Page 158 of A Breath of Life
She hummed as an engine roared to life. “Hold that thought. His time’s coming.”
I almost smiled. “Are you being clairvoyant again? Tallus would call you a witch for that comment. You can’t predict the future, Kitty Kat, no matter how much you think you can.”
“You don’t think so?”
“No, but I do believe you know something I don’t.”
Another titter. “Let me tell you this, Diem Krause, and I want you to pay attention. You’re going to be all right. You’ve weathered worse storms, and this is just another system moving through your life. It too will pass.”
“I’m getting tired of being dumped on.”
“I know, sweetie. Sunny days are ahead. Trust me. Now, abracadabra, I found Clarence.”
My gears ground to a halt, and it took me a second to register her words. “Clarence? How? Where?”
Did it matter?
“The man checked himself out of the hospital the day after being nearly fatally stabbed, remember? It didn’t make a lick of difference that he emptied his bank account and tried to pull a Houdini. He was without antibiotics for several days, and a nasty infection drove him to seek medical attention in St. Catherine’s. I had feelers out, so the second he was admitted through triage, we had him. He was arrested last night for his affiliation with the Royal Aces and brought back to Toronto. They’ve had him cooking in an interview room ever since.”
“Affiliation?”
“Yes. Your fella, who was ticketed to die, who you found stabbed in an alley, was a recruited member of the Royal Aces organization, climbing the ladder to the top until he messed up.”
I rattled my head, unable to fit the pieces together. “Explain.”
“It’s a hefty price to be part of the upper echelon of the Royal Aces. Had his wife not changed her will, Clarence would have been able to afford to take the final step into becoming an official spade. The transaction he made with Ace was far more in-depth than the simple murder of his wife.
“Clarence promised the syndicate a twenty-million-dollar buy-in when the deed was done. It fell through for obvious reasons, but Ace still demanded payment for the hit, which Clarence couldn’t pay. Also, he knew far too much for a man who wasn’t joining their fold. He was meant to die, along with all the knowledge he carried about the organization that he’d collected over his time as a recruit.”
My skin prickled. “Fuck.”
“Language.”
“Sorry.”
“He’s taken a plea deal. Clarence will provide all his information about the syndicate in exchange for a reduced sentence, provided it comes with protective custody while he is in prison. He knows the risks.”
“That won’t save his ass.”
“Maybe not, but it’s too late. He agreed, and he’s talking.”
“Fuck.”
“Diem Krause. I will not stand for foul language.”
“Sorry.”
“Go take your man home and stop fretting. Tallus might be a whirlwind, but he’s good for you.”
“I know, but am I good for him?”
“Yes, Diem. If you believe anything I say, believe that.”
The line clicked, and Kitty was gone.
38
Diem
