"This is Verne," Jamil said. "He owns the cabins."
I lowered the gun to the ground. "He the local Ulfric, or do they have something scarier hiding in the woods?"
Verne laughed and started walking towards us. He moved in an almost clumsy roll like his arms and legs were too long for his body, but it was deceptive. He was playing human for me. I wasn't fooled.
"You spotted me pretty damn quick there, little lady."
I put the Browning up because to keep it out would be rude. I was here as his guest in more than one way. Besides, I had to trust someone enough to put the gun up. I couldn't keep it naked in my hand the entire trip. I still had the naked blade, complete with blood. It needed to be cleaned before I could sheathe it. I'd gummed up a couple of smaller sheaths from not cleaning them well enough.
"Nice to meet you, Verne, but don't call me little lady." I started to wipe the blood on the edge of the black jacket. Black's good for that.
"Don't you ever give an inch?" Jamil asked.
I glanced at him. There was blood all over his nice white clothes. "No," I said. I motioned him over to me.
He frowned. "What?"
"I want to use your shirt to wipe the blood off the blade."
He just stared at me.
"Come on, Jamil. The shirt is already ruined."
Jamil pulled the shirt over his head in one smooth motion. He threw the shirt at me, and I caught it one-handed. I started cleaning the blade with the unstained part of the shirt.
Verne laughed. He had one of those deep, rolling chuckles that matched his gravelly voice. "No wonder Richard's been having such a hard time finding a replacement for you. You are a solid, cast-iron, ball-busting bitch."
I looked at his smiling face. I think it was a compliment. Besides, truth was truth. I wasn't down here to win Miss Congeniality. I was down here to rescue Richard and to stay alive. Bitch was just about the right speed for that.
5
The outside of the cabins were white and looked sort of cheap. The interiors weren't honeymoon cabins, but they were amazingly roomy. There was a queen-size bed in the one I was given. There was a desk against one wall with a reading lamp. There was an extra chair in front of a picture window. The chair was blue plush and comfortable. It sat on a small throw rug that looked homemade and was woven in shades of blue. The woods were hardwood and polished to a honeyed gleam. The bed's comforter was royal blue. There was a bedside table, complete with a lamp and a phone. The walls were pale blue. There was even a painting over the bed. It was a reproduction of Van Gogh's Starry Night. Frankly, any of Van Gogh's work done after he started going seriously nuts creeps me out. But it was a good choice for a blue room. For all I knew, the other cabins had matadors done on velvet, but this was okay.
The bathroom was standard white with a small window high over the bathtub. The bathroom looked like standard motel issue except for a blue bowl of potpourri that smelled like musk and gardenia.
Verne had informed me that this was the largest cabin left. I needed the floor space. Two coffins take up a lot of room. I wasn't sure I wanted to have Asher and Damian in my room permanently, but I didn't have time to argue. I wanted to go see Richard as soon as possible. We could always argue about who got the vamps as bunk mates after I saw Richard.
I made three phone calls before we went to the jail. The first was to the number that Daniel had given me, to let him know we were in town. No one answered. The second call was to Catherine to let her know I'd arrived safely. I got her machine. The third call was to the lawyer that Catherine had recommended, Carl Belisarius. A woman with a very good phone voice answered. When she found out who I was, she was sort of excited, which puzzled me. She forwarded me to Belisarius's cell phone. Something was up, which was probably bad.
A deep, rich, male voice answered, "Belisarius here."
"Anita Blake. I assume that Catherine Maison-Gillette told you who I am."
"Just a moment, Ms. Blake." He pushed a button and there was silence. I was on hold. When he came back on the phone, I could hear wind and traffic. He'd stepped outside.
"I am very glad to hear from you, Ms. Blake. What the fuck is going on?"
"Excuse me?" I said, tone less than friendly.
"He won't see me. Catherine gave me the impression that he needed a lawyer. I traveled to this godless piece of real estate, and he won't see me. He says he didn't hire me."
"Shit," I said softly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Belisarius." I had a thought. "Did you tell him that I hired you on his behalf?"
"Will that make a difference?"
"Truthfully, I don't know. Either it'll help, or he'll tell you to go to hell."
"He's already done that. I am not cheap, Ms. Blake. Even if he refuses my services, someone has to pay for the day."
"Don't worry, Mr. Belisarius. I'll take care of it."
"Do you have that kind of money?"
"How much are we talking about?" I asked.
He mentioned a fee. I did my best not to whistle in his ear. I counted slowly to five and said, calmly, "You'll get your money."
"You have that kind of money? I took Catherine's word for a lot of things on this. Forgive me if I'm starting to be suspicious."
"No, I understand. Richard's giving you a hard time, so you're giving me one."
He gave a rough laugh. "All right, Ms. Blake, all right. I'll try not to pass the buck, but I want some assurances. Can you pay my fee?"
"I raise the dead for a living, Mr. Belisarius. It's a rare talent. I can pay your fee." And I could, but it sort of hurt to do it. I wasn't raised poor, but I was raised to appreciate the value of a buck, and Belisarius was a little outside of outrageous.
"Send word to Richard that I hired you. Call me back if it makes a difference. He may refuse to see either of us."
"You're paying a great deal of money, Ms. Blake, especially if I take the case. I assumed you and Mr. Zeeman were close in some way."
"It's a long story," I said. "We're sort of hating each other right now."
"A lot of money for someone you hate," he said.
"Don't you start, too," I said.
He laughed again. His laugh was more normal than his speech, almost a bray. Maybe he didn't practice his laugh for the courtroom. I knew he practiced that rich, rolling voice.
"I'll send the message, Ms. Blake. Hopefully, I'll be calling you back."
"Call me even if he says no. At least I'll know what to expect when I come down to the jail."
"You'll come down even if he refuses to see you?" Belisarius asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"I look forward to meeting you, Ms. Blake. You intrigue me."
"I bet you say that to all the girls."
"To very few, Ms. Blake." He hung up.
Jason came out of the bathroom as I hung up. He was wearing the suit. I'd never seen him in anything except T-shirts and jeans or leather and less. It was odd to see him standing there in a navy blue suit, white shirt, and a thin white tie with a tastefully small design running through it. When you looked close, the tie was silk and the print was tiny fleur de lis. I knew who had picked out the tie. The suit was a better cut than most off the rack, but Jean-Claude had ruined me for off the rack no matter how nice the fit.
He buttoned the first button on the jacket and smoothed his hands through his blond hair. "How do I look?"
I shook my head. "Like a person."
He grinned. "You sound surprised."
I smiled. "I've just never seen you look like a grown-up."
He fake pouted at me, lip pushed out. "You've seen me nearly naked and I didn't look grown-up?"