It was her.
It was always her.
You gave her a pay rise instead of killing her, Kael drawled.
She had poisoned my employees. Most of an entire floor. Reduced grown adults to negotiating over toilet cubicles and power-walking to the fire exit with their dignity in their hands.
That devious little—
Then there was the matter of Finley McAdam’s missing balls.
I checked my watch.
It was time for my appointment at the hospital.
??????
With my leather satchel in hand and my prescriptionless glasses in place, I approached Finley McAdam’s bed.
He had a private room. That was unusual for the NHS. Either his mother had insisted or the staff had quietly moved him out of the open ward to spare him the questions. Probably the latter.
His eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. He didn’t look at me.
I followed his gaze. Just a cream-coloured wall.
The room had the distinct flatness of an NHS side room—a single window with the blind half-drawn, a wheeled tray pushed slightly out of reach, the hum of the corridor doing what corridor noise did. Somewhere down the ward a buzzer was going off. Had been going off for a while, by the sound of it.
“Mr McAdam, I’m Cuán McKinley from JMK Solicitors. I’ve come to see you about an accident and injury claim you wish to pursue. Your mother contacted us.”
His head jerked towards me. The eyes were hollow.
He looks traumatised, Kael noted.
He’s missing most of his balls.
True.
Are you going to tell Cuán you used his name?
No. And you’re not telling Conall either, I added, thinking about Cuán’s wolf.
I unbuckled my satchel and sat in the chair beside the bed.
“I want her to pay for what sh-she did to me. I might never have children. They won’t know until the swelling goes down,” he said, staring at his crotch.
“I need you to tell me everything. With as much detail as you can. This will ensure you have a strong case. Start from the beginning. Who is she?”
“My ex. I went to our— her apartment. The bitch kicked me out. She went off on a holiday all by herself and then came back to change the locks on the doors.”
He whines a lot, Kael said.
Yes. I’m beginning to see why she ditched him.
“She didn’t give you all your belongings back? If not, we can add that to the lawsuit.”
“No, she dumped my belongings on the landing. Boxed and bagged.”
Decent of her. But okay.
