“Maybe we stake out the Velvet Noose,” Cassie said. “That seems to be where everybody he ‘worked’ with met The Beast in the first place.”
“If you can call what he did to them ‘working’ with them.” Stone’s voice went hoarse with fury. “That poor little female…” He looked back up at Leela’s apartment and shook his head. “I want to catch this bastard more than ever now. I want to make him pay.”
“It was good of you to offer to take her to the Mother Ship,” Cassie remarked.
“I hope she will take my offer and agree to go,” Stone said seriously. “She needs medical attention and it’s clear she’s not willing to seek it here on Earth.”
Just then, Cassie’s phone rang.
“Oh—maybe that’s her now,” she exclaimed. But when she pulled out her phone, she saw that it was Captain Perkins.
“We got the results of the lab work,” she said, the minute Cassie answered and put her on speaker. “Whoever it was that killed Brittany Harkins, he wasn’t Kindred.”
“I knew it!” The light of vindication was shining in Stone’s pale eyes. “No Kindred could commit the vile acts The Beast has performed!”
“Was it a big human pretending to be Kindred, then?” Cassie asked, frowning. “Because with his alien tech and that Live Ink tattoo, I don’t see how—”
“No—not human either. We don’t know what the hell he is,” Captain Perkins said shortly. “And more bad news—we got the toxicology report back. We can tell the victim was drugged, but we have no idea with what. The chemicals in her bloodstream are completely unfamiliar to us—most of them aren’t even found on Earth.”
“Do you have any good news, Captain, because I’m afraid we’re drawing a blank, too,” Cassie said. “We’ve visited every single girl on our list and none of them has any idea where The Beast lays his head at night.”
“Shit.” Captain Perkins sounded disgusted.
“We were thinking of going back to Yarrow,” Stone growled. “Maybe he knows more than he told us the first time.”
“Or the Velvet Noose,” Cassie put in.
“Before you do that, go to the HKR building,” the Captain directed. “I got a call from them right before I called you, asking to speak to the detectives on the case. Maybe the Kindred have got something on The Beast that we don’t.”
“We’ll go right away—we’re not that far from downtown,” Cassie said.
“Fill me in when you get done.” Captain Perkins hung up without saying goodbye, which wasn’t unusual for her.
“Well?” Stone looked at her.
“Let’s get to the Human/Kindred Relations building,” Cassie told him. “Maybe your people found out something mine couldn’t.”
“Given our superior technology, I would not be surprised,” Stone remarked, without a trace of humor.
Cassie punched him lightly on the arm.
“Same old Stone. Come on, let’s go.”
Seventeen
As it turned out, the HKR building was only their first stop. Commander Sylvan himself, the head of the Kindred High Council, had sent word that he wanted to talk to them. So Stone was obliged to seal the shuttle for spaceflight and take off for the Mother Ship itself.
“I’m kind of excited,” Cassandra admitted, as they left the Earth behind them. “I’ve never been to the Mother Ship before and I’ve always wanted to go.”
Stone shot her a startled glance.
“Why did you not tell me? I would have taken you at any time.”
She shrugged.
“I don’t know. I guess it seemed kind of geeky and lame to ask you to give me a tour.”
“It is not ‘geeky’ or ‘lame’ at all,” Stone protested. “I am delighted to find out you have an interest in my culture.”
“Of course I’m interested—you’re my partner!” She sounded almost indignant, Stone thought. “Of course I want to know where you come from and all about you. The same way you wanted to meet my family and see the house I grew up in.”
“It was fascinating to see all the photographic evidence your mother had of you when you were younger,” Stone said thoughtfully.
“Photographic evidence? You make my childhood sound like a crime scene!” Cassandra laughed.
“According to your mother, it was,” Stone pointed out. “I believe she told me that you were always in trouble. Is that not correct?”
“Oh, whatever!” Cassandra laughed again. “I’m still waiting to meet your parents and find out what kinds of mischief you got up to as a kid.”
“Very little, actually. I was always a serious child,” Stone told her. “And I’m afraid you’ll be waiting for a while. My parents don’t live on the Mother Ship, as you know—they still reside on Tranq Prime, the Blood Kindred home world.”
“Too bad. I bet you weren’t nearly as good a kid as you try to make out.” Cassandra sighed and looked out the viewscreen. They had passed the Earth’s atmosphere and were almost halfway to the moon by then. “God, it’s beautiful out here!” she murmured. “You know, I’ve never even been off of Earth before? It looks so small when you get away from it.”