by Gina LaManna
Matthew glanced around at Gilded Row. There were no food carts anywhere in sight. “You might be out of luck.”
My mood plummeted quickly. “You know I don’t work well on an empty stomach.”
“I want to speak with Linsey’s carriage driver,” Matthew said, “and then we’ll call it a night. I have teams canvassing the Golden District, but the sun will be going down, and we can’t question anyone else. Tomorrow, we have an appointment to speak with Cynthia Nealy, the woman who was with the two elves when they were taken outside of the grocery store.”
“Fine,” I said. “Then let’s make this quick before my stomach eats itself.”
Matthew gave a dry laugh. Together, we crossed Gilded Row and returned to the front gates. The chirpy, badass elf who’d let us in had reapplied her lip gloss and looked peppier than ever. “I hope you enjoyed your stay!”
Matthew gave a wave. “We’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Friendly, much?” I growled at him. “If I had that much cleavage on display, would you be nicer to me?”
“I am nice to you.”
“When’s the last time you waved to me?”
“I’m your boss, Detective,” Matthew said with a pleased eyebrow raise. “I can’t give you special treatment.”
“I see how it is. I never knew you had an interest in elves.”
“You know damn well where my interests lie.”
That shut me up real fast.
“You seemed quite opposed to marriage back there,” Matthew said, nodding toward Gilded Row. “I didn’t know you had such strong feelings on it.”
“I’m not opposed to marriage. I’m opposed to women being forced into it before they’re adults.”
“And men,” Matthew pointed out. “Harry had no more choice about it than Linsey.”
“True. I just think young people deserve some freedom to experiment and find what works for them.”
“You don’t think parents know best?”
I gave him a skeptical glance. “Not a chance. Then again, I can’t talk. I don’t think my mom would have picked Trenton for me.”
“She wouldn’t have chosen me for you, either.”
We walked in silence as I considered.
“Look, Matthew, I’m sorry,” I said. “All I know is that—’
“All I know is that you don’t owe me an apology,” Matthew said. “Forget it. I was just curious.”
“Would you like to get married someday? To someone,” I added hurriedly. “Not necessarily me. You just never mentioned it when we were together.”
He gave a wry smile and looked straight ahead. “I was worried you’d get spooked.”
“Would you have married me?”
Matthew’s gaze landed on me, complex and pained. “I’d marry you tomorrow.”
“Oh, well.” I swallowed.
“But I know you’re not interested, so don’t worry. You’re safe, Detective.”
“How about we stop talking and focus on finding me a Hex Dog.”
Matthew raised his head, took a sniff. “Take a left here—there’s a vendor at the end of the street.”
“I knew there were perks to working with a vamp,” I said with a grin. “Where’s the carriage company?”
“Right behind the vendor,” Matthew said, raising a hand and pointing a stony finger toward the end of the street. “You get yourself fed, and I’ll get us a meeting.”
Half an hour later, my stomach was happier, and my mood was vastly improved. Matthew had secured us the name of the carriage driver who’d been assigned to Linsey Luca’s pick-up and drop-off, and we were currently sitting in a small, cramped office waiting for Jim Geronimo to arrive.
Jim eased into the room twenty minutes later, looking like a jolly old grandfather with a big round stomach. “Sorry about the wait,” he chortled. “I had a fare down by the casino and had to book it back here just as soon as I got the call.”
“No problem,” I said, gesturing to the open seat for him around the table. “We have a few quick questions for you regarding your fare last night.”
Jim’s face turned somber. “Miss Luca, you mean.”
I nodded. “Have you worked with her before?”
“No, at least not that I can remember,” he said. “Though it’s my understanding the Luca family works exclusively with our company. Our carriages are the best, you know. We ensure safety and always arrive promptly.”
“The Luca family spoke highly of the company,” I said. “Tell me about the events of the evening in as much detail as you can remember, please.”
Jim frowned, his bushy gray eyebrows crowding one another for space as he thought. “Well, I picked her up on Gilded Row at quarter to six like they requested. Linsey was there with her parents. She’s a beautiful young woman, and I remember she had on some sort of silver gown with a big crown. Really looked like a princess!”
“You dropped her off safely?”
“Of course, safety is our number one priority!” Jim said, smiling. “I waited until Miss Luca met up with her friends—one boy, two girls—and then I went off on my merry old way. I had a fare in between to bring to dinner and back. The company books us solid on weekend nights.”
“After you completed your second fare for the night, then what happened?” I asked. “You returned to the school?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I waited in the designated pickup line until most of the other young men and women had been collected. When I didn’t see Miss Luca anywhere, I started to get nervous. I was supposed to have her home, and we were cutting it close. So, I Commed the name on the listing and reached Leonard Luca. Mr. Luca hadn’t seen his daughter—that’s when we knew something was wrong.”
“You didn’t see anything?” I asked. “She didn’t ask you to drive her anywhere, or to keep any secrets, or anything of the sort?”
“No, ma’am. You think she left of her own accord?”
“We’re just ruling things out,” I said. “Thanks for your time. If you think of anything else, please let us know.”
“Will do,” he said. “Hope she turns up. And in the meantime, if you ever need a safe and secure carriage ride, you know who to call!”
After Jim left the room, I turned to Matthew. “He’s got no clue. Didn’t see a thing.”
Matthew shrugged. “It was a long shot.”
“Nobody saw her return to the gala. If Linsey had been at the school, she’d have made it a point to show herself to everyone. She would have paraded her tiara right under Ms. Margaret’s nose because that gave her a better alibi in case her father ever got suspicious.”
“Which means she was taken either from the gala, or from wherever she’d snuck off to during it.” Matthew stood. “Do you have plans for—”
My Comm device beeped around my wrist. It was coming in from the pizzeria, and they wouldn’t be calling unless they needed me.
“Hello?” I answered. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Willa said, “but is there any chance you could swing by when you get a minute?”
“I’ll head over there now,” I said. “I’m done for the day anyway.”
Willa disconnected, and I turned back to Matthew.
“I have to go,” I said. “What else do you need from me?”
He hesitated, then gave a shake of his head. “I’ll see you in the morning. Get some rest tonight. It’ll be a long few days ahead of us.”
“WHAT’S UP?” I STEPPED into the pizzeria and let the heavy wooden door slam shut behind me. “Where’s the fire?”
Willa, the bubbly blonde spellslinger who’d taken a job at the pizzeria after I’d accidentally gotten her fired from her last position, smiled and scampered over to greet me. “Thanks for coming. I don’t need anything, but he does.”
I glanced up and my heart resumed its race all over again at the sight of Grey lounging in the corner. My relationship with Grey was a complicated one. He was a friend, sort of, and sometimes a partner in crime. We understood one another in
ways that not many others could. We’d both lost someone we’d loved—or thought we’d loved, in my case.
“Did he say what he needs?” I asked. “Or is it a mystery?”
“Mystery,” Willa chirped. “Grey just asked me if I could give you a buzz because he doesn’t wear a Comm.”
I glanced around the rest of the booths. “Where’s Jack? Isn’t he supposed to be helping you?”
“He’s, ah...” Willa hesitated. “He’s over there.”
My youngest brother sat in a booth with his arm around some brunette girl. I watched as Willa wistfully looked his way, and I felt a bout of fury rise at my brother. I thought Jack had been in the process of falling head over heels for Willa, but apparently, it’d been nothing but a passing infatuation.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know the two of you—”
“It’s fine,” Willa said in a clipped, no-nonsense tone. “Jack asked me out, I told him no. In fact, I specifically told him to move on, so this is good for him. Really, I’m okay with it.”
I could see it wasn’t fine, but Willa was mighty testy, and she had a knife in her hands. I figured I’d let her get back to the kitchen and continue to chop, chop, chop away at the head of iceberg lettuce for now, and I’d broach a heart-to-heart conversation later. In the meantime, I had a wolf to deal with in my corner booth.
“I didn’t mean to steal you away from your vampire,” Grey said as I slid into the booth. “I told Willa it wasn’t an emergency.”
“What do you need?”
“I came here to ask a favor of you.”
I raised my eyebrow, still feeling testy from the vampire comment. “What can I do for you?”
“I have a friend who’s in trouble,” Grey said. “A friend who lost some money at a casino.”
“And that’s my problem, how?”
“He thinks there’s something fishy going on at the high stakes tables.”
“Yeah,” I said, “It’s called gambling. You lose money.”
“Look, I know this isn’t exactly up your alley, and you don’t have to help me. But this guy is good at what he does. I wouldn’t have come to you if I didn’t think he was onto something.”
“I’m working a high-profile case at the moment, Grey,” I told him. “I don’t have a ton of extra time. I’m not sure what you want me to do about it.”
“You have connections.”
“Mostly Homicide and Narcotics,” I said. “Those tend to be the biggies that call me in to help.”
“Then come with me to the casino,” Grey said. “One night. One round of play. If you don’t smell anything wrong—fine. I won’t bother you about it again.”
“Can it wait?”
“Look, I just thought you’d like to know if something was up,” Grey said, leaning back in his seat with a dry smile on his face. “My guy, he’s a trusted source. If he says something’s up, it is. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. You know that.”
I sighed. I did know that. And what’s more, I knew Grey wouldn’t come asking for help if he didn’t absolutely need it. “Remind me why you need me?”
Grey gave a disgruntled cough. “Well, you have certain assets that I don’t.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re a female. I’m a male, and I need a date.”
“Oh, no,” I said. “We’re not going there, Grey.”
“A fake date,” he clarified. “Look, tomorrow night I already have the table. Just show up with me. That’s all I’m asking.”
“It’s not a date?”
“It’s not a date. Think of it this way: You might be occupied with a big case, but you have to eat dinner. I’ll feed you dinner while we play. You can watch the dealers, and if you sense something’s off, let me know.”
“You want me to see if there are Residuals anywhere that spell foul play.”
He gave a tense smile. “If there aren’t any, you’re free to go back to your vampire.”
“Stop it. We’re not going to play those games.”
“I’m not playing any games,” he said. “You have to let me in to actually play a game with you.”
I studied Grey for a long moment. “What do you know about the elves?”
“Excuse me?”
“The elves,” I said. “I’m working on a case in the Golden District, and there’s something they’re all keeping from me.”
“The elves are secretive people. They’ve always valued privacy and tradition.”
“Yeah, I see that,” I said. “I spent the morning in Gilded Row.”
“Fancy.”
“Yeah,” I said, shortly. “I didn’t fit in.”
“Speaking of Gilded Row,” Grey said, “you’ll need a dress to wear tomorrow night.”
“Oh, no I don’t. I’m just popping over to the casino on my dinner break.”
“Not in this room, you’re not. We’re playing at the high stakes table.”
“High stakes, my ass,” I said. “I’m not wearing a dress.”
“Well, you just might have to, sweetheart, or else you’re not getting in.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Absolutely no cops within a mile of this room,” he said, scanning me from head to toe—or as much of me as he could see. “You wear those leather pants, your gun’s visible, honey. They won’t let you within ten miles of the door. You’ll be wearing a gown and no gun.”
“I don’t like it. Too much like a date.”
“Don’t kid anyone, sweetheart. You bring your gun to dates.”
“Yeah, because I get people like you asking me out.”
Grey laughed. We shared a moment of lightness together, smiling over his mangled pizza and leftover soda. It was almost friendly.
“So, how well do you know this friend?” I asked. “You must be pretty close to be helping him out. You don’t help just anyone.”
Immediately a cloud passed over his face, and I regretted asking too much.
“We go way back,” he said. “We’re not close, but I trust him.”
Interesting, I thought. Grey had always seemed like a loner. And the fact that he cared enough about someone to ask for help was telling.
“So, what’s the case about?” Grey asked. “You’re in the Golden District. Someone steal a diamond?”
“I guess you could say that. We’ve got a missing girl. High profile.”
Grey gave a slow nod. “Linsey Luca. She’s been gone since last night—word travels.”
“Yeah, but you don’t talk to anyone,” I said. “How do you hear the word if you don’t have friends?”
That got a wry smile out of him.
“Did this word you’ve been hearing give you any insights into what might have happened?” I asked. It was a fine line to talk too much about the case to Grey, especially now that I was officially a member of the Sixth Precinct again. But I had to push. The clock was running out, and we wouldn’t get Linsey back if we didn’t take some risks.
“I don’t know what happened. I just know it’s a big deal,” Grey said. “Are you operating under the assumption that it’s related to the two dead elves found this week?”
“I sure as hell hope not. But with every hour that passes, it seems more and more likely.”
“Yeah, but those girls were gone—and kept alive—for three months. That should be a good sign. If the kidnapper follows the same trajectory, you’ve got a little time.”
“They didn’t have Leonard Luca looking for them,” I said. “I don’t think the kidnapper will be so patient when he’s got all of the Sixth Precinct breathing down his neck.”
Grey considered this. He leaned his elbows on the table, the upper half of his body big and sprawling. He was the only person I’d ever met who gave Matthew a run for his money when it came to sheer body mass.
“It’s strange,” I said, resting back in my seat. The table felt crowded with Grey leaning forward. “Luca is pulling out all the stops to find his daughter—except one. He’s hiding
something from us.”
“Well, you know the elfin legend.”
“Legend?”
“Myth, whatever you want to call it.” Grey glanced down at his pizza, sizing up the pepperoni with great interest. “They say the elves have a secret magic so great they’d sacrifice their own daughters to keep it hidden. I guess, in this case, it could be true.”
“But how are people okay with that? Her parents? I think Leonard’s hiding his wife away, claiming she’s taken ill, so she’s not tempted to break their vow of silence.”
“Probably so. Mothers are usually the weakest. The strongest, I mean,” he corrected quickly. “But that makes them weak. They care. They love. When it’s their children in jeopardy, they’ll do anything to get them back.”
“And Leonard is her father. Shouldn’t he do the same?”
“Yes, but he’s likely going to make a play to become a member on the council of elders. He must set an example. And if that means letting his daughter go, that’s what he’ll do.”
While I pondered Grey’s far-out myth, wondering if there was any truth to it, I stared forlornly into Grey’s Coke. He pushed it toward me, so I took a deep drag, thirsty from tramping around Wicked all day.
“Eating,” Grey said knowingly. “Something you and I have in common. Unlike your vamp.”
“Shut up.”
“So, tomorrow night?” he asked, shifting his weight toward the edge of the booth. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“I don’t have a stupid dress,” I told him. “And I’m not buying one.”
“I’ll have one delivered,” he said. “I know someone.”
“Someone in Gilded Row?” I asked. “Ask if they know anything about Linsey’s disappearance—”
“Detective,” Grey drawled with a wan smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
And with that he stood and made his way towards the exit. I watched him go, noticing he left behind a slice of pizza and half of his salad.
What the hell, I thought, and I dug into the food.
A few minutes later Willa slid into the booth and scooted right up next to me. Our shoulders touched, and she inclined her head conspiratorially toward me. Her blond hair was wispy from the humidity and a few wayward strands tickled my neck as she leaned close.