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Harry was slumped into a relaxed sprawl on the huge couch that he had recently purchased when the doorbell rang. Grumbling at having to get up from the silky leather, Harry pulled himself into a more proper position before waving his hand at the butler that was waiting for his go ahead.
He knew before she even entered the room that Lieutenant Karen Murphy had come to discuss something with him.
The wards recognized her and were at first unwilling to allow her entrance, until Harry gave his permission with an internal sigh.
The wards were probably smarter than he was.
He did hope the bitch wasn't here to arrest him. Again.
The diminutive police lieutenant marched through the door and entered his study moments ahead of the butler who left when Dresden jerked his head to the right.
Standing up to politely greet her, Harry's proffered hand was ignored and Murphy kept coming until she was able to poke him in the chest with an accusing finger.
"Talk Dresden, where were you last night?"
Arching an amused eyebrow at her Harry batted her hand away gently.
"I suppose politeness would be too much to ask from a very busy police officer?"
"It's Lieutenant, Dresden, and you're right I'm very busy. Now answer the question."
Spreading his hands in feigned innocence, Harry's face still held a spark of mischief.
"I was here, Lieutenant, all night."
"Do you have anybody to corroborate your story?"
Dresden's smirk at that accusatory sentence was devilish.
"Indeed I do. Danielle, please tell the good officer where I was last night?
Murphy swung around and came face to chest with a tall, slender, and model beautiful woman.
The woman had been sauntering past the archway when Harry had called her name, and her rumpled tawny hair and disheveled appearance was more eloquent than her words.
"He was with me from six last night on." The words were a low purr.
"Could he have left without you noticing?"
"Absolutely not officer," Danielle's expression was almost as wicked as Dresden's, "We were both awake the vast majority of the night and I can guarantee that all of his attention was on me."
"Fine, don't leave town Miss?"
"Vincent."
"Miss Vincent."
The woman shrugged before giving Dresden a kiss on the cheek and a murmured goodbye.
Murphy watched with something akin to fascination when Dresden's face usually viciously cold around her, softened to something that was close to affection, and he gave Miss Vincent a soothing stroke down her back that Karen could see gave the woman a slight shiver.
"Officer." The woman dipped her head in a polite goodbye and swept from the room.
"Now," Dresden's intense focus was once more on her, and he had buried any trace of softness that had been present. "Now that you know I haven't done anything…"
"The hell I don't, for all I know you drugged her and she doesn't know whether she was sleeping or not."
Dresden's face darkened, eyes flashing in a way that meant he was well on his way to truly pissed.
"I want to know," Murphy continued doggedly, "what you know about this."
With that she shoved a small pile of photographs into Dresden's hands and watched his face intently to see his reaction.
Flipping through the gruesome scene, two lovers basically melted together from high heat, depicted in the photo's Dresden's face didn't so much as twitch.
"Why would you think that I have anything to do with these deaths?"
"It has your stink all over it Dresden, I know how much you love playing with fire."
"Hells Bells woman." Dresden snarled finally losing his patience. "Enough, if you'd care to look more closely at the crime scene I'm sure you'll find everything you would need to figure out what happened there. Well everything you would need if you weren't bound and determined to bring every bad thing that happens to this city to my door."
Murphy tossed her head up high, her nostrils flared with irritation.
"Stop speaking in riddles. What the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the wretched electric blanket you dim-witted blonde."
"The electric blanket?"
"Yes, the one they're kneeling on, the one that has obvious wine stains on it."
"I can't believe it, are you implying that this was nothing more than an accident?"
"OUT!" Dresden drew himself up to his full and impressive height, threat added to the posture from the obvious muscles on his chest and shoulders.
Murphy couldn't help but physically recoil from him. Truthfully the man scared the hell out of her.
But she also knew that as long as she didn't push things too far, he would never report her harassment to the authorities. When the man actually started to bellow was about the time she scrammed.
Hurrying for the door, Murphy scowled at her own cowardice, but really who knew what the man could do if she ever really pissed him off.
She knew that no matter how hard she tried she'd probably never get any sort of conviction to stick to the man. His money and power were both too strong for that, but she did feel like it was her duty to harass the man whenever she found anything that she thought might put him in the hot seat. If only briefly.
Walking out the door this time though, Murphy's focus was primarily on the photos she tilted them sideways and squinted a little.
"I'll be damned." She muttered.
There, clear as day now that they had been pointed out to her were the wine stains.
Harry relaxed back into his couch now that Murphy had left. Any trace of humor wiped from his face and replaced with cold calculation.
That had been close, and even nearly truthful, after all no reason for Murphy to know that he was perfectly capable of moving things from a distance as long as they were within his line of sight.
No need to tell her that Danielle was a witch who was more than willing to help him take care of this particular couple.
Harry had no delusions about his goodness, the two people he had killed had been horrible people; he was worse.
Still he had to protect his city no matter the cost of money or flesh, and now that Murphy had actually come directly to his door instead of taking him to the police station he knew the face of his enemy.
His face melted into a smile that was more a baring of teeth.