Before the Witches by Karina Cooper

Author:Karina Cooper
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Published: 2011-07-25T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

“How is she?”

Nigel looked up from the paperwork he hadn’t been writing on for the past hour. It took his bleary vision a long moment to clear, focusing Jake Leigh’s double image into one serious expression of concern.

He palmed at his eyes, straightening his back from its half-slump. “She?”

Jake’s mouth quirked. “Katya.”

“On a first name basis, are you?” Nigel couldn’t help the underlying lash of jealousy beneath the wry question. He gouged his thumb into one eye, rubbing as if he could stamp out the fierce, protective surge.

“She’s fine,” he added before Jake’s mouth could frame the question his raised eyebrows were asking. “Sleeping. Her and Junie. I figured I’d give them an hour more before diving into the interrogation portion of our day. We have a few hours before the child welfare advocate arrives.”

“Poor kid.” The officer leaned against the desk, and for the first time, Nigel saw the shadows under his blue eyes. Lines bracketed his mouth. “That girl . . . It just makes you want to do something, you know?”

Oh, yeah. He knew. He’d done something, all right. He sighed, pushing aside the sheaf of papers. “You can’t fix the world, Leigh.”

“Yeah, well. I sure want to try.”

Nigel smiled wearily. “That’s why you’ve got a badge. Any word from Nancy?” He deftly served the change of subject before either of them could dwell on the two refugees sleeping behind the office door only feet away.

That would only piss them both off, Nigel knew. And undirected anger was a hell of a drain on the resources.

“No word, yet. Lydia’s starting to get antsy, though, so I’ve asked my sister-in-law to—Whoa.” Jake dropped a hand to the desk, his brow furrowed deeply. “Did you feel that?”

“Another quake?” Nigel stood, but like Jake, he braced both palms on the desk. Nothing moved. Just the usual vibrations of heavy feet tromping through five stories of police station chaos.

Jake frowned. “I’d swear I—”

The light in the police station dimmed slowly. As if a storm front had rolled in beneath Seattle’s typical gray clouds. The gray ambience of Seattle’s typical daylight turned over the soul-sucking fluorescence of the office lights.

“Holy shit!” Waters snapped a blind back, suddenly pale. “Guys . . . ?”

Nigel circled the desk, hard on Jake’s heels as the officer sprinted to the window. Jake pulled the blinds up, the vinyl clattering loudly as the shade rose.

Seattle filled the frame, much as it always did, save for a little extra wear and tear. As it had been for the past few hours, bumper-to-bumper traffic filled the streets; frightened people hurrying to get out of a city falling apart around them.

The news had promised no more quakes.

They hadn’t said anything about the early night.

“What the hell?” Jake breathed.

Nigel watched the thick, lightless bank of clouds roll over the visible skyline. He’d seen it before. Once, when Maylene had faked being sick and he’d let her stay home on his day off. She’d watched a show, some entertainment science. It was about .

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