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“I don’t know what your excuse is. I was being questioned and discussing that horror house with a chief and three captains. Had you two been there, you would have turned that chaos into a circus. Thank you for watching Garnet and Tourmaline, though.”
My mother pouted, and she faked a sniffle. “You were gone for hours.”
Which one of us was the child? I stared at her while taking turns paying attention to Garnet and Tourmaline. “And I’m going to be leaving you alone for another hour or two as I go to run errands. I will be taking Garnet and Tourmaline with me. You can hunt for Erik and complain to him about how you’ve been abandoned. Then you can plan some form of dinner outing, just make certain Garnet and Tourmaline are accounted for. You can make certain Erik understands he lives here for the next while.”
My father checked his phone. “Will two hours be enough time?”
“Maybe. I have my phone back, so I’ll text you if it isn’t enough time.” I expected Cecilia would take the longest, as she had good reason to be wary about the police’s involvement. “I could go for some fast food.”
“You just want to tease Erik,” my mother accused.
I nodded.
She rolled her eyes. “We’ll do fast food. Text when you’re done your errands.”
“Lock the door behind you if you leave. And if you can lure Erik here without leaving, then you win.”
“What are we winning?” my father asked.
“You’re winning an opportunity to be lazy.” I opted to keep my backpack with me, convinced Tourmaline to ride on my shoulder with Garnet, and checked my pockets to make certain I had everything. “No trouble. There has been an overabundance of trouble for one week.”
While my parents complained, they stayed in my apartment, leaving me to head up the street to the brothel without an audience. I knocked, let myself in, and waited for either Cecilia or one of the brothel women to find me in the entry. To my relief, Cecilia showed up, and according to her gauzy attire, she would be working her clients sooner than later. “Sorry to bother you, but I have news.”
“Is it good?”
“Mostly. The bad news isn’t all that bad as long as you don’t mind friendly cops, like that yellow, poking his nose in your business.”
“If only he would,” Cecilia complained.
I laughed. “As far as I know, he’s single, but he’s a yellow, so he’s going to be loyal. If you have a woman who wants out of the brothel business, then he’s a good candidate. Otherwise, enjoy the game. His brother is more my type.”
Cecilia raised a brow. “You’re after one of the Millson boys?”
“I’m the reason one of the Millson boys wasn’t home,” I confessed. “You’re going to see a lot of the Millson family hanging around and about my apartment for a while. That leads me to the next bit of bad news. My yellow has a place in the Tower Ward, and once it recovers from having been turned to rubble by some dragons, I’ll be headed that way. I’ll still help you get those apartments into good order, though. I like that sort of work, and I want to help others in my shoes. In better news, I’m being officiated as a private investigator, so whenever you have any problems, you can come to me for help. I’ll have to share with the police force if they ask me to work a case, though. Which is what’s now happening with your case.” I turned, lifted the leg of my pants, and showed her the faint line marking where I’d been cut. “I tangoed with the culprit, and let’s just say they won’t be bothering anyone else anymore. Mrs. Millson got her claws on him.”
Cecilia winced. “Mrs. Millson as in the commissioner’s wife?”
I nodded. “She dropped body parts all over Death Mile, apparently. I wasn’t there; I got an unconventional invitation to visit the people who were attacking the brothel women. Only time will tell if they’ve all been apprehended, but even if they haven’t, the police are working on it.” I winced at the thought of Erik’s mother ripping someone else apart above the city. “I don’t think anyone wants to give Mrs. Millson an excuse to decorate Death Mile with body parts again.”
“She can take care of herself, that’s for certain. Do you think the attacks will quiet down?”
“I’m pretty sure the man responsible for the attacks is the one Mrs. Millson tore apart. However, time will tell. But if anyone is stupid enough to continue the attacks, they won’t like what’s going to happen to them next. They’ve offended the wrong dragons.”
“The Ramonses?”
“They’re just the start of those who are cranky about this situation.”
Cecilia smiled. “Excellent. Still, if you’re moving, I’m going to owe you a lot more than what you’ve been paid.”
I shook my head. “I got paid in something a great deal better: opportunities. I won’t say no to a nice dinner with my yellow at your place sometime, but I warn you, I have a furry chaperone, and she has a feathered sidekick.”
The brothel matron burst into laughter. “I’m sure I can handle feeding you, your yellow, and your little ones. Just give me a call or shoot me a text when you want to have dinner, and we’ll get a spot open for you in the parlor. It’s quieter in there, anyway.”
“And if you hear about any more attacks, shoot me a text or give me a call. Copycats are possible, and it’s best for everyone if they’re dealt with in a hurry.” Had any of Cecilia’s women disappeared, she would have told me about it, so I assumed they’d kidnapped those who wouldn’t be missed.
They’d misjudged my situation, and I foresaw their decision to target me would be the last they made. If my parents didn’t get a hold of them and bring them to justice, I would.
But for the moment, I would hope that there would be no more attacks and that we got a chance to rescue any who might still be alive.