Chapter 26

Honesty

Intro Song: Honesty, Billy Joel

"You rang?"

Josef Kostan had been expecting Beth Turner since her cryptic phone call a half hour earlier. The minute he'd heard her voice on the phone, he had guessed that she was calling to talk about Mick. When she asked if she could see him, he'd taken the precaution of clearing out his calendar for the next couple of hours. When Beth was involved, he had learned the hard way that it was always better to be safe than sorry. She had a disconcerting habit of upending his carefully-laid plans.

"I'm sorry Josef, I don't mean to interrupt your day. I know you're busy." Beth apologized as she took off her coat, draping it on one of the conference table chairs as she sat down. She looked around the immense, newly renovated office admiring the reconstruction and redecorating completed since Josef's office was firebombed by the would-be assassin John Whitley had hired. Amazing what unlimited money can do...

Rich woods, lush leather and rare antiquities hearkened back to an earlier age, a decided contrast to the high-tech monitors, televisions and other ultra-modern trappings, including the stylized overhead mural that Josef had had recreated. When his decorators had objected, he had insisted, saying he couldn't do business without being watched over by Matasaburo. Yet somehow it all worked - much like the man before her.

The vampire waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, Blondie. I make time where Mick is concerned - just don't tell him that. I don't want him to get a swelled head. So, can I get you anything? Scotch, bourbon, wine...blood?" He grinned wickedly.

Beth completely ignored his comment about blood "No, I'm fine," she replied in a tone that suggested she was anything but.

Worried... that's not like her. Josef thought back to her first visit to his office - at Mick's request - during an unpleasant escort murder case he was working on. The P.I. had wanted Beth to call a dead escort's former clients and help him weed out possible suspects. When she had boldly marched into his office that day, both he and Ryder had been taken by the small, lovely blond. Josef was particularly struck by her wit, intelligence - and complete lack of fear in the presence of 3 vampires. Not to mention the sexy voice she'd used on the fake escort calls…

Then, when Morgan – Coraline - had surfaced, Beth again had come to visit - this time, alone, and without Mick's knowledge. She had been courageous, with no hint of distress in her scent or stance, though she knew what he was and how powerful he was. Even at the "town hall meeting" he'd called not long ago, she'd held her own with scores of vampires present. Whatever was happening now had to be serious indeed.

Beth tried to lighten the mood by commenting on his ceiling mural. "I've always meant to ask you about that mural, Josef. It's so unusual." She looked up from the table where she sat and gestured toward the ceiling. "And, it must be important to you since you had it recreated for your new office. What's the significance?"

"Oh, that." He strolled casually over to the bar area and pulled a carafe of blood out of the refrigerator under the counter. Holding it up for her to see the contents, he asked, "Do you mind? I'm feeling a quart low."

Beth smiled, in spite of her worry. Kostan had a special talent for defusing situations. "Not at all. Please go ahead."

As he poured, he answered her question. "That is Matasaburo, Angel of the Wind. It's actually based on a famous, unfinished children's book by Kenjii Miyazawa. The story was the foundation for a Japanese play that wove the tale in with the true story of a World War II flight engineer who disappeared in a stolen postal aircraft. Hence, the airplanes in the mural. The story implies that the wind is a conscious entity that takes us where it will - and we are helpless to fight it. One of my favorites."

"Did you know him personally, Josef?"

"Of course I did, Beth." A playful smile tugged at the corner of the vampire's mouth. "He actually wrote children's literature because he was very attached to his younger sister - she died while still a child. We were good friends. It was one of the great disappointments of my life, though, that I wasn't able to get him to finish this story. He kept putting it off - and then he died, unexpectedly, when he was about forty." His face turned serious as he thought about yet another human friend who was lost to mortality.

She shook her head in admiration. The 400-year old vampire never ceased to surprise her with the breadth and scope of his knowledge and experiences. This is what your life can be when you have all the time in the world…

He took a seat across from her. "What's going on, Beth? You didn't come here to talk about Japanese literature or art. What's Mick gotten himself into this time? Ripping songs from YouTube? Get busted tapping into your Netflix subscription? Run over his monthly minutes on his cell phone plan?"

"Nothing... yet. That's where I'm hoping you'll help." Beth rummaged through her carry bag, pulled out a large manila envelope, and dropped it on the table with a soft thud. She had locked herself in the bathroom at the office for almost an hour, as she went through the file carefully, and mentally cataloged the damning contents before making the decision to go to Josef. "There is a case he's been drawn into by Talbot. A colleague told me there's a meeting this afternoon with Mick, Detective Davis, and Talbot to discuss it. There's talk of sending him to San Diego with Davis to interview the team working on the case. Near the U.S.-Mexico border."

Josef frowned, his dark eyes growing serious. "Isn't the border around the San Ysidro desert? Wait... are you telling me Mick is actually thinking about going into the desert?! Again?"

Beth nodded, relieved to see Josef taking her concerns seriously. "There have been murders in that area. The victims were decapitated, and there are reports of a sizable amount of ash on scene. It looks like ADA Ben Talbot is going to invite Mick to join the investigation."

"The same Ben Talbot who was with you at Anders'? Mick mentioned that the guy didn't like him." That was putting it mildly, with decidedly less salty language than the P.I. had used.

"Yes, that's what bothered me," she admitted. "Why would he involve Mick if he really doesn't like him? And I just got something that makes this seem even more suspicious." Beth pushed the envelope across the table. "This came from one of his assistants."

Josef carefully lifted the flap, and pulled out the contents with one swift movement, setting the stack neatly atop the conference table's glossy mahogany surface. The first sheet caught his eye; the large logo and official layout made it clear that the Office of the District Attorney was involved. This would not bode well for a human, let alone an immortal for whom secrecy was paramount.

His interest piqued, Josef turned through the pages. The top pages were related to the San Ysidro case and reiterated what Beth had already told him, along with some graphic and unsettling photographs. Then, the content turned to documentation of cases where Mick had been involved - Leni Hayes and the mole inside the ADA's office, paperwork from the deceased Deputy District Attorney Joshua Lindsey's case, something about Mick showing up at the escort murder suspect's residence… There was even an interesting note regarding Mick and Beth at Club Valace, and how the aforementioned Lindsey found them there together. Here, Josef had to stifle a grin at how delightfully awkward that must have been...

But what followed was absolutely not funny.

The pictures Beth had shown him during the Tierney Taylor case, taken by one now very-dead Dean Foster, were staring back at him.

"What the hell is this, Beth?" Josef demanded, his eyes flashing blue. "How..." He caught himself. "Sorry. Obviously, I was not expecting to see these." As the billionaire continued thumbing through the documents, the handwritten items changed, and so did the type and tone of the content. Highly personal information about Mick that Josef knew his friend would not voluntarily share - banking information, credit scores, purchases, property records... Kostan was not happy about such information being in the hands of the authorities - but neither was he overly concerned. He had personally overseen the construction of Mick's current incarnation; the fact that he'd received his private investigator license from the State of California, which ran extensive background checks as part of the standard licensing process, was proof of how thoroughly the job was done.

He smiled tightly. "Beth, don't worry so much about this. I've made sure all the proper paper trails are in place." He went back to reading, then halted and looked up at her incredulously. "His elementary school? Look into his parents' backgrounds? Are you serious? Who the hell would need to know that?"

"No one with good intentions," Beth responded softly.

Kostan went back to paging through the information. Wait... shit... "Vampire co-ed slayings - Christian Ellis, now out of state - refused to comment. Lee Jay Spalding - review Beth's story notes and contact Bobby Desmond. Asked MSJ about background - neighborhood, school, etc. - evasive, even defensive - expand education search." Josef swore under his breath. "Beth... who wrote this?" He angled one of the documents so that she could see it.

Beth squinted at the paper. "Talbot. That's Talbot's handwriting..." She read aloud, deciphering Talbot's handwriting as she went. "... Josef Kostan attempted murder - MSJ delivered suspect to LAPD with sketchy excuse for how Kostan survived. What's his connection to Kostan? Tierney Taylor case, MSJ jumped from QM top deck into ocean to retrieve body - no injury? How did he know anchor was murder weapon? How to explain being hit by a car with no injuries – check with photographer who took photos. Where is Tejada... ask Bustos what he told MSJ about whereabouts."

Kostan's eyebrows raised at that last item; he knew the answer all too well, though he would not discuss it with Beth. It wasn't his place to do so; it was Mick's decision whether to share that particular episode with her. He still had a hard time understanding how his friend could have been so uncharacteristically stupid.

Tejada was not the problem. Josef understood, better than most, the need for revenge. An eye for an eye... The Monaghan case notwithstanding, the Cleaner's record of meticulous service was spotless, so he seriously doubted that Tejada's murder would be an issue. The fact that nothing had been reported in the local news further shored his confidence. In his blood-lust for revenge, however, Mick had left at least one witness to his identity very much alive and now residing in a highly secured location. Even now, Josef could not wrap his brain around Mick vamping in a police station - Jesus freakin' Christ, what the hell was he thinking?!

"Boy, this just keeps getting better and better," he said dryly, hoping to deflect Beth away from the topic of the very nicely dead drug kingpin. "That ungrateful son of a bitch! We save his scream-like-a-girl sorry ass and this is the thanks we get! Seems the ADA has created his own personal 'to do' list. Nothing like using your position and authority for good, huh?" he added bitterly

"There's more, Josef," Beth added quietly, reaching over to flip through sheets filled with Ben Talbot's scribbling. "The list of questions and notes goes on for several pages - all directed at cases Mick has been involved with in one way or another. He's even looking at cases from Josh's time."

"So why is Talbot asking him to be in on this San Diego case now? Do you think..."

"That Talbot knows Mick is a vampire? No, I don't." Beth interrupted, anticipating his question and moving to reassure him. "But he definitely suspects something is up with Mick, and he isn't exactly friendly toward him."

"Then why involve him? For that matter, why is Talbot even getting involved himself?" Josef leaned forward and put his chin in his hand as he thought out loud. "San Diego is not his jurisdiction, and I thought border issues were federal."

"They are." Beth confirmed worriedly.

"That's not good. The last thing vamps should do is get mixed up with the feds." He frowned as he continued, "This smells, Beth. I guess I understand why Mick thinks he should be involved – we all know what ash and decapitation could mean and it's part of his job. But San Diego is not his area..." The vampire leader's face hardened in anger. "And Mick sure hasn't brought any of this up with me, even though he knows he should."

"Josef," Beth picked her words carefully. "Please don't be angry with Mick. I know he just wants to protect the community. San Diego is not that far away and this looks like a lot of bodies – potentially, a lot of dead vampires," she added. She paused while Kostan finished flipping through the file contents, then continued. "The meeting with Talbot is this afternoon. His meetings don't tend to run long, so Mick should be done early. I know I don't have a right to ask, and I really don't want to get in the middle of your and Mick's business but- "

"I'll talk to him today." Josef took a deep breath. "You know as well as I do, the man has a head like a rock. I can't make any promises."He is so gonna have to answer for this one.

Beth nodded. "I know... and I- I don't expect miracles, but... I just... don't let him get himself killed, okay?"

He didn't need vampire senses to know she was sincere. Her words, though... and the change in her heartbeat and even her scent as she spoke about Mick – was so much like Sara had been when he was near... goddamn, that still hurts...

"Josef?"

Her touch brought him back to the present. He hadn't even realized that Beth had moved to sit next to him. "I... I'm fine, Blondie." He mustered a smile, and, true to form, averted any further discussion, unwilling to allow anyone to see into his heart. "Let me take care of a few things, and then I'll call that vampire of yours for a chat."

Beth was not so easily fooled. She had come to recognize that expression, and the reason behind it - and, she had learned that the best thing to do was to respect Josef's desire for privacy. She settled for touching his sleeve before standing and quietly repacking the papers in her bag. At the door, Beth hesitated and looked back at the vampire. "Thank you, Josef."

Josef nodded silently and watched Beth leave. It never ceased to amaze him how much emptier a room felt when she left. Just like Sara. In his over 400 years of life, he hadn't met many people who made that kind of impression. Mick was lucky to have a woman like that to love him. Of course, there was the whole issue of a vampire being involved with a human... an issue that Mick could fix rather easily, if he chose to. He just had to convince Beth, and then turn her. But it would require him getting over the whole tragic I-hate-being-a-vampire nonsense. Then again, all of this would be moot if he got himself killed...

"Dammit, Mick!" he snarled aloud, his ire towards his best friend bubbling to the surface. "You can really piss me off sometimes! Especially when you decide to pull stunts like this without talking to me first!" He snatched an unfortunate metal paperweight from the tabletop and flung it across the room, making a sizable hole in the far wall. Great, now I have to get the workers back to fix that. "Nice job, Kostan," he muttered. He had to admit, though, that it did help vent his immediate rage. With a sigh, he went to his private cabinet to pour himself a drink. First things first...

End song: St. Honesty, Sara Bareilles