Tonight, she wasn’t so sure she’d ever been the one in charge. Not with the irresistible sour odor of scotch wafting in the air. Her mouth watered.

“What’s your poison tonight?” Pauly asked as they drew near.

“Cokes,” she blurted before Sam had the chance to order for her. Her stomach growled. “And could we have some fish and chips?”

Pauly gave her a smile. “Glad to see you both,” he said, lifting his chin to the opposite side of the tavern’s crowded floor. “I’ll bring everything to the table. Your partner’s already there.”

Cait’s gaze whipped around, and she spotted Jason raising a glass of dark beer from across the room.

Sam’s hand guided her through the tables, and then he stood to the side as she slipped across the leather bench.

Jason grinned at Sam. “I see you found our escapee.” Then he leaned toward Cait. “How’d your day go?”

“Fine.” Cait cleared her throat, wondering where to start. “We got some workable intel from Morin.”

Jason arched a brow.

Sam shook his head. “She’s going to do a spell to summon Sylvia Reyes’s spirit.”

Cait gave Sam a quelling glare. “Way to jump right in.”

“So just another day, I see.” Jason made a face and nodded.

Cait eyed Jason. As always, his shirt was perfectly pressed, his blond hair smooth. The only time she’d seen him anything but dapper was after a wraith flung him around like a life-sized rag doll. She flashed him a quick grin. “Your fingers little nubs?”

He held up both hands. “Not so nubby, but I have a headache from staring at the damn screen. Why is it you always get the most exciting jobs?”

“Because I’m special.” Cait tilted her head.

“Oh, you’re special, all right,” Jason said, then took another gulp of beer. “So, what did your trip to the mage get ya?”

Cait filled him in on what she’d learned about the kinds of monsters they were facing, not sugarcoating the dangers.

“Really think the incubus might be that creep Clayton?”

“Or one of his cronies,” Cait muttered. “Just because he’s the mouth doesn’t mean he does the thinking.”

Sam nodded. “Mina seems a lot sharper than she likes to let on.”

“So we’re going to pull them into the investigation.” Jason leaned back and sighed. “Gonna share everything we know? Give them warning just in case they meet the demon in the walls?”

Sam and Cait shared a glance.

Sam shrugged. “I don’t know. How do you want to play it, Cait?”

Her brows waggled. “Given I’m so good at playing a role, huh?” she said, dropping her voice to a sultry purr.

“TMI, guys,” Jason groaned. “I don’t need to know Sam dresses up as Superman or that you have a French maid’s costume in the closet.”

Cait shook her head slowly. “Seriously? That’s the first thing you thought of?”

Jason’s face turned red. “Maybe I should tell you what I learned.”

Cait leaned toward Sam. “He’s changing the subject.”

“Let it drop, Cait,” Sam said, his voice deepening. “Some secrets are only need-to-know.”

Cait’s jaw dropped. “You told a joke? And a good one?”

He grimaced. “I’m not without a sense of humor.”

“No, Mr. Ex-Marine. You were born without a funny bone.”

“I love it when you two coo like lovebirds,” Jason said, a smile splitting his face, “but I really do have some information to share.”

Sam and Cait turned toward Jason, smiles fading.

“What did you find out?” she asked.

Jason tapped the table. “First, I checked with the medical examiner. Although Sylvia’s body was pretty dried out, he believes she died from the trauma of having her internal organs ripped out. Postmortem, her bones were methodically broken to make her fit into the space between the walls. He thinks it was done with a hammer because some appeared nearly pulverized, but he couldn’t actually find any rounded indentions in the bones to prove it.”

Cait wrinkled her nose. “Not sure how knowing that will be helpful, and I certainly didn’t want that picture in my mind. What did your Internet search turn up?”

Jason leaned forward. “There are more bodies to be found. That’s a certainty. The Deluxe has been the center of several missing persons investigations, going back to the early eighties. But there’s never been a single shred of evidence found. Not until they dug Sylvia out of the wall.

“And our ol’ bud, Oscar Reyes?” Jason snorted. “He’s been busted a couple of times for battery. He’s not shy about using his fists when someone pisses him off. Last time he was convicted of beating up a girlfriend. Another ex-hooker. Guess he thinks if he saves them, they’re his to treat however he pleases.”

“Nice guy,” Sam murmured. “So it’s possible Oscar might have something to do with Sylvia’s death. But I can’t see him being the incubus.”

Cait turned to meet Sam’s worried gaze. “But he might have met him. Maybe he’s the one who put the incubus onto Sylvia. If we can figure out the incubus’s hunting grounds, we can figure out whether Oscar had a hand in all this.”

Sam nodded, running a hand over his chin.

Cait heard the chafe of his five o’clock shadow. Sexy. Maybe her expression had turned dreamy because Sam’s gaze sparkled as he continued.

“I’m sure Leland would appreciate having someone human to pin this on.”

Cait blew out a deep breath and leaned back against the leather-upholstered seat. “I was so hoping it was a completely demon thing. Oscar really gives me the creeps.”

Both men gave her disbelieving stares.

“Yeah, I said it. Oscar’s a sleazebag. He hired us to find proof of his wife’s infidelity when he had it right in his hands. He’s the kind of guy who would take it out on her flesh himself—unless he found an easier way of disposing of her. Something more painful. And note this,” she said tapping the table for emphasis, “we haven’t heard a word from him since this all went down. I would have thought a grieving husband would be on the phone that night to hear what we found out.”

Sam nodded, his gaze turning to the window as though lost in thought. “He already knew she’d be dead.” He shook his head, his lips tightening. “I’ll have Oscar hauled in for questioning in the morning.”

“You need to do the questioning,” Cait said, turning her body toward Sam. “Your homicide buddies won’t have a clue what to ask. Can you handle it on your own?”

He grunted and slouched in the chair. “You think I don’t know how to conduct an interrogation?”

“It’s not that. I want to get with the Reel PIs guys as soon as possible. Since I’m Teflon-coated now, you don’t have to worry about me getting zapped.”

“And being pulled back in time and pushed into a wall isn’t something to worry about?”

She cocked her head. “I don’t think I’ll be that vulnerable again.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Careful. Jason’s gonna think you’re the one who wears the cape.”

“Which would put you in the black skirt,” she said, smiling.

The sound of a throat clearing beside them had all heads turning.

Pauly stood beside them, grinning. “I don’t wanna know.” He slid two large plates of fish with fries in front of Sam and Cait.

“Want some?” Cait said to Jason as she stuffed a fry into her mouth, savoring the crisp potato and its saltiness. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was.

“I don’t want to lose a finger.”

She snagged the malt vinegar from Pauly’s tray before he had a chance to offer it.

“Douse your food with that?” Jason said, his head shaking as he watched her mill into her food. “Sam won’t be kissing you anytime soon.”

She waggled her eyebrows. “I’ll make it worth the effort.”

Pauly and Jason both groaned, and then laughed. Sam chuckled and tucked into his food.

“Gonna eat all your fries?” she asked him, blinking her eyelashes.

“Course not, honey.”

“Aw,” Jason moaned with a shake of his head. “Another one bites the dust.”