I glanced at Dodge but he shrugged like it was my decision whether to talk or not. I cleared my throat. “You don’t have to pretend to be interested. I’m sorry we barged in on you like this, it’s been an odd morning, and...”
“An odd morning?” Smith frowned as he sat up, his attention shifting back to Dodge. “Though I’m genuinely interested in your skillset and approach to habitat design, Ms. Lawson, perhaps that can wait. Mr. Dodge, care to explain yourself?”
His tone changed to chastise Dodge, as if Smith had expected to be told about a rough morning right off the bat. Dodge sighed but ran through the string of awful events that had occurred in the past day, skipping the part where I freaked out about Silas and Deirdre and jumping right to when Dodge found me at the animal sanctuary.
When Dodge mentioned Ms. Bridger, Smith leaned back in his chair and pressed his hands together at his chest, eyebrows arched. “Oh really.”
“Yeah,” Dodge said. A world of history and judgement fit in that single syllable.
I clenched the armrests of the chair, which thankfully was a great deal more comfortable than the ones in the lobby. “Okay, you guys have to help me out. She seems so nice, so helpful. She’s been mentoring me and she’s given me a lot of design freedom with the project. She’s doing this great charitable thing for animals in need. How is she such a terrible person?”
“Babe, she’s going to use the sanctuary full of predators to get rid of her enemies,” Dodge said.
“That’s preposterous.” I managed to laugh, shaking my head. “That’s insane. She wouldn’t...”
But when I looked between the two men, neither one laughed with me. Neither smiled. They just looked grim and resolute. They really believed... My stomach turned over and my hands started trembling as I brushed my hair back, just in case I had to ralph into the trendy stainless trashcan next to Smith’s desk. “It’s impossible. It can’t be...”
Dodge made a rough sound in his throat and reached for my hand as he edged his chair closer to mine. “Deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth.”
“Here’s some water,” Smith said, retrieving a bottle of fancy name-brand water from a hidden fridge in the corner. He leaned against the desk as he stood in front of me. “I’m sure this is quite a shock, Ms. Lawson. Please know I’ll do everything I can to assist.”
“Who are you, exactly?” I sipped the water but couldn’t drag my attention from where Dodge’s hand gripped my wrist. “What do you do?”
“I’m a private investigator, of sorts,” he said pleasantly enough. But there was an undertone to his words that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He definitely wasn’t telling the whole truth. If Dodge brought us there, though, then obviously Smith couldn’t betoobad? I just wished I had a few moments with Dodge to ask him about this guy and what the plan was. “I also take responsibility for some of the communities in this city. We can talk more about that later, of course, once we’ve resolved this little problem with Bridger.”
Dodge checked his watch. “We told Bridger that we had a client meeting this morning, so Persephone wouldn’t have to meet her or show up at the sanctuary. You’re our client meeting. We just need to buy some time before we meet Evershaw at Hangang over on 5th.”
“Of course,” Smith said. He smiled at me, as if to reassure me, but it didn’t do much to settle my nerves or my stomach. “I would ask to go with you, but I imagine Deirdre is still... upset with me.”
Dodge snorted and leaned back in his chair, stretching his legs out to cross his boots. “That’s an understatement.”
“Wh-what is she upset about?” I asked, looking between them.
Smith winced, then offered a tentative smile. “I tricked her into helping Miles with something several months ago, and she has not forgiven me for the ruse.”
“Deirdre doesnotlike being backed into a corner,” Dodge said, grinning. He looked far too entertained with whatever happened between the older man and Deirdre. “And then Evershaw made things worse a month or so ago when Silas was missing, before he got all fucked up. Evershaw asked Smith for help even though Deirdre told him not to, and Deirdre found out, so she’s... irritated about it.”
“I can imagine that would make for an uncomfortable encounter,” I said. “But I’m still not sure what it is we’re going to talk about at the restaurant? Is this about Silas or Ms. Bridger or something else?”
“Perhaps all of it,” Smith said. “And more. I may be able to assist with one aspect, at least. A... colleague of mine is a homicide detective. She may be willing to take an anonymous statement or otherwise investigate without getting your name involved in things, Ms. Lawson. With Mr. Dodge protecting you as she builds her case, you’ll be as safe as if the culprits were already... dealt with.”
Somehow, when he said ‘dealt with,’ I didn’t think he meant jail. I smiled at him and carefully withdrew my hand from Dodge’s grasp. “His job is to deliver me to Evershaw. I’m sure he has better things to do than worry about whether Ms. Bridger is trying to have me killed.”
Dodge tensed but let me go. Smith glanced between us and a hint of a smile slid across his face. “Of course, I’m sure you’re right. Someone in Miles’s pack would do the honors in the meantime. I would not trust anything Bridger says, Ms. Lawson, regardless of how friendly she might sound. If you’re amenable, I will speak with Detective O’Brien and have her contact Miles for a time to meet later.”
“Won’t me meeting with a homicide detective tip them off that I saw something? Wouldn’t that convince them to kill me sooner?”
Smith’s smile widened just slightly. “We have our ways of dealing with being observed, Ms. Lawson, never fear. But it is good for you to consider all variables. It is a trait that will stand you in good stead.”
“Professional hazard, I suppose.” I took a deep breath and drank more water to buy myself time to think. “So, Mr. Smith. What else is Ms. Bridger up to in the city? I would like a clearer picture of what I’m dealing with.”
He glanced at Dodge briefly, then made his way back around his desk. “None of it is particularly easy to hear, Ms. Lawson.”
I gripped the armrests and took a deep breath. “I need to know. I’m ready.”
Dodge shook his head but didn’t try to stop Smith when he started through the criminal résumé of a woman I’d thought of as a mentor only a day earlier. It turned my stomach to hear what she’d done and who she supported, but it was all data I needed to really understand the scope of how fucked I really was.
Chapter 16
