Free Born of Hatred by Steve McHugh Page B

"First of all, Kasey asked me about someone hurting women. Secondly, Kasey already knew. She just wanted someone to be honest with her."
    I walked past Olivia and grabbed one of the many slices of toast on a plate on my dining room table, which Tommy had probably made as a snack. The table sat near a pair of patio doors, which overlooked an expansive back garden. The garden was nice to look at, but of no interest to me in terms of actual gardening. Mowing the lawn every now and again, and picking the fruit off the apple and plum trees, was the extent of my green fingers. 
    "See," Tommy said, chewing absentmindedly on a piece of toast. He must have used an entire loaf of bread. "Now will you calm down? Kasey's a smart girl, and she's old enough to be aware of what's going on."
    "Anyone feel like telling me what’s happening with the investigation?" I asked.
    Olivia took point as I assumed she would. "As you know, I asked Tommy to look into Neil's accommodation. I was hoping to find something to at least warrant a further investigation. I don't like having people who committed the type of crimes he did walking free on my streets. But considering how he managed to get out of the Hole after such a short period of time, not to mention his sudden wealth, it’s clear he has some serious backing.
    "In the past three weeks we've found four dead girls, five as of yesterday. They were human girls, with no discernible connection to anything that was supernatural. Thus, the human police took control of the investigation. That changed after the third crime when it became apparent that something more was going on, which we discovered by accident. Agents Greaves and Reid were contacted directly by someone who gave them directions to the third victim. 
    "As you may not know, Agent Greaves is a werewolf. He found that there was no trackable scent at the third crime scene. As of that murder, however, the LOA have taken over the case, allowing the human police to remain as the public face of the investigation for the duration of our involvement. The Detective Chief Inspector works for Avalon, and he was happy to take the press off our hands."
    Avalon slotted their personnel into important positions in human affairs. They did it all the time, in all levels of government, both local and national, as well as the emergency services, press and anywhere else where humans might come into contact with Avalon on a regular basis. The personnel were nearly always humans, and rarely got discovered. Avalon had been doing it for thousands of years. 
    "Those photos in Neil's bedroom," I said. "They're of the victims."
    "They're pictures of the girls in here." She removed a sizeable file from a large handbag on the floor and passed it to me. "Every detail we have so far, on both the dead girls and Neil Hatchell."
    I placed the file on the table next to me without opening it. "You must have suspected that Neil was the killer."
    "Of course, but his old methods and the ones currently being used in these crimes are very different, apart from the level of violence. We concluded what you did, that he's not working alone."
    "Any connection between the victims?"
    "We've got the human police talking to the victims’ families. Hopefully they'll pick something up. Our murderer likes to call and let us know when he's finished. So far, four calls. I guess with the call about the farm that makes five."
    "Whom does he call?"
    "Originally? The human police, but from the third on, Agents Greaves or Reid. Apparently he's found someone he likes to talk to."
    "What can they tell you about him?"
    "His voice is deep, no background noise, he always sounds pleased with himself. One of the empaths back at the HQ thinks he's masking some serious anger."
    "No shit, really? Serial killer is angry, that's something different." Empaths were pretty scary. They could not only read, but amplify emotions in others. I considered myself quite open when it comes to the races of my world, but