Blue lowered her voice. “It’s just a routine check. They couldn’t find the killer or a motive, so here we are.”
“Who was the victim?”
“A security guard.”
Niko furrowed his brow. Nothing about that seemed suspicious. Robberies happened all the time, especially in pawnshops.
“And before you ask,” she continued, “nothing was stolen. Viktor just wants us to check it out since it happened on the night of our visit.” She hooked her arm in his, and they turned. “Let’s get this over with.”
Warm air touched his face as they moved inside, and the first thing he noticed was a whirlwind of different smells. Even though he had an altered sense of sight, he was still blind and relied on his other senses to tell him things. An expensive perfume indicated the woman standing near them was either wealthy or spent a lot of time in here searching for used fragrances. Pawnshops were visited by all social classes. Many items were rarities, and in some cases people were searching for things they’d lost track of years ago.
He let go of Blue’s arm and placed his hand on her back, following her lead. He trusted her, and she always made sure that no obstacles were in his path. Her patience was why they worked so well together.
They neared a familiar light he remembered from their previous visit.
“Cosmo,” he said in greeting.
“Well, lookie who it is,” Cosmo said, his tone condescending. “Mr. Bruce Lee himself.”
Niko bent over and rested his forearms on the counter. He kept his head down as if he were examining the items inside the glass case. Some people eventually figured out his impairment, but he didn’t like to showcase it during introductions. It had a tendency to make people feel like they had the upper hand. “We heard you had some trouble.”
“Trouble is an understatement,” Cosmo said. “My best guard was murdered.”
Blue’s energy continued shifting. “Is there anyone you’ve had problems with lately? Either a customer or someone in your personal life?”
“Lady, I’ve got to deal with trouble on a daily basis from customers who argue about the prices, claim they’ve found something that’s theirs and they want it for free, want to return something for the exact price they paid—the list goes on and on.”
“What about your guard?”
“Big Dog? He’s the one who dealt with the trouble. And before you ask me about his personal life, I can’t tell you squat about that. He was a quiet guy who liked to spend his breaks in the back room watching reruns ofDennis the Menace.”
Niko noticed the waning colors and sensed that Cosmo was fond of his guard, which belied his apathetic tone. “It’s not right for a good man to be cut down for no reason. We want to help you find the person responsible. I’m sure the authorities are already working on the case, but we’re here to review the evidence and see if there’s anything they might have overlooked. What can you tell us?”
After a long sigh, Cosmo’s voice was more relaxed. “It happened after hours. I’ve got roll-down shutters for security, but someone broke the damn things. Unless they had a bulldozer, I’d say it was a Vampire. Follow me to the back; I don’t want customers to hear.”
Niko ran his fingers along the edge of the counter, following Cosmo’s energy trail. When he found the opening, he crossed behind the counter, and they went into a back storage room. Their voices echoed, indicating the ceilings were high and the room large.
“This is the inventory room,” Cosmo said. “It’s divided up. New items over there, large stuff I can’t fit in the store over there, and as you can see, I have a pile of shit over there that just won’t sell.”
Niko turned, pretending to notice.
Blue’s thick boot heels clicked against the concrete floor. “Was anything taken?”
“No. I thought it was just another robbery. Sometimes people have in mind what they want to steal, but I had one last year, and they cleaned me out. That’s why I bought the security shutters. I sat down with two of my guys and went through the inventory, and it’s all accounted for. Well, except for the damages.”
Niko strode forward and paused. “What damages?”
“See over there?” Cosmo said. “They smashed the shit out of some of that stuff. Knocked the shelf over and made a mess.”
Niko furrowed his brow. That sounded like an impulsive outburst a frustrated person would do. “Who did those items belong to?”
“Hell if I know. They bring it in by the truckload sometimes. I have my guys add everything to the record books and research the value before we decide what to do with it.”
“Why were you so reluctant to let us search your shop if you had nothing to hide?”
Cosmo chuckled. “I had a few early shipments I hadn’t gone through yet.”
Blue’s energy flared. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
