“Did you really just say that?” I demanded, staring at the big man incredulously.
“Got a problem with how I speak?”
“Nope.”
“Didn’t think so. Now be useful, go get everyone’s takeout orders and sort dinner out,” Bear ordered.
Bemused, I nodded and moved away.
“Don’t lose the one you love because of stubbornness. Harlequin, I nearly lost Thalia because I had my head up my ass,” Bear murmured.
I glanced at Bear’s old lady. The torture Thalia suffered was well known. She’d lost a finger, a breast, and had been discovered dead. They had fought to revive Thalia, and it had been a close shave. She was lucky to be here. I nodded as Bear clapped me on the back and headed in Thalia’s direction. Her face lit up, and I saw the love they shared. Could I get that back with April?
???
“Hey, I’ve got a lead I need to check out,” I informed Slaughter the next day.
“On?”
“Julie Rogers. Darren, the father, told me Julie was last seen walking home from the library. But the library was closed, so whoever claimed that lied.”
“The library was shut? That’s a rare enough event that makes the lie a huge fuck-up.”
“Exactly. I’m going to speak to the witness now.”
“Okay, keep me updated and make sure your trackers are on,” Slaughter ordered. I rolled my eyes—as if I needed telling.
Slaughter had a policy that all rides, phones, and a personal bracelet contained a tracker. If we left the office, all three were switched on. If our cars were moving away from us, then they’d been stolen. Plus, we could be tracked if we vanished. If Slaughter could have got his own way, he’d have trackers inserted under our skin.
“I know!”
“One day, you guys won’t begrudge them when they save your fuckin’ life!” Slaughter retorted and shooed me out. I grinned and disappeared.
???
Bored, I sat in my truck and watched Walter Margrave as he ordered food in a cafe. The guy cut a strange figure—old pants and shirt, with an older raincoat over the top. Margrave looked like a reject from the seventies, even though he was about forty to forty-five. A dangerous, repugnant aura that forced people to maintain a careful distance rolled off him. Despite the cafe being busy, the surrounding tables were empty.
Margrave liked that. There was a smugness in his eyes that belied his deadened expression. My spine crawled as his gaze turned predatory when some young women got up. They were barely older than teenagers. Margrave watched them leave, but anyone could see the girls were uncomfortable.
I got out of my truck and headed inside. I nodded at the waitress and waved her away.
Margrave stared as I headed towards him and sat opposite him. Casually, he lifted his sandwich and took a huge bite, chewing deliberately.
“Whaddya want?” he asked around a mouthful of food.
“Walter Margrave?”
“Don’t mess with me, you know who I am, or you wouldn’t have sat there,” Margrave shot back.
“Remember Julie Rogers?”
“Should I?”
“Hope so, as you stated seeing Julie leaving the library on the day of her disappearance,” I replied evenly.
“Ah, that little girl who disappeared. Shame that.”
“Thing is, Margrave, you fucked up something in that statement,” I said, and Margrave’s eyes narrowed. His brain was working overtime, and although Margrave maintained his poker face.
