Free Unshapely Things by Mark Del Franco Page B

full well he couldn't advance her career because of his own circumstances.
    She shifted in her chair, crossing her legs. "Yes. Mac-Duin is macDuin. You know how it is."
    I nodded. People were hesitant to criticize their superiors openly if they thought it could get back to them. The worst relationship could often be the stepping-stone to something better. "So what are you working on?" I asked again.
    She shrugged. "Besides Vize, nothing interesting. I have a missing person right now that I'm hoping to wrap up."
    "Anything I can help you with?"
    She smiled charitably. "I'm handling it, Connor."
    She stood up and wandered about the room, touching a book here, adjusting a picture frame there. She paused by the kitchen counter. Fairies do not have the ability to sense essence very effectively, but with Joe and Tansy so recently there, Keeva probably felt something. She turned back to me, brushing her hands together. "You should clean up these crumbs."
    She made her way back to the windows. She glanced at something to her left so that I could see her in profile. She really would be something without that bitter tinge to her mouth. "What about you? I heard you were working on this serial murder thing. What's the status?"
    I hesitated, realizing this was why Keeva had just happened to drop in. She confirmed my suspicion when she didn't acknowledge the lengthening silence. "We have a small lead, a possible eyewitness."
    She dropped herself back in the armchair. "I read that in the reports."
    That surprised me. "Is the Guild investigating?" I asked.
    She ran her fingers idly through those long red tresses. "No, it's just the standard review to keep macDuin apprised. Your name caught my eye, of course, so I read the file. What's not in the report?"
    I smiled at her, and she smiled back. "What if I told you it might be a fey-on-fey situation?"
    She arched an eyebrow. "Might or is?"
    "I'm still leaning toward 'might.' The human witness said the guy felt funny, like something was wrong with him."
    "That's it? A human prostitute thinks he can sense essence, and you're thinking it's fey?
    I shrugged. "Another witness may have placed him in a local bar. A fey witness."
    "Working for one of the meat joints, no doubt," she said.
    I clenched my teeth at the barely concealed scorn in her voice. It was a ploy of Keeva's I had fallen for a few times earlier in our acquaintance. She would express skepticism in my theories in an effort to demoralize me. I would reveal everything I knew to prove myself, which played right into her hands. She was not above making someone feel like an idiot while she co-opted an investigation. I wasn't about to tell her about Tansy.
    "The fey may not be the best witness, but it's all we have right now. Why the interest?"
    She shrugged. "Professional curiosity. And personal. You're wasted down here, Connor. All you have to do is ask, and I can get you a position in research."
    I pretended to consider it, again. From all directions, the idea was foul. I'd be working for people I used to supervise and working on cases I was assigned instead of those I requested. If I had taken some half-ass support position, I would never have gotten any respect even if my abilities came back. I'd be considered tainted goods, which people probably thought anyway. And I certainly didn't want to be beholden to Keeva macNeve. It was bad enough competing with her. I didn't want to do her paperwork.
    "No, thanks," I said. "I'd prefer to see how things work out first."
    She stood up and spread her hands. "Okay. You can't say I didn't offer. I should be going. If there's anything I can help you with, let me know."
    I walked her the few steps to the door. "I will. If this does turn out to be fey-on-fey, you'll be the first to know."
    She smiled smugly. "Yes, I will be. It'll probably end up my case."
    We chuckled in feigned companionship. She patted me on the shoulder and sauntered away. I coldly watched her back until she turned down the