Catching a Man

by Elizabeth Corrigan

When she got to the door, she reminded herself the exorbitant cover price would help cover the cost of Skella Best’s investigation, and wasn’t the average attempt of a Triangle club to extort money from young sideways men who didn’t have wives to support. She gave the bouncer a bright smile and ducked into the club.

  Kadin could feel the drums pounding through her feet as she stepped inside the club, and the temperature was warm enough that Kadin decided to check her coat. Up on the stage, the lead singer, in all his black leather, rock-and-roll glory, swayed around his microphone. Throngs of people shoved by her in the packed club, and she couldn’t make out any of the faces in the dim light. But remembering the purpose of this party made her imagine the space if it were as empty as Pinky’s club had been the day before.

  She focused back on the room when a blond woman in a pink dress and white heels careened toward her.

  “Kadin!” Trinithy’s arms wrapped around Kadin’s neck. “I am so glad you’re here!”

  Drunk already, Trin? The blonde’s affectionate exuberance was a dead giveaway to anyone who knew her.

  Trinithy pulled back from the hug and linked her arm in Kadin’s. “I’ve been waiting all day to hear how your date went.”

  The two girls approached a pair of men whom Kadin knew by sight as clubbing friends of Olivan’s and Trinithy’s, one bordering on freakishly tall with dark brown hair, the other slight and nervous with sneaky grey eyes.

  Trinithy pushed Kadin in front of her. “You guys remember Kadin, right? She went to the drag with Dahran White today, possibly the most attractive single man who works at Valeriel Investigations.”

  The taller man—Kadin thought his name was Aran, but she always thought of him as Wannabe Ollie, since he could never quite pull off the quiff and mismatched colors the way her friend could—snickered. “Don’t let Olivan hear you say that.”

  Trinithy laughed louder than was necessary. “Oh, you know what I mean. The best-looking rightways man.” She snapped her attention back to Kadin. “So how did it go?”

  I am so not in the mood for a lecture from drunk Trinithy. “Well, uh, it went all right, I guess.”

  Trinithy gave a sigh so large she almost fell over when her chest deflated. “Oh my Deity, Kadin. What went wrong this time? You didn’t tell him his shoes were ugly, did you?”

  The shifty man—Frit, Kadin thought—spit his drink back in his cup. “You told a date his shoes were ugly?”

  I am never going to live that down. “Just once. And he asked. And they were bright orange, and he was wearing a blue suit. Those shoes were an abomination unto fashion.”

  Trinithy tried to roll her eyes, but in her inebriated state ended up rolling her whole head. “No one has as much trouble with men as you, Kadin. You are never going to get a husband at this rate. You have to make some effort.”

  The buzz of the crowd around her seemed to grow louder. “I guess the date could have gone worse. He just didn’t seem to want to talk to me that much.”

  Wannabe Ollie shrugged. “Well, that’s hardly surprising. So much going on at the drag.”

  “Right.” Should I tell them about the drink thing? “Well, and there was a whole thing with the racers handing out these scarves…”

  Three faces stared at her with matching expressions of horror.

  Trinithy broke the silence first. “Kadin, please, please, please, do not tell me that you accepted a racing token while you were at the drag on a date with another man.”

  Kadin felt a bead of sweat form on her temple. “What else was I supposed to do? He was pointing at me, and everybody was cheering.”

  Trinithy buried her face in the hand that wasn’t holding a martini, and Aran and Frit burst out laughing. “You are hopeless!” Trinithy said. “Forget whether you like Dahran or not. You’ll be lucky if he speaks to you at the office, much less asks you out on another date.”

  Kadin opened her mouth to ask what she had done that was so terrible, but before she could speak, a sandy, overly hair-sprayed head stuck itself into the conversation.

  “Everyone’s here? Everyone’s having fun? It’s a good party, right?” The ice clinked against the side of the glass in Olivan’s trembling hand, and Kadin suspected he had been downing java all day in preparation for the event.

  She gave him her best reassuring smile. “The party’s great. The band is great.” She glanced up at the stage and realized that the musicians had left their instruments on the stage while they took a break. “They were great. They will be great again.”

  Trinithy skipped past Kadin to grab Olivan in an awkward hug. “It’s the best party ever! It’s amazing!” On the last word, she threw her arms up in the air, sending Olivan’s drink flying out of his hand and all over the front of Kadin’s dress.

  Kadin jumped back but was unable to prevent a scotch-scented wet spot from appearing over her stomach. “Trinithy! This is my favorite dress!”

  Trinithy waved both her hands, and Kadin worried for a second the blonde might dump another drink on her. “Please. It’s not the most embarrassing thing that happened to you today.”

  Olivan wiped Kadin’s middle with a handkerchief. “Yeah, and it’s alcohol, so it should dry fast. But maybe you’d better go to the ladies’ room and try to clean that up.”

  Kadin navigated her way through the mob of laughing people who seemed content to dance to the generic audio blaring from the speakers while the band rested. She turned down the long, dark, empty hallway to the restroom and tried not to feel like the damsel in distress going off on her own in a horror cinema.

  She used the paper towels in the ladies’ room to dry off her dress as best she could, but judging by the odor, she wasn’t the first person to have an alcohol-related accident that evening. She exited the lavatory hoping the scent of vomit had not stuck to her hair.

  She started back down the hallway toward the party and didn’t spare a glance toward the man leaning against the wall smoking until he called out to her. “Well, hello there, honey. And they told me only sides would be here tonight.” He dropped his cigarette to the floor and put it out with the toe of his shoe.

  Kadin planned to give him the humoring smile of a woman who doesn’t talk to strange men in dark corridors until she noticed that the man was lead singer Dawban Steel himself. Up close, he appeared even more handsome than on his LP cover, with dark wavy hair, piercing blue eyes, and solid muscles under his leather jacket. She added a nervous giggle to her expression and made to move away from him even faster.

  “Aw, don’t be like that.” He reached out and grabbed her elbow. She tried to tug it away, but he had a harder grip on it than she had expected. “I just want to have a little fun.”

  Oh, Deity. What was Trinithy telling me about Dawban Steel last week? Something about him and a girl… “Please.” Kadin could hear the panic rise in her own voice as the pain shot up her arm from where he held it. “I want to go back to the party.”

  He pulled her closer and grabbed her other wrist with his free hand. “Come on. We can have our own party right here.”

  “No.” Kadin tried to break away from him, but the muscles she had admired held her in a firm grip. He thrust her against the wall. Her breath came faster as the length of his body pressed up against hers. She could feel the condensation in his gin-scented breath as he ran his lips down the side of her face.

  I should fight. I know I should fight. Her breath came faster. The cool venom of terror ran through her nerves, paralyzing her. She needed all her energy to pull her cheek away. Again, his mouth found the corner of hers.

  Her legs parted as his knee slithered between her thighs. Her skirt rode up. She crushed her body against the wall, as if enough pressure might make it disappear, allowing her to escape.

  Deity save me.

  “I believe the lady said, ‘No
’.”

  As the new voice spoke, Kadin felt the air in front of her face clear and the grip on her arms loosen. She turned her head to see a slight man with dark brown hair standing with his hand on Dawban’s shoulder. The newcomer didn’t look much like a savior, with his horn-rimmed glasses and an argyle sweater vest underneath his brown tweed coat. He was average-sized and didn’t cut a particularly impressive figure, but he had to be strong to pull Dawban off her, and the Merchant’s Guild ring on his finger hinted at the kind of money that one didn’t want to offend.

  Dawban sneered. “What’s it to you?”

  The man raised his eyebrow. Kadin felt sure she had seen him before, but she couldn’t quite place where. “By all means, let’s turn this into a physical altercation in the middle of a benefit. No one’s going to accuse me of assaulting a woman. What about you?”

  “Let’s find out.” Dawban’s fist jutted out, clocking the other man on the side of the head.

  Almost too fast for Kadin to follow, the man, whose horn-rimmed glasses had skittered across the floor, grabbed Dawban’s arm and twisted it behind his back. Dawban tried to wrench himself out of the grasp, but the other man’s hold stayed firm.

  The newcomer let out a heavy sigh. “Now are we done?”

  From his doubled over position, Dawban spat on the ground, then nodded. The other man let him go.

  Dawban sneered at Kadin. “You’ll be hearing about this.”

  “I trust she won’t.” The man’s gaze followed the musician as he stalked down the hallway. Kadin’s savior retrieved his glasses from the floor and put them on. “Are you okay?”

  Kadin didn’t speak. With his glasses off, she had realized why the man looked familiar—she had seen him in a click in the main hall at the palace the other day. He was older now, but he had the same dark hair and thin-lipped frown.

  The man blinked and took a step toward her. “Are you okay?”

  Kadin realized what he must be thinking and shook her head. “No, I’m fine. It’s not that.”

  He gave her a half smile, and if she had any doubts as to his identity, that expression blew them away. “Then what? Is there something wrong with my hair?”

  “No.” Kadin gulped. “You’re King Ralvin.”

  The man froze, and his expression fell in slow motion from a smile into a look of dismay. Far too late to be effective, he let out a dismissive laugh. “No, I’m not. That’s crazy.”

  Kadin crossed her arms. “That was convincing.”

  The king stepped forward and grabbed her arm in the place that was still smarting from Dawban’s assault. He spoke in an urgent whisper. “How do you know that? You can’t know that!”

  Kadin’s heart raced. Oh my Deity. He is King Ralvin. And he’s here because…

  Kadin’s eyes must have widened a fair amount because something in her expression made the king look down at the hand that clutched her arm, and he seemed surprised to find it there. He let her go but kept the same savage intensity in his hushed voice. “You can’t tell anybody. I’ll do anything. Whatever it takes. What are you, some kind of journalist?”

  “No, I’m—”

  “Kadin?” This time the voice pulling her away from the man standing over her was one she recognized, though she wasn’t sure she liked the trace of anger in it.

  “I’m here, Ollie!” she said.

  King Ralvin, his eyes begging her not to say anything, pulled away until his back lay against the opposite wall.

  Olivan hurried forward when he saw who she was talking to. “Vinnie! How great to see you! So glad you could make it! Is everything all right?”

  Does King Ralvin always look that pale without his makeup on, or is the lighting bad back here? Or is he that scared that I’ve found him out?

  “Yes, everything’s fine,” the king said, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips. “It’s just… I have to be going now. Great job putting this all together, Ollie.”

  Oh Deity. That’s Ollie’s flirtatious smile. Please tell me Ollie does not have a crush on King Ralvin, or whoever this alter ego is.

  “Thanks so much!” Olivan kept the smile glued to his face until the king disappeared from view, then snapped around to face Kadin, a scowl marring his features. “What were you saying to Vinnie Royal?”

  Kadin blanched. “Vinnie Royal? That’s his name?” Wow that’s not a total give away or anything.

  “Yes, that’s Vinnie Royal,” Olivan hissed. “Member in good standing of the Merchant’s Guild and one of the most prominent members of the sideways community. He’s super rich, owns tons of shares in the Valeriel Tribune or something. Please don’t tell me you harassed him the way you did Dawban Steel.”

  “I didn’t—” Kadin’s mouth dropped open. “Wait, Dawban Steel said I harassed him? Because I can assure you—”

  Olivan clenched his fists. “Kadin, when I by some miracle manage to get a topname band to appear at one of my events at the last minute, the last thing I want to hear from the lead singer is that some red-haired sub-D is propositioning him in the hallway.”

  Kadin felt like a fish, opening and closing her blubbery jaw, but she couldn’t seem to stop the motion. “Ollie, would I do that?”

  “I wouldn’t think so, but when I come to investigate, and I see you clearly upsetting another guest, I have to wonder what’s gotten into your head.” Olivan rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “Look, maybe you should go. I can salvage the rest of this night, and hopefully convince the Dawban Steel band to play at another sideways event sometime in the next ten years.”

  The pulse in Kadin’s temple throbbed. She didn’t know whether all the DeValeriels upended her temper or if one too many people had refused to listen to her that week, but she had never wanted to scream so much in her life.

  Easy, her pragmatic mind soothed. Acting out won’t get you anywhere. Get out of here, and you and Ollie can talk about this like reasonable adults next week.

  She exhaled through her mouth. “You know what? You’re right. Going home sounds like a great idea.”

  She stalked out of the hallway and back through the main room, where all the lights suddenly seemed too bright, and the opening chords as the Dawban Steel band retook the stage sounded twangy to Kadin’s ear. I’m burning that LP.

  She felt a shock of the cold breeze as she stepped out of the hot club into the night air, and the drops of sweat seemed to freeze where they trickled down her neck.

  Curses! I forgot my coat. She spun back around to where she had exited, but the door had slammed shut, and the outside didn’t have a handle. She considered getting in the queue to go back in, but the line stretched further down the street than it had when she arrived, and she doubted she could convince the bouncers to waive the cover fee. I’ll get it another time.

  As she headed for the autobus stop, a light blue droptop autocar slid up to the curb beside her and came to a halt.

  She met the driver’s eyes.

  “Get in,” said Ralvin DeValeriel.

  Chapter 16

  Kadin took a hesitant step toward the vehicle. Should I go off alone with him?

  She considered the king’s face, which looked more panicked than menacing. Yes. I have to. I owe him an explanation. Besides, if he wants to have me killed, there’s nothing I can do to stop him. He has more resources at his disposal than I can imagine. She pulled open the passenger side door and slid into the autocar before she could change her mind.

  Kadin had thought Dahran’s autocar was nice, but it had nothing on the king’s. She settled into a butter-soft brown leather seat as King Ralvin pushed the button that locked both doors at once. Clear jazz music pealed from the quality speakers.

  Ralvin steered the car away from the curb in a smooth motion. “How did you know who I was?”

  Kadin worri
ed the wind might mess up her curls, but the autocar wasn’t going that fast, and she didn’t think anyone who mattered would see her anyway. “It can’t be that difficult to figure out. There must be other people who know.”

  “No.” The corners of his mouth turned down as he gave his head a curt shake. “No one else knows. This isn’t some fly-by-night operation. I planned this identity for years before Vinnie Royal made any public appearances. I bought shares in the newspaper so that no old images of Ralvin DeValeriel would remain in the public eye. The plan was foolproof. So how did you find me?”

  She wondered if he always clenched his teeth like that and thought that, if so, the royal doctor must have a full-time job dealing with the king’s headaches. But if I ran a kingdom and had a secret identity on the side, I’d be a little tense, too. “Well, I knew that you were sideways because of your reaction when Dr. Combs came into the throne room.”

  Ralvin’s brow furrowed as he steered his car into the left-hand lane, so she clarified.

  “Jace Combs, the forensic expert? Requested to keep the queen’s body? Blond hair? Blue eyes? Prettiest boy you’ve ever seen outside the cinema?”

  His expression cleared in recognition. “Oh, yes.” His lips curled up into a dreamy smile. “I remember him.” He jerked his head toward her. “Wait. You were there?”

  Kadin tried to stifle the irritation that was growing all too common this week. “Wow, you hear about how the Imperials don’t even notice the little people.”

  Recognition dawned on his face. “Oh, right. You were the aide. K-something…” He scrunched up his mouth, trying to remember the name.

  “Kadin Stone.”

  “And you noticed I was sideways.” He cringed. “Was my reaction to the doctor that bad?”

  Kadin smiled. He’s like Ollie. “Oh, don’t worry; the first time I met Dr. Combs, I nearly fell flat on my face. But none of the detectives noticed anything. About you, I mean.”