“Well, what else could it be?” Griffen said.
“It could be that someone’s tryin’ to set you up,” Jerome said, pointedly. “If it isn’t a frame for a murder rap, then at the very least someone’s out to embarrass you big-time.”
“I think you’re stretching a bit to think that,” Griffen said, skeptically.
“Well, I think you’re stretchin’ if you don’t think that,” Jerome shot back. “Look, all I’m sayin’ is to think about it and watch your back. If I’m wrong and it is all just coincidence, there’s no harm done. But if I’m right, and you keep trying to wave it all off as coincidence, you could really get blindsided.”
Griffen started to speak, then hesitated. Taking another sip from his drink, he stared at the wall for a long minute.
“All right,” he said at last. “I’ll consider it seriously. My first question would be who would want to set me up? I’m getting along well with everyone at the conclave… well, nearly everyone.”
“All it takes is one,” Jerome warned. “Besides, it doesn’t necessarily have to be someone from the conclave. You’re not only a dragon, you’re the head dragon in this area. That makes you a target. Every time you take a breath, you’re gonna upset somebody… and they’re going to keep coming after you until you stop breathing. Get used to it.”
“Do you have anyone specifically in mind?” Griffen said.
“Haven’t gotten that far,” Jerome admitted. “Didn’t you and Val go sideways to a couple of Melinda’s boys a while back?”
“Yeah, but we haven’t seen or heard from them since,” Griffen said, then hesitated. “Did I mention to you that George is back in town?”
“The one who tried to kill you a couple months ago?” Jerome said, sitting up straight. “He’s in town, and you didn’t let us know?”
“I think it was more that he was testing me than trying to kill me,” Griffen said. “And as far as him being in town, he says he’s just here on vacation. As a matter of fact, he’s Valerie’s date for the masquerade.”
“Uh-huh,” Jerome said. “You’ve got a known supernatural hit man in town, someone from the conclave turns up dead, and you think it’s a coincidence?”
“He only acts when someone is paying him,” Griffen pointed out. “Which would still leave us looking for someone with a motive. Heck, I’d be more likely to suspect Flynn than George.”
“Flynn? West Coast big-time dragon Flynn? He’s in town?”
“Yeah. I met him a couple of weeks ago, and he’s been giving me advice on how to run the conclave,” Griffen said. “Why? Do you know him?”
“Never met him, but I’ve heard he’s a major power player,” Jerome said. “He’s not one I’d figure to be giving out free advice.”
“Sounds like you’ve been talking to Mai,” Griffen said with a laugh.
“Heard about him long time before I met Mai,” Jerome said. “If she doesn’t trust him, I’d say she’s with the majority. Anybody else in town you haven’t told me about?”
“That’s it. But I take your point.” Griffen finished his drink.
“I’ll go pass the word on to the conclave. You see if you can round up Val and Mai and meet me back at my place. Maybe between us we can sort this thing out.”
“Half a good plan,” Jerome said. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll tag along while you pass the word, then we’ll find the women. The more I think about it, the more it occurs to me that you should have someone covering your back for a while.”
“Hey, Mai. C’mon in. I was just about to call you.”
Valerie stepped back from her apartment door to let her friend in.
“Griffen just buzzed me to let me know he was calling a war council,” Mai said, entering the apartment and flopping down on the sofa. “I thought it might be a good idea if we talked first.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Val said. “Do you think there’s anything to the idea that he’s being set up?”
“I really don’t know… but there’s always the possibility,” Mai said. “One thing I am sure of is that it’s time we put a few more cards on the table.”
“You mean…”
“I mean we’ve got to tell him about Lizzy,” Mai said. “If we’re going to sort this mess out, he’s got to have all the pieces. That means letting him know who the players in town are.”
“You think she’s behind the setup… if there is one?” Val asked with a frown.
“Not really,” Mai admitted. “But as crazy as she is, we can’t rule her out completely.”
“Big Brother is going to freak,” Valerie said, shaking her head. “From what he said when he called, Jerome is already giving him grief about not sharing the information that Flynn and George are in town. When he finds out that we’ve been holding out on him as well, he’s going to blow his stack.”
“Can’t be helped.” Mai sighed. “Now he needs to know. We’ll just have to tell him that we thought it would distract him from the conclave and decided to handle it ourselves.”
“He’s going to love that,” Val said with a grimace. “What about the other thing?”
“Which other thing?” Mai said.
Val pulled herself up to her full height and patted her stomach.
The two women looked at each other for a long moment, then as one shook their heads.
“I don’t think so. Not now,” Valerie said. “Lizzy is my problem. So is this.” She touched her belly.
“One crisis at a time,” Mai agreed.
Forty-six
Even though it was late, the hotel lobby bar was still open. During its stay, the conclave had spent enough time and money in the bar to convince the management to schedule extra help to keep it open as long as they had customers, and tonight looked to be a banner ring.
Griffen had come and gone, and now a goodly percentage of the attendees had gravitated to the bar both to absorb and discuss the news he had brought.
“I don’t like it,” Tail declared, glaring into his drink.
“The whole situation abounds with things not to like,” Margie said, cocking her head at him. “Which thing in particular don’t you like, Tail?”
Surprisingly enough, of all the tactics the organizers had scheduled in an effort to get the various groups at the conclave to interact, the one that seemed to have been the most effective was the unscheduled poker game. Since that game, the participants had tended to hang and drink together, preferring each other’s company to that of their own specific group.
“I don’t like the idea of the cops poking around the conclave,” Tail said with a grimace.
“I’ll wager we’ve all had to deal with the cops at one time or another.” Margie shrugged. “No reason this time around should be any different.”
“Lot o’ differences.” Kane spoke up. “For one ting, dere are a lot of us dat have gathered in this here place. Too many maybe. Means de little tings dat make us different and we could normally cover on our own get blown up, dey get exaggerated. How many here you trust to not slip up, keep traps shut ’bout every little ting?”
“There’s also the minor detail that we’ve got a body that is being tied directly to us,” Lowell put in. “I myself don’t like the bit about him being staked through the heart.”
“See? I’m not the only one who’s worried,” Tail said triumphantly.
“I’m not saying that there’s nothing to worry about,” Margie said, raising her hands defensively. “I just think we’d be better off spending our time getting our stories straight instead of just sitting around and fretting. For example, what are we going to say about Slim and Griffen? That’s the main reason they’re coming around, isn’t it?”
“I think I can handle that, since I was there,” Lowell said.
