Lucy shifted in her seat in the coffee shop. Despite her lifestyle, it was the first place she had ever been that could truly be described as swanky: there were vertical gardens on every wall, the décor was the mix of coffee brown and pale green of yoga moms trying to be zen and earthy, and the music pumping out of the speakers was new age techno music that made her lightheaded.
She swirled her latte around one more time and checked the time. She was supposed to meet her mystery man here, but she had no idea where he was. He had passed her in the street on her way home three days ago, slipping a card into her fingers and telling her to call him whenever she could. Jacob, who still believed himself to be her faithful bodyguard, hadn't seemed to have noticed the exchange, which put the man on a pedestal in Lucy's mind. She had called him after the meeting two days ago, and he had asked to meet her here. Luckily, Jacob had matters on the Cobeson side of things to attend to today, so she had snuck away unnoticed.
She fingered the card once again, tracing the emblem she had already memorized. It was a horned goat, outlined in black ink above a phone number. It was printed on nice paper, but the strangest thing to Lucy was that it looked familiar, like an old memory trying to come to the surface.
"Miss Lucy." Lucy jumped, looking up at the incredibly tall man who had appeared in the empty chair across from her. He was dressed remarkably well, in a dark gray suit and crisp white dress shirt. His brown-gray hair was gelled back, and he was wearing sunglasses. Lucy couldn't tell if he was thirty or fifty.
She folded her shaking hands to hide her surprise at his appearance and raised her head in acknowledgment. "Hello, Mr…" Her eyes darted to the card, but she already knew there wasn't a name on it. She knew nothing about him, except for the strange feeling that she could trust him. But just because she felt she could didn't mean she would. Her trust was hard-earned these days.
"Roman C. Stone. But please, call me Capricorn."
Lucy nodded awkwardly, rolling the strange name around in her head. She didn't offer her name back, as he obviously already knew her. "So, Capricorn, why did you ask to meet me? And how do you know me?"
Capricorn hummed. "I'll start with the second question. I work as a private legal investigator, and I worked with your mother on a few cases involving your father's business." Lucy felt her brain grind to a halt at that information. "Layla was incredibly… concerned about his affairs. I last worked with her when you were about five or six, I believe. You've grown into a fine young lady."
Lucy blushed at his compliment, but the shock of this stranger knowing her mother outweighed all of her other emotions. "You… knew my mom?" She felt bad for being repetitive, but it was a touchy subject for her to think about, even on her best days. But he only nodded graciously at her shock.
"Yes, very well. We met in graduate school, with Jude as well, though I doubt he remembers me. From college or fifteen years ago." He smiled as Lucy laughed. 'He's not wrong,' she thought, thinking of all the times her father had failed to recognize some members of the house staff. "After they got married, Layla called me and asked me to help her look into Jude's empire. He wasn't doing anything incredibly illegal whenever I looked into it, but Layla was always worried. I felt like she knew more than she was telling me. But by the time I realized that, well…"
Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat. Her mother's death had been swift, too swift for a seven-year-old Lucy to really understand it. Even nineteen-year-old Lucy didn't like to dwell on it too much. "So that was the end of your involvement with the Heartfilias?"
Capricorn nodded. "Until today, at least. I've been keeping tabs on your family, however, at Layla's request. I didn't feel it necessary, as I hardly found anything all those years ago. But in light of recent events, I might be able to fulfill her last request of me."
Lucy's heart rate picked up. "Last request?"
"Yes. Layla suspected of Jude of total industry domination. And I have the feeling she was right, especially now."
Lucy swallowed, nervous to ask her next question. "And what made you change your mind?"
Capricorn took out a folded newspaper clipping and spread it out on the table, and Lucy couldn't hide her choked gasp at the image. It was a bloody face, grinning in triumph at what Lucy knew was a recent victory. Black eyes shone underneath pink bangs, totally oblivious to the split lip dripping blood.
Lucy looked up to meet Capricorn's shaded stare. "The arrest of the Salamander."