Free Undone Deeds by Mark Del Franco Page B

Jumpers never made for pretty death scenes. The higher they fall from, the less pretty. The dead guy was a Danann fairy, so that mitigated the damage. Dananns have more resilient bodies than humans. He was still dead, though, his wings a tangled and torn mess, a leg bent at an angle legs weren’t meant to bend.
    “We’re going to lose this one fast.” Wearing gloves, Murdock held open a small billfold that showed a Guild ID. The Guild might not take cases in the Weird any longer, but it protected its own. The last thing macGoren wanted was his allies on the police force investigating a murder that might expose Guild secrets.
    I recognized the name and face of the victim. “He was a low-level administrator.”
    I crouched by the bloody body. The strong whiff of alcohol wafted upward. Dananns had a propensity for whiskey. Back in Faerie, it wasn’t available in quantity, so drunkenness was more an accepted reprieve from the high life than a question of alcoholism. Not so in the post-Convergence world. Whiskey was everywhere, cheap and easy to acquire. More than a few Dananns ended up in the Weird because they had fallen to the bottom of a bottle.
    “We’re trying to get clearance to check out the power-plant roof,” Murdock said.
    I glanced up at the wall. The building was high enough to kill a Danann. “He smells pretty drunk. He might’ve passed out when flying overhead and dropped. You might have an accidental death.”
    “Yeah, that happens to Guild agents all the time,” Murdock said.
    Nothing with the Guild was ever simple. “Honestly, I’d call the Guild, Leo. They’re going to take over anyway.”
    Murdock jerked his chin up toward something behind me. “Looks like someone decided to save us the minutes.”
    Up the block, two dark figures appeared in the sky, telltale silhouettes of Danann security agents. They circled once overhead before landing on the sidewalk. I was surprised to seeKeeva macNeve. She strode over and examined the body with a neutral expression.
    “Hi, Keev. Nice of you to drop in,” I said.
    She ignored me as she went through the dead guy’s pockets, tossing inconsequential items on the sidewalk—matches, coins, and receipts. Looking at Murdock, she remained crouched, her forearms on her thighs, hands dangling between her knees. “Where is it?”
    Without argument, Murdock handed over the billfold.
    “You got here awfully fast,” I said.
    Keeva fanned out some business cards, then tucked them back in the billfold. “You’re not the only one with friends on the force, Grey. Mine happen to follow procedure and inform interested legal entities instead of their gym buddies.”
    “Connor hasn’t been to the gym in weeks,” Murdock said.
    Keeva stood. “You know the drill, Detective. Move along and thank your boys for me.”
    “I remember this guy, Keeva. He was a Consortium mole. We used him a couple of times for disinformation,” I said.
    She scanned the surrounding area. “Any other classified information you want to broadcast within earshot of uncleared staff?”
    “You get a lot of moles in the Guild?” Murdock asked.
    Keeva’s glance flashed with dismissiveness. “Why no, Detective. I’m shocked to hear it. How old did you say you were, by the way? I can’t tell if you’re wearing diapers under those pants.”
    Murdock narrowed his eyes at me. “Did she imply she’s looking at my ass?”
    “What’s with all the antagonism, Keeva? I mean, more than usual?” I asked.
    The corners of her mouth turned down as she stared at the victim. “We’ve lost a lot of people, Connor. This guy may have been low-level stupid, but he was helping with disaster recovery. Every person lost is more work for everyone.”
    “Well, maybe the Guild….” I began.
    Keeva held her hand up. “Connor, I don’t want to hear one of your anti-Guild rants. Not today. People who were my friends are dead. People
you
knew are dead, so give it a break.”
    I wasn’t going to go off on