Page 57 of Veiled Justice
Krieg and I walked out of the club into the centre of Chester. Students were busy shouting, singing or vomiting, and the town was vibrant and alive. Krieg slid a glance at me. ‘You’re not going to sleep, are you?’
‘I have—’ I checked my watch ‘—twenty-one hours left to prove my brother is innocent. If I don’t, Thackeray will bring in another Inspector.’
His jaw tightened. ‘One that might accept a bribe from Quintos to make it all go away.’
I grimaced because it was true. Inspectors were supposed to be impartial officers for justice and a force of righteousness, andmostof us were. But, like with any large unwieldy organisation, there were bad apples. I had no doubt Quintos would secure one of them to take over the case … and when he did that Rupert would be arrested and killed before he could prove his innocence. No, I wasn’t going home to sleep. I needed to catch the killers and that meant building an unshakeable case in less than a day.
They’d hired out the actual killing; it wouldn’t do to get their own hands dirty. I was betting that Quintos had hired Einar, and Louisa Carnforth had hired a dryad assassin. All assassination contracts had a vow of secrecy woven into them but I was sure that the assassins were the weak point; if I arrested Quintos or Carnforth, they would surely attempt to throw both assassins under the bus. No, I needed a confession to see those two rich wankers in jail.
Nothing like a tall order.
Chapter 31
Krieg and I waited in the darkness like a pair of hunting vampyrs. ‘This is my show,’ he reminded me. ‘This is anin-housematter and you are here against my better judgement. You are here to observe, not to participate.’
‘I’ve got it,’ I said tersely.
We were killing time waiting for Einar to return home from his fight-club experience, squatting in his home in the dark, ready to jump out and shout a sinister ‘Surprise!’. Frankly, I was surprised to be there. I’d never heard of an ogre inviting an Inspector in-house like this, and I was determined not to squander what was starting to seem like Krieg’s trust in me. Something was building between us – I wasn’t quite sure what – but trust was a cornerstone of any relationship and I wouldn’t let that foundation slip.
My ego had no place in this and I had no issue in letting it go. For now, my brother Rupert was my focus; I had to save him and, if possible, do so without incriminating Mum for failing to register me. If Krieg could help me do that, I’d happily sacrifice a chicken or a goat in his name.
‘Einar’s coming,’ Krieg whispered.
‘How do you know?’
‘Crows,’ he murmured.
Knowing that he was half-piper changed that old tale I’d once heard about Krieg and his birds. Hadhestarted the rumour about his ancestors as a cover for his skills?
His murder of crows was eerily silent as Einar pulled up the drive. The birds knew we were going to rumble and they were keeping quiet for their ogre overlord. Smart.
We were on the ogre complex that Krieg had taken me to when we’d notified Helga’s parents about her death. Einar lived in one of the small houses that was set back, like Aron’s had been. Krieg had keys to them all so we’d gone inside and re-locked the door behind us.
We listened tensely as Einar put the key in his lock and turned it. Then, when he stepped into his home, Krieg exploded into movement. His mace smashed into Einar’s stomach, then he reversed the handle and knocked him unconscious.
I held my tongue with effort. This was Krieg’s show.
He dragged a metal chair from the dining-room table and shackled the still unconscious Einar to it. Next he flicked on all the lights and looked at me. ‘You can film this.’
I blinked in surprise. ‘Thank you.’
His jaw was tight. ‘This is a mistake,’ he muttered to himself and shook his head. He turned back to Einar as I fished out my phone and hit record.
Krieg slapped Einar across the face a couple of times until he blearily opened his eyes. He licked his lips then said, ‘Ahhh,’ in a tone that was too knowing.
‘Why did you kill Helga Jónson?’ Krieg snapped.
Einar shrugged. ‘I was ordered to.’
‘By whom?’
‘By my contract holder.’
‘You are aware that your vow of confidentiality does not extend to me. Who?’
Einar grimaced. ‘Caspian Katz.’
I took a sharp breath. Fuck. That wasn’t the name I’d been expecting.
