Page 60 of Fortune's Ashes
Fair point. ‘Who’s the biggest manufacturer?’
‘You mean who would benefit the most if a fellow competitor disappeared?’ Lukas asked. ‘This isn’t Coca-Cola versus Pepsi. The companies that make these products are small. They do well out of their businesses but they’re still niche industries. There isn’t a market leader.’
Kennedy licked his lips. ‘Can I get a drink?’
‘In a minute,’ I said.
He sighed heavily. ‘There’s a limit to how long I can sit here without a vodka chaser because I’m answering questions about a business that Quince didn’t even care about.’
My eyes narrowed. ‘What do you mean he didn’t care about it?’
‘I mean that if somebody had wanted to take the fake-blood business away from Quince, he’d probably have given it to them. He only started it to clear his debts from the dating agency. It broke his heart when he couldn’t keep that bloody agency going, and he always planned to return to it one day. He wanted to play Cupid and change people’s lives, to be invited to weddings and wear a big hat while being lauded for bringing love into the world. He was a terrible business owner with no head for money, but he was also a huge romantic and a true softie at heart. He would have walked away from any disagreement, not provoked a violent fight that got him killed, whether it was business related or otherwise. Whenever I got into trouble and he was around, he always tried to calm things down. He often didn’t succeed because I didn’t listen to him, and he ended up in trouble because of me several times. But you have to understand that Quince wasn’t violent. Me maybe, but Quince never.’
Kennedy’s expression was earnest; he was desperate for me to understand that his dead friend was a good guy and what had happened to him couldn’t have been his fault. But that wasn’t what gave me pause. It was the dating agency; everything always seemed to lead back to it.
‘The vampire and the werewolf who were murdered,’ I said suddenly. ‘Simon Carr and Adele Cunningham. Did they meet via Quincy’s dating agency?’
It was Lukas who replied. ‘No. It was established at the time that they got to know each other at a local supe yoga class.’
I stared at him. ‘Supe yoga?’ Why had I not heard about that before? I’d have signed up straight away.
He shrugged. ‘It was the in thing for a while. A lot of the wolves liked to do it while they were in animal form.’
Buffy blew air through her teeth. ‘It makes downward dog pretty easy to master.’
I transferred my stare to her. ‘Youdo yoga?’
She cracked her knuckles. ‘I like to stay flexible.’ Okay, then.
Kennedy coughed and mumbled something so I turned back to him. ‘What did you say?’
He mumbled it again. ‘She was his client.’
Lukas stiffened. So did I.
‘Adele Cunningham? She was a part of Quincy’s dating agency?’
Kennedy nodded. ‘I only remember because I was with him when her body was found.’ He rubbed his neck awkwardly. ‘We were in the Clink at the time.’ He pulled a face and sighed. ‘One of the many times that my actions got Quince into hot water. Anyway, one of the guards told us what had happened, and Quince was really upset. He’d liked Adele a lot.’
‘What about Simon Carr?’ I asked, suddenly feeling a thrill that we were onto something. ‘He knew Quincy, but was he one of his dating agency clients too?’
‘I don’t know. Quince didn’t mention him. He only spoke about Adele.’
I could feel Lukas bristling. ‘This never came out at the time,’ he growled.
‘Quince took confidentiality seriously,’ Kennedy said.
‘She was murdered!’
‘Maybe he would have told you that she’d been one of his clients,’ Kennedy said quietly. ‘But before he could, he was murdered too.’
This time, we all exchanged glances.
ChapterTwenty-Two
We walked with Kennedy to the nearest pub. As soon as it came into sight, he all but sprinted inside, as desperate for his next drink as he was to get away from us. All the while I watched him go, my mutterings grew louder. ‘I knew in my gut that there was a link between Quincy Carmichael and that double murder. I knew it and I didn’t pay enough attention.’
‘We’re far more to blame than you are,’ Lukas said.
