Free Twice Cursed by Marianne Morea

she said over her shoulder. “Dishes are in the
middle cabinet.”
    Lily rushed down the hall, but the
call had already gone to voicemail. She punched in her retrieval
code, expecting Sean’s voice on the other end. It
wasn’t.
    Lily—
    It’s Mark Phillips. We have
a case that needs your particular set of talents. I’d rather not
get into it over the phone, so if you can meet downtown tomorrow at
ten, it would really help me out. Give me a call if that time
doesn’t work for you. Hope to see you
then.
    She pushed end on her touch screen and
smiled to herself. It looked like she still had a business after
all.
     
    ***
     
    “ You really didn’t have to
come with me, you know. I’ve got this covered,” Lily said, as she
and Jack crossed the street in front of One Police
Plaza.
    “ I know you do, but Sean
wants me close…just in case.”
    “ In case of what? Do you
honestly think Edward Parr or one of his flunkies managed to
infiltrate the NYPD in the last month? Come on, Jack, police
headquarters has at least two levels of security before anyone even
gets into the building. After that, there are other buffers. I’ll
be as safe as kittens, to use Sean’s words.”
    The two stepped up onto the curb just
outside the main grounds. Even frozen and covered with ice, Tony
Rosenthal’s 5 in 1 sculpture and the surrounding garden was
striking in its eclectic beauty.
    “ Wow. You’d never guess
this was a police station,” Jack said, looking around.
    “ It’s not a station, Jack.
It’s the hub of New York’s finest.” Lily glanced at the main
entrance and then back at Jack. “Hey, do me a favor, go get a cup
of coffee or take a walk around. Play tourist. I’m not sure how
long I’ll be, and I don’t want you skulking around
waiting.”
    Jack crossed his arms in front of his
chest.
    Obstinacy was as much a Were trait as
the need to race the moon. But Jack’s perspective wasn’t quite as
one-sided as Sean’s, and Lily hoped that would make him a little
more reasonable. There was no winning this argument, and loitering
around was the quickest way to draw the wrong attention, and the
last thing either of them needed was a stint in the
slammer.
    He exhaled, blowing a stream of wet,
warm smoke into the air. “Go ahead. I’m going to take a walk around
Battery Park, sniff the grass and whatnot. You have my cell number.
Just give me a buzz when you’re done or if you change locations. I
need to be close, but at this point, there’s no reason for me to be
on top of you,” he said with a suggestive wink.
    Lily raised one eyebrow, hoping he was
just joking. “All-righty then. I’ll call you when I’m done.” She
hiked her bag over her shoulder and headed down the heavily salted
pathway toward the main doors. She didn’t turn around, she knew
Jack watched and mentally counted the days until the next full
moon.
    She passed through a series of metal
detectors and officers searched her bag at each location before she
reached the lobby. A pretty blonde in a pert, navy suit sat at the
reception desk. It was clear she was administrative and not a
member of the force.
    “ May I help you,” she asked
with a bright smile.
    “ Yes. I’m Lily Saburi. I
have a ten o'clock appointment with Chief Phillips.”
    “ Certainly. One moment
please.”
    The woman picked up the phone, and
Lily guessed it was yet another buffer. Something was up, she’d
felt it the moment she’d walked into the building, and knew it was
more than just the day-to-day stress of dealing with New York’s
criminal element.
    The woman hung up and smiled again,
handing Lily a building pass. “Go ahead on up. Seventh floor.
They’re waiting for you.”
    It had been a while since she’d been
at police headquarters, and the lobby was just as busy as she
remembered. Visitors to One Police Plaza often expected something
resembling the set from NYPD Blue or CSI New York. Fact was the
building functioned not only as headquarters for one of the