Elemental Assassin 02 - Web of Lies

name?”
    “So he’s real then?” Violet asked. “The Tin Man?”
    Violet fiddled with her spoon, then pushed it and her
    “Sure, he’s real, darling,” Jo-Jo said. “His name was empty bowl aside. She drew in a breath. She knew it was Fletcher Lane. He was Finn’s father.”
    time to get down to business. “You’re going to think it’s Violet’s face fell. “Was?”
    stupid. Childish.”
    Finn nodded. “He died a few months ago. But don’t
    “oh, I doubt that,” I drawled.
    worry about that right now. Tell us the rest of your story.”
    Violet’s brows drew together in confusion at my sarViolet drew in another breath. “Anyway, I hadn’t really castic tone. Jo-Jo patted her hand again, encouraging her thought about the Tin Man in years—until this morning.”
    to go on with her story. Violet shook her head and con“What happened this morning?” Finn gave Violet antinued. other encouraging smile.
    “When I was a kid, my grandfather used to tell me stoViolet ducked her head and smiled back, as though ries about the Tin Man. He told me the Tin Man helped she wasn’t used to so much male attention. Probably not. people who couldn’t help themselves. That he ran a barGirls with glasses, and all that. “I’m a business major at becue restaurant called the Pork Pit and that all you had Ashland Community College. Eva Grayson’s my best to do was go in and ask for him, and he’d make all your friend. She was at the Pork Pit last night. All she could problems disappear. I thought it was the most wonderful talk about today was the robbery and how the woman story, a sort of Southern fairy tale.”
    behind the cash register stopped it.”
    Warren Fox might have been estranged from Fletcher, Sophia snorted.
    but he’d still thought about his childhood friend, enough
    “Well, I did have some help,” I said to appease the to tell his granddaughter about the old man and what he Goth dwarf. “So you talked to Eva, and you remembered did, in a roundabout way. Although I wouldn’t call assasthis story your grandfather had told you about the Tin sinating folks a real help—Man. okay, I’ll buy that. But why do you even need the
    “oh, yes. Fletcher helped lots of people over the years,”
    Tin Man’s help in the first place?”
    Estep_Web of Lies_1P EP.indd 120-121
    12/17/09 9:32 PM
    122 JENNIFER ESTEP
    Web of Lies 123
    Violet chewed on one of her fingernails. “It’s a long no matter who got dead in the process. Dawson was also story.”
    deep in bed with Mab Monroe. I remembered seeing his
    “Good thing we’ve got nothing but time then.”
    name in the file Fletcher had compiled on the Fire elI didn’t mention to the girl that she wasn’t going anyemental queen. where until I’d determined she wasn’t a threat to me, Hearing Dawson’s name also made me recall where I’d Finn, the Deveraux sisters, or the restaurant. Jake McAlseen the symbol that had been tattooed on the bicep of lister was going to make enough problems for me. I didn’t Violet Fox’s attacker. Unless I was mistaken, a lit stick of need any more.
    dynamite was Tobias Dawson’s rune for his mining comViolet nodded. “All right. My grandfather, Warren pany.
    Fox, owns a store up on Ridgeline Hollow Road called Violet continued with her story. “In the past, Dawson Country Daze. It’s an old-timey country store with glass was content just to wait. He’s a dwarf, after all, just a soda pop bottles, barrels full of penny candy, locally made bit over two hundred. He’s bound to outlive Grandfather goods, that kind of thing. It’s also right next to one of the and me too. But he’s not taking no for an answer anybig coal mines—Dawson Number Three. It started out more. He’s sent some of his men out to harass us. They’ve as an underground mine with a big seam of coal. But the broken the windows in the store, threatened customers, coal ran out a few years ago, so the underground part has interfered with our deliveries. You name it, they’ve done been idle since then. Now it’s just a strip mine. The owner all that and more the last two months, trying to drive us of the mine, Tobias Dawson, has been after my grandfaout of business. Grandfather’s been able to handle Dawther to sell the store, land, and mineral rights to him for son’s men so far, but I worry about him. Dawson’s more or years so he can expand the mine and search for more coal. less told Grandfather that he’ll kill us both if Grandfather But