Alpha Micah Black: Homecoming

Chapter25

Great. Just what I didn’t need. As if tracking down Hanna’s stalker wasn’t difficult enough. We never did find that bastard. Once she went missing, it’s like her stalker disappeared along with her.

“Wait. Did you say they were in a rental?” I blurted out, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yeah,” George replied.

“Who with?”

“Shady Slim’s. Who else?” Isaiah answered.

“It’s the best place if one wanted to keep off the radar, so to speak,” George noted.

“Unfortunately, neither one of us can make a move on this new POI until they do something illegal,” I rattled. “Please, mention this new find to Captain Winston for me. I don’t want a repeat of my hospital stay. I need to be around for my daughter.”

“And Tiffeny,” Isaiah coughed out.

A quiet growl slipped from my lips and George gave him his usual side glare.

“She’s not my mate,” I sneered, reminding them. Although secretly, I wished she was.

“SERGEANT!” My little gem screamed from the entryway of the library.

“Well, that’s my cue,” I mumbled, drumming the vehicle door. “Thanks for the heads up. I’ll notify my cousin of your discovery about his Chief Security Officer.”

“Boo!” Jewel laughed, running up toward me.

She startled me when she threw her arms around my waist, hugging me. Of course, I hugged her back and gave her a peck on the head.

“Okay, let’s head to the car,” I suggested. “We have a couple of stops to make before we go home.”

“Oh..okay,” she said, stepping carefully over a puddle.

However, when I went to step over the same puddle, a familiar face reflected from it. The face wasn’t mine. It belonged to my deceased mate and Jewel’s mother–Amber Howell. It smirked and then it disappeared.

Now, I can probably guess what you’re thinking. How in the hell?! Am I correct? I know that’s what I’m thinking at this particular moment. Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. I do miss female companionship. I miss having a mate. Now, what was Amber’s scent that drove me wild? I’ll work on remembering that later.

After getting into my Rogue, I shook my head to clear it. Jewel got in, buckled herself, and sat eerily still. Did she see the face too? Great. We don’t have time to ponder on that…whatever we saw.

I let my colleagues drive the police SUV out of the parking lot first. We ended up following them back to the police station. What? It’s not weird. It was one of my planned stops.

March 8th, 3:45 PM, Wolfdale City Police Department, Homicide Division

I escorted my daughter up to my workstation. Patrol Officer Kyle Reynolds and Captain Winston thankfully turned the presentation boards around. Jewel didn’t need to see the victim’s photos. George and Isaiah sat at their desks, going over their notes. I nudged George to remind him to talk to Captain Winston. Kyle volunteered for babysitting duties. He’d make sure Jewel would stay out of trouble while I tended to things I needed to.

“Sergeant, why is your desk messier than the other ones?” Jewel mused.

“It’s not messy,” I balked, defending my territory that is my desk. “It’s my creative filing system.”

“You’re funny,” she laughed. “Is that why your room is messy too?”

Kyle and Isaiah, of course, busted out laughing over Jewel’s remark. Leave it to your kid to call you out…and in a public setting. It’s a good thing she’s cute, and I like her.

“Har-har, your room needs cleaning too,” I lovingly reminded her. “Please, don’t cause trouble for Officer Reynolds. I’ll be back shortly.”

What I and my colleagues didn’t notice was that my little Jewel swiped something from my desk and pocketed it.

Forensics Department aka the minions' playpen

I texted Cerber-nerd my ETA to his subterranean domain and arrived five minutes late. The culprit? I carelessly took the elevator. Internal facepalm. From the corner of my eye, I noticed our head medical examiner walking toward the morgue. He was wearing a worn-out WCPD ballcap. He looked like he was lost in his thoughts. I can relate. He didn’t notice me standing outside of forensics. I knocked on the door. Raymond Cornell opened it before the second knock.

“Greetings, Sergeant,” he addressed me.

“Greetings.”

We weaved our way through the different workstations. Demon was waiting for us inside their breakroom. You remember the tiny room with the cupboards, a couple of stools, and a mini-fridge. She sat on one of the stools and tapped a large manila envelope on the countertop.

“Demon, why so glum?” I sort of teased her.

“Look for yourself,” she said, handing me the envelope. “I hate using outdated equipment.”

I pulled out the ‘enhanced’ still from the envelope. Raymond was correct about the quality of the resolution. The face remained grainy, but the ballcap was as clear as could be. It had wear markings on the bill, around the lettering, and the top. I scratched my facial scruff, filing this new information away in my head.

“Hey, hang in there,” I tried sounding encouraging. “We all have outdated equipment. It’s only the feds that have all the fancy stuff.”

“Yeah…” She blew a long strand of hair out her face.

“What’s in the fat envelope?” I asked, noticing it sitting near my favorite minion.

“The files we lifted off Peter Bryant’s phone,” Demon reminded me. “Cerbie and I figured you could take them to Miss Grimm,”

“It’s Miss Lowell, Demi,” Raymond gently corrected her.

“Right…sorry.”

“I’ll see to it she gets them,” I stated. After gathering both envelopes, I continued, “Keep up the good work. Hopefully, we can catch a break and figure out who did Anderson in.”

Once out in the hallway, loud voices carried over from the morgue. I stepped closer to hear what the argument was about.

“Get that abomination out of my morgue, Noah,” Gilbert Jacobson yelled at his assistant.

“That ‘abomination’ had a name and a family. Would you like to explain to his family why his life didn’t matter to figure out what happened to him?” Noah threw back, defending the perpetrator turned victim, Anderson Jacobs. “Or does Voltaire’s saying only apply to those whom you deem are worthy?”

With the door left open, I could easily see in. Gil’s ballcap sat on a ledge of an old-fashioned cupboard. It held vials, bottles of different types of liquids, and various sizes of syringes. This isn’t looking good for Dr. Gilbert Jacobson. He has the motive, the means, and plenty of opportunities to carry out the job. He’s a top person of interest in Anderson Jacobs’ case. I only need the physical evidence to collaborate my thoughts.

March 8th, 4:58 PM, 2526 N. Hampton Street, Blackwater Industries, Inc., penthouse suite

With Jewel and the large envelope in hand, I found myself visiting my cousin and his mate again. Henry, looking more relaxed than usual, opened the door on the fifth pounding. Eh, so I’m in a hurry. Jewel has homework to do… and you should know me by now, I hate waiting.

“Sergeant, what brings you here?”

“I tried calling ahead, but no one answered,” I explained. “I need to speak with your luna or alpha, please. But mostly, your luna.”

“Okay, come on in,” he casually motioned to us. I smelled a hit of alcohol on his breath in passing. That would explain his sudden behavior change.

“Been drinking on the job, Henry,” I couldn’t help but inquire. Detective Dad-mode as Jewel put it.

“Only because Dylan insisted,” he confessed. “Please, excuse the mess. We’re in the middle of spring cleaning.”

I raised an eyebrow in disbelief, looking at the pile of broken furniture and decorations. Jewel, meanwhile, was taking in the vastness of the upscale home. If I wasn’t holding her hand, she’d walk off somewhere into parts unknown.

“Whoa, this place is huge, Sergeant,” she gawked quietly.

“Yeah, it is,” I replied. “Please, stick close. Okay?”

She nodded, squeezing my hand. Henry led us through the mess and greenery into the living area. The delicious scent of orange blossoms, soft musk, ginger, and the unknown scent caught my nostrils just right. Tiffeny, my boss’s daughter and the owner of my favorite hang-out sat on the sofa talking with a familiar person I’ve dealt with before. Sensing my presence, they turned around to greet me.

“Dr. Montgomery, Luna Tiffeny,” I greeted them.

“Sergeant Black, what a pleasant surprise,” the older lady stated. “Who’s the young lady with you?”

“This is my daughter, Jewel Thorne,” I answered, introducing my gem to them.

Jewel let go of my hand and ran around the sofa to hug Luna Tiffeny tightly. Tiffeny hugged her back, tightly too. Seeing those two together lightened my heart and caused a goofy grin to appear on my face.

She turned to Dr. Montgomery, and blurted out, “Are you a witch?” Another internal facepalm.

“Well, aren’t you an astute young lady?” Lila Montgomery observed but refrained from saying more.

“She’s a botanist from the university,” I explained to my daughter.

“What’s a botanist?” Jewel asked.

“Someone who studies plants,” Luna Tiffeny answered my daughter.

“Oh…okay.”

Luna Tiffeny looked at the large fat envelope in my hand and caught on to my urgency.

“This isn’t a social call, is it, Sergeant Black?” she pressed. Her voice held a tinge of hurt.

“Correct,” I replied. “I’m here to speak with Sissy.”

Have you ever had the feeling of sticking your foot in your mouth and you don’t know why you did it? This is that moment.