Hey, lady.”
One of Mary’s massive paws rested protectively on Little Man’s rounded belly. The homunculus’s eyes were closed as he basked like a drowsy lizard in the afternoon sun. When his sister saw Morales walking up behind me, her other arm tightened protectively.
“Stranger,” she whispered fiercely.
“Hi, Mary. This is my friend Drew.” I smiled at her. “He’s nice.”
Her eyes narrowed at the holster peeking from beneath Morales’s jacket. “Guns.”
“Put your hands up,” I said under my breath. He shot me an annoyed look but complied. “Drew’s a police officer, too, Mary. He would never hurt Baby.”
“Damn straight he won’t,” LM said with his eyes still closed. “Because I’d fuck his shit up.”
Morales jerked and he openly gaped. “What the fuck?” he breathed.
Little Man’s eyes snapped open and he speared the cop with a disgusted look. “What’s wrong with your friend?” He shot Morales an evil, mostly toothless grin.
I waved a hand and forced a laugh. “Apparently he’s never talked to a homunculus before.”
Little Man leaned forward, using his tiny elbows for leverage against Mary’s flat chest. He looked Morales up and down with eyes too wise for his infantile body. “I guess we’re even, then, because I ain’t never seen no beaner cop look as retarded as this one here.”
Morales raised a bored brow. “I prefer ‘spic,’ asshole.”
Little Man threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, I like this one, Prospero.”
“I’m so relieved,” Morales said in a monotone.
“Now that the pleasantries are done,” I said, “I need some help.”
Little Man raised a tiny hand and rubbed his thumb across the tops of his fingers.
Shit. Seeing how, according to the MEA and the BPD, we shouldn’t even have been there, I didn’t have access to petty cash to pay informants. I nudged Morales, figuring that, unlike me, he had more money than lint in his wallet. He shot me an annoyed look. “Nice.”
“I’ll buy you a beer later,” I said.
He rolled his eyes and approached LM. As he walked he jerked the wallet out of his right back pocket.
When he reached LM, he handed him a ten. The homunculus gaped at the cop. “You trying to insult me?”
Morales sighed the sigh of the martyred and removed another ten from the wallet. “You better have a good singing voice.”
“Throw in an extra twenty and I’ll do a little dance.” LM performed a slow hip thrust.
I threw up a little in my mouth. “We’ll just settle for an address for Bane’s safe house.”
Mary stiffened as if she smelled trouble and LM’s smile froze. “Why would you think I’d know something like that?”
“Because not much happens in the Cauldron without you knowing.”
He chuckled. “Your high opinion of me makes me feel all warm and gooey, Prospero, but ain’t nobody that connected.”
“All right,” I said, crossing my arms. “How much?”
Morales made a disgusted sound. I ignored him and stared down my tiny informant.
“I’ll take all the money you got, but it still isn’t going to get you the answer you want.”
“Come on, LM, give me something. This is important.”
“Always is with you.” He looked at me for a moment with pursed lips. “Heard Hieronymus got collared.”
“What’d you hear?”
“It was you, right?”
I flinched before I could stop myself. “Yeah.”
He shook his head. “Is it true he snitched on Bane?”
“No,” I lied.
LM digested that with a nod. “Heard Bane went after your kin as payback.”
All he got in return was a nod. I was so not discussing Danny with him.
A low whistle escaped his rosebud mouth. “Good luck, girlie,” Little Man said. “You’ll need it.”
“She won’t need luck if we find Bane first,” Morales said.
“You’ll need plenty of luck for that, too, Macho.”
Morales’s eyes widened at his new nickname. I put a hand on his arm to remind him not to assault my CI. “So who would know where Bane is?”
“I admire your tenacity, but the only cats who’d know something like that are Bane and Harry.” The homunculus shook his head. “You ask the Frost Prince about that?”
“We tried,” Morales said. “But that creepy motherfucker’s already got his deal signed and sealed. He won’t give up jack shit anymore.”
“C’mon, LM. Give me something,” I said, my voice rising in frustration.
“Whaddaya want from me?” Little Man huffed out an offended breath.
“You don’t know where Bane is or who could tell us.” Morales snapped his fingers. “Give me my money back.”
LM cringed. Mary’s arms wrapped around her burden as she leaned forward to growl at Morales. My partner stepped back with his hands up. “Relax. I’m not going to hurt the little bastard. Just want my cash.”
The homunculus patted Mary’s arms. She relaxed but kept her eyes on Morales. “All right,” LM said. “You’re right. I don’t know what you’re asking. But I do know something you haven’t asked about.”
I pursed my lips, growing tired of this myself. “Spill it.”
He rolled his eyes and settled back against Mary with his arms crossed. “You’re no fun.”
Morales and I both shot him cut-the-shit glares.
“All right, all right,” he said finally. He leaned forward on the edge of his carrier. “Did you wonder how Bane knew about the early morning raid? How he had enough time to clear out?”
I glanced at Morales. All this time I figured Bane had just gotten spooked when he found out we nabbed Harry. “I bet you have a theory.”
He shrugged. “I been hearing some rumbling about maybe Bane having a guy on the inside.”
Morales frowned at him. “Inside where?”
LM’s eyes sparked with excitement. “BPD.”
“Bullshit,” Morales snapped. But I put a hand on his arm.
Mary looked up. “No yell at Baby.”
“Then tell Baby he needs to do better than spread rumors if he wants money,” he snapped back.
I closed my eyes and prayed for a break that I knew was never going to come. By the time I reopened them, Mary was rocking back and forth on the bench.