Volatile Bonds

by Jaye Wells

  The exciting part was that in two years, I could potentially recover the life that had been interrupted a decade earlier. The life where I was just Danny’s sister and I had a life of my own. The possibilities sort of blew my mind. I’d be able to work late nights without guilt chasing me around. Plus, even though Baba would still be around, I’d have more opportunities to have the house to myself.

  I shook my head and took a very long pull of my beer. The future suddenly loomed like a big question mark on the horizon, and it would come whether I wanted it to or not. I shut the fridge and went to the laptop.

  I pulled up the principal’s email address and sent her a quick note requesting a meeting. I didn’t mention the situation, just that I had some questions that would help me make a final decision.

  That done, I went and grabbed my backpack. Before I’d left for the day, I stuck some old case files in there to review.

  The top file contained all the information I could find about Krystal LeMay in the Arcane Crimes Database, a clearing house of information from all the Arcane crimes in the country. She didn’t have much of a rap sheet. Just an adolescent misdemeanor charge for graffiti. However, she had come up on ACD in connection with a couple of Votary Coven nasties. She’d also filed a battery charge on a live-in boyfriend. According to the file, he’d been arrested a few years before that for distributing arcane substances. The name seemed vaguely familiar, so I assumed he was Votary. Another said she was in the car when another boyfriend was arrested for DUI and possession of a deadly weapon. She also showed up in all the files connected to the arrest of Puck Simmons.

  As I reread the notes on that case, which Morales had typed into the database a few weeks earlier, a plan started forming in my mind. Even though Krystal claimed she didn’t corroborate his alibi because she didn’t want a criminal living with her, she clearly had a history of cavorting with lowlifes. Morales and I had been working with the theory that she’d turned on him because with him out of the way, there was a power vacuum for her to fill in the coven. But she obviously wasn’t going to confirm that theory. Nor would she confirm the idea that the reason so much shit was happening in the coven was that she was a terrible leader.

  I tapped the table with my fingers as I thought through all the angles. Once I felt confident in my plan, I picked up the phone and called Morales.

  “How’s the high school drama going?” he asked.

  “Turns out they were probably right, but I’m going to let them all sweat it out a little longer.”

  “Remind me never to cross you, Cupcake.”

  I smiled at the rasp in his voice. I imagined him sitting in the dark and easing back in his seat to talk to me. I didn’t love surveillance gigs, but part of me longed to go join him there just for the company.

  “So, I’ve been thinking about Puck Simmons.”

  “That’s…disappointing.”

  “Why?”

  “I thought you were calling to flirt with me.”

  “I have never flirted with you.”

  “Uh-huh,” he said. “So, what’s this about Puck?’

  “I think we need to go visit him at County.”

  The silence that greeted my great plan was not the reaction I’d been hoping to receive.

  “Think about it,” I continued, undaunted. “He’s in County because Krystal screwed him over. Can you think of a better source of intel on her or the temperature of the coven right now?”

  He let out a long breath. “Gonna be a tough sell to Grey.”

  “I’m hoping we won’t need to involve him.”

  “How you figure?”

  Assistant U.S. Attorney Aiden Grey was the prosecutor assigned to the task force. In order for him to offer a deal to Puck, we’d have to convince him that we could get enough juicy intel for our efforts to make it worth his time. But a deal would involve a lot of time and paperwork I didn’t have the patience for at the moment.

  “I’m hoping Puck will talk to us if we use the Krystal angle. Revenge is a potent motivator. It’ll be a tough sell but it’s worth a try. I think.”

  “Well, you did break his finger and we helped frame him for two murders.”

  “The finger thing is true, but he doesn’t know about the framing.”

  Truth was, Puck wasn’t innocent of all his charges. He had actually helped kill Charm Parsons. The problem was he didn’t have anything to do with the murder of Pantera Souza, his accomplice in that crime. Pantera had been murdered by Mayor Volos. We just hadn’t taken Volos down for that crime. Yet.

  “I like the plan, though,” Morales said. “Puck was in the line of succession for the coven, so he’d know what was in play before he went down for Charm’s murder. Maybe he can tell us if there were plans to partner with the Chinese—or anyone else.”

  “Right.”

  “You have smart ideas when you take the night off.”

  “That wasn’t my only smart idea.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “How about you come over after you’re done?” Earlier, he’d told me that Gardner had approved putting Shadi’s team onto the surveillance rotation. McGinty was supposed to relieve him in an hour.

  “Forget smart—you’re a freaking genius.”

  “Damned straight.”

  “See you soon.”

  Chapter Eight

  There’s no easy way to storm into the mayor’s office. Back when John was just a tycoon, it had been way easier. But now there was all sorts of security and layers of secretaries to get through. So, like anyone else, I had to make an appointment.

  When I first called that morning, his assistant told me I’d have to wait a week to get into see Mr. Mayor. However, fifteen minutes later, she called back and said he had an opening at ten a.m. She tried to play it like his schedule had opened up miraculously, but I knew better. As much as I hated to admit it, I kind of enjoyed being a person Volos cleared the decks for at a moment’s notice. Not that I’d ever tell him that.

  I told Morales I’d meet him at the county jail for our noon meeting with Puck. He didn’t try to talk me out of it, but I could feel the tension radiating off of him. To his credit, he advised me to take advantage of the meeting to do some digging while I was there to see if Volos was aware of the Fangshi’s infiltration of the city. “Just do it before you read him the riot act, okay?” he’d said.

  City Hall had been built in 1916 when Babylon was a jewel in the world’s steel crown. It was a stately building with lots of columns and steps. But time hadn’t been kind to the structure. Acid rain had left the stone face pockmarked and streaked with black. Regiments of pigeons strutted across the stairs, completely unfazed by any humans who dared tread on their turf.

  The building was in the Mundane section of downtown, but that didn’t keep the hexheads away. At the top of the steps, a man wearing a lady’s turban and muumuu lazily attempted to feed the pigeons imaginary food. Every few seconds, a pigeon would come up to him, realize he didn’t actually have any food, and peck his hand before stomping away. He cackled each time. He had no teeth to speak of and his skin was the color of key lime pie.

  As I approached him, he pulled his attention from the pigeons. “Oh,” he said. “It’s you. Hey!”

  “Hey,” I snapped.

  “She’s coming,” he said conversationally.

  “That’s nice,” I tossed over my shoulder as I passed.

  “And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, ‘Come.’ And I saw, and behold, a black horse, and he who sits on it had a balance in his hand.”

  I paused and turned. “What?”

  He looked up at me. I’d expected his expression to reveal his obvious madness, but the brown eyes were clear and sane. “Revelation, sweetheart. You ain’t read your bible?”

  I frowned at him. “Why are you quoting scripture to me?”

  He shrugged. “Peewee told me to.” He nodded down to the white pigeon at his feet.

  “The pigeon told you to
quote the Book of Revelation to me?”

  He nodded so vigorously that his turban went askew. “The end is nigh. Best start preparing.”

  “You need to lay off the potions, buddy.”

  He held up a hand for me to wait. Then he leaned down, offering his ear to the bird. The pigeon warbled something that had him nodding sagely. “Yes, that’s right,” he said to the bird. He looked up again. “Peewee says you need to make peace with the man in the tower and the man in the dungeon.” He pointed out toward Lake Erie. “Or all will be lost.”

  I took a handful of change from my pocket and tossed it into the bucket at the guy’s feet. “Thanks for the advice.” Then I walked away.

  Behind me, he called cheerfully, “Peewee says you’re welcome!”

  By the time I made it inside, I was in a much lighter mood. I might have some problems, but I didn’t have man-wearing-a-muumuu-and-talking-to-pigeons problems, so I figured I was doing pretty okay.

  A few moments later, I arrived at the top floor of the building where the office of the mayor was located. The waiting room was done in wood paneling and leather with touches of hunter green. It was quite a change from the offices Volos had had at his real estate company, which were decorated in a style I called “corporate samurai.” But now he was all legit and favored a more Mundane traditionalist style. Volos was nothing if not adaptable, especially if doing so increased his power base.

  The middle-aged woman behind the desk had the hard look of someone who’d been wading through a bureaucratic cesspool for most of her professional life. When I walked up to the desk, she didn’t offer a greeting or a smile.

  “Kate Prospero,” I said.

  Something about my name deepened her frown lines into troughs. “Oh. You.” She turned and punched a code into the phone on her desk. A button lit up in response. “You can go in.”

  There was no rising to see me to the door or parting smile. I’m not sure what I’d done to offend the lady, but I wasn’t about to let her ruin my mood. Once I got in that office, it would go downhill pretty fast on its own.

  I walked to the door and opened it without knocking. “You son of a bitch,” I said, marching inside.

  Mayor Volos looked up from his desk.

  As did the man sitting across from him—Captain Eldritch, my boss.

  In the wake of my declaration, the office was dead silent. I stood frozen with my hand on the doorknob, looking between the two men who held my career in their hands.

  Volos recovered first, rising smoothly from behind his massive desk. “Kate, it’s good of you to come,” he said, as if he’d invited me instead of me having requested the meeting, “Captain Eldritch and I were just talking about you.”

  Mention of his name seemed to snap Eldritch out of stasis. He leapt out of his seat, blustering. “Apologize to the mayor immediately, Prospero.”

  “I—”

  Volos waved a hand. “It’s not necessary.” To Eldritch he said, “Since we go way back and I’m sure she meant it as a term of endearment. Right, Katie?”

  My shock and embarrassment dissolved. “No, I meant it as an insult.”

  “Kate!” The captain gasped.

  The mayor laughed out loud. “It’s fine,” he said. “Old friends, remember?” he said to Eldritch.

  The captain looked from Volos to me, squinting as if he was weighing the most politically advantageous reaction.

  On one hand, I resented the hell out of the familiarity, but on the other, he was also offering me protection from my own boss. Word on the street for a while was that Chief Adams might be promoted to commissioner by Volos. If that happened, Eldritch was in line for chief. But in order to snag those extra brass bars, he needed to stay in Volos’s good graces. I cared less about Volos’s approval, but I also didn’t want to create any bad blood at the BPD, since my tenure on the MEA task force wasn’t necessarily permanent.

  “Sorry, sir. He’s right. It’s an old joke between us.”

  Eldritch chuckled like he was in on the joke. “Of course. I knew that.”

  Volos flashed me an amused look that he quickly covered with his politician’s smile. “I understand that you’re pitching in to help the BPD with a homicide case, Kate.”

  I hesitated. “Uh, yeah. We’re happy to help Detective Duffy.”

  He nodded approvingly. “Excellent. I know Captain Eldritch is relieved to have such capable representation on the MEA task force.”

  “Absolutely,” Eldritch said quickly. “Detective Prospero is one of our best.”

  “Excellent. Have a nice day, Captain.”

  The dismissal was sudden but absolute. Eldritch was left with no choice but to pick his hat up off the chair and make his goodbyes. After he shook the mayor’s hand, he came to me. His handclasp was punishing and there was a glint in his eye that promised retribution down the road. I wasn’t really sure what I’d specifically done this time to piss him off, but I was pretty used to being on Eldritch’s shit list. “Good to see you, sir.”

  “Check in at the station house soon. I’d love a chance to discuss your progress with the task force.”

  “Sure.”

  With his thinly veiled threat delivered, he strolled out of the office.

  Once the door closed behind him, Volos relaxed his politician’s stiffness and smiled at me like a conspirator. “Jesus, he’s an insufferable ass.”

  “Yeah, well, that ass is my boss, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t put me in weird situations like that.”

  “You’re the one who walked in here hurling insults.”

  I crossed my arms. “Well-deserved insults.”

  He crossed his arms, too, and the move pulled back the cuffs of his expensive suit to show a flash of gold. The watch probably cost more than my rent and the Blue Book value of Sybil combined. “What did I do this time?”

  The amusement in his tone made my molars itch. He’d lied, cheated, and murdered a man in front of me, but seemed to think my objections to him were nothing more than trifles.

  “Danny got into the Conservatory,” I said.

  “That’s great.” He appeared genuinely happy. “He’ll do well there.”

  “If he goes,” I said. “I haven’t decided.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Why wouldn’t you allow it?”

  “You know why.”

  He sighed. “That’s your pride talking. Think about the future this sets up for that kid.”

  I flashed him pointed look. “Trust me, I’ve glimpsed that kind of future and, frankly, I’m not real impressed.”

  He laughed, but there was a bitter note to the sound. “You’d prefer him to continue in that Mundane school training to be a middle manager at a widget company?”

  “If it kept him safe, yes.”

  “Safe from what?”

  “People like you.”

  The temperature in the office seemed to drop ten degrees. “That’s a low blow, Kate. I care about that boy.”

  “Not as much as I do, John.”

  He nodded to concede that point. “Love can lead to irrational decisions. Overprotection. The need to control.”

  “I’m not here to debate the merits of the school. I promised Danny I’d consider it, but you’re the last person I’d come to for advice on this matter.”

  He lowered his arms and leaned against his desk. “So, why are you here?”

  “To threaten you.”

  A shocked laugh escaped his lips. “Oh? This should be good.”

  “You’re the mayor, so I can’t escape dealing with you professionally on occasion. But if you ever tamper with my private life again, mayor or no, I will come after you so hard, your head’s going to spin.”

  He smirked. So cool and confident. The tiger playing with its food. “What are you going to do, Katie? Call me bad names?”

  “You have a bad habit of underestimating me. It’s been that way since we were kids. You always thought you had me under your thumb, but I turned the tables on you, didn’t I?�
��

  My reminder of how I’d walked away a decade earlier sat between us like a tossed gauntlet.

  “I’m older now. Stronger. And if you think you’re the only one with dirt on your enemies, you’re not only naive but incredibly stupid.”

  I’d expected him to become angry, but a look bordering on lust crossed his face. “What damage you got on me?” He’d dropped the polished diction of the mayor and had reverted to the street slang we used to use as kids.

  I lifted my chin. “Try me and see.”

  Very slowly, so I was sure to see it, the tip of his tongue wet his bottom lip. “You’re wrong, you know.”

  “About what?” I tried to focus on his eyes and not the wet glint on that lip.

  “I don’t underestimate you. If anything, I’ve been waiting for you to stop underestimating yourself.”

  I laughed. “You patronizing ass.”

  “Maybe, but I’m not wrong. When I saw you again for the first time when you got on the MEA team, you looked like you wanted to run and hide from me. But now?” He tilted his head as if looking at me from a different angle would reveal the answers he was looking for. “Something’s different. You’re more…something.”

  “Maybe it was there all along,” I said. “And you never wanted to see it.”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s new. Something’s changed.”

  I crossed my arms and smiled at him. Letting him wonder.

  Finally, he spoke, his expression neutral, “So, the rumors are true.”

  “What rumors?”

  “You and your partner…” He trailed off, as if saying the rest was beneath him. “I can’t say I’m surprised, though it is disappointing.”

  “Believe it or not, your opinion has no bearing on who I take to my bed.”

  His jaw tightened. “You’re going to hurt him, Kate.”

  I frowned, thrown off guard by the switch in direction. What was he playing at? I didn’t have to wait long to hear his reasoning.

  “He’s going to try to domesticate you because he doesn’t know better.”