Living With the Dead (Otherworld 9)

"Okay, so I'm opening this photo and if I die, I am so going to haunt your ass. Let's see. It's - " Savannah let out a shriek. "Holy fucking mother of God. What is that thing?"

"You like?"

"I think I'm blind now. That's the curse, isn't it? Look at the picture and - Wait, isn't that Jasmine something-or-other? One of those Paris-lites?"

"You read the tabloids, Savannah? Say it isn't so."

"Are you kidding? I'm the ward of two well-educated, cultured individuals. I read the New Yorker, Harper's and sometimes National Geographic, but only for the half-naked guys. I do, however, indulge in True News on occasion, to enjoy the journalistic stylings of their in trepid paranormal reporter. Call me crazy, but I think that girl knows of what she speaks."

"You think?"

"I do. So why would you be sending Paige and Lucas a photo of what's-her-name, other than to scar our retinas - Holy shit. Portia Kane. Paige said your friend went to L.A. to do PR work for some celebutante. It's Portia Kane, isn't it? And now she's dead and... Hey, is this a case? 'Cause if it is, I've got the weekend off, and I could - "

"It's not a council case. About the photo, it's actually the people in the background I'm interested in. There's a young woman and - "

"Uncle Josef! No, wait, that's Cousin Irving. I always get them confused. God, I haven't seen ol' Irving since... well, since the last Nast family reunion they didn't invite me to."

While it was true that sorcerers don't father girls, that didn't apply when they had a child with a witch, who only had daughters. So Thomas Nast's granddaughter was being raised by the son of his bitter rival, the Cortez Cabal CEO, the same son who'd devoted his life to fighting Cabal injustice, until recently when he began dividing his time between that and reluctantly helping prop up his father's sagging empire. And yes, that was all just as complicated as it sounded.

But for Thomas Nast and most of his clan, one thing wasn't complicated. Savannah was not his dead son's daughter. No Cabal sorcerer would ever sleep with a witch. Well, except Lucas and... yes, it was complicated. Anyone who saw Savannah, though, with her distinctive big blue eyes, knew exactly who her daddy had been.

"So it's a Nast?"

"Yep, and I'm ninety percent sure it's Irving. That would be my dad's cousin, so my second-cousin or first cousin once removed or whatever. We should have a dossier on him. If you need more, I can put you in touch with Sean to answer any questions. Discreetly, of course. I wouldn't want to get him in trouble."

"We'll try to leave your brother out of it. Now, as for that dossier..."

"It's on the way..." Keys clicked in the background. ". . . now."

The man in the picture was definitely Irving Nast - it matched the one in his dossier down to a small mole by the corner of his eye. As for the rest of the dossier, it was... interesting.

Cabals are run by a central sorcerer family. If you are a member of that family, you're guaranteed an office on the executive level. In the case of Irving, that family connection seemed to be the only reason he got that office. He was VP of some division Hope had never heard of, in charge of a very small department.

According to the dossier, Irving didn't even warrant a bodyguard. Being the CEO's nephew and not getting a guard told the supernatural world you were so low on the totem pole you weren't worth kidnapping - you weren't privy to any secret intelligence and they wouldn't bother ransoming you back.

One reason a family member might rank so low was simple lack of ambition - you were content to coast along on your name, like Lucas's brother Carlos. But it looked as if Irving dreamed of more. The dossier included a string of "independent ventures," where Irving had tried to get innovative and prove his worth... and instead had a run-in with Lucas or the council.

"He's a screw-up," Hope said as she finished reading aloud to Karl. "If this photo is Irving and his very young mistress, it might explain what happened. He's already on thin ice with the Cabal, so he came up with a plan to get the photo back."

"And fucked up royally."

"Yep. On the plus side, though, not rating a bodyguard means it would be easy to interrogate him, if it came to that."

Karl checked his watch. "He should be sleeping. We could - "

"I said 'if it came to that.' Kidnapping and questioning a Nast VP would get me into the kind of trouble even I don't enjoy. So don't tempt me." When he opened his mouth, she went on, "And don't say that you aren't bound by council rules. You're bound by Pack rules, as much as you like to pretend otherwise. Relations are strained enough between the Pack and the Cabals already. Jeremy doesn't need that kind of grief."

Hope navigated to MapQuest. "If we don't find leads by tomorrow night, we'll reconsider. In the meantime, I have a home address. It might be wise to swing by, get the lay of the land."

"And if he happens to be out for a late jog or walking his dog, he might be inclined to chat."

She smiled. "Exactly."

Irving Nast was not out walking his dog or running. He was, as far as they could tell, inside with his family - a wife and two preteen sons according to his dossier. Even Karl wouldn't suggest a home invasion when children were involved.

They circled the block, then parked a street over and walked back, playing strolling couple again as they got a closer look at the property and made a note of the vehicles and license plates, anything that might later help them nab Irving if a "chat" was required.

On the way back, they finally picked up dinner for Robyn. As Hope returned to the car, she nearly bumped into Karl, walking around from the building rear.