“Do the cops come in here to wash loads of booze-soaked gloves and listen to everyone whine about having to be sweet to assholes? If they don’t do my job, why would I do theirs?”
Reece pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Now that someone’s finally here, though, I’m happy to tell you whatever you want to know,” said Frodo.
Grayson held up his phone again, a photo of Stone on-screen.
“Oh, Cedrick Stone.” Frodo snorted. “What a bag of dicks.”
Also not a lie. Reece hid his smile.
“Yeah, he was here. I don’t know why, I don’t believe for a second that he buys my actors as real empaths. Not thegreat defender of American minds.” Frodo layered the words with a thick sarcasm Reece could appreciate. “He and Hathaway were dropped off together. She drank up a huge bill on his tab.”
Grayson held up another picture of a white man Reece didn’t recognize. “He show up at all?”
Frodo’s expression darkened. “Diesel?” he called, and the gigantic bouncer peeked into the still-open door. “Was Dr. Owens here last night?”
Grayson’s eyes went to Diesel as the other man came into the room. “You know his name,” said Grayson.
Diesel glanced at the picture then averted his gaze. “Yeah, he showed up just after Stone and the senator did and went into the VIP room too.”
“Was he driving?” asked Grayson.
Diesel nodded once. “Red i8. He didn’t valet.”
“Did the senator leave with Owens?” Grayson asked.
“Not sure,” said Diesel. “I didn’t see anyone leave. I moved from the VIP’s alley door to its inside door, to make sure Owens didn’t wander out into the main club. They only had one waiter, and Cookie reported they’d all left before last call.”
“That’s a start,” said Grayson, “but Jason Owens was found dead a few hours after the senator.”
“Dead?”Diesel repeated.
Frodo looked equally shocked. Reece had some choice opinions about their business practices, but as far as he could tell, they hadn’t known about Owens and weren’t involved in whatever had happened to him and Senator Hathaway.
“How?” Frodo asked.
“We’re not gonna talk about that part in present company,” said Grayson. “But I’m gonna need any footage that may show any of them.”
Frodo cleared his throat. “That might be tricky. You understand that I offer my patrons a safe refuge from the cold, cruel world—”
“It wasn’t a request.”
Frodo eyed him suspiciously. “Who did you say you were with again?”
“I didn’t,” said Grayson.
Frodo sighed.
“Why didn’t either of you like Jason Owens?” Reece asked.
Frodo and Diesel exchanged another glance.
“Real empath,” Reece reminded them. “And you two were not subtle.”
“Dr. Owens would stop in every time I hired someone new,” Frodo said, reluctantly. “Then give me grief about faking it and tell me to call if I ever get an actual empath on the floor.”
“Like a hunter watching a pond of decoys, waiting for the real duck,” said Diesel. “Or some kind of mad scientist tracking a unicorn.”
