Page 52 of Veiled Justice
I was dressed in my Connection uniform when I walked into the dryad’s grove in Grosvenor Park. The wards sensed that I held no ill-intent and let me in. I had left a sleepy Loki at home; taking a bird with me to pass the death message seemed unnecessarily weird. Plus the little fella seemed tuckered out. He’d lived in a cage for a long time and longer flights seemed to take it out of him. He needed to build up his stamina carefully – I didn’t want him pulling a wing or something.
At the grove, I knocked firmly on the elder tree and it shook its leaves to acknowledge my presence. ‘I need to speak to Alice Rose’s parents,’ I said firmly.
The elder tree groaned and shook its leaves again. As some of them fell, they laid a perfect path to another tree several yards away. I followed it. I could see the back of a dryad ahead of me and I tensed, drawing up my magic to defend myself if I needed to.
The dryad heard my footfalls and turned to face me. It wasn’t the killer I’d seen in Alice’s mind but itwasJude Jingo, who was a killer all the same. ‘Jingo,’ I snarled. ‘What are you doing here?’
He smiled. ‘This is my home.’
‘Bullshit.’
He laughed. ‘I knew you’d come here to notify the parents of the death. I’ve left it to you.’ I wondered if he expected me to thank him. His smile widened. ‘I thought a little frank discourse away from prying ears would be helpful.’
We were surrounded by sleeping dryads and their trees; the prying ears he was referring to had been the ones at the party. He didn’t fear the dryads prying because he had total control over them.
‘The Carnforths’ party wasn’t your cup of tea after all?’ I snarked.
He studied me. ‘Did you know, Inspector, that doppelgangers fall into the creature side of the Other realm?’
‘I didn’t,’ I admitted.
‘Not many do. It must be said that we are rare. We’re born with four legs like an animal and we are fierce and basic like animals. We like to eat, to drink and to fuck.’ He drew the last word out like he was trying to tempt me.
‘And kill,’ I added pointedly.
‘Yes,’ he agreed easily. ‘We like to kill. To assume a new form is a thrill. But my point, Inspector, was that as a creature of the Other realm I did not enjoy the theme of the evening’s soiree. The rich elite can dress up and call themselves cultured but they are just as depraved as me. Power – it’s all any of us want. And they seek to take it from us creatures, to subjugate us. Some of them even spat on me tonight because of my green skin.’
‘It’s not right.’ I hated agreeing with Jingo even for a moment, but I did.
‘It is not.’ He put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. ‘I run drugs and guns, but I am an honest soul. I like money, and whoever said that crime doesn’t pay was lying through their teeth. But I am a businessman, not abadman.’
‘You stabbed a teenager to death with a pair of scissors to start a feud,’ I snarled.
He gave a one-shouldered shrug. ‘And it started and ended the feud with exactly the result I required. As I said, I am a businessman and I need certain results. There may be collateral damage along the way but that doesn’t make me evil.’
‘Let’s agree to disagree,’ I scowled.
He smiled. ‘I like you. If the ogre wasn’t so intent on you, I’d woo you myself.’
I gaped at him. I didnotneed him to get that idea into his head; that Krieg might consider me his mate was more than enough to contend with. Not that I was thinking aboutthat.‘You’d have about as much chance as a moth against a dragon’s flame,’ I said firmly.
His smile widened. ‘As Ash Aspen, yes. But when I shed this form, I’ll make sure the next one is muscular like Krieg. You like them ripped, don’t you?’
I struggled to keep my face blank. At least with Ash Aspen’s body I knew who and what he was; if Jude Jingo took another form, I’d have no idea. ‘Don’t,’ I said flatly. ‘Just stay in Ash.’
He laughed. ‘Better to tell a gargoyle to be polite. I can’t change what I am, Inspector Wise, and I don’t want to. I embrace myselfand my nature.’ He looked at me intently. ‘You would do well to do the same.’
The thought that he too might somehow know what I was filled me with anxiety. It clearly showed, because he gave a low chuckle. ‘No, I don’t know your secrets yet, Inspector. But I will. You know how I like to collect them.’
‘You like to use them for blackmail,’ I stated.
‘That too.’ He winked and started to move away.
‘Wait!’ I called after him. ‘Why were you and Alice working at the Carnforths’ party?’
‘Alice worked at the Nocturne Circle and some of their staff were brought in tonight.’ He tapped his nose. ‘Discretion was important and the staff at Nocturne know all about discretion.’
His statement rang true. I was certain that both murders were pre-planned so the killers would need staff they could trust on hand. And yes, there was more than one killer here; the problem was that I wasn’t quite surepreciselyhow many.
