My eyes swept over the crowd, going from one face to another. By this point, folks had started to cluster together, talking to each other or murmuring into their cell phones. All the bodyguards still had their guns out, their heads swiveling left and right, but I could have told them not to bother. The danger was dead. At least for today.
Still, the bodyguards eyed me warily, as did their employers, including Phillip Kincaid.
The casino boss politely tipped his head to me. The motion made the blond highlights in his short ponytail shimmer in the sun. That same smile I'd noticed earlier was still plastered on his face, although it was even wider now, as if he'd thoroughly enjoyed the show I'd inadvertently put on. I'd never spoken to Kincaid, but something about the way he looked at me made me feel like he knew a lot more about me than I did about him. That was worrisome, especially since Kincaid would no doubt be moving to consolidate his power base now that Mab was dead and almost buried.
Still, I'd never made any problems for Kincaid, and he hadn't for me, either. Hiring someone to kill me at Mab's funeral just didn't seem like his style.
I couldn't say the same thing about Jonah McAllister, though. He was talking to the minister, probably about trying to finish the service for Mab. He must have felt me staring at him, because he looked over his shoulder at me. The lawyer's mouth puckered into a frown, and he turned his attention back to the minister. I didn't know whether McAllister's displeasure was because I'd ruined the service or I was still breathing. I imagined either one was more than enough to thoroughly piss him off.
"My money's on McAllister setting this up," I said, finally answering Owen's question. "As to who he was after, the sniper had his sight set on you first before he switched it over to me, but that was probably just him turning the laser on and lining up his shot. I think he wanted to take me down first. It looked like he was aiming for Donaldson and Parker, too, given how many shots he fired at them."
"But he kept firing even when you and the others were on the ground," Owen pointed out.
I shrugged. "Maybe he was trying to get Donaldson, Parker, and some of the other bosses as a bonus. Maybe he had orders just to kill whomever he could. There's just no way of knowing, but trying to have me or some of the other underworld players assassinated at Mab's funeral is just the sort of underhanded, weaselly thing McAllister would do. As for why now, probably because this is one of the few times all the bosses have been together and that I've been out in such a public place since I killed Mab. McAllister wants me dead, and he probably thought this was his best shot - that I might still be weak from my fight with her. I would still be weak, if Jo-Jo hadn't spent so much time and magic healing me."
I didn't add that my arms and legs were still twitching and trembling from my sprint across the cemetery and that I could feel the familiar exhaustion creeping up on me from overexerting myself. The others would probably insist on taking me home, and I still had unfinished business here.
Jo-Jo patted my hand. "Something I was more than happy to do, darling. You know that."
I nodded at the dwarf, but my gaze went back to McAllister. If the lawyer had been behind the attack, I wondered how he was feeling now that it had failed. He didn't seem as upset as he should be, though, and I couldn't help but wonder what else McAllister would plan now that he hadn't gotten what he'd wanted at the funeral.
I had a feeling I was going to find out sooner rather than later.
The guns were holstered, the overturned chairs were righted, and folks took their places in the seats and around the coffin once more. It was a little more difficult this time, but eventually the minister got everyone settled down again and managed to finish the service. He consulted his notes and picked up right where he'd left off, talking about all of Mab's contributions to various charities in Ashland and beyond and how she'd left a lasting legacy on the city that would be remembered for years to come.
And now, so would her funeral - thanks to me.
I kept glancing at the other mourners as he spoke, and more than a few folks looked back at me. For some reason I had a feeling like everything had changed since the shooting. Now, instead of looking at me with curiosity, everyone was staring at me with cold speculation, like I was a prize they'd suddenly set their sights on, one they wanted to win no matter what.
The rest of the service went off without a hitch, and the minister had just finished speaking when blue and white lights started flashing in the distance. Several sedans and cop cars entered the cemetery, letting everyone know that the police had finally arrived.
You would think that the appearance of the po-po would cause all the crime bosses to quietly, discreetly leave the scene as fast as they could. But this wasn't a normal city: this was Ashland, where practically all the cops were on the take. Instead of shying away from the police, many of the underworld figures greeted the cops like they were old friends. Hell, I even saw Kincaid shaking hands with some folks in the coroner's office. More than a few C-notes exchanged hands as the crime lords and ladies slipped their po-po and other informants their usual bribes to report back on the shooting here today. Sometimes I thought the underworld movers and shakers should just go ahead and take over the police department instead of playing this elaborate game. At least then the corruption would have an official city stamp of approval on it.
Once the bribes had been handed out, the bosses said their good-byes to their informants, got into their limos and expensive sedans, and rode away. The other mourners started filing out of the cemetery as well, now that the show was over and the cleanup had started.
"If you don't need us anymore, we're going home, darling," Jo-Jo said. "I need to feed Rosco and get everything set up in the salon for my morning customers."
"Thank you for coming and being here with me," I said, looking at her and Sophia. "Both of you."
"Welcome," Sophia rasped.
The Goth dwarf nodded at me, then she and Jo-Jo started walking across the grass to her convertible.
"Now what?" Owen asked.
I looked around at the emptying cemetery. "Now we go see what Bria has found out about the dead guy. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and he'll actually have some info on him about who hired him and whether he was after me or someone else."
The two of us walked over to Finn, who was talking to a giant who was around seven feet tall. The giant had one arm around Roslyn and was holding her close, while the vampire had her arm wrapped around his waist and was resting her head on his chest. The sun glinted off the giant's shaved head as he nodded at something Finn said.