“Asshole in the massage parlor with the poisoned tea?” he deadpanned. “Once I run the tests, I’ll be able to track down what kind of poison was used. The why is your job.”
After that, Mez ran off, leaving us to go look for Gardner outside. I didn’t have to ask why she preferred not to talk inside the parlor. Who knew where else Krystal’s cameras were broadcasting?
We found Gardner out in the alley on her cell phone. As we approached, she ended the call. “That was the commissioner. Apparently, Mayor Volos is threatening to pull the plug on the whole coven investigation and give the murder cases back to Duffy.”
“Mez said Eldritch agreed to letting us continue,” Morales said.
“He did. Last thing he wants is another murder added to his stats. But apparently, Volos isn’t too keen on letting the MEA get the win on this one now that it’s looking like a bigger case. Luckily, the commissioner held him off, but we don’t have long to get this wrapped up.”
I blew out a breath and looked up at the sky. The sun was going down, and the moon was starting to rise over the Steel River. Only a couple days until the full moon. Since there’d be an eclipse to go with it, the power would be amplified, and that always causes problems in a town filled with beings capable of wielding magic. “Did Shadi and those guys find anything on Hung?”
“They didn’t have a chance to get too far before I pulled them off to come help out here,” she said. “But McGinty traced his name to a deed for a Chinese restaurant.”
“The Jade Moon?” I asked. “That’s where he went when Shadi and I followed him the other night.”
“He’s one of the investors,” she said. “Otherwise, Shadi got a tip that Hung’s staying in one of Volos’s properties while he’s getting Waidan up and running in town.”
“Probably the Phoenix,” I said.
“Start with the restaurant. The longer we can put off being on Volos’s radar with this, the better.”
Morales cocked a brow at me. “You hungry?”
“I could go for some cashew chicken, yeah.”
“All right,” Gardner said in her enough-of-the-funny-business voice, “you two watch your asses. Corpses are piling up, and if Hung is responsible, he’s also got the mayor’s ear.”
We sobered up. “Yes, sir,” we said in unison.
“Don’t hesitate to call in the cavalry if shit starts going pear-shaped.”
“Got it.”
“And, Prospero?” she said.
“Yeah?”
“You might also be interested to know that your uncle is part owner of Jade Moon too.”
“I’ll be damned,” I said.
“Looks like we need to make a trip out to Crowley soon,” Morales said.
“Oh, joy. Something else to look forward to. Come on, let’s go.”
Chapter Eighteen
The Jade Moon was only a couple of blocks away. That meant it sat squarely in Votary territory, which was interesting, all things considered.
“I wonder when this place opened,” I mused aloud.
We drove over and parked a few doors down. Morales checked his cell while I watched the front entrance. “According to the notes Dixon just emailed me, February.”
“Interesting. Two months ago. That means Abe was setting up a Fangshi partnership a lot earlier than we thought.”
“How you want to play this?” he said, nodding toward the restaurant.
“Well, we don’t know if he’s there, so busting in with guns probably isn’t a great idea.”
“How about we play it casual? Couple on a date or whatever?”
I cocked a brow at him. “I love how you wait until we’re on the trail of a murderer to ask me on a date.”
“You want poetry?” he said. “Fine. Roses are red, corpses are blue…”
I held up a hand to prevent another horrifying stanza. “You’re not right, son. But since this a work date, you’re paying.”
He grinned. “If it’s a work date, then Gardner’s paying.”
“It’s a date, then.”
We exited the car and walked arm-in-arm down the road. Since we were only pretending to be on a date, we’d automatically relaxed some of our no-affection-on-the-job rules. Even though I’d given him hell about it, the date idea was pretty solid. Flashing badges in a place like this would mean an automatic circling of wagons in the Fangshi. Us pretending to be grabbing a romantic dinner would buy us some leeway to case the joint before we decided on the best move.
He steered me toward the entrance. The door was tucked under a pagoda-shaped overhang. Wind chimes hung on either side of the doorway, and when we walked in, an invisible gong sounded.
“Nice,” I said.
The interior of the restaurant seemed awfully nice for the Cauldron. Considering we were only a couple of blocks from the massage parlor, it felt weird to see a sit-down place instead of a drive-thru.
“Only the best.” He winked as he showed me toward the host. I noticed that his demeanor had softened from his normal workaday gruffness. Of course, once upon a time, Morales had worked undercover in Los Angeles, which meant he could be a good actor when he wanted to be. Now, apparently, was one of those times, as he pretended to be a man trying to woo a lady.
It was a disorienting feeling. Since we’d never actually been on a date, it was fascinating to get a glimpse at his date behavior without actually being on one with him.
“Welcome to Jade Moon,” said the host. He was Chinese and wore a white coat with a Mandarin collar and black pants. “Table for two? Right this way.”
As we made our way through the restaurant, I noted a few important details. First, it was almost six o’clock, well into the dinner rush, but only two other tables were occupied. One booth in the far corner had another couple in it, and a table near the kitchen held four men in business suits, having what looked like a meeting. None of them were Alexander Hung, though.
The other thing I noticed was that even though the entrance was pretty nice, the dining room itself had vinyl tablecloths and the general air of a place pretending to be nicer than it actually was. Once we were seated, a waitress rushed up and instructed us that we were there for happy hour, and that when we were ready, we could just help ourselves to the buffet in the other room. Morales ordered us a couple of Tsingtaos.
Once she went to go get the beers, he leaned on the edge of the table. “So, now what, Nancy Drew?”
I smiled at him from under my lashes. “The businessmen are all packing.” I’d seen the outline of their shoulder holsters through their suit coats.
He reached across the table and took my hand. “There are four cameras set up around the dining room.”
“I noticed another two on the way in.” I winked at him.
The waitress dropped off the beers. Once she was gone again, he continued.
“What do you say we go hit the buffet and see what we see?”
“Not yet. I want to go powder my nose first and see if there are any secret rooms in the back.”
“Take your phone.”
“Be sure to watch my ass as I walk away to make it convincing.”
“I was planning on it.” He lifted his beer to his lips. Before he took a swig, he said, “Hit the panic button if something goes south.”
The button he was referring to could be found on the protective amulet we all wore when we were on the job. Mez had made them, and they’d saved my ass more than once. The circular amulet had a bubble of glass filled with a green liquid. All I had to do was break the glass and it would alert the rest of the team of my GPS coordinates.
“You got it,” I said. “Grab me an eggroll.”
As I walked to the back, I was very aware of my rear end, which I might have swayed bit more than usual. I also made sure to take note of all the exits and that the couple in the booth were having a humdinger of a whispered argument.