Marcus patted me on the shoulder, edging past me and standing next to Etienne’s body double. “Kirk looks so much like Etienne, doesn’t he?”
Damn it, I had been played like the busker’s broken guitar.
My phone buzzed again, and I walked away in disgust. W. ZRAKOVI showed up on caller ID.
“L’Amour Sauvage is going to be a total loss, but at least no one’s hurt,” I said, not bothering with a greeting. “We might need a Blue Congress team, but it’s too early to tell.”
“Damn.” Zrakovi sounded as annoyed as I felt. I couldn’t believe I’d let myself be distracted while Etienne pranced back to Vampyre unchallenged. “Where is Lafitte?”
Good question. I pivoted around and stepped away from the onlookers so I could see more people. Heat from the fire baked one side of my face, while the other was wet with snow and already half frozen now that I’d moved away from the crowd.
“He’s been at the hotel,” I hedged.
I hadn’t intended to lie for him, but I also couldn’t cast blame his way without talking to him. Sending his undead pirates to annoy Etienne wasn’t illegal, and there was some chance the fire started innocently. Not much chance, but some.
“The vampires think it could have been a problem with the heating unit,” I added. A long silence on the other end of the call. “You know, overworked because of the cold snap.”
Finally, Zrakovi asked, “Then why might we need a cleanup team?”
God, I was getting in deep snow here. “There also might have been some undead pirates in the club just before the fire started.” I tried to make my voice sound matter-of-fact and unconcerned. “There’s no way to know if one of them had anything to do with the fire, of course, but a Blue Congress team should be on-site, just in case they dropped a rare doubloon or something.”
“Undead pirates. Oh no, they’d never start a fire.” Was it my imagination, or was Zrakovi’s voice more than a tad sarcastic?
“Well, we don’t know yet.” I dug my hole deeper.
“And you say Lafitte was with you?”
Sneaky Elder. “No, I said he was at the hotel. But I did hear about the fire on the TV in his suite, in fact.”
Where I’d been sitting alone, eating andouille.
Since when did I start lying to the Elders to cover for Jean Lafitte? Now, apparently.
“Yes, well, I’ll get a Blue Congress team on its way. And DJ…” Zrakovi paused, and I held my breath, praying I wouldn’t have to lie to him again. “I know you owe Lafitte your life, and that the two of you have gotten … close.”
I thought close might be stretching it. Especially after the hibernation incident.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t do my job,” I said, wondering if that, too, had become a lie.
“I hope so, because we need you.”
He couldn’t have made me feel any more guilt-riddled had he trotted out the inevitable comparison to my father.
“I wouldn’t want you to make some of the same mistakes that Gerry made.”
I sighed. “Definitely not, sir.”
“Well, we need to get together after the Interspecies Council meeting to talk about your friend Eugenia and the child.”
I didn’t correct him on Eugenie’s name. The fact that he didn’t know it said a lot. “I look forward to it.”
Lies, lies, and more lies.
There was no more I could do here. The fire seemed to be under control and hadn’t spread to the adjacent buildings. Etienne was gone, at least for the time being. I’d go back to the hotel, order a bottle of wine, and figure out what to do. Only then would I call Alex. Lying to Zrakovi was one thing; lying to Alex—not just neglecting to mention something but outright lying—was another matter.
By the time I found the busker and gave him all the cash I had on me to help pay for a new guitar, the snow fell harder and was piling up fast. My teeth chattered again before I cleared the next block, and the entire lower half of my body was as wet as my boots since I’d done the street dive with the bearded busker.
A block from the hotel, I got the same surreal sensation that had overcome me just before the hibernation, and willed myself to move faster. My feet slipped and slid, but I didn’t slow down. If I fell and broke my neck it would solve a lot of problems.
I crossed over to Royal Street and saw the lights of the hotel shining through the heavy snow like a homing beacon. I walked toward them and almost fell when I pushed open the door and entered the lobby. The doorman gave me a fearful look, but I waved at him. No hibernating bears or fainting goats here.