11. Griff
eleven
Griff
The shopkeeper peered at Griff, narrowing his eyes beneath his bushy brow. “What exactly was it you said you were investigating again?”
Griff muffled an internal sigh. This conversation had already dragged on far longer than he’d have preferred. The plan had been for him to distract the shopkeeper outside while Cal ‘investigated’ the shop. Griff had tried not to think too hard about what that might entail.
It’s all for a good cause, he’d consoled himself. That void relic posed a grave threat to the city, and if utilizing Cal’s particular brand of expertise helped him identify the culprit quicker, well…so be it. Besides, he’d made Cal promise not to break any laws.
He snuck a furtive glance toward the alleyway leading to the side entrance of the small shop, then said, “Like I told you, sir, there have been a recent spat of robberies in this area. I believe the culprit has been casing shops ahead of time to identify potential targets. Anything you can tell me could be of use.”
“I already told you, I ain’t seen anyone suspicious around here.” The pointed look the shopkeeper gave him made his silent Except you crystal clear. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really need to be getting back to my customers before Beatrice gets overwhelmed.”
The man started to turn back to the shop door behind him, and Griff said quickly, “I’m sure your daughter will be fine a few minutes longer if it means stopping this bandit. Now, do you remember seeing anyone wearing a mask, or maybe a hat? Any other manner of headwear?”
The man barked a humorless laugh. He swept his arms out to indicate the bustling street.
“I must get a hundred people in and out of my shop each day, Inspector. You think I can keep track of all that?” Shaking his head, he turned back toward his shop’s entrance.
“Sorry, but that’s all I got for you. Good day. ”
Griff scrambled for an excuse. “Do you like shellfish, Mr. Jemil?”
The shopkeeper paused with one hand on the door. He glanced back at Griff with a furrowed brow. Confused strips of blue twisted in his aura. “What in the Void does that have to do with a robber?”
Excellent question. Griff racked his brain for an answer. Usually, he felt confident conducting these sorts of interviews. But then again, he usually had a legitimate reason to be there and actual questions that needed answering, rather than serving as a distraction.
“Our working theory is that the culprit may be involved with a fishing outfit from the docks,” Griff said at last. “That may be how they are selecting their initial targets.” Griff made a point of raising his notebook, his Vantoric pen poised over the page.
“Can you tell me when the last time was you procured shellfish, and have you ever had any delivered here to your shop?”
Still frowning, the shopkeeper said, “Well, now that you mention it, Beatrice and I did wander down that way…Goddess, I think it was three days ago, now?”
“And where exactly did you go? Be as specific as you can.”
Griff was still dutifully jotting down the man’s route through the local fish markets when Cal—or rather, an unfamiliar dockworker bearing Cal’s colorful aura—emerged from the alleyway. He beelined straight for Griff.
“Inspector! Sorry to bother you, but I need your help!”
Finally. Thank the Goddess.
Trying to muffle his relief, Griff snapped his notebook shut and tucked it away, turning to the shopkeeper.
“Thank you for your cooperation, sir. I believe I have everything I need. Enjoy the rest of your…” He trailed off, the impatient shopkeeper already vanishing back into his shop.
He stared at the slammed door for a moment, then sighed and shook his head, turning to Cal. “Please tell me you got something.”
“Of course, Inspector,” Cal said, speaking loudly for the benefit of any prying ears among the people passing by. “Right this way.”
He led Griff toward the alleyway. As soon as they were out of sight of the street, black duskflame burned away his disguise. He leaned against the alley wall, his messy blonde bangs falling over his forehead.
“It’s about what we figured,” he said. “While that guy Jemil runs this shop with his daughter, he doesn’t own the building. He pays rent to Derimay Development—just like every other place on this block. And at a surprisingly reasonable rate, I might add.”
Griff eyed the grime caked on the wall and grimaced, focusing on Cal. “You expect me to believe you acquired all that information legally?”
Cal grinned. “I can bend the law as well as the next person.” When Griff still looked unconvinced, Cal rolled his eyes. “If you must know, I ran into that shopkeeper’s daughter. A bit of talking, and she was willing to show me whatever I wanted. It’s amazing how far a little flirting can get you.”
Griff’s cheeks heated at the way Cal’s gaze lingered on him, a roguish grin on his lips. Grunting, Griff turned and strode back toward the street. “Good work.”
Cal fell into step beside him, easily keeping pace. “Of course. It’s not as if you kept me around just for my cute face and winsome personality.”
Winking at Griff, he stepped past him onto the street. As he did, his arm lightly brushed Griff’s. Goosebumps rose in its wake. Griff frowned down at the spot and then up at Cal’s retreating back before moving to catch up.
Griff could tell when he was being charmed. Countless crooks had tried the same tactic on him before, hoping for leniency. Usually, he could see right through it. With Cal and that Void-cursed aura of his, however, Griff was finding it decidedly more difficult to ignore.
“So, where to next, fearless leader?” Cal said as Griff caught up to him. He gave a theatrical groan, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead as he leaned against Griff for support. “Please tell me we’ve exhausted our quota of shops on this block?”
Griff shoved him off. “It never hurts to be thorough.” When Cal groaned again, he added, “But I suppose we’ve learned all we’re going to here.”
“Let me guess,” Cal sighed. “Another dead-end?”
Unperturbed by Cal’s pessimism, he shrugged.
“Yes and no. The company itself seems like all the others we’ve investigated so far with ties to Jumic Enterprises: little more than a shell corporation with no identifiable employees or actual headquarters within the city. However, there is one key difference.”
Cal’s gaze wandered distractedly over the colorful banners they passed beneath. “And what’s that?”
Griff gestured behind them toward the shop they’d just left. “Actual assets. They own buildings all over the Market District and rent them out to tenants. That’s the closest we’ve found to a real business so far.”
Cal perked up at that. “You mean we’re close to cracking the case?”
Griff hesitated. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
This is a promising avenue to explore, but we’re still a long way away from apprehending a culprit or identifying a link back to the Watch.
For now, we’ll focus our efforts on records specifically related to Derimay Development and see where that takes us. ”
Cal groaned loud enough to attract curious looks from a few random passersby.
“This whole investigating thing hasn’t been nearly as exciting as I thought.
Where are the thrilling chases? The harrowing battles for our life as we fight to catch the bad guys?
The logic-defying puzzles we need to solve in order to escape certain doom? ”
“It sounds to me like you’ve been reading far too many Ilthabardian adventure tales.
” Griff patted the pocket on his coat where he kept his trusty notebook.
“Sometimes, investigations take you into dangerous situations you don’t expect.
But the vast majority of the time, cracking a case is more a matter of perseverance than anything else.
It’s about gathering information until you can piece together the proper picture. ”
“Maybe the way you do things.” Cal flashed him another easy grin. “Stick with me, Inspector, and I’ll show you a good time. After all, our very first lead together ended up with you shot. If we keep this up, who knows where we’ll end up?”
His teasing tone and smoldering gaze seemed designed to make Griff blush. Grumbling, Griff quickened his pace, Cal’s laughter pursuing him.
Even with his ability to read Cal’s aura, he couldn’t tell if the thief just enjoyed pushing his buttons…
or if there was something more behind the obvious flirting.
The yellow bands of amusement in his aura were easy enough for Griff to spot.
But he felt certain there was more hidden within that swirling vortex of colors than he knew how to parse.
Griff had always considered himself a lone wolf, preferring to work alone.
Over the past couple days since their pseudo-bank heist, however, he’d found he enjoyed Cal’s company more than he’d expected.
Somehow, the younger man always managed to make him laugh or set him at ease.
It made the tedious work pass much faster.
Plus, he had to admit that it was handy having someone with Cal’s skills around to help gather intel. Even without his duskflame disguises, Cal was a master at getting others to open up to him. Griff might be the one able to read auras, but Cal knew how to read people.
Griff frowned to himself. Even if Cal’s attempts to charm others occasionally involved some shameless flirting.
They spent the rest of the afternoon investigating other businesses from the bank records with links to Derimay Development.
That eventually led them to a manufactory in the new Vantoric District.
A little more digging by Cal while Griff once again played the role of distraction revealed that an entity named the Gearhall Group actually owned both the manufactory and Derimay Development.