reached more than three feet into the stale funk of the place. But it didn’t. It never did.
Detective Stott’s real office was somewhere downstairs, but I didn’t want to stay that long or get that cozy. Walked up to the first workstation at the end of the hall, knocked on the top of the desk. Waved at the security camera. Didn’t have to wait long for a cop to show up.
“You still breathing, Flynn?” Cop was a huge dude from Hawaii, name of Mackanie Love. We’d met back in my petty crime days. He’d never cut me slack. But then, I hadn’t deserved any.
“Once or twice a day, whether I need it or not. I have something for you.” I held out my hand, the car keys hanging from my fingers, the baseball bat in the other.
He eased his bulk down into the chair and nodded at the keys. “What’s that all about?”
I placed them on the desk. “Car about halfway down the block. Black Vette. It belongs to some people you might want to keep an eye on.”
“Did you steal a car?”
“Please.” I pressed my fingers against my chest. “You think I’d steal a car and just walk in here to turn myself in? I’d make you work for it, mate. You know that.”
“So what’s that really?” This time he pointed at the keys.
“Detective Stotts was pretty interested in a guy Terric tipped him off to this morning. Name of Hamilton. And those”—I nodded toward the keys—“belong to two other guys who didn’t like Terric and me getting in the middle of their friend’s business.”
“Tell me you didn’t steal a car from the Black Crane Syndicate.”
“Okay.”
He leaned back just a little, the chair creaking in protest. “You know what Black Crane is, yeah? Blood and drugs. Human trafficking. Dark magic.”
Black Crane. A crime syndicate we’d kept under control when magic was strong, and that apparently continued to thrive off the magic and drug trade, even though magic didn’t have the kick it used to.
“Sure, I know Black Crane.” Oh! Crow feather. Suddenly made sense. “But I only borrowed their car. Borrowed. After they stopped me in the street to express their displeasure with me.”
“Are they dead?”
“Not stupid enough to come in here if they were.”
From the look on his face, he didn’t think that was funny.
“Listen, I don’t care what you do,” I said. “Terric got me involved when he chased down Hamilton this morning. And, I’d like to point out, nobody told him to mind his own business. But when two guys get out of their car and tell me they want to beat me senseless because I’d gotten their friend arrested, I’m not going to stand there and take it.”
“What did you do?”
“Left them reconsidering their manners beside the road. And brought you their car.”
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
“What part?”
“Any of it. Don’t you own a phone?”
“Not on me. Would you rather I had brought them here with me? Citizen’s arrest?”
“No. I’d rather you stayed out of this, Shamus. From now on.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to say. I am staying out of it. See you around, Detective.”
I turned and strolled off, baseball bat over my shoulder.
“Flynn?” he called out. “Go see a doctor. You look like death warmed over.”
He had no idea.
I just kept walking.
Fresh air and more sunlight. It wasn’t far to the office. Fifteen or twenty minutes. If I walked fast enough, Eleanor might not even notice all the fancy shops we were passing by.
Keep walking. Keep walking. Dodge the man with the dog. Dodge the woman on her phone. Green light. Yellow. Sprint across the intersection. Almost clear of the shops. . . . no luck.
Eleanor went from drifting along to a dead stop. She got one look at a hat shop on the corner and clapped excitedly. I groaned.
“I promised Terric I’d be there,” I whined.
She just raised her eyebrows. Yeah, telling her I didn’t want to be late for work was not going to fly. She knew I didn’t care.
“You can’t
Detective Stott’s real office was somewhere downstairs, but I didn’t want to stay that long or get that cozy. Walked up to the first workstation at the end of the hall, knocked on the top of the desk. Waved at the security camera. Didn’t have to wait long for a cop to show up.
“You still breathing, Flynn?” Cop was a huge dude from Hawaii, name of Mackanie Love. We’d met back in my petty crime days. He’d never cut me slack. But then, I hadn’t deserved any.
“Once or twice a day, whether I need it or not. I have something for you.” I held out my hand, the car keys hanging from my fingers, the baseball bat in the other.
He eased his bulk down into the chair and nodded at the keys. “What’s that all about?”
I placed them on the desk. “Car about halfway down the block. Black Vette. It belongs to some people you might want to keep an eye on.”
“Did you steal a car?”
“Please.” I pressed my fingers against my chest. “You think I’d steal a car and just walk in here to turn myself in? I’d make you work for it, mate. You know that.”
“So what’s that really?” This time he pointed at the keys.
“Detective Stotts was pretty interested in a guy Terric tipped him off to this morning. Name of Hamilton. And those”—I nodded toward the keys—“belong to two other guys who didn’t like Terric and me getting in the middle of their friend’s business.”
“Tell me you didn’t steal a car from the Black Crane Syndicate.”
“Okay.”
He leaned back just a little, the chair creaking in protest. “You know what Black Crane is, yeah? Blood and drugs. Human trafficking. Dark magic.”
Black Crane. A crime syndicate we’d kept under control when magic was strong, and that apparently continued to thrive off the magic and drug trade, even though magic didn’t have the kick it used to.
“Sure, I know Black Crane.” Oh! Crow feather. Suddenly made sense. “But I only borrowed their car. Borrowed. After they stopped me in the street to express their displeasure with me.”
“Are they dead?”
“Not stupid enough to come in here if they were.”
From the look on his face, he didn’t think that was funny.
“Listen, I don’t care what you do,” I said. “Terric got me involved when he chased down Hamilton this morning. And, I’d like to point out, nobody told him to mind his own business. But when two guys get out of their car and tell me they want to beat me senseless because I’d gotten their friend arrested, I’m not going to stand there and take it.”
“What did you do?”
“Left them reconsidering their manners beside the road. And brought you their car.”
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
“What part?”
“Any of it. Don’t you own a phone?”
“Not on me. Would you rather I had brought them here with me? Citizen’s arrest?”
“No. I’d rather you stayed out of this, Shamus. From now on.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to say. I am staying out of it. See you around, Detective.”
I turned and strolled off, baseball bat over my shoulder.
“Flynn?” he called out. “Go see a doctor. You look like death warmed over.”
He had no idea.
I just kept walking.
Fresh air and more sunlight. It wasn’t far to the office. Fifteen or twenty minutes. If I walked fast enough, Eleanor might not even notice all the fancy shops we were passing by.
Keep walking. Keep walking. Dodge the man with the dog. Dodge the woman on her phone. Green light. Yellow. Sprint across the intersection. Almost clear of the shops. . . . no luck.
Eleanor went from drifting along to a dead stop. She got one look at a hat shop on the corner and clapped excitedly. I groaned.
“I promised Terric I’d be there,” I whined.
She just raised her eyebrows. Yeah, telling her I didn’t want to be late for work was not going to fly. She knew I didn’t care.
“You can’t
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