“And?” I asked. “What did you find?”
He shrugged a powerful shoulder. “Nothing conclusive.”
“What do you say you share the inconclusive, then?” I suggested. “Let us take it from here.”
Gideon’s expression grew somber once more. “No offense to the FMA,” he said, “but the king prefers to handle this matter himself.”
“Bullshit,” Red snapped. “We have enough vigilantes running around right now.”
I cast a nervous glance at Nicky, but he seemed unperturbed.
“You can tell his Royal Pain in the Ass that I’m not going to let him start a war with the Agency and blow our cover among the Ordinaries. The FMA will handle it.”
Gideon’s already hard face seemed to grow even harder. “I don’t think he’ll take very kindly to that directive.”
“Not my problem,” Red shot back.
“We Tales number in the thousands in the Here and Now,” Gideon pointed out. “Perhaps you don’t understand that there are those who believe we now have sufficient numbers to declare our presence.”
Red took a menacing step forward, hands on her hips, ready to rip into the man towering over her, but Nate deftly swept in between her and Gideon with a placating smile. “Of course, the king is not among those who believe this, right?” Nate said.
Gideon inclined his head. “Of course not. My words were merely a statement of fact—not a warning.”
“If your king knows something, he needs to tell us,” I insisted. “We need to find out who’s behind these factions.”
Gideon shook his head. “My king would never discuss such matters with the FMA. He does not care to have his business matters scrutinized too closely.”
“Then he can talk to me,” Nicky interjected. “We have associates in common.”
Gideon inclined his head. “I will put forward your request for a meeting.”
“Fine,” Red said with a huff as Nate unlocked the remnants of the manacles around Gideon’s wrists. “I’m gonna grant some leeway on this one, but Trish goes with Nicky. Now, get outta here, Gideon, before I change my mind. Oh, and be sure to tell Lavender’s mom I said hi.”
Gideon actually chuckled at this. “I’m sure she’ll be delighted.” In the next moment the fairy was gone, having slipped through the fabric of time and space.
“What the hell was that all about?” Nate asked no one in particular as the four of us got into the elevator together.
“This is total bullshit, Red,” I said. “The Agency’s up to something.”
She nodded. “Damned straight. I don’t like this. First Spalding was butting in and demanding the bodies of those vampires, and now Freddy and his stooges are hauling in suspects like they run the place?”
“Why is the Agency getting so involved in our business all of a sudden?” I asked. “They’ve been content with our arrangement up until now.”
Red didn’t respond, but she was frowning, mulling it over. And she was still frowning when we parted from her and Nate and started for Nicky’s Escalade.
“So, you and Freddy go back a ways?” I asked after we pulled out of the underground parking lot and into traffic.
“He came over from folklore in the nineteen-fifties and took up with the Sandman,” Nicky told me, his voice dripping with disdain. “He liked being a button man for Halloran. Enjoyed doing all the dirty work his boss didn’t want on his own hands.”
“And now he’s working for the Agency,” I muttered. “Fantastic. This just keeps getting better and better.”
Beatrice . . .
I straightened with a start at the sound of my name and glanced into the backseat, fully expecting to see someone sitting behind me.
Beatrice, come to me. . . .
“What’s doin’?” Nicky asked, glancing over at me with a frown. “You okay?”
I twisted in my seat, craning to look into the back of the Escalade. “Did you . . .” I didn’t bother finishing my question. Of course Nicky hadn’t heard anything. That was clear from the puzzled look on his face. I did one last check of the backseat, reassuring myself that no one was there. “Yeah. I’m fine,” I lied, wrapping my arms around myself to hold in the shudder of apprehension threatening to break. “Let’s just get this visit over with.”
Chapter Eight
We waited a full forty-five minutes in the foyer of Halloran’s mansion with his doormen glaring daggers at us before a stocky man with a barrel chest and biceps so large he couldn’t lower his arms strode toward us, his face as hard as his abs. In spite of the fact that he wasn’t particularly tall, his presence was menacing. There was no doubt in my mind that he was a force to be reckoned with.
“What the hell are you doing here, Blue?” the man demanded. “You got a lotta nerve showing your face around this place.”
“I’m not here to start anything with you, Aloysius,” Nicky shot back. “In fact, I’m not here on business at all. I’m just escorting Ms. Muffet. She needs to talk to Sophia.”
Aloysius narrowed his eyes at us, his glare for Nicky particularly hostile. Finally, he nodded. “Follow me. She can see you in the study.”
Calling the room where Nicky and I were taken a study was a gross understatement. Tim Halloran, crooked businessman and smarmy crime lord, had never struck me as being particularly erudite, but the room was filled with books on such topics as economics, finance, logistics, and accounting. Apparently, someone had been doing his homework. Or, the cynical side of me countered, he more likely wanted people to think he’d been doing his homework.
Unlike our wait in the foyer, our sojourn in the study was relatively short. We’d barely been alone for two minutes when the door opened again and a white Bengal tiger slunk in, prowling toward us warily.
Nicky reached for my hand and pulled me behind him, putting himself between me and the tigress. “Hello, Sophia,” he said cautiously. “It’s good to see you again. This is Trish Muffet from the FMA.”
She slowly circled, sizing us up. Nicky shuffled with her, keeping me behind him, facing her at all times. Finally, there was a shimmer in the air and where the tiger had been now stood a beautiful—and completely naked—woman with long white hair and striking emerald eyes. I glanced at Nicky to gauge his reaction, but he seemed completely unmoved by the vision of loveliness before us.
“Hello yourself, Nicky Blue,” Sophia purred, her voice a little husky, bringing to mind Eartha Kitt’s portrayal of Catwoman in the old Batman TV series. She prowled toward him, a seductive smile curving her lips, then pressed into him, nuzzling up under his chin with a provocative noise that was something between a mew and a moan. “It’s been a long, long time. And it was so good of you to bring a little kitten for me to play with. . . . I promise to be gentle with her.”
I choked a little at what she was implying. “I’m sorry—what?”
Nicky cleared his throat and drew back a little, casting a slightly uncomfortable glance my way. “I’m afraid this isn’t a social call, Sophia.”
“Too bad,” she purred, letting her long nails skim down his throat and along his chest. “There’s nothing a cat enjoys more than batting around a couple of balls.” She twisted away with a sigh, rubbing her backside against his crotch before sauntering a few steps and stretching out on the sofa, not bothering to hide any of her breathtakingly gorgeous body. “So, if you and your lovely friend didn’t come to play with me, why are you here?”
Nicky led me to the closest chair, then took the one next to it and leaned forward, placing his forearms on his knees and clasping his hands together. “I’m really sorry, honey, but we have some bad news. Halloran’s dead.”