“Nah. After Charm died, things got a little crazy, you feel me?”
Considering Morales and I had been in charge of investigating that crime, we were pretty familiar with exactly how crazy it had gotten.
“You got anything else for us?”
He held up his hands, as if to signal he was empty. “I been locked up in here with these Mundane motherfuckers for weeks. It’s not exactly a hotbed of Cauldron gossip.”
“All right,” I said, standing. “If you think of anything else, call us.”
He crossed his arms. “If I think of anything else, I’m calling Grey. You want my help going forward, I’m gonna want a deal.”
“We don’t control that shit,” I said. “If you want Grey to help you, you got to deliver the goods on a big fish.”
“One of these days, you’re gonna need what I know and you’ll come running with a real sweetheart of a deal.” He flashed a smug expression. “I can’t wait.”
“Judging by the look of you, you’re going to be lucky to survive here long enough for your hearing, asshole. So, I suggest that if you have something big, you call Grey before they fit you with your toe tag.”
* * *
As we walked out of the jail, my cell rang. It was Baba.
“I talked to Mona,” she said. “I had to give her my spot at the bingo table and promise her a gallon of Widow Juice, but she finally agreed.”
“Your bingo spot?”
“It was a prime spot, Kate. Right next to Ernie Lipshitz.”
“Who’s that?” My phone chimed to indicate another call coming in. I ignored it for the moment.
She made a pitying noise. “Only the hottest widower at the senior center.”
“Her husband just died. Isn’t that sort of fast?”
“At our age, you got to lock it down quick.”
I shuddered, not really wanting to know what exactly was getting locked down. “Okay,” I said, “when does she want to meet?”
“Tomorrow around eleven.”
I pumped a fist in the air. “That’s amazing, Baba. I owe you one.”
“Don’t mention it, kiddo. Just remember your promise.”
The reminder that I told her I’d go easy on Danny reminded me that he and I had barely spoken since our argument in the kitchen. I made a mental note to make an effort with him once I had a minute to breathe on the case. “Roger that.”
I hung up with her and filled Morales in on the plan. By that time, we had reached the car and busied ourselves climbing in and buckling up. He was pulling the SUV out of the jail’s lot when he finally brought up the meeting with Puck.
“Was that a waste of time?” he asked.
I thought about it for minute. “I don’t think so. I mean, he didn’t exactly tell us anything we didn’t already suspect, but I did find the news that the Chinese deal came down from Abe interesting.”
“You think he was telling the truth?”
“Seems like,” I said. “I just wish we knew what angle Abe was playing. He never partnered with outside covens in the past. Why start now?”
“You think we need to pay him a visit?”
“Not until we know more. If we go in with half-cocked ideas, he’ll eat our lunch.”
“So, what now?” he said.
“Tonight, I’m running surveillance on Krystal’s house of hand jobs. How about you?”
“I’m going to get in touch with some of my contacts in L.A. See if someone’s heard anything about the Fangshi partnering with the Votaries.”
My phone dinged to let me know I had a new voicemail. I’d forgotten about the call that came in while I was talking to Baba. “Hold on. I need to see what this is.” I clicked the button and lifted the phone to my ear.
“Detective Prospero, this is Dr. Lynn Hidalgo, principal of the Conservatory for the Arcane Arts. I received your email and wanted to reach out to see if you’d like to meet to discuss the prospect of Danny joining us this fall. I’d really love to answer any of your questions and give you a chance to see the school itself. Please let me know when it would be convenient for you to come by for a chat.”
I hung up and cursed.
“What’s wrong?” Morales asked.
“That was the principal at that school.”
“And?”
“I think Volos called her.”
“Why?”
“Well, I emailed her last night, but I didn’t give her my phone number. And this morning, I talked to John about Danny and the school. I think he put a bug in her ear and gave her my cell number.”
“I guess that means your meeting with him didn’t go well.”
“I thought it went fine. I told him not to contact Danny except through me. He urged me to let Danny go to the school. I told him he didn’t get a say.”
“Obviously, he’s trying to keep you in his sphere of influence.” He shot me a side-eye. “Face it, Kate, the guy’s got a long game planned where you’re concerned.”
I looked out the side window. This was not a conversation I wanted to have again. It’s not that I believed Morales was wrong, but believing Volos did what he did out of some emotional place made it harder for me to keep my own emotions in the safe red zone. Anger was way easier to live with than any of the more complex feelings that sometimes raised their ugly heads when it came to my ex.
“Whatever,” I said finally, “he’s exceptionally good at backing me into corners.”
“So, tell Danny he can’t go to the school and have that be that.”
I shook my head. “It’s not that easy.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not. I can’t ignore Danny’s wishes just because I have personal shit with Volos. It’s not fair to the kid.”
“What about what’s fair to you? You ask me, you let him guilt you into whatever he wants too much. Maybe try saying no for a change.”
It was the first time since we started seeing each other that Morales had tried to express his opinion about my parenting. Unfortunately, he said the perfectly wrong thing.
“When I need your parenting advice, I’ll ask for it, okay?”
“Whoa,” he said, “chill. I’m just saying don’t let your guilt—”
I slashed a hand through the air. “Drop it.”
A chilly silence settled inside the car. Morales punched the accelerator to beat a yellow light. I crossed my arms and settled in for an indignant pout.
Only, once we made it through the intersection, he let out a long breath. “I’m sorry.”
I looked up hesitantly, not trusting the olive branch he appeared to be offering. “All right,” I said slowly.
“We’ve been pretty good at keeping work and personal separate, but sometimes it’s gonna rear up. Volos has been tangled up in our work since the beginning, and now he’s weaseling himself into your personal life more and more. On a professional level, it’s concerning because I don’t trust him for a lot of good reasons. On a personal one?” He paused and shook his head. “I’m not proud to say this, but I’m jealous as hell of the guy.”
My mouth fell open. “What?”
“He was your first love. That’s potent stuff. Not to mention he’s now a powerful millionaire and political mogul.”
“You forgot to mention that he’s an asshole.”
Morales pulled the car over to the side of the road and put the car in park. He turned to me. “That’s the thing, Kate. Distrust, I’d believe. Anger, for sure. But you hate him.”
“Right,” I said slowly. “What’s your point?”
“Hate is a passionate emotion. We don’t hate something unless it gets under our skin. Unless we actually care a whole hell of a lot.”
I blinked at him, letting the implications sink in. I opened my mouth to respond, but I was so dumbfounded that the words dried up on my tongue.
“I’m not saying you’re secretly in love with him or whatever. Jesus, I hope not,” he said almost to himself. “But there are unresolved issues there. I have to wonder if there’s a part of you that enjoys the cat-and-mouse game you two have going on.”
I threw up my hands. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
He arched a brow.
“Seriously, Drew. You’re mental.”
“Regardless, you can’t blame me for being a little jealous, can you?”
“Yes, actually, I can.” I crossed my arms and refused to look at him.
“All right,” he said, “then answer me this. Did you tell him about us?”