empty reception counter and walked to the wall opposite the entrance, to a bank of elevators. On our right a small waiting area offered ultramodern grey loveseats and a coffee table with a selection of magazines, their bright covers fanned across the wood. On the left a narrow hallway led to two doors, one marked as an exit and the other as stairs.
I checked the directory posted next to the elevators. Moody’s office was on the second floor. The elevator would be a trap. All they had to do was stop it between floors and we would be sitting ducks.
“Stairs,” Alessandro said.
I nodded.
We turned left, into the hallway. As we reached the end, Alessandro leaned on the metal bar of the exit door. It didn’t budge. Locked. One way in, one way out. Better and better.
I tried the door to the stairs. It swung open, revealing a concrete staircase. I held the door open and listened.
Silence.
Alessandro glided past me and went up the first flight of stairs, completely silent, like a ghost. I followed him, carefully, quietly, moving at a measured pace. A few tense breaths, and we emerged into a simple hallway, lined with a charcoal rug. A row of doors, each an identical wooden frame with frosted glass, punctuated the right wall, with small signs identifying the individual offices. We started down the hallway, Alessandro stalking next to me on quiet feet. The signs slid by.
L.M. Markham, CPA
Eunice C. Roberts, Affinity Insurance
Dennis George Moody, Moody Investments
The rapid staccato of someone typing filtered through the frosted glass. Alessandro reached for the door handle, swung the door open, and held it for me. I walked into a cozy office with a desk on the right and a couple of chairs on the left. A woman sat behind the desk, typing at the computer. She was Hispanic, in her sixties, and as I walked in, she raised her head and gave me a smile.
“Runa Etterson?”
“Yes,” I lied.
She opened her mouth, saw Alessandro, and stopped for a befuddled second. “And who are you?”
“My personal assistant,” I said.
My personal assistant dazzled the receptionist with one of his armada-launching smiles.
The woman finally recovered. “Mr. Moody is waiting for you. You go on right ahead, it’s the second door on your right.”
We walked deeper into the office suite. The short reception area terminated in a hallway. We turned right and found the second door. It stood wide open, and we went through it.
Moody looked just like the headshot on his website: broad-shouldered, not exactly fat, but thick through the chest and middle, the way football players sometimes got thick in the offseason. He was probably strong, but he wouldn’t be fast, and if he had to chase me, he would be slow to build up speed. His desk matched him, massive and solid. The pinewood had been cut against the grain and stained with waxed tobacco to imitate a rustic Old West look. The rest of the decor in the office went along with the desk; a Texas star on the wall, a huge map of Texas, cowhide rug on the floor, the client chairs upholstered in dark leather. Good Old Texas, reliable and trustworthy. The desktop was the only modern touch.
“You’re not Runa Etterson,” Moody observed.
“Clearly, I’m not,” Alessandro said.
“Not you. Her.” Moody pointed at me.
I let him see a glimpse of my feathers. “That’s okay.” My magic surged through my words, stretching for him. “Runa is a very good friend of mine. You can tell me whatever you wanted to tell her.”
My power wrapped around him, twisting like a magical grapevine spiraling over his body. I could apply it delicately, light as gossamer. I could do it so subtly that after I was done asking my questions, Moody wouldn’t even remember the conversation. But Moody didn’t seem like a man who had a gun to his head. His posture showed no tension or nervousness, his eyes didn’t betray any apprehension. He sat behind his desk, completely at ease except for being annoyed that Runa hadn’t come herself. A man whose life depended on Runa’s presence would have panicked.
There was no need to be gentle with him. He was in this up to his eyeballs.
I sank more magic into my voice. “I’ll be sure to let Runa know everything you tell me.”
Moody smiled at me and sat up straighter in his chair. “Well, I guess that’s okay, then. Please have a seat.”
I sat down. Alessandro remained standing right behind me.