I ignored him. Osiris had weaved back and forth between teasing me and verbally abusing me since I was a teen. I wondered who he tortured when I wasn’t around.
“But the guys you captured, who are they? What are their affiliations? We’re not talking street muggers. Those guys had power.”
Osiris nodded. “One is a Johansson retainer, the other used to work for the Pereyra Family. He’s been working for a Family in Kuwait the past two years, and just came back a couple of weeks ago. The dead guy was another Johansson man, according to them. We’re not sure yet about the identities of the other men the cops took.”
I thought about that. “But, unless Martin Johansson’s heir paid to have him killed, Johansson shouldn’t have a beef with me. Unless, of course, the heir was privy to his father’s illegal schemes.”
“Either way, Martin’s business partners have an interest in interrupting your investigation into his activities.”
There was something wrong with all of those explanations, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It just didn’t compute. Taking me out wouldn’t stop the investigation. Novak and Whittaker would continue without me, and Whittaker was a far more dangerous cop than I was.
“We’re missing something,” I said. “None of that makes any sense. You stonewall cops, or you discredit them, you don’t kill them. You certainly don’t kill them in such a loud and messy operation as the one last night.”
And whoever heard of a demon hiring mages to do a job? I could see Ashvial possibly being that devious, but what was his motivation? With Johansson dead, I doubted we could put together enough solid evidence to arrest Ashvial, and in his overall scheme of things, I was trivial. So, assuming the story the captives told Osiris was true, who hired the demon who hired the mages?
Out of curiosity, I asked, “You don’t happen to know the Johansson power structure, do you?”
Osiris rolled his eyes. “Joseph Johansson was his father’s second in command, and I assume he takes over as Family head. There really isn’t anyone to challenge him.”
“Where do his latest wife and daughter fit in?”
“They don’t. I think she gets a mansion in Italy and a monthly maintenance allowance as long as she stays out of Joseph’s way.”
I doubted that Martin Johansson’s wife knew about his sexual activities but made a note to interview them before they were shipped out of town.
Chapter 35
The first place I went the following morning was the morgue located in the subbasement of the police station. Kelly Quinn looked as though she hadn’t had much sleep.
“Late night?” I asked.
She glowered at me and downed a large swallow of her coffee.
“I was hoping to get some info on the guys who tried to kill me the other night,” I said, purposely projecting an upbeat, cheerful mood I really didn’t feel. But for some reason, I felt the need to torture her. Usually it was me who had a hard time coexisting with morning.
“Well, one was charred to a cinder, one was electrocuted, and the other one had two large holes in him. Which one would you like to start with?”
“The guy with the holes.”
She led me to one of the storage boxes along the wall and slid a corpse out of one.
“Shot twice with large-caliber explosive-incendiary bullets,” she said, pointedly looking at the Raider strapped to my leg. “Lower left abdomen and right chest. There’s also this burn mark on his right cheek, indicating a third bullet just missed.”
I figured my first shot hit him low, then the recoil of the pistol caused the next two shots to rise to my left. It was either lucky shooting or good marksmanship. Whatever, it had been effective.
“Personal effects?”
“Yeah, and his fingerprints match his identification. It’s all in the computer.”
“Was he carrying a phone?”
She held up a clear plastic bag with a phone in it. “Yes, and so was the other guy whose body is intact. Although, considering the electrical charge that killed him, I’d be shocked if the phone still works.”
“Are they logged into the system?”
“Of course.”
“Great. I’ll take them.” I snatched it out of her hand and picked up the other phone she had pointed to. “Thanks.”
Before she had a chance to object, I took off for the elevator and my office.
Once I reached my desk, I logged on to the computer and used magik to unlock both phones. Kelly was right, one phone was fried. Checking the name on the other phone, I brought up his records. I ran the numbers from his calls, sorted through them, and had fifty or so to check. I gave those to Novak.
I checked the records for the other guy I’d shot, the one still in hospital. He was listed as working for himself as a freelance bodyguard, and a deeper dive showed that he had done a significant amount of work for the Moncrieff Family. I checked all of the attackers’ addresses and found they lived in the same general area.
A pattern was starting to develop. I was willing to bet they all hung out in the same bar. Novak already had the living guy’s phone, so I unlocked it and ran the same scan on it, then added the numbers to Novak’s list.
One thing for sure, if a demon hired them, he hadn’t used a phone, or a computer, or any method other than meeting face-to-face. I ran a list of demon-owned bars. Based on the profiles of the men I had identified, I eliminated high-end places such as Lucifer’s Lair. Then I separated those remaining into strip bars and places that served food. I tabbed two detectives whose caseloads looked sparse and handed them the two lists and pictures of our suspects. Being a lieutenant had some nice benefits.
Having a little time on my hands, I knocked on Whittaker’s door and updated him on the investigation’s progress.
When I finished, he said, “That all makes sense. Did
