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“No, but I gather it has something to do with the photo you and he found at Aram’s place?”
“More the date on the back. Can you remember if anything major happened in that year?”
“I don’t believe there was anything out of the ordinary, but it was a while ago and the memory isn’t what it used to be.”
His memory remained as sharp as a tack, and anyone who thought otherwise was a fool.
“What about Aram? Did you get the coroner’s report on him yet?”
“Too early for blood and tox results, but initial findings confirm death occurred as a result of a blow to the back of his head. He’s probably been in that freezer for four or five months, at a bare minimum.”
Which was basically what Mathi had guessed and all but confirmed the Aram who’d attacked me at the tavern was indeed an imposter.
“Have you talked to Kaitlyn about him?”
“Yes. She said she hadn’t noticed any changes in his mannerisms and behavior over the last few months.”
“And wouldn’t tell you if she did.”
“Indeed. I currently have people doing a very thorough search of both her official and her unofficial offices and stores. If sheishiding anything, we’ll find it.”
“Good.” If nothing else, it would disrupt her business for a few days. That, more than anything else, might make her think twice about brokering another contract involving me. “What about the bird shifter?”
“She remains in a coma. We have her under twenty-four-hour guard and will speak to her when—if—she regains consciousness.”
I frowned. “I hadn’t thought she’d hit the skylight hard enough to end up in a coma.”
“Many bird shifters have thinner skulls, much the same as their feathered counterparts.”
It still seemed odd to me. “I don’t suppose they did a blood screen on her?”
“Yes,” he said. “And I have requested the results be sent to us once they are through.”
I should have known he’d be a couple of steps ahead of me. “What information did Kaitlyn have about the contract and the person who placed it?”
“That it came through secure channels, no names attached.”
I snorted. “As if she wouldn’t have the means to trace them if they defaulted on payment.”
“She always takes a security bond before any contract is advertised.”
“And she can’t trace that back to the originating account?”
My disbelief was evident, and I could almost see his smile. “Oh, she most certainly can, and she’s currently in the process of assisting us.”
I couldn’t help but wonder if Kaitlyn’s reputation and business would survive the “assistance.” And whether Ruadhán would step in and protect his “source,” subsequently risking the anger of his nighttime counterpart.
“And the witch who tried to gas me?”
“We have a partial print but otherwise, there remains no trace of him.”
“You’re running the print through the system?”
“Of course, but if he hasn’t got a criminal record, we’re unlikely to get a result.”
Dead ends—that’s all we seemed to be hitting at the moment. I sighed. “Lugh and I are planning to lay low for a couple of days.”
“That’s the first sensible thing I’ve heard you say for weeks,” he said, tone dry. “But I’m guessing it really just means you won’t be telling any of us where you are.”
