DIANA
Well that sucked. Even Steffane Ronin’s adoring mother thought he was guilty.
“Are you sure it couldn’t have been someone else?” I asked her, trying not to sound pleading. She’d think it was very odd that I was rooting for her son to be innocent. I had to seem completely impartial.
“How I wish it had been anyone else,” said Audriett. “It was humiliating for Gaius. You’re too young to remember, but it was heavily publicized, all over the news cycles for months. Just when Gaius had been deciding to run for public office too. If I didn’t know my son’s regard for his own liberty, I would have almost thought he’d done it on purpose to shame his father.”
My eyes narrowed. “But you said Gaius and Steffane were getting along? Why would he want to shame his father?”
“He didn’t,” she said shortly. “Gaius and Steffane had completely resolved their differences. I believe Steffane over-imbibed on his narcotics that night to the point he was unable to control himself. Constance said to the police that her niece had been afraid of Steffane. That he had been pestering the girl, and had grown obsessed with her. Constance was always a silly creature. She ought to have come to me. I would have put a stop to it.”
“How?”
“By removing the girl to where Steffane could not find her. It was all or nothing with Steffane all of the time. Once he wanted something, he was relentless. He never denied himself anything, especially anything forbidden. It was his greatest flaw.”
“Is that why your husband went into seclusion? The shame?”
Her expression turned icy. Clearly the topic of her husband was off limits. “You really know nothing of vampires,” she said haughtily. “My husband has withdrawn to reflect and gather his strength. He will emerge stronger than ever before.”
I took a look around the garden cavern. The pretty tables and chairs being arranged, the lawn freshly trimmed, bowers of flowers. Clearly arrangements for a party were talking place. “Is he coming out of seclusion soon? Is that what the party is for?”
“We are having a soiree on Saturday. I like to keep up my husband’s important business relationships. It is nothing out of the ordinary.”
I nodded. I couldn't think of anything more to ask her. She’d already given me far more than I’d thought she would. “Thank you for your help,” I said.
She nodded. “My son is important to me. If you were able to help him I would owe you a debt of gratitude, however I do not think this is anything other than a waste of your time. It is curious to me that he would have sought your help. Do you have some special skill he was interested in?”
“I doubt it,” I replied.
She leaned forward a little in her chair. “Come now. Don’t be coy. You and I both know there is more to you than meets the eyes. Your friend here has been sensibly avoiding my gaze since his arrival.” She looked at Finch who determinedly did not look back. “You on the other hand… you are immune to a vampire’s mesmerism. We both know that few creatures are. Who sent you?”
“Steffane sent me.”
“Who really sent you? Who do you work for? The fae?”
This astonished me but I tried not to look it. I noticed from the corners of my eyes that Finch had stiffened at the mention of the fae. It certainly did me no harm for Audriett to think I was associated with the the notoriously dangerous and highly magical beings. Until recently I had thought they were creatures of legend. Most people did.
When I did not reply she said, “Did they give you that sword? I have never heard of its like.” She chuckled. “Marielle will be bemoaning giving you a reason to use it for many days, if not weeks, to come. It was quite the wound it delivered.” She stared at the table beneath which I was still clutching the sword. I did not bring it out to give her a closer look. Hell if I knew where the sword had come from. I certainly did not want her examining it.
I shrugged it off. “I’d like to speak to Constance Ashbeck before I leave. Is she here?”
“She left after her niece’s death.”
I frowned. Vampires were possessive of their sheep. Despite what Audriett has said, it seemed to me that Constance had been a favored sheep of Gaius’s. Surely he would not have easily let her go?
Audriett was smart enough to read my expression. “The Agency officers took her away along with some others of our sheep during the murder investigation,” she said. “To keep them safe, they claimed. The nerve! Gaius chose not to reclaim Constance, and she did not attempt to return. Perhaps it was too difficult for her to come back after all that had happened.”
Or perhaps she had been afraid of what these vampires would do to her. Or perhaps she knew something of interest that made her run. I had to speak to her.
“How can I get in touch with her? Do you have a phone number?”
“Our sheep have no need of telephones. I do not know where she is. We probably had an address for her next of kin, her brother. But as I said, he is dead now.”
“Can I have it anyway?”
She rose in one swift motion as if she was done with this meeting. “I will see what I can find. Wait here.” She swept off without a backward glance, the back of her long blue gown trailing gracefully on the grass behind her.
As soon as she was gone, Finch leaned forward with a frown on his face. “Where did that sword come from?” he asked.