Page 31 of Warlord’s Empire

Leeza wanted to grab the woman and shake the rest of the story from her, but instead spoke in soft, measured tones. “It wasn’t your fault, Sarah, but we need to know exactly what happened. You say Sakia was hurt?”

Sarah looked down at her intertwined fingers which were resting in her lap. “She was unconscious when the General brought her up.”

“General?” Leeza repeated the name.

Sarah nodded. “General Radik. We all know of him though this was my first time seeing him in person.” She lifted shining eyes to the two women. “I think he was helping her. The way he was holding her, it was protective, and he looked worried about her. Once he left, we discovered the two men in the storage room. They were both dead. I think General Radik killed them.”

“Where did the bodies go?” Shaun asked.

Sarah shuddered. “Out the back door. I think it was the General’s people who took them. I don’t know what happened to them after that.”

They questioned Sarah for a few more minutes, but she had nothing else useful to pass along. They dismissed her and rejoined the rest of the team.

“Radik definitely has her,” Leeza murmured to Havel, confirming.

“No one here has any information on him,” Havel said.

Jozef took Leeza and Havel aside, signing, Shaun wants to stay and see if she can get anything else from the staff. I need you to go to the morgue and find out what you can about Saskia’s dead colleague.

Leeza and Havel agreed, taking a taxi to the morgue where they were met by the detective in charge of the murder investigation.

“What is your interest in this case?” Detective Botha demanded, blocking them from entering the autopsy room.

“We were hired by the family of the deceased to find out what happened to Aurelia,” Havel lied smoothly, showing Botha his identification for Guard Dog Securities.

The detective barely glanced at it. “Private investigators.” His tone suggested disdain. He jerked his head toward the door. “If you have permission from the family, then you may view the body, but don’t touch anything.”

While Leeza considered herself tough, dead bodies were never going to be her favourite part of working for Guard Dog. She schooled her features into icy neutrality as the coroner, a woman in her 40s who introduced herself as Dr. Williams, showed them Aurelia’s body. It was clear by the wound on her neck how she died.

Dr. Williams confirmed it. “The damage to her throat is extensive. In fact, she was nearly beheaded. It would have been a very quick death.” She glanced at Leeza and Havel, “If you’d like to let the family know.”

Right, they were supposed to be working for the family.

She continued. “The only other damage to the body is a couple of broken fingernails and some bruising on her arms, indicating she probably fought back.” She lifted Aurelia’s hand, showing them the broken fingernails and giving them a significant look. “Your attacker will likely have damage to his face, neck, or arms. I took scrapings from beneath her fingernails so we should have a DNA profile in a few weeks.”

Havel pulled a roll of bills from his pocket. American currency. Peeling off several 100-dollar bills, he handed them to the coroner. “You will expedite the process, yes? We will have those results sooner.”

Dr. Williams looked shocked, glancing at Detective Botha.

“You can’t just bribe the coroner in front of me,” Botha sputtered. “I can have you arrested for that.”

Havel gave him a stare that could make a person piss themselves in fear. “The money is to cover the expense of the testing. It’s what her family would want.” He nodded at Aurelia’s body, then peeled several more bills from the roll. “A donation to help you with your investigation.” He pressed the bills into Botha’s hand, squeezing his fingers harder than necessary before releasing the detective. “I hope we can work together harmoniously.”

Leeza smothered a laugh. Harmonious was the last word a person would use to describe Havel. The man looked like he was carved from marble for the explicit purpose of going to war.

Detective Botha looked down at the crushed bills in his hand, his expression torn. He pocketed the money. “Of course, we will work together to discover who committed this grievous crime.”

Leeza and Havel left, going back to the house Jozef had secured as their ops centre while they were in Pretoria. The house was dark and empty when they entered. Havel turned off the security system.

Hours of holding her fear and anxiety inside spilled over as tears trickled down Leeza’s face. “Havel,” she whispered brokenly. “I’m so scared.”

“I know.” He pulled her into his arms and held her tight, his hand curving over the back of her head. “We’ll bring her home safe.”

“You can’t promise that.” Her voice shook. “Radik took her. One of the most dangerous men on the planet took her and we have no idea why. What if he kills her?”

“He has no reason to kill her,” Havel said gruffly. “And I’d argue I’m the scariest motherfucker on this planet.”

Leeza gave a watery laugh and rubbed her nose against his chest. “Yeah, you are.” She looked up at him, blinking the tears away. “Maybe he has no reason to kill her, but as far as we know he didn’t have a reason for taking her either, yet he did.”