The sheriff centered his gaze on my face as we took the last few steps then came to a halt in front of him.
Until now, I never knew what had actually happened to Detective Arthur McCann. All I could say was that my last run-in with him had been at least five years ago. After that, he had all but fallen off the face of the earth. I’d heard rumors of him retiring, and even one that he had been fired. To be honest I didn’t particularly care one way or the other. Either of those options was fine by me as long as he was no longer packing a badge. Unfortunately, he quite obviously still was.
My experiences with the man had been less than pleasant but still not as bad as it had been for some other Pagans I knew. In brief, McCann was a self-proclaimed expert on the occult who had made it his mission in life to campaign against anything non-Judeo-Christian. Those personal crusades had often included the unwarranted hassling of Saint Louis area Pagans and alternative religious organizations from behind the auspices of his official shield.
While Barbara Albright had stepped in to fill the void he left, I wasn’t actually sure just which one of them I would consider more dangerous. Either way, it didn’t matter now because they had apparently been in touch with one another, and that was even worse. Of course, I suppose I really shouldn’t have been surprised.
Planting his hands on his hips, McCann glowered at me for a moment then looked over to Ben.
“Detective Storm,” he said. “I think you need to get Mister Gant out of here now, or I will have him removed myself.”
CHAPTER 34:
It was taking all I had to keep myself from simply sprinting straight for the door of room number seven. Ever since arriving on the scene, my gut kept telling me to do it, and my head staunchly objected. Something was telling me that I was going to end up in the back of a squad car before this was all over; but, if that was the way it was going to be, I wanted to at least be sure Felicity was safe first. Getting myself locked down before she was ever out of the room wasn’t going to help me do that. Even so, all the logic in the world didn’t keep the itch from spreading.
Ben knew me well enough that he made it a point to position himself between the motel and me. He had seen me make a mad dash before, and it was obvious from the furtive glances he kept throwing my direction that he was fully expecting me to do so this time.
“Gimme a break, McCann,” my friend said to the sheriff as he divided his attention between the two of us.
Ben was no stranger to this man’s exploits either. In fact, he had even been front and center when McCann had vociferously recused himself from working with the MCS simply because of my involvement with a case.
“I am,” McCann returned. “I’m giving you a chance to get him out of here before I arrest him for interfering with an ongoing investigation.”
“Jeezus,” Ben spat. “You know that’s a load of bullshit.”
“Not in my county it isn’t.”
“You’re a freakin’ cartoon, you know that?”
“I can have you removed as well, Detective.”
“Goddammit, Arthur, why didn’t you just fuckin’ stay retired?”
“There’s no call for that sort of language, Detective Storm,” he replied. “Now, you’ve got two minutes to get Mister Gant out of here or I have him arrested.”
I instantly spoke up. “That’s my wife in there!”
“Shut up, Rowan,” Ben ordered as he gave me a sharp look then leveled his gaze back on McCann. “And, you, get off your high horse. You ain’t arrestin’ anybody, and you sure’s hell ain’t havin’ me removed. This is a Major Case investigation, and as of now I’m taking over the scene.”
“No sir, you are not,” McCann replied.
“Yes sir, I am,” my friend returned.
“I am the ranking officer on the scene, Detective Storm, and I will have you know that you are currently standing in the middle of my jurisdiction.”
“Whupty-fuckin’-doo,” my friend huffed. “Your county a participatin’ agency with the MCS?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact it is.”
“Good. Are you assigned ta’ this case?”
“No, but…”
“Ain’t no buts to it,” Ben snapped. “You’re not assigned to the case, so back off and let me handle it.”
“I’m still the ranking officer on the scene,” McCann objected.
“Maybe so, but I’m the ranking detective assigned to Major Case that’s here now. So, like I said, this investigation belongs to us, and so does this scene…”
“Like hell it does,” a fresh, but very familiar voice came from behind us.
I turned to see Agent Drew standing only a few paces away, and a wave of nausea swept over me. It seemed as though the situation simply wasn’t finished with its downhill slide. I had thought that when we arrived here things would start to look up, but that belief had been dashed against the rocks as soon as I saw McCann. Now, with the arrival of the cocky FBI agent, I felt as though the current was pulling me under and holding me there.
“And just who are you?” McCann snarled at him.
The young man opened his ID with a practiced flip and thrust it out as he stepped forward. “Agent Drew, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and you are?”
“Arthur McCann. I’m the county sheriff.”
“Well, Sheriff, I’m afraid you are both wrong. This is a federal investigation now and I am taking over the scene.”
“Jeezus, Drew…” Ben started.
“Shut up, Storm,” he interrupted. “You know I’m right. Federal law grants investigative jurisdiction to the FBI in cases of assault on a federal officer. I won’t even go into interstate flight to avoid apprehension.”
“That’s not why…” I started.
“Can it, Gant,” he snipped.
“Look, Agent Drew,” McCann began to object. “I’ve already been in touch with Captain Albright, and…”
“So have we,” Drew interrupted him again. “And she had little choice but to agree with us this time. Now, like I said, the Bureau is running this scene, whether you like it or not.”
“I don’t,” McCann spat.
“I’m afraid you’ll just have to get over it,” Drew replied. “Now, the first thing I want you to do is have your men stand down and back off.”
“But…”
“But nothing,” he snapped. “Tell them it’s time to quit playing army, and put the guns away before someone gets hurt. We’ll handle this.”
“Who is your superior?” McCann demanded with a sudden rush of anger. “I don’t much care for your attitude, and I’m not moving anyone until I know for sure what is going on here.”
“Sheriff McCann, I don’t mind telling you that I’m not overly impressed with your attitude either,” Drew chided. “However, if it will hasten your cooperation and make you dispense with the bullshit, my SAC’s name is Simpson. And, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he is expecting your call.”
“You wait right here,” McCann replied, repeatedly stabbing his finger at a point on the ground. “All of you. I’ll be right back.”
“We’ll be here,” Drew said with a nod.
Sheriff McCann stalked off toward one of the unmarked cars in the distance. As he picked up his pace he shouted, “George! Get me the FBI on the phone. Right now!”
We watched him in relative silence for several paces then Ben turned his attention back toward Agent Drew. “Look, I know you got jurisdiction here, but listen to me…”
“Calm down, Storm,” Drew insisted.
“I’ll calm down when I’m damn good ‘n ready to,” my friend snapped. “But right now you need ta’ listen ta’ me.”
“Agent Drew,” I interjected in a pleading tone. “This is my wife we’re talking about here.”
“I’m well aware of that, Mister Gant.”
“Goddammit, Skippy…”
Drew held up a finger to cut Ben off and snarled, “Stop it! Stop it right now. My name is Drew, got it? Drew, not Skippy. Not Junior. It’s Drew.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Ben brushed him off.
“Dammit, Storm, can you just try cooperating with someone other than yourself for a change?”