Fic - The Ninth (1/4)
Chapter 1
Taking a drag from his cigarette, Esca watched as the incompetent assholes, who served as the city’s police force, completely contaminated the crime scene. It wasn’t the first time that he’d had to watch them completely screw up an investigation, and he knew it wasn’t going to be the last.
It did make his job harder though. Mr and Mrs Gallant had hired him to look into their son’s disappearance two days before, after realising the chances of the coppers actually solving anything was slim to none. And solving homicides were always that much harder, because the coppers usually sent in some overweight, balding detective who thought he knew everything, and got into Esca’s way.
“Bit nasty, really. Looks like the kid went a few rounds with someone who was better with their fists, what with them wearing knuckle dusters, then he was. Face all black and blue and broken, damn near unrecognisable. Wouldn’t mind knowing who did it to ‘im, probably one of ours.”
“He did get a few punches in though, could see the starting of swelling on his knuckles. And your lot wouldn’t know how to fight their way out of a paper bag. Definitely one of my lot.”
“Dream on, Bends. Shame really, kid could’ve been a good fighter if given the chance.”
“He had this tattoo on his left hand too, near the thumb and forefinger, looked kind of like a bird, maybe a hawk?”
“It was an eagle, Bends, seriously what’s wrong with your eye sight?”
“What’s wrong with my eye sight? Why don’t you come over here and I’ll show you how good my eye sight is.”
“Please, Bends, I’d have you flat on your back in two seconds flat.”
“Bring it on, Crofts.”
Esca ignored the two men standing beside him, simply kept looking straight ahead, as he leaned back against the car. He was glad he’d worn his navy coat over his jacket now, the night air nipping at his face.
His lack of interest didn’t stop the two men from talking though, the two going on about what they would do to the other, and Esca might have looked like he was ignoring them, but he still had half an ear listening to what they were saying. It wouldn’t be the first time that the two had helped him solve a case.
Edgar Crofton and Jimmy ‘Bends’ Benton had been ‘helping’ Esca ever since he’d taken a head first dive down a flight of stairs during one of his first cases. He’d been chasing a suspect, when another man had popped up, the two fighting before Esca had taken the fall. When he’d woken up, it had been to two men standing over him, the two of them dressed smartly in suits, their hair slicked back, as they argued over which gang Esca clearly belonged to.
When Esca had kindly told them to shut the hell up, and that he hadn’t belonged to either the Caledonian Boys or the Seals Gang, but rather the Brigantes, both men had stared down at him in shock.
“You can hear us?”
“You can see us?”
Since that day, Esca had managed to pick up two ghostly gangsters, who had informed him that they really had nothing better to do, so they might as well help out the last living son of the Brigantes gang. Even if he had turned snitch.
“Looks like the Night Jacks are here,” Bends said, Esca following his gaze and looking at the dark car that had pulled up.
He hoped it wasn’t Detective Placidus, remembering the last time they had met and how close he had come to punching the cop in the mouth, Placidus having the gall to say something about Esca’s father. But it was an older guy that got out of the car, Esca recognising him quickly as Detective Lutorius as he got out of the car, followed by the passenger side door opening to reveal broad shoulders, that Esca hadn’t seen for a few months.
He ignored the way his heart sped up as he took in the familiar broad shoulders, the neatly cropped hair, the elegant profile.
“Didn’t think we’d be seeing that Jack again anytime soon.”
“Didn’t he take a bullet to the leg?”
“Saved your hide didn’t he, Cunoval? Is he sending your ‘eart all a twitter? Your hero back by your side?”
Esca ignored the running commentary next to him, running his eyes over the man in front of him, taking in the slower movement as the detective shut the door, his face turning towards Esca. Their eyes met for a long moment, Esca feeling his breath catch, before he tore his eyes away, looking back over the crime scene.
He could feel Aquila’s eyes on him, but he refused to look back.
“He’s coming over.”
“Maybe he’s hoping for a kiss?”
“Cunoval, why am I even surprised?” Esca let himself stare at the scene in front of him for a moment longer, before turning and taking in Detective Aquila. The man really was a giant, all muscle and hard lines even after being off for three months. Exactly Esca’s type, except for the fact that he worked with the incompetent group that made his job so much harder.
“If he’s not surprised then why mention it?”
“It’s not like these dogs could figure out a crime if it bit them on the ass.”
“A client asked me to look into their son’s disappearance,” Esca said, cutting in over the two gangsters. He would really like to send a glare at the two, but it was something that Detectice Aquila would pick up on, one of the only coppers that Esca found did their job at least half decently.
Aquila snorted, shaking his head.
“Let me guess, he just happens to be our latest victim?” he asked.
“Latest?”
“Well, that sounds interesting.”
“Could be a racket going on.”
“Like back when your mob were doing that fighting ring?”
“Lot a money in that ring, and that was back then.”
Esca glanced back over the crime scene, mind running through some of the other cases that had crossed his desk. There had been at least a few cases of young, fit, healthy men going missing, he had noted it as something to look into later, but now, well, now he had a connection. And a head start on the coppers ruining his chances at solving this thing.
“What’s going through that head of yours?” Aquila’s question had Esca looking back over at the man, Esca frowning as his stomach tied itself up in knots. It was ridiculous, he’d never felt so out of control about someone before, and he hated that it was a copper that was making him feel this way. Although, said copper, had jumped in front of a bullet meant for Esca.
“I don’t think he actually wants to know what’s going on in your head, Cunoval.”
“Although it’s clear to see what you’re thinking from your face. Really, Cunoval, focus. Fighting ring, remember? You can day dream about his big strong arms later.”
“Nothing,” Esca said, clearing his throat and shaking his head. “Just wondering what a boy like that was doing out here to have his face smashed with knuckle dusters to the point he’s almost unrecognisable.”
Aquila stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head, his left thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of his nose, the lighting throwing shadows on his arm so that it looked like there was a dark smudge on his hand leading up to the cuff of his jacket.
“And how do you know that’s what happened?” Aquila asked, sounding almost in pain. “Given you haven’t even seen the body yet?”
Esca shrugged, pulling his keys out as he took a step away from where he had been leaning against his car.
“I’m a Private Investigator, Aquila,” he replied. “It’s my job to work these things out. Especially given any crime scene is completely lacking in evidence once your blues show up and contaminate the scene. Do you think the eagle tattoo is relevant?”
Aquila actually made a small sound then, taking his hand away from his nose and staring at Esca with wide shocked eyes.
“What eagle tattoo?” he asked in a quiet voice, eyes now staring intensely at Esca, making shivers run down his spine.
“The one on his left hand. Seriously, what are these Jack’s problems? Can’t even see what’s right in front of their faces.”
“The one on his left hand,” Esca replied, rolling his eyes. “Don’t tell me you guys are now missing things that are right in front of your faces now?”
“And how do you know he has a tattoo on his hand?” Aquila asked, moving closer, their bodies almost touching. Lifting his head, Esca glared at the other man, he might think he was fairly good looking, but he wasn’t about to let the man try and intimidate him. He was a son of the Brigantes gang after all.
He was about to open his mouth when Aquila shook his head, hand cutting through the air to stop him from speaking.
“You know what, forget it, how do you ever know the things you do?” he said, eye flicking over Esca. “If I didn’t know better I might think that you were doing the crimes.”
Snorting, Esca rolled his shoulders. The first few times his investigations had led him to crime scenes he had revelled in pointing out the things he knew to the incompetent bastards, thanks to the information from his two ghostly stalkers. Which had led to him being taken in for questioning, spending the night in a cell until they checked out his alibis.
The coppers had slowly, and reluctantly, come to the conclusion that Esca just somehow knew things, even though it irked them to do so and in turn made Esca enjoy those moments. However, Aquila’s statement had something raising a red flag in his mind.
If I didn’t know better …
Aquila knew something about the case already? Well, of course he did, the man was probably the only, and Esca hated to admit it, competent detective on the force.
“We could work together, you know,” Aquila continued, his stance relaxing, hand making a movement to his leg before aborting the motion. Even in the dim light, Esca couldn’t help but stare at the green eyes, his stomach once again flopping. Frowning, he shook his head.
“Yeah, work together and he’d take all the credit.”
“Coppers are good for nothing. Always in the way, even when we’re tryin’ to be good. They’re useless. World would be better without them.”
“I’ll see you around, Aquila,” Esca answered.
With that, Esca opened the door, climbing into his car and driving off, refusing to look back in the mirror to have one more glance at the man that he’d been trying to forget for months now.
Chapter 2 >>