Page 51 of Horn of Winter

“And they will of course be billed at a competitive market rate.”

I laughed. “So generous of you.”

“They are abusing my position on the council and my friendship with you to use me as a liaison, just as they used Cynwrig’s attraction to you. They pay neither of us a stipend, so it’s only fair they are charged in other ways.”

Which made me wonder what Cynwrig had been charging back to them. “You could quit the council.”

“And lose an advantage over my competitors by knowing what changes the council intends to implement to rules and regs before they come into being? Do not be so naïve.”

I laughed. “Isn’t that called insider trading and illegal?”

“Technically, no, given the legal definition of insider trading is the buying or selling of a publicly traded company’s stock by someone with non-public material information about that company. I am neither buying nor selling stock. I merely use it for my own company’s benefit. As do, I may point out, most there.”

“Still sounds shady to me.”

“You run a tavern, not a multimillion-dollar company.”

“Oh, knifed through the heart.”

“A comment that would have more impact if you weren’t smiling so broadly.”

I laughed again and motioned to the papers. “So, we head there tomorrow and investigate?”

He nodded. “If we leave by seven, it should give us plenty of time to investigate the site and get back home. Unless, of course, you’d like to stay overnight. Galway is a lovely place.”

I couldn’t help smiling. “I’d rather sleep in my own bed.”

“Or Eljin’s?”

My smile grew. “I tend to get more sleep in mine.”

“Undoubtedly. A wise man never lets a luscious woman go to waste when she’s in his bed.” He rose and dragged a slip of paper from his pants pocket. “Before I forget, here’s the address and phone number for Harper Jones. Couldn’t find any details for Harold Gould, so maybe he died or simply moved out of the area.”

“Thanks.” I reached out and accepted the paper. Harper also lived in Hoole. Perhaps it was a favorite area for guild members. “Male or female?”

“Female, about thirty years old.”

I glanced up. “What database did you have to break into to get this information?”

“None. She’s listed with IIT, and though her file was sealed, they’re still tracking her movements.”

“Meaning whatever she did as a juvie was pretty damn bad—should I be worried?”

“Aside from the occasional speeding and parking fines, she’s been clean since she turned eighteen, so I wouldn’t think so.”

“Good. I’ll go have a chat while you make the arrangements for tomorrow.”

“Do you want company?”

“It’s less intimidating if there’s only me.”

“I can do unintimidating.”

“No, you can’t. Not with people you don’t know, anyway.”

Mathi could certainly turn on the charm when he wanted to, but like most light elves, the face he presented to the world in general was cold and unemotional.

He didn’t disagree. I listened to the vibration of his movements as he moved down the stairs, then picked up my phone and brought up the souterrain images. At first glance, it didn’t appear to be all that deep or large, but if there’s one thing I’d learned over the last few weeks it was things weren’t always as they seemed. And they very definitely weren’t assafeas they sometimes appeared.

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