I glanced at Morales. He shrugged, but tightened his grip on his gun like he suspected a trap.
Just beyond the vines, a low fence separated us from the gravel yard surrounding the house. A large barn-like structure that I assumed was the place where the wine barrels were stored stood probably fifty yards from the old Victorian, and an open stable-turned-garage held a rusty old truck. I couldn’t tell which building the argument originated in, but I was pretty sure if we found the source, we’d find Dionysus.
I punched a button on my vest. “Chief, I smell trouble.”
“Roger that,” she replied in my ear. “Mez, you listening?”
“What’s up?” came the reply.
“We got indications of an altercation on the premises. Call BPD and have them send backup stat. If Eldritch denies the request, call in the tactical wizes from the sheriff’s office.”
“Got it.” With that the wizard clicked off to call in the cavalry.
“All right,” Gardner said to the rest of us. “Hang back until we have confirmation of backup. But keep an eye out for imminent threats.”
I wanted to argue with her that we needed to move now, but I knew better. Rushing in without confirmation of imminent danger to a civilian was a recipe for a shit show.
Morales pulled his binoculars from his vest and aimed them at the house. “All the windows are shaded.”
“Might be coming from the barn,” Shadi said through our ears.
Our earpieces crackled with Mez’s voice again. “No go, sir. Eldritch is shitting himself because a group of costumed demonstrators have started a riot outside city hall.”
“What about the tac wizes?”
“Bomb threat at the county jail.”
Doubts crept like vines over the instincts that convinced me Dionysus was at the vineyard. “Shit,” I said. “Maybe I was wrong.”
Morales opened his mouth to say something. But before he could, the unmistakable sound of a shotgun blast exploded.
“Holy shit,” Mez said. “Tell me you guys heard that.”
Gardner replied, “Get us backup now! I don’t care what you have to do. The rest of you, approach with extreme caution.”
“But, sir—” Shadi began.
“I don’t know if Dionysus is in there, but we can’t afford to ignore shots fired. Shadi and I will take the barn. Morales, Prospero, clear the house. Everyone watch your asses.”
Morales glanced at me and nodded.
I nodded back because I didn’t trust myself to speak. Once I heard that shot, my adrenaline spiked and my muscles twitched with the need to run toward trouble.
In the next instant Morales burst forward like a sprinter from a block. His large body moved with surprising agility, hurdling the wire fence with ease. I followed behind him, my own legs shorter and less graceful. But I managed to leap the fence without too much trouble. Landing on the other side, we crouched, ready for ambush. To my left I saw Gardner and Shadi clear the fence as well, and run, blending in with the shadows closer to the barn.
Morales waved me on, and together we ran toward the house. Lights illuminated rosemary bushes with their sharp green scent all around the perimeter of the house, but all of the lower-level windows were dark, like closed lids on sleepy eyes.
When we got to the back door, Morales walked up the two steps and carefully touched the knobs. My eyes scanned the grounds for movement. Except for the leaves waving on the large tree in the center of the courtyard, the place was still, almost as if holding its breath.
The door cracked open easily. I turned to Morales and pointed my gun forward to cover him as he rolled into the room. Darker here. The air hot and heavy, like someone had punched the thermostat too high. The coppery scent of blood like a slap.
The chunk-thunk of a racking shotgun. Instant adrenaline.
Me rolling left. Morales lunged right. Blinding flash. Booming assault to the eardrums. Wood and glass splintered over my head. Stinging skin, cold welling of blood. Deafening silence. Then—
Chunk-thunk-BOOM!
I don’t know where the second shot hit, but I knew it was only a matter of time before a bullet found my vulnerable fleshy parts. Scrambling on my belly, I crawled behind a chair. My heart pistoned in my chest. Thoughts scattered like buckshot.
Where’s Morales? Where’s the shooter? Can I get a clear shot? Can the shooter? Shit, this chair won’t protect me. Need to move. But where? Gun’s cocked. Don’t get shot, Kate, Don’t get shot, Kate, Don’t get shot, Kate.
I peeked around the edge of the armchair. A shadow moved near another doorway. Shooter reloading.
“MEA,” Morales shouted from the other side of the room. “Put down the gun.”
“You got a warrant, secret agent man?”
I frowned. The voice was female. Definitely not Dionysus. I remembered what Shadi said about the property belonging to the Daniels couple.
“Mrs. Daniels,” I called, “put down the gun before you get hurt.”
Chunk-thunk. “Maybe you should be taking your own advice, Detective Prospero.”
My stomach contracted. How the fuck did this chick know who I was? I scooted over to look around the chair to locate Morales. His eyes flashed like dark marbles where he crouched across the room. His brows rose as if to ask if I knew this woman. I shook my head to tell him no, shit was just a lot more serious than we expected. Because if this chick knew my name, chances were pretty good Dionysus did, too.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Mrs. Daniels continued, “you’re gonna lay down your weapons—all of them, and then we’re gonna go to a party.”
“What kind of party?” Morales asked. To me he made a motion with his hands. I nodded.
She made a dismissive sound with her lips. “A moon par—”
I burst up from my hiding space, yelling like a banshee. Time slowed. Mrs. Daniels’s face opened into shock. She spun toward me, raising that double-eyed monster high. My fingers tightened on my trigger. But before she or I could make good on our promises, a third weapon exploded from across the room.
The bullet hit her in the center of her neck. The impact forced her body into a death roll. The shotgun swept around. Her hand spasmed.
Boom!
The shotgun’s blast hit about three feet from Morales’s head.
Daniels’s body slumped to the floor. Blood gushed from her neck like a fountain. I jumped toward her, kicking the shotgun to the side. I bent down to check her pulse, but there wasn’t much left of her neck. Her cornflower-blue eyes were wide enough to see the Pearly Gates.