Naming Day (Jake Underwood Book 1) (5 page)

“I take it that the last time you saw him that he was well and in good spirits?”

That tore it. I knew something bad had happened here when I came in. I had hoped that it was something else, almost anything but this. Kevin was dead or missing. It was the only thing that made any sense. The only problem was that I wouldn’t have thought that Kevin would have warranted such a big presence. The fact that Crosswich was so gleeful meant that they or at least he thought I had something to do with it.

“The last time I saw him he was tending bar. He asked me to try some expensive bourbon. I did. It was damn good. How he ended up dead or missing I have no idea.”

“I never said anything about that. Where did you hear this?” He moved closer, a hard mercenary glint in his eyes.

“Really, Sheriff! Is there any other reason you and your sidekick would be in here annoying the staff and asking me questions about my relationship with Kevin? Something bad has happened.“  I glanced at Crosswich and saw that his left eye was twitching. That was dead giveway that he was a very unhappy Fey. Joy. “If you must know, Crosswich told me.”

“You lying son of a whore! I never told you a damn thing!” he came around the table and I quickly stood up. Sergeant Bermuda moved between us and restrained Crosswich.

“Deputy Crosswich. That will be enough of that, I think.” Sheriff turned to me and smiled. “Mr. Underwood, would you care to explain that statement?”

“The only time I have ever seen this much pomp and circumstance was when there was a lot of heat coming down from the Court. Besides, Crosswich is only happy when somebody he doesn’t like is dead or in deep shit. I played the odds and figured with your questions, Crosswich’s shit eating grin and Lucinda’s stricken look that something terrible had happened to Kevin.”

The sheriff seemed to mull that one over for a few moments. Crosswich looked like he wanted to maul me over for a few minutes. I hoped Sergeant Bermuda would get out of the way and let him try.

“Yes. I had heard that you were pretty sharp. Sharp enough to gut yourself if you don’t take care.” The sheriff seemed to reach some sort of decision. He pulled a chair back and settled himself into it. He glanced at up at Crosswich. “Deputy Crosswich, please make the rounds and insure that we haven’t missed anyone hiding in all the small spaces. Get one of the Black Watch to accompany you.  Can’t be too careful in these small pocket realms.”

Crosswich looked like he wanted to say something else but the little warning signals that kept him at his post must have been flashing and so he fumed off, a little more angry with me than when I arrived. If it wasn’t for the reason he was here this might have turned out to be a good day.

“Mr. Underwood-“

“You can call me Jake, unless you are going to arrest me.”

“Fair Enough. Jake, I want you to tell me exactly what you and Kevin talked about yesterday. Let me say that I have already heard from the staff that as soon as you left yesterday, Kevin followed. Unusual for a bartender to take off just before the busiest part of his day, don’t you think?”

I considered how much to tell him, taking into account what he might already know and reviewed exactly how damaging anything I said might be. I couldn’t see any reason not tell him what Kevin and I had talked about. So I told him about the Naming Day Ceremony and about Kevin’s promise to snoop around and let me know what, if anything was up and about the details of the ceremony.

“That’s it?” he was obviously disappointed. My guess is that he had hoped for a lead or something that might tie me to whatever had happened.

“That’s it. Look, maybe if I knew more I could help. Kevin and I have been tight for a long time.”

“Tight?” The sheriff looked confused until Sergeant Bermuda leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Ah. Yes. Tight.” It was his turn to consider how much to lay out for me. Cops tend to keep things close, but I had a hunch he might dish a little. ”Kevin Unglunblasch, the bartender here was found slain, rather most of him was found, in an abandoned building in Pasadena. Someplace called Gilley’s, a burned out nightclub to be precise.”

“Unglunblasch? That was Kevin’s goblin name huh? Poor bastard. Any idea why he was there? That’s a little off the beaten path for him.” Pasadena is a satellite city to Houston, best known for its chemical plants and the ungodly stink of its air. I have heard it called ‘Stinkadena’ on occasion.”

“That was what I was hoping you were going to help me with. None of the staff here at the Silver Tree could or will tell us much of anything. They don’t seem to think much of my deputies.”

“Of course they don’t, they all remember Deputy Crosswich’s investigation of the death of Alicia Morning’s Gate. They won’t say anything to Crosswich. I’ll bet it was Crosswich that got Lucinda crying. He’s a prick and they won’t talk to pricks.”

“Now, Mr. Underwood, I feel obliged to remind you that he is a law officer and his father is highly placed at the court. He might take umbrage at your tone and your words.” The Sheriff was playing it straight. I couldn’t tell if he really didn’t like what I said or whether he was covering himself in front of the Sergeant.

“Back to Mr. Underwood is it? That’s fine with me, but let me just add this. Even if he hadn’t come in here and botched Alica Morning’s Gate’s murder and stomped all over the “mongrel help” as he so euphemistically likes to call them, the staff couldn’t have told him anything, anyway. They probably don’t know anything. Kevin trusted damned few people with what would be common knowledge to you and me. Hell, he never told me his Goblin name! If he had a secret, you can be sure that he kept it to himself. I’ll bet I knew him better than just about anybody and I know precious little about his life and nothing about his death for that matter. “

“But it remains that shortly after his talk with you he left the Silver Tree and met his end. It certainly seems suspicious.”

“Maybe so. But I don’t have the least idea what happened to Kevin after I left. Maybe they are connected and maybe not, but I will tell you this, whoever did this better watch their back. They better hope that you get to them first. Because if someone besides the cops find him, I guarantee that they’ll beg for the quick death of the axe that you would give them.”

“Mr. Underwood! This is a court matter now! I won’t have court members taking private justice. I can promise you that anyone doing so will face the full power of the court and the Black Watch.” The Sheriff turned a cold eye toward me. It’s good to know that he at least had some kind of passion working within him.

“Oh it won’t be me, I’m full supporter of the law and the way it works. But Kevin had friends, some without as much respect for procedure and due process as I do. Some of them believe in the old ways. It won’t be my fault if, some night I have a little too much to drink and a name slips out and they found out who did this. After all, exiles tend to hang together out here in the realm of Adam. It’s hard to keep a secret like that.”

The sheriff sighed, “I can see that this is getting us no where. Can you tell me anything that could help me with my investigations?”

“That’s a much better question. I suppose I could give you list of people that Kevin had me find or talk to for him. That might give you something to check on, although I doubt that any of them did it. If the twins lean on someone, they stay bent.”

“Very Well. I have an appointment with my superior at the court and will have to leave the actual data collection to Sergeant Bermuda. He will be the lead investigator on this case. Anything you can think of to help, it would be considered a boon. At the same time, I don’t want you interfering in our investigation. Let us do our jobs and keep yourself clear. Just one thing more, stay available. I want to be able to put my hands on you when I feel like it.”

“Why Sheriff, usually I expect dinner or least dancing before I let people put their hands on me.” He scowled and as he walked away Sergeant Bermuda took his chair and  I could hear him muttering something under his breath about bring back the old ways of putting someone to the question. I certainly hoped that he wasn’t talking about me.

It took me a half hour to give the Sergeant the list of people that I had helped Kevin with over the years. It was lot longer than I had recalled and the recitation of it brought back a lot of memories. It made me realize exactly how much I would miss him.

I assured Sergeant Bermuda that I could be reached through my office and He gave me a gilded card with his sigil and his cell phone number and told me to be in touch if I remembered anything that he should know. I told him I would and I asked him to keep me informed on how the case was going. He said he would. We both knew we were lying.

I looked around the Silver Tree and I could see that something would have to be done. The staff was just standing around, aimlessly shuffling their feet and in some cases, weeping.

I called Lucinda over to me. She was a pureblood elf who had done something she shouldn’t have back in the Bright Kingdom and earned herself a few centuries of banishment. Exactly what that was she never said and I never asked. The Fey came to the Mortal World to make memories or to forget them. She pulled her full, blond hair back and looked at me.

One of the things about elves is that they almost always look good, even when they’ve been crying. Other than disguise, I could never figure out why the purebloods bothered with glamours. Someone like Bermuda, sure. He had to deal with a bunch of aristocrats with a master race complex. But with purebloods like Lucinda, it was gilding the lily.

“Mr. Underwood, what’s going to happen now?”

“Lucinda, I don’t know for certain. Kevin never mentioned any kin, but I suppose if there are any this place will go to them. As soon as the Sheriff’s crew is through with everybody, have them meet me in the Rakkash’s Salon and we’ll talk about it.”

It took about another hour for the bulk of the staff to gather. The cops wanted to know what was going on, but I assured them that it was bar business and had nothing to do with the case. They didn’t believe me of course but when I pointed out that we could just as easily go elsewhere and take everybody off the premises they relented as long as we didn’t take too long.

There were still a few missing from the late night shift, but I would have bet that Sergeant Bermuda would be fetching them along soon for questioning. Rakkash’s Salon is named for it’s patron who used to hold a friendly card game here. It was a real shame it ended up with a wickedly curved dagger pushing through his lungs. Kevin named the salon after him in a rare moment of sentiment.

The staff was standing around, muttering to themselves. There was a strong undercurrent of anxiety running through the salon with a heavy cloud of sorrow laying about the place like a thick fog. I sent Lucinda and another waitress out to grab everyone something to drink. It was just like cops to question people for hours and not offer them anything to drink. As soon as she came back and served everyone, I motioned for everyone to take a chair, except for Jerryk and Tarryk, whose massive frames would have crushed any of the spindly furniture in this room. As if they had rehearsed this move a thousand times, each of them took positions on either side of the door and Jerryk nodded a massive head at me.

“All right. I assume that everyone here has heard the news? In case you haven’t, the Sheriff tells me that Kevin Unglunblasch, that’s his goblin name by the way, was found dead. Now, I don’t like to trust cops, but I think it would be best to operate under the assumption that like a broken clock, even cops are right a couple of times a day.” I could tell that everyone here had indeed heard the news.

“What about the Silver Tree? Is it going to close?”

“I can’t afford to be out of work! I’ve got-“

“I knew it was too good to last. I-

“What I want to know is, whose going to speak and do right for Kevin! He-“

I held up my arms and waved them to quiet the group of distraught, frightened and angry workers. “Calm down! We’ll deal with as much as we can today and try and sort the rest out later. Let’s take the most important thing first, keeping the doors open. Who’s senior on the wait staff?” Lucinda raised her hand slowly, “Lucinda? I thought so. Head Chef?”  A goblin raised his hand.

“My name’s Critter, sir.”

“Critter huh?” I smiled. “Bet there’s a story in that name. Unfortunately it will have to wait.” He looked like he wanted to explain but set back down as I continued. “And by the way, don’t call me sir. I’m a working man, not some inner circle noble, no matter what you may have heard. You can call me Jake or Mr. Underwood or even Mister if you must, in some cases “bastard” will also do. Where is Bolan?” I scanned the room until I saw the concierge. Bolan was unusual for a Fey establishment. He was human.

“Okay, until we learn different, I think we’ll try and keep the place open. I think Kevin would have wanted that, so that’s what we’ll do. Now I know you have a lot of questions, but to keep this down to a manageable level I want Lucinda, Critter, Bolan, Jerryk and Tarryk to stay behind. Besides, I promised the Sheriff and his band of merry questioners I wouldn’t tie you up too long. He has yet more questions to ask and we wouldn’t want him getting nervous. When were done chatting they’ll fill you in. You take your lead from them. You all know what has to be done to get the place ready. I suspect that with all that has happened, The Silver Tree is going to be jumping tonight with regulars who want to know what’s going on and the morbidly curious who always show up to stare or gloat. Do your jobs and let the leads deal with any problems that arise. Oh yeah, don’t interfere with the cops. They won’t like it and it will make it hard to get things organized. They can be a real pain in the ass if you aggravate them.” They stared at me for a minute as waiting for a signal so I gave them one. “Hop to it people!” I said as I clapped my hands and motioned for the twins to open the door. They all slowly filed out, mumbling to themselves.

As soon as they had all gone, I motioned to the Twins to close the door and come closer. I gestured for Critter, Lucinda and Bolan to take a seat and I took one myself.

“Here’s the skinny. I think Kevin is really gone. There’s just too much heat out there for there to be any other reasonable explanation. There’s a lot of pressure coming from the court for some reason. The sheriff is reporting directly to someone with a lot of clout. There is enough talent out there for an heir’s outing. That means a bunch of alpha toughs are going to be getting in everybody’s business.

“I am sure he told me just enough so I would realize how much pressure there is going to be to find someone who fits the bill. That aside, we have to keep the place going until we get some kind of word.”

“What about finding out what happened to Mr. Kevin?” Tarryk rumbled at me. I saw everyone else look expectantly at my face. The Twins were very unhappy. I didn’t like to see the twins unhappy. Not because I care so much about their personal joy, but because when they were unhappy, things and people tended to get damaged.

“Yeah, well, you let me worry about that. We took care of that bastard who got to Alicia and we’ll put paid to this SOB’s account too. You just be ready when I call.” That seemed to satisfy them, at least for the moment. “On that subject, let me ask this. Is there anything that you are holding back from the Sheriff? Now would be the time to let me have it.” They all looked at each other and nervously looked back at me. I hadn’t thought they would have anything, but it didn’t hurt to ask.

“No? Well, can anybody tell me what happened after I left? Did he say anything to anyone about where he was going or why?”

Lucinda look at me. “All he said was that he needed to get out for a while and for me to call the night guy in early. It wasn’t that unusual. He was always busy. In and out, checking on this and that, settling disputes, that kind of thing.”

“Was there any particular problem that was especially bothersome? Maybe some beef with an employee?”

“No. Nothing that I know of.” Lucinda shrugged. “He was a fair boss and made sure that everybody was taken care of. A nice guy.”

“Alright, if any of you think of anything else or you just want to talk to me privately, take my card and call, my office can find me.” I drew out my business card and passed them around. The twins didn’t really need them. They knew where I lived, but for the sake of harmony everybody got one.

“That’s settled then? Let’s deal with the Silver Tree.” I drew my breath and outlined my plan. “Really, Kevin didn’t do much but settle disputes and run the bar.” I raised my hand to quell the protest. ”Oh, I’m sure that he dealt with a lot of little details and probably approved orders and did some paper work, but the actual work in the club was done by the staff under your supervision.”

“That’s true as far as it goes” said Bolan “But how are you going to get everyone paid? Kevin paid us all in coin of the Realm, whatever realm that happened to be. I’m sure that his bank, whatever or wherever it might be isn’t going to let you withdraw funds. They’ll probably freeze the account.”

“That’s true, I hadn’t considered that.” I thought about what I knew about Kevin and money. It wasn’t much. He always seemed to have as much as he needed and didn’t seem distressed about the cost of things. “I’m sure the receipts will cover expenses eventually and I’ll guarantee at least the first payroll. I’m sure we can work something out with whoever held Kevin’s funds.”

With a surety of at least present employment the crew seemed a little more settled than before. There’s nothing like a paycheck to put problems and opportunities into prospective.

“Critter, you’re in charge of the kitchen and all matters concerning the menu and ordering food. While you’re in charge, don’t forget to consult with Lucinda and Bolan. They may have a better feel for what the customers are saying on the floor. But the final decision is yours. I know this may be new to you, but you also have the last few years worth of menus to help guide you.” Critter look slightly surprised to hear his name called and as I spoke he gradually took on an air of panic. “Relax. You’ve already been running the kitchen in regards to the cooking. This is just an extension of that. You’ll be fine.” Critter didn’t look like he believed me, but he was game to give it a try.

“Lucinda, the wait staff is your responsibility. Take care of scheduling, hiring, firing, settle disputes, whatever it takes to keep the food and booze flowing.” Lucinda nodded and smiled at me with those ageless elf eyes.

“Speaking of booze, I suppose we should get the late shift bartender in and have him cover the shift Kevin used to sit until we can get someone else. We will need to recruit a professional for the day shift. Ben Jefferson is strictly a nightimer. I’d like to see if we can find someone already on staff but we may have to go outside if we haven’t got anybody internal who can handle it. Bolan, I will leave that up you.”

“For anything else I haven’t thought of, Bolan will be in charge. That means linen service, private parties, special events or anything that isn’t covered already. I realize that’s a little vague, but there are too many eventualities to cover. It’s your job to make sure that the rest of the staff can do their jobs. I suspect you’ll be smoothing ruffled feathers here and there.” Bolan frowned at this and gave me a curt shake of his head.

“Finally, when it comes to security Jerryk and Terryk are the go to guys. You have trouble with a customer? Let them deal with it. They have all the knowledge they need to apply just the right amount of force to expedite a situation to a happy conclusion.” A wolfish grin from Jerryk and a chuckle from Terryk told me that they did indeed know the proper way to resolve a customer’s problem.

“Just one word of caution guys, there are a lot of law types out there now and I think you can expect more in the near future. Be discrete. Follow the Compact and if anything feels hinky, call me. I don’t know exactly what is going on with the Sheriff but something doesn’t feel right about this and I can see him using just about anything as pretext to put pressure on the bar to see which way people will jump. Don’t give him that chance. Be smart.”

“I’m going to hang around for a while and see what I can find out on my own.” Bolan looked pleased and I saw the others relax a little as they realized that there would be someone they could go to if they needed to.

“I’ll be in the bar and about the club if any of you need me for something. Just remember, Kevin had confidence in you and so do I. You can do this.”

              As I watched them leave to try and get the place in order. I wondered if my cut and paste job would hold. I was relying on routine to keep people on course. If it worked, it would only be a screwed up mess, if it didn’t it would be a catastrophe. Still, it was worth a chance. I owed it to Kevin for past favors and besides, I would hate having to find a new place to drink. After 40 years of going to the same place, a guy gets used to things. Plus, it was handy to have a place where people didn’t wonder why you didn’t look a day older than when they met you 30 after 40 years ago.

Keeping the Silver Tree open had other advantages as well. Whoever had killed Kevin would probably be watching to see what the law would do and what was being said. I didn’t have a handle on Kevin’s murder and the Silver Tree was my best bet to make something happen.

In the meantime, I would poke my nose into anything I could and see who wanted to bloody it. Not elegant, I’ll admit, but effective. I would love to toss Kevin’s apartment right now but if I knew that they cops would be there and would love to have something on me. That would not do, so I decided to just talk to people and get a better idea of who all the players were at the bar. Maybe I could find out if there were any patrons I should know about, but don’t. At the same time I had to be careful not to get too noticed by the Sheriff or the Black Watch. Ah, the exciting life of the PI.