I dial Lucifer. He picks up on the first ring.
“Simon.”
“Cherry had some suspicious deposits. I’m going to run a full-scale dive into her life. I have Peter on his way over to her home right now.”
“Cherry?” he asks, and his voice is neutral in tone, but I can tell his little mannerisms. He’s perturbed.
“Yes.”
“Tell me immediately what you find.”
“I’ll be late coming to the compound. Around lunch most likely. From there I’ll head over to see Father Coss.”
“Sounds good. Be thorough investigating her life. We need to find out who the fuck would turn one of my employees against us.”
“That’s my full intention. She may have been a red herring for all I know, but I don’t like the implications that would mean. If she was getting random deposits in her bank account, surely she would have spoken to one of us about it.”
“Agreed.”
“Matthew, I need to ask you once more to keep…”
“To keep what?” he asks after I trail off.
“To keep him in his cell. There is no need to have him out in the world.”
“He’s done his time there, Simon. Bring him home,” Lucifer says with finality in his voice.
“Fine.”
Disconnecting the phone, I slap it down on the table.
I shake my head. I may have web-strings all around the damn city doing my bidding, but Lucifer is ultimately my boss and I know very well he has his own needs.
If he wants the bastard brought out from the hole we buried him in, he’ll get it.
Pushing a finger on the button, I wait for the one asshole even I find repulsive to pick up.
“What?” a man snaps in the phone.
“That’s a very rude way to speak to one of your benefactors, Governor Norton,” I say with a laugh.
“Fine, what do you want?” he asks with almost a whine in his voice. Such a petulant man now that he’s been brought under our authority.
“Tsk, tsk,” I say, “You really should be nicer to us. Since we are the reason you are sitting in the very chair you are sitting in right now. But that’s not the matter at hand. It’s time for you to try out one of the new perks that comes with your promotion.”
“What?” he asks, confused.
“You’re going to pardon someone, and I don’t give a fuck what you have to promise to get it done. You will get it done, or we’ll see how fast a governor can fall.”
“There’s no way I can do that. It will cause too much of a wave for me to…”
“His prison ID is 342563. He’s at the supermax prison upstate. Get it done, Norton. I don’t care if you have to suck the President’s dick during the middle of the State Of The Union. I’ll be calling you later this week to see how far along you are.”
Pressing disconnect, I set the phone down.
My stomach growls loudly as I look at the blended fruit and protein drink I’ve left on the drink coaster.
Lifting it up to my lips, I drink it down as fast as I can and then head back out of the computer room to the kitchen.
Meredith will be needing breakfast soon.
Scrambling two egg whites, I bake a small plate of bacon with toast on the side. I’ve watched enough of her mornings over the years to know what she prefers after an emotional night.
Filling a glass of orange juice up, I place it all on a serving tray.
I knock lightly on the door before I push it open.
Walking into the room, I spot her there, just starting to wake up from her slumber. She looks as ravishing now waking from a long, tumultuous night as she does when she is freshly out of a shower.
Her pale blonde hair is a mess and her makeup is smeared in spots. But those pale pink lips, they look so inviting. So much trouble as well. Especially when I think of those damn teeth she has behind them.
Pointing to the door to the bathroom, I say, “There are fresh towels in the bathroom and linens in the closets. I suggest you clean yourself up. You look like you’ve had a long night.”
An incredulous look crosses her face and her eyebrows lift almost to her hairline.
She gasps, “Excuse me?”
“I don’t believe I stuttered, Meredith. You need to clean yourself up. You look like a common street-walker right now,” I sigh.
Damn. I don’t think my words are coming out as they are meant to, but it’s not like I’m used to talking to a woman the morning after relations.
No, I’m in new territory right now.
Last time I had a woman stay the night it was accidental… It was the night that Meredith came to Lucifer’s house. I was so agitated by the whole ordeal that I called up the service I used for female company. I was so frustrated, that I forgot I left the woman tied to the bed frame.