“But it’s not a straightforward process if Rudoldir was giving you trouble,” I said.
“Oh no, it’s not. But it’s an expected process. You can’t be in the business of development and expect everything to go smoothly. If you could, then everyone would be doing it. The trouble comes from getting the zoning changed from commercial to residential. I had to get signatures from all of the owners of nearby properties that they were fine with the change. And that was fine. Then I had to get the electrical stuff in the building changed to suit residential code, but there aren’t any electricians in town qualified to do it. I managed to get a wizard from Western Woods to promise to come by, but he doesn’t have any availability for two months. I wanted to get started on construction before then, so I wanted Rudoldir to just give me the permits anyway with the promise that the other work would get done, but he wouldn’t do it.”
“That must have made you pretty mad,” Andy replied.
“Of course it did. Besides, it’s costing me money. But everything in a project like this costs money. I’m used to it. Would I have gotten further along with someone else? Who knows? Rudoldir was a real stick-in-the-mud when it came to following the rules to a tee. But then, Fjordir is probably going to take over from him, I assume, and he’s just as bad. Elves, man. They’ve got no chill. They’re always such stickler for details, and they’re always the ones who take the jobs that have power. Shifters are the easiest to deal with. You can bribe a shifter so easily, and they’ll almost always take it. Vampires, too. They have no qualms about it. Witches and wizards, well, it depends. You have to be careful. Fairies and elves are the worst. They’ll almost never take the bribe.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Did you try and bribe Rudoldir?”
“I may have made the mistake of hinting at it, just to see how he would react, right when he took the job,” Vernon said with a casual shrug. “After all, I had to find out exactly who I was dealing with. If I had gotten the one elf who would happily make life easier for both of us in exchange for a cash incentive, I needed to know.”
“And I take it he didn’t accept?” Andy said with a small smile.
“Elves! What can you do? He raged at me and told me if I dared to so much as imply that I was willing to do that sort of thing again, he would go to the Enforcers and that the only reason he wasn’t doing it now was that I hadn’t made an explicit offer.”
“And you think Fjordir will be just as bad?”
“Of course he will be,” Vernon said with a casual laugh. “That elf is just as much a stickler for rules as Rudoldir. I don’t expect a single thing to change. It’s too bad his wife doesn’t have his job; she’d take the money in a second.”
“Because she’s a vampire?” I asked.
“Because she’s a vampire and she’s the kind of vampire who understands mutually beneficial agreements. She’s a business owner herself, so she knows how it works.”
“Right, she runs that little boutique hotel by the lake, doesn’t she?” I said, snapping my fingers. “I didn’t realize she was married to an elf.”
“Yes, and what a scandal that is! But anyway, no, Fjordir won’t be different. And that’s why it would have been pointless for me to kill Rudoldir. It doesn’t make a difference, ultimately, which elf is sitting in that chair.”
“Do you know who might have killed him?” I asked, and Vernon smiled like a cat who had just caught a canary.
“I would take a very close look at that fairy who works in the office with him, if I were you,” Vernon said. “She plays little miss innocent, but she’s not nearly as nice as she seems. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Ok, thanks,” Andy said, standing. I followed his cue, and the two of us shook Vernon Montgomery’s hand as he led us back to the entrance.
“I do wish you luck in finding the killer, whoever he – or she – might be. For a creature of the night such as myself, I like to feel safe wandering around town. Although, with a big man like you out there, I do feel safer than normal,” Vernon said, looking Andy up and down.
Andy laughed. “You can flirt with me all you’d like, but I’m afraid you’re not my type.”
“Too flamboyant?”
“Too male,” Andy said. “Nothing personal.”
“Well, no offense taken, although I will admit to being disappointed. What can you do? All the good ones are straight. Anyway, as I said, ask the shifter at the portal. He’ll tell you I couldn’t have been the killer.”
The two of us left, and Andy shook his head as we walked back down the huge driveway towards town.
“You were right about one thing: Vernon Montgomery is certainly a character. Although it doesn’t sound like he’s our killer.”
I had to agree.
Chapter 11
