Page 81 of Fortune's Ashes
‘Please,’ I said, ‘indulge me.’
‘There were a few … uncomfortable moments. There was a werewolf who was very insistent on marking his territory everywhere we went – that caused some problems. And a human who became most aggressive when I told him that I didn’t think we had a future. As I recall, he seemed to think I was deliberately humiliating him when I turned him down, instead of simply making an informed choice.’
‘Uh-huh. Can you remember his name?’
‘Hmm.’ Elena paused. ‘It began with an M. Mark maybe?’
‘Could it have been Max?’ I asked. ‘Max Vargman?’
‘Yes,’ she said slowly. ‘I think that might have been him.’
I checked my watch again. It was almost time. ‘Thank you, Lady Elena.’
‘No problem.’
I tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and buckled my seatbelt, then I wound down the window and waited. It didn’t take long. Against all reasonable expectations Stubman had come through – and he was right on time.
I’d been concerned that the commotion outside Stubman’s building would mean that nobody would notice, but I needn’t have worried. The sound of three gunshots fired in quick succession was impossible to miss. There were several alarmed shouts and screams, whether from the supes or the police I couldn’t tell, but it didn’t particularly matter.
I put Tallulah into gear and drove off. Five seconds later my phone rang again as I’d expected. In fact, Lukas was perfectly on cue.
‘Emma!’ He sounded breathless and panicked in a way I’d never heard him before. I’d debated calling him before all this happened, but he was in a public place and I didn’t want to tip my hand to anyone else.
‘Are you alone?’ I asked, speeding away from the scene.
‘Buffy’s here. We’re coming up the stairs to you now. Are you alright? Did he shoot you?’
I put as much force into my voice as I could. I needed Lukas to calm down and listen to me. ‘Stop. Don’t go any further. I am fine. You have to listen.’
‘What?’ He still sounded frantic. ‘What’s going on?’
‘I need the police to think that I’ve shot Stubman and disappeared with his body.’
Lukas’s voice rose. ‘You needwhat?’
I heard Buffy’s voice float over. ‘Has she killed the bastard?’
‘Stubman is fine. He should be hiding in a cleaning cupboard on the next floor up. But everyone has to believe that I’ve either killed him or he’s about to be killed.’
‘What?’
I remained calm. ‘There’s no body, so you’ll have to improvise.’
‘Emma—’
‘Stubman was being set up, Lukas. If the real killer thinks that I fell for his ploy and got rid of Stubman, he’ll stay where he is. If he thinks for a moment that we’ve not been fooled then he’ll run.’ I drew a breath. ‘I have to catch him. He’s responsible for at least four deaths and he tried to kill Fred and Owen. He burned Supe Squad. He can’t get away.’
‘It’s not Stubman? He didn’t do any of this?’
‘Nope. He’s an ornery supe-hating wanker, but he’s not a murderer.’
Lukas swore aloud. ‘If he’s not the killer, then who is?’
‘Max.’
There was a beat of silence. ‘The other bellman?’
‘Yes.’
