Page 108 of Tin God
“Vampire in charge,” Ben jumped in to answer. “That’s all she means. Are you the vampire in charge?” Ben leaned toward Tenzin. “Jennie is Katya’s lieutenant.” He looked back at Jennie. “Was Paulson having strange vampires on one of his boats unusual?”
Jennie took a while to consider the question before she answered. “We keep out of each other’s business. Paulson had dealings with people from out of the area. That’s none of my business, and I don’t think it concerns Katya either. As long as strangers don’t hang around much or create problems, we’re not going to make it a big deal.”
Tenzin said, “But these strangers have ‘complete live meals’ on the menu. On Paulson’s menu. Does Katya know about that?”
Jennie leaned forward and rested her hands lightly on the table. “What are you trying to say?”
“Tiny.” Ben put a hand on Tenzin’s arm. “We’re not casting blame here; we’re trying to figure out what is happening.”
“So Paulson shows up twenty years ago.” Brigid raised her voice and tried to get the meeting back on track. “And by all accounts—as Jennie said—he lives a quiet life.”
Jennie nodded. “Yeah. He’s even hired some of Katya’s people over the years. Who arefine. From what we know, the guy’s a good boss.”
“Except for the crew of theDolphin,” Ben added quickly, “who disappeared the same time that Paulson did.”
“Exactly.” Jennie’s tone was more than a little terse.
“One thing to add.” Carwyn glanced at Brigid, and she nodded. “Paulson does have ties to the Ankers.” He looked at Ben and Buck. “The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it until the other night. One of my sons—his mate has distant ties to the Anker clan, and I remember she mentioned Paulson to me after the Ankers took Chloe.”
Tenzin narrowed her eyes. “One of your children’s mates is an Anker?”
Carwyn glared at Tenzin. “No, I said she has distant ties. Just like you used to have ties to some… less than upstanding vampires. We don’t control who sires us.” He turned back to Brigid. “She mentioned Paulson as a possible ally of the Dutch Anker clan, but only in passing. I would be surprised if Paulson would risk anything of his own for them.”
“So maybe don’t classify them as allies,” Ben said. “They’re more like stray dogs who frequent the same streets. They help each other if it works, but mostly they trade information. Feed from the same gutter.”
Brigid cleared her throat. “Jaysus, thanks for that vivid mental picture, Ben.”
He shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”
Tenzin was staring at him. “I feel like you just insulted stray dogs.”
Brigid jumped in. “Getting back to the briefin’.”
His poor wife. Herding cats. It was absolutely herding cats to keep Ben and Tenzin on track.
“We know Paulson has been here for some time.” Brigid flipped to another frame and another picture of Henri Paulson, this time a shadowy figure in the background of a picture that looked like it had been taken in the summer based on the lush flowers on the deck of the boat. “We know he has a connection to the Ankers.”
“Maybe after the Ankers were defeated in Las Vegas,” Tenzin said, “Paulson noticed that Zasha needed a new project.”
“That’sverypossible.” Brigid made another note on her tablet.
Last summer—Zasha and Ankers lose in Vegas
“Vegas was an expensive loss,” Carwyn said. “And the Ankers will not hire Zasha for any new projects when the last two went south.”
“So Zasha comes to Alaska to lie low after things got kyboshed in Las Vegas.” She made another note and put it on the screen.
???—Zasha goes to Alaska
“They must have a house… somewhere,” Brigid said. “A hideout. Probably away from both Oleg’s and Katya’s eyes.”
“Wait.” Buck raised a hand. “They rented that house around Sitka last summer, right? Did they do that and then go kidnap that kid in Vegas?”
Ben stood and walked to the screen, looking up. “They must have.”
Carwyn frowned. “So if Paulson and Zasha started working together, it wasn’t because Zasha was bored. Whatever happened must have started before Las Vegas. This was planned out well in advance.”
Brigid added another note and amended the previous ones.