Sinister Magic: An Urban Fantasy Dragon Series (Death Before Dragons #1) - Lindsay Buroker Page 0,103
The suitcase had folded out into one, but instead of holding massage implements, there was a complete chemistry lab tucked away in niches and racks. He pulled out a tiny infrared light and set it on the corner.
“Don’t vampires see in the dark?” Willard asked.
The red light showed how sunken her eyes were and how much weight she was losing. I hoped this worked.
“Certainly,” Zoltan said, his back to us as he worked. “But not well enough to read labels or the hash marks on graduated cylinders. I assume you want me to be precise.”
“I suppose.” Willard leaned her head back against her pillow.
I could tell she wanted to ask if she should get her hopes up. I wished I knew. “I think those lights are good for your skin. Maybe you should cozy up to that one, Willard.”
“What are you implying, Thorvald?”
“That the sands of time only go one way, my friend.”
“Tell me about it.”
Sindari slinked into the room, visible once again. He pushed the door shut behind him with his tail.
“If I live, I’ll do my best to clear you of trouble.” Willard closed her eyes. “You may recall that I’ve been labeled a suspect, too, but I heard a few things while Sudo was in here questioning me. More precisely, after he was done questioning me, thought I’d fallen asleep, and took a call while looking out the window over there.” She slid her phone out from under the sheets. “I recorded it.”
“Was it as incriminating as I hope?”
“More so for his superior, General Nash, someone I’ve butted heads with over this department before. Interestingly, he’s retiring this year after buying a yacht and a beautiful house on the water in Medina. Polite of Sudo to use speakerphone for his conversation. He must be one of those people afraid that cell waves irradiate the brain.”
“Medina? Isn’t that where Bill Gates has his mansion?”
“Yes, I believe it’s just down the street. Nash’s general’s retirement pay must be more substantial than anyone else’s.”
“I assume he’s being bribed?”
Generals made good money by military standards, but I was positive one couldn’t afford even the median home in Medina, much less waterfront property there. Even Seattle proper wasn’t exactly an inexpensive place to live.
Oh, wait. The dark-elf alchemist had mentioned bribing someone to close Willard’s office. That must have been Nash.
“Yes, and I can prove it.” Willard smiled and pulled something else out from under the sheets. A MacBook Air. “I’ve been doing research in between sleeping and puking. I was determined to get to the bottom of this, if only to clear your name, before I bit it.”
A lump formed in my throat at this admission, and it was a moment before I could find my voice. “Thank you. But I’m afraid there won’t be any biting here. I forbade Zoltan to unleash his fangs.”
“Given the shriveled huskiness of my veins, it didn’t sound like he was tempted.”
“I don’t know. He keeps eyeing my throat.”
“Half-elven blood is almost as good as elven blood,” Zoltan murmured without looking back. He had numerous flasks and beakers and even a recipe book out now. “And I am tempted to find out if that dragon aura would convey any extra potency to your blood.”
“Dragon aura?” Willard asked.
“It’s a long story. Tell me more about this skeevy general.”
“I sent a note to another general that oversees his division and ours. I’m hoping something will break soon. I called in favors and gathered a lot of data.” She patted the small laptop.
I eyed the sheets. “What else do you have hidden under there? A printer? A scanner? A file cabinet?”
“Just charging cords. I’ve had to be discreet. Sudo and his investigators have visited often.”
“Is he getting a house in Medina too?”
“Not that I could discover. I think he’s just one of those young pups eager at the chance to take down a senior officer and make a name for himself.”
Or Sudo had simply been following Nash’s orders. A general could easily have assigned a lowly lieutenant to dig up—or make up—incriminating evidence on Willard. Enough to put suspicion on the whole office and order its closure? Maybe so.
I still didn’t know what plans Synaru-van had been referring to, plans she’d wanted me out of the way for, and I made a mental note to do some more research later. We might have taken out the alchemist and that vile priestess, but there were still the two criminals Zav was looking for and however many hundreds more dark