I nodded. Jo-Jo had a bit of precognition. Most Air elementals did, since the currents and emotions on the wind whispered to them of all the actions people might take. I didn't know what Jo-Jo might have gotten a glimpse of, but if she'd sent Bria on ahead, that meant that things were going to get a whole lot worse before they got better - if we all didn't get dead in the meantime.
"Tell me about the giants."
Bria shook her head. "We'd just made it across the bridge and slipped into the gardens when we heard them coming our way. One minute, Xavier and I were alone. The next, there were giants everywhere. In the parking lots, on the bridge, in the gardens. All yelling back and forth and looking for something - or someone. So we found a place to hide and waited them out. It took a while, but eventually, they all headed back up to the museum. The last we saw of them, they were clustered around some moving trucks by the entrance. That's when we headed in this direction."
"Yeah," Xavier chimed in. "We were wondering where you and Owen might be, but then we heard someone shooting. So we just followed the sound of the gunshots. And look, they led us straight to you, Gin."
He grinned at me, and I returned the gesture.
"Gunshots are a pretty good indicator that I'm lurking around," I said.
"So what's the situation on this end?" Xavier asked.
I quickly filled them in on all my wanderings, killings, and stealings in the museum, including how I'd gotten Owen out of the vault and swiped Mab's will.
Bria frowned. "Okay, robbing the partygoers and the museum I understand. But why would Clementine want to steal Mab's will?"
I shrugged. "I don't know, but she must want it something fierce to go to all this trouble - "
The walkie-talkie on my belt crackled. I'd turned the volume down while Owen and I had been hiding, although I'd made sure it was loud enough for me still to hear the giants' squawks to one another as they searched for us. But this voice sounded louder and far more forceful than the others, the cadence of the words different, so I adjusted the volume so that we could all hear what was being said. I didn't catch all the words, but I didn't have to, since she apparently decided to repeat herself.
Clementine's voice came through loud and clear. "I'll say it again. This message is for whoever's been going around killing my boys. We need to talk."
I raised my eyebrows, mildly surprised it had taken her this long to reach out to me. I grabbed the walkie-talkie, brought the speaker up to my mouth, and hit the button on the side.
"Why, hello, Clementine," I drawled. "I was wondering when you might call."
Chapter 20
"Who the hell are you?" Clementine demanded.
Well, she was blunt, I'd give her that.
"I'm the person who took what you were after in the vault. That's all you need to know."
Clementine had heard my voice before in the rotunda and bathroom, so I made my tone low, throaty, and raspy, as though I'd spent my life chain-smoking and chugging down mountain moonshine - sort of like Sophia's voice.
"Who are you?" she asked again. "Some sort of thief?"
Tension eased out of my shoulders. I'd thought she might put two and two together and realize that Gin Blanco, the Spider, was alive and well, especially given that I'd used my knives to kill some of her men. But apparently, she was still under the impression that Dixon had murdered me outside the bathroom. Good. That was good. Because if she didn't realize who I really was, then she also wouldn't realize that she had all the leverage she needed - Finn, Roslyn, Eva, and Phillip - to get me to do exactly what she wanted.
"Something like that," I replied. "You didn't think you were the only one who had the bright idea of hitting the big gala, now, did you? All that art on display here tonight, all those jewels, all the publicity surrounding the event. Why, the Briartop staff practically begged me to show up and take something."
"You bitch," she snarled. "You piggybacked onto my heist."
"You stung the museum, so I decided to sting you instead," I corrected. "Honor among thieves is highly overrated. And why should I do all the hard, dirty work of getting into the vault when you and your crew were so eager to do it for me? I was prepared to crack it myself, but what happens when I finally go for it? Why, I find you in there ahead of me. So I decided to wait for the perfect moment to get what I came for - or, rather, to create the perfect moment."
"The explosion."
"The explosion," I agreed. "You really shouldn't leave bombs lying around where just anyone can find them."
"And what was it exactly that you came for?" Clementine asked.
I plucked the diamond necklace I'd swiped from the vault earlier out of a pouch on my belt. I held it up, admiring the sparkle of the jewels for a moment, before tossing it over to Bria. "A lovely little necklace. Exquisite diamonds. All nice and shiny and ready to be fenced. That ebony tube you were after just happened to be a bonus."
Silence. I could almost hear Clementine thinking, trying to figure out whether to admit that the tube was what she'd broken into the vault for. In the end, she decided to come clean. She didn't have another play here, and we both knew it.
"And how did you even know that tube was what I was after?"
"Oh," I said, "I have my ways. You wouldn't want a girl to reveal all her trade secrets, now, would you?"
More silence.
"What's your name?" Clementine asked.
"Well, I could give you a name, but I think we both know it wouldn't be my real one," I said. "So why bother?"
"Fine, Ms. No-Name. Here's how this will go down. You either give me back what you stole, or I start killing people," Clementine said, her voice just as polite and pleasant as mine. "Starting with Eva Grayson. I'm sure you saw her earlier tonight. Such a pretty girl. It would be a shame to have to put three bullets in her face."
Owen stiffened, and his violet eyes blazed with anger. He started to open his mouth, but I shook my head and held my finger up to my lips.
I thought she might say something like that, and I was ready for her threat. I chuckled, making the sound light, carefree, and just a tad mocking. "You go right ahead. I don't care in the slightest whether some poor little rich girl lives or dies."
"Well, Mr. Grayson might care," Clementine said, changing tactics. "Why don't you put him on so I can ask him?"
Owen looked at me, but once again I shook my head.
"Grayson's dead," I rasped. "He took a couple of bullets helping me get out of the museum. Bled out quick after that."