Page 37 of Veiled Justice (The Other Detective #1)

I had enough for all their warrants but this was a case that could come back to screw my brother. It had to be ironclad – and I knew just what to do.

This time Krieg and Loki were on the other side of the glass so at least I didn’t need to worry about a mistimed ‘Pigdog’ from the peanut gallery. Katz looked half-asleep; the lazy arsehole hadn’t even bothered to bring a lawyer. I hit record and read him his rights.

‘You want a lawyer, kid?’ I asked casually, before we started.

‘Am I under arrest?’ He started picking at his nails.

‘Nah. We’re just chatting.’

He waved a hand dismissively. ‘Let the record show that Caspian Katz has waived his right to a solicitor.’ I smiled warmly. ‘So, tell me about yourself.’

He dropped his hand. ‘What did you want to know?’

‘Well, when we met, I didn’t realise you were part of the Katz PR empire!’

Katz smiled smugly. ‘I’m set to inherit the whole thing.’

‘That’s awesome! So, PR is the family business, but do you like working in PR?’

‘I do. I have a real flair for it. A talent.’

‘I bet you do.’ I hesitated. ‘I’ve heard your dad’s a bit of a ball buster and that he’s still not given you any real responsibility, even though you’re already twenty-one!’

Katz frowned. ‘He’ll see.’

‘You need some sort of special project,’ I suggested. ‘Something to showcase how good you are at getting press coverage for your clients.’ I leaned forward. ‘You could even work with The Mystic Informer. I heard they did a piece on the party murders.’

The Mystic Informer was a new gossip rag that printed only Other news; it was protected with runes so that no one from the Common realm could read it.

No one knew who ran it or how it was distributed.

I had no idea if it had run a piece about the murders – actually that seemed quite unlikely because it wasn’t a slick operation.

If I’d had to guess, I’d have said it was some sort of small, start-up press.

‘Really?’ Katz beamed. ‘I didn’t see that!’

‘Yes, it was great publicity for Quintos and Carnforth! You know what they say, no press is bad press!’

‘Absolutely,’ he enthused. ‘This is great.’ Looking chuffed, he rubbed his hands.

I kept my tone light. ‘You know, Caspian – I can call you Caspian, right?’

‘Sure thing, honey.’ He winked.

Ugh. I persevered. ‘You’d have been a natural choice for running PR for something like this.

You’ve got the brains for it, the creativity.

If it was me, I’d be pitching headlines like, "Tragic Deaths Spark Calls for Change." Or even, "Mystery Murders Keep High Society on Edge." That’s the kind of thing you’re good at, isn’t it?’

He puffed out his chest. ‘Exactly. You get it. It’s all about controlling the narrative.’

I tilted my head. ‘Of course, it’s risky tying your name to something so messy. Not everyone can spin gold out of something dark like this. Most people couldn’t pull it off – the narrative could wobble.’

Katz smirked and leaned back in his chair. ‘Exactly. You have to be very skilled. But with the right angle and the right timing, you can make anything work.’

‘Timing is everything, isn’t it? Like those parties – Quintos’s fundraiser, Carnforth’s gala. Big events, lots of press, the perfect backdrop for ... well, anything, really.’

Katz’s complacency was suffocating. ‘Exactly. It’s like PR 101. The more eyes, the better.’

‘And you’re so good at making sure the right people notice, connecting the dots, pulling the strings.’ I lowered my voice slightly. ‘It’s almost like you were running the show.’

He snorted. ‘If I’d been running it, it would’ve been flawless.’

‘Would it?’ I kept my gaze fixed on him. ‘Flawless like orchestrating a killer to be at the right place at the right time? Making sure every piece of the puzzle fits together perfectly?’

I saw the exact moment that Katz realised that he was in dangerous waters. He shifted in his chair and his cocky facade cracked.

‘Hypothetically,’ I continued, ‘if someone like you were behind this, they’d need to be a genius at managing people.

’ I kept my tone admiring. ‘Like hiring the dryad for Carnforth’s hit – smart move, by the way.

A hired killer with no known ties to the person hiring them?

That’s going to become a Katz signature move, isn’t it? ’

‘Speaking strictly hypothetically,’ he echoed, his voice more subdued now, ‘it would be pure genius.’ But his arrogance and the thrill of showing off were too much for him to resist. ‘Not just anyone could pull that off. You’d have to know how to handle both sides, get what you need without dirtying your own hands.

Not to mention handling pushy clients who think they know best.’ He snorted derisively.

‘You’d have to be brilliant,’ I agreed. ‘I mean, it’s not like we’re sitting here because you made any mistakes, is it?’ I gave him a slow smile.

Realising too late that the trap was closing, Katz froze. ‘I didn’t—’

‘Didn’t what?’ I pressed, my voice sharp now.

‘Didn’t hire Einar for Quintos? It’s your signature on the contract, Caspian.

Quintos played you.’ I shook my head sadly.

‘So close to perfection, but you should have got the clients to sign their own contracts. That was a real rookie error. You thought you were in control. You thought you were playing Quintos and Carnforth, but really they were playing you.’ I regarded him sympathetically.

He was starting to look nervous as reality hit and he pulled at the collar of his shirt. ‘I don’t know who this Einar is. Who are you talking about?’

‘Please, honey,’ I snorted, enjoying tossing the patronising moniker right back at him. ‘It’s too late for that. The best you can hope for is to give me enough on Quintos and Carnforth so that the CPS let you plea-bargain in exchange for your evidence.’

He licked his lips. ‘I want total immunity.’

‘I’m sure you do, but that’s not how this works, honey. We need to know what you’ve got before we agree to anything.’ His lawyer would have told him that was total BS, but in his na?ve arrogance he hadn’t hired one. ‘Lay it all out for me, Caspian. When did Quintos first approach you?’

Katz swallowed hard. ‘We were in Nocturne, drunk. It was just drunk talk – or so I thought at first. Quintos was showing off the way he always does. He likes to boast and we indulge him because he’s wealthy and powerful.

He loves filling the books in Pride. He’s part of the elite and we were thrilled when he started hanging out with us.

Dad says he’s got no class, that he’s first-generation wealthy – but that’s what makes it fun, you know?

Quintos doesn’t have the airs and graces that we’ve been raised with.

It’s been eye-opening, spending time with him – he made us realise how much power we have. ’ He looked smug.

‘You, Tom Squiggins and Jameson Montague?’

‘Yeah. So this one time, we were shooting the breeze, talking about his charity masquerade. He said he had a bet with Louisa about who could throw the best party. He wanted to make his event stand out, and he said wouldn’t it be juicy if there was a murder?

People would talk about it for years. Quintos said that he knew he was so rich he could get away with murder. ’

That old excitement was creeping into Katz’s eyes again, the forbidden thrill. ‘We were just talking hypotheticals, of course, but we came up with a whole plan.’

‘All of you?’ I affected surprise.

‘Just me and Quintos.’ Katz snorted. ‘The others have no vision. We talked about killing someone and in particular a creature, because … you know.’ He waved a hand.

‘They’re just animals.’ I kept my voice as even as I could.

He shot me a relieved look. ‘Exactly. You get it. No different to killing a pig or whatever. Easier to get away with, rather than starting with a human.’

I kept my expression blank but I swear I could feel Krieg’s eyes boring down on us through the two-way glass.

‘So you decided to hire a creature to kill a creature?’

‘Spot on! How beautiful, how elegant.’ He kissed his fingers like a chef congratulating himself on a well-cooked dish. ‘We wouldn’t even get our own hands dirty but everyone would be talking about it.’

‘It’s not your fault if two ogres or two dryads go at it and kill each other.’ Faux understanding dripped from my tongue.

‘Exactly!’ He beamed at me. ‘And it’s already making a splash.

It’ll go down in history! Especially the way the kills were back-to-back like that.

The whole thing was inspired – they’re calling it the Masked Murderer because the first death was at a masquerade ball and the killer’s identity is unknown.

They were wearing a mask,’ he explained, as if I wouldn’t get it.

‘I got it,’ I smiled. ‘Your dad is sure to give you the business now!’

He frowned. ‘You’d think so, but he’s furious about the whole thing. Said I was reckless.’

‘You weren’t reckless, you were clever! You even signed the contracts yourself to keep the clients safe!’

‘Exactly!’

‘And you didn’t get your own hands dirty. You didn’t kill them.’

‘Exactly!’ he repeated with a grin.

I smiled. ‘And that’s why we’ll charge you with conspiracy to murder, rather than just plain old murder.’

His smile slid off his face. ‘Wait. What?’

‘Conspiracy to murder. Accessory to murder. Assisting or encouraging murder. You’ve been a busy boy.’

He paled. ‘I didn’t do anything! I didn’t drug or stab anyone!’

‘You said it yourself – you planned it all.’

‘Hypothetically! I didn’t know Quintos was going to actually follow through with it.’

‘A jury might have believed that, but I don’t. And you don’t get a jury here. You signed those contracts. You hired the ogre and the dryad.’

‘For Quintos and Carnforth! If anyone is the murderer here, it’s them.’

I smiled with grim satisfaction. ‘I quite agree. And I’ll be going after them with everything I’ve got. But your confession will surely help.’

Katz looked panicked. ‘I didn’t confess! I was just explaining what had happened. I didn’t do anything! I want my lawyer.’

‘I bet you do, Caspian.’ I closed his file. ‘I have news for you, kid. Even the best lawyer and all your dad’s money won’t get you out of this one. My word is law. I’m Judge, Jury and Executioner.’ My voice dropped to sub-zero on that last word.

He started to tremble. ‘Please! Please don’t kill me.’

‘I don’t intend to. You deserve Wraithmore Prison. Pretty boy like you? You’re going to love it.’ Katz was about to learn a very hard life lesson.

I read him the charges and arrested him. The day was looking up.