Okoye's fingers flew over the keyboard, tapping in the data for the latest report. She wasn't sure what Wright was off doing, but hopefully it didn't involve donuts.
A ping sounded from the computer, causing her eyes to flick down to the notification. She sighed heavily at the subject of the email. Another person reporting the rising of the dragon. Didn't they realise that there was nothing the police could do about it? I was just a fact of fate. Okoye didn't even know who the shifter was, although she suspected she knew who did.
Another ping sounded, this time from her personal phone. She picked it up to discover a text message from none other than Vivian Nightgale.
"Well, that's a surprise." Okoye said to herself, with as much sarcasm as she could manage. She'd thought Vivian would have messaged long before now.
The text was simple: I know who the shifter is.
Okoye's eyebrows leapt up.
"Now that is a surprise."
She typed back quickly. -Who is it?-
A moment later, the reply came up.
-Can't say. Myrddin taking charge.-
Okoye nodded. Her suspicion was confirmed. Of course Merlin was getting himself involved in the most important razerni event since Arthur.
She suppressed a shudder at the thought of Arthur, and returned her focus to the computer. She wasn't going to get anything more out of Vivian, so she might as well just get on with her work.
A short while later, Wright appeared in the entrance to the bullpen, making a beeline for Okoye. He looked bothered by something, and Okoye was mildly surprised to see his hands weren't occupied with anything.
"Okoye, I think we have a bit of a problem." Wright grabbed his desk chair as he passed it, then wheeled it over to sit his tall frame down beside her desk. His broad shoulders eclipsed the entire back of the chair as always, even as he leaned forward with his hands clasped and elbows resting on his knees.
At the worried expression on his face, Okoye put her pen down, giving him her full attention.
"What's up?"
"The word about the 4am murders got around," he said seriously. "La Fae knows all about it - I even had some of the customers come over and ask me questions about it. About that and the dragon."
Okoye massaged her temples with a sigh. Great. Just what they needed when they were looking for a killer - the entire razerni community riled up about both the killer and dragon.
"Some people were even suggesting that the dragon was behind it."
"What?" Okoye couldn't stop herself from giving a small snort of laughter. "That's absurd. The dragon only just rose and the murders began two months ago."
"That's what I said," Wright told her, with a shrug. "But you know what some of them are like. Conspiracies and all that. Think all the other Types are out to get them."
"Yes, I know." Okoye sighed again. "Have you heard back from the boss about this morning's Council meeting?"
"Nope." Wright shook his head. "Not a peep. Actually, I didn't hear anything about it at the café either, which is a little odd."
"Probably too busy with the dragon killer theories," Okoye mused, turning back to her computer.
A thought had just struck her. It was terribly odd that the dragon had risen at the moment in which the council had been taking place this morning. True, the Manifestation had only been a little less than two hours ago, and nothing had been happening then, but it was certainly food for thought.
"Well, it's not our job to keep the gossipers from gossiping, fortunately," she said briskly. "We've got some murders to solve and a serial killer to find."
"I'm afraid we've actually got a little more to do than just that, Okoye."
Both she and Wright turned to see the Captain coming up to them. Wright stood up immediately, offering the Captain his chair. The man waved it away with a quick shake of his head.
"I'm just here for a quick word. First off; any luck with the Midnight Killer?"
"No luck, sir," Okoye answered. She resisted the urge to point out that, in fact, the murders had occurred at 4am, not midnight. "There was another murder this morning, same MO as the other four and absolutely no evidence."
"Hmm. Well, I may have a lead for you."
"That's great!" she straightened up in her seat.
"You might not think so once I've told you," the Captain said wryly. "At the council meeting today, the Unseelie King made a rather off-handed remark about the importance of shifters. Or rather, the unimportance of shifters."
Wright clicked his tongue, a sharply annoyed sound that Okoye rather agreed with.
"So you think that the King may have something to do with the murders?" Wright asked.
The Captain lifted his shoulder in a shrug. "Hard to say. No faerie magic has been found, but it's not impossible to say that he could be involved."
Okoye narrowed her eyes, turning the possibility over her mind. It seemed a little far-fetched, but with the Unseelie King, anything was possible.
"We'll add that to our investigations," she said. "Thank you, Captain."
"Did anything else interesting happen during the council?" Wright leaned forward in his seat, eyes fixed on the Captain.
Okoye watched as the Captain hesitated, then shook his head.
"Nothing that needs to be shared. I'll keep you updated if we do end up making a decision on something, but for now you should just focus on the serial killer."
"Understood."
The Captain nodded, giving Okoye's desk a quick tap before he headed off towards his office.
"You didn't mention the rumours?" Wright asked Okoye.
She shook her head. "Didn't see the point. I'm sure he'll find out sooner or later."
Alright then. Guess I'll get to work on this case, hmm?"
Okoye grinned as Wright shoved off from her desk and spun around on his way back over to his own desk.
It was time to go back to work. There was a lot to be done in the next while.