Page 73 of Veiled Justice
It wasn’t clear whether they’d known about the deaths that were being planned, though they had definitelywitnessedthemand done nothing. In their lawyer-prepped statements, both had asserted they feared for their lives if they came forward. That would be hard to disprove, especially with Louisa’s killing spree culminating in the death of her father.
Still, the main players were all fucked and that counted for something. And I’d keep an eye on Squiggins; the handsy little fuck would grope the wrong person and I’d be ready for him.
‘They were small fry,’ Gaz consoled me. ‘Neither one was part of the planning stages.’
‘Pissants,’ Loki agreed.
Gaz looked amused. ‘You got a parrot?’
‘Not parrot!’ Loki squawked indignantly.
‘A pigeon?’ Gaz guessed again.
Loki flew to him and screeched directly in his ear before dropping a small white poo on his shoulder and flying away. I stared at the bird shit. ‘Sorry about that,’ I said stiffly. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t bring him to work.’
Gaz grinned. ‘Being pooed on is good luck, isn’t it? I’ll grab a lottery ticket on the way home.’
‘Anyway.’ I dragged us back to topic. ‘The miscreants. At the very least they witnessed murder and didn’t stop it.’ Montague had looked sick the whole time I’d been questioning him and I had a feeling he’d soon take himself somewhere far away. Good: I hoped it haunted him. He could have got help for both of the victims but he hadn’t. His hands weren’t physically dirty but his soul wasn’t clean; standing by whilst atrocities happened was almost as bad as committing them yourself.
Squiggins had been drunk and triumphant when I’d interviewed him after Alice Rose’s death. Something told me it wasn’t just his groping I needed to keep an eye on; he’d had a taste of death and he’d liked it. If I’d been a betting person, I’d have put money on him killing again, maybe not while his friend’s arrest was so fresh in his mind, but one day …
‘I hear you,’ Gaz said. ‘I’ll review the statements and give you my view, but I’ve never known you to make a wrong judgement call. You get that from your father.’
He had worked alongside my father for years; Dad always said a straighter arrow didn’t exist than Gaz Steele.
As for Kane? The dryad assassin was in the wind. He’d killed one of his own so that death was covered by the in-house rule. His employer's involvement nullified the rule forthembut not for him. He was going to get away – but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to talk to him and rattle his cage. I had an APB out on him, though I suspected nothing would come of it for now. He was a professional assassin; he knew when and how to disappear.
I left Gaz to it. Loki flew ahead as we made our way to my small office. DS Roberts stopped me on the way. ‘Heard you got your perps.’
‘Yeah, all three of them.’
‘Nice.’
I studied him for any sign of sarcasm but saw none. I nodded. ‘Thanks.’
‘How did the kid do?’ Roberts jerked his head towards Channing.
I grimaced. ‘Good.’ I paused. ‘I’mnot used to having a partner.’
Roberts smirked. ‘Don’t we know it? You’re a lone wolf, Wise, but it’s your duty to train him properly. He’s been sulking around the station. He’s here to help you. Train him, use him. Make a good officer out of him. Put in the time and effort.’
Fuck’s sake, I was getting my wrist slapped. ‘Stop making sense, Roberts, because I think it’s one of the signs of the apocalypse.’
Point made, he smirked and walked off.
I called Channing into my office, gestured for him to take a seat and closed the door, activating the privacy runes so none of the Common police officers like Roberts could hear us. ‘Good job on getting the statements from DeLea and the maid,’ I started brusquely. ‘Your help was instrumental in getting the perps behind bars.’
‘Thank you, ma’am. It was impressive to see you work. They’ll go away for a long time.’
I smiled wryly. ‘With a team of hot-shot lawyers behind them, I expect they’ll try to recant their statements.’
‘Will they succeed?’
‘No, but they can waste their money trying.’
‘Ma’am, theykilled. Why didn’t you just end them and remove the possibility of an appeal or parole?’
I pursed my lips then said slowly, ‘Every life you take haunts you. When you’re hunting a killer, sometimes it’s the right thing to do.’ I thought of Einar. ‘You know that they’ll kill again and more innocents will die if you stay your hand. But Quintos, Katz and Louisa were cowardly. It will hurt them far more to be stuckin a high-security prison, locked up with the dregs of the Other realm. All the money in the world won’t make Wraithmore a pleasant place to be – they’ll have no fancy clothes, no nice food, no servants. They’re in for the shock of their lives. And that’s more just than simply lopping off their heads.’
