Chapter 14 #2
Dash pushed past Mason and picked up the broken pieces of the bowl.
He walked into the kitchen, discarded them in the trash, and grabbed the roll of paper towels off the counter.
Doing anything was better than feeling the full force of Mason’s disapproval.
When he returned to the hall, he peeled off a few sheets.
“Let me help,” Mason said, grabbing the roll.
“I’ve got it,” Dash snapped, yanking it away.
Mason went down on his haunches beside Dash, staring as the cereal and milk were cleaned up. “If it wasn’t Emerson, who was it?”
“No one,” Dash said. He marched over to the garbage can and dragged it into the hallway.
“Does ‘no one’ have a name?”
“I don’t recall,” Dash lied.
“It was Emerson, wasn’t it?”
Dash sighed.
“Oh, gods, Dash… what did you sleep with him for?”
Exasperated, Dash flung the pile of dirty towels into the trash.
“If it wasn’t for Emerson, I wouldn’t have gotten in the front door.
I misheard the password, and the bouncer went on the attack, which might’ve triggered a lockdown.
Emerson intervened and got me inside. Once we were in, I walked away and got to work, as I promised. ”
“Walked away… but clearly walked back.”
“As I was wrapping up and getting ready to leave, the Guard showed up—and honestly, I don’t know if I’d have gotten away if it hadn’t been for Emerson showing me a secret way out.”
“And you decided to reward him for that help?”
Dash narrowed his eyes. “That’s really none of your business.”
“Isn’t it? The last time you came face-to-face with that guy, you had to turn over a case to me—because you couldn’t handle the reaction you had to him.
Remember that? The reaction that scared you so fucking much?
The one you said meant you couldn’t go anywhere near Emerson Walker ever again?
I believe that’s what you said but correct me if I’m wrong. ”
“The reaction wasn’t there last night.”
Mason searched his face a moment. “What changed?”
“I have no idea,” Dash said. “I wish I did.”
“No reaction… but you still slept with him,” Mason said.
“Again… what business is it of yours?”
Mason scoffed. “I think I deserve to know if my business partner is racing headfirst towards self-destruction.”
Dash sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“What you do in your personal life is your own, but…” Mason said. “You’re the one who said Emerson Walker might destroy everything we’ve built—and I believed you. Should I or shouldn’t I be worried?”
Dash eyed Mason. “I don’t know.”
Mason leaned on the wall behind him, shaking his head.
Dash eyed him, realizing he had a lot more riding on this than just a business and a few employees. He might lose his friendship with Mason if he tanked the company. “Maybe it’s time to put your name on the letterhead and the doors, like I suggested from the start.”
Mason sighed.
“That way, if I make the wrong move, you could drop my name and tell folks I was fired—and then you can run it yourself. Without losing anything.”
“I’d lose you,” Mason said.
“I can still work from the shadows. My biggest strength has always been behind computer keys anyway. I can do that anywhere with a network connection.”
“I never wanted to be the face of the company. I still don’t.”
“It’s the only way, Mason. We need to protect you—and the other employees.”
“What are you saying? Are the two of you now a thing?”
“I’m saying this is the way out for you. The way I don’t ruin you, too.”
Mason scoffed. “In other words, you’re going to see him again. And tempt ruination for yourself?”
“I don’t know if I can stay away from him!” Dash yelled.
The shout felt like it lingered in the awkward silence that hung between them.
“You’re a grown adult. If he’s who you want, knowing all the risks, so be it. Put my name on the damned door if you think it will protect the business. I don’t care.”
“It might not come to that,” Dash said.
“Hopefully not,” Mason muttered.
“I’m sorry. I know you wanted to remain the mostly silent partner and act the peon.”
“I’ll get over it.” Mason yawned, stretching his arms over his head. “I’m going to go home and get some shuteye. Are you working today?”
“I found out that Jaye was a regular at the Dragon but no one I spoke with remembers the last time they saw him there. I want to dig through the arrest records from the previous raid and see if he was potentially picked up. No one seemed to know Jaye was a Lachlin, which makes me wonder if he used an alias. Same first name, different last, perhaps? If he had a fake ID and was arrested that night, his mugshot will be there.” A thought hit him.
He could go to Central Precinct and do a proper request for records instead of hacking the system.
The Records Department was in the same building, and if he happened to see Randall Walker while there, even better.
Emerson said he’d talk to his brother, but Dash would feel a lot better if he heard it straight from Randall himself. A little reassurance he was safe would help calm his frazzled nerves.
Mason yawned again.
“Why don’t you crash here?” Dash asked. “The guest room is all yours to use.”
“I think I’ll take you up on that,” Mason said. “After I make myself another bowl of cereal.”
Dash chuckled and watched Mason return to the kitchen.
Once the hallway was mopped up, he’d watched the news until he got all the publicly known information about the body found near the raid. Once he’d gotten a bite to eat and changed into a lightweight sweater and slacks, he headed to the Municipal Center.
The place was in utter chaos when he arrived. Outside on the steps, the Commissioner of the Guard was holding a press conference about the deceased alpha. A throng of reporters clung to his every word.
“We’re not revealing the alpha’s name until next of kin has been notified,” the commissioner said as Dash got close enough to listen in.
“Is it true there was also a raid on an underground alpha-attracted club near the location where this body was found?” one reporter asked.
Dash had noticed there’d been nothing mentioned about the raid on the news and thought it a bit odd—though from what the bartender had told him about their constant raids, the Guard would likely keep things under wraps. If not, someone would eventually ask, ‘Why haven’t you closed it by now?’
They’d have a lot of questions to answer and them being on the take might come to light.
Honestly, it should.
“I wasn’t made aware of any raid last night,” the commissioner replied.
An outright lie—or did the commissioner not know? He found that hard to believe, but Dash supposed it was possible. The man had passed retirement age long ago, so who knew how involved he was with the day-to-day operations of every precinct.
“Multiple witness accounts say there was—with a heavy Guard presence all over the old industrial area,” another reporter asked.
“Where are you getting witnesses from? We currently have no witnesses or statements,” the commissioner said. “If they were really there last night, tell them to come in to aid us in finding whoever did this.”
“Are you saying it was foul play?” another reporter asked.
“I am not,” the commissioner said. “The coroner hasn’t completed the autopsy yet. But if it was a criminal act instead of an act of the gods, we’d like anyone who saw anything to come to their closest Guard station and file a report.”
“Can you guarantee those witnesses won’t be arrested?” the first reporter asked.
“Why would we arrest them?” the commissioner asked.
“Your hounds busted an underground alpha-attracted club. Any witnesses might be assumed to be part of that community. They’d fear for their freedom and safety—and likely won't come forward in fear of being arrested.”
“We wouldn’t automatically assume they were a member of that community,” the commissioner said.
Dash rolled his eyes.
“Is there a reason that particular club has been raided eight times in the last six months alone?” the reporter asked, chasing the story. “Or the fact there’s been an alpha labeled as missing—and now murdered—after nearly every single one of these raids?”
A tingling awareness wandered up Dash’s spine. More were missing? Was there a connection—and if so, was Jaye part of a larger situation?
“I know nothing about that,” the commissioner replied.
“Maybe you need to investigate why your Guardsmen are targeting a community that does no harm to anyone. All they want to do is have the freedom to love one another. Why is that so wrong? They should have the same rights as anyone else.”
“Guardsmen don’t make the laws. We enforce them,” the commissioner said. “If you have a problem with the laws, seek out someone on the council.”
“You enforce those laws, but what about others? Like the one that says the Guard shouldn’t accept payoffs and kickbacks in return for a blind eye?”
“That’s all I have for today,” the commissioner said, ignoring the question.
“You now have blood on your hands, Commissioner,” the reporter yelled at the man’s back.
The commissioner kept on walking, feigning obliviousness. One of his lackeys urged the members of the press to move on. They slowly dispersed, chatting in small groups as they climbed down the marble steps.
Dash wandered through the crowd of exiting reporters, walking up a few steps, and found the one who’d mentioned the missing alphas. He was talking with another reporter as Dash approached.
“You’d better be careful or you’re the next alpha they’re going to target,” the other reporter murmured. “The more you yell, the more they might assume you’re one of them.”
“Let them,” the mouthy reporter spat. “At least I’d go out trying to make things better instead of sitting on my ass doing nothing because my daddy owns the paper.”
“Fuck off, soft boy,” the second reporter snapped. He suddenly noticed Dash near and almost appeared ashamed of using the slur. “I’ll catch you later, Meade.”
Meade turned and almost ran into Dash. “Sorry.”
Dash offered a business card. “I’m a P.I. currently looking for a missing alpha who might or might not’ve been at the Dragon after one of their last raids. I’d love to talk.”
“You’re only looking for one of them?” Meade asked before taking the card and eyeing it.
“I wasn’t aware there were more missing alphas until I heard you pressing the commissioner. Nor do I know for sure if the man I’m looking for is tied to any of that. All I know is he was somewhat of a regular at the Dragon and no one’s been able to find him for three weeks now.”
Meade searched his face. “And you know he was a regular how?”
“I was there last night,” Dash murmured. “I asked around.”
“You were there?” Meade held his stare. “Helping the Guard?”
“Not hardly.”
“You reek of them.”
“I was them,” Dash said. “In a past life. I retired a few years ago.” He cringed, knowing he needed to get the man’s trust and the quickest and easiest way to do that was share a little truth.
“I left disillusioned. The Guard I thought I’d joined wasn’t what it turned out to be.
The entire Palatinate is riddled with corruption. ”
“The entire Palatinate?” Meade stared at him closely, narrowing his eyes. “Were you Black Guard?”
Dash nodded.
“I bet you have a lot of stories to tell,” Meade murmured. “Maybe we could do a trade?”
“Perhaps,” Dash said, sure he could toss the guy a small fish.
“Like?” Meade asked.
No way was Dash dishing on the steps of the Municipal Center. He needed to change the conversation. “Don’t you worry that pushing the commissioner like that might end up causing the Dragon to close?”
“It’s been closed before. Never lasts long. It just pops up somewhere else.” The reporter moved closer to him. “We do nothing hiding in silence. Nothing will ever change. Not unless we confront those in power and force them to see us. I, for one, don’t want to live in the shadows. Do you?”
Dash drew in a shaky breath. He’d always considered himself brave but in the face of real courage staring him down, he felt shamed. He lived in the shadows and wanted to remain there, safe.
“I don’t but outside of them leads to prison.”
“They can’t put us all in prison.” He scoffed. “If I could only convince my compatriots to rise up with me, I’d have it made.”
“Revolution takes time and persistence.”
“I’ve heard stories that the Black Guard was pretty good at starting those,” Meade said.
“Wasn’t my department,” Dash murmured.
“But you know the playbook?”
“Maybe not the whole thing but I know a thing or two.”
Meade eyed him closely before lowering his gaze to shove a notepad into a backpack at his feet. He hefted it over his shoulder when he was done. “Yeah, I suppose we can chat. I’m on deadline, so it can’t be now. I can call you tomorrow. Or Monday. We can set up a meet.”
“That would be great,” Dash said.
“Later,” Meade said before wandering off.
He never looked back. Dash watched him jump into a beat-to-hell inexpensive sedan parked a ways down the block. After the car quite literally roared down the street, Dash made his way into the precinct, hoping he’d get a call and perhaps a lead.
He’d found little so far. More than the previous investigator, but he was still no closer to finding Jaye.