by Geonn Cannon
Dale.
She had been walking toward the building’s entrance, hands in the pockets of her hoodie, but broke into a jog when she saw Ari.
“Puppy.”
Ari grinned and grabbed Dale, lifting her off the ground as they greeted each other with a kiss. This time it was a proper kiss, a kiss that would only end when they decided it was over, a kiss no one would scold them for. Ari finally let Dale’s feet touch the ground and, a moment later, moved her lips to Dale’s cheek. She stroked her hair and let her hand rest heavily on Dale’s shoulder to prove she was real and solid.
“Hey,” Dale said.
“Hi. Where are Mom and Milo?”
Dale gestured back the way she’d come. “They’re in the car. Mom said she wanted to give us a second alone first.”
Ari said, “Did you just call her ‘Mom’?”
“Yeah.”
“First person you’ve called that since your mother passed?”
“Yeah,” Dale said softly.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh. Yeah. Yeah, it’s good. It feels right.”
“Okay.” Ari held up the collar. “Would you...?”
Dale took it from her. Ari moved to lift her hair out of the way, but it was still too short to be an issue. The leather was cool against her skin but it started to warm up almost immediately, its familiar weight welcome against the back of her neck. Dale poked her tongue out as she worked the buckle and fastened it carefully where it was bent just enough to show where the buckle usually rested.
“How’s that? Too tight?”
“It’s perfect.”
She kissed Dale again, and Dale grabbed hold of Ari’s hips to keep from being walked backward from the force of it.
Dale leaned out of the kiss and moved her hands to Ari’s face. She catalogued the bruises, both healing and fresh, and examined the cut above her right eyebrow.
“I wish I was a murderer.”
Ari kissed her palm. “No, you don’t.”
“Yeah. Just this once, in this specific case, I really wish I had it in me.”
“I’m glad you don’t. I don’t want to see you go to prison.”
Dale said, “Was it terrible?”
Ari thought of Segura, Vogel, and the club. “It... could’ve been worse, I guess. But you weren’t there. So it was unbearable.”
“I’m here now,” Dale said. “What do you want to do?”
“Well...” Ari said, looking Dale up and down. “A couple of things.”
Dale blushed.
“But first, we should probably go take care of the bitch who tried to take me away from you.”
Dale’s smile was diabolical, her eyes shining with potential mischief. She kissed Ari’s knuckles and pulled her to the car.
“I’ll drive.”
Chapter Thirty
Dale offered to go home so Ari could change into something nicer, but Ari passed. There was something poetic about the confrontation she was about to have happening in the clothes she’d been wearing when she was arrested. She explained what she needed to Gwen and Milo and dropped them off so they could put their part of the plan into action. Ari called in her backup and drove to the Patkanim Building. She parked at the end of the block where they could wait without being seen.
The street was full of people, everyone going about their day. Ari knew she’d only been in prison for a few weeks, but she really did feel like she appreciated things more. She could open the door, walk to the monorail, ride to the end of the track, and then just walk north until she got tired. No one would stop her or ask what she was doing. But the best and most appealing part of being free was seated right beside her.
She looked and caught Dale staring at her. “What?” she said, smiling.
“Nothing,” Dale said. “I can look at you as much as I want.”
“I might get creeped out by that.”
“Tough luck. Try to stop me.”
Ari said, “I’ll just watch you all day and if you start staring, I’ll just cover your eyes.”
“Try it.”
Ari put her hand over Dale’s face. Dale kissed her palm. Ari sighed. “Random kisses. I missed that.” Dale leaned across the car so she could place a random kiss on Ari’s lips. “Yeah, that’s the stuff.”
Dale retreated back to her side of the car, adjusting the seatbelt which had slipped down during her romantic lean.
“You know,” she said, “I won’t think less of you if you wanted to leave. Put this off for a while. Recuperate before going in for another round.”
Ari shook her head. “It has to happen now.” She looked at Dale. “Unless you want to pause. I would understand if you wanted a time-out.”
“No, you’re right. And if we wait, Cecily would just go after Mom or Milo.”
Ari smiled. “Really digging you calling her that.”
Dale covered Ari’s hand with her own. “It has to be now. I know. I just thought I’d give you the option to back out without feeling like you were running away.”
“Thank you.”
An unmarked sedan pulled up behind them and Detective Rojas got out. Ari rolled down the window as he approached, and he bent down to look into the car.
“You look rough, Miss Willow.”
“I don’t know what they tell you about that place you keep sending people, but it’s nothing like the brochures. I didn’t see a single yoga class.”
“I’ll have a word with the management.” He looked at the building, then craned his neck to look past Ari at Dale. “That stuff you found was good. It was really good. I’ve gotten most of the detectives who worked on the individual cases to sign on with me. She might still wriggle out of this, but we’ve got a better chance of taking her down than I’d ever hoped for. You sure you want to do it this way?”
Ari nodded. “Absolutely.”
He straightened and motioned at his car. A uniformed officer got out and climbed into the backseat of Ari’s car.
Ari said, “Not that I think you need a bodyguard.”
“I’ll happily accept him, thanks.” She kissed Ari. “Be safe, puppy.”
“Promise.” She got out of the car and let Rojas lead the way across the street.
Once they were out of earshot of the car, Rojas said, “Puppy, huh?”
“Yep.”
“That have--”
“Collar, yep,” Ari interrupted.
He said, “That’s cool. Your business is your business.” He coughed into his fist. “My wife calls me oso de peluche. Teddy bear.”
“Cute,” Ari said.
“Mm-hmm.”
One of the receptionists got to her feet when Ari and Rojas entered the building, but remained silent after he showed her his badge. He continued without looking at her. The security guard posted at the elevator was equally cowed, stepping to one side so the detective could hit the call button.
“Having a good day?” Ari asked the guard.
He stared at her. The elevator arrived.
“Good talk,” Ari said as she stepped into the car.
The doors closed, and Rojas hit the button for GG&M’s floor. “You really do antagonize everyone you meet, don’t you?”
“Aw. Did you think you were special?”
“You realize I’m helping you, right?”
Ari said, “You’re right, I apologize. But you were the one who sent me to jail, so I feel like I have to give you a little shit.”
“Fair enough.”
The elevator doors opened to reveal GG&M’s receptionists all standing behind their desks. The one in the center, obviously nervous, said, “I’m sorry, Detective, but--”
“Obstruction charges,” Rojas interrupted. “This is on top of the potential conspiracy charges every employee of the firm risks being slapped with.”
She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Rojas continued into the main office and Ari followed. Lawyers had come out of their offices and lingered in doorways to watch as they advanced, as if ev
eryone already knew exactly where he was headed. The door to Cecily’s office opened just before they were close enough to knock and she emerged with an expression of bemused irritation.
“Hello, Roaches. Ariadne. You look well, considering where you spent the past few weeks. I hope your time behind bars was long enough for you to become rehabilitated. I hear the recidivism rate is something like thirty percent. You might want to be careful.”
Ari said, “Oh, my time was very enlightening.”
Rojas said, “Cecily Parrish, I’m here to ask you to come with me, voluntarily, so I can ask you a few questions regarding several murders that have occurred over the last ten years.”
Cecily arched an eyebrow. “If you’re asking me to divulge privileged information related to my clients, I can assure you--”
“No, Miss Parrish, I want to ask about your involvement in the murders and subsequent cover-ups. I thought we could do this the nice way, given our relationship over the years, but if you’d prefer to make an issue about it, then I could call in the uniformed officers parked around the block and we can turn this entire firm into a scavenger hunt.”
Cecily’s body language changed. She lowered her chin and squared her shoulders. Her smile shifted ever-so-slightly, and she narrowed her eyes. Ari could almost smell the pheromones wafting from her as she sashayed forward.
“Detective Rojas... hm. Alonzo. Why don’t we step into my office and--”
Ari took a small spray bottle from the pocket of her coat and spritzed it in Cecily’s face. She spluttered and wiped the water away with one hand, glaring at Ari.
“What the hell are you doing, Willow?”
“Nothing,” Ari said. “Carry on.”
Cecily exhaled slowly and focused on Rojas again. “As I was saying, Alonzo...”
Ari sprayed her again, twice this time, and Cecily shouted in frustration.
“Sorry, Cecily, you just seemed to need a little cool-down. Please, continue.”
Cecily’s face was red. She started to speak, but now she was anticipating another spritz from Ari’s bottle. Rojas held up a hand before either woman could do anything else.
“Let me save us some time. We’re not going into your office, Miss Parrish. You’re either coming to the station with me for a friendly conversation, or things around here will become very unfriendly very quickly.”
Cecily looked at Ari. Ari pretended to examine the spray bottle’s trigger mechanism.
“I am a powerful woman, Detective Rojas. If your intention is to slander my name, I assure you that--”
“Actually, you’re not.” Cecily’s teeth snapped together. Ari didn’t smile, but she was finding it enormously entertaining to interrupt Cecily. “You said as much to Dale. Your bosses have the real power and you’re just a go-between. A go-between who, I’m afraid to say, has just become a huge liability to the firm. How long do you think it will take the partners to come to the same conclusion and decide you’re expendable?”
Cecily opened her mouth and closed it again. Her eyes darted toward the floor, then swung back up to focus on Rojas. He smiled genially.
“We really should get going if we want to beat traffic.”
“Fine,” Cecily said through clenched teeth.
“I should mention,” Rojas said, “that Elise Gilpin has agreed to discuss the murder of Shannon Hardy in detail. That’s the main reason for my visit today. She had a lot of interesting things to say.”
Cecily looked as if she was going to stand her ground. Ari could see her considering the options. Beads of water from the spray bottle were still glistening on her forehead. It looked like flop sweat, and Ari wished she could take a picture. Finally she focused on Rojas again and forced a casual smile.
“Fine. Lead the way, Detective.”
Rojas dipped his head in a sarcastic bow, then turned to walk back to the elevators. Cecily followed but slowed after a few steps and looked back at Ari.
“Are you coming, Miss Willow?”
“Nah. I’ll stick around for a little while. I bet your bosses will be pretty pissed off when they find out what happened here today.”
Cecily said, “They will most likely be pissed off at you, Miss Willow.”
Ari said, “I’m counting on it. I think it’s about time I met the partners. Have a good time with the interrogation, Detective Rojas.” She turned and walked down the hall. She tapped a random lawyer on the shoulder as she passed. “If someone whose name is on the front wall shows up, tell them I’m waiting in the conference room. And be sure to tell them I am really looking forward to having a chat with them.”
#
Ari chose a seat in the middle of the table. She was framed by large picture windows looking out over Elliott Bay. She had her feet up on the polished wood, idly poking at her phone. She had been texting with Dale, Milo, and her mother since Rojas left with Cecily. There was a chance Cecily would use her juju on Rojas now that Ari and her spray bottle weren’t standing watch, but Ari doubted it. There were records now, and Cecily would be hard-pressed to explain how she’d gotten Rojas to let her go without divulging she was a succubus.
The conference room door slid open and three people entered in single file. Ari purposefully didn’t look up, pretending to be rapt by what was on her screen.
“Just a second, guys. You would not believe how many games of Words with Friends I racked up while I was in the joint. People never think about that, you know, the little inconveniences. They sneak up on you.” She poked the screen one final time with an elaborate flourish, then slipped the phone back into her pocket. “Okay, that should do it. Now...” She put her feet down and folded her hands on the table as she finally looked at the partners. “Introductions?”
The two men were exact opposites: tall and short, cadaverous and rotund, cruel-featured and plump. The woman had a regal bearing, with ash blonde hair pulled back in a severe bun. Their outfits were indistinguishable from any other businesspeople she might have seen on the street, but something about them seemed off. Both men had facial hair - full beard for the smaller man, tiny mustache for Lurch - and the woman seemed like a Victorian headmistress.
The plump man started to speak.
“Wait!” Ari held up one finger. “No one said you could go first. My name is Ariadne Willow. I’m sure you knew that. But it’s about politeness.”
They stared at her. After a moment, the same one opened his mouth, but Ari interrupted again by pointing at the woman.
“You’re Lillian Girard. I mean, you’re the only woman and I’m a detective. I can put two and two together.” She swung her finger to the plump man. “And you’re Louis Gilles.”
His smile was condescending. “Very good. But you had an equal chance of being wrong.”
“No, I had an eighty percent chance of being right. Maybe higher. You tried to be the first person to speak. Twice. Now, would someone like that allow himself to be named last on the letterhead? Nah. You’re the type who has to have top-billing. Gilles Girard and Moreau. Although kudos to you, Bart, for letting the woman be second. Not a lot of guys in the nineteenth century would have been cool about that.”
Gilles and Moreau exchanged looks.
“Oh, come on,” Ari said. “I knew your names. You’re surprised I know you’ve also been around for over a hundred years?”
Moreau spoke for the first time. His voice was like stone sliding on stone. “As entertaining as this might be, Miss Willow, this is still our domain.”
“Oh, no, no, no. After everything you’ve done to get me here, all the shit you’ve thrown into my life just to make me sign up, you’re going to listen to me. Now, where was I? Hundred years old. Right.” She rapped her knuckles on the table. “I couldn’t stop thinking about the people you were sending to prison on murder charges. Dale found a lot of them, but I can’t imagine it was a comprehensive list. You guys have probably gotten really good at covering your tracks. But those are a lot of tracks to cover, even just going by what Dale was able
to find. A lot of bodies, even for a law firm.
“So we had to ask ourselves why would a law firm need to cover up so many deaths? It took us a while, because we could only talk for an hour every week. And even then we had to be careful. We didn’t know if any of the guards might be on your payroll. Dale’s the one who figured it out. It’s pretty obvious, really. You’re siphoning their lives. We’re not sure how you’re doing it. Whether it’s because of what you are, or maybe some spell you’re casting, but whatever it is, you’re stealing life from these people and taking it for yourselves. And you’ve been doing it since the Great Fire.”
Gilles gave a weary sigh, lowering his head. “Oh, this is unfortunate.”
Moreau stared at Ari without blinking. “We hoped to utilize your skills as an employee of this firm. The arrangement can be mutually beneficial, as it is with Cecily.”
“Ah, yes. You wanted a wolf. You were desperate for a wolf.”
“Not just any wolf,” Girard said. She kept her chin up as she spoke, as if chiding Ari. “You are singular among your species.”
Ari said, “Aw, you big flirt. I bet you say that to all the girls. Canidae have a longer lifespan than ordinary people. I imagine I’d be like the jackpot for you. Get a couple of free decades for the price of a single death.”
Moreau said, “You would have been well-compensated for your sacrifice. As our employee, you could have named your salary. You could have ensured Miss Frye would never have to work while living a life of luxury. You chose to dig your heels in the dirt.”
“I chose to live my life freely. I chose not to barter my life away for money.”
“Pride.” Girard smiled. “So many people have cut off their own hands in the name of pride.”
Gilles said, “Pride is probably why you came here now. You decided to take a stand. I would call this foolish, but even a fool wouldn’t walk into a situation like this.”
Ari smiled.
Moreau narrowed his eyes. “She is certainly no fool. What ace do you have up your sleeve, Miss Willow?”