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“It’s more about pissing off my father than the council, but if he dies, then the court case dies with him.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
He climbed out of the boat, then offered me a hand. I accepted the offer and let him pull me up. He might not have the strength of a werewolf, but the man obviously worked out. His arms were damn fine.
“What makes you so certain of that?”
“The Society has warned the high council that they require a judgment on this case, even if it is given posthumously. If that judgment is guilty and nothing comes of it, they have warned that they will make every scrap of evidence they have on underage contracts available to the HCI and ensure all those involved are investigated if not charged.” His lips twisted. “It’s a fair bet that all the major families would be caught up in the ensuing mess.”
“The Society can’t actually pervert justice to ensure a guilty verdict though... can they?”
The ghost of a smile touched his lips, though the amusement didn’t reach his green eyes. “That depends on who you ask. And it helps to remember their motto—by fair means or foul, justice will be served. They want this practice stopped, and stopped it will be.”
Samuel pulled a business card from his wallet and handed it to the captain. “The team will be in contact to confirm payment details, but if there’s any problems, give me a call.”
“I will. Thanks,” the captain said, a happy smile creasing his weatherworn features. Obviously, today’s business had filled up the kitty nicely.
As the captain made his way back to the island, Samuel made a couple of phone calls, informing both the court and the high council of our situation. From their responses—which I wasn’t hearing as clearly as I would have liked, thanks to the fact that I was following Samuel up the ramp and the wind was at my back—they weren’t best pleased.
I can’t say that displeased me. Quite the opposite in fact.
Samuel unlocked his car and then said, “The next court session will be postponed until tomorrow morning.”
I frowned as I climbed into the passenger seat. “Wouldn’t calling the whole thing off until the danger has passed be better? The Society may want a result, but even they can’t want my father and mother dead.”
“It’s not them pushing for this continuation, it’s your father. He wants the whole thing over with so he can get on with his life and, I presume, mourn the loss of his only son.”
“He has grandsons. He’ll be fine.”
Which was a harsh thing to say, but it was also the truth. Juli’s death wouldn’t affect him in the same way Cat’s had, because Juli had never held all his hopes and dreams in the same way. I had no doubt he would grieve to some extent, but Juli had done his duty to the family and ensured the Marlowe line would continue, and that was all that mattered.
Cat... I suddenly realized she was no longer with me. It was unlikely she’d be over on the island, as she was already holding too much guilt over her failure to see the doppelganger early enough to save our brother’s life. Maybe she’d decided to supervise my father and mother’s move to more secure quarters. If she was, that would at least give us insider knowledge on the location and the methods being used to protect them.
“You want to punch the address into the GPS?” Samuel said as he started the car and drove out of the parking area.
It took us nearly thirty minutes to reach Erindale and Gartside Street. It was basically a shopping and restaurant strip with a drive-in parking area one side of the street that made it look larger than it actually was. There wasn’t much in the way of foot traffic, but most of the parking spaces on the right were full, suggesting the area was well attended.
The old man’s place was at the end of a long row of two-story brick and glass buildings, with a lane separating it from the row of single-story buildings.
Samuel pulled into the parking strip, then stopped and ran a search on the address. “Owned by one Martin Fitzgerald. No priors, though he’s a known dealer of gray spells.”
“How can he have no priors if he’s selling illegal spells?”
“He might enjoy the protection of a royal line. It’s not unusual for some of the lower caste families to have someone like him on the payroll. On a cash basis, of course.”
I’d never heard the term “lower caste royal families” before, but he obviously meant those who held the name but were only indirectly linked to the three main houses. There were enough of them.
“If that’s not the case,” he continued, “then he’ll no doubt run the minute we approach. It’ll be better to take a two-prong approach. I’ll head around to see if there’s a back entrance, while you take the front.”
I nodded. “If the front door is locked, do I have permission to break and enter?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Yes, but I’m thinking you don’t ask your wolf for permission prior to an act of criminality.”
“My wolf has given up on keeping me to the letter of the law.”
My comment was wry, and he smiled. “I’ll meet you inside. But please, be careful.”
“It’s my middle name.”
