“I thought that was obvious,” Chaos says. “Yeah. But Smoke knowing who killed that mouthy fuck isn’t my concern,” Chaos clarifies. “It’s that the story ran on the Tribune’s website this morning.”
“So?” Highway asks. “They report on this kind of shit all the time.”
“It was posted at 7:05 AM. Davis’s murder was called in at 7:33 after Beryl found the body when she went to open up shop. Late.” He taps the end of his phone on the table as he talks. “Either somebody there is fucking clairvoyant, or they knew what nobody else did yet.”
“As in, they were the one who did it?” Highway asks, confusion clear on his face. He pushes the photos my way.
“As in, they’re another Devil’s Breed associate, hidden in plain view in our town, working for Smoke and his agenda.”
I stare down at the undeniable images. Davis restrained at the wrists and waist, ankles bound together. His body slumps, blood draining from his mouth to stain his clothes. What appear to be his fingers sit on a side table along with an assortment of unpleasant tools. There’s nothing in the images to link it to the Devil’s Breed. Nothing incriminating that would make Smoke a fool for handing these over.
“I don’t get it,” Jinx says. “How does running the story early help Smoke?”
Chaos wakes his phone and slides it to his VP. “Read it.”
I push the photos to Loki, who then slides the Polaroids back into the envelope without looking at them. He sets them beside Chaos while the rest of us wait for Jinx to assess the story. Our VP’s frown deepens the further he goes, his finger slowly scrolling the text up the screen.
“This isn’t new, is it?” he finally grumbles, watching Chaos for his answer.
“No.” Our president runs a hand through his hair and then slumps in his seat with a sigh. “I went back through the old articles once I got a suspicion, and sure enough, the pieces written about the loading dock fire had the same impossible timeline. Even if the Tribune has a guy on the inside at the sheriff’s office, they couldn’t have written, proofed, and published those stories so quickly. At least one had minor details that I know were only released to the public in the days following.” He shrugs. “How I didn’t spot this at the time, I don’t know.”
“Sorry,” Highway says, slicing his raised palm before himself. “But you’re losing me with this. What’s the point to having a reporter on the payroll?”
“They’re creating a smear campaign against us,” I deduce, looking to Chaos for confirmation I’m right. “Subtle warfare.”
“Correct,” he says, turning his head to look at me. “Smoke has been turning Temperance against us for years. Slowly. Quietly.” He tosses his hands to gesture to the cabin around us. “Look at what he’s achieved already. We’ve been pushed out of town to the outskirts. We’re no longer a welcome voice at town meetings. The council has yet to approve our annual Christmas fundraiser, and I get the feeling they won’t. Smoke wants Temperance on his side when he makes a push to take the county from us,” he says, stabbing his index finger onto the table. “Make us the villains and then sweep in with his carefully planned pantomime that paintshisclub as the moral savior of this place.”
“Fuck,” Highway breathes. “That’s a fucking long game if ever I saw one.”
“But it works,” Chaos says, one eyebrow raised. “Doesn’t it?”
Circus sighs heavily after listening to the exchange in relative stillness. He leans back and folds his arms, lips twitching to one side.
I’d pay to know what’s in his head right now.
“How does that work in their favor if they’re coming into town and starting shit with us?”
“To us, it’s obvious who the bad guys are,” Chaos continues. “We know what the Breed have brought into our town and why they’re here. But to the people of Temperance, who do you think they see as the devil on their streets when all the news reports about is one of our own killing in cold blood? A fire at one of our operations? To the uninformed,we arethe devil at their door.”
“What do you propose we do?” Loki asks.
“Nothing drastic, yet. Not while we have the women in our care.”
I sigh out my nose.
“Something you’ve got to say, Fang?”
“Doesn’t that give them a head start?” I ask.
“They’ve had a head start for years.”
“I meant with regards to the women. We’re keeping them here like a fucking lure, waiting for the Breed to come get their stock. Is that what we want? War in our goddamn backyard?”
Jinx frowns, Chaos chewing my words over.
“Everything good with you?” Loki asks carefully. “Avoiding conflict ain’t your style, brother.”
I stare at the asshole.Like he gives a shit.“I wanted to wait until the end to table this, but I suppose it’s relevant now.”