Gunmetal Magic: A Novel in the World of Kate Daniels

professional. “I just want to solve this murder. I know this is difficult for us both. Let’s go back to the killers. They came in prepared, they killed your people, and they knew how to open the vault. All that implies prior knowledge and resources. It is very likely that one of the three reclamation companies who bid on that building had something to do with it. I’ve eliminated Bell as a suspect. The Garcias are a dead end for now—something might pan out there and I’ll know more by tonight, but as of this moment, their work site is abandoned and has been for a few weeks. That leaves Anapa. How much paper waste does Medrano Reclamations generate?”
    “Enough for the city to charge us for commercial pickup,” Raphael growled.
    “Input produces almost nothing. Tomorrow is their garbageday and their Dumpster has half a sack of paper trash, most of it lewd drawings. I talked to a janitor, and he thinks their business is a sham. Apparently Anapa operates out of the office in his house. I don’t like this any more than you do, but his party is my chance to take a look at him and search his office. Believe me, I would rather eat broken glass than go with you anywhere.”
    “Thanks,” he said, his voice dry.
    “You’re welcome.”
    “It’s a black-tie affair.”
    Of course it was. “Black-tie like my blue dress?”
    “We ruined the blue dress, remember?” he said. “We were having sex on the bed and knocked the bottle of cabernet onto it?”
    I flashed back right to that sunny afternoon. We had wanted to go to dinner, and I had laid the blue dress on the bed, and then Raphael brought a bottle of wine to the bedroom and did his Raphael thing, and we ended up on the bed ourselves, with the dress on the floor.
    Anger bubbled up inside me, mixing with sadness, and a sick feeling that I was falling and falling, and somewhere below, a hard bottom waited for me. I was angry with Raphael. I was angry with myself. I wanted to bite someone or something.
    “That’s right.” Damn it. “Okay, I’ll come up with something.”
    “I’ll pick you up at seven,” he said.
    “Much obliged,” I drawled.
    “Don’t do your Texas thing on me; it won’t work.”
    “I’ve done my thing on you and you quite liked it at the time.”
    “Not nearly as much as you liked what we did after.”
    I didn’t answer and neither did he. We just sat there, with the phone line between us. We had to stop doing this to each other.
    “Raphael, there is something else I wanted to mention. I meant to tell you this yesterday morning, but the appearance of your
fiancée
knocked me off my stride. From talking to Stefan, I understand there were six people besides you who were there when the vault was discovered.”
    “I know where you’re going,” Raphael said, “and I can tell you right now, none of them would betray me.”
    “Then this will be very easy. Help me eliminate them. I need to account for every moment of their time from the instant they left the site until four a.m. If they made phone calls, we need to know. If they went to a bar and talked to someone, we need to know. You know them best and I would rather you do it, because my hands are full.”
    “I’ll take care of it.”
    “Stefan needs to be checked out, too.”
    “I said I would take care of it.”
    He would. Raphael was infuriatingly thorough when he wanted to be. “I’ll see you tonight, then.”
    “Maybe.”
    Bastard. “Seven o’clock. Be there or your site will stay closed.”
    “You do understand that if we get caught, the Pack will be blamed. The PAD isn’t going to bother with subtleties like you not being an official member of the Pack or that we’re investigating a murder. They’ll see it as two shapeshifters burglarizing the house. We’re disenfranchised enough as is.”
    “I’m aware of that, thank you.”
    “Just thought I’d remind you,” he said.
    “I appreciate your concern.”
    “Fine.”
    “Perfect.”
    I hung up. I felt like taking a cold shower. The clock on the wall behind the counter showed twelve minutes past ten. I had until three p.m. to find a dress and read through Doolittle’s report. Then I’d go to see the mechanic with a check from the mysterious woman and her towed car.
    Since I was near a shopping district, I tackled the dress first. When you are short and curvy, your choice of dresses is limited. I had decent breasts, muscular calves, and strong, pretty legs. There was a magic point about two to three