Page 82 of Booked for Murder

“Mother, she’s in a for life contract with me. We’re both safe from the bill on the grounds of that alone. We discussed this at length.”

“But married individuals with specific rarity ratings enjoy even more protections.”

“My status as a young, single, and handsome man is not up for discussion right now.”

“Ah, but Janette’s status as a young, single, and beautiful woman is always up for discussion, and while you are her primary contractor, the contract does allow the remaining family with a clear majority to override your wishes on the subject. Jezabella counts.”

Before Jezabella’s adoption, a two-versus-one dispute over my contract would have resulted in a dead contract adjustment, as for hire contract terms required seventy percent or higher.

Three-versus-one would overturn Bradley’s position on my contract for certain things, such as my status as a single woman.

I missed my apartment, and I wanted my cat. “Where’s Ajani? I need attention.”

“She’s sleeping in the sitting room on her new cat tree. She just enjoyed the brush and her latest meal. I’ve determined she’s figured out she is now the ruling monarch of our household.”

“Cats do that,” I agreed, annoyed I couldn’t get upstairs without a lot of help or running the risk of screwing my foot up beyond redemption. “Can I ask you really nicely not to marry me off to some stranger?”

“What makes you think I’d marry you off to a stranger, you idiot girl? I’m marrying you off to the boy here. Well, not quite marrying you off yet. As he’s the inheritor, he gets to enjoy a three-year engagement, where he has to do his best to convince you to say yes to all of his various proposals. We are annoying adepts in that fashion, and quite traditionalist. I even conferred with Daniel on how I could make it as lengthy a process as possible. The first step is having you sign a document that proclaims you are aware that the Hampton family has given approval for you to be courted by our inheriting child. The inheriting child—that’s you, Bradley—likewise signs a document acknowledging that a suitable woman has been selected for a courtship. Then we deal with a lot of bullshit, parties, and wishy-washy nonsense with a bunch of other adepts. It’s dreadfully dull, but I put up with it to marry my husband. It’s only a few years, but it’s some legalized bullshit that would make it difficult for either one of you to be drafted. I have already secured the appropriate signatures from the other adults involved in this transaction.”

Well, shit. Bradley’s mother had joined forces with my parents. “How long is this for?”

“A minimum of three years for a period of up to five years,” she replied. “Perhaps longer, although rarely shorter. Any children produced before the officiation of the final documentation are considered legitimate due to the nature of the courtship, although parentage of the child will be confirmed. That’s normal for adept society. Illegitimate children are rather common.”

“Some days, I feel like asking for proof I’m theirs,” Bradley said in a false whisper.

“Oh, we had you tested, as neither one of us is sure how we produced a brat like you,” his mother shot back. “Unfortunately, you really are our child, and we can’t dump you off with somebody else. The smart women run away from you, so I have to use legal coercion with the one woman who, while she’s smart enough to run away, is stuck with you.”

“I don’t know what you did to upset your mother, Bradley, but you should probably figure it out sooner than later and apologize. She’s out for your blood, and I’m on medical leave. As such, I cannot help you.”

“I don’t know what I did!”

“That’s why I suggested you should figure it out sooner than later.”

Bradley’s mother grinned. “If you review the documentation and sign it with minimal fuss, that will be sufficient for the moment.”

“When did you cook this up, Mother?”

“Longer ago than you would think. As that will make you get into an investigative mindset, I refuse to tell you more than that. Janette, with the number of regulations on exsanguinators in this bill and other legislation currently working through the upper government, this is more for your protection than anything else. I’ve been looking into every loophole I can to prevent you from ending up as either some weapon in the military or in prison for having inconvenient magic. As investigative cells can have more than one adept on the team, we might be able to move you to one of the adept spots and use Lenard for the shooter. That’ll give the cell two shooters, but as long as you don’t do more than qualify for conceal carry, that’s a loophole we can use. There are a lot of loopholes associated with the cells, so outside of the shooter issue, I’ll be earning my keep locating these loopholes so we can take advantage of them. I’m also making certain all members of the cell are covered if this legislation does make it to the Oval Office.”

“That’ll keep you busy. I’m supposed to be the sponsor, in case you’ve forgotten,” Bradley replied.

“Your father is now the paying sponsor. Janette, as her adept self, will be the formal sponsor. You’re going to be a baseline investigator now, as you have one of the rare exception talents for investigator cells. Someone will eventually figure out Janette is working under a pseudonym, but that’s not an issue. There are plenty of cells where the sponsor is also one of the members.”

Bradley sighed. “Are you pulling my leg, or are you serious about the betrothal documentation?”

“Oh, I’m quite serious about the betrothal documents. If this legislation passes as is, it’s one of the few ways I can keep you—and her—out of the military. Your children will have issues, especially if they inherit Janette’s abilities, but there are ways around that, too.”

“For life contracts from an early age?” Bradley asked.

“That’s one of the ways, yes. And they can be more like the one we’ve used with Daniel, putting him in a good role. The for life contracts would need to be worded carefully, and they’d have to have certain allowances, but it’s definitely a way to get around the government’s attempt to steal children from homes at an early age. But ultimately, overturning the legislation, should it pass, will be needed. All I can do is keep the entire cell safe. We’ll be running test evaluations under the legislation’s terms to figure out who is at risk and who isn’t, and we’ll address the situation as required.” Bradley’s mother scowled. “If what I’ve been reading is accurate, there’s a very narrow margin of people who will not qualify for drafts, and they’re either married to someone who is exempt, engaged legally in a betrothal contract, or engaged in a for life contract. The upper adepts are only safe to a certain degree.”

“If they have a high enough percentage and the amount of money required to buy a for life contract?”

“Correct. Essentially, according to my base calculations, five percent of the population will be exempt from the draft conditions, and most of the people in that five percent are either politicians or established adept families—and the new rules and regulations will knock out quite a few established adept families. Our family is relatively safe due to our rarity rating, and Jezabella will be covered through the for life contract loopholes.”

I flipped through the sheets in search of sections relating to pregnant women or those ill, my brow furrowing as the table of contents offered no help and the similarly related sections likewise proved to be a bust. “There’s no exemptions for pregnant women?”

“There are no exemptions. There is a comment in the margins suggesting that to include pregnant women in the exemptions would be to encourage unnecessary procreation between incompatible brackets of society.” Bradley’s mother glared at the papers I held, and I clutched them so she wouldn’t take them from me and start tearing them to scrap. “There are also no medical exemptions, either. According to that printed human rights violation, magical abilities can be used regardless of physical condition. According to the base guidelines, our family would be relatively safe from combat. Janette, on the other hand, would likely be on the front lines until she turned fifty or was killed. After fifty, she’d be moved into the reserves.”