He propped his cuffed hands on the tabletop. “So?”
I glanced at Morales, who raised his brows in challenge. Looked like I was the only one in the room convinced I could break this guy. “We have a few follow-up questions for you.”
He sighed. “Yes, you’re both assholes. Happy?”
I grimaced at him. Sometimes it really was too bad police brutality was frowned upon. But the worst thing I could do at that point was show the guy he was getting under my skin. I tipped my head toward his hand. “What’s that tattoo mean?”
He frowned and pulled his hands off the table into his lap. “Nuthin’.”
“Did you know there’s a god of wine?” I asked casually. “His name is Dionysus.”
“I don’t know nuthin’ about myths and shit.” His eyes narrowed. “I just happen to enjoy a fine box of rosé every now and then.”
“I’m sure by now you’ve heard there’s a new Raven in the Cauldron. Calls himself Dionysus.”
“Everybody hears things.” He shrugged. “Don’t make ’em true.”
“This thing is true, I assure you.”
“So?” His eyes met mine in that practiced stare that criminals perfect because they think looking you in the eye will prove they aren’t lying.
“So if you know anything about this Dionysus, now’s the time to mention it.”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
“Because if you are connected to him, you will be charged with being an accessory after we find him.”
The guy snorted. “You won’t find him.”
I watched him without speaking for a full ten seconds before his expression registered that he’d realized what he’d done. He shifted in his seat. “I mean—if this guy’s a Raven he’s probably a bad motherfucker, am I right? ’Specially if he’s crazy and shit.”
“We’ve already tied him to thefts from one of the most powerful wizards in the Cauldron. If we don’t find him first, Aphrodite will,” I said. “Do you think the Hierophant will hesitate to track down his associates?”
His eyes flared a little. “I didn’t have nuthin’ to do with those thefts.”
“Do you honestly think Aphrodite will believe you when she catches you?”
His face went white as spoiled milk, and a slight tremor shook his hands. “I-I—she can’t get me in here.”
“These prison walls might as well be vapor as far as the Hierophant is concerned,” Morales said. I smiled inwardly at how naturally he slipped into his normal role despite his earlier protests. A cop’s instinct to get answers is pretty powerful. “Or maybe we’ll just cut you loose and let it slip to Aphrodite you’re out.”
O’Lachlan swallowed hard. “I don’t know nuthin’ about the covens getting robbed.”
“But you do know Dionysus, correct?”
He looked down at his hands and nodded. “He paid me to create some chaos at the festival, is all.”
“How did he approach you?”
“I work at a club over on Exposition—the Cock and Bull?”
My eyebrows shot up. “The gay dance club?”
“I’m a go-go dancer there,” he said, nodding. “Anyway, he comes up to me after my shift and says he’s got a proposition for me. I tried to tell him I didn’t turn tricks anymore, but he said it wasn’t like that. He bought me a drink and told me he’d pay me five hundred bucks if I wore a costume and raised a little hell at the Halloween Festival. Then he gave me a sample of this potion that made me feel seven feet tall and bulletproof. Said if I did what he asked, he’d give me all I wanted.”
Morales and I exchanged a look. “What does he look like?”
“He was wearing a hat and sunglasses, so I didn’t see his face real well, except he has a beard and there were tattoos on his hands.”
“What kind of tattoos?”
“Tarot cards and shit. And some of them pinup girls with the big ol’ titties.”
“Did you see him again?”
“Couple other times. He came back to club once more. Then he had me meet him at an apartment to give me the potion I used the other day.”
I perked up. “Where? Do you remember the address?”
Sean sighed. “Yeah, but I doubt he’s there anymore. He said he had to keep moving so the cops didn’t catch him.”
“We’d still like to check it out.”
He rattled off an address in the shittiest area of the Cauldron. “Look, I don’t know what all he’s into, but he didn’t strike me as a bad guy. He just wants to spread his message.”
Morales leaned forward. “What message?”
Sean adjusted his ass in the chair, which made his short legs swing like tiny pendulums in the air. “He thinks society is an artificial construct designed to keep humans enslaved. The masks we wear are like handcuffs. We pretend we’re normal but deep down we’re all freaks. He just wants people to start being real.”
Morales snorted. “How does using dirty magic make people more real? The whole point of potions is to escape reality.”
Sean crossed his arms. “You don’t get it. Look at you.” He scraped a scornful gaze over Morales. “I bet you’ve never had a problem fitting in, have you? You play the game so well you’ve convinced yourself it doesn’t even exist.” He leaned forward and pointed a stubby finger at my partner. “But guess what? Dionysus knows you have secrets just like everyone else. You’re just better at hiding them.”
I rolled my eyes and glanced at Morales, expecting him to laugh at the asshole. Instead his fists curled up on the tabletop. In a low, mean voice, my partner leaned in and said, “The only thing I’m hiding is my weapon, but that could be changed.”
I shot him a warning look. I rarely saw him ruffled, but for some reason this guy had managed it twice.
Sean laughed. “Too close to home, huh? Don’t worry. By the time Dionysus is done with this city, all your secrets will be exposed like raw nerves.”
I rose from my chair and went to pound on the door before the asshole could taunt Morales into doing something stupid. “We’re done here. If you think of anything else that could help us find Dionysus, get in touch.”
“Tick-tock, Detective.” Sean leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest. “Your time’s running out.”