Page 14 of Spiteful Heart

“I saw the body on the stage and I called Newton right away,” Eric finished.

“You were alone in the club? No one else was around?” When he shook his head, I asked, “You didn’t see anyone else? Nothing at all was out of place beside the body?” Although, after seeing a corpse like that, I couldn’t exactly blame the guy for not noticing much else.

Eric said, “No. There was nothing else. I mean, I didn’t even realize the cameras weren’t on until Newton came in and discovered it himself.” He seemed to think on something. “And I came in through the back entrance, so I didn’t see the glass in the front.”

“But nothing was broken,” I said.

“I don’t think so. I don’t know how anyone would’ve gotten in. It isn’t like Newton invests in cheap locks. If someone can get in, that means they could steal from him—and that’s like, the biggest mistake you could make when it comes to him.”

Maddox asked, “Speaking from experience?”

“No,” Eric quickly said. “But I’ve heard stories.”

I looked around the room. Newton kept a clean office, but you never knew. I pushed away from the desk, kneeling before Eric. My voice came out in a bare whisper when I asked, “How did your boss react when you told him about the body?”

Eric couldn’t look away from me. “He… he seemed annoyed, mainly.”

Yes, annoyance was Newton’s baseline emotion, I think. “He didn’t seem surprised?” All Eric could do to that was shake his head. “You haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary these past two weeks? Nothing that would point me in the direction of the man who did this?”

“No,” he spoke. “I don’t know who could’ve done this. That girl, whoever she was…” He got quiet, and he turned his face away, shutting his eyes for a moment. “I don’t know her, but I do feel sorry for her. There’s a lot of bad ways to go in this city, but that’s got to be one of the worst.” He wasn’t wrong about that.

I stood up. “Thank you for talking with me. Just two more questions before I get out of your hair. Who knows when the Gilded Rose doesn’t have anyone inside it?”

He thought on it. “Uh, me, I guess. Me, a few of the guards, and Newton.”

“And who has a key?”

“Same people. Me, the guards, and Newton.”

I flashed him a smile. “I lied. One more question. Would you peg any of the other men who work here as the kind of man who could do that to a girl? Is anyone smart enough to fry an entire camera system, bring a kidnapped girl here, and leave her for you to find?”

I watched Eric’s reaction to those questions, saw the wheels turning in his head, and I had the feeling I knew the answer before he did, and yet I still wanted to hear him say it.

“I don’t think any of the guards would do that to someone… not unless they were told to, and they only listen to orders from—” Eric stopped himself from saying his boss’s name, his eyes widening somewhat as he finally came to the same suspicion I had.

Eric himself was a thin dude. Not overly tall like Newton and not muscular like the guards. Out of everyone here, I suspected him the least. Now, did I think Newton would have his men kill for him? Yeah, every man in power with acolytes did. The Lucianos had Roman and Carter when the situation called for assassins, and the DeLucas had a mini-army at their disposal. Anyone in power had minions who would do anything to impress them.

His voice lowered to a whisper as he asked, “You’re not saying—”

“I think that’s all I need from you today, Eric. Thank you for talking with me. Do you have your phone on you?”

“Yes, why?”

“Get it out,” I instructed him, and he did as he was told. I took the phone from his hands and unlocked the screen by turning it toward his face. I then went to add my number to his contacts. “If you see or hear anything else, if you happen to remember any other details from this morning, call me first. I want to find this guy and put him in the ground—and let’s just say I remember who my friends are.” I handed him back his phone.

If Eric was pale before, he was even paler now. He slid his phone back into his pocket, unable to say anything else to me. He simply watched as I left the office, with Maddox and Viper in tow.

We emerged from the stairwell, walking out into the ground floor of the club, meeting Mike, who stood near the stage, near one of Newton’s guards. I told them to go ahead to the car, that I’d catch up shortly. I wanted to have one last word with Newton without my guys hovering.

I loved them, I did, but sometimes missions were meant to be solo.

I strolled over to Newton, and he didn’t look at me, too busy staring down into his drink to do much of anything else. “I assume your chat with Eric was to your liking?” Newton asked in such a low whisper, I could hardly hear it.

“It was,” I said. “He told me everything I needed to know. He seems like a good guy, that one. Those are rare to find in this city.”

All he did was shrug. “He’s good with clients. I don’t pay him to be a good guy.”

“Do your men need any help with the body?” I figured I’d be polite, so as to not end this visit on a sour note, but judging by Newton’s rigid shoulders, he still wasn’t happy. Well, that made two of us.

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