Divine Misdemeanors Read Free

so they had to stay behind the line away from any would-be clues.
    “If I find out anything for certain that seems pertinent about this kind of magic, I will let you know.” It wasn’t a lie, not the way I worded it. The fey, and especially the sidhe, are known for never lying, but we’ll deceive you until you’ll think the sky is green and the grass is blue. We won’t
tell
you the sky is green and the grass is blue, but we will leave you with that definite impression.
    “You think there’ll be an earlier murder,” she said.
    “If not, this guy, or girl, got very lucky.”
    Lucy motioned at the bodies. “I’m not sure I’d call this lucky.”
    “No murderer is this good the first time, or did you get a new flavor of killer while I was away in faerie?”
    “Nope. Most murders are pretty standard. Violence level and victim differs but you’re about eighty to ninety percent more likely to be killed by your nearest and dearest than by a stranger, and most killing is depressingly ordinary.”
    “This one’s depressing,” I said, “but it’s not ordinary.”
    “No, it’s not ordinary. I’m hoping this one perfect scene kind of got it out of the killer’s system.”
    “You think it will?” I asked.
    “No,” she said. “No, I don’t.”
    “Can I alert the local demi-fey to be careful, or are you trying to withhold the victim profile from the media?”
    “Warn them, because if we don’t and it happens again, we’ll get accused of being racists, or is that speciesist?” She shook her head, walking back toward the police line. I followed her, glad to be leaving the bodies behind.
    “Humans can interbreed with the demi-fey, so I don’t think speciesist applies.”
    “I couldn’t breed with something the size of a doll. That’s just wrong.”
    “Some of them have two forms, one small and one not much shorter than me.”
    “Five feet? Really, from eight inches tall to five feet?”
    “Yes, really. It’s a rare ability, but it happens, and the babies are fertile, so I don’t think it’s quite a different species.”
    “I didn’t mean any offense,” she said.
    “None taken, I’m just explaining.”
    We were almost to the police line and my visibly anxious boyfriends. “Enjoy your Saturday,” she said.
    “I’d say you too, but I know you’ll be here for hours.”
    “Yeah, I think your Saturday will be a lot more fun than mine.” She looked at Doyle and Frost as the police finally let them move forward. Lucy was giving them an admiring look behind her sunglasses. I didn’t blame her.
    I slipped the gloves off even though I hadn’t touched a thing. I dropped them onto the mass of other discarded gloves that was on this side of the tape. Lucy held the tape up for me and I didn’t even have to stoop. Sometimes short is good.
    “Oh, check out the flowers, florists,” I said.
    “Already on it,” she said.
    “Sorry, sometimes I get carried away with you letting me help.”
    “No, all ideas are welcome, Merry, you know that. It’s why I called you down here.” She waved at me and went back to her murderscene. We couldn’t shake because she was still wearing gloves and carrying evidence.
    Doyle and Frost were almost to me, but we weren’t going to get to the beach right away either. I had to warn the local demi-fey, and try to figure out a way to see if the mortality had spread to them, or if there was magic here in Los Angeles that could steal their immortality. There were things that would kill us eventually, but there wasn’t much that would allow you to slit the throat of the winged-kin. They were the essence of faerie, more so even than the high court nobles. If I found out anything certain I’d tell Lucy, but until I had something that was useful I’d keep my secrets. I was only part human; most of me was pure fey, and we know how to keep a secret. The trick was how to warn the local demi-fey without causing a panic. Then I realized that there wasn’t a way. The fey are