"Well, fuck," Stane said, as we appeared next to his bridge. "You guys could at least give a little warning before you do that—it's enough to give someone a heart attack!"
"You are not destined to die via a heart attack," Azriel said, his voice mild. "So I would not be concerned."
Stane gave him a somewhat uncertain look. "I don't know whether to be relieved or worried by that statement."
Azriel offered nothing further, which only sharpened Stane's uncertainty. I smiled and walked into the kitchen to help myself to coffee.
"Our hunt for Nadler hit a dead end. Literally."
"He's dead?" Stane's voice was incredulous.
"The real Nadler is, yes. The fake has scarpered, it seems." I took a sip of coffee, blanched a little at its bitter taste, and threw several extra heaping teaspoons of sugar into it. It didn't help much, but I drank it anyway. I needed something to keep me upright.
"Well, that puts a fucking spanner in the works."
"Maybe." I walked back and sat down on the spare chair near his bridge.
Stane raised his eyebrows. "You have thoughts?"
"Decidedly muddled ones at the moment." I half grinned. "But it occurred to me that whoever has been impersonating Nadler for the last ten years or so wouldn't have killed him off without a backup identity in place. He went to a whole lot of trouble to buy the buildings in this area, and I doubt he'd relinquish control that easily. So there's either a fourth member of the consortium in place that we haven't yet uncovered, or Nadler's last wishes will ensure that our face-shifter still has control of all the land around here."
Stane frowned. "If there was a fourth member of the consortium, I would have uncovered him by now."
"Then our only other hope is digging up the will to see who was the main beneficiary."
He nodded thoughtfully. "I can do a search through the trustees office and see what I can find."
The public trustees office was a government department that offered professional help when it came to wills, asset management, and estate management services. I sipped my coffee and thought about Nadler's body. "We do have another option. Maybe."