Rough Justice (Cainsville 5.5)

"I..." Ioan rubbed his mouth. "I didn't realize it would be embarrassing for her. I saw that at the time, and I apologize. To both of you."

Gabriel eased back. "As I said, I didn't come here to complain or berate you. I wished to update you on her progress. On what she has discovered about Keith Johnson's possible involvement."

Ioan waved his hand. "That isn't necessary. The investigation is for Liv. To reassure her that Johnson is guilty."

"And you know he is."

"Yes."

"Based on a power that has never been found to be faulty."

Ioan met his gaze. "Yes. I can say, with absolute confidence, that we have never taken our quarry and found it to be a mistake."

"That would be far more reassuring if you took any interest in the actual circumstances, investigated beforehand or followed up afterward to be sure."

Ioan's cheek twitched. "I know you are a lawyer, and your job is to poke holes in my testimony, but there is a reason the Cwn Annwn do not investigate, and it isn't laziness. It isn't blind faith, nor is it fear of discovering something that might make us reconsider. It's efficiency, Gabriel, and I have a feeling you understand that concept very well. We know our target is guilty, so why would we waste time investigating? As for follow-up, we actually do some of that, to be sure no innocent party is later accused of the crime. That has happened. In that case, we help the falsely accused by providing evidence--true evidence--that sends the police in the correct direction. Never, in any of those instances, has anyone else been found guilty of a crime for which we executed another person."

"Then I would like you to listen to the details of this case and explain Olivia's findings."

Gabriel told Ioan about the murder, Heather's arrest, and the death of Johnson's wife, along with the evidence strongly suggesting the Nansens were responsible.

"That..." Ioan leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed. "That does not... That isn't correct."

"If you have evidence to contradict Olivia's findings--"

"I mean that it doesn't fit the criteria."

"Which part?"

Ioan threw up his hands. "Any of it. We may not investigate our quarry, but we often see--through visions--the details of the crime. Or we uncover those details in our postmortem. Or we simply hear about them as humans do--on the news, in passing, in conversation."

"And this case differs from those how exactly?"

"Not every case is clear cut. There are those where a jury would allow for extenuating circumstances... Yes, I'll be honest, we find human laws less conservative than our ow

n. There are so many"--his hands fluttered--"excuses."

"The Cwn Annwn do not accept excuses."

"Explanations, yes. Excuses, no. There is a difference, as I'm sure you'll recognize."

"I'm a defense attorney. I prefer not to recognize the distinction. It's bad for business."

Ioan let out a laugh. "I'm sure it is. But you personally recognize it. I know you do. The Cwn Annwn may set the line in a different place, but we're certainly not going to do something like hunt down a woman who killed her abusive husband in self-defense. In cases like that, I daresay we're even more liberal than your courts."

"And in a case where a man sought revenge on his wife's killers?"

"I'll admit, this is a gray area. If Johnson knew for certain that they had intentionally murdered her, then no, he would not be a target. As it stands... I can only say that we've never encountered a case like this. Add that to the fact that he didn't actually commit the murder..."

"That too is unusual?"

"Again, I can't think of an instance of that. It's possible, of course. If a human paid money to murder a fae, then clearly that person could not escape our justice simply because he didn't pull the trigger. That, I believe, is similar to human law."

"It is."

"Many years ago, a case was brought to our attention by a full-blood fae whose mate had worked for a man in organized crime. She had attempted to blackmail her employer. He had complained to an underling about it, saying she was a problem he'd pay dearly to solve."

"Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?"