Broken (Otherworld 6)

We tried not to eavesdrop, but that's tough for werewolves.

"I can sense her," Jaime was saying. "She hasn't crossed over--"

"Which doesn't mean you need to speak to her."

"Doesn't it? If I can get a firsthand account--"

"From a victim, firsthand accounts are often unreliable. That's particularly true with the ghost of someone who's just been murdered. You've told me that yourself. You've also told me how difficult it is to contact them, and how traumatic--"

Jaime crossed her arms as Jeremy uncrossed his. "I never said traumatic."

People moved between us, and Jeremy stepped away to avoid being overheard. A few minutes later, Jaime wheeled on him and strode off. Jeremy hesitated, then walked over to us.

"That's the problem dealing with nonwerewolves," I said. "They lack that critical 'you are Alpha, you are right' gene."

"Very inconvenient," he said wryly.

He turned and watched Jaime pace along the far sidewalk and, for a second, I thought I saw something more than friendly concern flicker behind his eyes.

"You know, she's right," I said softly. "You can offer your opinion and advice, but it's her choice."

Jeremy nodded, but he didn't make a move in her direction. I knew he was thinking the same thing I was--wondering whether Jaime thought it would help or she was just desperate to make the effort, to show us that she could be useful.

"If she's going to do it anyway, at least we can be grateful," I said.

Jeremy exhaled, brushed back his hair, then nodded.

"I'll go tell her she's allowed to do it," he said.

As he turned to go, I touched his arm. "Jeremy?"

"Hmmm?"

" 'Allowed' is probably not the best word choice. The whole 'not a werewolf' thing?"

A small smile, then he headed over to her. They spoke for a minute, then Jaime headed for the alley. When Jeremy started to follow, she hesitated, glancing back at him. He caught up and, without a word exchanged, they headed into the alley.

"She's letting him help her set up?" Clay said.

"Looks like it."

"Huh."

About ten minutes later, Jaime popped her head out from the alley and motioned us over as Jeremy left, presumably to round up Antonio and Nick.

"We only get one shot at this, so the more brains we have, the better questions we can ask." Jaime stopped halfway down the alley. "Her spirit's still here, so what I need to do is coax her over--kind of like what I did at the portal site. Then I'll be doing something a little different. I want you to hear her answers directly, so I'm going to channel her. That means she can speak through me, but can't hear or see you guys, okay?"

"Got it."

Jeremy approached. I looked behind him and saw that Antonio and Nick had taken up position at the end of the alley. Two couples sneaking into the dark depths of an alley wasn't that unusual in this neighborhood, although hearing them talking might be a little odd. But with an active crime scene right across the road, we weren't likely to attract much attention.

"I was just telling them how this'll work," she said to Jeremy. "I'm not going to introduce you guys--no need to make this more complicated. As far as she'll know, it's just me and her."

"This..." I began, then faltered.

Jaime nodded for me to go on.

"Is she going to remember this?" I asked. "Any of it? If she's seen the crime scene, seen what happened to her..."