By Jim Doran
Rebecca put a hand on her partner’s arm. “I’ll drive, Ray. Watching a Minotaur try to squeeze behind the wheel of a Mini Cooper is painful.”
Horns filed off so he could pass as a human, Minotaur Ray rushed to the passenger side. “Some of us can’t transform like you, Rebecca.”
Ray tucked his badge from the Department of Extraordinary Emigration and Delivery—DEED—into his pocket and slid in as Rebecca started the car.
Ray buckled in and set coordinates. “Hurry. If the Portuguese law enforcement arrests Millicent for murder, they’ll find out what she is. Humans will learn that mythical creatures are real and will hunt us to extinction.”
Rebecca passed the University of Coimbra. “What did you learn?”
“Millicent’s boss at the bank, Josué, accused her of theft. Fortunately, Millicent had a friend in HR, Pilar Casas, who found her innocent. Two days later, Josué fell off his fifth-floor balcony to his death. The only clue was his torn shirt.”
“Ripped by a talon, you think?” Rebecca eyed the GPS. “So, we’re headed for Old Town.”
“Coimbra’s cobblestone streets are narrow, but they have enough room for Millicent to ascend to Josué’s balcony. Josué’s door was locked, and his door camera showed no one else there. The police aren’t ruling out homicide. With Millicent’s abilities, she could have easily killed him.”
“I read her profile. She doesn’t have the temperament to do it.”
Minutes later, Ray lifted and dropped a knocker against a townhouse door, Rebecca standing beside him.
“Millicent’s here? Old Town isn’t cheap,” Rebecca commented.
“Millicent’s a gifted software developer.”
A thirtyish woman with brown bangs and wide-rimmed spectacles opened the door. “May I help you?”
Ray tipped his head. “Pilar Casas?”
The woman nodded.
“Is Millicent Tégo here? We have reason to believe she’s at this address.”
“Millicent? I haven’t seen her.”
Ray produced a forged badge from his suit coat. “I’m Ray Mynot, and this is Rebecca Center. We’re special consultants for the police.”
Pilar skimmed the identification. “Won’t you come in?”
The DEED partners entered a living room with several potted plants, a couch, and two recliners. Watercolor seascapes, a ceramic starfish, and a fishing pole hung on the wall. A jar of seashells sat on a table near Rebecca.
“You worked with Millicent?” asked Ray.
The woman stepped back. “Yes. She stayed here briefly. Millicent was in software, and I was in human resources.”
“Ms. Casas,” said Rebecca. “When was the last time you saw Millicent?”
Eyes focused on the agents, Pilar leaned against the wall. “She left yesterday. Is she in trouble?”
Ray shifted. “She may be. We’re—”
While Ray was speaking, Pilar nudged the starfish with her shoulder. A shrill noise out of human frequency—but not Rebecca’s—rang in the recesses of the house.
Rebecca grabbed Ray’s arm. “She set off an alarm.”
Rebecca raced to the rear of the house in time to catch a door before it closed. Ray was behind her as she ran outside and examined her surroundings. The narrow, three-story alley behind the house went in three directions.
Footsteps sounded to the left, and Rebecca sprinted after them. She noticed someone rounding a corner. While in pursuit, she found herself approaching a four-way intersection. “Millicent!”
Turning left, Rebecca spotted a female silhouette in the distance. The figure was removing her shirt.
If Rebecca didn’t catch up to her, Millicent would be gone.
The runner dropped her shirt, and a pair of wings unfolded. The harpy lifted off the ground.
Rebecca leaped and grabbed the creature’s bird-like feet as she attempted to fly. She had no claws emerging from each digit, allowing her to run on them. Like Ray, mythical creatures sometimes modified their bodies to appear human.
Millicent attempted to shake Rebecca loose. “I didn’t kill Josué!”
Rebecca held on as they both ascended. “We have to take you in.”
“DEED can’t hide what I am. Pilar knows, too.”
Time to get them back to the ground. Rebecca’s hindquarters grew horsehair and expanded, a partial centaur transformation. Her weight pulled Millicent down, but the harpy grabbed onto a flagpole. Millicent couldn’t hold on for long.
“We’ll fall! Transform back to human, agent!”
Rebecca restored her human legs.
Millicent beat her wings to stay aloft. “Josué found out I was a harpy and accused me of theft. He threatened to call the police.”
“He blackmailed you?”
“Not for money.” Millicent’s cheeks colored. “For sex.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Let me go. Josué died while I was at a private corner of a public park, Sereia Garden, waiting for Pilar.”
“She was there?” asked Rebecca.
“She invited me to discuss other women Josué blackmailed. But she never showed up.”
Rebecca’s mind whirred. Then, Millicent shook her leg, dislodging Rebecca. The agent grunted and dropped to the ground. Without a look backward, Millicent flew away.
Ray approached Rebecca. He extended his hand. “We lost her.”
“No, we didn’t.”
***
Two hours later, Ray and Rebecca knocked on Pilar’s door again. When Pilar opened it, they entered without her invitation.
“I demand you leave right now!” Pilar stood by the doorway.
“Should we go to the police?” asked Rebecca. “Millicent said she was waiting to talk with you about Josué. He was blackmailing you too, wasn’t he?”
Pilar glared at her. Ray wrinkled his nose. “I can smell her sweat.”
“Millicent told me you know what she is,” said Rebecca. “You asked her to meet you at the Sereia Garden. Alone, she’d have no alibi.”
Rebecca advanced across the room and touched the fishing pole. “Millicent couldn’t have killed Josué with her declawed talons. Something else latched onto Josué’s shirt and yanked him off the balcony. With a little research, I discovered you are a proficient fisher. This pole is outfitted with a high-tension line, capable of yanking a man off his feet. Tell me, Pilar. Was it easy snagging Josué across the street, locking the line, and pulling him over?”
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