Aspen by Skye Knizley

then?”
    Raven’s reply was interrupted by Frost’s bellow. “Storm! Get your ass in here!”
    “Hold that thought,” she said.
    She slipped off the edge of her desk and turned to see Frost standing in the door to his office. Normally he looked like an amiable Dick Van Dyke clone, but today his tie was at half mast, his hair was disheveled, and his face was red. Raven brushed past him and took a seat in one of the chrome and leather chairs that faced his desk. He closed the door and dropped into his own chair. He glared at her and picked up a pair of rubber bands that he began to fidget with.
    “What the hell happened in Millennium Park? The truth.”
    Raven knew he wasn’t ready for the truth. It had only been a few months since a poppet had been used to blind him to the truth and he hadn’t quite recovered.
    “Like I told you, Chris, Thatcher led me into a trap. When I cleared the hedge he had several men waiting. I took cover behind a tree and we had a firefight. You can see the bullet holes in my jacket and pants. You know, the ones you made me give Harvey?”
    Frost snapped one of the rubber bands. “Where are the bodies?”
    Raven’s face was blank. “What bodies?”
    “You know what bodies, Storm!” Frost roared. “It isn’t like you to miss and there was blood at the scene! Where are they?”
    Raven stood and leaned on the desk so her face was level with Frost’s. “There are no bodies. I got shot three times and they got away, like I said in my report. I’m sorry the chief doesn’t like that I discharged my weapon in Millennium Park, but it was self-defense. If you’re done shouting, I’d like to go out there and find the bastards before they hurt someone else.”
    Frost glared at her another beat then sat back. “Fine. If IA wants anything else, I’m sending them to you.”
    Raven blinked. “What does Infernal Repairs want with this?”
    “You were shot and discharged your weapon multiple times without any bodies or any eye-witnesses. The only witnesses on scene heard you talking with someone, but no one saw anyone but you leave the scene. What don’t they want with this? You better pray your story holds water,” Frost said.
    “Marvelous. Anything else?”
    Frost leaned forward again. “Wrap this up, Raven. Make an arrest or bring in a body before IA digs too deep.”
    Raven stood. “Will do, Chris.”
    “Good. Then get out of here.”
    Levac was still waiting in the squad room, a fresh cheeseburger in one hand, his phone in the other. He was talking so excitedly that meat and cheese was flying across his desk.
    “What’s up?” Raven asked when he finished.
    Levac grinned. “I’ve got a new line on Thatcher. It seems Bailey was staying at an old flop house not far from Old Town. The proprietor says he was sharing one of the common rooms with eight others—”
    “Which means one of them might know why he killed Nina Starr and why they are after Aspen. Nice job, Rupe,” Raven said.
    Levac scarfed down the last bite of burger. “I don’t know what you’d do without me.”
    Raven snatched up her gear. “Probably get to finish my own lunch. That was my burger.”
    Levac tossed the wrapper into the trash. “I was hungry!”
    Raven laughed and walked toward the stairway door. “You can buy me another one. Come on, let’s go shake some trees.”
    Hadley Street, Old St Louis, MO: 11:30 a.m.
    The District, as the preternatural zone was known in St. Louis, was set in the heart of what the locals called Old St. Louis. It stretched from Cass Avenue in the south to Palm Street in the north. Though the area formally called Old North St. Louis ended at the edge of I-70, preternatural businesses extended along Branch Street all the way to the river. Some dated back as far as the Civil War and had been constructed by vampires fleeing the aftermath.
    The SUV let Aspen off at the end of Hadley Street in front of a wrought-iron fence that extended around the heart of the district. Aspen had