“Well yes, there has been one in particular who wasn’t pleased with my determination,” Rudoldir replied. “About one month ago I was forced to deny a vampire who was looking for a license. He was looking to open a new restaurant and wanted to be able to serve wine – he said he was especially a fan of fine reds – but he wanted to be able to serve during the day.”
“And because he’s a vampire that wasn’t allowed?”
“Precisely. Vampires who own businesses are bound by vampire laws, regardless of whether they serve other paranormals. If he wanted a permit to sell liquor, he would only be allowed to do so during the nighttime hours from eight o’clock at night until seven the following morning.”
“And he wasn’t pleased with that decision?”
“No,” Rudoldir replied, shaking his head. “I explained to him that it was not my decision and that it was a law that applied to all vampire-owned businesses, but despite the impeccable logic, he remained exceptionally angry. He accused me of being biased against vampires and that he had rights under paranormal law and that he should have been allowed to do whatever it was he wanted with the space.”
“Did he threaten you directly?”
“He told me that if I didn’t fix things for him, I would be sorry.”
“And what did you do then?”
“I explained to him the law once more, and I gave him an option that he had not considered which would allow him to open the business under his terms.”
“Oh? What was that?”
“A business owned wholly by a vampire must abide by vampire hours when it comes to the distribution of alcohol, but a business that is partially owned by a vampire and partially owned by a different paranormal is able to operate a liquor license under both regular hours and vampire hours. So in theory, if the vampire were to find himself a business partner who was not a vampire and was to apply for a liquor license once more, he could open and serve alcohol twenty-four hours a day.”
“Interesting,” I said slowly. “What did the vampire say to that?”
“He said that he wasn’t going to let any stinking wizard into his business plans and that he should be able to serve alcohol whenever he wanted to. He did not seem open to the idea.”
“Alright,” I said. “I’ll look into it. What is the vampire’s name?”
“Andrei. Andrei Rostaleascu. His business is the Nueva Trattoria going up by the lake.”
“Oh, I know that place,” I said, nodding. I’d walked past it a few times. The windows were covered in black paper as it was still under renovation, but the sign out front had already been changed and a menu posted on the door. Personally, I was really looking forward to trying their chicken cacciatore.
“That is Mr. Rostaleascu’s new business. You will be able to find him there.”
“Ok,” I said, jotting down the name in my phone’s notes app. Personally, I preferred to work with a regular notebook and pen – among other things it made me feel more professional – but I hadn’t brought them with me as I didn’t think I was going to get a new client here at the coffee shop.
“Is there anyone else you may have had an issue with in the past month or two at your work?” I asked, and Rudoldir shook his head no. “What about the other employees? Is there anyone that you don’t particularly get alone with?”
“One of my underlings seems to believe that I am a pompous, overly-strict boss.”
“Could it have something to do with the fact that you call him your underling?” I asked, earning myself a surprised look from Rudoldir. “Sorry, sorry. Who is this underling of yours?”
“A simple case worker named Jundordir,” he replied. “He is a young elf and not the best worker. I was forced to give him a negative evaluation at his last performance review, but that was not my fault, it was his. Jundordir’s work was simply not up to scratch. However, it’s not possible for the person coming after me to be him; he’s an elf. I wouldn’t have been able to sense his feelings.”
“Well, he could have hired someone else to hurt you for him,” I replied. “If he hired a wizard, for example, you would have been able to sense those feelings.”
“But would they have been that powerful?”
“Well, I can’t say I’ve ever murdered someone for money, but if I were going to, I imagine I would have to psych myself up a fair bit,” I replied. “It’s possible they convinced themselves they hated you to make it easier to hurt you.”
Rudoldir didn’t seem the least bit phased by this revelation. I had to admit, it was a bit strange talking to someone so casually about their potential murder. Although, I wasn’t entirely convinced that was what was on the agenda. Maybe someone just wanted to hurt him. Either way, Rudoldir was my client now, and I was going to do whatever I had to in order to protect him.
“What about in your personal life? Are there any paranormals – elves or otherwise – who would have any reason to be mad at you?”
“No, not at all. I am quite introverted even by the regular standard of elves. I keep to myself much of the time. I’m not married. I go to work, I go home, and I read my texts on the law, then I go to sleep. Then, I do the same thing again the next day.”
Ok, so this guy had the world’s most boring life if he was telling the truth. It wasn’t that I had any reason not to believe him, but seriously, what kind of paranormal’s hobby was reading law books? That was just ridiculous.
“Alright, thank you,” I said. “I will come by your office tomorrow, and I will interview Andrei, and I will see what I can find.”
“I appreciate your efforts,” Rudoldir replied. “I like my life,
