Page 128 of The Shade of Things
I dug my nails into my palms to keep from smacking her, but Laurent stroked my back, and little by little, I relaxed. “We also have to find whoever hired my parents, and for that I require your assistance, Tatiana.”
“You think I didn’t already look for whomever was behind the car crash that destroyed my life?” Her voice was clogged with emotion. She took a breath before speaking more briskly. “For a long time, my world was pain and surgery and more pain in recovery, but it gave me time to think and understand that it hadn’t been an accident. Not when the Ascendant was stolen.” She toyed with the knife. “I devoted myself to tracking down possible players until I’d narrowed down the thief. Then I paid a visit.”
Under the table, I grabbed Laurent’s thigh. “You said you didn’t kill my parents.”
“I didn’t. The first I heard about their involvement was when you brought them up at Woods Bank. No, the Ohrist I found must have hired them. He had an iron-clad alibi for the time of the accident, but after further discussion, he admitted to being behind the crash. I thought his alibi had lied, not that he’d subcontracted to two people I’d never heard of.”
“It was genius,” Laurent said.
I raised my eyebrows at him.
“I mean it was terrible, but using two unknowns to get at Tatiana? She’d have sussed out any serious contenders, but your parents’ movements wouldn’t have been on her radar. Powerful people tend to only expect those who are equally powerful to come at them.”
“Like how Ohrists forget that a Sapien with a gun can kill them?” I said.
Laurent pointed at me. “Exactly.”
“Wait.” Emmett held up a hand like a kid in class asking a question. “So, this Arlo character hired you to find the Ascendant. You did, but then he gave it back and it was stolen from you. After that, you stole the Ascendant back from the Ohrist before you killed him?”
“He’s dead?” I gave a pained exhale. “I could have questioned him about my parents.”
“He was older than me. He wouldn’t have been alive now anyway,” Tatiana said.
“What was his name?”
“Calvin Jones.”
I crossed my arms. “Did he suffer?”
Tatiana smiled broadly—like Bruce the shark from Finding Nemo when he’s once again had a taste of blood.
Jones used my parents and was on the top of my suspect list as the person who’d murdered them to tie up any loose ends. I didn’t care about justice; I wanted retribution. As I couldn’t be the one to deliver it, Tatiana torturing him would have to suffice.
Laurent tapped my arm. “If Jones had the Ascendant, he probably ordered the crash, but I doubt he killed your parents.”
“Why?”
“Because someone killed McMurtry the same way.”
“You’re right.” I thought it over. “If it wasn’t Jones then that person is still alive. Or at the very least, they’re intimately connected to this case. I can still find them and unearth the truth.” Glad as I was about that, it didn’t entirely ease my anger at my former boss. “You killed Jones, then I came along and you had your gullible Banim Shovavim.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Tatiana said. “You weren’t my first.”
“That makes it so much better,” I said snarkily.
“Her first Banim Shovavim hire.” Laurent wagged a finger at his aunt. “Stop being deliberately obtuse.”
“Your English has drastically improved,” I noted. “What a quick study you are.”
He grinned, then turned to his aunt. “I told Miriam about Delphine.”
Tatiana snapped her cracker in half, the cheese falling onto the plate. “Juliette didn’t say something? My mistake.”
“Who’s Delphine?” Emmett said.
“My great-niece,” Tatiana said in a firm voice.
“My wife.” Laurent smiled wistfully.
