Chapter 4

  October 8, 2016

  New York, Manhattan

  24th Precinct

  9:45 PM

  Blair

  Blair suppressed a groan as she stood in front of the police department.

  She hated coming to Evans for any sort of help, and he wasn’t so fond of it either. He had a lot more important issues to take care of, especially with the recent rise in gang wars involving the supernatural. Evans wasn’t exactly high up in terms of the hierarchy at the Supernatural Operations Unit, so they dumped all the dirty work on him. Which only ever added to the guilt Blair would feel when pestering him for a case.

  Lighting a cigarette, she watched the red lights of the police car parked in front reflecting on the glass doors of the grey building. It was late but the police station inside was crowded with all sorts of people and supernatural beings.

  Taking the last few puffs of her cigarette, Blair flicked it away and walked towards the station. Her hands were fisted inside her jacket pockets with her hood up to avoid any sort of attention being aimed at her. She pushed open the white framed doors and almost bumped headfirst into an orc. Stumbling on her feet, she took multiple steps back, her heartbeat accelerating slightly before she noticed his head was down and he was being shoved out by a policeman.

  The orc growled lightly as he raised his head and bared his massive tusks at her, before hissing and dropping his head down again.

  “Sorry, miss-” the policeman started before he looked up and raised his brows, “Oh Martinez.” He was half the orc’s height and weight and had to step on his toes as he poked his head from beside the orc and smiled.

  Blair nodded her head at him, “Is Evans in?”

  He nodded, struggling slightly at the weight of the orc, “But he’s a little busy… something about a werewolf case.”

  Blair pursed her lips and stepped aside to let them leave.

  He grunted while shoving the orc, sweat coating his brows.

  She watched their backs and as he walked beside the orc, the handcuffs had become visible. Squinting her eyes, she could make out a small blue light glowing out of the metal. They must have had to use sedating handcuffs on him.

  Blair walked inside the police department once again and was instantly hit with the aroma of wood, coffee, paper, and sweat-- a mixture she was all too familiar with. The offices and desks were crowded with papers, officers, and people; their voices blending with the neverending telephones ringing. The dull lighting did absolutely nothing to brighten up the gloomy atmosphere, and Blair could see why Evans had been so miserable.

  She walked past the crowded offices and rusted floors and took a turn to the right to reach the elevators and punched the button. After waiting a few seconds for the elevator to ding, Blair stepped into the middle one, relieved to find it empty, and pressed the fourth-floor button. Elevator music played in the background, which had distracted her momentarily from her growing anxiety despite the utter annoyance it also caused.

  The elevator dinged and Blair walked out, grasping the strap on her shoulder as she passed another number of offices and desks, and took a few turns until she reached a brown door with a metal plate labelled Detective Evans.

  The door was closed and Blair could make out muffled voices.

  She took a seat at a bench placed beside his office and decided to wait it out.

  Blair tried her best not to cringe at the guilt creeping down on her, the time on her phone was ten and Evans was still busy with someone. But she had spent the entire day visiting firm after firm and had come out with absolutely nothing. She was grateful for her super-strength supporting her legs from collapsing completely due to the massive distance she had covered. Sighing, she leaned her head back on the wall and glared at the smoking detectors.

  “Rough day?” someone asked beside her.

  Blair looked sideways to find a man sitting at the bench a few centimetres away from her. He smiled at her and she narrowed her eyes as she scanned him from head to toe, her eyes mainly focusing on his tattooed arms. She found what she was looking for as she eyed the rose symbol on his wrists and decided to look away.

  The man seemed to notice where her eyes wandered and snorted, “Don’t worry, I don’t bite. Not today, at least.”

  Blair rolled her eyes.

  “Not much of a talker, huh?” he murmured.

  She stared at the red fire alarm instead.

  “Oh come one, you don’t come across as the racist type,” he noted.

  Blair snapped her head towards him and glared, “Well I do prefer cats.”

  He raised his handcuffed hands to his chest and feigned pain, “Shit that hurts.”

  She couldn’t help but grin slightly as she took a better look at him. He had hooded blue eyes but his left eye was slashed and seemed to be blind. In fact, the entire left part of his face had wrinkled scars that appeared to be a result of being burnt.

  Noticing her stare, “Ah,” he took a moment to consider before waving his finger, “motorcycle accident… wasn’t pretty.”

  Blair didn’t need any lie-detecting ability to call bullshit with that.

  She snorted, “Wasn’t going to ask.”

  “But you were thinking about it,” he replied, raising his brows.

  She scoffed and glanced away as two cops walked past them.

  “So what are you in here for?”

  She huffed out an annoyed breath, “Take a hint buddy.”

  [more dialogue]

  Before he could respond the door flew open and Blair snapped her head towards it.

  A boy that seemed no older than sixteen years of age stepped out first, his dark eyes darting everywhere until they landed on Blair before immediately looking away.

  Evans stepped out soon after and patted the boy on his skinny shoulders, “You did the right thing, Chris.”

  Chris quickly glimpsed at both Blair and the werewolf beside her, his eyes growing wide at the latter.

  The werewolf grinned back, briefly showing off his canines, “Snitches get stitches, kid.”

  Chris pulled his gaze away, sweat gleamed on his dark skin as he quickly nodded his head before walking away.

  “Chris!” Evans called out as he turned to look back, “If anything comes up, call me.”

  Evans’s warm blue eyes turned icy real quick as he glared at the werewolf beside Blair before she stepped into his view and smiled.

  Finally noticing her, Evans sighed exasperatedly and rubbed his eyes, “Go home, Martinez, there’s nothing for you.” His dark circles had become worse from when she had last visited him. His blonde hair was incredibly dishevelled with his tie undone and white button-up wrinkled.

  Her smile fell and she narrowed her eyes, “What about that case?”

  “What case?”

  “The one currently running away from this asshole,” Blair replied.

  The werewolf cleared his throat, and she rolled her eyes.

  “None of your concern,” he replied, as he walked back inside his office and grunted, “Get in here, Bernhard.”

  Blair clenched her fists.

  The werewolf named Bernhard stood up and walked over to Blair. She didn’t spare him a glance as she knew he towered over her greatly and she did not want to give him the satisfaction of looking up at him

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  He bent down and whispered beside her ear, “... ”

  It took all of her restraint not to grab and throw him across the hall.

  Evans rubbed his eyes and before he could enter he let out a sigh. Turning back he looked at Blair, “Hows Cassie?”

  Rolling her eyes Blair, turned to walk off before replying, “Why don’t you ask her yourself coward.”

  She took the same route back towards the elevator and stepped inside once again, punching the ground floor. As she walked towards the exit, someone bumped into her and before she could register who it was, her surroundings had faded away and time froze.

  She was in an alleyway.

  A man she did not recognize was sweating vigorously, his green eyes tearing up.

  An orc growled in the background as a syringe dropped, an unknown symbol plastered on it.

  And a howl echoed in the background.

  Suddenly Blair was back at the station, breathing heavily.

  She looked towards the exit to see who had bumped into her, only to notice Chris running out. Blair made her way to follow him before someone suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

  “Who the fuck-” she started but stopped as she noticed a familiar G-shock watch.

  Evans pulled her towards a corner, his brows crossed, “What happened? What did you see?”

  Blair raised her brows, “How did you-”

  “I came down to get some paperwork and then saw your eyes do that weird thing,” he replied, rolling his eyes back to demonstrate, “For fuck’s sake Blair, someone could have easily seen you.”

  Blair cringed slightly, “It isn’t my fault, I don’t know how to control this bullshit.”

  “Well don’t you think it’s about time you start learning to?”

  She ground her teeth and gritted out instead, “Do you want to know what I saw or not?”

  Evans rubbed his nose before gesturing to her to continue and she recounted the blurry series of events.

  When she was done, Evans stepped back before running his hands through his hair multiple times.

  “You know, for an ability that’s supposed to help solve situations, you sure made this case a lot more complicated,” he said, scratching his head as an exasperated laugh escaped him, “What did the symbol look like?”

  She squinted her eyes as she tried to remember, “I’m not exactly sure, but I think it was the letter V.”

  “Just the letter V?” he asked.

  She shrugged, “It could also be a roman five.”

  Evans leaned against the wall and sighed heavily.

  Blair crossed her arms, “So, does this mean I’m in?”

  He snorted, “Of course not.”

  “Why the fuck not?!” Blair raised her voice, earning some pointed looks from passersby. Lowering her voice she continued, “I can help,” giving him a pointed look.

  Evans winced and pulled his gaze away.

  Blair clenched her fists and pursed her lips.

  “Listen, Blair-”

  “No. Whatever, it’s fine,” she snapped, “Have fun kissing doggy ass.”

  She turned and walked away, wincing immediately and not daring to look back.

  *****

  Blair stared at the metal walls of the elevator, waiting for her floor to come up.

  Her hands fisted around the paper bag that held the cheap bottle of whiskey she just purchased as she recounted the events that took place today. The vision she had today kept coming back to her as she tried to link all the bits and pieces, but she came out with absolutely nothing. One thing that she was almost certain of is that Chris was in no way safe and she hoped Evans had sent some sort of protection. She should have found out his last name and cursed her stupidity.

  The elevator dinged and she stepped out only to find Alberto standing next to a man and woman in front of her apartment.

  She walked towards them, her stomping boots causing Alberto to look up.

  “Ah, Blair,” Alberto said, walking up to them, “Tienes clientas,” before wishing her good luck and retreating into his apartment that was exploding with all sorts of noise.

  Blair raised her brows as she scanned the couple from head to toe and hid her bag of whiskey behind her thighs.

  The woman who rushed towards her had her hair put into a messy bun that seemed to be unwashed and heavily tangled. She was wearing baggy clothing that almost swallowed her up, as she looked at Blair with wide blue eyes and fidgeting hands. The man walked behind her pushing his hand through his black hair that currently stood up at the weirdest angles. His blue polo shirt had wrinkles everywhere, and he seemed to be sporting an unshaved beard.

  “P.I. Martinez from Crespo Investigations?” The man asked hesitantly, adjusting his thick black-framed glasses, “I’m Karl Forman and this is my wife Linda,” he put his arm around the blonde woman named Linda as she stepped forward with a hesitant smile, “Our daughter’s missing and we were wondering if you could help.”

  Blair arched her brows.

  “Did you report this to the police?” she asked, adjusting the strap of her duffel bag.

  Linda nodded, “Yes, but there hasn’t been any progress lately, so we decided to get extra help.” Her eyes were bloodshot and the couple seemed to be sporting deep dark circles under their eyes.

  “The police referred you to me?” Blair asked, narrowing her eyes as she played with her keys.

  “No,” Karl replied, digging his fingers in the back pocket of his jeans, “Debby did. Debby Jones. She was a former client, I believe? She said you were the best in the business.”

  Blair scoffed lightly, “Ms Polyester? What do you know,” she walked past them to unlock her newly installed office door, “Come on in, and mind the cat.”

  The couple glanced worriedly at each other, before following her inside.

  Blair dropped her things on the orange sofa, before walking towards her desk and removing her leather jacket. Shooing Topher away from her chair, she sat down, the Formans following suit. She rummaged through her drawers and piles of papers to find a notepad and pen. Placing them on the desk, she waited for the Formans to slowly take their seats on the black leather chairs in front of her, and looked around with wide eyes and frowns on their faces.

  Linda held her leather purse tightly, and Karl’s eyes were on Topher before they landed on Blair’s face.

  Blair clicked her pen and cleared her throat, “Start at the beginning.”

  Linda fidgeted in her seat slightly as she got out a photo from her purse.

  Taking a deep breath she said, “Our daughter, Stephanie, moved here to study at NYU on a full mathematics scholarship,” she gave the photo to Blair with shaking hands. The photo was of a young woman holding a massive mathlete's trophy. She had jet black hair that was tied in a tight ponytail, tan skin, and blue eyes that were covered by thick black-framed glasses, “She graduated at the top of her class,” Linda added proudly, leaning in to watch Blair’s reaction to the photo.

  Blair only pursed her lips as she jotted down on her notepad:

  Stephanie, 18-19.

  “She usually calls in weekly to check-in, but it’s been about a month since she last called,” Karl added, rubbing his hands over his jeans.

  “Was anything off the last time she called?” Blair asked, putting the photo down next to her notepad.

  “Not at all,” Linda quickly answered, “She was completely fine, nothing out of the ordinary,” her voice broke slightly.

  Blair pursed her lips as she pushed a tissue box towards Linda and waited till she grabbed two and dabbed her now watering eyes.

  “Has she been in contact with anyone suspicious recently?” she asked, scribbling down on her notepad at the shake of their heads, “Has she been in any relationships recently? Any boyfriend or girlfriend?”

  “Not that we know of,” Linda responded, sniffing, “She was never the type to date. She never had the time.”

  Blair tightened her lips, as she continued scribbling down her notepad, “Does she live with any roommates?”

  “Yes, she shares a flat with her college classmates,” Karl responded, holding Linda’s hand, “But when we went to check if they knew anything, they had no idea what had happened to her.”

  Blair narrowed her eyes, “Even though they live together?”

  “Stephanie was never very good at making friends, either,” Karl added, raising his glasses, “She spends a lot of time alone studying.”

  “So no friends and no relationships,” Blair murmured to herself, giving sceptical looks at the couple.

  They only stared at her, though, their brows furrowed.

  “Could you give me the address of the apartment?” she asked, and quickly scribbled down the address that Karl recited to her. It was very near to the university, which meant almost a day trip for Blair and she suppressed a groan.

  Blair cleared her throat before leaning back in her chair and feigned disinterest by picking at her nails, “Does she have any sort of special ability?”

  The couple had just stared wide-eyed at her.

  Seconds passed before Karl managed to snap back to his senses, squirming in his seat as he stammered, “No. Why do you ask?”

  She quickly glanced at Linda who had suddenly taken an interest in Topher cleaning his private parts.

  Blair resisted the urge to roll her eyes and leaned forward to write on her notepad:

  Ella puede tener poderes especiales.

  “I’m just trying to get any important details down,” she replied, narrowing her eyes, “We wouldn’t want to miss anything.”

  Linda smiled a little too brightly at her before giving a quick glance to Karl.

  “What did the police say when you went to report this?” she asked instead, leaning back into her chair.

  “They said that there was no evidence of a crime being committed nor any obvious supernatural activity but that they would still look into it,” Karl answered, while Linda blew into a brand new piece of tissue loudly.

  “How long has it been since you contacted them?”

  “It’s been about two weeks now.”

  “And you say that it’s been a month since she last called you?”

  “Yes.”

  Blair raised her left eyebrow and sighed.

  Looks like she wasn’t the only one being put on the bottom of the priority ladder at the police department. She bent down and started rummaging through her drawers, looking through the numerous papers discarded inside.

  “I charge hourly, and that’s including expenses,” she mumbled as she found a copy of her standard contract.

  The Formans both looked up at her, surprised, “You’ll take the case?”

  Blair nodded before placing the contract on her desk, “I’ll find your daughter.”