Lupi 06 - Blood Magic

heroin. "Which brother was it?"
    "Too short for Zhou, so it must be one of the twins. We'll need dental to be sure."
    Cody put up his phone. "Lily, that was dispatch. I have to go."
    There were maybe a dozen things she might say, but none seemed right. She kept it business. "I'll be in touch about what I learn here. Thanks for the tip."
    Cody's dark eyes flicked between her and T.J. "T.J., good to see you - however briefly. Later." He lifted a hand in a casual farewell and headed for the door.
    She didn't realize she was watching him go until the door closed behind him and T.J. drawled, "He does have a cute ass."
    "That he does." Lily felt a twinge of embarrassment at being caught looking, but only a twinge. "I didn't think you were wired right to appreciate it, though. Camille know about that?"
    "Camille," he said of his wife of thirty-some-odd years, "knows everything. Absodamnlutely everything. Seems like I heard you and Beck were an item a while back."
    "Five years ago. It's kind of weird, running into him again." And that was enough of that subject. "I need to see the body."
    "Think you mean you need to touch it."
    She met T.J.'s eyes. They weren't twinkling now. The whole time she'd worked with him - with everyone in the SDPD - she'd hidden her Gift. Some had guessed, but they'd kept quiet about it. T.J. was one of those who knew and hadn't spoken. "Yeah," she said at last. "That's what I mean."
    "What's this? You want to touch the body?" Dr. Davis shook his head. "That's against procedure."
    "It's part of my procedure, Doctor. I'm a touch sensitive. Your DB's wounds sound like those inflicted in a near-fatal attack I'm investigating - one which involved the use of magic. If I can pick up traces of magic on the wound, I've got a solid connection."
    The frown lingered. "I didn't know that sort of thing was considered evidence."
    "What I learn from my Gift isn't admissible in court, but I'm allowed to use inadmissible leads in pursuance of an investigation." And tired of explaining that, but it came with the territory.
    "Hmm. I suppose that makes sense."
    She bit back the urge to tell him the attorney general would be glad to hear that the pathologist agreed with him. "What can you tell me about the wound?"
    He was on comfortable ground again. "Entry from the rear, angled up through the fifth and sixth ribs to penetrate the left ventricle. The assailant used a very thin blade, between one quarter and three quarters of an inch in width. I can't be more precise due to the decomposition of the flesh, I'm afraid."
    "That's better than I'd expected, considering the decay."
    "I based my estimate on the wound to the heart itself."
    Speaking of which... "Have you put Mr. Xing's pieces back together yet?"
    "The tech is doing that now, I imagine."
    "Maybe we could stop him or her. It would be handy if the heart wasn't put back yet. That's where I'd expect to find traces of magic, if any are present." That body had been rotting in the heat a few days. But she had to try.
    Dr. Davis's frown seemed to be a permanent fixture. "I'm concerned about your touching any portion of the corpse without gloves. With such intensive microbial action, there's a severe risk of contamination."
    Lily grimaced. "Guess I'd better scrub really well, hadn't I?"

 
    TWENTY-FOUR

    There was no magic on the corpse. Not on the entry wound or on the heart. Lily hadn't really expected to find any so long after death, but it would have made the connection between this killing and the attack on Cullen definite. As it was, she only had a "maybe."
    Still, it was a strong maybe, and the detective in charge of the case was T.J. He wouldn't hold out on her. She didn't intend to hold out on him, either. The treaty might have kept her from giving Ruben information, but T.J. wasn't an agent of the federal government. He needed to know what he might be facing.
    Dr. Davis personally supervised her scrubbing. He even timed her. When she was done, he allowed that she was probably safe to mingle with others and even eat.
    Eating was a damn fine idea, and she knew just the spot. Rosa's was a hole-in-the-wall Mexican joint a couple blocks from the Medical Examiner's. The crowded lunchroom had frigid air-conditioning, red-hot enchiladas verdes, and a TV that was always tuned to a local Spanish channel. Lily agreed to treat T.J. to lunch there.
    T.J. had two cases with the Medical Examiner, so while he talked to Dr. Davis about a different DB, Lily headed to Rosa's and