Page 17 of Medusa

“Any luck?”

“I don’t kiss and tell.”

The woman looked unimpressed. “Might I remind you of where you are currently sitting?”

Jaden scowled. “I’d rather get myself out of this mess without dragging anyone else into it, thank you very much.”

“Do you know where Pollux lives?” she asked, changing subjects again.

“Not a clue. We weren’t exactly buddy-buddy, you know. I avoided him as much as possible. He was a bully, not to speak ill of the dead.” Jaden shifted in his seat. The chairs were as uncomfortable as they looked.

The woman sat in silence for a moment. “I need a coffee. Want anything?”

“A coffee would be great, please.”

She went to the door and knocked on it, leaving him alone again. He sighed and flipped the chair around, putting his head down on the table. It was going to be a long day, he could tell.

The woman came back with a tray. On it were two coffees and little cream and sugar packets. “Make it however you like it.”

“Thanks,” Jaden said, pulling one cup toward him and dumping four cream and six sugars into it. He stirred it with one of the little sticks and sipped. “That’s good. Tastes like ButterNut Bakery coffee.”

“That’s because it is.” The woman regarded him over the rim of her cup. “I’m on loan from up above, because this crime took place in L.A., not Purgatory. Since I live here, I was the obvious choice to be the liaison.”

“Okay.” Jaden frowned, confused. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Well, for one, you don’t seem to recognize me, even though we’ve met before.”

Jaden examined her face, trying to think of where he might have seen her before. Finally the pieces clicked into place. “My lady,” he said, giving her a seated bow. “Sorry, I didn’t recognize you.”

“It was a refreshing change,” Chloe said dryly. She leaned forward, putting her cup down and resting her elbows on the table. “Why do you think Pollux was murdered?”

“My guess is he pissed off the wrong people,” Jaden said. “He was pretty great at doing that.”

Chloe shook her head. “You misunderstand. Why do you think he wasmurdered?”

Jaden frowned. “He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would commit suicide, especially after he won a match.”

Rubbing her temples, Chloe chuckled softly. “Mister McKellen. Jaden. Pollux isn’t dead. Why do you think he is?”

“He’s not?” Jaden gaped at her. “But the officers that came to my house said…” He paused, thinking back over their conversation. “They let me think he was dead. I jumped to that conclusion because that’s what my threat had been.” He huffed impatiently. “Okay, great, I can go on thinking he’s a miserable bastard. Why the fuck was I brought here if he’s not dead?”

“Because his home was turned upside down and he was beaten within an inch of his life,” Chloe said softly. “And after losing to him, quite badly, I might add, you are our prime suspect.”

“Well, shit.” Jaden rubbed his chin. “I don’t know where he lives, but I can’t prove I don’t know something. He’s certainly on my shit list, but I donotgo looking for fights outside the ring. There are rules at Odin’s for a reason. But you are right, I would have been capable of serving him up the beating of his life. The fact remains that I didnot,” Jaden paused meaningfully, “and wouldneverdo that, even to Pollux.”

“I want to believe you,” Chloe said. “But as you so succinctly point out, you are our prime suspect. Therefore...” She crossed her arms. “You need to provide us with your alibi.”

Jaden rolled his head on his neck, cursing Augustine for kicking him out of the house last night in ancient Greek in his head. “Do you have a timeframe?”

“Between seven and eleven.”

He groaned. “It’s not enough to say that I have an alibi?”

“That’s not how this works,” Chloe said, unimpressed with his reluctance to come forward.

“All right, all right. At seven, I was at DeLux Cafe for speed dating. Aphrodite and Eve can prove I was there. At seven-thirty, I met this woman who said she was hungry and wanted to leave. She wanted to sneak out like James Bond, so I provided her cover by tripping one of the other guys and generally being a nuisance. We went out by the kitchen. I’m not sure if any of the chefs paid attention to us, but we were seen by several of them.”

Chloe made a note on a piece of paper he hadn’t seen her pull out. “Go on.”

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