Nautilus Than Perfect by K.L. Hiers

Chapter 10.

“SHE’S BEENacting so damn weird since all of this started!” Milo went on, his voice nearly frantic now. “Like, way too happy kind of weird. I kept asking her to check out the letter shit, and she was totally brushing me off!”

“Where is she now?” Chase flipped the phone over to speaker as he and Merrick hurried back out to the car.

“I don’t know!” Milo groaned. “Look, I turned my back for, like, two seconds, and she was gone. It’s way too early for her to take lunch, but Officer Dancy says he saw her leaving.”

“Try her cell?”

“Not picking up.”

“Send her address. Fuckin’ stat.” Chase jumped into the passenger seat, scrambling to get his seat belt on before Merrick hauled ass out of the parking lot. “And you’re sure it was her? Totally sure?”

“Yup,” Milo confirmed. “Daisy Lopez. It’s her. I even got copies of the visitors’ log where she was seein’ our buddy Jeff.”

“Lovely.”

“Address is coming at you. Good luck.”

“Good work, Milo. Thanks.” Chase hung up, waiting for the text to come through. “Okay, it’s the Arbor Place neighborhood over by that new fancy grocery store they built, 565 Elm Lane.”

“On it,” Merrick said, narrowing his eyes as he hit the gas.

“I can’t fuckin’ believe it,” Chase scoffed. “Sweet little Daisy is in a damn cult.”

“Sweet little Daisy also has no respect for authority,” Merrick pointed out.

“Is this about the donut thing?”

“It is a very clear departmental policy she chooses to violate most heinously. I am not surprised by her treachery.”

“Well, let’s just hope she hasn’t made a run for it yet.” Chase sighed. “If she really is tangled up with ol’ Jeffy boy, they could be one portal jump away from vanishing forever.”

“Not on my watch,” Merrick growled, punching the accelerator again and zooming through traffic. Mysteriously, all the stoplights turned green, and they made it through the city in record time.

Daisy’s neighborhood was quaint and modest, and Chase was relieved to see her car still in the driveway as they pulled up.

“All right, let’s go,” Chase urged.

“Wait.” Merrick reached over and touched Chase’s forehead. “This will help.”

“What did you do?” Chase wrinkled his nose. “Feels tingly.”

“A truth spell,” Merrick explained. “And yes, before you ask, the same kind of truth spell that requires a suspect’s consent and we need a judge’s order to cast.”

“Desperate times and all that.”

“She may have information we need to prevent the end of the world. Yes, I would say it is very desperate.”

Together they marched up to Daisy’s front door, and Chase rang the bell. He heard movement inside, and he tensed as he prepared himself for anything.

Jeff Martin or another horde of cultists could be in there. Hell, they could have some fucked-up monster from another world or even their own god, since those guys seemed to be running around all over this place.

The door opened, fortunately revealing only Daisy in a bathrobe and brightly colored bunny slippers.

“Oh, uh, hi,” Daisy squeaked, immediately recoiling from the door. “Detectives, uh, what a nice surprise! I was just taking a nap. Uh. What are you doing here?”

“We know you were the one sending letters to Slappy and Jeff,” Chase declared boldly. “We also know that you’re mixed up in this fuckin’ Salgumel cult. So start talking. Right now.”

“Shit.” Daisy’s eyes bugged out. “Am I under arrest?”

“Not yet. Depends on how cooperative you are.” Chase clicked his tongue. “Ditching work ain’t a real good look.”

“I’m sorry! I was having a bad day, and I really needed to take some personal time, but, uh, I see what you mean.” Daisy tightened her robe around herself and gestured for them to come in. “I’ll talk to you guys, okay?”

That felt like the truth, so at least the spell seemed to be working.

They gathered in Daisy’s cluttered living room, and she flitted around picking up laundry and trash to free up the furniture.

“I’m sorry it’s such a mess,” she said. “Please, uh, sit down. Do you guys want some coffee or something?”

“No, we’re good.” Chase took one of the cleared spots on the sofa, but Merrick chose to remain standing. “Start talking. Now.”

“Slappy Romero is my ex-boyfriend,” Daisy confessed, sinking down on the other end of the couch. “Jeff Martin is also my ex-boyfriend, but uh, much more recently. As in, like today.”

“You met them through the prison pen pal program, right?”

“Jeff, yes, but I was dating Slappy before he got arrested. We had met at a Urilitha party a few years ago, and well, we hit it off really well, and we ended up joining a coven dedicated to Salgumel together.”

“You mean the charming guys that tried to gun us down at the shoe factory?” Chase raised his brows. “The cult?”

“It wasn’t a cult then!” Daisy protested, her defiance faltering. “It was just… it was just some Sages hanging out with other Sages. It used to be really nice.”

“So, more magical fun times and less murder?” Chase drawled.

“Hey! That’s not funny!” Daisy yelped. “I didn’t know any of that stuff was going to happen!”

A lie.

“Come on, Daisy,” Chase snorted. “You’ve been in this coven for a while, probably had lots of fun little parties. You had to know they were up to something.”

“Please, you’ve gotta believe me. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” Daisy mewled pitifully. “I thought Jeff would just take the painting and leave!”

“So Jeff got the house key from you?” Chase accused. “Is that how he got in?”

“Yes,” Daisy confirmed, wiping tears from her eyes. “Slappy had given it to me back when we were dating. You know, before he went to prison for the whole fraud thing.”

Truth.

“He was so handsome. He had the nicest beard.” Daisy smiled sadly as she went on. “I always used to tell him that I couldn’t wait to run my fingers through it again.”

Partially true.

“So what happened? He goes to jail, you’re still in love with his awesome beard, and then what?”

“After he got out of prison, I was supposed to come stay with him for a big romantic weekend to celebrate. I was so excited because I hadn’t seen him in weeks. He hated when I visited him in jail, so I didn’t see him much. Well, he called me when I was on my way there to say he wanted the key back and that his ex-girlfriend was coming over.”

“Ouch.”

Dick move on Slappy’s part and also the truth.

“I never gave the stupid key back.” Daisy shook her head. “I didn’t want to ever see him again.”

A lie. She definitely had wanted to see him again, and Chase felt a faint twinge of pity.

“Slappy left the coven after we broke up, and then I met Jeff through the pen pal program. He was a very devout Salgumel worshipper, and he joined the coven as soon as he got out of prison. He’s the one who told us all about Lord Collins and the paintings.

“When he found out Slappy had one of them at his gallery, he started asking me all of these questions. He knew me and Slappy used to date, and well, I maybe might have told him that I still had a key to Slappy’s place, but I didn’t think it mattered then.”

“Lemme guess. You guys didn’t know the one at Slappy’s gallery was a fake?”

“No. The coven didn’t find out until I examined the painting after it got left behind at the factory, and I… I told them. Jeff realized Slappy must have been keeping the real painting at his house, and he remembered that I still had a key.”

“So, after you tell your little boyfriend Jeff all about it, you hand over the house key you just happened to still have? Is this before or after he carved his buddy’s heart out of his chest?”

“Look,” Daisy protested, “I’m a Sage. Do you have any idea how incredible it was to find a guy who shared my beliefs? After Slappy broke my heart, I didn’t think I’d ever find anyone ever again! But then I met Jeff, and it was just… it was just so magical!”

“Answer the question,” Merrick said coldly.

“After the heart thing.” Daisy stared down at her hands. “I love him, and I love the gods. It… it felt like the right thing to do. He told me Louis had been a willing sacrifice, but it didn’t work, and they didn’t know why. They needed the real painting for the ritual, and he promised me that he wasn’t going to hurt Slappy.”

“Where is Jeff now?” Chase demanded. “Where is the rest of the cult hiding out?”

“I don’t know!” Daisy cried. “Look, Jeff has pretty much taken over the coven now, and he started to push me out. He didn’t want me to get too involved. I had no idea he was even capable of something like this.”

“Why didn’t you tell us the truth?” Chase scowled. “You realize by giving your little boyfriend that key, you could be looking at accessory to murder, right? You should have told us what was going on the fucking second you—”

“I didn’t think you guys would believe me!” Daisy burst into tears. “I’m a Sage! Everybody thinks we’re crazy and we’re all a bunch of rogue witches! You’re probably using a truth spell on me right now! I didn’t want anyone to get hurt! I just, I just wanted to help!”

“Help who?”

“The gods! I want them to come back so badly! If Salgumel wakes up, he’ll bring them all back. Don’t you understand?” She sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “When I first got involved in the coven, it was all about reconnecting with Salgumel. Now it’s gotten so out of control with this ritual thing, and all these poor people are dying….” She began to cry again.

“Like your friend Louis? Like Slappy?” Chase pushed. “How many more people are gonna die, Daisy?”

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I should have said something after he killed Lou. I should have…. Jeff said he was willing, that he wanted to do it, but now I don’t know! I’m so sorry.”

That was the truth, but Chase couldn’t help but wonder what she was sorry for. It was possible to manipulate a truth spell with carefully selected answers, but seeing her look so genuinely upset made him feel like a jerk for doubting her.

Even so, there was a knot in his stomach telling him this was all wrong somehow.

“I can understand the desire to reconnect with the gods,” Merrick spoke up, offering her a surprisingly sympathetic smile. “They have been away for so long, and the faithful that are left are ridiculed and isolated. However, what your cult seeks would have very devastating consequences.”

“You mean because everyone believes Salgumel has gone mad?” Daisy sniffed. “I don’t believe that.” She noisily snorted back more tears. “I know what the coven is doing is wrong, but Salgumel just needs to see that people still care about him and the other gods. When he wakes up, he will reward all of the faithful.”

“I’m sorry, Daisy, but trust me when I say that’s not going to happen,” Merrick said. “We must leave Salgumel sleeping. It’s for the best.”

“How the hell would you know?” Daisy spat with unexpected venom, crossing her arms angrily. “You’re Lucian. You couldn’t possibly understand how much this hurts!”

Chase saw how those words hurt Merrick, and he thought he might be about to show off a tentacle or two to comfort Daisy.

Merrick said nothing, and he turned away.

“All right, look here, Daisy. Do you know anything else about the coven that could help us?” Chase asked. “Where they might be? What they’re planning next?”

“I know they won’t stop until it’s done,” Daisy said softly. “I know they’re close. The last thing Jeff told me is that they only need one last ingredient to power the ritual.”

Yeah, and the missing ingredient is another fuckin’ human sacrifice.

“When was the last time you saw Jeff?”

“This morning before I went in to work,” she replied firmly. “I told him I was breaking up with him and leaving the coven.”

“After all those years? You’d just give it all up?”

“I don’t want to be a part of anyone else getting hurt,” Daisy said. “I still believe Salgumel will come back to us, one way or another, but I don’t want it to be like this. I can’t be a part of all of this death, okay?”

“You know we’re gonna have to report you,” Chase warned. “You withheld evidence, shared private information, and compromised our entire investigation.”

“I know.” Daisy bowed her head. “I knew you guys were gonna find out eventually. It’s why I left work today. I couldn’t keep pretending everything was gonna be okay, not with Milo pushing me about the letters. I know… I know my life is over now. I lost my boyfriend, lost my coven, and I’m probably gonna lose my job.”

“You can get a new boyfriend, preferably one that’s not into cults or crime, and you can find a new job,” Chase promised. “You coming clean with us counts for a lot. What they do to you is gonna be up to internal affairs, but I’ll talk to the captain for you, okay?”

“You’d do that?” Daisy stared at him. “After lying and, and everything else I did?”

“People do crazy shit for the people they love, gods included,” Chase said, glancing at Merrick with a fleeting smile. “Just sit tight, and we’ll see what we can do.”

“Thank you, Chase,” Daisy gushed. “Thank you both so much. I swear I’ll tell you anything else if I think it’s important! Really!”

“Take care of yourself, kiddo,” Chase said as he stood up. “You hear from Jeffy boy, you give us a call, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you so much!”

They left Daisy tearful but hopeful, and they sat in the car for several long moments before either one of them spoke.

“I do not believe her.” Merrick drummed his fingers along the steering wheel. “I think she is lying to us. She should be incarcerated at once.”

“The only big thing she lied about was not wanting to see Slappy again,” Chase said grimly. “I don’t know. The whole waterworks deal, the poor girl getting swept up in a bad group of people bit….”

“It is very plausible, but I still do not believe her.”

“I fuckin’ agree ten thousand percent. I feel like she played us, but I can’t prove it.”

“We could still procure a warrant for her arrest.”

“Yeah, what for? She’s just gonna get placed on administrative leave while they conduct their big ol’ fancy internal investigation.” Chase rubbed his forehead. “And we’re still no fucking closer to finding these cult assholes.”

“At least we know how Mr. Martin was able to enter Mr. Romero’s residence to murder him.”

“Yeah, ’cause that’s real helpful right now.”

“Perhaps we should contact my nephew and Mr. Beaumont.” Merrick closed his eyes. “It is possible they have had more luck than we have.”

“Sure.” Chase got out his phone and prepared to dial. “We still gotta call in and report what little Miss Daisy has been up to. The captain is gonna fuckin’ freak.”

His phone rang.

“That should be Sloane,” Merrick said. “I am sorry. I told Loch it was urgent.”

“Wait, how did you…? Never mind.” Chase cleared his throat, answering the phone on speaker. “Detectives Chase and Merrick here.”

“Hey, it’s Sloane,” Sloane greeted. “Loch told me he got a message from Gordoth and wanted us to call?”

“Yeah, we’ve had a little bit of a situation develop on our end, and we were hoping that maybe you guys had managed to turn something up about this cultist bullshit.”

“What’s going on?”

“It’s our forensic tech, Daisy Lopez,” Chase replied. “She’s apparently very into bad boys who like Salgumel and have awful names like Slappy and Jeff.”

“Huh?”

Chase caught Sloane up on what had happened since they’d last spoken, concluding, “So now, if I’m counting right, they’ve gotten their hands on anywhere between five and seven of the eight paintings that can end the world.”

“The most they could have had was five,” Sloane said. “I asked around, and a very close friend of ours was hired to steal some paintings last year. Their contact was a guy named Jeff.”

“Oh really?” Chase glanced over to Merrick. That certainly lined up with Ollie’s reading. “What happened?”

“They tried to kill him instead of paying him, and he torched at least two of the paintings. This same friend may have also been responsible for the auction theft.”

“And that painting?”

“Also destroyed. So that’s good, right? This means they don’t have enough info to conduct the ritual?”

“Our girl Daisy says all they’re waiting on is the last ingredient. Whatever your friend destroyed, I guess it was more porn they didn’t need.”

“Well, shit.”

“One way or another, they’ve got everything for the ritual except this human sacrifice bit. Ollie was able to translate Slappy’s painting from a photo, and it says they need someone with bright stars in their blood.”

“So, someone with starlight magic or that’s been blessed by starsight?”

“Exactly so,” Merrick confirmed. “Such individuals are quite rare, but the cultists will certainly be searching for them. That includes my mortal vessel, Benjamin Merrick.”

“And you too, Sloane,” Chase added.

“I know,” Sloane said. “Don’t worry. I’ll be extra careful. And hey, we thought of a few places that the cultists might be using to meet at. Can’t have dastardly secret meetings without a place to meet up for drinks and snacks, right? We’ll check ’em out and see if anything turns up.”

“Like where?” Chase demanded. “You two can’t just go galivanting off playing cops, you know. Give us the locations, and we’ll go.”

“Uh, yeah, I can. I’m a licensed private investigator!” Sloane countered. “Besides, do you really think you guys could walk into a place like Dead to Rites and get anyone to talk to you?”

“Dead to Rites?” Merrick wrinkled his nose. “That nasty little bar by the old church downtown?”

“Yes! That’s the one,” Loch’s voice chimed in cheerfully. “I’ve heard they have their very own shrine dedicated to me.”

“It is a veritable cesspool of criminal activity.”

“And they have a shrine! To me!” Loch sounded very pleased. “We are going to investigate, and I am going to have a daiquiri.”

“Rites is owned by Sages,” Sloane said. “Maybe some of the cultists have been hanging out there, maybe even trying to recruit new members. It’s a good place to start anyway. We’ll call if we get anything.”

“Be safe,” Chase cautioned.

“As if I would let anything happen to my beloved mate while he’s carrying our child!” Loch scoffed.

“Talk to you later, guys,” Sloane said.

“Bye.” Chase hung up and slumped in his seat. “I’m sure this is fine. A god and a pregnant witch walking into a seedy bar looking for criminals. Totally fine.”

“Azzath will take care of his mate and their child,” Merrick soothed, leaving Daisy’s neighborhood and heading back to the station. “Fear not.”

“Fear not, my ass, we’re right back to square one again,” Chase complained. “And I still have no idea—” He stopped himself, having been about to joke that he didn’t know what Merrick wanted for dinner.

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it. Nothing that can’t wait.” Chase cleared his throat. “We should check back in at the precinct, let the captain and everybody know what’s going on.”

Merrick was quiet for a few moments before saying carefully, “I would like to amend my earlier decision and offer you a compromise.”

“Huh?”

“As long as we are alone in the vehicle together, we can have conversations including but not limited to relationship topics such as dinner.”

“Merry, really, we don’t have to do that—”

“You’re not the only one who wants to talk about it,” Merrick said passionately. “I want to talk to you about everything. About food, films, what color socks you prefer! What your dreams are, what places you want to travel to!

“I see now that denying ourselves only hurts us both, because my superior professionalism comes across as some sort of cold apathy when, in fact, I want this just as much as you do. Perhaps even more because I have never shared it with anyone else before.”

“I’ll follow your lead,” Chase said reassuringly, surprised and touched by Merrick’s sudden outburst of emotion. “Whatever you wanna do, I’m all fuckin’ for it. I love you. Just the chance to be with you is more than I ever thought I would have.”

Merrick looked a little embarrassed, perhaps from getting so worked up, but he was smiling. He glanced over to Chase, bravely stretching out a tentacle to take his hand. “Right now, I would like to discuss dinner.”

“We can totally do that.” Chase gave Merrick’s tentacle a tender squeeze. “And oh, just for the record,” he teased, “using words like ‘superior professionalism’ is much more hurtful than not wanting to talk about dinner.”

“Noted.”

“Now, how about you tell me how you feel about Bolognese sauce?”

“I will do my best to express myself thoroughly.”

They stayed that way, tentacle and hand curled together, chatting about food and movies until they arrived back at the precinct.

Merrick gave Chase’s hand one last tug before letting go, parking the car, and smiling shyly. “So. I believe we are settled on pasta and frozen garlic breadsticks for this evening?”

“Sounds good to me,” Chase confirmed. “I’m still down to watch all three Die Hard movies if you really want.”

“We can skip the second one.”

“Ugh, I love you so much.”

Merrick laughed, clearing his throat and trying to resume his usual stoic demeanor. “We still have a lot of work left to do. We are both going to have to write full statements on what happened with Daisy and file our reports with the captain before the day is out.”

“Yeah, and passing along Ollie’s translations to Milo might not be a bad idea. He’s a smart kid. Maybe he’ll figure something out we haven’t seen yet. He’s all up-to-date with this godly business after all.”

“An excellent suggestion.”

“I have those from time to time,” Chase said with a tip of his hat.

“I would also like to make a suggestion,” Merrick said casually. “After work, we will report to our homes to prepare for an evening together. I will come over to your home at seven o’clock, enjoy the delicious meal you’re going to prepare, and then I would like to take all of your clothes off.”

“That’s… that’s a very good suggestion,” Chase stuttered, his cheeks pinking up. “Ah, is the clothes-off bit happening before or after the Die Hard marathon?”

“After.” Merrick paused. “Or at least until I can no longer keep my hands off of you.”

“Good to know. Just checking.”

The end of their shift could not come soon enough. Despite the constant walls they were hitting with the case and the constant threat of apocalyptic forces hanging over their heads, Chase was in a really good damn mood.

Tonight he had a dinner date with the god he loved.