A wicked laugh responded. “You know you’re always welcome.”
I sucked on my teeth, rolled my eyes, and thought of velvet cushions and top-shelf liquor. I felt a presence stir in Maggie’s ring. “The last time I went to one of your parties, I could barely see for six weeks.”
“And it was completely worth it, wasn’t it?”
You’d better say yes, Maggie said. That party was the most fun I’ve had in centuries, and I only got to watch.
“You know I work for a living, don’t you?” I asked Lucy.
“Pishposh. I’ll lean on Ada – have her send you out here for a consultation of some sort. I seem to remember there being a very cute little fire demon that you got to know pretty well.”
Oh, I remember her, Maggie said.
I felt my cheeks warm. I remembered her too. Occasionally – just occasionally – I love my job. “I got to know a lot of people,” I told Lucy. “It’s all a little hazy. How about you give me a hand now, and we can talk about parties next time, eh? I’m looking for a lady who sold her soul in Cleveland. High-powered exec of some sort.”
“My secretary told me.” Lucy’s voice switched from flirtatious to all business without missing a beat. “She’s not an exec; she’s a lawyer. Normally I wouldn’t give out this sort of information, but I’m told this has to do with the little issue that Ferryman is dealing with.”
“That’s right.”
“Her name is Judith Pyke. She’s a partner at the law firm Wilson and Pyke. I’ll email over all the info we have on her.”
“I really appreciate it.”
“Anything for you, troll boy.” Her voice slid back to flirtatious. “Oh, and tell Nadine to answer my texts. I have board meetings all afternoon, and I need something to keep me occupied.”
“Uh,” I said, “since when do you text with Nadine?”
“Are you joking? Nadine is the funniest person I know in the entire Midwest. We’ve been going on holiday together for years.”
“You think you know a person,” I muttered to myself, pulling into the Valkyrie Collections parking lot. My phone beeped, indicating an incoming call. “I’ve got to go. Send me the information, and let me know when you’re in town next. We’ll get dinner and charge it to Ada’s credit card.”
“I like the way you think.” The line went dead, and I switched over. “Alek Fitz.”
“Do you have any good news for me?” It was Ada.
I swore silently. I should have let it go to voicemail and claimed ignorance later. “Nothing yet,” I told her. There was a long, disapproving silence. I rolled my eyes and tried not to panic as the barcode on my chest tightened. “Look,” I continued, “it’s been two days. I worked all weekend despite some asshole necromancer jumping me at Starbucks.”
Ada sniffed. My barcode continued to feel progressively more uncomfortable. “Ah, yes. What was that about, anyway?”
“No idea,” I lied. “He won’t tell me, and he won’t tell OtherOps. Probably an old debtor coming back for revenge.” My breathing began to feel restricted, and I silently cursed Ada. “I’m hitting the pavement hard on this Ferryman business. I just talked to Lucy. She’s sending me some info that I’m going to check out this morning.”
The tightness disappeared, and I took a deep breath to hold in an angry growl.
“Fine,” Ada said. “Just don’t goof off. We don’t get the chance to impress someone like Ferryman too often.” She hung up.
“Goof off,” I muttered, rubbing my bar code. “Since when do I goof off?” I sat in the car for a few minutes while I waited for Lucy to send over Judith Pyke’s information. Once I had it, I went inside, said good morning to Nadine – and told her to return Lucy’s texts – then headed straight back out on the road to downtown.
Judith’s office was in 200 Public Square, one of the big skyscrapers downtown. I parked in a nearby garage, where I checked for security cameras before changing quickly into a shirt that I kept carefully folded in a bag beneath my driver’s seat. It was a black button-down shirt with a white diagonal stripe across the front and the word OtherOps emblazoned over the left breast. I could hear Maggie humming to herself as I changed.
You enjoy this far too much, I told her.
Oh, come on. You know I love it when you impersonate an OtherOps agent.
I really shouldn’t, I replied. If I run into an actual OtherOps agent, I’m screwed. I could practically see Maggie grinning at the idea. I could never quite decide whether she enjoyed watching me play dress up or just got a thrill from the danger of it. Probably a mix of both. You know, if they catch me, they’ll confiscate your ring. Or at least they’ll try to. That’s what cops do.
The humming stopped.
I walked in through the front door, wearing a black, nondescript windbreaker over my OtherOps shirt, and headed across the big atrium, where I checked in with the front desk using a fake ID. I was soon on my way up to the law offices of Wilson and Pyke. I got off the elevator on the seventeenth floor, where I went through a series of hallways before finding myself in a small reception area with frosted glass walls and a single secretary’s desk.
The secretary was a clean-shaven, immaculately professional young man with dark hair and severe eyebrows who sat straight-backed in his chair. He fixed me with that hollow secretary smile and tilted his head condescendingly to one side. “Good morning, sir. May I help you?”
“I’m looking for Mrs. Pyke,” I responded. I pulled a business card out of the breast pocket of my OtherOps shirt. It had a fake name on it and a phone number and email address that forwarded to my real ones.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No,” I said. “Please call her office and let her know that Agent Gee from OtherOps is here to see her.”
The secretary examined my card for a moment. “I’m sorry, but Miss Pyke isn’t in right now.”
He’s lying, Maggie said.
“Fine,” I told him, keeping straight-faced. “When will she be back? I’ll wait inside.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you in the office without a warrant, Mr. Gee.”
“Agent Gee.” I fixed him with my best withering look. “Sir, I’ll be frank: you must be new here, because if you weren’t, you’d know that OtherOps doesn’t work like regular police. This isn’t an antagonistic visit. Just get your damn boss on the phone.”
Oh, I love it when you do your official business voice, Maggie whispered.
I had to bite my cheek to keep from cracking a smile. I unzipped my windbreaker so that he could see the shirt and official-looking lanyard beneath it. The secretary eyed me warily for a moment before picking up the phone. “She’s with a client right now, but she should be almost done. Hold on a moment while I check.”
I did a circuit of the little reception room while I waited. It was stylish but empty, with industrial-grade carpet to give it a warmer feeling, tall ceilings, gold fixtures, and those frosted glass walls to give you the impression that VERY IMPORTANT THINGS were happening just beyond that door. I can’t get anything from inside, Maggie told me. Damned law offices love to ward up super tight. But it means they’ve got some serious capital.
The woman sold her soul to LuciCorp. I sure hope she has serious capital.
Our brief conversation was interrupted by the secretary clearing his throat. I returned my attention to the man, only to find him fixed with a look of consternation.
Something is wrong, Maggie said.