Hell & High Water (THIRDS 1)

“Ms. Thalia.”

Everyone’s attention turned to him, including the irate owner’s, her gasp audible through the deathly silent reception area. A couple sitting by the door quickly got up and left, while the remaining customers looked on in interest. Sloane was aware of how intimidating he was and could be. It made the job much easier when dealing with citizens like Ms. Thalia. He loomed over her, his expression grave.

“Now, we can either speak somewhere private or we can continue this discussion here. Either way, it’s in your best interest to cooperate.”

The woman lifted her chin, her eyes darting from Sloane to the customers who remained.

“Very well, Agent….”

“Brodie,” Sloane offered with a smile.

“Very well, Agent Brodie. We’ll discuss this in my office.” She spun on her very high heels and marched toward a door to the left of the reception area, opposite of where Sloane had come in. Cael and Rosa trailed after her, with Sloane and Dex close behind.

“Where were you?” Dex asked quietly, holding the door open for their team.

“You’re about to find out.” Sloane walked past Dex into the short hallway leading to an extravagantly decorated office lined with elegant white and silver wallpaper sporting several black frames of various shapes with event photographs. The silver glass-topped desk looked exceptionally pricey, as did the two white

wingback chairs with silver stripes that were angled toward it. He hated being in a room with that much white.

Sloane positioned himself next to Rosa in front of Ms. Thalia’s desk. The woman made a great big show of sitting down, straightening objects, closing her personal diary, and adjusting the angle of her tablet before finally clasping her hands together and smiling up at him.

“What can I do for you, Agent Brodie?” She swept her gaze over him in approval, the look in her eyes turning sinful. And they called him a predator.

“Ms. Thalia, you were recently hired to cater a brunch held by the Ortiz family for HumaniTherians United. Is that correct?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Ortiz was found dead earlier today.” He watched her intently as his words sank in. The smile fell off her now pale face, her delicate hand going to her pink lips as she let out a gasp.

“Oh my God. I spoke with him this morning. How… what happened?”

To her credit, she looked genuinely stricken. “We’re going to need a list of Therian employees who worked the charity event.”

“Yes, of course, but you don’t believe one of them had anything to do with it, do you?” She tapped away at her tablet, the slim document printer beside it churning to life and spitting out several sheets. As soon as it was done, she handed them to Sloane.

“Right now, we’re following all possible leads,” Rosa stated, taking the documents from him after he gave it a cursory glance.

“Thank you. Now I’m going to need the list of all your Unregistered employees.”

Ms. Thalia’s gray eyes went wide, and she shot to her feet. “Now see here. I don’t—”

“Enough.” Sloane brought her protest to an abrupt halt. “I have three Unregistered Therians detained in your pantry. I caught them unloading your company van. Now, you can cooperate and get me that list, or I will arrest you for the hiring of Unregistered Therians, shut you down, confiscate everything, and find the list myself.”

With an anxious nod, she quickly went about printing another list. This one was much shorter. Removing a pen from his front breast pocket, Sloane scratched out the three names he recognized from the TIK analysis. That left seven. “Is there anyone on this list who was scheduled to work at the brunch?”

Ms. Thalia resumed her seat. “Yes. I don’t normally send Unregistered employees offsite unless they’re making deliveries, but one of my bartenders called in sick at the last minute, and Lloyd had bartending experience, so I sent him. I told Mrs. Ortiz he was in the process of registering.”

“Full name?”

“Lloyd Everton.”

Cael tapped the information into his tablet. “We’re going to need everything you have on file for him.”

Ms. Thalia clasped her hands tightly in front of her. “I’m afraid that’s all I have. He came recommended by one of my vendors. They wanted to keep him on but had to make cutbacks. Look, these guys are grateful to get any work they can. They don’t make demands and neither do I. It’s all cash under the table. Lloyd’s been working for me for months. He would never hurt anyone.”

Unlike a lot of other employers Sloane came across, Ms. Thalia hadn’t jumped at the chance to hurl blame upon her Unregistered Therian employees. Still, that didn’t mean she didn’t take advantage of them. Sloane had to consider all possibilities. “Well someone isn’t hurt, Ms. Thalia, they’re dead, and so are two other victims. We need to find Mr. Everton and bring him in for questioning. He’s the only one unaccounted for.”

“I’m sorry.” She rushed around her desk and put her hands on his arm. “I swear, if I had any more information, I would give it to you, but that’s all I have.”