The Godsverse Chronicles

Magic: Chapter 35

I returned to Claudia's vet clinic again because if I was going to find out who put out a hit on Benny, I needed to be able to talk to him. She was significantly less excited about seeing me than she had been the first time, but she agreed to extend the bond between us so I could communicate with the rat.

"I can give you twenty-four hours this time," she told me. "It wears me out to be the link in the bond, and I'll need a couple of days to recover from it. I'm sorry, but that's all I can do."

I agreed to send her on vacation anywhere in the world she wanted once I was paid so she could recover. I recognized the irony of accruing more debt on the promise of another payment from another shady mobster, but she had done so much for me that I would happily find a way to pay for it even if the Elkman's money fell through and it had to come out of my pocket. Now I had a hostage, though, which should have improved my chances of getting my money.

After we were bonded and I could speak to him, I took the rat to Phil's house. He was busy in the office working on some formula or another while my mother and Candy watched The Dark Crystal on VHS in the living room. I headed to the kitchen, where I could have some privacy.

"All right, rat. Do you have a name?"

"I was number thirty-seven," he replied, his voice thick. "I suppose now I am the one and only."

"But now you are free, right?"

The rat thought for a moment. "I suppose so."

"And if you're a free rat, you'll need a name. I could just call you Benny."

"NO!" it screamed. "That was OUR name, not my name."

"Well, I really don't want to call you rat, so if you have a better option, I'm all ears."

"Hrm," he said. "I always liked the name Dexter."

"I'll call you Dexter, then." He seemed satisfied with that answer. "Who wants to kill you, Dexter?"

"Who doesn't? That's not the right question. The question you must ask is who had the balls to enter my place of business, kill my guards, and gun me down like I was some two-bit criminal."

"You're right," I replied. "I'll bet you have a lot of enemies."

"The powerful always do. There are rival gangs trying to bring you down, rogue thugs trying to make a name for themselves, and even members of my own organization looking to move up. Any one of them had means, motive, and opportunity."

I stroked my chin. "Well, we have to start somewhere to find Benny's killer, and your guess is as good—well, probably better than mine. So, you tell me where to go first. Who has the biggest reason to kill you?"

"Scarpucci." Dexter's lip curled. "She always hated that I owned all of Seattle. We've had our spats in the past, but we respect each other. A couple of weeks ago, a lieutenant of ours killed one of her best men. I thought we resolved it, like professionals, but maybe not. If I had to bet on one mobster with the guts to carry out something like this and the muscle to get away with it, she's the one I would bank on."

"Okay, that's where I'll start."

"I'm coming with you," Dexter said.

"I don't—"

"They killed me!" he shrieked. "I want to watch them squirm."

I opened the cage. "All right." I placed my hand on the counter, and Dexter ran along my arm onto my shoulder.

Scarpucci's base was in Tacoma, just south of Seattle. A decade before, Benny had pushed the crime lord out of Seattle, and she retreated there. I didn't know exactly where we would go in the city, so when I called a portal, I made sure it was big enough for Lily and brought her with me.