Page 11 of Blood and Bone
Eoghan lifted the phone. “No. I just thought I’d check to see if there was a message from the chief.”
“Anything?”
“Nope. It looks like the ball is in our court until tomorrow.”
Ari gestured toward the phone. “Is this how things usually go when you’re on the road?”
A tiny crease appeared between his eyebrows as he glanced down at the phone and back up again. “Are you asking if I always check in with the chief or whether she’s inserting herself into this case more than the usual?”
Ari shrugged. “Maybe. I wondered whether that’s her normal modus operandi, to message you for updates all the time. I haven’t noticed it in the past, that’s all.”
Eoghan shook his head. “No, I usually give her status before bed when I’m on the road. She hates being out of the loop because it makes it embarrassing when she doesn’t have answers for the Agency if they call. You haven’t seen me do that?”
Ari shook his head. “No, but would you mind turning it off while we eat, please?”
Eoghan frowned. “Off?”
“Yeah, I just thought it would be nice to talk to my partner without you being tempted to check your phone all the time.”
Eoghan frowned harder. “Okay, if it means that much to you, I’ll turn it off. Sheesh.”
Ari smiled. “Thank you.” He pulled out his own cell phone and typed something before turning the screen toward Eoghan who leaned forward and read the words. “Where’re the cages?”
“Oh,” Eoghan mouthed, finally getting his meaning.
Ari rolled his eyes, making sure Eoghan caught sight of his smirk as he turned off his own phone. Eoghan pulled out two tiny devices, handing one to him. Ari followed Eoghan and slipped the miniature Faraday cage into his iPhone’s charging port, effectively blocking all signals to and from his phone even after it had been turned off. With both devices now safe, he sat back in the booth and breathed a sigh of relief.
“I assume you want to talk about the Agency,” Eoghan said.
“We sweep our apartments every day as well as the vehicles, Eoghan, but we haven’t talked about it much since the chief first asked us to take precautions two months ago. I wanted to ask you if she’d said anything to you about it recently,” Ari said.
Eoghan frowned, shaking his head. “Is that really something you think I wouldn’t have mentioned? It’s not like we don’t spend most of our time in each other’s company at work or at home. We spend the night in each other’s beds all the time, Ari. I can’t believe you think I’d hold out on something that important.” He picked up his phone. “Did you have me turn it off because you think someone’s listening in, because you know we have burners to talk to her about that, right?”
Ari sighed. “Yeah, I know we have burners.” He patted his coat where the low-tech flip phone was tucked away, fully charged. “And in answer to your question, first of all, no, I don’t think you’re holding out. Second, remember when I was picking up darts before we went out on that walrus shifter case last week?” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
Eoghan chuckled. “Walrus shifter?”
“Yeah, Malcom really is a big, roly-poly love muffin. I’m glad he and his wife reunited after he was released from jail. I knew he wasn’t drunk. Doc Patterson said something about walrus DNA screwing with the breathalyzer every time.”
“Wait,” Eoghan said, grinning. “Did you just call Malcom a big love muffin?”
Ari laughed. “That’s what his wife, Patrice called him.”
“I’m not surprised,” Eoghan said. “Do you know that the walrus has the largest penis bone on earth?”
Ari almost spat out his beer. He grabbed a napkin as some dribbled out of his nose and his eyes watered. Meanwhile his partner laughed at him from the other side of the booth. “Idiot! Don’t say shit like that when I’m drinking my beer.” He pinched his nostrils together. “Bubbles sting.”
“Bad timing, I’m sorry.”
“You said something about walrus’ penis.”
“Penis bone to be accurate. They actually have something called the baculum. I’ve…ah…seen Malcom’s.”
Ari burst out laughing, drawing the attention from several customers who were sitting around them. When he could finally compose himself, he leaned forward. “Are you shitting me? When?”
“The chief confiscated his file from the L.A. County Sheriffs as part of his release from custody. You didn’t notice that I got an envelope from them when I collected his belongings?”
“I didn’t realize,” Ari said, picturing it in his mind. He remembered Eoghan taking possession of the manila envelope but figured they were his property and nothing else. “So, what you’re telling me is that there was a picture of Malcom’s…what did you call it?”