Free Cutting Edge by Allison Brennan Page A

know.
    “I don’t think there’s anything left,” she said, but she pictured Jonah Payne’s body. Second- and third-degree burns … birds were smaller, they’d disintegrate much faster. But Quin would have said something. In fact, she thought Quin was certain they’d been released — or taken in the missing cage. She pulled out her BlackBerry. “I’ll ask the investigator to specifically pull aside the birds. How many were there? What kind?”
    “Twelve mallard ducks, six male and six female. They were in the room to the left of my office. It’s a double room, with an entry and decontamination area, then the chamber where the birds lived, with a small built-in pool.”
    “How many birds can one of your standard cages hold?”
    She looked at Nora as if it was an odd question. “They’re mallard ducks. We put one in per cage, sometimes two if they’re a mating pair. More than two would be inhumane, but I suppose you could fit four.”
    Nora was fairly certain they weren’t in the lab and in fact had been taken or released.
    She sent Quin a text message:
     
Payne’s assistant said there were twelve mallard ducks in a room to the left of Payne’s office. Are there any remains? If so, can you preserve them? And ask Chief Nobel to debrief his crew and ask if they recall which doors off the main lab were open and which were closed when they went in. Thanks, N
.
     
    “When do you want me to go down?”
    Nora glanced at Pete. “When did Jim Butcher say he would arrive?”
    “He took a seven-fifteen flight out of LAX, but I didn’t get confirmation he was on it.”
    She looked at her watch. About seventy minutes, then another thirty from the airport. He’d be arriving within the next half hour.
    “I’ll call him,” Pete said.
    Nora wanted to talk to Butcher without Payne’s loyal research assistant around. She also needed to follow up with the Lake Tahoe office about Jonah Payne’s house, have her team pull his credit card records and bank information to determine if he ever arrived and if so, when he left.
    And she had to ask Duke Rogan to explain the security system. There could even be hidden data that would identify the culprits. Nora dreaded the thought of spending time with Duke, knowing it could weaken her resolve to stay far away from him.
    “How about ten-thirty?” Nora asked Duncan. “Does that give you enough time to pull yourself together?”
    “I can do it now.”
    “Ten-thirty is better. The arson investigator isn’t going to let anyone walk the scene until she’s done with her preliminary walk-through, which takes several hours.”
    “Was there anything left?”
    “It’s hard to say. There’s of course fire and smoke damage, as well as water damage.”
    “When can I get in and see what we have left?”
    “You mean go through everything? It’ll be at least two days, maybe longer. It’s a crime scene, we need to keep it intact until the investigators are done with evidence collection.”
    Pete touched her arm and Nora looked over. He held up his BlackBerry. It was a message from their ASAC, Dean Hooper.
     
BLF posted a letter online about the Butcher-Payne arson. When can you be at HQ?
     
    She shook her head. She didn’t want to talk in front of Duncan, so said cryptically, “There’re a half-dozen things we need to check on before memories fade.”
    “If you want to drop me off at headquarters,” Pete said, “I can take care of that situation.”
    “Thanks. I need some background work done, so I’ll go with you for a few minutes.”
    They stood and thanked Melanie Duncan for her time. Nora’s phone vibrated and she glanced down at the message. It was from Quin.
     
No birds, no ducks, no furry, finned, or feathered creatures at all. The room was empty. The fire did not reach that area of the lab, only smoke and water damage, so if they were there, they’d be slow-roasted, not extra crispy
.
     
    Only Quin could make Nora smile at the macabre. She squeezed her lips