Free Deadly Sin (Cassandra Farbanks) by Sonnet O'Dell Page B

crush them. Also consider if any of that glass breaks.” I stood opposite Hamilton and looked down at what the doctor was doing. He tried picking a tiny, bronze lock but failed miserably. He grunted as he pulled a thin piece of wire out of the lock.
    “Every time I put it in bent it comes out straight again. It’s the oddest thing.”
    “May I try?” I asked. Doc Cameron looked up at me and his face brightened.
    “Well hello Cassandra, it’s been a while. Be my guest.” He rocked back on his heels, stood and held out the wire to me. I shook my head, motioning him to step to one side. When it was clear, I placed my hand over the lock and shot power into it. The power shot right back up my arm, which made me leap back and my arm go dead at my side.
    “Are you alright?” I flexed my fingers, the sensation already starting to come back.
    “I’m fine but the lock is protected by magic. You’re going to need a key.” Hamilton pointed to no one in particular.
    “Everyone fan out. Search the ground for a key. Cameron can you check the pockets of her clothes.” Cameron nodded and went to do that while I stared at the panel made of a very dark colored wood with a tiny lock you might see for a jewelry box or an antique desk drawer. There was a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach as my brain replayed my earlier words in my head. I turned to Hamilton, my hand extended.
    “Do you still have the envelope I gave you earlier?”
    He looked at me puzzled but dutifully slipped it out of his pocket and handed it to me. I shook the contents out into my palm and held up the small brass key. It looked the same. I slid it into the lock and turned. The lock clicked with an audible snick and the door swung open. Hamilton looked at me with wide eyes. He registered the same thoughts I had moments before, like he was on a time delay. My stalker was somehow involved in this death.
    It was quite spacious inside. There was enough room for me to creep around the edge and see that the inside panels were lined with full-length mirrors. I looked down at the body. She was a fairly young woman, maybe twenty-five, with short, fluffy blonde hair in that popular bobbed style. She lay in the small space available to her, like she crumpled. She was naked and her skin had a bluish tint to it, her lips the color of early morning sky. Her eyes were shut tight and looked like she was sleeping. The only piece of adornment she had was a diamond necklace with a big, flat gem the color of onyx in the middle. Doc Cameron crawled in to do his job and blocked the exit while I stood watching. Her limbs were stiff and her boobs fake. Her legs looked long, although curled up as they were, it was a little hard to tell. I was fascinated by the jewel around her neck. I asked Cameron for a pair of gloves, which he dutifully provided with a smile, and I bent down next to him. He too, stopped his work and stared at the jewel as it winked and glittered in the light bouncing around the enclosure. There was a very subtle compulsion to take it from her and put it around my own neck. I got the gloves on and slowly telegraphing my intentions to the doc, reached around her neck and unclasped it. I was much more careful this time. I could sense the item was magic and did my best not to brush skin to skin with the dead woman.
    As soon as I peeled it free, the cabinet exploded in a flurry of black dust and vanished. The EMT who’d been leaning against one of the walls suddenly fell on his butt in the grass, shocked. All of us spluttered and coughed. I tried not to breathe any of the dust in. Hamilton and several others fanned the cloud away. I focused on the purple glow from her forehead, registering the symbol that appeared there before vanishing as the cabinet had. Doc Cameron roused himself, too, at the weak burst of light.
    “What was that?”
    “Proof positive, to me at least, that we are looking at our second homicide in less than a day.”
    * * * *
    I wasn’t needed