Page 53 of Veiled Justice
Jingo’s observations, along with Squiggins’ comment, meant that I was bound for Nocturne Circle next. But first, I had some lives to ruin.
I frowned at him. ‘Why are you trying to help me?’
‘Because fuckery against the creatures is not to be encouraged.’
‘So that’s why Alice was there – but why were you?’
He grinned and repeated, ‘Because fuckery against the creatures is not to be encouraged.’
I remembered hiscomments about the various people there and the salacious secrets they were hiding. ‘You were there to mine some blackmail material,’ I guessed.
‘Perhaps.’
‘You used Alice Rose to get you into the event and then you got to work.’ I studied him. ‘Did you know she was going to die?’
The flash of anger in his eyes was there and gone in a moment. ‘I did not. Such deaths are bad for business. I have taken over the grove and I need to keep things stable. I would never have sanctioned the hit.’
Thehit. I had been all but certain I’d known the identity of the dryad’s killer and now I was sure. ‘A dryad assassin was hired to kill her.’ It was a statement, not a question.
Jingo’s eyebrows shot up and he looked even more intrigued. ‘And how did you deduce that it was a dryad assassin? I just said it was a hit.’
‘A guest saw another dryad, other than you and Alice,’ I lied. ‘And everyone knows that dryads and griffins are the paramount assassins of the Other. Besides, Alice didn’t struggle. She trusted her attacker because he was of the same species.’
And that was precisely why Helga was dead, too; she’d trusted her attacker enough to take a drink from him. An ogre she’d known had been hired to kill her. I wondered if he or she had been aware of the victim’s identity when they’d accepted the off-the-books contract.
Jude nodded. ‘I surmised as much.’
‘You think like a cop,’ I noted.
‘There’sno need to be rude!’ he sassed, and I smiled despite myself.
‘It was a compliment.’
‘Not to me, though I accept we are two sides of the same coin. We’re not so different.’
I snorted. ‘We’re worlds apart.’
‘We’ll see,’ Jingo murmured as he walked away. ‘Good night, Inspector.’
I didn’t reply. Instead I refocused on the tree in front of me and the family I was about to destroy.
I took a deep breath and knocked on its bark.
Chapter 29
Notifying families of a loved one’s death was the worst thing about my job and it slayed me every time. Nothing else came close to touching that moment where I shattered their lives forever.
Alice’s parents were no exception and their grief was raw and palpable. I excused myself as quickly as possible to get back to hunting. My night wasn’t over yet; the Nocturne Circle was calling my name.
Alice’s murder had happened fairly early so it was still only 1am; the club would be doing a roaring trade. I ducked back home and changed into the only other dress I owned – the long, black lace, distinctly unsexy one. Whatever: it was better than my uniform.
I gave my hair a quick curl and tied a headband 1920s’ style across my forehead to disguise the triangles tattooed there that called me out as working for the Connection. I dug out some black gloves from a Morticia Addams’ fancy-dress night out and slung on a beaded necklace. Hopefully I looked more like I’d rolled into the club from a theme night rather than a Connection officer trying to go undercover.
I pulled on some low-heeled court shoes that I could run in and picked up the clutch bag again – complete with extendable baton.
The club wasn’t far away, so after I’d looked up the address I walked into town. The building had no sign outside, just a symbol of three intertwined S’s. If I hadn’t seen it on their website, I wouldn’t have known what it was. I felt the wards designed to keep out Common realmers press on me as I approached; this club was only for the magical denizens of the Other.
I walked towards it with a confidence that promptly faltered when I recalled that this was agentlemen’s club and I was a lady. Luckily, providence was shining down on me, because just about to enter the door ahead of me was none other than Krieg. I’d have recognised those broad shoulders anywhere.
