Page 25

I loved painting, and this was probably the biggest commission of my life. It was also the most enjoyable. Most people wanted me to do portraits, and I was getting bored with those. Everyone wanted to be posed the same, and they always wanted me to make them look better than they did in real life.

I was just distracted today. Lucy and Neco could handle themselves. Now that I knew Neco’s secret, I’d bet on him against any serial killer. It was their slimy fathers I didn’t like. I didn’t like their deal, either.

It was never a one and done with them. They used their kids until they couldn’t anymore. Neco seemed happy with the arrangement because now it was totally clear he was an assassin instead of a serial killer. I didn’t really see the difference, but he seemed sensitive about it.

Neco’s deal I could understand. It was Lucy’s I was worried about.

I knew they wanted the Ghoul gone, but Trevils was a legend among the Guttertown kids.

He was more qualified to catch a killer than any of us.

He might not have caught him yet, but he would.

Neco was some kind of murder savant, but Trevils would eventually catch him, too, and find out he had a free pass.

So, I didn’t like this.

I hardly got any work done and then walked over to the tavern with Beck.

Everyone would just have time to eat and plan for whatever was learned in the Merchant District before they had to deal with their busy times at their respective jobs.

I would have gone back to painting, but I was too distracted.

Maybe I’d hear something that settled my mind.

I knew Basselt was a banished Theran who might be able to seriously help Guttertown with remedies, but right now, I appreciated him helping Lucy and Caitrin.

Ollie was waiting with food and he was up to something again.

He was good at not spreading people’s business if he heard it at the tavern, but he was also rotten at keeping secrets with the people he loved.

Yeah, he exploded as soon as Beck and I sat down and admitted Basselt was on the case, even if Lucy told him not to. Damn. She was going to be furious.

“She’s taking away your taste tester privileges, and she’s probably banning you from sex until she calms down,” I said.

Yeah, that was one thing about Lucy. She didn’t like people going behind her back and thinking they knew better than her. Most of the time, we didn’t, but sometimes, we did. She was stubborn sometimes if she thought she was protecting someone. She eventually calmed down and admitted she was wrong.

Lucy threatened to take away our taste testing privileges all the time, but she never did. It was almost a joke. This was just a high-stress situation.

I was a little shocked when Lucy and Neco walked in with Inspector Trevils, but I was also glad he was working with them. I just hoped he didn’t look at Neco too hard.

“Ollie, can you get Trevils some stew and a Bloody Mary?”

“I’m excited,” Trevils said. “A few people have come back with stories about the Bloody Mary and the taverns have been trying to recreate it. Their attempts are completely vile, but they are still selling them. They only take them off the menu and try again when someone who has actually had one tells them it’s disgusting.

Like the rest of us had no taste buds when we told them. ”

I liked Trevils. He was low key, and I was picking up a Lower Cutwart accent. Ollie brought out another bowl and a tankard. Trevils moaned, and I liked him a bit more. They served good food at the Whispering Raven, but Basselt was a pretty amazing cook. He kept up with Caitrin and Lucy just fine.

“This smells divine. I’ve heard talk of the Bloody Mary, but I’m a little scared to drink it.”

“I’ll tell you a little secret. They are never going to be able to recreate it outside the Whispering Raven unless I tell them how.

It has a new spirit I created in it. I’m working on other recipes with it and they aren’t going to be able to steal those either unless I tell them how to make the spirit,” Lucy said.

“No shit? I can safely say this here, but the Barons have more money and power than they do sense. I can think of much better options for the two of you than the ones your fathers gave you. Neco should be my apprentice and you should be learning alchemy.”

Um, because he didn’t know Neco was the Blight. We were all looking at Trevils like he was a bit mental. Neco was good at looking at crime scenes because he caused them on the regular.

Lucy just shrugged.

“The Argent kids hate the Barons more than the rest of Nestran. They don’t swoop into Guttertown and woo our mothers with false promises.

Guttertown women aren’t dumb enough to fall for that.

They aren’t given a choice. If one of them sets their eyes on a woman, she doesn’t have the option to say no.

They also know damned well how to prevent a baby unless someone sabotages them. It’s rape.”

Trevils looked stunned.

“I never thought about it like that and I apologize.”

Yeah, I liked Trevils. He didn’t try to correct her about her lived experience like someone outside of Guttertown would. I had a feeling if he knew she wasn’t a man, he’d have the exact same reaction.

“So, what happened?” Ollie blurted out.

Because Ollie secretly loved gossip just as much as I did, especially when it didn’t come with some traumatizing mental images of Guttertown residents.

“We’re all going to be fucked over, but especially Mom, unless we can trick them,” Lucy snarled.

Yeah, everyone immediately knew what that meant and it soured the mood. The Ghoul was one of them and they protected their own, even when they fucked up.

“I’m not sure you can,” Trevils sighed. “I’ve been trying to figure that out since I took my position.”

Neco was just grinning like a psycho and he had this in the bag.

“You didn’t work with Guttertown brats before.”

Trevils just grunted and drained his Bloody Mary. He was going to have problems getting home drinking it that fast, but Neco was right.

The Guttertown brats were pretty motivated to fuck the Barons over and keep the Ghoul off our streets.