Following Knox out of the house, she saw Khloë across the street, standing beside a dark-skinned kid who was straddling a bike. Spotting Knox, his brown eyes flickered nervously. The kid might not know that Knox was a demon, but he could still sense the danger in him.
Harper exchanged a quick, grateful smile with Khloë and then slid her gaze to the boy. “It’s Isaiah, right?” Khloë had told her a little about him.
He nodded curtly, trying to look tough. “Yeah.”
“I’m Harper. This is my husband, Knox.”
The kid tipped his chin in a “Sup?” gesture. He was cute with his small afro and the shaved lines at the sides of his head, Harper thought. There was also a badass swagger in his manner that most of the kids in that area had.
“Khloë tells us that you recognize the woman in the picture she’s been showing around,” said Knox.
Isaiah shrugged. “I saw her in the doorway of that house a few times. Never saw her leave, though.”
“Did she ever have visitors?” Knox asked.
“Dude, she had a lot of visitors. Only saw one person go there more than once, though. A guy. Most of the time, he’d take someone with him. Weird thing was he always left them behind. I figured he was her pimp or dealer or something.”
Knox narrowed his eyes. “Can you describe him?”
Isaiah’s brow wrinkled. “He only came at night. He was tall. Walked like he could handle himself, but he wasn’t built. Wore a long coat.”
“What color?”
“Dark. Not black, but dark.”
Perhaps navy blue like the cashmere coat that Sherryl had described, Knox thought. “Did you ever hear him speak?”
“The walls of these houses are thin as fuck, but I didn’t hear a damn thing come from inside that place.”
“Hmm.” Knox had to wonder if a spell had also been cast to contain sounds. “Anything about him ever catch your attention?”
“Him? No. I paid more attention to his ride than him.” Isaiah’s mouth curved. “The dude had a sweet ride. Aston Martin.”
Khloë snorted. “I’m surprised no one tried borrowing it.”
Isaiah’s gaze cut
to her. “Probably would have done if he hadn’t always had his dog with him. Big fucking brute of a dog. He’d leave it in the yard, and it would lie next to the car. Didn’t move an inch until the dude came back out.”
Knox tilted his head. “Can you describe the dog?”
“Like I said, it was big,” said Isaiah. “It had black shaggy hair. Always looked wet.”
Probably a black shuck, Harper told Knox, referring to shape-shifting demons that were considered death omens by humans.
Sounds like it, agreed Knox. “Did you recognize any of the people that entered the house, Isaiah?”
“Some. A couple of them were meth addicts. That’s why I figured that dude was a dealer or pimp.” He flexed his grip on the bike’s handlebars. “Our local dealer confronted him; didn’t want anyone else selling shit on his turf. The dude said he was no dealer.”
Knox tensed briefly. “Where can we find this dealer?”
“Graveyard. He was shot dead sometime after that.” Isaiah’s gaze sharpened. “You think that guy had something to do with it?”
“It’s unlikely,” lied Knox. The Horseman wouldn’t have wanted there to be someone who could describe him to anyone who came asking questions. “When was the last time you saw him?”
“Months ago. Haven’t seen anything of the woman in a while either. But I don’t watch the place, so I can’t be sure when anyone was last there. Can I go now?”
“Yes. Thank you for talking with us, Isaiah.” He handed the kid some cash, who nodded in thanks and then disappeared on his bike.