“Evening,” I said. “I’m chief of police, Delaney Reed. We met earlier when you tried to kidnap me.” I paused for reactions, but only the gray haired man dropped his gaze. “Or maybe you were trying to kill me.”
The older guy winced slightly. The man I’d punched shifted his weight, staring straight ahead past us like he was at parade rest. He was standing closest to the two women.
“Well, you’ve been advised you can call a lawyer, and I hope you’ve considered doing so. But until your attorney or attorneys show up, Officer Bailey here has some questions for you.”
I moved back so Ryder could take the space in front of the holding cell.
Ryder didn’t say anything for at least a full minute. In such a small room, in such a charged situation, it felt like that minute went on for hours.
“You all new to Ordinary?” he asked, low and easy, like they’d just met on the beach, in a grocery store, at a gas station and he was welcoming them to the town.
“I’m not trying to incriminate you,” he went on when they remained quiet. “Or have you say something that could be used against you. I’m just curious if you’ve ever come to town before.”
Silence. Ryder watched them. He had told me being connected to Mithra meant he could “read” the contracts and laws that bound people. He said it sort of hovered in view if he focused his eyes just right.
I didn’t know what he was seeing now. To me they looked like four people who were tired and angry about being behind bars.
“All right, let’s do something easy,” he said. “Have they given you dinner yet?”
The man whose knee I’d punched shook his head. The woman next to him reached over and pressed her fingers on his wrist.
“Okay,” Ryder said. “We can change that. We’ll get some food in here. Anyone vegetarian?”
The old guy snorted.
“Burgers it is,” Ryder said. “Frigg, would you tell the officers to order baskets for our guests?”
She left, and Ryder threw me a look. “That okay with you, Chief?”
“This is a holding cell in a tiny town on the coast, not a maximum security prison. Food is provided. Especially since they’ll be here overnight.”
The old guy’s gaze came up, and he sighed.
“Like the chief says, you’ll want to get comfortable. We’ll provide blankets, but it’s not going to be the most luxurious bed and breakfast. Anyone need anything else?”
I wasn’t sure what Ryder’s play was here, how his questions had anything to do with the demon mark. Maybe he was trying to be chummy so they’d trust him.
Or maybe there was more to it.
A lot of contracts with demons were about agreeing to something, by voice or via writing, and Ryder was giving these people plenty of chances to agree with him.
I wondered if that would unlock more information on the demon contract. I had never seen him do…this. He was connected to a god, but I very rarely saw that manifest so clearly. He looked like a guy who could be your friend, someone who knew how to change a tire, or how to get a cat down out of a tree.
Agreeable, competent. He had one thumb hooked in his front pocket, was rocked back on his back foot, and had an easy smile on his face.
But all that was a lie. He was angry as hell.
“All right,” he said, “we’ll leave you for the night. Since no one needs anything.”
“Bathroom,” the woman said. “I need to use the bathroom.”
That. That was what Ryder was looking for.
“Right. Of course,” he said. There was a thread of something strong in his voice. Like a fishing line had hooked and caught, and he was now teasing and drawing his prey to him.
“Chief, do you want to take her?”
“Yep.”
