The Red King: Wilde Justice, Book 1 by Jenn Stark

Author:Jenn Stark [Stark, Jenn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elewyn Publishing
Published: 2018-10-10T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

“You guys have your own party?”

It was Valetti who answered. “As I mentioned, there are many celebrations that circle around Carnevale. Some of them are public and some—” another hand wave, “are quite private. I am regrettably not in a position to extend invitations on behalf of the senate, but thankfully for us all, the prelate is.”

“Which explains the suddenness and urgency of your visit.” The prelate nodded. The look he turned on Valetti was one of new appreciation. “When I heard of Signore Balestri’s death, I suspected I would be contacted, but not by you. You’ve made no secret of your disdain for his tactics.”

“Disdain is a bit harsh,” Valetti sighed. “And the man is dead, which weighs heavily on me, make no mistake. I didn’t approve of his little drug sideline, I will say that. I had no idea it would lead him to this impasse, though. It’s simply dreadful.”

“You aren’t the only one who disapproved of Balestri’s emporium,” Alfonse assured him sympathetically. “We are old families whose histories have deeply intertwined in this city. It’s reasonable to think that the new generations will maintain the decorum of the old. Reasonable, but not always possible. We can’t know what troubles haunted Signore Balestri to drive him to such an action.”

Valetti opened his mouth as if to respond, then shut it. I had the feeling he knew exactly what had driven Balestri to his actions, his impasse, and his untimely death. They’d been neighbors, and despite what anyone was admitting to, some neighbors knew a lot about each other.

Still, Valetti was also a man of decency in the end. “We will honor him tonight, if we might, Prelate Alfonse. He wanted nothing more than to advance in the eyes of his peers.”

The prelate nodded. “We will honor him tonight.”

Valetti swung his gaze to Nikki and me. “As I’m sure won’t come as a surprise to you, we are an old and storied group, steeped in our traditions. Did you bring a traditional Venetian costume with you?”

I started to respond, but Nikki beat me to it. “What we brought was meant to blend, which I can already see was the wrong idea,” she said, shaking her head with such authentic regret that I blinked at her. For one thing, we absolutely hadn’t brought costumes. For another, Nikki had never intended to blend in her life. “So what we need is a tailor of the highest caliber who is willing to work at the last minute for an unreasonable amount of money. I don’t suppose you happen to know anyone who’d fit that bill?”

The prelate, to my surprise, didn’t seem fazed. “There are two tailors in the city I recommend for exactly that.” He eyed Valetti. “Unless you have a suggestion?”

“When I’ve had a similar problem in the past, I’ve gone to Signore Gazie. He is the best in the city, simply the best. And we have an account with him. You can trust him to be discreet.”

“Completely discreet.” The prelate nodded.

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