The blood drained from Myrna’s face. “Are you saying that Tylin was taken from us because we weren’t making our payments?”
“We can’t be sure,” Lakin said gently. “But we’re not ruling it out, either.”
The color abruptly rushed back into Myrna’s face, turning her skin bright red. “I knew we never should have taken on that loan!” she growled, jumping to her feet. She bared her fangs as she began pacing back and forth across the rug, her expression livid. “I’m going to kill Tyron when he gets home!”
The toddler let out a distressed wail at the sound of her mother’s voice, and Myrna’s expression softened as she dropped down to her knees in front of the playpen to scoop up her daughter.
“Don’t worry, Liv,” she cooed, rocking the small child. “Mommy’s okay. You don’t need to be upset.” She dropped a kiss on the top of her daughter’s curly head and I heard her whisper, “I’m just so glad I still have you here.”
My heart ached at the pain in her voice, and for once I was glad to be unattached – I couldn’t imagine what it would be like if I had a child and he was taken from me. I may not have been a mother, but the maternal instinct stirred inside me at the sight of this woman’s pain, and for a moment I wanted to comfort her.
But I didn’t, because I knew she wouldn’t accept comfort, not from an outcast like me.
“So was it your husband’s idea to seek out a loan in order to make the repairs on your house?” Lakin asked.
Myrna placed her toddler back in the playpen, then turned toward us, a simmering anger burning behind her eyes. “Yes, it was Tyron’s idea to take advantage of the interest-free loans being advertised. He was initially only going to take out enough money to fix the bare necessities, but Sandin Federal offered him five times the amount, and it was more money than Tyron and I had ever seen in our lives. I couldn’t find it in me to be angry when he came skipping home with that pouch of gold in his hand. But I’m angry now.” Her lower lip trembled as she clenched her fists. “If I’d known that money was going to bring tragedy down on my family, I would have made him return it right away.”
“So did you receive any threats from Sandin Federal?” I asked. “Anything beyond the usual late payment notices?”
Myrna hesitated. “Not at first, no, and never directly. But there were a few times I heard Tyron arguing with what sounded like a creditor, so it’s entirely possible we were threatened and I just never knew.” She bared her fangs. “Just you wait until he gets home. I am absolutely going to murder him!”
Lakin and I exchanged a look, and I had a feeling he was going to send one of his deputies around to make sure Myrna didn’t follow through on her threat.
We didn’t get much more out of Myrna after that, so we moved onto the rest of the interviews on our list. About half of the victims had family in Rowanville while the other half were within the state of Canalo but out of town, so Lakin made some phone calls while I hopped on my bike to pay a few house calls. The shifters in Rowanville I could handle – they didn’t have the same level of prejudice against me that the Shiftertown residents did. One for one, we found out the same thing – all of the victims, or their families, had taken a loan from Sandin Federal Bank at some point within the year, and each of them had failed to make payments.
“Well,” Lakin said after we’d finished exchanging reports. “The evidence seems pretty conclusive at this point. The investor has got to be someone with significant control at Sandin Federal Bank, and access to confidential files.”
“No kidding.” An image of Warin Danrian’s fear-filled eyes flashed in my mind. “I think it’s time we head back to Sandin Federal ourselves to find out what Mr. Danrian was hiding. I have a feeling he knows exactly who that damned investor is, and where we can find him.”
15
Unfortunately for us, someone had already arrived at Sandin Federal Bank by the time we got there – the Mages Guild. Several horse-drawn carriages were parked in the small lot outside the bank, their doors stamped with the Guild’s Logo – a seven-pointed star with a different rune hovering above each point, and an ornate ‘M’ stamped in the center. Two Privacy Guard employees stood watch in front of the doors, dressed in their blue uniforms, their eyes narrowed on Lakin and me as we pulled into the parking lot. Their white-gloved hands rested on the hilts of their short swords, ready for trouble, and their backs were ramrod straight.
“Ugh,” Lakin muttered as he pulled off his helmet. “I hate these guys.”
I nodded my agreement. Privacy Guard was a nation-wide company that contracted guards out to companies and government agencies like the Mages Guild. Some of the guards were decent, but a lot of them were assholes, and I’d been at the receiving end of their swords on more than one occasion. I’d nearly been beaten to death by a group of them during my first night at Solantha Palace, back when I was still a prisoner rather than an apprentice. And though these guards weren’t the same ones who’d attacked me, I couldn’t help stiffening at the sight of them.
Get it together, Naya. These guards are the least of your problems.
“Let’s go find out what the hell is going on,” I said to Lakin, and strode up to the guards.
The two men instantly closed ranks, blocking the door. “Can I help you Miss?” the thickset blond with mud-colored eyes on the right asked.
“Yeah.” I folded my arms across my chest. “You can let me through so I can talk to whoever from the Guild is in there.”
“I’m sorry, but we can’t let you pass. Mr. Garidano was very specific in his instructions not to let anyone through.”
“That’s the Secretary of Finance, isn’t it?” Lakin asked.
“Yep.” I held up my Enforcer Bracelet for the guards to see. “Gentlemen, I’m not here to make a withdrawal. Inspector Lakin and I are investigating a series of disappearances in connection with Sandin Federal. If something is going on, we need to find out what it is.”
The second guard, a lean man with pale skin and black hair, shifted a little beneath the weight of my gaze. “The bank’s been shut down for illegal finance practices. The Finance Secretary and his team are sweeping the place.”
“Excellent. Even more reason for you to invite me in.”
When the guards didn’t move, Lakin stepped forward. “Come on, guys. Don’t you know who you’re talking to? This is Sunaya Baine, the Chief Mage’s apprentice. Do you really want her to have to get the Chief Mage involved just because you won’t let her through the doors?”
I gritted my teeth, not enjoying Lakin’s tactic, but the guards exchanged a look and stepped aside. One of them unlocked the front door and held it open. “Right this way, Miss Baine.”
I shot Lakin a look as we stepped inside. “I don’t really like to name drop, especially where the Chief Mage is concerned.” The last thing I wanted to do was become even more reliant on him than I already was – I wanted people to respect me for who I was, and not for my connection to Iannis.
“Yeah, well I didn’t want you to punch out the guards in broad daylight, so that was the best option.” Lakin’s eyes narrowed as we surveyed the space. There were apprentices everywhere, going through the teller drawers and bankers’ desks and boxing up stacks and stacks of paperwork. “What are these guys doing here, anyway?”
“I went to talk to Fenris yesterday after we left the bank,” I admitted quietly. “We figured out that the gold the bank was giving away was counterfeit, and Fenris said that he was going to deal with it. I guess this is what he meant by that.” I gestured to the room.
“And you only thought to mention this now?”
I winced. “I kind of forgot about the counterfeit stuff after we watched all those shifters nearly kill each other yesterday,” I admitted.
“Hmph.” Lakin didn’t sound any less annoyed. “Well I’m hoping they took all the employees into custody, or at least Danrian.”
“Let’s find out.”
Lakin and I made our way over to Lena Moran, the Fi
nance Secretary’s assistant, who was standing in the center of the room and overseeing the apprentices. She wore a set of deep pink robes shot through with gold thread, and her light brown hair was piled atop her head in an elaborate tower of curls that made me want to snort with amusement. I’d seen her in the halls of Solantha Palace a couple times and she always looked like she was going to some kind of ball or event.
“Miss Baine!” Her hazel eyes lit as she saw me approaching. “I’m happy to see you. I could use another apprentice to help us go through all of these boxes.”
“Sorry Miss Moran, but I’m not here as an apprentice.” I held up my bracelet. “I’m here as an Enforcer. Where is the Finance Secretary?”
“Oh.” She pressed her lips together in disappointment, then pointed behind her. “He’s in the manager’s office. I’m not sure he’ll be happy to be interrupted though.”
“Thanks.” I brushed past her with Lakin in tow, making a beeline for Danrian’s office.
Sure enough, the Finance Secretary was there, studying a huge, leather-bound ledger that had been laid out on the manager’s desk. He glanced up at us in surprise as we walked in, his straight, jaw-length hair swinging around his thin, triangular face, and his dark eyes narrowed at the sight of me.
“Miss Baine.” He straightened, his navy blue robes rippling with the movement. The golden seal of his office was stamped just below his left shoulder – a set of scales with a pile of gold on one end and a sheaf of wheat on the other. “Fenris told me you might show up.”
“Great.” I clasped my hands behind my back. “Then you must know the reason why I’m here.”
“Presumably you’re here to speak to Mr. Danrian.” The Finance Secretary sighed. “Unfortunately he wasn’t here when we raided the bank, much to my annoyance. The assistant manager said he’d run out to do an errand, and since he never came back I can only assume he realized what was happening and ran off. I sent a few guards to his house and they reported back that it looked like he’d packed up quickly and left. We’re going to have to put out an alert for him.”
“Shit.” Lakin dragged a hand through his short, dirty-blond hair. His reddish-yellow eyes glimmered with anger as he glared at the Finance Secretary. “Couldn’t you have staked the place out beforehand to make sure he’d be here? What kind of amateurs are you?”
The Finance Secretary stiffened, a dangerous look entering his dark eyes. “I would be very careful how you choose your words, Inspector. I’m a high-ranking member of the Guild, and you’re a shifter, regardless of your status in the community. You do not have leave to speak to me in such a fashion.”
Lakin clenched his jaw. “Nevertheless, you’ve cost us our only suspect with your reckless actions.”
“Alright,” I said, placing a hand on Lakin’s shoulder. I couldn’t believe that I was actually being the voice of reason here, but nobody else was volunteering. “There’s no point in arguing about this. We’ve already fucked up, so the only thing we can do is try to fix it.”
“And just how are we going to do that?” Lakin demanded.
I took in a deep breath. “We take this to the Enforcer’s Guild.”
Lakin received an emergency call from a shop in Shiftertown that was being robbed, so I headed up to the Enforcer’s Guild on my own, hoping I’d find Annia there. I had to cool my heels in the visitor’s chair by her desk, but eventually she walked in, her dark eyes sparking with anger as she caught sight of me.
“There you are!” She tossed a notebook onto her desk, then sat down in her chair. “Where the hell have you and Lakin been? I thought we were going to meet up at his house after the interviews were done, but you two never showed.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” I winced. “We tried to call you, but we couldn’t get through and we weren’t sure how long you’d be on phone calls. All of our interviews led back to Sandin Federal and we wanted to jump on that as soon as possible.”
Annia huffed. “Well, I guess we’re all on the same page, at least. All my interviews pointed toward Sandin Federal as well. Did you grill the manager over there?”
“No.” I let out a disgusted sigh. “The Mages Guild raided the place this morning, and the manager made himself scarce.”
“Crap.” Annia dragged a hand through her auburn hair. “Are there any clues as to where he might have bolted?”
“Not really. But I have a feeling that one of the the Shifter Royale staff might know.” I drummed my fingers on the desk. “At this rate, the only thing we can do is shut down the Royale. I was hoping that you could come with me to talk to Captain Galling, so we could both convince him to get off his butt and send out a task force.”
“Sure. I think he’s in the house right now. Let’s go.”
Captain Galling’s office was located on the top floor of the Enforcer’s Guild building, along with the offices of his deputy and a few administrative workers. His was a corner office, with large windows looking directly out onto the street, and shelves full of books and weapons lining the walls. A large desk and a file cabinet took up half of the space, and there was a small cot in the corner which he supposedly used if he had to work late and didn’t feel like going home. If he ever had used the thing, it was a relic of a bygone time, back when the Captain actually ran the Enforcer’s Guild with a firm grip.
The man sitting behind the desk still looked commanding enough, with a large, strong build, close-cropped salt and pepper hair and beard, and hard, blue-black eyes. But his face and belly had softened from years of being off the streets, and I had a feeling that deep down inside, the Captain was just tired. He was in his late fifties, after all, and in human years that was significant. Also, from what I understood his wife was not in good health, and required his time and attention.
Still, that was no excuse for the way the Enforcer’s Guild had been run for the past couple of years. And though I knew Captain Galling was cracking down on his Enforcers more, mostly as a result of the Chief Mage’s intervention, he wasn’t doing enough, and probably wouldn’t be until he started using that cot again.
“Baine, Melcott.” Captain Galling lifted his head from his typewriter at the sound of my knock. “What do you need? I’m a little busy here.”
“We’re here to request a task force,” Annia said, pushing her way past me and into the room.
“A task force?” Captain Galling’s brow furrowed, and he pushed his typewriter aside. “What the hell for?”
“We’ve been assisting Inspector Lakin with investigating Sillara Tarenan’s death,” I told him. “We found out that she was investigating a series of shifter kidnappings, and traced the kidnappings to an underground fight club called the Shifter Royale.” I explained the Royale to Galling, that Annia and I had attended one just the other night and we’d watched a number of drugged-out shifters pitted against each other in bloody fights.
“The manager of Sandin Federal disappeared today when Inspector Lakin and I went to question him,” I said. “I have a feeling he knows who’s behind this, and the only way to find him is via the Shifter Royale.”
“Which needs to be shut down anyway,” Annia insisted. “The operation definitely falls into Enforcer territory, as it involves humans and shifters.”
“And possibly mages,” I added.
“Mages?” Galling’s eyebrows shot up. “How do you know this?”
“At the end of each fight, the humans shoot the shifters with some kind of dart that not only knocks them unconscious, but forces them to change.” The very memory of watching those shifters change while knocked out made me scowl. “There’s no way it was some herb or drug that did that. I’m convinced there was magic involved. Oh, and before I forget… two of the staff who were handling the shifters were also Enforcers.”
“What!” Captain Galling jumped out of his chair. “Who?”
“Brin Maxon and Nila Romana.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Annia can confirm.”
“I talked to them myself after the Royale was ov
er,” Annia said. “They were the ones who told me that the shifters participating in the fights were being forced into indentured servitude to pay off debts.”
“This is unbelievable,” Captain Galling growled, his tanned cheeks turning a dark, ugly red. Scowling, he snatched up his phone, then dialed Foreman Vance, the Enforcer who was in charge of the Main Crew. “Vance? Are Maxon and Romana in the house today?” There was a pause. “Good. Send them up here. Yes, now.”
A tense silence filled the room as we waited for Brin and Nila to arrive. The tick in Captain Galling’s jaw told me that somebody was about to get an ass-kicking, and I smiled inwardly at the thought that Brin and Nila would finally be getting their comeuppance. It was about damned time. With the Mages Guild scrutinizing him more closely, Captain Galling was under pressure to clean up the Enforcer’s Guild, and he wouldn’t be able to tolerate Brin and Nila’s actions.
The two came in about five minutes later, confusion stamped across their faces. Brin’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Annia and I sitting there, and Nila’s went curiously blank. I wondered if they knew what was about to happen.
“What can we do for you, Captain?” Nila asked, her voice slightly breathy as she stepped forward. She was wearing a long-sleeved leather corset top that pushed her boobs up front and center, and I had no doubt she was hoping to distract Captain Galling with them. “Foreman Vance said you needed us urgently.”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Romana,” Captain Galling snapped. His dark eyes did indeed fix on her cleavage, but only for a split second – he was too angry to be swayed by a nice rack, it would seem. “These two are telling me you’re moonlighting for a company that runs an illegal fighting ring called the Shifter Royale, and that they both saw you there last night.”
Surprise flashed in Brin and Nila’s eyes as they glanced at me, and I knew they were wondering how we could have seen them if they hadn’t seen us. But they couldn’t very well point that out without incriminating themselves, so I simply folded my arms across my chest and smiled smugly at them.
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