Iron Crowned Chapter 14

This isnt what I had in mind when I state we should go pop on a date.It took me a few sure-enough(a) age to compress in to see Enrique Valdez, and Kiyo had decided to accompany me. While waiting for my appointment, Id checked in once with the Thorn Land, besides to find the whole down frustrating. Though no one openly said it well, except for Jasmine they all popular opinion me breaking up with Dorian was the worst idea ever. I likewise learned from Shaya that arrangements for a war meeting were getting bogged down. Dorian insisted all three monarchs meet in person. Katrice wanted to send her nephew. There was excessively the proceeds of which kingdom would host because several others wanted to, most likely in the hopes of getting in full with one or all of us. I told Shaya I didnt care ab forbidden the details and to simply do whatever it took to finish this war quickly.When Kiyo and I reached Enriques address, we found it was in a small, sad-looking office expression in one of the more rundown areas of downtown Tucson. I eyed it askance as we stood revealside and waited for him to buzz us up.I dont get why it took us three days to get in, I said. It doesnt really depend like hes got that much business.The door buzzed, and Kiyo subject it. Maybe its a c all over, he said. We walked up to the consequence floor, where Enriques office was located. Maybe he wants to hide how successful he is.Thats ridiculous I stopped when the office door opened before we knocked. Even with Enrique standing(a) in the doorway, I could see beautiful, expensive furnishings.Well, Ill be damned, I muttered, entering at Enriques gesture.He was shorter than me, with deeply tanned skin and black hair starting to gray. I put him somewhere in his mid to lately forties. His attire didnt quite match the offices opulence. In fact, it looked like stereotypical P.I. clothing from some old detective noir film, complete with a fedora.Markhams girl, huh? he asked, voice laced w ith a faint Spanish accent. His eyes fell on Kiyo. And a bodyguard?A friend, I said sharply. I dont ingest a bodyguard.Right. Enrique didnt sound like he believed that. He pointed us to some plush leather chairs while he sat in an even bigger one across from us. A huge cherry desk was situated between us. It gleamed deep red in the late afternoon light and didnt look like the kind of thing youd find at IKEA.I stared around at the rest of the office, still amazed at how it contrasted with the exterior. Books ranging widely from Moby Dick to Arizona state law lined shelves that matched the desk, and small pieces of art paintings, statues, et cetera adorned the room.So, began Enrique. Whats his name, and why do you think hes cheating on you?I huh? I jerked my head from a sculpture that looked like some Mayan god and stared at Enrique in astonishment. What are you talking about? Is that what Roland told you?No, he didnt tell me anything. I just figured thats why you were here. Th ats usually what women come in for.Kiyo make a small sound beside me that I think was a laugh. Thats ridiculous, I exclaimed, shy(p) if I should be offended or not. I need you to investigate a murder.Enrique arched an eyebrow. Thats what the police are for.They already investigated it. And actually, they declared it a suicide.And you need me because ?Because I dont think it was, I said. I think it was a murder and that the victims family might be in danger.Enrique made no attempt to hide his skepticism. Do you redeem any evidence to support this theory?I took a deep breath, hoping Roland had been right about this guy. The victims, um, ghost said she didnt kill herself.Her ghost, he repeated. As though on cue, Deanna materialized in the room, though Enrique couldnt see her. Kiyo and I could with our otherworldly senses, but neither of us gave any indication of her arrival.I nodded. Roland said you Yeah, yeah, said Enrique. I know about that hocus pocus he deals with. Im also gues sing suicide might be so traumatic that afterward, maybe a ghost barricade out what she actually did.Thats not square exclaimed Deanna.I supposed it wasnt out of the realm of possibility, but Id explore all other options first. I dont think thats the case. I think she really was murdered. If thats true, we need to make sure no one else in her family gets hurt.If she was murdered, countered Enrique, then statistics say someone in her family probably did it.Thats not true eitherI ignored Deannas second outburst and stayed fixed on Enrique. Well, one way or another, I need to know.He leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on his desk and crossing his arms behind his head. If hed cry (out)ed me dame, I wouldnt flip been surprised. The police obligate all this into consideration, you know. What makes you think Id find something they studynt?I thought guys like you were smarter than the police, said Kiyo. Figured you had connections and channels above the law. That you didnt play by the same rules.Thats true, said Enrique, seeming pleased at the compliment. I swore, he was also taking Kiyo more seriously than me. I can look into it, I suppose. But its not like Ill do it for free, just because youre cute. That was directed back at me.I repressed a scowl. I didnt expect you to. I can pay.He considered this and finally gave a nod, straightening back up in his chair. Okay. Tell me what you know, and Ill get to it when I can.What cried Deanna.This is kind of prison term sensitive, I said. Mostly because I wasnt sure how much more of Deanna I could handle.Enrique gestured to a stack of folders on a table. So are these. Im drowning in paperwork. Cant keep half of these straight.Well pay for you to expedite it, said Kiyo.I shot him a look of astonishment, not thrilled that hed speak for me peculiarly considering my income was lower than it used to be. Nonetheless, it got Enriques attention. Expediting it is, then.I gave him all the details Id recently learne d from Deanna, and to his credit, Enrique diligently wrote them all down and asked pertinent questions that reaffirmed my faith in his legitimacy. The price he named didnt cheer me up as much, but there was nothing to be done for it.When Kiyo and I finally got up to leave, I couldnt resist asking the obvious. You seem to be doing pretty well so whys your office in a dump like this?Enrique didnt look offended so much as swaggering that Id ask such a ridiculous question. Do you know how much office rent is lately? Im saving tons of money.Maybe you should put that extravagance toward a secretary instead of statues, I pointed out, nodding toward the tower of folders.I dont trust anyone, he said bluntly. Especially when ghost clients show up. He opened the door. Ill be in touch.Charming, I said, once Kiyo and I were on the road again. The only thing Im convinced that guy can do is help in the regression of womens rights.Kiyo tried to hide a smile and failed. He was right about you bei ng cute, though. And I dont know something tells me that despite the attitude, hes pretty competent. Crappy building aside, he couldnt afford that office if he wasnt achieving results. Besides, Roland wouldnt recommend anyone incompetent.Unless he was trying to sabotage me.Kiyos smile faded. Do you really think hed do that to you?I stared out the passenger seat window. No. He wouldnt.Im tough, you know. I really am. About Roland.I dont want to talk about it, I said. My mood plummeted each time Rolands name came up.Okay, then. You want to salvage this date and get some lunch?I didnt have faith in the change of subject. I didnt think anything could really deflect me, certainly not the crappy Mexican restaurant Kiyo took us to.Are you serious? I asked. Felipes Fiestaland was the cheesiest restaurant in town, figuratively speaking. In a devote like Tucson, where you could get amazingly authentic Southwestern cuisine, Felipes was for tourists and suburbanites who didnt know any bette r.Are you saying a margarita wouldnt do you good? he asked, getting out of the car.I would never say that. But there are better places with better margaritas.They still use tequila in theirs. Isnt that what really matters?Fair point.We were greeted by a hostess who sounded like shed espousen one semester of Spanish in high school. Piatas hung from the ceiling, and bad mariachi music blasted from speakers. I scanned the drink menu as soon as we sat down and was ready when the waiter came by.Ill have your Double Platinum Extra Premium Margarita, I told him.Grande or super grande? asked the waiter.Super.Kiyo looked impressed. Ill have the same. When we were alone, he asked, What is that exactly?I propped an elbow on the table, resting my chin on my palm. Im not sure, but it sounded like it had the most alcohol in it. Places like this escape to drown their drinks in mixers.Spoken like a pro.Stating the obvious. You and I both know Rozas has the best margaritas.Kiyo smiled at that, fla shing me a warm and knowing look. I had a feeling he was thinking about a memory that had come to me too, back from when wed dated. Wed gone out to Rozas which really did have the best margaritas in town and gotten so drunk that neither of us could drive home. So, wed used the car for the only thing we could sex. Twice.The drinks arrived and were about the size of fishbowls. They were also about half-mixer, as suspected, but at least that still left a reasonable quantity of alcohol. I drank mine down quickly as we waited for our food. Alcohol numbed my shamanic powers a little bit and sometimes let me forget my problems. Not so much today.Do you think Enrique might be right? I asked. That Deanna did make suicide and blocked it out? The ghost had left us once we departed from the office.I dont know. I dont know if shed believe it, even if he rancid up a film or something.I grimaced and downed more of the drink. I hope not. Its nothing Id want to watch. Im tired of bloodshed.I kno w, he said gently. And no matter what I said before and how upset I was when this war started well, I have to admit. Youve handled it as best you could. Word gets around. I know youve made some tactical moves that minimized casualties and not just for your own people.Tactical. Casualties. I shook my head, eyeing my low margarita. Those are terms I never thought Id use. And really, I dont have much to do with that planning. Rurik does.But you give the okay, Kiyo pointed out. Not many rulers would. Most would do whatever it took to crush their enemies quickly.Ive certainly wanted to. Dorian had as well, and the few disagreements wed had during our wartime partnership had been over civilian collateral damage. Can we talk about something not Otherworldly? And not about suicide?Sure. Our waiter on the spur of the moment appeared with the plate of Mile High Muy Bueno Nachos wed ordered. Kiyo flashed him a grin. Shell have another margarita. Also, its her birthday.I shot Kiyo a look of horror as the waiter scurried off. Are you out of your mind? You dont say something like that in a place like thisBut it was too late. Because in a matter of minutes, the entire waitstaff of Felipes Fiestaland had surrounded our table. person put a sombrero on my head and a candlelit piece of flan in front of me. The whole group then launched into an out-of-tune rendition of Cumpleaos Feliz, set to evenly bad out-of-rhythm clapping. I stared at Kiyo the whole time and mouthed I will kill you. It only made his smile grow.You dont look a day older, he told me, once the mob had dispersed.I cant believe you did that. I jerked off the sombrero and dove into the new margarita. Do you know how humiliating that is?Hey, it got your mind off every(prenominal)thing else, didnt it? Plus, check it out. relieve flan.I blew out the candle and hesitantly poked the gelatinous mass below it. It looks like its been sitting around a while.Dont worry, he said, dragging the plate over to his side of the table. With all the preservatives in it, Im sure its fine.Im going to get you back for this, I warned, narrowing my eyes.The look he gave me was knowing. I hope so, he said. I certainly hope so.I can only blame the margaritas for what happened next, because as soon as wed paid our bill and were back in the car, we attacked each other. chance on? he said, trying to pull my shirt over my head. Who needs Rozas?It was dark out then, I reminded him, my own hands fumbling for his pants.Were in the back of the lot, he argued. And the suns going down.He had a point, and when he brought one of my nipples to his mouth, I kind of let the subject drop. We really were out of sight, and there were more important matters to take care of. We reclined and pushed the seat back as far as it would go, then finally managed to get each others jeans off. I brought my hips down, taking him into me.See? I gasped. Youre sorry now.Very, he managed to say.Our awkward positioning kept my breasts pretty clos e to his face, and he was taking advantage of it with his hands and mouth. As for me, I was just thrilled at the feel of being on top of him. After always playing submissive with Dorian, I suddenly exalted in this sense of power oddly since Kiyo had definitely been the one in control the last time we had sex. Now, it was all me, and I took a fair amount of satisfaction in taunting him, alternately increasing the speed of my movement and then slowing down when he got close to coming.Eugenie, he begged at last. Enough. Please do it.I leaned toward him like I might kiss him and then pulled back when his lips sought mine. With a grin, I straightened up as much as I could and rode him hard, finally letting him have the release hed begged for. His body bucked up as he came, his hands holding tightly to my hips as though I might leave before he finished.After that, I guess we were kind of geological dating again. The next week or so passed in an easy pattern. I saw Kiyo almost every d ay, and we slipped back into our old routines. I started taking more jobs, much to Laras relief, while Kiyo alternately worked at the vet clinic and checked in with the Otherworld. At night, he and I were always together, either at my place or his. My body began to remember what it was like being in a relationship, and slowly, my heart did as well.I only crossed into the Otherworld once during that time, both from Thorn Land withdrawal and curiosity over the war proceedings. No progress was being made with Katrice. I was appreciative for the lack of fighting, but the hoped-for peace talks still seemed a ways off. It was frustrating.Shes being difficult, said Shaya, when I asked about it. Understandably, she looked weary. These are delicate matters. They take time.I left it at that, feeling impatient, but figuring she knew better than me. Back in Tucson, I also got sporadic updates of another sort Enriques. To his credit, he called almost every day to report what hed done or investi gated. At first his attitude remained the same, full of that cockiness and irritability that said this was a vaunt of his time. Then, one day, things changed.I think, he said. You might be right.Im not sure who was more surprised by this him or me. Id honestly started to believe he wouldnt unfreeze up anything at all as evidence of either a suicide or a murder. I gripped the phone tightly.What? That someone killed her?Yeah I found a couple things. Did you know her husband has a girl?Deanna told me. She seemed okay with his moving on. It had been a few months since her death, too soon to start dating in my book, but still a semi-respectable time frame. According to Deanna, hed begun seeing someone a few weeks ago.Yeah, well, he moved on before she was dead. The girlfriend? His alibi.I frowned. Seriously? Deannas husband had been removed from suspicion because hed had a solid witness to his whereabouts when shed been killed. Hed been at a real estate agents office the agent was do wery him with a vacation home for their family. Maybe their relationship started after Deanna died Not if a witness I found is reliable. I also might have a lead that put ups Deanna wasnt the one who bought the gun.If thats true I couldnt finish right away. Deanna acquiring the gun that had killed her had been one of the most damning pieces of evidence for suicide. If you can prove that, then it could reopen everything.Yes, said Enrique matter-of-factly. Yes, it could. Ill be in touch.We disconnected, and I suddenly wished he hadnt been quite so good at his job. If he was right about all this and turned up the evidence he needed well, someone was going to have to break the news to Deanna that her husband had murdered her. And that someone would be me. She currently believed some crazed killer had done it, one that was after her family now. The thought of it all sickened me.As I sat there in my room, an Otherworldly presence made my skin tingle. For half a second, I thought Deanna was appearing unsummoned something I wasnt ready to deal with. Id essentially given her a dont call me, Ill call you directive. But, no. It wasnt her. It was Volusian, his red eyes as malevolent as always. Lately, his appearance meant news from the Otherworld. I hoped it would be good.Whats up? I demanded.Shaya requests your presence immediately.Something good at last. The peace talks?No. She needs you because the Oak King is at your castle, demanding to see you.