Capricorn Conjured (Zodiac Guardians Book 2) by Tamar Sloan & Tricia Barr

Author:Tamar Sloan & Tricia Barr [Sloan, Tamar]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jess Connors Publishing
Published: 2021-01-15T16:00:00+00:00

JACK

17:46

Jack straightens his tie then rubs his rough cheek. The small electric razor he keeps in the car never does a great job, but it’s good enough to pull off respectable FBI agent.

Rather than rogue FBI agent.

Ignoring the twinge in his chest, Jack raps on the door in front of him and takes a step back. Dirty windows. Unkempt yard. Sagging porch.

The Shaw family don’t put a lot of money into the upkeep of their place. They either don’t want to, or they don’t have the cash.

There are sounds of locks turning and chains rattling, and the door opens. Behind the screen stands a thin, limp woman. She takes one look at Jack’s suit and crosses her arms. “Yeah?”

Jack pulls out his badge and presses it against the screen between them. “Good day, Mrs. Shaw. I’m Detective Jack Cadbury. I’d like to ask you a few questions about your daughter.”

In a flash, the woman’s shoved open the door. “You got news about my Adalind?”

Jack doesn’t twitch a muscle, hiding his surprise. This woman doesn’t know what’s happened to her daughter? That means that Jack’s the first official here since they ID’d the body.

And that Jack’s going to have to tell the woman her daughter’s dead.

“If I could come in?”

“Hell yeah, you can come in.” She waves him in, straightening her gray cardigan. “Would you like a coffee or somethin’?”

Hell no.

Jack smiles. “I’m fine, thank you, Mrs. Shaw.”

She flaps away the formality. “Just call me Darlene, hon. I ain’t been a missus in years.”

“Of course.” Jack notes the cigarette stained curtains, the lack of furniture, the piles of rubbish in the corners of the room. He suspects Darlene fits into both types when it comes to home maintenance—she doesn’t have the cash, but nor does she really care.

She takes a seat in a saggy chair that looks like a dog chewed off the end of one arm, indicating for Jack to sit on the discolored couch across from her.

Perching on the end, Jack smiles in thanks. “I’m afraid it’s not good news, Darlene.”

She blinks. “She’s been missing for months. Did you know that? At first I thought she’d just run away.” Her mouth twists. “We’d had another of them arguments over her phone. But she didn’t come back…”

“She—”

But Darlene holds up her hand. “Then I figured she’d shacked up with her boyfriend, no matter how much I told her he was no good.” She huffs. “Probably because I told her he was no good.”

“Well—”

“But she would’ve rung me, eventually, you know. We may have fought like cats, but we were all each other had.” Her shoulders sag. “But she never rang.”

Jack waits, making sure Darlene’s finished. That’s she’s as ready as she can be.

“Adalind died in a warehouse in New York, Darlene. She was found with two other bodies. We’re still trying to ascertain the cause of death.”

Darlene’s eyes close, two tears leaking out and trickling down her worn cheeks. “So far from home. I already knew, but still, hearing it…”

“I’m very sorry for your loss.

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