The Princess and the Bootlegger

“So… did you do it?”

Kade couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Gibbet sat on a stool and watched him as he put their illegal goods in hidden storage, just in case the authorities came sniffing around.

“Of course I didn’t kill anyone,” Kade said, glaring at him. “When I said he’d regret it, I meant I wasn’t going to sell to him anymore. That’s it.”

“Where did’ja go afterwards?” Gibbet questioned. “You got an alibi?”

“I guess?” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I stopped by the cleaners to pick up some clothes, then I went home to help Mrs. Redfoot with her radio, then I came here.”

“Maybe Mrs. Redfoot will vouch for you.”

“Mrs. Redfoot can’t remember what she had for breakfast,” Kade sighed. “Let alone when I came to fix the radio. She probably doesn’t even remember the radio was broken.”

“Maybe I can vouch.”

“The murder happened before I came here,” Kade said. “The whole thing is stupid. Why the hell would I challenge the MacIntosh pack like that? Even if I could miraculously kill the guy, I have absolutely no backup to protect me. It makes no sense at all.”

They jumped when there was a knock at the door. Everything was hidden now, so Kade and Gibbet went back out into the shop.

“We’re closed,” Gibbet called out.

“City watch,” someone announced from behind the door. “We need to speak with Mr. Rosier.”

Kade gestured for Gibbet to go to the back and make sure no one went snooping, then hesitantly opened the door. The City Watch guards were primarily high elves. They were the closest things to gods walking the earth with their golden skin and practically glowing eyes. Their strong belief in law and order made them the primary beings to hold positions of authority or political office, and for the most part they just saw themselves as better than everyone else. Whether or not they actually got things done was another story. Kade had evaded them for years since there was never any proof to hold him accountable, but they seemed more interested in the performance of it all. Something to brag about with their other High Elf friends, since they didn’t associate themselves with anyone else.

The two who stood at Kade’s door were two that he recognized. Feread and Aineart. Both a couple of peacocks who tried arresting Kade several times before, with no success.

“What is it this time?” he said. “I haven’t done anything.”

“We just have some questions for you,” Feread said. “May we come in?”

“Fine.”

He opened the door to let them in, watching as they looked around the pawn shop like they were afraid one of the “filthy” secondhand items would touch them. Kade leaned against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well?”

“There is an investigation on a murder. Do you know a Brutus MacIntosh?” Aineart asked.

“I do,” Kade said, keeping his answers short.

“And this Mr. MacIntosh,” he continued. “He was a friend of yours?”

“An acquaintance,” Kade said. “I only met him a few times at a bar. He wasn’t interested in associating with me, so I moved on.”

“Would that be The Rose and Raven?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“You go there quite often, do you?”

“The owner pawns a lot of his old glasses and dishes to me,” he said. “It’s one of the only clubs that lets me in.”

“There’s been witnesses saying that you and Mr. MacIntosh had a bit of a heated argument the night he was found,” Feread said. “And that you told him, quote, ‘You’ll regret this.’ End quote.”

“It was more of friendly banter than a threat,” Kade lied. “He wanted to sell me some old furniture and I offered him a price, but he didn’t take it. So I told him he’d regret it, because I won’t give the same price again. He disagreed and left. It was just business.”

“Sounds like it was offensive to you.”

“I’ve heard much worse things, I assure you.”

“Enough to kill someone?”

“God, no,” Kade scowled. “And seeing as you have no evidence to incriminate me other than some snobs gossiping about an argument they misheard, it sounds like we’re all wasting our time.”

“May we have a brief look around?”

“Do you have a warrant?”

“No.”

“Then no.”

The two looked at each other, then tipped their caps to Kade.

“Thank you, Mr. Rosier,” Aineart said. “Your input is valued in keeping out great city safe-“

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Kade said, ushering them out. “Have a nice day.”

They seemed offended, but left shortly after in their ridiculously flashy Watch Car. Kade let out a deep exhale, closing his eyes.

“It’s not over,” a raspy voice said.

Kade was startled, turning to see a man sitting against his wall. Bertie was an old homeless bum that frequented the street Kade’s pawn shop was on, and usually Kade let him sit there. To be a human and a bum didn’t leave many options of places to go, so Kade figured he could at least keep dry under the awning.

“What are you talking about?” Kade asked.

“You may be off the hook with the City Watch,” Bertie said, “But the MacIntosh pack has your name in their hand. They don’t need proof to seek justice. And we both know City Watch isn’t going to do a damn thing about your body. If they even find it.”

“God, Bertie,” Kade grimaced. “When did you get so fucking dark?”

“Rumor has it they’re already looking for you,” he continued. “Your dhampir friend, too.”

“Celine?” he frowned. “What does she have to do with it?”

“She was seen leaving the morgue, then coming here,” he said. “Now they think she was in on it and was coming to let you know the job was done.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Maybe, but it’s what they’re saying. You here every word on the street when you live on it, ya know?”

Kade started to panic. If this was true, he didn’t stand a chance against the MacIntosh pack. Frankly, neither did Celine. She may have been half vampire, but even full vampires had a hard time against werewolves.

He went home and tried to get some sleep during the day, but spent most of the time staring at the ceiling. It wasn’t fair to throw Celine out to the wolves. Literally. She had warned him, so he needed to warn her. He quickly got dressed, knowing she’d be on her way to work by now. He wore dark clothes and stuck to the back alleys to stay out of sight, hiding behind a wall and checking out the entrance to the lounge. Sure enough, two wolves were standing outside. Waiting for him. Probably waiting for her.

He recognized her walking down the sidewalk, about to cross the street to the club. The wolves hadn’t seen her yet, so Kade took his chance and grabbed her by the arm, yanking her into the alley. She squealed in surprise but he clasped a hand over her mouth, checking again to make sure they hadn’t been seen. Then she bit his hand, her sharp fanged teeth digging into his skin.

“Ah, fuck!” he said, moving his hand away.

She hadn’t broken skin, but she got the message across.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she snapped at him. “The cheesy lines are one thing but grabbing a woman in an alley is a whole other-“

He shushed her and she looked incredibly affronted by it. Then she seemed to notice how panicked he was and eased up just slightly.

“What’s going on here?” she asked again.

He just grabbed her hand and started leading her away from the lounge.

“We need to go somewhere quiet. Then I’ll explain everything.”