Page 57 of A Breath of Life (Shadowy Solutions #4)

“Looks like, but he failed,” Costa added, “because Ace was never going to let him win back that money. Not at his place of business. Clarence should have known better. Wins and losses are all controlled in places like that. No one walks away with significant cash unless the boss gives his approval.”

I took a moment to absorb. “Okay, but none of this tells me where Clarence went, and if I don’t find him by five tomorrow night…” I let the sentence hang, not wanting to speak the truth aloud. Instead, I glanced at my wily co-worker. “Any luck locating him?”

For the first time since entering the room, Kitty’s face crumpled. Her confidence vanished. “No, sweetie. I have feelers out, but nothing yet.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? You know everything.”

“I’m sorry, Tallus. I tried. ”

“What good is it having a clairvoyant, time-traveling sorceress as a friend if you can’t tell me where Clarence went? They’re going to kill the only man I’ve ever loved if I don’t bring that fucker in. Diem is counting on me. I can’t fail him.”

“No one’s going to die.” Costa’s gaze shifted from side to side as he stared into the middle distance. “I think… Yes. That might work.”

“What?” I wanted to scream. “What do you think? What might work? Can everyone stop being elusive and sketchy and speak fucking English.”

Costa nodded as though deciding. “Our best bet is to find where they’re holding Diem and get him out of harm’s way. Then, I can contact intelligence and—”

A Diem-worthy growl of frustration left my throat.

“No! Have you listened to anything I’ve said?

That’s where we failed. That’s where we went wrong.

We diverted from the primary objective. We did our own thing.

We tried to find Ace instead of searching for Clarence.

If we go after Diem, we put not only him at risk but his grandmother.

I won’t do that.” I stamped a foot like a petulant child. “We need. To find. Clarence!”

“Are you finished with your tantrum?” Costa asked.

“I’m going to punch you in the face. I don’t care if you’re bigger and stronger.” As I balled my fists and stepped forward, Kitty wedged herself between us.

“Stop this nonsense. Clarence is in the wind. He knows there’s a target on his head.

He cashed out his bank account and split.

I did a trace on his vehicle and whispered in the ears of as many patrol officers as I could, but nothing has come up, and I highly doubt it will.

Anyone with half a brain would have either changed the license plates or dumped the car by now.

We aren’t going to find him before tomorrow night. ”

“But…” I stabbed a finger at Costa. “Citywide video surveillance. Do that. Right now. Put Clarence’s face in the program and run it. We have that technology. Don’t tell me we don’t.”

Costa huffed a laugh. “Do you have any idea how many cameras are in this city? Even if I focused on a specific district, it would take more than five minutes to be granted access, and that’s if I could convince a judge to give me access.

I can’t tell them I’m hunting down a civilian so we can turn him over to an underground syndicate who wants him dead, and I can’t use my credentials to access it illegally. ”

“Don’t you see? Clarence is your key to accessing that syndicate. Intelligence wants to find them, right? They want to arrest these guys.”

“Fucking right they do, but if I use that reasoning, you wash your hands of everything. The department will take over, and it will be days or weeks before they construct a plan to move in on Ace and his crew. If they move in at all. They may deem the information bogus.”

I spun, tearing fingers through my hair. “Fuck. Can’t you hack the system?”

Costa snorted. “Sure, and what are you going to tell my pregnant wife when the department not only fires my ass but prosecutes and imprisons me?”

“You suck. Diem would have torn this city apart for me regardless of the consequences, and I’m fucking useless, relying on a hacker who won’t hack and a witch who won’t witch. I’d have been better off on my own.”

“You’d have been dead on your own.” My cousin turned back to the computer.

Echo whined, and I guiltily glanced at her. She was still by the door, lying on the ground with her nose wedged in the crack. She felt the rising tension. She knew it was about Diem. She wanted her daddy.

Me too, girl. Me too .

I collapsed onto the edge of the bed, defeated and with fear clinging to me like an itchy wool sweater three sizes too small. What if I failed? What if I never saw Diem again?

When the shit-colored motel carpet blurred, I removed my glasses and swiped away tears. Great, now I was breaking down in front of my cousin, who already saw me as weak and incompetent.

The bed dipped, and Costa wrapped an arm around me, drawing me against his side. “We’ll get him back, Tal. This isn’t over. I have an idea.”

“I sure hope Quaid’s right and you really do have James Bond tendencies.”

He chuckled. “I’m not sure I’d qualify for the next remake, but I’m not walking away and leaving you on your own. We have to be smart about this, Tallus. These people are dangerous.”

I rested my head on Costa’s shoulder and let the tears fall. Maybe my emotions made him uncomfortable, but he didn’t say anything.

“The last time we were together, we fought,” I said. “I’m a petulant brat, and I don’t know why he puts up with me. I want to tell him I’m sorry.”

“You’ll get to. I’ve known Krause for years. That man has never let anyone in… until now. He loves you, Tallus.”

I dabbed my wet cheeks and fitted my glasses back on. “Okay. I’m done being a sniveling mess. What do we do?”

“We find the Royal Whispering Ace because I strongly suspect it’s where they’re holding Krause.”

“And how are we going to do that? Memphis couldn’t remember where it was.”

“Maybe not, but his date that night knows, and I can be a persuasive asshole when I want to be. What’s his name?”

“Um… Joshua Stroud. That’s all I know. ”

“Age?”

“Mid-twenties to early thirties? I’m guessing. Memphis never said.”

Kitty swung around to face the laptop, fingers dancing on the keys.

Costa waited. In less than ten minutes, my co-worker shook her head.

“The name is too common. I have over twenty-five matches within that age bracket in the Greater Toronto Area. It’ll take a long time to dig through them all and find the right one. ”

“His family owns Forever Luxurious.”

“Hang on.” Kitty typed some more but was already shaking her head when she said. “It helps, but little personal information is listed. They seem to be private people.”

“They’re rich.”

She hummed. “No problem. I’ll have to delve into our system, find the owner’s name that way, and work my way backward to the son to figure out where he lives. An hour at least.”

“I figured. We have a faster way.” Costa displayed the phone he’d gotten from Quaid. “What’s Memphis’s number?”

“Is that a burner?”

“It’s untraceable. I don’t want any of this linked to my personal life. If things go south and the department decides to connect the dots, I need to be able to play the innocent bystander. Number, Tal.”

I rhymed off Memphis’s number, and Costa put it on speaker as it rang.

“What should I say?” I asked.

“Let me do the talking.”