Page 60 of A Skirl of Sorcery
‘Kinky sex games,’ I told him, gesturing to Thane who responded with a saucily raised eyebrow.
Dave grunted and tried to dissemble, though he couldn’t quite manage to disguise the shocked awe in his eyes. ‘Always knew you were weird.’
I took the cup of coffee that Thane was holding out to me. ‘How’s Keres?’
‘Better than she was – she’s sitting up and talking. That medicine is working. You were right about your doctor friend. He knew what he was doing.’ Unfortunately we all knew that if Fergus was right, Keres’ days were numbered but nobody wanted to say that aloud.
‘Good.’ I nodded briskly and gulped down several burning hot mouthfuls of caffeine. I reached for a banana, unpeeled it and started to munch while I measured out kibble for the cats with my other hand. Within seconds, it wasn’t just Tiddles who was miaowing; all five of my own kitties were suddenly milling around my feet.
Dave winced at the cacophony and pulled himself into the corner out of their way.
‘You can stay for breakfast,’ I offered. I finished the last mouthful of banana and dropped a piece of kibble into my mouth.
Even Thane looked disgusted. ‘I kissed that mouth,’ he said.
‘Salmon flavour. It’s tastier than you think.’ I held some out. ‘Try it. You too, Dave.’
My druid neighbour was already shaking his head. ‘You are a vile lady.’ He opened the door. ‘I’ll head home for a few hours where I will eat some real food, but I’ll be back to check on Keres again soon.’ He glanced over his shoulder and his expression altered. ‘These kinky sex games,’ he said quietly. ‘Will they help find the bastard who’s done this to Keres?’
‘That’s the plan,’ I said quietly.
‘Good.’ He paused. ‘If you need any handcuffs, rope or whips, let me know and I’ll sort you out.’
I had no idea whether he was still talking metaphorically. ‘I will.’
As soon as Dave had gone, Thane glanced at me. ‘You eat cat food?’
I grinned. ‘Not as a rule but I needed to get rid of Dave and it was a surefire way of doing it.’ I crouched down to give each cat their bowl. ‘I love him to bits but we can’t hang around here talking. I don’t want him to know what we’re up to and I don’t want to delay any longer than is necessary. We need to deal with that damned landlord before nightfall so we can return to the trows.’
Tiddles miaowed sharply and I glanced down. She didn’t appear to be passing comment on my plans for the day: her problem was her food. Apparently my kibble wasn’t good enough for her, even though I’d watched her chow down a bowl of it the previous day.
‘Don’t you worry, sweetie.’ Thane bent down, picked up the bowl and covered the kibble with a layer of his expensive cat caviar. When he returned it to Tiddles she quivered with happiness and – finally – began to eat. ‘Stop judging,’ he murmured to me. ‘You know you want a man who’s well-trained.’
I pursed my lips but it was hard to argue with that statement. ‘Come on,’ I said. ‘We have to get going if we’re to reach Broughton and get into that building to deal with the trows’ landlord before they open for business for the day.’
Thane uttered the magic words before he bowed in my direction ‘You’re right. Let’s go.’
I had heardof Tobias Hollow long before Tanavantia had whispered his name to us last night while the rest of the trows were busy crossing themselves. He wasn’t the devil incarnate;as far as I was aware, he wasn’t particularly evil, not in the Coldstream sense. No, Tobias Hollow was simply another rich schmuck who spent his days trying to get richer as if all that mattered in the world were money.
He lived in the well-heeled suburb of Migden in a penthouse flat that would have made the architects of Thane’s last place blush with shame. It was a million miles away from the likes of Green Humbleton, and I doubted that Hollow had given the trows and the other rural residents on his land a single thought. His concerns were purely financial; it wouldn’t have occurred to him to consider the consequences his actions would have on an entire community.
He was a selfish dick and he would have been a contract I’d have enjoyed fulfilling when I’d worked for EEL – but I no longer worked for EEL. I didn’t have easy access to the resources that would have helped me scope out the Migden apartment and its security. I also had limited time, which was why Thane and I avoided Migden altogether and headed for Broughton instead. It would be far easier to get into his office there than his home, and far quicker.
Even if I hadn’t already heard of Tobias Hollow, I’d have recognised that he was wealth obsessed as soon as I saw the building where he worked. It was a large sandstone affair. There were pretty magicked window boxes outside with perfectly manicured flowers, and the sign for Hollow Estate Management was small and discreet. The size of one’s exterior company lettering was a good indicator of the size of one’s company bank account: typically the smaller the former, the larger the latter.
As far as I could tell, Hollow shared the building with two other companies with similar aspirations, although his office had its own private entrance. I was pleased by that: it would make it easier to gain access – and to leave quickly, if necessary.There would be no need to bother anyone else. In my experience, other people were rarely anything but a hindrance.
Thane was examining the building’s posh façade. ‘There’s unlikely to be a rear entrance – it’s not that sort of place.’ He brushed his fingertips lightly across the front door. ‘And there’s a ward. It’s not a strong one, but it will slow down our progress.’
I nodded thoughtfully. ‘The ideal scenario is that we get inside before Hollow arrives. If we’re waiting for him when he gets here, we can surprise him. This will be an easier conversation if he’s off-balance.’
Thane agreed. ‘Because we can’t kill him.’
‘Indeed.’ Tempting as it might be, ending Hollow’s life might only amplify the trows’ problems in the long run.
We didn’t have the time to investigate what contingencies were already in place in the event of Hollow’s death or who would inherit his interests, or if any Hollow heir would end up being even greedier than he was. Sometimes it was definitely a case of better the devil you knew.
Thane tapped his chin thoughtfully. ‘If unnerving him from the start is our first goal, why be coy about it? We shouldn’t worry about flashing our bare ankles or giving him a glimpse of tantalising decolletage.’
