Ethan frowns. “The CEO of a global distribution company? Yeah, you’d expect a head office in Realm Enterprises, trips to other locations, business meetings with external suppliers, things like that. He’s there all day, every day?”
I give a sharp nod. “That I’ve seen, yes. The registered business address is in the Realm Enterprises tower, but if he has an actual office in that building it’s sitting empty. Even the admin staff have their own office inside the warehouse.”
“I agree that seems odd. Could he be doing everything by video conference?”
“Maybe. I’ll keep an eye out, see what I can pick up on, but if there’s something illegal going on I guarantee he’s involved.”
“I assume you’ve run a background check on him?”
“There’s not much on file. His arrival in this realm pre-dates BSG written records, he started Far Out Freight in 1625, and he was heavily involved in setting up the current prison system in the mid nineteenth century. Three years ago he was charged with illegal recruitment practices and given a one-year suspended sentence.”
Ethan’s frown deepens. “So he’s not squeaky clean, but his record isn’t necessarily relevant given that our four shifters were legitimately employed by him.”
My stomach twists. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I really hoped I’d have found out something more concrete about their whereabouts by now. The cat shifters at work are friendly but don’t seem to know anything, Bryn is open with me but his information mostly comes from Harley—who doesn’t seem to know much either—and the vampires keep to themselves. I’ve been working on befriending the admin staff but short of mentioning Inali Liška by name, it’s hard to steer the conversation in the direction of their former colleague.”
Inali is the fox shifter whose stepbrother thinks he might be in trouble. It’s frustrating me no end that I haven’t been able to confirm whether four different shifters are actually missing, or just out there somewhere, living their lives mostly off-grid.
“Raj, I know how it goes.” Ethan’s blue eyes are intense. “Remember Somalia? It took months before we were able to locate every cell of that terrorist organisation, and we’d never have managed it if it weren’t for you. I’m not expecting results overnight.”
I grip my mug a little tighter. “I know, but this is different.”
“Why? Because we’re in a British city? Or because this is supernatural in nature?”
My chest is tight. “Because we have civilians who are probably missing, and we don’t know what’s happened to them. What if they found out Far Out Freight are selling illegal magical items and were killed to keep them quiet?”
He leans closer to the screen. “Listen. It took almost six weeks for Inali to even be reported missing in the first place. Less for the others, but Ayo thinks word got around that we were taking the fox shifter’s possible disappearance seriously so others came forward as well. You said even Dante wasn’t convinced we’d actbased on his instincts, and he knows and trusts Ayo. I promise you, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
I nod. He’s right. “If they’re still alive somehow, we have to find them.”
“We will.”
“And if they’re dead, we need closure for their loved ones.”
“Agreed.”
I exhale. “Sorry, Alpha.”
He looks at me with steady patience. “Would it make you feel better if I gave you extra work to do? Because Cal is bitching that Jet keeps making him write all his reports for him now that you’re not available, and my inbox is getting out of control.”
That teases a reluctant smile out of me. Ethan’s inbox is crazy even when I’m working with him daily to keep on top of it, and it’s true that I’m usually the one who fixes the errors in Jet’s reports. The speech-to-text feature he uses can be hit-and-miss, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s been trying to get Cal to write entire reports for him instead. Even so, the day the stoic vampire bitches about anyone is the day the world ends.
“Yeah, send stuff over.” Maybe that way I’ll feel less like I’m letting everyone down.
Ethan’s lips twitch. “You know what? I’ll even be generous and let you read through my notes from the meeting with the coven council the other day. Maybe you can think of some way to get through to them, because Ayo and I aren’t getting anywhere.”
“I’ll see what I can come up with. By the way, how did the meeting go with the new architect?”
I managed to find three potential firms with portfolios that include period property renovations. All human, which isn’t ideal, but after some initial conversations Ayo narrowed it down to the best one.
Ethan scowls. “The guy’s a fucking prick.”
Uh oh. “What happened? I thought Ayo liked him?”
“He did, but the man who treated Ayo with respect seemed tovanish as soon as I asked one measly question. He proceeded to talk directly to me for the rest of the walkthrough, and practically ignored Ayo.”
Yeah, that’s unacceptable. “I’ll look for someone else.”
I’m not sure how I’ll find anyone when I already sent Ayo the best candidates. I refuse to give up, though. I told Ayo I’d help him with this, and I will.
