Page 94 of Eyes in the Shadows

He grins. “Let me get Dimitri on a call. Go get some coffeeand an ice pack.”

“Where is he?”

“At the address you sent us. It was purchased 25 years ago by Lucy Silvie. It took some digging—life was so much more offline 25 years ago—but I found her. Get this, she’s Kevin Anderson’s former mistress.”

“The mayor?”

“None other.”

I mull that over as I walk from the room. Why would Rossi be staying at the mayor’s former mistress’s house? Are they having an affair? Does the Mayor know?

The fancy espresso machine gets to work on my drink—so loudly it sounds like it’s trying to achieve lift off—as I nuke some of the egg muffin things Eleanor baked us. I cram them into my mouth, fist the coffee in one hand and the ice pack in the other. I hear the noise that means the call is starting up as I close the office door behind me.

“Well, he is definitely in there. He sits in the living room in an open bathrobe. That is a sight I cannot unsee,” Dimitri kicks us off immediately.

It’s hard to believe we finally know where he is. It’s even harder to believe he’s somewhere so unprotected. Why stay in a random suburban two bedroom when you have a home like a palace with armed guards? Clearly, he wasn’t expecting to be followed, or for anyone who might be after him to find the connection to the mayor.

“Thanks for getting Eleanor out of there last night,” I say as I pull a chair around to sit next to Wes. He rolls to the side to make room.

Dimitri jerks a nod, his acknowledgement of my thanks. “I read your message that explained what happened after you left the table. You should know that Grigori and one other are dead. They arrived just as we were leaving.”

I nod. “I figured it was something like that. I’m sure the cleanup crew brought enough bleach.”

Dimitri huffs a little sound of amusement that’s basically like his version of a laugh. “It is what they are paid to do. What have you found, Wesley?”

Wes taps a few keys, bringing up a browser. “He definitely thinks it was all Dimitri—the weapons and the row at Rouge Elephant. They upped the reward significantly.”

“Let him think this,” Dimitri says dismissively.

Wes glances at me and his lips flatten. “I’ve got worse news. He also thinks Eleanor is involved—Dimitri’s accomplice, maybe.”

When he brings up the ad, I stiffen. There’s an image from the restaurant, slightly fuzzy from a long zoom in dim lighting, with about half of Eleanor’s face as Dimitri rushes her out. His back is to the camera. I scan the ad and curse when I see the last line.

…and information on the whereabouts of Eleanor Wilson, 28, Caucasian female, last known address in Ulysses, NJ.

My blood boils, even as a cold kind of fury settles in my chest. He’s going to put out a hit on my girl? “He’s a dead man.”

“Da.That is the job,” Dimitri reminds me dryly.

“At least it’s not an APB,” Wes says, like it’s some kind of consolation. “It tells us they still aren’t doing anything above board.”

The mention of possible police intervention scratches at something in the back of my brain. Something Eleanor said. Why wouldn’t a man like him—up for reelection—plaster his face everywhere, unless it was easier for him if people don’t know what he looks like?

I sit back and cross my arms. “I’ve got a question. Who meets for dinner on a Tuesday at 10:30 PM?”

“Someone who doesn’t want to be seen with their company,” Wes suggests with a shrug. “They don’t want people to know about their connection because Rossi’s buying the mayor off?”

“That’s what I thought, too. But if you had the mayor in your pocket—you go to dinner, he takes your money, gets some building permits pushed through, some petty crime expunged, lets you stay in his safehouse—why wouldn’t you just go to the cops to track Dimitri down?”

“And say what?” Wes asks.

I shrug. “Anything. He broke in, he assaulted him, he stole something… My point is, the reason doesn’t matter if cops are going to do it anyway as a favor to the mayor. Surely it would be easier for Rossi if he could get some help from law enforcement, especially since he knows Dimitri is still local and he’s got at least one guy on the force under his thumb.”

Dimitri frowns into the middle distance. “Police do have resources that would be valuable in the search.”

“And a mayor is effectively in charge of local police.”

“Why go underground if you don’t have to?” Wes asks, thinking aloud. “It’s expensive.”

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