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In the end, my need to deal with Reed won over my indignation at being ordered around by a civilian, albeit a kingly one.
Krieg drove us to the rougher side of town and parked outside a well-known pub called Lion’s Nest, a den of iniquity owned and run by the murderous griffins. It was not somewhere the law ventured and I hesitated. ‘I’ve got your back,’ Krieg promised solemnly. ‘No one will harm you.’
I turned to stare at him. ‘Why are you helping me?’
‘I’m relocating here,’ Krieg said finally. ‘It’s always good to know who’s who.’
‘Why are you helping me?’ I repeated stubbornly.
Krieg smiled faintly. With no hint of irony he said, ‘Maybe I’m just a big fan of the law.’
‘Uh-huh. You’re not telling me, are you?’
‘Not today, Inspector. Not today.’
I opened the car door and slid out. With a grimace, I removed my suit jacket and the pin and left them in the car – at least that way I didn’t scream Connection to anyone walking by. If they looked at my forehead, however, the triangles tattooed on my forehead told everyone who I worked for. Needless to say, that makes undercover work tricky. You end up wearing a lot of hats.
I pushed open the pub door and the room fell silent as I walked in with Krieg at my back. ‘Timmy,’ the ogre greeted the barman. ‘A beer for me and a Dr Pepper for my companion.’
How the fuck did Krieg know that I drank Dr P?
Reed was sitting in a booth at the back of the bar. He had a half-naked woman on his lap and two fire elementals standing guard; one of them was the twat who had accosted me that morning. He glared at me; I glowered back.
I stalked towards Reed and Krieg let out a sigh. Grabbing my Dr Pepper for me, he followed me over. ‘Your Excellence,’ Reed greeted him.
‘Reed,’ Krieg responded coolly.
‘And who do we have here?’ Reed asked, looking me up and down like he was undressing me with his eyes.
Krieg gave a low rumbling growl. Reed blinked and stopped letching instantly. If I’d felt more confident that I knew what was going on, I would have enjoyed the moment. ‘You know who I am,’ I spat. ‘You had your men threaten me this morning.’
Reed’s eyes went wide in a display of faux innocence. ‘Oh no, that wasn’t my intention at all. Flame Boy, did you threaten the good inspector?’
‘No,’ Flame Boy replied. ‘Lenny did.’
‘Ah. Poor Lenny,’ Reed said facetiously. ‘That didn’t work out so well for him.’
I smiled. ‘It didn’t, did it? I’ll do the same – or worse – to anyone who dares to threaten my family again.’
Reed held his hands up in mock surrender. I clenched my jaw and continued. ‘I’m here about Jingo. He was killed by a dryad. I want your word that there will be no further repercussions. It has been ruled an eye for an eye – he killed a dryad first and they retaliated. The vendetta is done.’
Reed’s smile reminded me of a shark’s smile: feral, with far too many teeth. ‘Of course.’ His smile widened. ‘I give you my word: no further harm will come to the dryads in this city from any command of mine. It is water under the bridge.’ He glowed with the oath then laughed like it was all a good joke.
The problem was, I had no idea what the punchline was.
Chapter Eleven
Krieg was driving me home when Ed texted me with the result of the autopsy: Jingo is a bloody doppelganger!!!
‘Oh fuck!’ I swore aloud. ‘Take me to Union Street! NOW!’ I barked at Krieg.
Krieg didn’t bat an eyelid at being bossed around, and I didn’t have a minute to wonder about that. Jingo was a doppelganger: that meant his death was anything but.
At the moment of death, doppelgangers assume control of the nearest living body, which is usually their killer. I suddenly remembered how slowly Ash Aspen had sunk into the tree, the perplexed frown Lily had given him, and the creaking warning of the elder tree. And Bird had said Ash ‘was and was not’ the killer because Ash Aspen had killed Jingo but he was no longer Ash Aspen: he was Jude Jingo.
‘Fuck.’
‘Will you stop swearing and explain the reason for the expletives?’ Krieg asked, hands tight on the steering wheel. ‘Are you in danger?’
