“And that is?” I cut in.
“Officer requiring urgent assistance,” she replied. “We had no idea what we were facing, so we called up the entire team and sent two ambulances. Better to be safe than sorry, especially with all the shit that’s been going down lately.”
“Are either of them hurt?”
“I think Aiden might have broke Ashworth’s other arm when he pushed him down, but aside from a few cuts and bruises, they’re both okay.”
The tension that had been twisting my guts into knots slithered away, and my legs suddenly felt like water. I groped for the nearby fence and took several deep breaths.
“What about the shooter?” I said eventually. “Where is he?”
“Behind the screens. There’re three other apartments in the building, including one with kiddies.”
Anger touched her tone and I could understand why. All it would have taken was one or more rounds to go astray, and they would have been dealing with something far worse.
“Aiden and Ashworth weren’t caught unawares then?”
“No, thankfully. Apparently the shooter tripped some sort of magical alarm Ashworth had set up last night, and it gave them just enough time to get under cover.”
I shifted my gaze to the apartment and, for the first time, noticed the shattered windows and the holes blasted into the door.
“What kind of gun did he use?” It obviously wasn’t the same type that had been used on Chester.
“He had both a handgun and a semi-auto shotgun on him. He wasn’t pussyfooting around this time.”
“No.” I crossed my arms and tried not to imagine what a shotgun blast would have done to either man—not a difficult task when the apartment door provided ample enough evidence. “I wonder why he was ultra-careful killing Chester, and the opposite here?”
“I guess that’s something we’ll never know given he’s dead.”
“Maybe,” I muttered, “and maybe not.”
Jaz raised an eyebrow. “I can assure you—”
“That’s not what I meant. Belle’s a spirit talker, so she can have a chat with his ghost if it lingers here, or his soul if it doesn’t.”
Whether it would be worth it or not was another matter entirely—not all ghosts were fully sentient. For some, the confusion over their sudden death lingered in their afterlife, and it made dealing with them very difficult. Aside from that, he might not actually know all that much about the heretic witch.
If he was working for him, then he must have had some means of contacting him, Belle said, even if it’s something as simple as a phone number.
The rangers will undoubtedly track down anyone he’s been in contact with as a matter of course, I replied. But I rather suspect our witch will be too canny to leave such an easy trail.
Meaning maybe the shooter was being contacted face-to-face, she said. After all, someone has to be looking after this heretic bastard if the ceremony drained him as badly as Chester suggested. Maybe that same someone has been contacting the hit man and giving him directions
Maybe.
Jaz’s gaze had widened at the mention of ghosts. “Is he lingering here? Can you sense it?”
My gaze swept the front yard and the screens hiding the body. “Not immediately, and certainly not from here. Belle’s the stronger witch when it comes to sensing the otherworld elements.”
Depends on the element, Belle said, amused. You’re far more attuned to the nasty ones.
Which makes me wonder what I did in a past life to deserve it.
I glanced back to the door as it opened. Aiden stepped out and scanned the area, and didn’t look surprised when he spotted me.
“Jaz, you can let her in.”
Jaz immediately raised the crime scene tape and waved me on. I ducked under the tape and hurried toward the door, making no attempt to look past the screens to see the hit man’s body but nevertheless feeling a wisp of energy. It wasn’t the wild magic, but rather a ghost.