Steele Life (Daggers & Steele Book 8)

  STEELE LIFE

  A Daggers & Steele Mystery

  ALEX P. BERG

  Copyright © 2017 by Alex P. Berg

  All rights reserved. Published by Batdog Press.

  ISBN 978-1-942274-24-7

  No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, except by an authorized retailer or with written permission from the author. For permission requests, please visit: www.alexpberg.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents portrayed in this novel are a product of the author’s imagination.

  Cover Art by: Damon Za (www.damonza.com)

  Book Layout: www.bookdesigntemplates.com

  If you’d like to be notified when the next Daggers & Steele novel is released, please sign up for the author’s mailing list at: www.alexpberg.com/mailing-list/.

  Table Of Contents:

  Chapters:

  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43

  About the Author

  1

  Of all the primary and secondary colors, I’d never had any doubt that green was the worst. Green was the color of all the most distasteful things in life. Brussels sprouts and bile and army fatigues. Gangrene and infant poop and mint jelly. And yet despite it being undeniably the worst, even that sickliest of colors possessed a certain majesty—merely one that took several months of sensory deprivation for it to prove its worth.

  Before me, a number of green shoots sprouted from rich, dark soil in an elevated planter box that hung from the café’s patio fencing. The bright green shoots were far too young for me to decipher what they’d eventually become. I’d guess flowers if not for the gastronomic nature of the eatery behind me, which suggested a more practical use for the boxes. In all likelihood, a sous-chef had seeded the planters with rosemary, thyme, oregano, and a dozen other herbs that could serve double duty as savory dish additions and tableside aromatics. As both a foodie and a hobby botanist, Shay would undoubtedly have given me guff for not recognizing which shoot corresponded to which plant, but given that she hadn’t arrived yet, I basked in my own ignorance.

  Luckily for me, I enjoyed its radiant glow.

  A cool breeze whistled down the street, ruffling hairdos and napkins carefully laid over patrons’ laps. I shivered ever so slightly under my leather jacket’s warm embrace, hoping the gust wasn’t a portent of more cold weather to come. For what it was worth, the plants had all decided winter had breathed its last gasp. Beyond the planter boxes, trees that shaded the sidewalks swayed in the wind, their boughs filled with green buds, some of them now unfurling into springy, newborn leaves. Perhaps they felt emboldened by the morning sun, whose rays had crested the rooftops. The light shone forth in a bright, cloudless sky, coaxing the leaves forth and soaking into my black leather.

  “Care to order yet sir, or are you still waiting on your companion?”

  I looked up. A waiter clad in black slacks, a crisp white shirt, and a matching black sport coat reached forth with a carafe and filled my mug with dark, steaming coffee.

  “Might as well.” I glanced at one of the menus he’d left on the table. “I’ll take the breakfast platter with the eggs over easy and bacon instead of sausage. And I’ll order for my friend, too. How’s your eggs benedict?”

  The waiter’s face lit up. “Absolutely excellent, sir. Two farm fresh eggs poached to perfection with the yolks deliciously runny. Ham seared over a hickory fire for flavor. Served over a freshly baked pretzel roll, salted and split down the middle. All topped with a silky homemade hollandaise embedded with our own blend of herbs and spices, all of which we grow and harvest on site. A delectable treat.”

  The shoots in the planters indicated the herbs would be of the dried variety, but that made little difference to me at the moment. The waiter knew how to deliver a pitch.

  “Well, you’ve sold me,” I said, handing him the menus. “Scrap the breakfast platter idea and bring out two of those. And I’m guessing she’ll want tea, black, but don’t bring it until my lady friend arrives. Wouldn’t want it to cool.”

  The waiter nodded, accepted the menus, and headed back inside through the café’s entrance. The sign over the front read Café Dulonde. Shay had suggested we meet here for breakfast, and although I’d been suspicious given the place’s mundane, decidedly not pun-infused name, the scents of buttery croissants, crackling pork fat, and earthy brews wafting through the windows had convinced me to give the place a fair shot. The scents from the kitchen continued to tickle my nostrils even now, but not so much as those from my own mug.

  I picked up my coffee and took a sip, gazing onto the street before me. Passersby walked to and fro along the near sidewalk, but it was the action on the far side that caught my attention. A team of workers, a mixture of ogre and giant half-breeds interspersed with a handful of gnomes and goblins, worked their way methodically up the avenue. A team of bruisers in front armed with pickaxes, hammers, and shovels smashed bucket-sized holes in the pavement, while a crew of the giant half-breeds behind them lifted logs off a cart and jammed them into the holes, filling the gaps around them with new cement. The gnome and goblin contingent, equipped with crampons and leather straps, scurried up the poles, stringing thick wires from crossbeams at the tops. The folks walking along the street gawked at the proceedings, as I would’ve if I weren’t already familiar with the crews’ intentions.

  I warmed my throat with more coffee before setting the mug down and reaching for the paper. I wasn’t one to bury my nose in current events, but the café had provided one, and I needed something to occupy my mind while I waited for Shay. The front page brimmed with both the horribly boring and the depressing, from the minutes of the latest city council meeting to the collapse of a two-hundred year old building in midtown that resulted in a dozen deaths, so I cracked the gazette open and delved further into the weeds. As I worked my way through an opinion piece on the state of business in New Welwic, one accompanied by a cartoon that depicted each of the city’s more affluent businessmen as portly donkeys seated upon their ample asses, I heard a familiar voice.

  “Daggers. I didn’t expect you to beat me.”

  I folded the paper and tossed it on the tablecloth as my partner, Shay Steele, took a seat. She’d updated her wardrobe in response to spring’s first breath, today sporting a black and white polka dot top under a rose-colored suit jacket with three-quarter length sleeves. A pair of tight jeans accentuated her slim figure, and I caught a glimpse of matching rose-colored ankle socks under black flats as she crossed her legs. She’d pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail, keeping her cascade of chocolate brown off her face and free of her pointed elf ears. She smiled as she settled into her seat, her bright azure eyes sparkling in the early morning light.

  I smiled back as I reflected on how I was the luckiest guy in the world—although perhaps I reflected for too long.

  “Earth to Jake,” said Shay, waving. “You there?”

  I blinked. “Sorry. Still waking up…or something like that.”

  “Well, I don’t blame you,” said Shay, glancing at the sun. “It’s earlier than you’re used to rising. To think you were able to get up at this hour…of your own accord? Not due to an earthquake or a meteor striking your apartment?”

  I nodded.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Showered and shaved?”

  I nodded again.

  Her eyes trailed over me, almost in a hungry fashion. “And packed in a workout?”

  “Sorry to dis
appoint. I haven’t managed to become that much of a morning person.”

  Shay smiled again. “And you likely never will. It’s alright. So long as you get your exercise in at some point during the day.”

  I snorted. “You know, if I recall correctly, I was the one who first recommended the benefits of exercise to you.”

  “And we’ve both benefitted from that recommendation, I think.”

  Shay displayed another devilish grin. Though I’d started dieting and exercising before Shay’s and my relationship had truly blossomed, we’d started a cross training regimen together over the winter that had paid serious dividends. Long gone were the days when I wheezed going up three flights of stairs or groaned about having to walk another half mile. I’d trimmed down to a svelte, muscular one-ninety. I could lift well over my body weight in a variety of different ways, and I looked damned good naked—something Shay was well aware of. And as for Steele’s physique? Well, she’d always been stunningly beautiful, but now she was developing curves in her lower body that had never been there before, and given my female aesthetic preferences, that suited me just fine.

  “So, how was the trip to the zoo?” asked Steele.

  My relationship with Shay had progressed to a point where we often spent the night together, but both of us had other matters that required our attention yesterday. “Great. Tommy had a blast. Honestly, I’m not sure why I’d never taken him there before.”

  “Probably because you’ve largely shirked your duties as a father until recently.”

  I nodded, unoffended. “True. But he’s only now getting to the age where a lot of father-son activities are both fun and easy. Not that I’m complaining.”

  “And Nicole?” Shay lifted an eyebrow.

  “She’s doing well. Seems happy. And from the hints she dropped, it sounds as if she’s started seeing someone.” I snorted. “You know, it wasn’t long ago that knowing that would’ve sent me into a fit of depression or ill-disguised rage, but…I guess I’ve matured in the past year. I’m happy for her.”

  “Waking up early?” said Shay. “Exercising regularly? Eating quality food? Having a generally positive outlook on life? Yeah, I’d say you’ve changed.”

  I gave Shay my most sincere smile. “I can’t take all the credit. I’ve had help. And speaking of you, how did your afternoon fare yesterday?”

  While I’d been out gallivanting with my mini-me, Shay had been relegated to a family get together. She’d mentioned both of her siblings were in town, as were several more extended family members.

  Shay sighed. “Fine, I suppose. It was nice to see my brothers, although conversations with my parents can be exhausting at times. It’s amazing how many questions my mother can fit into a single meal, and how she can manage to sound both surprised at my accomplishments yet still disappointed that I haven’t achieved even more.”

  “I think that’s a pretty common mother-daughter dynamic,” I said. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”

  “Oh, I don’t. Not most of the time. Although she…also asked about you.”

  The air thickened, but not enough to cause me discomfort. For Shay, I could and would do anything. “You know I’d be happy to meet them. It’s tough with our busy schedules and me trying to spend enough time with Tommy.”

  “I know. That’s what I told her.” Shay glanced toward the table, perhaps searching for a menu. I don’t think she was miffed. I certainly hoped she wasn’t. “So…should we order? It was nice having a day off, but the captain won’t be happy if we’re late.”

  “No, she won’t,” I said. “You know, sometimes I miss the old Captain, or even your short-lived stint as our commander-in-chief. Then again, I think the change was for the best. Regardless, I’m on top of it. I ordered for you. Eggs benedict. The waiter’s description had me salivating.”

  Shay also showed how’d she’d changed during our time together by replying with a simple, “Sounds delicious!” Not long ago, she wouldn’t have entrusted me with culinary decisions any more complicated than whether or not to order her water with a slice of lemon or without, but my palate had evolved into a higher order since then—which once again made the change more about me than her, but still. She trusted me. Even with her food. It was a big deal.

  On cue, the waiter returned with a steaming mug of black tea for Shay and a pair of eggs benedict platters for the two of us. While part of me suspected the sales pitch had been overdone, my nose and ears vehemently disagreed, filled with the warm, buttery scent of the fresh pretzel rolls and the crackling sizzle of the ham.

  “There you go, sir,” he said, setting the platters down. “Ma’am. Is there anything else I can get you?”

  I hastily thanked the man and waved him away so I could tear into my meal, not realizing how hungry I’d been. The rich, savory mixture of runny yolks, silky hollandaise, and warm bread exploded upon my tongue as I took the first bite. Luckily for me, either Shay was as hungry as I was or as similarly impressed, because she barely uttered a word as she dealt with the meal in front of her. A few minutes later, we both surfaced for air, our bellies sated and the edges of our napkins touched with dribbles of egg yolk wiped from the corners of our mouths.

  “Well,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “That lived up to the billing.”

  “It would’ve had to, unless our waiter was a master orator,” said Shay, similarly relaxing in her seat. “Told you I knew how to pick them.”

  “I never doubted you. As far as I’m concerned, we can snag breakfast here whenever you like. As long as said breakfast doesn’t require me to get up before the crack of dawn.”

  Steele peered toward the café interior. “Speaking of which, I take back what I said earlier. If that clock in there is correct, you weren’t here as early as I suspected, and neither was I. We should get going.”

  “Sure thing.”

  The waiter had left a tab at the table along with our meals. I swigged the last of my coffee, peeked at the bill, and reached for my wallet. Sadly as I opened it, air escaped me in much the same way it does a punctured balloon.

  Shay noticed my leak. “Something wrong?”

  “I’m, ah…a bit short. You mind grabbing this one?”

  “Forgot to grab cash before heading out the door?”

  I couldn’t lie to her. Besides, it wasn’t anything to be ashamed about. “Not exactly. Fact of the matter is I’m a little strapped for funds at the moment.”

  Shay adopted a look of concern. “Jake…are you serious? I know you bought a new leather jacket and that you have alimony payments and all, but seriously, what the hell are you spending your money on? That bonus we received after the conclusion of our stint aboard the Prodigious should’ve lasted you a half year at least. I haven’t even touched mine.”

  I shook my head. “You don’t have to worry. I didn’t blow it on dice games and liquor. I invested it—along with pretty much every other scrap of my savings.”

  Shay’s brow furrowed. “You’re not putting me at ease. You weren’t approached by a distant relative looking to open a restaurant, were you?”

  “This isn’t a scam. Quite the opposite.” I pointed across the street to the group of ogres, giant breeds, goblins, and gnomes. “I’m assuming you noticed those guys on your way in.”

  “The electrification teams?” asked Shay. “I’ve seen a few of them around New Welwic over the past couple weeks. They’re working their tails off installing poles and wires.”

  “They’re part of Sherman Industries,” I said. “You remember last fall when we visited the World’s Wonders Fair and saw the exhibit with the Bock Industries generator? Well, Mr. Bock died of course, right after that odd case of ours with the supposed time traveler, sending his business ventures into chaos, but his young protégé, Tanner Sherman—did you ever meet him? I did. He popped by the office, I think while you were out. Incredibly bright young man. He told me he was going to start his own business, build it from the ground up. He wa
s the brains of the organization, after all. And then a couple months later, while investigating the Wyverns, I chanced across that electromancer, Lazarus. In his lair, he had this…contraption. A lantern driven by electricity. Said it would become commonplace soon enough.

  “I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but it greased the gears in my mind, and soon enough they started to churn. I reached out to young Sherman, wondering if he’d looked into it, and of course he was already hard at work producing the so called ‘light bulbs’ en masse. Part of his plan to electrify the whole city. So I didn’t feel particularly smart after that, but he did mention he was looking for investors. As many as he could find to fund his electrification efforts. I didn’t have much at the time, but after the bonus from our poker case came through, I gave him the lot of it, and pretty much everything else I had on hand. I guess I probably should’ve left myself more of a reserve though, as the state of my wallet now indicates.”

  Shay took her time, absorbing my monologue. I couldn’t tell if the look on her face was one of confusion, concern, or amusement.

  Eventually, she spoke. “Well, Daggers, if I’m being honest, I was impressed by the display at the World’s Wonders Fair, too. I don’t know how smart it was to tie up all your money with Sherman Industries, but if I had to bet…I think you’ll do well on it.”

  I got the impression Shay was surprised by my ability to identify a business opportunity in a field outside my comfort zone. Despite my recent efforts to educate myself in science and technology, by no means could I consider myself an expert. Fact of the matter was I probably wouldn’t have risked my money so readily if not for a conversation I’d had with one of our suspects during that bizarre case of time-travelling murderers, a conversation that made me supernaturally confident Sherman’s business ventures would prove lucrative. I’d never shared those particular suspicions with Shay, mostly because she was less inclined to believe the unbelievable than I was, but so far my suspicions were proving accurate. At their current rate, the Sherman crews would have wires around the whole city within a couple years, if it even took that long.