Kill Three Birds by Nicole Kurtz

Author:Nicole Kurtz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mocha Memoirs Press

The outer shell contained small neighborhoods tucked into various parts of the forested areas of Gould. James took Prentice to once such place with a small restaurant featuring a sloping roof, tight quarters, a roaring hearth, and reeking odor. Vultures flocked to the spot, and carriages, both covered and uncovered, as well as horses tethered along the front crammed the outside lot. Prentice followed James inside, the lunch crowd packing the place to the gills.

James sat in the chair across from Prentice along the windows’ edge. She’d managed to find a two-person table that allowed her back to be against the wall while facing the exits in case she need to make a hasty escape. She pulled out her cigarette, lit it, and smoked. That was all she could do to stave off the horrid smell. Carrion. Blech.

In a matter of minutes, a man placed a plate of food in front of James. They only had one menu item, and the server didn’t bother asking Prentice if she wanted anything. Good thing too, because she didn’t eat raw, uncooked things that had been left to decay.

James tore through the carcass with his thick, strong fingers. Blood and flesh squirted beneath his work and oozed out onto the plate. He pushed a gob into his mouth, chewed, and then swallowed. He peered across the metal plate at her.

“The Finches are tenants of the egg, long time.”

Prentice smoked and waited.

“We have lived outside the shell for just as long.”

She didn’t know if “we” meant his family or vultures in general.

“Geraldine Finch had a hardscrabble upbringing that their family’s name hid.” James ate more of the wretched meat. He moaned softly, caught himself, and cleared his throat.

Prentice closed her eyes and suppressed a shudder. She dug deep to remain patient.

“Illegal work?”

James nodded.

“How come they weren’t caught?”

“The shifting sands of business like that benefited the Finches and Gould’s dark underbelly.” James’s expression didn’t change as he continued. “Plus, Geraldine’s a vibrant woman, even now. She runs that household. Few cross her, and those who do, well, they vanish.”

“Vanish?”

James nodded. “Rumor is folks end up in the river.”

“How has she managed to keep the Order at bay?” Prentice tapped her cigarette on the table’s edge. The ashes fell to the floor and joined discarded bones and gristle.

“In her youth, her charm didn’t often fall flat. She has a way of homing in on others’ weaknesses.” James drank his ale.

“Does that include Balthazar?”

James paused. He then lowered his gaze and ate, ripping and tearing the meat with abandon. This continued so long Prentice figured he wouldn’t answer.

“She pushed him to the periphery of church affairs but not anymore. Right?” Prentice said.

James continued to ignore her. Clearly, he wouldn’t speak ill of his dove, so she switched topics.

“What about Carno Finch?”

James drank a long draft of ale, wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve, and belched.

“Those are my feelings about him too,” Prentice said.

James inclined his head. Vultures had no sense of humor.

“He is the grandchild Geraldine wished Gretchen would have been—obedient.

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