Chrono Inquisitor (Gods Be Damned) (24 page)

“I’m not a Ranger, Ms. Sawyer, in case you hadn’t already guessed.”

She turned and smiled. “I thought as much. Want some advice?”

“I guess,” I said.

“You should let the Ranger speak if you interview anyone else. You made a nice attempt at making up for his ‘good evening’ fumble, but
then you should have tried to be a little more sincere. So, if you aren’t a Ranger, what are you?”

“Weren’t you eavesdropping?”

She gave me a coy little smile. “A little, but it’s hard to hear everything over the sizzle of the pan.”

I caught the aroma of something I hadn’t smelt in ages. It tickled my nose and sent my memories stirring for recognition.

“I’m not sure if I should say,” I said. “It’s not a habit of mine to allow it to be known.”

“It’s up to you,” she said.

Memory recognition sparked. “I recognize you,” I said. “You were at the banquet dinner. Didn’t get enough to eat?”

“I’ve always enjoyed cooking. It helps take my mind off things, and with what happened to Julius.” I heard the tears coming in her voice.

She paused and raised a hand to her face.

Stupid me.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “Actually, I missed dinner, but I was there for the cocktail hour. You were there?” she asked, looking back over her shoulder to take another peek at me. “I don’t recognize you?”

“It’s okay. People tend to forget me. If you don’t mind, I overheard you mentioning something about your boss, Shepard Cook, was it? Something about him not being too happy with Beit about how things played out. Remind me why that was?”

“It appears I’m not the only eavesdropper in the room.”

I instructed Kali to dig up all the info she could on Shepard Cook and Ms. Sawyer.

“Could I get some water?” I asked. I really wasn’t thirsty, but the smell of food was beginning to stir my stomach. I don’t know why. I’d enjoyed dinner beyond measure. Hopefully filling my stomach with some water would shut it up.

“Glasses are in that cupboard there,” she said, and pointed to one. “And water’s in the dispenser here.” She pointed to a filtration urn sitting on the counter. “There’s ice as well.”

I stood, went to the cupboard she’d indicated and retrieved a nice tall glass. I purposefully went as close as I could to her in order to get a look at what she was cooking, but before I got within a meter she simply said, “Hovering,” and I didn’t get any closer.

“I was trying to see what your apron says,” I said, thinking quickly.

She turned so that I could read it. It said, ‘Kiss the Cook.’

How adorable.

“Is that an invitation?” I asked with a friendly smile, while filling my glass.

“Normally people aren’t around when I’m cooking,” she said with a smile of her own. I wasn’t quite sure though if she was rejecting me politely, or if she was playing hard to get. Either way, it was fun.

“I’ll take that as a sign in my favor that you aren’t already spoken for.”

She shook her head and turned back to the stove just as I saw her cheeks begin to rosy blush. It seemed to be a head shake like she was laughing at my attempts, but then it could be taken as a no, as in there wasn’t anyone to cock block my come-ons other than her. I wasn’t sure though. She was good at sending mixed signals, which just made me want to try harder.

I took my seat back at the counter. “So, you work for Alpha Guardians, how long you been with them?” I asked.

“Are you investigating me now?” she asked. She didn’t say it in a defensive manner. There was still a tone of playfulness.

“Just trying to stir up some friendly conversation in an attempt to get to know you better,” I said taking a sip, wishing the water was something flavored. Coffee would have been nice. I would have even settled for some more tea, but decided not to ask.

“You never did answer who you are,” she said.

What the heck, Mrs. Beit already knew, and it was pretty safe to say that she’d share as soon as I was gone.

“I’m an Inquisitor,” I said.

“I thought they were a myth, like a boogeyman story to keep us all on the straight and narrow.”

“I like to think of us as agents of Santa Claus, figuring out who’s been naughty or nice.”

That got a little laugh from her. It was a cute laugh.

It made me smile, and for a brief moment I entirely forgot about the case. Where I was? What was going on? I felt...normal again.

“So what are you doing here?” she asked. “Shouldn’t you be in a dark lit alley making some disreputable people piss their pants?”

That got a laugh from me.

She smiled. I could wake up to that smile, I thought.

“Normally, I would be.”

“But?”

I took a sip. “It’s complicated.”

“Isn’t it always?”

I stood and moved the chair out from where I currently sat. I took it to the end of the counter where the stove was, so I’d be positioned directly to her left side, that way we could continue talking and she wouldn’t have to keeping turning away from the stove or keep craning her neck. It also served the purpose of allowing me to hear her easier,
while keeping our voices from being overheard by those in adjacent rooms.

“Is this all right?” I asked, placing the chair in its new position.

“That’s fine,” she said with another beautiful smile that was quickly growing on me.

When it came to information, I wasn’t used to giving it away unless I got some in return. Ms. Sawyer had information I wanted, though I wasn’t quite sure what it was and if it would help.

“I’m assisting the Rangers in the investigation of Beit’s death,” I said.

“I already know that. The question is why?”

“Someone thinks it might be E3 related.”

“Why would terrorists want to kill Julius?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

“Wait a second, you were here before Julius was murdered?”

Damn. She was good at paying attention to details too.

“We got a tip that he was being targeted. I arrived earlier today to keep an eye on him. I hate to admit it, but, I lost him during the after dinner mingling, which is when they obviously got to him.”

Not the complete truth, but not a complete lie, either.

“And let me guess, that’s why your Ranger partner doesn’t seem to like you? He maybe thinks that Julius’s death is in some way your fault?”

I nodded and took a sip. “Yeah, something like that. I’m getting the feeling you were pretty close to Beit, am I right?”

“What makes you say that?”

“You keep referring to him by his first name. And then there’s the fact that Mrs. Beit immediately came to stay with you after her husband was murdered. Just seems like you’d be close.”

“I’ve known them for decades. We go way back.”

“Is that how your boss came to know them, through you?”

“It’s actually through Shepard how I came to know them.”

“So your boss has had a longstanding business relationship with them.”

“Something like that, yeah.”

“Why was your boss unhappy with Mr. Beit?”

“He wasn’t unhappy enough to kill him, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Thought never crossed my mind,” I said, trying to make it sound sincere.

This wasn’t how I normally worked. Being honest. It felt wrong.

“Actually, Shepard is more pissed at Nora than he was at Julius.”

“Really? What for?”

“Social Arches and Alpha Guardians have worked together on countless projects over the years, but just over a decade ago a new security firm made a name for themselves. It’s complicated, but Nora and Julius had pressure put on them to use the new firm. As a matter of fact, this resort was that very project. Originally, it was my company Alpha Guardians who was supposed to get the contract, but at the last minute we lost it to Omega Solutions.”

Sam’s company.

“It wasn’t the end of the world, that’s simply how business works sometimes,” she said.

“Obviously you and your boss weren’t too upset back then, considering how close you still are with Mrs. Beit and her husband.”

“Oh, we were upset. But like I said, that’s business. Besides, don’t they say, ‘time heals all wounds?’”

“Let me guess,” I said. “The same thing that happened back then, happened with Harlan?”

Ms. Sawyer sighed and nodded. “I can see now why you’re an Inquisitor and working with the Rangers.”

“Thanks. So let me see if I grasp the situation. Your boss is of course pissed about the whole situation, but not enough to have actually killed Beit over it, because hey, it’s just business.”

“That about sums it up. Julius had promised our company the contract behind closed doors, but during the actual presentations and bids, Nora cast her vote for our competitor, Omega Solutions. Most of the board went with her recommendation, so, we lost the contract. My boss was angry with Beit because of the promise, but it was Nora who had actually sided against him.”

“So what you’re saying is; if he really wanted to kill someone, he would have killed Mrs. Beit.”

Ms. Sawyer glared at me.

And I’d been doing fairly well.

“Shepard wouldn’t kill anyone,” she said. “He comes off as a hard ass, but he’s actually a big softy at heart. Immediately after he learned about Julius’s death, he put the entire company on bereavement leave until further notice in order to mourn the loss of a dear friend to the company, as well as a great man. I’m pretty sure that right now he’s either at one of the resort bars, or he’s hammering the drinks back in his suite. If he hasn’t already passed out, that is. He was really broken up about what happened.”

“I see. And how did Mr. Cook find out about the death?”

“I told him.”

So much for damage control. It was like the entire hotel knew already. I took the last remaining sip of my water.

Ms. Sawyer turned and approached the island counter with a frying pan and spatula in hand. There were two plates already set out and she scooped half the contents of the pan onto each one.

I got up from my stool and went to investigate the meal. “Is that what I think it is?” I asked in amazement.

“I don’t know, what do you think it is?” she said with a slight smile. I guess I hadn’t screwed up entirely.

“Looks like an omelet. Smells like an herbed omelet. Sage maybe? Are those mushrooms? And cheese?” I asked with increased enthusiasm. Eggs were rare. Okay, not really rare, per say. You could get them easily enough if you wanted to, but they were expensive and not usually worth the cost, plus they had a shelf life. You could get a
weeks worth of food for half the cost of a dozen eggs. Of course the consumption of another living being, or the potential for life was generally looked down upon by society as a whole, except I was finding just how much Texas didn’t fall in line with the rest of the Republics. I was starting to give serious thought to setting up a permanent place of residence in Texas.

Her smile turned radiant as she turned to retrieve something else at the stove. Returning a second later she had another pan. She added its contents to the plates as well.

I stretched closer, leaning over the steaming contents. I inhaled the vapors and aromas wafting up. I analyzed the new plate decorations with a keen eye. “Potatoes, onions, and are those real peppers? What’s this other thing?”

“Kielbasa,” she said, forking one of the pieces and bringing it to her lips.

My mouth was salivating.

She ate the piece and then said, “Too bad I didn’t know you were coming earlier. I might have been persuaded to make you a plate of your own.”

“Will your establishment be open for business come morning?” I asked with as much charm as I could muster.

“Will you still be around then?” she asked coyly.

“That right there is a damn good incentive to be.”

I took the opportunity and moved in. I grabbed Ms. Sawyer by the waist and pulled her so that she was pressed up against me. She giggled. I ran a hand from her waist to the small of her back, and then up her spine to the back of the neck. She shivered in my arms and then pressed her body even more to mine.

I kissed her. She kissed back. I tested my luck even further and parted her lips with my tongue. It worked, and what I found was that enough molecules remained for me to taste the kielbasa she had just consumed. I was having my kielbasa and Olena. Tasting them together in sweet umami bliss.

When I finally reached the moment of what I considered to be the threshold of appropriateness, I started to pull away. She however, hadn’t been satiated and kept me engaged.

Sometime later we were interrupted by a clearing of throats.

Olena and I disengaged and found Ranger-son and Nora Beit standing in the entryway of the kitchen.

“Breakfast is ready,” Olena said with a smile and red cheeks while she straightened her apron.

“And it looks like one of us has already had their dessert,” Nora said in a surprisingly amused manner.