homeless population in the city, despite the mayor’s efforts to change that.

  When he got to Rampart, he had an idea and immediately called Kylian.

  “I’m right across from Louis Armstrong Park. I’m going to check it out.”

  “All right. I hadn’t thought about that,” Kylian replied. “Hang on and I’ll join you.” He did, moments later.

  The park was dark except for the occasional streetlamp. Not too surprisingly, more than one street person had taken advantage of that to find a place to sleep for the night. They talked with everyone they found. Most had no idea who the kid was. A couple did, but claimed they hadn’t seen him recently. When Brett probed their minds—and he was certain Kylian was doing the same—he learned they were telling the truth.

  They were about to leave the park when Brett spotted a guy under a loading dock for one of the park’s buildings. He hunkered down, cautiously shaking the guy’s shoulder. That was met by a gasp of surprise before what turned out to be a teen of maybe sixteen scrambling deeper under the dock.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” Brett said softly. “I just want to know if you’ve seen this young man.” He held out the sketch, even though he knew the teen couldn’t see it.

  “Why are you looking for him?” came the barely audible reply.

  “He’s my nephew. He ran away from…Okay maybe I shouldn’t say this, because she’s my sister, but she has a boyfriend who is very abusive to her and her son.”

  “Uh-huh. Not sure I believe you, and if I knew where he was, for sure I wouldn’t tell you.”

  “I can understand that. Still, if you’d look at the picture.”

  The kid crawled forward. Not close enough for Brett to grab him, but to the point where he could see the picture. “Nope. Don’t know him,” the kid said. His thoughts gave a different story. Brett picked up on a name, Jamie, and a place down by the river. If that’s his normal squat, we might be in luck.

  “Thanks for at least looking,” Brett said, standing up. He dug a couple of dollars from his pocket, dropping them on the ground. Then he went to find Kylian who, last seen, had been checking around the Jackson Theater. He found him there, looking frustrated. Kylian’s face lit up when Brett told him what he’d learned.

  * * * *

  “You’re sure this is the place?” Kylian asked when he, Todd and Ronnie, and Brett got to the location Brett had picked from the kid’s thoughts. They were standing on the top of a bluff overlooking the river. It was a good four miles from the Quarter, which seemed a long way for a kid to go to find a place to feel safe, in Kylian’s opinion.

  “Yes, according to what I found using the 3D function of a map site on my phone. The area here matches—down to that.” Brett pointed to a bit of land jutting into the river, its surface covered with rocks rather than the trees and underbrush behind it.

  “All right. Spread out and let’s hope we get lucky. And keep an open mind, literally,” Kylian suggested. “Who knows what stray thoughts you might pick up that might be from him.”

  Todd and Ronnie went into the trees and underbrush behind where they were standing, while Brett took off to walk along the bank of the river several feet below them.

  Kylian headed in the opposite direction, looking for an easy way down to the river, and discovered a moment later that there was what w
as, essentially, a long, narrow pond that had been hidden from view by the trees. It was secluded enough that he thought a homeless person might find the area surrounding it safe.

  He was halfway down the length of the area when he spotted what appeared to be a small cave dug into the earth wall beside the pond. Closer inspection told him he was right. The entrance was small enough he could barely get through. The short tunnel was no better, forcing him to crawl forward on hands and knees until he got to the end, where it widened into a small room. If he hadn’t been what he was, with the heightened ability to see in the dark that all elves had, he wouldn’t have spotted the form curled up on the cave floor.

  “Jamie?” Kylian asked, keeping his voice nonthreatening as he squatted beside what he’d determined was a male, whose face was buried in his crossed arms, resting on a backpack.

  The young man shot up, terror in his expression as he tried to back away—and came up against the cave’s back wall. In one hand he held a length of iron pipe that he swung wildly at Kylian. Looking at him, Kylian recognized him from the image he’d plucked from Officer Pasternak’s mind.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” Kylian said quietly. “If you’re Jamie, I’m here to help. If not, I’ll leave.”

  “Like hell.” Jamie swung again. Kylian managed to avoid all but the tip of the pipe striking his arm. He picked up fear, and I’m so screwed, from Jamie’s thoughts, followed by It’s not him but that doesn’t mean he really wants to help me.

  “My name is Kylian,” Kylian told him. “I’m trying to find the person you saw killing someone in the cemetery. I know you saw him.”

  “How?” Jamie asked, holding the pipe defensively in front of him.

  “I spoke with one of the officers you talked with before you took off.”

  “How do you know it was me?”

  “Do you know what a telepath is?”

  Jamie gave a short nod. “Someone who reads minds.”

  “Yes. I’m one, and when he was telling me what you’d said, I picked up on what you look like.”

  “Prove it. What am I thinking right now?” Jamie pictured a bar on Bourbon Street.

  “The Tropical Isle.” Kylian smiled, even though he doubted Jamie could see it. He took a lighter from his pocket, flicking it on.

  What Jamie saw must have reassured him, because he lowered the pipe, although he didn’t set it down. “You’re right,” he replied.

  “Do you have any objection to moving our conversation outside?” Kylian asked at that point. “My knees are killing me.”

  For a moment, Jamie looked as if he was going to laugh. “Welcome to my world. Sure. But if you try anything, I’m running.”

  “Deal.” Kylian inched back down the tunnel, hearing Jamie right behind him.

  When they were outside, Kylian sat on the edge of the bank, hoping Jamie would join him. After some hesitation, while Jamie looked around—obviously checking to be certain Kylian was the only one there—he did, although it seemed as if he would take off at the slightest provocation.

  “Tell me what happened,” Kylian said.

  Jamie hissed in a breath. “Okay. I was spanging in the Quarter, and not having much luck. I was tired on top of that, and it’s a long way back to here.” He pointed to the cave entrance. “So I decided to crash in the cemetery. I know that sounds weird, but it’s usually safe enough if you know what you’re doing.”

  “Which you do.”

  “Yeah. Anyway, I got inside, which isn’t too hard.” He cracked a brief grin. “If you’re someone like me, and desperate.” He sobered again. “I was heading to my usual spot when I heard voices. A man and a woman. She sounded scared. I…I thought maybe one of the girls had brought a john there to get some privacy and he was taking it too far.” Jamie took a deep, shuddering breath. “Much too far. When I got there he was kneeling beside…beside her body. Blood. Everywhere. He heard me and looked up. I ran like hell, got over the wall and flagged down a cop car that was going by. Shit, it was, he was the Slayer, right?”

  “Yes,” Kylian replied. “We’re very certain he was. You got a good look at him?”

  Jamie nodded, shuddering again, and Kylian was able to see the killer as Jamie had—in Jamie’s memories—and recognized him. Arden, damn you!

  “All right. I’m going to ask you to trust me, again. Three people who were helping me look for you are around here somewhere.” Kylian started to reach for Jamie when he jumped to his feet, stopping because he realized if he did, any small bit of trust the teen might have in him would disappear. “Let me call them, to tell them I’ve found you. I only need one of them here with us. He’s an artist. You might have seen him in the Quarter. He draws people.”

  Jamie didn’t sit, but he didn’t take off, either. “There’s a lot of them. They do caricatures.”

  “Not this guy. He listens when a person describes someone they want a picture of, then draws one from what they’ve told him.”

  “Big guy? Built sorta like a boxer?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve seen him do that. It’s freaky.” Jamie frowned, cocking his head as he looked at Kylian. “He’s a telepath?”

  Kylian nodded. “He is. I’d like you to show him what the Slayer looks like. If we have his picture, we might be able to stop him before he kills again.”

  After taking a deep breath, Jamie nodded. “But just him. Not everyone.”

  It took Kylian a second to get what he meant. “That’s fine. I’ll tell the others to meet me back at the car.” He took out his phone, not trying to hide what he was saying as he told Todd and Ronnie that he’d found Jamie and to wait by the car for now. When he got hold of Brett, he let him know where he and Jamie were, asking him to join them.

  Brett came into view a couple of minutes later, stopping a few feet away. “So you’re Jamie. Nice to see you’re alive and kicking. Okay, maybe not the best way to put it,” he hastened to add when Jamie’s face paled. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” Jamie finally sat again, nodding when Kylian introduced Brett.

  Brett opened his bag, taking out a sketchpad and a couple of pencils. “It’s probably not what you want to do,” he told Jamie as he sat beside him, “but…”

  “You need me to think about the guy.” Jamie shivered. “Okay. I hope you’re fast, though.”

  Brett chuckled. “Pretty much.”

  Kylian watched as Brett sketched. Brett kept his back to Jamie, which Kylian figured was so that what he was drawing wouldn’t influence Jamie’s memory of the killer. A face quickly appeared on the pad—rough at first, but soon Brett was filling in the details. When he finished, Brett showed it to Jamie.

  “That’s him,” Jamie said, his eyes widening in fear. “That’s the man I saw. Who is he?”

  Kylian smiled, patting Jamie’s shoulder. “That’s what we intend to find out, now that we know what he looks like.”

  “He’s going to know I was the one who fingered him,” Jamie said in a trembling voice.

  Kylian gripped his shoulder. “We’ll keep you safe until he’s caught.”

  “How?”

  “My brother Emile is in charge of the case. He can put you into a safe house.”

  That idea seemed to both fascinate and scare Jamie, from the expressions running across his face. “Are they really safe?”

  “They are,” Kylian told him. “But, if you’d rather, and if Emile is willing, I can set you up in one belonging to my organization, out of the city.”

  “You’d do that for me?”

  “Yes. With your help, we, well, the police will catch the Slayer. I’d hate to see anything happen to you before they do.”

  “Because they’ll need me as a witness,” Jamie said, looking as if he didn’t particularly liked the idea.

  Kylian smiled. “That, too. But I have the feeling that, given the chance, you can turn your life around and make something of yourself. Giving you a safe place to stay, and time to figure out how to do that, will help.”
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  Jamie shrugged. “I guess it’ll be better than what I’ve been doing.”

  “I would certainly hope so. Are you ready to go talk to Emile?”

  “Yeah, I think so. I need to get my stuff, first.” Without waiting for a reply, Jamie crawled back into the cave, emerging a few minutes later with his backpack and a rolled-up sleeping bag that had seen much better days.

  Kylian led the way back to where they’d parked the car, introducing Jamie to Todd and Ronnie before he called Emile to find out if he was still at the crime scene. He said he was at the station house, writing up his report on the case, so that’s where Kylian and the others headed. Ten minutes later, Emile was escorting them into the squad room, which was virtually empty since it was going on three in the morning.

  After asking Jamie for his last name, which he said was Miller, Kylian introduced him to Emile, then showed Emile the sketch of the killer, but not before warning his brother in mind speak, ::It’s Arden::

  ::The hell, you say. So the bastard shifter has finally surfaced. Thanks for the heads-up.::

  ::He also changed his MO. He killed the woman after he got to the cemetery, from what Jamie said. Maybe…Never mind. We’ll discuss it later.::

  “You’re certain this is what he looks like?” Emile asked Jamie, his expression sober—not revealing the shock Kylian knew he was feeling.

  “Yes, sir. I only saw him for a few seconds, but he for damned sure stuck in my mind.”

  “Excellent. I’ll get copies of this sent out to all the news outlets and put out a BOLO on him. Now, if you’re up to it, Jamie, I need to know everything you remember from the minute you saw him.”

  Jamie told him, then, after Emile typed up his statement, Jamie signed it.

  “We have to get you to a safe house,” Emile said, glancing at Kylian.

  “I’ve already told him that,” Kylian replied. “If you want, we can use one of mine.”

  “Maybe. Give me a minute.” Emile left the room.

  “Can I ask?” Jamie said hesitantly. “Why do you have safe houses if you’re not a cop?”

  “I run a private organization that sometimes works with the police to find the more elusive criminals. Todd and Ronnie are part of it.”