The Gadget: The Rondon Chronicles Book One by V. Timlin (speed reading book .TXT) 📕

and even they hadn’t caught Stalo and Captain Biddulph although they had surrounded the building.

The senior enforcer kept pacing around the room. “So Madam Valeria was hiding him.”

“Yes.”

The chief constable plucked his moustache. “She committed an act of treason which means a long jail sentence. And who was the man with her?”

“Jasper, her butler and lover,” Anouk said although she was sure Loka knew exactly who the man had been. “He’s most likely been helping her.”

“Quite.” The chief constable stopped, facing Anouk. “We will question him too.”

“He needs a doctor. I…” Anouk hesitated. “I shot him on his side.”

Chief Constable Loka arched his eyebrow again.

“It was in self-defence. He shot me first… or tried to,” Anouk blurted.

The older man regarded her for a moment in silence, but then shrugged. “Relax, miss. We do not arrest the good guys for shooting at the bad. I will get a doctor to tend his wound.” He resumed pacing. “So, Nat, the hunt goes on.”

“Yes, and about that.” Nat lifted his chin. “I want to talk with Madam Valeria before you take her away.”

“She is already in custody, but we will start her interrogation tonight. Keep me informed.” With that, the chief constable walked out of the salon.

Nat and Anouk exchanged looks. Nat was grinding his teeth in fury. “Fucking idiots! They won’t get anything out of Madam Valeria.”

“I don’t understand.” Anouk scratched her neck. “They still expect us to catch Stalo, don’t they? But don’t let us question Madam Valeria who might actually know where he’s gone. Why?”

“They want that information first so they can make the arrest. But it doesn’t hurt to have bounty hunters on the case in the meanwhile.”

“They want the glory for catching the most wanted.”

“Precisely.” Nat gave her a lopsided smile. “But you heard the man, we have work to do. Let’s check Stalo’s room first.”

“Hopefully Loka’s forensic team haven’t cleaned it completely.”

“I didn’t see any of them upstairs, and now that they have Madam Valeria and Jasper, they will rely on their testimony. I highly doubt they’ll bother with it.”

“Oh, well, they will have a nasty surprise then.”

“Exactly.”

They walked out of the salon to the hall. The chaos had moved to the outside of the brothel. Shouts and calls drifted in through the open front door. Unchallenged, they crossed the empty lobby and ran up the stairs, coming to a corridor where rows of white doors broke the long red walls.

“I don’t suppose his name is on one of those doors,” Anouk said.

Nat gave her a sideways look and smirked. “That would be handy, but luckily I know which one it is. Lila said it’s the third on the left.”

They walked to the door. Nat pressed his ear against it and listened. Then he tried the doorknob. “It’s locked.”

Nat knelt in front of the door. He fished a lock pick from his pocket and set to work—the faint sound of metal scraping against metal, then a click came from the lock. Nat placed his hand on the doorknob and pulled his revolver. “Just in case, stay behind me and be ready.”

Anouk pulled the prod from under her jacket and backed a couple of steps away from the potential line of fire then bobbed her head. Nat pushed the door open, taking cover behind the frame. It banged against the wall, but nothing happened. They risked a peek inside, finding the room empty.

Nat slid his gun back in the holster. “Let’s snoop around.”

Anouk gave a soft snort to his choice of word, but said nothing.

They searched the room from floor to ceiling. She had a hard time picturing Stalo there. The walls were red, matching the general colour theme of the place. So were the velvet curtains, hanging at the head of the king-sized bed. The art on the walls and other surfaces reflected the same erotic scenes as Anouk had seen in the hall and salon.

Stalo owned little—two suits and a pair of boots. None of his belongings revealed anything about Stalo as a person. No pictures of his family or even of himself when he still had his title and land, let alone anything that might have hinted where he would go for refuge.

“How disappointing,” Anouk muttered after she had checked every crack and corner in the bedroom. “Such an inconsiderate man! Didn’t even leave a note.”

“Not quite. I found a letter.” Nat sat at the edge of the bed.

“You did? Where?”

“From behind that bureau on the floor.” He smoothed the crumpled paper against his thigh. “It’s from his brother.”

“His brother? I’m surprised he has any living relatives.”

“Aye, he’s a Mitli monk.”

“Mitli monk?”

“Mitli is the god of peace which is ironic really since the majority of monks are sons of warlords. I’ve never met Stalo’s brother, but I know they are twins, and people say he was only slightly softer, whatever that means.” He turned his attention back to the letter.

Anouk sat next to him and leaned in to read the paper his was holding in his lap. Tight and precise handwriting ran from edge to edge of the small sheet.

Dear Brother,

Thank you for enquiring after my health—I am in good order. I must admit I was surprised to hear from you. After falling into disfavour with our King Ionnas III, I was not expecting you to come back to Anglea. When it comes to your suggestion, I need to consult our Lord Mitli.

Go with Mitli’s blessings.

Yours, Soltan

Anouk looked at Nat. “At least one thing is sure, he didn’t like his brother’s reply since he had crumpled the letter and tossed it on the floor. I wonder what the suggestion was?”

Nat folded the letter and slipped it into his inside breast pocket. “I don’t know, but I strongly suspect it was something to do with getting back his land and title.” He stood up and strode towards the door. “Let’s go talk with Lila.”

They ran up another flight of stairs. Nat rapped in four rapid intervals on a door at the