Under Wraps (UDA 1) by Jayne Hannah

Author:Jayne, Hannah [Jayne, Hannah]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Detectives, Murder, Magic, Vampires, Science Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Paranormal, Fiction, Werewolves, Fantasy, Supernatural, San Francisco (Calif.), Mystery Fiction, General, Contemporary
ISBN: 9780758258922
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2011-03-01T08:00:00+00:00

“Wow,” Nina said as we drove to the UDA office that morning, “you’re glowing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Woke up with Coptastic, have a hot date tonight … I can practically hear the blood coursing through your veins. You’re all atwitter.”

I frowned. “I’d appreciate you not listening to my innards; it really freaks me out. And it’s not a date. It’s undercover work.”

“And this morning?” Nina wanted to know.

“More work. And speaking of this morning, why were you smelling Parker? It’s hard enough to tout the benefits of a vampire friendship without you sniffing around him like he’s dinner.”

“It’s just that he smells weird,” she said, frowning. “Not like dinner weird, either. I can’t put my finger on it. It’s different.”

“It’s Buffalo. That’s where he’s from.”

Nina looked at me sideways.

“I smell it, too.” Vlad said, turning down the death metal on his iPod. “What is he, anyway?”

“He’s a detective!”

Neither Nina nor Vlad looked convinced.

“Look, you two, I don’t know what’s stranger—you guys thinking that he smells weird or you guys smelling him at all.”

“He doesn’t smell like a detective,” Vlad murmured, turning up his iPod. “He doesn’t even smell human.”

“What does he smell like?” I asked.

Nina shrugged. “Just weird.”

“He’s human,” I said. “You guys are nuts. I’ve even felt his heartbeat.”

Nina’s eyebrows waggled. “Sexy.”

“Gross,” Vlad contended from the backseat.

We rode in silence until Nina pulled her car into the police station parking lot, maneuvering over to the UDA-reserved spaces.

“Hey.” I grinned, relief washing over me. “That’s Pete’s car. At least one thing is back to normal.”

“Our boss is back at work,” Nina moaned, pulling her key out of the ignition. “Yippee.”

I headed straight for Mr. Sampson’s office when we walked into UDA but stopped short when I got to his closed office door. I knocked timidly, then poked my head in. “Mr. Sampson?”

I pushed the door open when there was no answer and stared at the empty room.

“Sampson’s not in,” Lorraine said from behind me.

I whirled, clutching my heart. “Oh. Lorraine, sorry, you scared me.”

Costineau whined as he circled around her ankles, throwing me dagger glares with his yellow cat eyes.

“I saw that he—at least his car—is here. Do you know where he is?”

Lorraine held the file folders she was clutching close to her chest and pinned me with her stare. Finally, she simply said, “No.”

I strode toward her. “Really, Lorraine? Because this could be really important. I’m worried about Sampson. Did you see anything, anything at all, when you did that scan?”

Lorraine’s eyes shone. “Yes.”

My eyebrows rose in the universal “Well?” fashion.

“I think you need to ask your detective friend.” Lorraine smiled thinly and stepped away, Costineau following after her.

“What does that mean? Ask him what?” I yelled, tailing her.

But Lorraine didn’t turn around. Costineau jumped onto Lorraine’s shoulder and hissed at me as they disappeared down the hall.

By one o’clock I had made eighteen passes in front of Lorraine’s empty desk and listened to Parker’s voice mail greeting twenty-two times. Nina was sitting on the end of my desk, swinging her long legs and sucking on a plasma pop, when I finally got Parker on the line.

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