Hell Bent: Chronicles of the Herald: Book One by Dan Thompson

Author:Dan Thompson [Thompson, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780985414634
Publisher: Quantum Forge Press
Published: 2018-02-21T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

The place on Liberty was a little more crowded that evening, but Max had staked out the same booth we had used the night before. He also had his laptop out along with a set of bulky foam headphones. I slid into the seat opposite him and set my backpack beside me on the bench. It was hard to believe only been twenty-four hours had passed since we were there last. I was bursting to tell him everything that had happened, but we waited for the waitress to take our order. I was so tired I knew better than to get any alcohol, so I opted for some chicken soup and coffee.

Max read my face like an inch-tall headline and prompted me as soon as she had left. “Clearly your day has been more productive than mine. Out with it.”

I brought him up to speed as briefly as I could. After talking to Dillon it was easy. Again, I glossed over the events at the Brimstone. That more than anything told me how ashamed I was for the way I had acted. I did give him the names, reading them right off of Vanessa’s parchment, but they did not mean anything to him either. The most critical news, however, was that I had spoken to Dillon and had at least some kind of confirmation that something was up with the ring. By the time I finished, the soup was warming my belly, and I had switched from coffee to tea.

Max chewed on the news along with his steak. “The Rothschild angle is a good one. You guys should keep looking for him. Even if he’s innocent in all this, he might have had dealings with a wizard on other jewelry. That would go a long way toward finding your culprit.”

“I know. If he’s not at his shop tomorrow morning, I’ll try finding him at home, but I bet Dillon already tried that.”

“Maybe, but he’s not an investigator like us.”

I must confess that my heart gave a little surge at that: investigator.

“But if he doesn’t show up by this time tomorrow, you should think about getting with his neighbors and filing a missing persons report. You could try it yourself, but it’s the neighbors that will get the cops’ attention.”

I nodded grimly. “Yeah, by this time tomorrow… but Jim wants a draft in his hand by nine in the morning.”

“In person?”

I nodded.

“Then you’d better give him a draft.”

“I know, but I don’t know what to put in it.”

He leaned back and gave me a knowing look. “How much have you told him about all this?”

I took a sip of my tea and busied myself stirring it for no reason.

“You haven’t told him anything, have you?”

“No,” I squeaked.

He put a hand to his ear. “What? I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that.”

I set down my tea. “No, I haven’t told him anything yet.”

“You’re afraid to?”

I nodded.

“Well, that’s pretty stupid of you, Alice.” All the warm fuzzies from “investigator” evaporated. “Sure, I know Jim is more than a bit of an ass, but he’s your editor.

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