SeductiveTracks by Elizabeth Lapthorne Read Free Book Online Page B

asked him to wait a
moment and the call was transferred. A deeper but still young-sounding voice
answered the call.
    “Monard,” the man said. “How can I help you?”
    “This is Matthias Kestell. I’m an Enforcer making a routine
inquiry and I was hoping I could have five minutes of your time, please, Mr.
Monard,” Matt started. A heavy silence weighed on the other end of the line, so
he continued after only a moment’s pause. “I’ve found a small notation in a
couple of cold case files I’m reviewing that indicate you’ve Retrieved two items
that were stolen in the last year? A third edition of what I believe is an
ancient Alchemy manual and a diamond-and-emerald choker belonging to one of the
local Elders’ third wife?”
    The reply on the other end of the line was a grunt, and Matt
felt a frisson of annoyance at the wizard.
    “Mr. Monard, did you actually recover these items?” he asked
point-blank.
    “Yeah, I Retrieved them,” he replied, sounding as if he were
only partially involved in their conversation. “I’m a Retriever, it’s what I
do. Find shit that gets lost or stolen, you know?”
    Matt cast a quick glance at Julian beside him. His partner
made a face and a rude gesture toward the phone. Matt had the impression that
Julian believed Vincent was not feeling helpful and was full of shit. Matt agreed.
The wizard came across as arrogant and as though he thought himself above Matt.
It would be foolhardy, however, to write him off because he grated on Matt’s
nerves.
    “I am sure you are very good at your job, Mr. Monard,” Matt
replied a little sarcastically, “but I was wondering if you could give me a bit
more detail on how, exactly, you came to Retrieve those items?”
    “Look, buddy,” Monard snapped, his tone condescending, “I’m
not going to rehash old stories for you, even if you are an Enforcer. That’s old
news and I’m juggling a dozen or so cases right now. I’m busy. If you really
want to go over the files, the company makes it a practice always to cooperate
with you guys, so come on over and explore my records to your heart’s content.
If not, I have real work to do here and I can’t sit around telling tales
to you. Okay?”
    Matt looked again at Julian, who nodded. The Retriever was
an idiot and they weren’t likely to do more than irritate him if they pressed
the point.
    “Of course, I understand,” Matt replied. “And I will be sure
to make a notation in my records of how obliging you have been. Thank you for
your time, Mr. Monard.”
    Vincent hung up even as he spoke his farewell, so it was
mostly cut off. Matt hung up the portable phone and tilted his head. “An arrogant
jerk, newly minted from the Academy and out to prove what a wonderful manly man
and kick-ass Retriever he is,” he summarized. “I’d love to bust him for
something, but I’m not sure I can see him having the brains to carry anything
off with someone as patient and intelligent as Shadow appears to be.”
    “Definitely worth checking out this Retrieval consultancy,”
Julian added, “and we can try to corner and speak to Olivia Congreave at the
same time.”
    “It’s certainly a lot harder to brush us off in person,”
Matt replied, “and I wouldn’t mind getting a bit of a look at Monard either.
See if the real-life version is as irritating as his over-the-phone manner. Or
see if maybe he was playing us.”
    “We’ll take my car?” Julian suggested.
    Matt thought about it for a moment then nodded. “Sure.”
    They tidied up the files and their notes, then Julian locked
the files in a safe until they could return them to Captain Will. A few minutes
later they were leaving the apartment to head down into the garage and drive
out to the Retrievers’ office.

Chapter Three
     
    Poulter, Williams and Brown, Inc. was based on the fourth
floor of a mid-downtown building in the business district of Chicago. One of
the longest running Retriever outfits in the United States, the office had