“I have my ways, you know, being a detective and all.”
“I hear you’re gunning for a position with the FBI.” Bay pulled his drink to his lips and gave a smirk before taking a hearty swig.
“Yeah, so I guess you’ve heard about the latest case, as well,” Darek said. “You know why I’m here, too?”
“I prefer to do business elsewhere, but since you’ve intruded on my evening out, I’ll be courteous.” He rattled the ice in his glass, but Darek knew that it was only to rattle him, not because Bay had any reason to be nervous. “I’ve heard of the murder. A girl with a zodiac tattoo gets carved up, and you suddenly start thinking of your past. Sounds like you’re finding yourself in a predicament.”
The case was hitting too close to home, and while Darek didn’t remember the event in question in its entirety, he knew it was bad enough for an innocent girl to end up dead.
“It’s the people in my past that I’m worried about,” Darek said.
“Oh? So, you’re not on some mission of penance, like our very own Carter Hamilton?”
Carter had gone into the ministry, using religion as his crutch. “We’re all dealing with what we’ve done, I’m sure. At least those of us with a conscience.” Darek knew Bay was a soulless prick who would light a person on fire to warm his hands.
Darek cleared his throat and tried again. He didn’t come to argue with the man or show him any of his cards. “I need to know what the others are up to. Particularly Tad Halston.” Bay gave a shrug, but Darek cut him off before he could deny knowing. “I know you’ve kept up with them all.”
“Tad’s cleaning himself up and living with his sister. Remember her? God, she’s always been so hot. Good looks run in that family, for sure.” Bay had always referred to the kid as Pretty Boy, and only because he knew it got under his skin. He preyed on all their weaknesses.
“She’s a gorgeous woman,” Darek said. “Now back to Tad. He’s been working as an escort.”
“Yeah, I heard that,” Bay said. “Poor bastard. He’s had it rough, I guess.”
“Carpe Fortuna. I guess not all of us have been so lucky with seizing fortune as others.” Darek glanced around the room, knowing that Bay secretly owned the club.
“Fortune means different things to different people,” Bay said. “One man might think being neck-deep in pussy makes him wealthy, while another just wants a nice home and family.”
“It must be nice to still be alive enough inside to see it all that way. Weren’t we all supposed to help each other, per the bylaws?”
Bay laughed softly, and the sound sent chills down Darek’s back. That soft, yet sinister laugh hadn’t changed much over the years. “It’s funny what you choose to remember. What your mind allows you to. Guidelines and rules. We were kids, Darek. Stupid kids making stupid choices. Besides, I’ve helped my fellow brothers. Most importantly, though, we’ve helped each other best of all by keeping our fucking mouths shut.” He raised his glass and took a long sip, finishing the drink. He didn’t even have to snap his fingers, and another was being poured.
“I was a stupid kid who made a stupid choice out of peer pressure, and I regret it every fucking minute of every day,” Darek said. “Can you say the same?”
“What’s life if we’re living it with a heart full of regret?” Bay stared through to his soul. Darek knew the guy didn’t have a heart. If he did, it was a blackened, blood-stained stone.
The image of the bloody millstone came back to him. The thing had been painted with their symbols, and Bay had laid the girl out across it.
“Don’t check out on me here,” Bay said. “I won’t pick you up off the floor.”
When Darek’s eyes focused, Bay had leaned across the table, a sly grin spreading his lips.
“I’m fine,” Darek said. “I don’t check out anymore.”
Bay had heard all about his problems somehow, and he wondered if there was a spy on the force. Someone Bay had employed to keep an eye on him. He’d thought it from the very beginning. Being a lawyer, Bay would hear some things through the grapevine, but others, he’d have to have a confidant. Bay had a lot of people charmed. He was known as “The Slayer” in the courtroom because he came in and left blood on the courtroom floor. Other attorneys hated to be up against him, and most were impressed that the new guy already had earned the level of respect he had from his peers. In his short time practicing law, he’d racked up quite the record number of wins and no losses.
Bay laughed. “You really think Tad had something to do with it?”
“I’ve got two mental pictures in my head that are lining up, and eleven people that I know are capable.”
“That doesn’t prove anything. Tad is just trying to get by with the escort gig.”
“So why not help the guy out? Offer him a job or something. You’ve got plenty of businesses around the city. Put him on something.” Practice what you preach, he wanted to say.
Bay tilted his head back and forth like he was thinking it over. “I’ll think about it. But he’s not your guy. And for the record, Logan Miller already called, equally as freaked out. He’s still sucking on the tit of his sugar mama, so I don’t think he’d ruin what he has with her to do in some young girl. You know, the young ones have never held his interest much.”
Darek figured it was because of what he’d done to one. “What about Lane? Have you talked to him lately?”
He chuckled as if Darek’s asking had tickled him. “You didn’t hear? The guy tucked tail and ran down to New Orleans after a pitiful losing streak.” Lane Simon had been from a long line of lawyers, just like Bay.
“He only went to law school to please his father and grandfather anyway,” Darek said. “I’m sure you can relate.”
“Relate? No, I love my job. But you have a point. He wasn’t ever cut out for the gig.”
“So, maybe he’s bitter? Broken up that he’s a failure? He has a freak out moment and slices up the girl?” Maybe if he threw out a scenario or two, Bay’s wheels would start to turn.
“Not possible. He’s been in New Orleans for two months.”
“Anyone else from the gang that I should know about? How’s your life, Bay?”
“If you’re asking me if I did it, that would not only be bold, but lame. I have better things to do with my time.”
“Are you still a believer, Bay? You know, with all that bullshit you tried to indoctrinate us in? The zodiac? The astrology influencing our lives? The sacrifice giving us power? Who was that who used to feed you that bullshit by the loving spoonful? Your maid, right?”
Bay’s expression went blank, like Darek had thrown water in his face. “She was my nanny, and like I said, we were kids. I believed a lot of things back then.”