“Case willing, I will be.”
“If the case is not over by then, Monica will likely be dead and the trail long gone cold.”
I raised my eyebrows at the pessimism in his voice. “That sounds almost prophetic.”
“No, just a reality when it comes to these sorts of cases.”
“Not my cases.”
“I’d wait a few more years before you say something like that.” His tone was wry. “Trust me, even Sam, who has a very impressive record for bringing in bad guys, has had plenty of cases go sour. We all do.”
“Well, let’s hope this isn’t mine.” I paused. “Do you know if there’s anyone in Tane’s circle going by the name of René?”
“Last name?”
“Don’t have it. I can describe him, though.” I did so, then added, “He says he’s investigating some of Ashworth’s recent dealings with the High Council and that he has an interest in uncovering the truth.”
“So you’ve spoken to him?”
“Yes. He’s some sort of witch, but not from any known line here in Australia.”
“I gather he’s tweaked your radar?”
He’d tweaked more than my damn radar... but I wisely keptthatthought to myself. “Yes, although right now, I’m on the fence about his involvement in Monica’s disappearance. He’s the one that saved me from the demon.”
“Could have been a ploy to stop you killing it.”
“I’m an underpowered Kang witch,” I replied dryly. “I haven’t the magical skill to kill a damn demon, you know that.”
“I’m not sure that’s true?—”
“True or not,hewouldn’t have known that.” I paused to drink some shitty coffee. “Joseph’s going to ask his demonology professor if he knows what sort of demon it was.”
“Of course he is.” His tone was filled with fondness. “I swear that lad is going to grow up and be a hunter of some kind, be it dark witch or monster.”
“Hate to tell you this, bro, but that lad is already all grown up.”
He laughed. “And that is a fact I cannot comprehend. I mean, he was a kid what seems only a few years ago.”
“It makes you feel old, doesn’t it?”
“It does indeed.” He paused, and the soft sound of a whistle was followed by water being poured. Tea rather than coffee, I presumed, because he hated coffee of any kind, good or bad. “I’m not aware of any open investigations into Tane Ashworth, but given the recent threats, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were.”
“What sort of threats are we talking about? No one seems to know.”
“Because it is need-to-know.”
“I need to know, bro, if I’m to do my job properly.”
He chuckled. “Your job was to protect Monica, and I won’t point out the obvious problem there.”
“As I have already said to Lowell, it’s impossible to protect someone who’s actively working on disappearing.” I sniffed. “Iwillget her back.”
“I wouldn’t be making rash promises like that, either. Not to Tane, anyway. If you fail, well, he will make your life hell.”
“Which is when my two older brothers will step in and protect me.”
“You, little sister, have never needed either my or Sam’s help when it comes to dealing with life’s problems.”
