Vernadetto sat where she’d indicated, adjusting his gun belt as he did. “I sent my best investigators over to speak with Fritz about the incident and see what he could tell them about this situation with Heaven.” He inhaled. “Fritz was gone. A few things were missing, enough to indicate he’s in the wind.”
Doc leaned forward. “We’ll find him. The pride has ways of tracking its members.”
“Be that as it may, right now Fritz is a dead end.” He held up a finger. “However, the officers searched the apartment. They found a wooden box with silver dust in it. Not enough to be measurable, but that’s definitely what the container held.”
“Are you saying you think Fritz is involved in Heaven’s death?” Doc shook his head. “I don’t buy it. Fritz was Sinjin’s man. He wouldn’t have hurt Heaven.”
Vernadetto shrugged. “People do a lot of things you wouldn’t suspect. Maybe he was just the supplier. We’re pulling his financials, digging through his computer, looking for anything to indicate a connection.”
“To Barasa and Omur?” Fi asked.
“To anyone,” Vernadetto answered.
So much for that, Doc thought. “What about the intruder?”
“No prints on the broken glass other than Fritz’s. Unless you think you can work with a sketch artist, we don’t have much to go on there.” Vernadetto stood. “I wish I had better news, but until something new comes along, that’s all I’ve got.”
“Thanks, anyway.” Doc stood to walk him out. “How much would it help if you could talk to Fritz?”
“Hard to say. Depends on how much he’d give up. But it’s kind of a moot point with him being gone. Until we find him…” Vernadetto shrugged.
“Understood.”
After the elevator doors closed, Doc leaned his head against them. He had to find Fritz. But the regular trackers the pride used would take time. Time they didn’t have. And if Fritz had left the city, Doc would need someone with a broader scope of influence. There was one person who could access that kind of information. The more Doc thought about it, the more he knew it was the way to go. Sure, he might have to work an angle or two to get the help, but there was a time in his life when he’d been all about angles.
The sounds of the holovision drifted out from the living room. He lifted his head. “Babe?”
“Yes?” Fi called from the other room.
“I have to go out.” He grabbed his jacket and tugged it on. “Back as soon as I can.”
Lola wrapped herself in a blanket and stayed there as the plane took off, but nothing seemed to stop her body from trembling. Over and over she saw Octavian being killed before her by a woman Malkolm claimed was her granddaughter.
How was Malkolm alive? She’d seen him die on the holovision. Obviously, that had been some kind of trick. What was he doing in Corvinestri now? And why was it such a secret that he was there? Was he in league with her granddaughter?
No, not her granddaughter. A monster. The two didn’t mesh in her brain. The images of the infant she’d expected to find and the grown woman she’d seen were so diametrically opposed that there was no way she could reconcile the two.
That couldn’t be her Mariela. That… horrific creature was not the sweet, innocent baby Julia had given birth to. “Please,” she whispered. “Don’t let it be her.”
She shuddered again, remembering the red eyes and vicious fangs. There was no way she wanted anything to do with that hell-born thing, even if it was her blood kin. Which it couldn’t be. No, this whole thing had to be some sort of… game. Octavian must have set her up. Or Malkolm had, to get his revenge on her. She huddled farther into the darkest corner of the plane. Despite the shades being drawn, she could feel the sun on the verge of rising.
Maybe Preacher would know what to do. Maybe she should confess her sins to him and tell him everything that had happened. Or maybe… she should keep this whole business a secret. One she’d take to her grave.
Covering up with the blanket, she let herself drift into daysleep. It was the only way she knew to forget.
“Bloody hell,” Mal growled. “No way you’re KM. That’s a lie to save your skin.”
“No, it’s not. I swear.” She shook her head. “I can prove it.” She looked at Chrysabelle. “Your patron, Algernon, he was a KM agent. Did you know that?”
“Yes. That’s how he came to have the ring of sorrows.” Chrysabelle caught Mal’s gaze. “If she knows that…”
Mal shook his head. “If Algernon was KM, why didn’t they come after you? Wouldn’t they have thought you had something to do with his death?”
Kosmina shifted uncomfortably. “After a while, the KM knew Chrysabelle wasn’t responsible for that.”
“After a while?” Chrysabelle asked. “So you were watching me?”
Kosmina shrugged. “The KM has eyes everywhere. And as you know, Octavian belonged to them too. We worked together. He brought me in to replace him as head of staff when Tatiana turned him. I’m the reason Tatiana thought he was dead. I covered for him. Otherwise she would have flayed him alive.”
“How did you cover for him?” Chrysabelle asked.
“At the ball, after you two ran out of the suite—that was you two in disguise, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” Mal said. Figuring that out didn’t take help from the KM. “Go on.”
“When Tatiana went after you, Octavian left through the servants’ quarters. I scattered ashes on the floor where he’d been and, when Tatiana returned, told her that he’d taken his own life out of fear of her.” She drew in a ragged breath. “She would have killed him. It was the only way to get him out safely.”
“What about the other female servant?” Chrysabelle asked.
“Oana? She was Lilith’s wet nurse. With Lilith out of the picture, Oana was no longer necessary. I paid her to go away.” Kosmina glanced at Malkolm. “And she knows I’d kill her myself if she ever spoke a word of what happened.”
Mal eased his grip on the double agent. She was telling them more than she had to. Enough that her story sounded genuine. “Why would Octavian come back here? He’d have to know Tatiana would kill him for what he’d done.”
Kosmina pulled out of his grasp entirely and tugged her uniform back into place. “Not long after he brought me in to replace him as head of staff, I started to see signs that his loyalties were drifting. He truly loved Tatiana. And the life she provided.” She shook her head. “It’s not the first time an agent has shifted sides.”
“More than once?” Chrysabelle asked. “How long have you been KM?”
Kosmina cast her eyes toward the door to the cellar. “All my life. My whole family is.”
“Son of a priest.” Mal’s brows shot up. How deep was the KM in Corvinestri? “And do they all work for nobles?”
She nodded and lifted her gaze toward Chrysabelle. “We do the job the comarre were meant for, but have fallen away from.”
“Don’t look at me,” Chrysabelle said. “I tried to raise a force to help us and got shot down. Also, I’m not comarre anymore.”
“I know,” Kosmina said. “We’re aware you were disavowed.” She started toward the exit. “I have to go. I have things to do before… I have things to do.”
Mal stepped into her path. He wasn’t done asking questions. “Why did you follow me down here?”
Kosmina’s expression shifted into one that was pure soldier. “To determine why you were suddenly on Tatiana’s side, and if necessary, kill you. Which reminds me…” She pulled a snuffbox out of her pocket and handed it to him. “Put a pinch of that under your tongue.”
“You? Kill me?” Mal laughed softly as he took the box and opened it. Fine white powder filled the small metal square. A citrusy aroma wafted up from it. “What is this?”
“The antidote to the
The voices stilled completely. They were trying to figure out if what she said was true. “What the hell is
