Free Blood and Fire by Ally Shields Page B

went to her throat. “She could have done so much worse.”
    Ari touched the already healing mark. The vampiress had been so quick.
    “Do not dwell on it. Time for sleep.” Andreas grabbed her pillow, tossed it aside, and pulled her toward him, reversing her position so they were spooned. He dropped a kiss on the back of her neck. “It is late, and first thing in the morning, your Lt. Foster will expect you to worry about the murder of this treasure hunter.”
    “Hmm.” She snuggled against him and began to drift off. “And two of Bella’s kittens still need homes.”
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    Ari woke in the Chantilly Suite very late the next morning, determined this would be the day to find Hawkson and discover Barron’s mysterious treasure. Refusing to let her life be ruled by fear of Ursula and the O-Seven, she concentrated her energy on solving the murder. While she completed a quick workout in the mansion’s exercise room on the garage level, she reviewed alibis, motivations, and the obvious lies told by the crew. Nothing added up to murder. Not yet. Call it a sixth sense, cop instinct, or just plain common sense, but the treasure had to be at the center of the case. Learning what the treasure was should lead her straight to the killer.
    After the workout, she was humming a catchy tune in the shower when she heard her phone ring. Grabbing a towel to wrap around her, she snatched her cell before the call went to automation.
    “Hi, Ryan,” she said, in response to her caller ID. “Anything happen overnight? How’s the cop shop?”
    “Crawling with press, as we expected. I had trouble finding a parking spot. Guess reporters can’t read ‘Reserved’ signs.” He let out an impatient breath. “I can hardly wait until they get a hold of this morning’s call to dispatch. Two kids saw a ghost inside the vampire caves.”
    “A ghost?” She gave a half laugh, watching water drip from her hair onto Andreas’s lush carpet. “Andreas told me that kids sometimes play down there, but ghosts? Good imaginations, I think.”
    “Yeah, that’s what I thought too. But with Jase Barron dying so close to there, I thought we’d better check it out. Presuming you’re up for it. It must have been pretty late when you got home. Did things go OK with the uber vamp from Europe?”
    Ari chuckled. Uber vamp. Ursula was that all right, and then some. “Everyone’s still in one piece. I guess that’s how we measure success these days. I’m running a little late, but I’ll meet you whenever.”
    “Patrol officers are holding the kids and their parents near the cliff where Barron went over. We already had the area sealed with crime tape, but it obviously didn’t stop the kids. I’m posting an officer now. While we’re there, I’ll move the barricades to make everything in that general area off limits—the cliff path, the cliffs themselves, and the caves. The way reporters and paparazzi are swarming around here, they’d overrun the place, including the caves, and we’d have the vampires complaining. I don’t need the added headache.”
    “I can help. The Magic Council will post someone, maybe a dwarf or two, to warn off trespassers, at least during the day when the vampires are asleep. I’ll make the call right away.” Ari sighed. So much for her other plans for the day. Finding Hawkson and homes for the kittens would have to wait. “I’ll meet you at the overlook in twenty minutes. I’m still dripping wet from the shower.”
    Ryan chuckled. “Nice visual. I’ll bring the coffee.”
    Ari pulled on jeans and topped them with a dark green sweater. Partially drying her hair, she twirled it into a ponytail and ran out the door, waving to the weretiger behind the surveillance camera. Despite her impatience with the change in plans, Ari was excited too. The more she thought about it, this reported ghost sighting could be important. It was right next to their original crime scene. Much too coincidental.
     
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