Red (27 page)
“I guarantee you the guy who owns this car won’t miss it.”
“How can you be so sure?” I cried, growing more furious with him every time he opened his mouth.
“Because he passed away peacefully in his sleep last night from a massive heart attack,” Nate informed me. “His daughter drives in from the suburbs every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to check on him, so she won’t find him until two days from now. By then, the car will be safely returned. That’s why I chose this one.”
“Oh,” I said, still conflicted but feeling a little better knowing that no one was going to be inconvenienced.
“Are you ever going to trust me?” Nate asked. His tone was light, but there was an underlying note of seriousness that I didn’t miss.
I turned and studied his profile for a long moment, tracing every angle, every line with my gaze, wishing I could come up with some kind of witty remark to toss back instead of the heavy phrase weighing down the tip of my tongue. I opted for something in between. “I do trust you,” I told him. “I’ve got to. It’s not like I have much of a choice, right? I mean, I’ve got some unknown Tale killing people and sending me a very clear message that I’m not untouchable, that no matter where I am or where I go, he can find me.”
Nate’s grip on the steering wheel tightened when he caught my drift. “You’re worried about your number being drawn.”
“Aren’t you?”
“I wish I’d never told you about that,” he ground out. “I should have kept it to myself.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, well. ‘Should be should buzz,’ to borrow a phrase from the Willies. What’s done is done, so don’t worry about it. Let’s just find this bastard so everything can get back to normal.”
“Normal?”
I snorted. “Yeah. Whatever the hell that is.”
Chapter 33
“Hey there, Ted,” I greeted when Snow’s dwarf answered the door. “We’re here to see Snow.”
Ted looked up at us through bleary eyes. “She’s not available,” he grumbled. “Come back later.”
When he tried to close the door, I stuck out my boot, blocking his attempt, then shoved hard, sending him stumbling backward. “You know, Ted, you and I have always gotten along,” I said, advancing before he could try to block our way again. “It’d be a shame if we couldn’t be friends anymore.”
The bouncer glared at me, then flipped his beard over his shoulder. “I told you she’s not available.”
“Then make her available,” Nate ordered. “We’re not leaving until we have the chance to chat.”
Ted looked back and forth between us as if gauging if we were bluffing, then finally huffed in exasperation. “Fine. Follow me,” he said, biting off the words.
Instead of taking us to the usual sitting room to await Snow’s entrance, Ted took us to the madam’s bedroom and knocked lightly upon the door. When no one answered, Ted shrugged dismissively. “Sorry. She must not be in after all.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll just take a look for myself,” I said, making to move past him.
Ted stepped in front of the door, blocking my path, but Nate grabbed the man’s shoulder and pulled him firmly to one side. “I wouldn’t interfere if I were you, my friend.”
I shoved open the door and strode in. “Rise and shine, Snow!”
In response, there was a frantic flurry of movement as the occupants of an elaborately canopied bed scrambled from beneath the covers and to their feet. A wide-eyed Snow snatched the sheet from the bed and clutched it to her bare body, her eyes darting about like a rabbit caught in a snare. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another blur of movement as her companion made a dive for the bedside table.
I was still drawing my gun when I heard Nate yell, “Drop it!”
The man immediately tossed his own gun to the ground and slowly straightened, arms raised.
My eyes went wide when I realized who it was. “Aloysius?”
Tim Halloran’s second-in-command flushed slightly at being recognized—or maybe because he was standing there with his goods on display. Either way, he gave me a polite nod in greeting. “Enforcer.”
“Red, please don’t speak a word of this to anyone,” Snow pleaded, wrapping the sheet more securely around her body, her usual haughtiness disconcertingly absent. “I beg you. I will do whatever you ask, but no one must know Aloysius was here.”
I traded a bemused glance with Nate.
“What’s to tell?” I replied, turning back to my old friend. “I’ve never asked about your personal client list.”
Snow raised her hand in a conciliatory gesture as she slowly edged around the bed toward Aloysius. “Please, put the guns down. Don’t hurt him.”
My frown deepened. “We weren’t planning to,” I assured her. “We were just stopping by to chat. Although, I have to say, seeing a bare-assed criminal going for his gun when I enter a room has a way of piquing my curiosity.”
Snow pressed her lips together in a tight line. “I’ll explain everything,” she said, finally reaching her lover’s side and slipping her arms around his waist. “I give you my word.”
I looked to Nate to gauge his response. When he gave me a curt nod, we both holstered our weapons.
Snow gestured toward a small sitting area nestled in a corner of her bedroom where the morning sunlight filtered through the blinds. “Please, have a seat. Ted,” she said, turning to her faithful servant, “please bring in coffee for all of us.”
After the dwarf made his exit, Snow grabbed a dressing gown from the end of her bed and slipped into it before taking a seat on the settee. Aloysius, having pulled on a pair of silk pajama bottoms, joined her a moment later, taking her hand in his and pressing a kiss to her palm.
“Okay,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest once we were all seated. “I’m listening.”
“Aloysius and I have been lovers for quite some time now,” Snow admitted.
“Congratulations,” Nate drawled.
“And this is a problem why?” I prompted.
“I want Snow to quit the business,” Aloysius announced. “Or at least quit taking clients of her own.”
I looked at them expectantly, still not able to connect the dots. “And?”
“In order to cover the money I would have made, Ally has been . . .” She paused, glancing his way. “He has been moonlighting without Halloran’s knowledge.”
“Moonlighting how?” Nate questioned.
“Selling under the table,” I deduced, finally understanding. “You’re undercutting his business, aren’t you? Skimming just enough product for him not to notice and selling it on the market to create a nice little nest egg for the two of you. Am I right?”
They both nodded.
“When we have enough set aside, Ally’s quitting,” Snow explained. “We want to start a life together, Red. But if the Sandman finds out what’s going on, he’ll kill Ally. You know he will.”
“That’s why you clocked me in the warehouse,” I realized. “You didn’t think I was a burglar—you were afraid I was coming to out you to Halloran.”
Aloysius dipped his head. “Sorry about that. You’d already seen me in the alley with Sebille. I figured if the Sandman thought you were trying to sneak in and steal information, he’d be less likely to trust you—or anything you said.”
Now it was my turn to feel bad. “Yeah, about that,” I began. “I might have mentioned your back-alley deal to Halloran already. He seemed surprised. And I get the impression he doesn’t like surprises.”
Snow gasped, her milky white complexion going a shade paler with sudden panic, but Aloysius slipped his arm around Snow’s shoulders and pulled her close, dropping a kiss to the top of her hair. “It’ll be all right, baby,” he murmured. Then he lifted his eyes to mine. “The Sandman cornered me about it already. I told him Sebille was demanding something to help Caliban sleep. He seemed to buy it.”
“What
was
in that package?” Nate asked.
was
in that package?” Nate asked.
“About six ounces of D,” Aloysius said.
“Six ounces?” I cried. “That much D floating around would have the fairies in an uproar!”
“No shit,” he agreed. “That’s why Sebille comes to me. Caliban’s habit is out of control. If he doesn’t slow down he’s going to end up in the Asylum.”
I shook my head in confusion. “His habit? What are you talking about? How long has Caliban been on D?”
“Couple of years,” Aloysius informed me. “It was after you guys were together. After Sebille started running things. His businesses were really ramping up, getting pretty stressful, I guess. Sebille got him to go to the fairies to get a dose now and then to keep his temper on the level. But he built up a tolerance quicker than most and the usual doses weren’t good enough anymore.”
“Good God,” I breathed. “He’s got to be using every day.”
Aloysius nodded solemnly. “He’s pushing himself too hard. The Sandman is furious with Sebille for getting him addicted in the first place and wanted her to start backing Caliban off the stuff; he’s worried that the money he’s invested is going to get pissed away if Caliban starts losing it from the side effects.”
Side effects,
I repeated silently
.
I repeated silently
.
Seth had tried to tell me I didn’t really know Caliban anymore. Was it possible that his drug-induced paranoia would lead him to hire a werewolf to kill for him? I pushed such thoughts away, not liking where they were taking me.
“Thing is,” Aloysius went on, “Halloran wasn’t the only one who’d caught on to Caliban’s problem. At least one of the other investors was getting skittish, too. Was thinking of backing out unless he was guaranteed the operations here wouldn’t suffer while Caliban was in LA.”
“Dale Minnows,” I realized.
“Yeah,” Aloysius said. “How’d you know?”
“Long story.”
“I don’t get it,” Nate interjected. “Sebille seems to care about Caliban. You’d think she’d want him to get clean.”
“You would think,” Snow interjected. She cast a meaningful look at Aloysius. “Any
decent
woman would do anything for the man she loves.”
decent
woman would do anything for the man she loves.”
Aloysius’s arm tightened around Snow. “I think she believes she’s helping him. When I gave her that package in the alley, I tried to tell her that she was going to end up killing him—or making him crazy—if she didn’t get him some help. She told me to mind my own business or she’d make sure Halloran found out about me and Snow.”
“She’s blackmailing you,” Nate concluded.
“Not just him,” Snow spat. “Both of us.”
My brows shot up. “What would she possibly want from
you
?” Immediately regretting how that sounded, I said, “Sorry, I meant—”
you
?” Immediately regretting how that sounded, I said, “Sorry, I meant—”
Snow waved away my explanation. “We’ve known each other far too long, my friend. I take no offense. She demands to have the pick of my girls whenever she likes.”
“For herself or for Caliban?” I asked, feeling my stomach go a little queasy and wishing Ted would show up with that coffee.
“Neither,” Snow replied. “She said they are for an associate. They are doing business in trade, apparently.”
“And who’s this associate?” Nate probed. “She give you a name?”
Snow shook her head. “No. She insists I not ask any questions. I send her the girls when she asks and they return to me a day or two later. They are never harmed and seem to enjoy their time with whoever it is. The only stipulation is that I never send the same girl more than once a month.”
“And the girls can’t tell you anything about Sebille’s associate?” I asked, wondering if Caliban’s addictions weren’t confined to fairy dust. “No description?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Snow said. “He’s a Tale like us, but that’s all I know. They seem to have only a vague recollection of events upon their return.”
“Like they’re being drugged?” I suggested.
She shook her head thoughtfully. “No, I think not. More like their memories had been altered.”
“How many Tales do you think have that ability?” Nate asked me. “We could check the Registry.”
“There are several ways to alter memories,” I told him. “Any number of magical entities could pull off something like this. As long as the girls are coming back unharmed, there’s nothing we can really do.”
Nate turned to Snow and Aloysius. “Do you want to press charges against Sebille?” he asked. “We can bring her in for blackmailing you.”
Aloysius laughed. “Are you fucking crazy, man? If we did that we’d have to admit to all our . . . activities. If Halloran didn’t kill me for skimming profits, you can bet your ass he’d kill me for ratting him out to the FMA.”
I let loose a juicy string of curses under my breath, hating that Caliban’s controlling bitch of an assistant seemed to have everyone by the balls no matter where we turned. She was making damned sure Caliban was going to make it to the top and to hell with whoever suffered on the way. I was beginning to think maybe Seth was right about taking a second look at Caliban’s alibis. If Sebille Fenwick had him hopped up on D to keep him level, who knew what kind of fucked up shit was going through his head at any given time. If he had hired a werewolf to kill for him, would he also have hired a witch to send familiars out to be his eyes and ears?
Suddenly feeling uneasy, I glanced around Snow’s bedroom. “Snow, you seen any rats around here lately?”
Snow’s brows snapped together. “I beg your pardon?”
“Rats,” I repeated. “Big ones.”
Snow shook her head. “No.”
I frowned, wondering why my instincts were smacking me in the back of the head. “Are you sure?”
“Positive,” Snow insisted. “Dave Hamelin took care of them before he died.”
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