‘Hey Dad,’ I said as I sat on the grass beside his final resting place. ‘Sorry it’s been a while. It’s hard coming here, but I was in the area, so it seemed rude not to pop by.’ Even to my own ears that sounded unbelievably lame. The truth was I’d put this offfor weeks because every visit cracked something open in me that I wasn’t ready – or able – to deal with.
‘Mum’s good. Keeping busy hosting us all as often as she can. You know how she is. An empty house is her worst nightmare. It’s why Rupe’s still there. I’m not sure how long for though, because he and Ava seem tight. And she seems … nice. I had reservations at first. I judged her because she is so obviously concerned with her looks, and I thought she must be vapid, but there’s more to her than meets the eye, even if what meets the eye is something quite stunning. She has a backbone – I didn’t expect that. Stuck with Rupe through some pretty grim times. He was getting framed for murder, and she didn’t flinch. I thought she would. But she stuck, and that’s something. It matters.’
Talking filled the silence and kept my mind from circling the same dark places it always did when I sat here. I idly plucked a weed growing over him and tossed it aside. ‘Julian and Grant have begun the process of adoption, and that’s pretty damn exciting. I didn’t realise how hard it is though. Lots of hoops. Fingers crossed they jump through them all. I see the way Grant looks at kids, with such a wistful, hopeful look. You can see him hoping that one day, one of his children will be on the swings instead of a stranger’s.’
I wet my lips and cleared my throat for the worst confession to come. ‘And I’m seeing someone, actually. An ogre. I know you probably wouldn’t approve. You weren’t the biggest fan of ogres. But … Robbie is special. And the more I learn of him, the more I begin to think we know very little about ogres in general. Like most Other realmers, they keep things private. Secret. God forbid this realm ever has any damned transparency. I like him. A lot. So, well, there’s that.’
My chest tightened at the thought of Dad’s raised eyebrow, his dry disapproval, and the stupid, impossible wish that he couldhave met Robbie and seen what I saw. Robbie was many things, but at the core of it all, underneath the politics and BS, he was a good man.
Blowing out a breath, I voiced the real reason I was here. ‘You must have known about Jude Jingo, even back in the day. He’s the worst type of criminal: an organised one. He brought me a picture from your crime scene, with you clutching some sort of medallion. I’ve scoured those photos a million times and I’ve never seen that before. I don’t know if it’s real. Jingo refused to confirm who he got it from or where he found it. I’m not sure what his skin in the game is. I think he wants my trust – which will never happen – but damned if I know what he’s playing at.’ I shook my head. ‘I don’t know what it means, the necklace, the symbol on it. But if itisreal – and that’s a hugeif– then someone went to quite some trouble to steal it from the evidence locker and wipe the pendant out of the crime scene photographs.’
My voice wavered despite my best efforts. After all this time, his case still tore me up like no other. I supposed that made sense – the case wasn’t just his but mine. It had destroyed my family as I’d known it. Dad dying had changed everything, changed the course of my life.
Before that, I’d wanted to be a lawyer, like Rupe. I couldn’t imagine it now, stuck behind a desk, arguing over garden boundaries and poorly done cavity wall insulation. Now my arguments were with criminals and they were far more important. Mostly because a misstep in my job could land me in a grave like the one I sat next to.
A light summer wind surged, blowing my hair back. I tucked it behind my ears and continued. ‘I’ve made some discreet enquiries about the medallion, but perhaps it’s time to make some indiscreet ones. Anyway, I’m still on it. I haven’t forgotten you, Dad. I won’t ever forget you. One day, I’ll get you the justiceyou deserve. One way or another. I promise.’ I’d said the words often enough. It was the kind of vow that lived under my ribs and never let me sleep easy. It itched away at me, the unfulfilled oath, the unanswered questions.
I stood, kissed two fingers, and touched them to the gravestone. ‘I’ll come back sooner next time,’ I promised loosely. ‘Rest easy, Dad.’
I turned and walked away from my father’s grave. He might be gone, but the indelible mark he’d made on my soul was one that I’d carry for the rest of my life.
Our loved ones may be absent, but they never truly leave us, no matter how achingly alone we can feel. They live on in our hearts and memories – gone, sorely missed, yet never forgotten.
Chapter Five
I enjoyed the walk home right up until an ogre loomed out of the shadows – and not my favourite ogre either. I was just a street away from home, but the ogre’s stance made it clear I wasn’t going to make it there without talking to her.
Frankly, this confrontation was long overdue. The momentThe Mystic Informerhad blabbed about my relationship with Robbie to all and sundry, I knew this moment was inevitable. Sooner or later, an ogre representative would be sent to scare me away. I was human and an Inspector to boot. While I might have occasional self-esteem issues, I wasn’t going to let anyone or anything tell me I wasn’t good enough for their king – even if I did happen to agree with them.
The ogre was dressed in black combat trousers, a black t-shirt, and a mean attitude. She had a mace which she rested casually on the pavement. Her blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore a full face of make-up. The only giveaway that she was an ogre – beyond the mace and the muscle-bound six-foot-five stature – was that her right arm, the one holding themace, was significantly bigger than the left. Her expression was set tonot happy. I recognised her from one of the occasions I’d attended Robbie’s den. She’d not been happy to see me then, either.
‘Yes?’ I said impatiently. ‘Can I help you?’
‘I’m not here for your help,’ she sneered.
I shrugged, and with an air of pure nonchalance, I began to walk around her. As I did so, I drew up my intention, picturing a wall of solid air around me that would stop anything from reaching me, and then I released it with a tiny flick of my index finger. I was level with her, so as I walked past her, I kept my eyes trained on the car windows just beside me. I saw her heft the mace and the exact moment she intended to strike.
The second her mace hit my air shield, I softened it, letting her weapon sink into the air around me, and then I firmed it up again, locking her mace into place. It hovered uselessly in the air a foot from me.
I turned to face my attacker. ‘It’s not nice to attack people when their backs are turned,’ I said mildly. ‘Well, it’s not nice to attack people in general really, but let’s save that lesson for another day. You strike me as a one-lesson-a-day woman. What’s your name?’
‘Fuck you!’ She compounded the curse by hacking and spitting a glob of sputum at my feet.
She was a real class act.
‘Well, Miss Fuck You, you’re in a bit of a pickle. You see, you may not have realised, but I’m an Inspector of the Connection, and I get terribly ratty when people attack me on my way home.’
Because I was a level-five wizard with an affinity for air, I could do something many others struggled with: hold the air shield in placeandsend a blast of air roaring right towards an opponent. To let her know who she was dealing with, I did exactly that.
It was satisfying to watch her fly off her feet and land hard on the pavement a few feet away. She let out anoofas air whistled out of her body. I waited patiently for her to get to her feet. Rather than stagger up, she did a neat flip, got to her feet instantly and promptly drew a dagger.
I sighed. ‘Do you really want to lose all of your weapons today? I mean, I can always do with a new knife, but we’re doing a big push for people to give up their knives at the moment, so it would be hypocritical of me to add to my collection.’ I gave a careless shrug. ‘I suppose I can hand it in for you.’
‘You sanctimonious bitch!’ the ogre snarled.
‘You need to watch your language, Miss You. People might get the wrong idea.’ I turned my tone conspiratorial. ‘Fuck, may I call you Fuck?’
She let out a garbled noise of pure rage and ran at me. She bounced off the air shield and landed on her arse.
