“Mr. Volos was just about to tell us what kind of message the body downstairs is intended to convey,” Gardner said.
The executive across the desk took a sip of his water before answering. “I’m afraid I don’t have solid proof.”
“Did you tell them about the letters?” Jade asked.
“What letters?” Gardner asked.
“After plans to build a community center near the Arteries were announced, my client began receiving threats in the mail,” Jade said.
“Why didn’t you take them to the police?” Morales asked Volos.
“I knew the plan wouldn’t be popular among all the residents of the Cauldron,” Volos admitted, “so I wrote them off. Initially.”
Jade stepped in. “In the last couple of weeks, they’ve become more frequent and the tone has shifted from vague threats to specific warnings.”
Gardner leaned forward. “May we?”
Volos nodded at Jade, who handed a stack of photocopies to Gardner. She scanned them for a moment. After a couple of pages her posture went stiff and she muttered a curse. Without looking up, she passed the ones she read to Morales. I came forward and took the first one, which he waved at me over his shoulder.
I scanned them quickly. The first was a formal, typed letter stating the author was unhappy about the land development plan, but not overtly threatening. However, on the second page—dated the day before my run-in with Harkins—only one sentence had been written: “The Cauldron will run red with blood.”
“Jesus,” I whispered. When I looked up, Volos was watching me.
“Even after this one, you still didn’t feel it was worth going to the cops?” Morales demanded.
Volos leaned forward with his elbows on the desk. “I didn’t take them seriously until a body showed up on my property.”
“May we have photocopies of these?” Gardner asked Jade.
“We already gave a copy to Captain Eldritch.” Her tone bordered on insult. “Perhaps he’ll share.”
Bitch.
“What about surveillance from last night?” Morales asked.
“Also with Eldritch,” Jade said before Volos could talk. “Perhaps instead of taking up my client’s time issuing vague accusations, you should have a conversation with your colleagues.”
Morales nodded, sucking air in through his nostrils. “Who do you think sent these?”
“You asked for theories, Special Agent,” Volos said. “All you have to ask yourself is this: Who in the Cauldron would feel most threatened by the location of the community center?”
Gardner and Morales weren’t from the Cauldron, but I knew whom he meant immediately. “Ramses Bane.” The minute I said his name, my brain spun off in about ten directions. The most compelling of which was Bane’s little stunt at the precinct the other day.
Gardner, however, was playing catch-up. “Isn’t he the head of the Sanguinarian Coven?”
Volos nodded. “Bane considers the Arteries his kingdom. Not hard to imagine he would see my plans as a direct threat to his turf.”
“But you knew he’d see it that way when you proposed the project,” I countered. “Why risk it?”
Volos smiled. “The lot in question has been empty for years and I managed to buy it at a steal because the owner was tired of the covens’ using it to peddle their wares. Now it will be a safe place for kids to go after school so they’ll stay off the streets. The benefits outweighed the risks, in my opinion.”
“I doubt Marvin Brown would agree with you,” I shot back.
His jaw tightened. “I will not be bullied into backing down by that anemic tunnel rat.”
“You’re conveniently forgetting that Gray Wolf is an alchemical potion. Bane’s into blood magic. He doesn’t have the chops to pull off that kind of alchemy.”
“I’m not forgetting anything, Kate.” The words conveyed a world of subtext I couldn’t begin to unravel. “It’s not my job to prove Bane is responsible. It’s yours.”
“No, Mr. Volos,” Gardner said. “Our job is to find the truth.” She rose. “Thank you for your time. We’ll be in touch if we have more questions.”
For the first time Volos looked taken off guard, as if he couldn’t fathom why Gardner wasn’t taking his word for it. “The ground-breaking is in four days. I suggest you move fast before Bane does something more drastic, like unleash an entire pack of bloodthirsty beasts on the innocent citizens of this city.”
Morales held up his hands. “If you believe that’s possible, why not postpone the ceremony?”
Volos shot my partner a pitying look. “I assure you that’s not a possibility.”
“Why not?”
“Too much time and money have been invested to delay. If we haven’t broken ground by winter, we’ll have to wait until next year and that is not an option. The mayor wants the project well under way before the election.” He smiled coldly. “Besides, postponing would be surrender and I assure you that is not my style.”
“And if we don’t catch him before you break ground?” Gardner asked.
“I’ll convince the mayor to send the BPD in to clean out the tunnels and charge everyone they find with trespassing. That will give us the window we need to move forward.”
“But if you do that,” I said, unable to help myself, “and Bane is guilty, we will lose any shot of nailing him on federal charges. Or he’ll retaliate by flooding the streets with the potion and even more lives will be lost.”
He leaned back and crossed his arms, smiling like the cat that devoured the canary. “Then I suppose you better get to work.”
Chapter Sixteen
An hour later, Morales and I were back in his wheels headed to the morgue. Mez was still tied up going over the physical samples from the scene with Val, so we got the job of hitting up the ME for access to samples from the body.
I wouldn’t say the ride over was awkward so much as tense and downright glacial. Morales made no effort at small talk, and I obliged his obvious desire for silence by ignoring him.
When we’d pulled up to the morgue, he finally turned to me. “I’ll do the talking in here.”
I considered arguing, but my instincts told me to keep quiet. I was pretty sure he was pissed about my not telling him about my past with Volos. After the meeting, he’d pulled Gardner aside for a heated discussion. I couldn’t make out their words, but the way he kept shooting me looks while he ranted, it didn’t take a cop to figure out the evidence pointed to his wanting me off the case. I supposed I couldn’t blame him for worrying. The meeting had left me feeling worried, too. Obviously Volos had some sort of reason for wanting me in that room, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t anything that would turn out well for me—or the case.