Chapter 4 #3
“I wouldn’t have let her in if I hadn’t.” His expression darkened into suspicion. “I’m sure it was you.”
“It wasn’t, I promise. What do you remember after you gave her entry?”
“Nothing, as I said.”
“Nothing at all? You didn’t see her? Speak to her? Stand up and greet her?”
“Not that I remember.”
While there was nothing to suggest he was lying, an evasiveness had crept into his gaze that had mine narrowing.
Something odd was going on, but the only way I could really be sure was to touch him and read the road map of his life force—and that was only ever a last resort when it came to someone as powerful as this man.
There were plenty of other avenues of truth detection to be tried first, even if it was doubtful he’d willingly comply with any of them.
But that was for the Society to figure out.
“Did you have any other appointments booked this morning? Me aside, that is.”
“No. Now help me up.” He shoved a hand somewhat imperiously in my direction.
It was tempting to use the opportunity to read him, but that would mean lowering my shields—a risk too far when in the presence of such a powerful witch. “You shouldn’t move. You might be injured. I’ve called an ambulance—”
“I have no need for a damn ambulance, and you, young woman, would do well to obey your superiors.”
Which was the moment I understood the distaste I’d glimpsed earlier.
I might have the scarlet hair of a royal witch, but the green eyes both Samuel and I had been gifted from that distant grandfather meant we were often considered tainted and unworthy, at least when it came to marrying into the higher end royal lines.
Having met many marriageable “prospects” from those royal lines over the years, it was in my opinion no great loss.
“Are you sure you really want me to do that?” I answered, keeping my voice bland. “I mean, my flesh would have to touch yours, and heaven only knows what sort of germs an inferior witch such as myself will pass on.”
Anger flashed through his bright silver eyes. “Now see here—”
“Mr. Ashworth,” I cut in curtly, “I don’t care how important you are or how connected you are.
You were attacked, you may be injured, and you will wait until the ambulance gets here to examine you before you move.
If I have to physically restrain you, I fucking will.
I do have magic-nulling cuffs in my handbag, and I am not afraid to use them. ”
He blinked, his surprise evident. He was not a man used to being backchatted, which was exactly why I’d done it. While high-profile witches often demanded instant obedience from those they considered beneath them, they also didn’t respect you when they got it.
“Are you always this forthright?”
“I find it makes for better communication when everyone knows exactly where they stand.”
He studied me for a second, his expression unreadable. “You’re Yūto’s daughter, aren’t you? It would certainly explain your forthrightness.”
My father was leagues beyond being merely forthright.
He was renowned for having no time or energy for the usual bullshit that abounded in the royal ranks and, rather contrarily, it had made him one of the more sought-after members during his time on the advisory board.
“He’ll be pleased to hear you think I follow in his footsteps.
Now, this woman you let in—do you know whether she was a witch or something else?
Did she cast a spell or physically attack you? ”
“This apartment is riddled with protection spells—had she cast a spell, I would have known.” He hesitated. “There was a slight... pressure?... in the air just after I buzzed the apartment door open. As I’ve repeatedly said, I don’t remember much after that.”
Was the pressure in the air or in his mind?
From what we’d been taught about telepathic abilities, the latter was often mistaken for the former.
But surely someone who had the prime minister’s ear would have multiple protections against telepathic invasion.
Hell, they’d developed wearable electronic devices to stop telepathic intrusion yonks ago now, and these days it was commonplace for both government buildings and the private residences of government officials to have industrial-sized electronic nulling installed.
Or was it simply a matter of him feeling confident enough in the magical protections within his own home to forgo the electronic ones?
Possibly. We’d have to audit him to find out the truth, and again, I doubted he’d willingly undergo such an intrusion without the order coming from someone much higher up than me.
“What time did all this happen? Do you remember?”
He pursed his lips briefly. “Probably about nine forty-five. I remember being annoyed that you were so early.”
Nine forty-five would have put her arrival around the same as René’s. Did that mean he was working with her, or was it mere coincidence? If the latter, had she still been in the apartment when he’d arrived, our meeting on the entrance steps giving her time to leave the building via another exit?
“This woman, whoever she was, might well have searched your apartment while you were unconscious—do you keep anything of value here? Confidential files, perhaps?”
“Anything of value, files or not, is kept in the safe.”
“And where is that?”
“That is something you do not need to know. It’s well hidden and requires my prints to open and close it. She would not have found it.”
“You can’t be sure—”
“I can, but I’ll nevertheless check once the ambulance has arrived and I’m cleared to move.”
I studied him for a second. “Has anyone else got access to your safe?”
“Only my immediate family, but my wife remains in Canberra, and you, dear woman, allowed my daughter to be kidnapped.”
“I hardly allowed—”
He waved a hand, cutting me off. “Let’s not get into word games. Just update me on your efforts to find her.”
I shoved my frustration and dislike of the man down and quickly updated him on not only events so far, but everything we were doing to find both Monica and Lanie.
“Why did you ask the Society to tail your daughter?” I added. “Why not just ask the council to provide protection?”
“Because I believe the threat comes from within the council.”
“Against you?”
“Yes, but as my only child, it placed her in danger.”
Which was confirmation of what Ginny and I had always suspected. The question was, had Monica used the threat to make her own escape plans? “What was the threat against you?”
“That information is need-to-know. Your task was to protect her—a task you failed miserably.”
“Hard to protect someone who goes out of their way to avoid it,” I snapped back. “Who else, beside you and the Society, knew about the threat?”
“Monica, obviously, but no one else.”
“Would she have mentioned it to her bridesmaids or her fiancé?”
“I talked to Mark this morning. She didn’t mention it to him, and he hasn’t heard from her for a few days.”
“Is that unusual?”
“I wouldn’t think so.”
“But she did agree to the marriage, did she not?”
“That is a rather odd question, given she would not have said yes had she not wished to marry him.”
That would depend on how badly Tane wished the union and how much pressure had been placed on her to agree. “Where was he when you spoke to him?”
“I didn’t ask, and he didn’t say.”
“He’s not up here in Queensland, though?”
“I doubt it. He has no business interests here in Australia.”
He did have a bride here, though, and he wouldn’t be the first hubby-to-be to run a surreptitious check on his bride’s movements while she was away at a hens party.
Although, given theirs was not a love match, would he really have cared one way or the other what she did, as long as she didn’t bring press attention to either of their families?
Then I blinked as his words impacted. “He’s not from Australia?”
“No. Paris. Good family and excellent connections. Monica was looking forward to going over there and exploring the city.”
Considering she’d disappeared, maybe she wasn’t as excited as he seemed to think. “Aside from her three bridesmaids, do you know if she has any other close friends?”
“She’s been talking a bit to a distant cousin of late, but that’s about it.”
“The distant cousin’s name?”
“Luke Marlowe. He’s an archivist at the National Witch Library.”
If he was working there, then he wasn’t from one of the stronger Australian Marlowe lines. “Have you talked to him?”
“Why would I? She knows better than to mention family business to someone like him.”
The emphasis placed on that one word had the urge to grab his wrist and suck the sheer fucking arrogance out of him rising. I silently drew in a deeper breath that did little to calm the inner roiling, and said, “Have you got Marlowe’s contact details?”
“No—just contact the library and they’ll be able to put you through to him. He works the usual business hours.”
The sound of hurried footsteps approaching the apartment saved me the effort of replying, which was a good thing, given the only words playing about my lips were unpleasant ones.
“Ms. Kang?” Viceroy said. “I’m here with the ambulance people.”
“Bring them in. We’re in the main living area.”
They appeared a few seconds later. I rose as the two medics approached, giving them room to tend to Ashworth, and walked around the sofa to stand beside the manager. He was looking a little less anxious now that he’d seen Ashworth was awake and, at least on a surface level, unharmed.
“Mr. Viceroy,” I asked, “you mentioned earlier that there were security cameras in the corridor—is that true?”
“Twenty-four-hour security is one of the building’s selling points,” he replied with obvious pride.
“Then would you be able to provide me with a copy of the footage covering the half hour before my arrival?”
He nodded. “I can go do that now, if you want.”
“That would be great—thank you so much.”
He nodded. “My office is in the basement, east end, if you happen to finish here before I’ve copied over the recording.”
It had to be in a damn basement, didn’t it? I rubbed my arms and said, “Directions?”