Page 15 of Bishop's Flight
“Really?” Lee batted his eyes at Brigid. “How shocking. I had no idea.”
“Smartarse.” She bumped his shoulder as she stood. “I’m focusing on Lucas’s friends for now. Hoping a few calls to parents might get me some meetings with the kids Lucas hung out with.”
Lee grimaced. “Good luck. High school kids.” He shuddered.
“I’m counting on ’em being more scared than loyal at this point. Gimme a frightened teenager, and I can get them to spill their guts.”
The amusement fled Lee’s face. “How? With amnis?”
He’d been manipulated by a vampire by the same means, so Brigid understood why he was sensitive about it.
If it came down to getting answers and saving a boy’s life by manipulating a human mind, she’d do it. But she’d try old-fashioned methods first.
“No, not with amnis,” Brigid said. “Just ordinary old teenage fear.”
“What are they going to be afraid of?”
“Me.” She winked at him. “I have this canny preternatural ability to smell bullshit.”
Brigid sat acrossfrom a young man in jeans and an oversize T-shirt with a Japanese animation character emblazoned on the front. He was Black and his hair was clipped close to his head in a neatly trimmed cut. His jeans fit well, but his shirt was baggy. His shoes were designer, just like his mother’s.
Peter Anthony was slumped on the couch, clearly irritated to be talking with Brigid; his mother was sitting beside him.
“Mrs. Anthony, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me, especially when it’s so late. I know you understand time is important here.”
“Of course. If there’s anything we can do, please just tell us.”
Brigid turned her attention to the boy. “Pete, thank you especially. I’m sure you’re adult enough to understand how serious this is.”
The boy sat up a little straighter. “Well… I mean yeah.”
Joy Anthony was a prominent attorney in Las Vegas, and Rose had identified her son Peter as Lucas’s closest friend.
“When Rose called me and told me what happened…” Joy shook her head. “I mean, you hear about these things happening to wealthy families, but not in Las Vegas.”
“Unfortunately, it can happen anywhere, and the more publicity there is, the more likely copycats are to take advantage. So ya understand why we’re tryin’ to keep this from the media?” Brigid spoke to the mother, but she kept her eyes on the son.
“Oh, of course.” The woman looked distraught. “It’s terrifying. I don’t know how Rose and Agnes are holding themselves together. And poor Anna! I know how close they were.”
Brigid didn’t have time to waste on niceties. “Pete, I know you and Lucas were close.”
The boy shrugged.
“Lemme guess, you thought his security meant his parents were overreacting?”
He didn’t say anything.
“Was Lucas the only one at school with security?”
The young man sighed and leaned forward. “No. Not the only one. I mean, there are, like, superrich families at my school, okay? The money we have? The money Lucas’s parents have? It’s like, minor compared to some of them.”
“So there was other security.”
He narrowed his eyes and sneered. “I mean, kinda. Lucas was the only one whose security, like, followed him to class and stuff.”
The mother wanted to be part of the conversation too. “My husband, Rod, and I were always welcoming to his security guards whenever Lucas came over. Our house was one of the few houses where Rose and Agnes allowed Lucas to spend time.”
“Oh my God, Mom.” Pete winced. “Whatever.”
