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She whispered to Mel under her breath, “Glad my initial thoughts of you were true.”
“How’s that?” he asked, distracted by the dark soul on the other side of the window.
“The charms would have kept you out of here if you were dark or had dark intentions.”
“You keep trying to paint me as a bad guy and I keep telling you I’m a gentleman through and through.” He tossed a charming grin down at her, now sure the spirit couldn’t reach them.
“We’re here to have a quick chat with Mr. Deblous,” Knight declared, reaching the guarded base of a roped-off, but elaborate, set of stairs. “Loretta told him we’re on our way.”
The man on the left barely twitched as his head tilted slightly to the right, the side his earbud was in. Anastacia chuckled inwardly, wanting to tell him to turn the volume down a little.
“Of course, Knight. Please.” The guard stepped out of the way and ushered both Knight and Anastacia up the stairs. “He’s in his lounge.”
Knight put a protective hand on Anastacia’s back and let her climb the stairs in front of him. She jumped at the pressure, it was an alien touch she didn’t expect. Since he was pushing her to an unknown space ahead of him, she had to wonder— did he trust this Dominic well enough that he knew she would be safe, or was she going to be a shield for him?
“Why do I feel you’ve been here a time or two?”
“A time or two,” he agreed, as he guided her toward the first room on the right and knocked at the door.
“Come on in, Knight. We’re all friends here.” A deep southern accent filtered through the thick mahogany doors.
When they parted, Anastacia sucked in a breath at the room’s massive size. She expected a comfortable lounge, not a space that could fit four of her entire apartments in it, maybe more if she stacked them up to the vaulted ceiling. It was all she could do to tear her eyes from the floor-to-ceiling, fully stocked library shelves along the back wall. The young version of herself would dance at the mere notion of this room, wanting a private library like her favorite princess. She stomped the elation down quickly so she wouldn’t have a dumbfounded face when she met the boss.
“How many times have you knocked at that damn door, Knight? You should know better.” A larger-than-life man held court in a tall-backed chair behind a behemoth desk. His head, shaved bald, sat on top of hulking shoulders with wide arms ending in equally large hands. Holding a lit cigar between his too-white teeth, a stark contrast to his dark skin, he gestured to the overstuffed chairs in front of the desk. “Come on in, take a seat. I’m sure a chat would do us all some good.”
Knight let Anastacia take a seat, opting to stand behind her. A mimicry of the two guards standing behind the man at the desk, Anastacia noted. He flared out his coat enough to make sure his gun and badge were in sight. “Sorry, Dominic, but this is business tonight.”
Dominic’s smile was no less predatory than the woman at the podium outside. His suit was finer than any other Anastacia saw downstairs and fit his colossal frame as flatteringly as it could. The suit was silk, a slim material that didn’t stretch, but it was a good way to show how deep someone’s pockets were. A modern suit of armor, showing wealth as a true power. With the suit and smile all together in one large package just across from her, Anastacia couldn’t help thinking of herself like Spider-Man walking into Kingpin’s den.
“Don’t you know, boy? It’s always business. Pleasure or not.” Dominic’s eyes turned to Anastacia, who tried her best to sit straight in the chair instead of melting back into the comfortable leather, unlike her invisible partner who was spirit goo in the chair Knight left vacant. Mel groaned at the feeling of the buttery leather; seemingly happy the small pleasures of life were still experienced in death. Dominic caught Anastacia’s attention as he laughed, his breath releasing another cloud of cigar smoke. She grimaced at the smell, struggling to control her negative reactions as much as possible.
“I apologize, dawlin’. Not everyone is partial to my cigar tastes.” Dominic put out the cigar and waved for one man behind him to take it to the other room. “I was going to offer you two to partake, but Knight seems antsy to start.”
“I appreciate your thoughtfulness and kindness, sir," Anastacia watched the man carrying the cigar into the hallway. As soon as he disappeared, another man took his place. Anastacia noticed a quick flash of a form peeking from around a corner before disappearing again. Something about it reminded her of a child.
“This new partner of yours is so polite and delightful, Knight.” Dominic laughed with his full, enormous belly. “I like her.”
“I’m just consulting on a current case in the department. My name is Anastacia Geist. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Deblous.”
“Dominic, please.” He eased back in his chair, large hands folding over his stomach, and turned his attention back to Knight. “What case this time, baby?”
“A man was killed in an alleyway not too far from here. We found something at the scene which may lead to one of your boys here.” Knight pulled out a few pictures of Mel and handed them to Dominic to look through. “We were hoping you might have info about him. Any whispers?”
“Don’t know what I can tell you, Knight. I don’t know the kid.” He shook his head and then put the top photo down to point a chubby figure at a dark blond in one picture. “His friend, on the other hand, is a huge pain in my ass. Little rat smells off.”
“How so?” Anastacia noticed Mel perked up at the connection.
“Come begging for some bar funding. There are enough bars along Bourbon. There was nothing special to what he pushed, just that he needed the money. I didn’t even know he had a partner in this endeavor. Frankly, the boy bored me, and we had to kick him out of the building.”
“What about Sammy? Would he have known him?”
“Little Sammy Boy? He barely knows how to bus a table right. He’s trying, bless his heart,” Dominic laughed, the two men behind him joining in and he shook his head. “Why you askin’ after our Sammy?”
The laughter stopped and the men behind Dominic leaned forward. Before they were relaxed, calmer, but now their faces darkened and looked sharper. Anastacia understood why Dominic kept them around. Her heart hadn’t beat this fast from an interaction with a human in a while.
“We found this where the shooting happened.” Knight put the picture of the tie clip on the desk, tapping the picture. “Why would Sammy’s tie clip be at the scene of a murder? If he can barely put a table together, maybe someone else was there with him. Maybe someone with a penchant for cigars who leaves ash everywhere.”
“You getting somewhere with that line of thinking, boy?” A warning growl underlying Dominic’s words. His hands shifted to lay flat on the desk, poised for action. Tense energy twitched his fingertips. Anastacia wondered how fast the man could get up, or if this was just the show before he sets his guards loose. The men behind them grew strained,their fists clenching at their sides. There had to be a breaking point and Anastacia didn't wait to meet it.
