Page 32 of Shadow Seeking

“We’ll continue to investigate, but this raises a lot of questions. I’ll call you later. It’s best if you don’t mention this toanybodyuntil we know more.”

“I won’t. I’d be embarrassed if people thought my sister was part of some fanatical group. It would be a black mark on thefamily name.” She paused again, then asked, “What about the rest of her effects?”

“Why don’t you ask Philip Groveletter to box them up for you. There are some things in her office that may be school property and I wouldn’t know the difference. I’ve taken what I needed for evidence from there. I do have her purse, so you can drop by the office for it, whenever you want.” As I hung up, I realized that I firmly believed Angela.

“What did she say?” Orik asked.

“She can’t believe her sister was mixed up in anything like that. And at this point, I don’t blame her. There has to be some explanation that makes sense.”

“Could she have gotten in over her head, then killed herself when she realized she was too deeply involved?” Sophia asked.

I shrugged. “Maybe, I suppose. But Letty showed no signs of being suicidal, according to both Angela and Philip.” I finished my latte. “All right, I’m going to run the mandrake by Penn—she’s good at psychometry and she said she’d take a look. Meanwhile, let’s talk about Alf. We should go talk to his neighbor.”

Dante glanced at the clock. “It’s nine-fifteen. I’ll give the guy a call and see if he’ll let us come over.”

“Meanwhile, I’ll contact Lazenti,” Carson said.

“We also need to visit the Supe Community Action Council to take a look at their offices,” Dante said. “Orik, what about you go over there this afternoon? Call Tana and make arrangements.”

“We’re good, then,” I said, standing. “Hop to it, and let’s see how much we can get done this afternoon.” I headed back to my office. Ten minutes later, Dante had made a one o’clock appointment to meet Holden White at his house. He was Alf’s next-door neighbor, and Orik was going to meet Tana at one-thirty.

“We should meet back here by four,” I said. “We’ll want to sort out what we’ve managed to?—”

Carson peeked in my office. “Lazenti’s willing to meet with us. His assistant made an appointment for you, Dante, and Orik tonight at 9:00 in the Underground. You’re to meet him on the fourth level down, at a restaurant called the Green Goblin.”

I never felt comfortable going into the Underground, but at night, four levels below the surface? So not my idea of a good time. “The Green Goblin, huh?”

“Yeah. I ran a check on it. Legit bar, run by a goblin named Homey.”

Dante rolled his eyes. “Homey?”

“Apparently, it’s a common name among goblins. Short for Homeratu, which means ‘big strong ears’ or something like that. Anyway, the owner has all his permits, so…what can I say?” Carson glanced at his tablet.

“How will we know Lazenti when we see him?” I asked.

“He’ll be wearing a black suit and a red necktie, and he said he’ll find you. He knows what you look like.” Carson shrugged. “At least he’s agreed to meet.”

“Okay then, I guess we have our marching orders,” I said. “Let’s get busy and see what we can unearth.” I hoped to hell that, whatever we dug up, was something we could deal with.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I calledPenn and asked her if I could meet with her early. She had time, so I told Dante we’d stop at her shop before going over to visit Holden. While Dante checked out Holden’s background, I peeked in on Orik.

“Hey, you ready for tonight?”

He nodded. Carson was in the bathroom. “Hey, Kyann, I need to ask you something. Can we go in your office?”

I frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“I’d rather talk about this privately.”

“Sure, come on.” I motioned for him to follow me. We headed back to my office. “Shut the door behind you.” Orik seldom ever asked for a private audience. He was a good egg, with both brains and brawn, and he was also a happy family man. He and Hilda had two sets of twins—all girls—and he called them his little Valkyries. The younger girls were four, and the older pair were eight.

Orik sat down on the opposite side of my desk. “Thanks, boss.”

“What’s up?” I asked, leaning my elbows on the desk. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah…it’s…” He sighed, then said, “Hilda’s pregnant again.”

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