The one thing I was positive of, was that if Malak was back in town, then bodies were bound to start showing up. Even if Ellington had a tight leash on him, he was a fucking demon. I had never heard or come in contact with any other Mala or another type of demon before. I wasn't sure if demons had a species per say or if it was part of the Cabals they formed but the Mala were the ones who fed off of fear. Sure, if ripping apart someone and eating flesh would cause fear, they'd do that too. He had to feed. And while some of those bodies could be hidden, he had always been a solitary hunter. My instinct told me he wouldn't be running to Ellington to clean up a mess. The issue was I didn't know how long he had been back in the area. The other part to that was that I didn't know enough about what he was, and had never known where to start when it came to him.
I was going to need some inside information. I needed to know about recent murders or unexplained missing people. Something someone in retail was not going to be able to find hanging around in the local paper.
Murders caused by supernaturals have never been majorly discussed in the news, only little things got leaked and reported on and usually only once everything had been cleaned up. Which meant that I needed to talk about specifics with someone who had case files. Which mean the BSU.
This was exactly what Bree had been worried about. As soon as I had heard Malak was here, still alive, I was knee deep in this shit. But, it was also self-preservation. And that witch had told me she knew about Bree, which meant that going after Malak and dealing with the Ellington was the only way to ensure that we were both safe. A part of me though was annoyed at how easy it was to rationalize the decision. The other part of me knew I had work to do.
I had a few contacts from back in the day. None that I had spoken to in ages and even fewer that I would even bother calling. Avery was not on the list, but Marx was.
Marx had been our eyes and ears, his father being part of BSU. He had gotten me into the consultant role with the BSU when I had been a teen. The warrant would already be signed by the time we got the call leaving us as the executioner. The BSU, which typically was made up of different types of supernaturals, were always the ones that went after any rogue monster. Fight fire with fire and all that. But they were also held down by the bureaucracy of course. You needed a lot of evidence in order to get the warrant to kill but at that point, there wasn't going to be a judge, jury, or jail time. Just death.
A quick google search earlier had gotten me not only a recent phone number for Marx, but his office number, which was the detective unit in the BSU. I wasn't sure what he specialized in at this point but figured he'd probably be able to get me the case files or hook me up with someone who could.
I took a swig of coffee before settling down with my phone. Was I really ready to open this can of worms? Could I really back out at this point?
My fingers began dialing the phone before my mind could decide if I was crazy or desperate.
The phone barely rang before a deep set voice answered, "Marx."
In eight years, his voice had barely changed, and I felt a wave of nostalgia sweep through me.
"Hey, Marx, it's Rally Vincent."
The line went silent. I pulled my phone away from my face to stare at the screen. No dropped call. We were still connected. "Hello?"
"Girl, how the hell have you been!" I could almost see the smile spreading across his face as it echoed in his voice over the phone. It was infectious. I felt my lips turn up into an irresistible smile.
"Good, Marx. You?"
"Shocked. You still in Arizona?"
I pushed my chair back, standing and walked across the kitchen to the living room. "Nah, actually I'm back in Boston."
"No shit? How long have you been back in town?"
"Few weeks."
"And already calling the ole crew?" The question was steeped in humor, but it made me feel cold inside as the guilt started to gnaw again at me.
"Yes and no. I have a few loose ends I need to take care of before I'm done." There. I put an end date on it... granted I didn't get killed in the meantime. "I need a contact with the BSU... unless you are working any cases..."
The friendly banter dropped a little, and I could hear the ingrained detective tone take over. "Something going on?"
Yes. "I've stumbled upon something. I just wanted to review some case files."
Marx was quiet for a moment, but I could hear the obsessive clicking of a pen creeping through the other line. It was as if he knew I wasn't supposed to be back in this mess.
"Well, you'd want to talk to Valenti. He's a lieutenant at BSU currently. I'm actually out of state working computer crimes."
That was a bummer. I had always liked Marx. Valenti? I hadn't heard that name before. Technically, if he was part of BSU, he should be a supernatural of some sort, but he definitely wasn't part of the "crew" as Marx put it.
"He new?"
I slumped onto the couch, grabbing a pad and paper, writing down the name so I wouldn't end up looking for a Valentine or something once I got to BSU.
"Been around for about two years. Came up from Alabama. Good ole southern boy."
"Alright, I'll go in to see him. You'll let him know I'm stopping by?"
"I'll tell him you're a rookie looking for a challenge." The humor was back in his voice.
I rolled my eyes. "Gee, that'll be just swell."
The phone went quiet again. "We should have dinner sometime, Vincent. When I'm back in town. Avery..."
"Marx, really I appreciate it. I'll give you a call, let you know how it turns out." I could hear protests on the line as I ended the call and dropped my phone onto the couch.
Rude... I know, but I just didn't want to talk about Avery right now. I'd call him back, later... Probably, when I could explain things better. But right now, my focus was on Malak and being done with Julian's business. I grabbed my phone, plugging in the GPS coordinates for the local BSU before heading towards the door.