Half Light Read online

  A NineStar Press Publication

  www.ninestarpress.com

  Half Light

  ISBN: 978-1-951880-52-1

  Copyright © 2020 by Matt Doyle

  Cover Art by Natasha Snow Copyright © 2020

  Published in March, 2020 by NineStar Press, New Mexico, USA.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact NineStar Press at [email protected].

  Also available in Print, ISBN: 978-1-951880-62-0

  Warning: This book is part of a series and needs to be read in sequence. It contains violence, guns, and mentions of past executions of women and children.

  Half Light

  The Cassie Tam Files, Book Five

  Matt Doyle

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Key Events Timeline

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  “Diu.”

  I look to my right and find a free space to pull the car into. I have a couple of different ringtones on my cell phone, each assigned to give me a clear idea of whether I need—or want—to answer it. This generic-but-far-too-loud melody marks this call as coming from one particular number. Given what day it is, I’ve been expecting to hear from them. The last few days have been spent playing a game that’s essentially the adult equivalent of passing notes in class. I leave a note somewhere, I get another at home, I respond somewhere else. It’s been a pain, and it’s all been leading up to this. “It’s where it leads next I’m worried about.”

  I steel myself and tap the screen to answer the call. A female voice comes through, dripping with an overacted panic. “Is…is that Cassandra Tam?”

  I recognise the voice instantly. “It is. Cassie or Caz is fine.”

  “My name is Anna Welch. I need help, Miss Tam.”

  I sigh. “Well, that’s what I’m here for. Do you want to discuss this over the phone, or would you rather meet in person?”

  “In person,” she replies, and I can hear the smile in her voice. “Somewhere neutral would be best. I’m rather paranoid, you see.”

  “Okay, that’s fine. Where?”

  “I’ll text you the location.”

  She hangs up, and the text comes through almost immediately. Once I’ve finished reading it, I can’t help but smile. She wants to meet at an old abandoned warehouse. It’s one I’m familiar with. A few months back, I broke up a dog fight in the same building. During the case, I discovered there’s a secret entrance to the building via an underground network of hallways. That gives me a way to monitor her if I need to. Or a convenient escape route.

  I hit the speed dial for Lori, and it goes straight to her answering service. After the beep, I say, “Hey, it’s Cassie. I guess you’re driving. Listen, I’ve just had a call from a potential client, and I’m gonna have to go meet with them. I’m still coming, but it may be worth checking what later times there are for the film, just in case this runs long. Anyway. Be with you soon.”

  I throw my phone onto the passenger seat next to me and pull out into the light traffic of the New Hopeland afternoon.

  *

  By the time I reach the warehouse, I’ve already run through a number of different scenarios in my head. None of them ended well, so I’m putting my faith in reality right now. “No fear, Tam, this was a voluntary trip,” I remind myself, and push the main door open. Inside looks the same as it did the last time I was here, minus the boxed area. And people.

  Frowning, I make my way towards the back of the building and start checking doors. Finally, I spot a far-too-tight black ponytail, illuminated by the screen of a computer. “Welch. Real cute using the surname of the woman you murdered,” I say, just loud enough to make sure she heard it.

  Angel Tanner spins in her chair towards me and laughs, casually turning her monitor off as she does so. “Now, detective, you know full well Harold did that.”

  “The way I understand it, it amounts to much the same thing, eh?” I walk into the room and she rises to meet me. When she offers a handshake, I take it on instinct.

  “Actually, no. The core result is the same, but the point is it wasn’t me. That makes it a very different thing, at least in the eyes of the law. Still, I’m happy you reached out.”

  “I almost didn’t,” I say and then shake my head. “No, that’s not true. I considered looking for a different way to contact you after I found out our mutual acquaintance was Gary Locke. You could have got in touch any time you wanted.”

  “Yes, I could have. But I knew talking to Mister Locke would be hard for you after that whole unfortunate incident with your girlfriend and her brother.”

  “Unfortunate incident?” I reply, my words dripping with a mix of anger and shock. “He tried to kill both of us. And he convinced her brother to take his own life for a cause that wasn’t even real.”

  “Which is why I did it this way. I needed to know you were serious in your intention. Oh, and the cause was real, I’m certain of that. Or the part Locke cared about was anyway.”

  I grunt and shake my head. “I didn’t come here to talk about conspiracy theories. You said I wanted to know what’s happening in New Hopeland, and you’re right. You want help to find out the same thing, so I came. Can we please get on with this? I have plans.”

  She smiles her creepy smile and nods. “You and me both, detective. But that’s fine. Today was more about checking you’re on board than anything. So, this will be our base of operations for the time being. It’s out of the way, and it’s neither used nor monitored, so it’s fit for purpose.”

  I shrug. “Seems okay. It’s easy enough to get to.”

  “I should hope so. You’ll be spending a good amount of time here. Now, to business. What I said on the phone wasn’t entirely false; I really do need your help. As you can imagine, I can’t move freely right now, and my links in the city aren’t particularly well suited for certain jobs. Like the one I have for you to do tomorrow.”

  “Which is?”

  She pulls an envelope out of her pocket and hands it to me. “This contains a couple of photographs relating to Anna Welch’s case. You’re going to visit Mister Locke at the prison tomorrow morning and question him about them. They contain some gifts for him, a mild drug on one, and a special communicator on the other. You’ll find a corresponding communicator in there, too, along with instructions as to what to do with it. Make sure you read them somewhere cameras can’t see them clearly.”

  “Great. You know, he wasn’t happy to see me the last time.”

  “I don’t doubt it. Harold will make sure he plays nice though. I trust you can do the same?”

  “For now.”

  “Good enough.” She waves me away and heads back to her computer. “Now, go enjoy yourself. We’ll talk more soon.”

  Play nicely. Follow orders until you know more. I leave without another word.

  *

  I put the knife down on the chopping board and giggle as Lori nervously glances
towards a sound outside. “I’m sorry, but it’s normally me who gets scared. You’re the one who’s supposed to be protecting me from the monsters on screen.”

  “I can’t help it,” Lori says, her tone almost indignant. “Goats…really freak me out.”

  I lean back against the counter and tilt my head, showing her a playful frown. “Then why go to a film about the Maryland Goatman?”

  “Because you wanted to see it.”

  “Nuh-uh, you don’t get to shift that one to me. You were definitely into seeing it too.”

  “I didn’t think it would be so scary. He’s part man, I thought that would counteract the goat bit. Plus, we didn’t really see him in the trailer, so I wasn’t expecting…that,” she replies, waving her hand in a vaguely Goatman shape.

  “He did look good,” I say and return to chopping a carrot.

  “Effective, not good,” Lori says and fires up the hob. She throws a couple of steaks into a pan, and the oil immediately starts to sizzle noisily.

  “So, what is it with goats?” I ask.

  “That’s my gran’s fault. I had this stuffed troll when I was little. It used to come with me on sleepovers. Eddie and I were staying at our grandparents’ place one weekend, and when she saw it, she said she knew a bedtime story about a troll.”

  I smile. It’s good Lori is able to mention her brother’s name without the clear pain now. Plus, I like hearing about her childhood. She had far fewer scuffles than I did. Wait. Trolls. Goats. “She told you the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff?”

  Lori shivers. “Exactly.”

  “I’m not sure I follow.”

  “Those goats were bullies. They wanted to trespass on the troll’s field, and when he quite rightly said no, one of them pushed him into the river and killed him.”

  “I’m not sure that’s how most kids take the story, you know.”

  “I really loved trolls as a kid. And my one, he used to keep the nightmares away. So, the thought of these terrifying monsters who could kill a troll, just like that…Urgh.”

  I giggle again because I can’t help it, and Lori taps me on the head with the fork she’s using to keep the meat moving. “Don’t you laugh at me, Miss Hides-from-everything-other-than-goats. They scream like people, too, you know. That’s just plain creepy.”

  I scrape the carrots into a steamer and make a start on the tomatoes, struggling to keep from laughing again. “Well, what about that guy at the TS meets? Jerry? He’s a goat.”

  “No, he’s Jerry. Even in his gear, you can see him in there. Besides, Ink isn’t afraid of goats.”

  “What about gargoyles?”

  Lori smiles and adds some spice to the pan. “Isn’t it more of an issue if he’s scared of me?”

  “True. Still, I do think Bert knows you well enough to recognise you. Plus, he didn’t react badly to Donal O’Brien in his TS gear.”

  “Bert’s sweet; I trust him not to go nuts on me. I still think it’s a good idea to not introduce us at a meet though. So many unfamiliar Tech Shifters in the same place? It could spook him. Especially with how far into their headspace some of them go.”

  “Yeah, I think you’re right. Maybe we could give it a try early next week?”

  “Sure. How do you want yours, by the way?”

  I glance over and she nods into the pan. “Well done. What else should I cut up for the salad? I don’t want to leave you foodless.”

  “I’ve got plenty in. If you check the fridge, there should be some mushrooms and peppers. Maybe some lettuce too?”

  “I’m on it. You ever cook onions in with the steaks? They really soak up the juices.”

  “Sounds good. There’s a bag of prechopped onion in there. If you could grab it, I’ll throw a handful in.”

  I hand over the bag and return to my chopping board. This time, I take two plates and start serving up the food as I go. “Wine or coffee?”

  “Coffee, I think. It’ll stave off the nightmares a bit longer. You know, it’s a shame the restaurant was closed. Just our luck to finally get a reservation for the day they flood, right? Cooking together is fun though.”

  “I could really get used to this.” The moment the words leave my mouth, I automatically hit panic mode and start babbling in an effort to stall on saying what I want to but am too scared to. “Cooking together, I mean. It’s fun, you’re right. Hey, wanna find something on TV in a minute? To take your mind off the Goatman?”

  Lori smiles gently and gives me an even gentler kiss on the forehead before sliding a steak onto each plate. “Sounds good. And for the record, I could get used to it too.”

  *

  “Still working the same case?” the guard asks.

  The last time I visited Gary Locke was to push the Angel Tanner connection, and the same guard had accompanied me then. I fed him a line about working a case linked to one of Gary’s old associates, which wasn’t a complete lie but seemed to satisfy him. Looks like he remembers.

  I nod. “Yeah. I managed to find some new evidence and wanted to see how he reacts to it. I’m hoping he’ll give me something a little more on this occasion.”

  “It didn’t seem like he said much last time,” the guard comments. “I guess he’s still sore about you getting him locked up.”

  “Probably.”

  “Well, expect him to be in a bad mood. He had a bit of a run-in with another prisoner last night.”

  “Oh? Anyone I know?”

  To my surprise, the guard scratches his chin and gives me an answer other than that’s confidential. “Yes, actually. Harold Sanderson. I hadn’t thought of that until you mentioned it. You were working on that vampire case with the police, right?”

  Diu. Well, no sense in lying now. Let’s try shifting him from suspicion to something else. “Yeah. Maybe they had an argument over who I screwed the most?”

  He laughs. “Maybe. Which do you think you did?”

  I shrug. “Sanderson, I guess? I shot him three times. Locke, I only shot once, eh?”

  “Well, in a way, Sanderson is lucky Locke is in poor health in general. Even being kept away from the stimulants and VR, I think he’s done enough damage to his body that he’ll never fully recover. With the bullet wounds, it’s going to be a while before Sanderson is at his physical best. Right now, Locke’s probably the biggest he could comfortably take.”

  “It sounds like you think about prisoners fighting a lot.”

  “Only because they do fight a lot.”

  We reach the door to the private interview room, and the guard places his hand on the door. “Same as last time. There are two cameras, so we’ll be keeping an eye on things. If he tries anything, there’s a panic button under your side of the table.”

  I nod, and he lets me in.

  The interview room is pretty barren. I don’t know if the cameras capture audio, but their angles mean they’ll definitely pick up lip movements. So, keeping up the charade of being here about the case is important.

  Sitting at the far end of a small table, his hands in cuffs, is Gary Locke.

  “M-Miss Tam,” he wheezes. “So nice to see you again.”

  “Sure, it is,” I reply and take the seat opposite him. I nod towards his visibly taped side and add, “Looks like Harold Sanderson did a number on you.”

  “Just a cracked rib and a stiff jaw. It’s my own fault really. Still, M-Mister Sanderson did say something interesting. Tell me, how i-is Lori? Given your history, I’m not sure Eddie would have approved.”

  I ball one hand into a fist and grit my teeth. “If it weren’t for my client, you’d be regretting that already.”

  He laughs, and it’s full of the same confidence he had on the night he was arrested. He thought he held all the cards then. This time, he really does. For now, at least. “Remind me to thank y-your client then. Now, what do you want?”

  The ruse Angel has set up is a simple one,
which is good, as the more complicated the lie, the harder it is to make it work. So, I pull two photos out of the envelope and push them towards Gary. “The woman is my client, Anna Welch. The men are who I’m interested in.”

  He grins. “Aww, d-does Lori know? She’ll be so upset.”

  Not one to be outdone, I return the smile and lock my gaze with his. It’s amazing how much you can convey with your eyes if you’re properly motivated. “Keep pushing it.”

  Gary’s grin drops instantly. He lets out a nervous cough and drops his gaze to the photos. When he picks the first one up, he starts subtly scraping a fingernail over the bottom right corner on the back of the print. His nails are surprisingly well kept, meaning nobody is going to notice the white residue he’s gathering as he scrapes. According to the notes Angel gave me, it’s a sickness inducing drug, cut with a small sample of the stimulant Gary is addicted to.

  Gary sniffs in a bored manner and chucks the photo back to me and then picks up the other one. He gives it a look-over and then glances back to me and says, “Don’t know them.”

  “See, I think you do. You noticed their shirts, right?”

  Gary rolls his eyes and starts absently peeling a small sticker off the back of the print. “Of course, I did. The Roots of Eden are Rotten died as a movement with the website, M-Miss Tam. You made sure of it. The cause though? Clearly, that at least carries on.”

  “I’m not sure I believe you.”

  “I’m sure you don’t. But you do know how easy it is to create a T-shirt. The site had decent traffic. These are clearly j-just fans who either enjoyed the content or wanted to continue to fight. Let me guess. Y-your client is in a position of power?”

  I shrug. “You could say that.”

  “Then she is undoubtedly hiding something.”

  “We all have things to hide, Mister Locke. But nothing stays hidden forever. If you’re hiding knowledge of who these two men are, that won’t look good for you when I report it to the PD.”