The police dropped us off back at Emily’s office a little after 2AM. We went inside and she put on a pot of coffee. This time I took her up on her offer after all we had gone through this evening.

“Here ya go,” she handed me my coffee and started asking questions, “do you have any details at all about this Devil man of yours?”

“Well, all I could tell you is that he would be a ruthless tyrant if given the opportunity. He wouldn’t have been in power longer than a few decades. He probably moves in the shadows inconspicuously before showing his hand though. Is there any kind of dictator in this world? Maybe a warlord?”

“Hmm, none to speak of. In this day and age, you are more likely to have success by way of corporate greed than military conquest.”

“Wow, maybe our world’s aren’t all that much different after all,” I noted.

I watched Emily sip her coffee and think for a moment before she stated, “Hmm, I wonder. Perhaps a shrewd businessman?”

“It would be a lot different than the last Devil I faced, but I suppose it could fit the bill.”

Emily hopped up and went to her file cabinet. She rummaged around, pulled a file out, and showed it to me. “Right now, this is the primary suspect from the information I have.”

I looked at the file and found a data sheet, a few newspaper clippings, and photos of a man, including a mugshot. It was a well-dressed black man, aged forty-five. He had spikey white hair flowing to one side and a white suit on. The look in his eyes was menacing.

“That’s Alabaster Creole. He’s a Real Estate Tycoon and fits the characteristics you describe. He’s been slowly building his empire over the last twenty years and owns half of Downtown Sin City. He’s been investigated for some time, including by me. I know he’s had connections with The Black Hand in the past, though not a member himself. Now that they’ve all been arrested, I’m sure he’ll be pretty steamed. He’s actually up on trial next week for corruption charges, hence the mugshot. But I’m certain he won’t be convicted under current circumstances.”

“How easy can we get to him?”

“Not very. He’s heavily protected and can be quite dangerous if you get too close to him and aren’t an ally. However, I’m good friends with the District Attorney and could probably have access to him without much suspicion.”

“I see. Then you think we have an opportunity right now to bring him down since his trial is in the works?”

Emily looked down at her coffee and let out a deep sigh, “It’s possible but we’d have to work diligently. As in, starting tomorrow. There’s nothing more we can do for now. It’s best we just get our rest and go visit the D.A. tomorrow afternoon. You can stay at my place on the couch to get a few hours of sleep. Don’t worry, I won’t try anything. I’m much too tired for that.”

That was comforting…or was it? Does that mean she would if she hadn’t been so worn out from everything that’s happened?!

I took her up on her offer and we went back to her tiny apartment just a few blocks over from the office. The couch was very small but it got the job done for me getting some much needed rest. I woke up around mid-morning with sunlight beaming in from the window directly into my eyes. As I gained lucidity, I looked up at the opposite end of the couch and saw Emily sitting there. My feet were resting on her lap and she had one hand holding my left foot while the other held a newspaper.

In shock at the awkward situation, I sprang up and shouted, “what the hell?”

“I was wondering how long it would take,” she said. She was wearing a knee length, frilly lolita-esque goth tutu and had matching frills on her shoulders. Her hair was done up in curly pigtails and were laid evenly with the sides of her face. Looked like she put some work into getting ready this morning!

“What do you mean how long it would take? How long have you been holding my foot?!”

“Only about twenty minutes or so. That’s neither here nor there. Check this out?”

She showed me an article in the paper about how the manager of a local nightclub had turned up dead a few nights ago.

“This Club, The Purple Rose, is a nightclub owned by Alabaster. Coincidence that an employee of his turns up dead in the week leading up to his trial? I think not.”

“What do you think?”

“I think he viewed the manager as a weak link and wanted to clean house so as to not have him be able to testify against him for a plea bargain. I’ll mention it to the D.A. when we see him and see if anything has turned up in the investigation that could help. Come on, let's get moving.”

As she stood up, I got the strangest whiff of an aroma. It wasn’t a bad smell per se. It was just a little…odd.

“My goodness. What is that perfume you’re wearing?” I inquired.

“It’s called Burnt Flowers Fallen,” she said.

“Yeah, well it smells like burning leaves! Why on earth would you pick something like that?”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“I think it suits me,” she defended, “that’s quite obnoxious for you to insult my tastes considering you don’t wear any fragrance at all.”

We didn’t have time to bicker. We left Emily's apartment and went straight down to the D.A.’s office.

* * *

“You want to what?!” said the panicked Prosecutor, “you want to investigate Alabaster

Creole, just a few days before his jury trial? Are you insane?”

“I know he’s guilty, I just need to be able to prove it.”

“Of course, he’s guilty. Everyone in this office knows that. But the case is shallow and he’s a hot potato right now. He’ll have you killed if he thinks you’re too close to something big that can put him away.”

“I know that. But I’ve got Eric here that can keep me safe. And as long as we’re successful, it’ll be worth the risk.”

“Look, I don’t know who you are, Mr. Nobel. But you don’t seem to be from around here. This girl is gonna end up getting you killed if you’re not careful.”

“It’s alright! I’m the one who put her up to this anyway. Call it a personal vendetta. I’ll do what I can to keep Emily safe and try not to get myself killed either.”

“Uhhh,” he groaned, “Alright. I can have you deputized so you can get official access to Alabaster. You’ve helped me put a lot of bad people away and you’re a genius detective. But I want you to know that you can be really stupid sometimes.”

Emily smiled big and said, “thank you.”

“Here. I’ll have you both deputized. The Grimwood name carries a lot of weight in this office so if she trusts you then so do I. Take this letter down to the precinct and they’ll get you a sidearm if you don’t already have one.”

He handed me the notarized letter and I thanked him. Before we left, he added, “I’m doing this because I’m running out of options too. If someone doesn’t put Alabaster Creole away soon, then Ralph Leon’s prosecution days are numbered. The Attorney General will have me decommissioned.”

“Thanks again Ralph,” Emily acknowledged.

“Just be careful,” he said with fear in his voice.

We left the office and headed down to the station as he instructed. I was given a small caliber pistol and a magazine of ammunition. The officer at the counter said, “I hope you know how to use that.”

I didn’t but it couldn’t be much different than a musket, right?

* * *

Emily didn’t waste any time. To her, every second counted. She took me straight downtown to Alabaster's casino and requested by order of the Sin City D.A.’s Office to speak with Mr. Creole. We were allowed to go up to his sky rise office suite. In the elevator, Emily gave me a final warning.

“Be extremely careful in here, Eric. He’s extremely dangerous and this is a trying time for him. He may act more bold than usual. His guards are heavily armed. They won’t kill you unless you try something but if he can get a self-defense claim, he’ll use it.”

I nodded and took what she said in stride. We got off on the top floor, the 66th floor. The guards let us into his office where we found Alabaster behind his desk, completely decked out in white with a sinister looking smile on his face. He was flanked by two suited security guards in black suits. It was evident they were packing serious firepower in their coats.

“Well hello Miss Grimwood. Whatever do I owe the pleasure of your presence to this time?” he said in a thick cajun accent, “Oh, and this time you brought a friend. Do introduce us.”

“Cut the pleasantries, Creole, you know I’m here about the trial. Don’t worry about him. He’s just my protection. He may not look like much, but do not underestimate him.”

She simultaneously built me up and made a jab at me at the same time.

“Protection? Why what for Lady Grimwood. Surely you have nothing to fear from me? I guarantee you’re perfectly safe here in my office.”

“I have a few questions to ask, and I need them straight. Try not to meander. First of all, what can you tell me about the recent murder of your employee at The Purple Rose night club?”

“I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps a lover’s quarrel? Maybe he kicked the wrong person out of the club, and they wanted revenge?”

“Or maybe he wasn’t bringing in enough business for you and you wanted him replaced. It was convenient to do it this way so he couldn’t testify against you in court?”

Wow, she was extremely direct and aggressive. I thought she had just warned me about that. Alabaster just smirked at her without answering but she continued on to the next question.

“How about those stolen goods that were found in box trucks registered in your company's name?”

“Plausible deniability, Miss Grimwood. Surely you don’t think I can control the actions of every one of my employees, do you?”

“What do you have to say about the connections between your business dealings and those of known lackeys of The Black Hand?”

“Now there’s a good question. Don’t you think it is inevitable that multiple businesses in the same city would eventually become interwoven with each other? It’s not my company’s fault that the other businesses engage in illicit activities. Which, by the way, it reached my ears this morning that The Black Hand turned out to be more than one person and that you helped take them down last night. Excellent work, detective.”

He was smooth in demeanor and quite menacing.

“I’m afraid I’m all out of time for questions today, Miss Grimwood. I will direct all further inquiries to my Lawyer, Mr. Vander. Please enjoy your evening and I do hope you partake in some of my table games and slots before you leave. I guarantee you’ll have a wonderful time.”

The two of us left his office and headed back towards the elevator.

“Any doubts at all that he’s your man?” Emily asked.

“No, none whatsoever,” I had the same feeling in his presence as I did in King Washington’s War Room.

“Thought so, anyone who wears white before Labor Day just rubs me wrong.”

“After,” I corrected.

“What?” she quipped.

“You meant, anyone who wears white after Labor Day rubs you wrong.”

She looked puzzled as we were boarding the elevator and said, “What would be wrong with that?”

The doors closed and we descended. She continued, “I took a big risk in there. I’m certain he’ll have someone tail us until the trial now to see what we might uncover.”

“Yeah, it’s just a shame you didn’t get much information. Are we going to ask Vander anything?”

“No, Vander’s a real shark of a lawyer. We won’t get anything out of him. All he’ll do is misdirect. Besides, I didn’t expect to get anything out of this meeting.”

“Then why did you take such a big risk involving yourself in the case?”

“The goal of that meeting was for you to get a read on him. I wanted to make sure it was worth all the trouble. You indicated that you were certain he’s the Devil, so we achieved our goal.”

She was an incredible mastermind.

“I do have a plan though,” she said as we got off the elevator on the bottom floor of the casino. She turned right instead of left where the exit was. She took us into the hotel lobby and asked for a room.

“What are you doing?”

“It would be a waste of time going home for now. I want us as close to Creole’s businesses as we can be the next couple of days. What better way than to stay here and use precious time to scout close to his nest for anything that sticks out to us. We’ll go take a nap for now and then get something to eat before we head down to the nightclub. I have questions for the people there next.”