The Most Dangerous Dame

I pulled a deck of smokes from my pocket and lit one. “For starters, Moe knows I didn’t kill his little girl. So I can rule out the triggerman being on his payroll. And at least now I have a few clues on who’s gunning for me and why.”

“Yeah? Why don’t you share with the rest of the class?”

“It was a dame that pulled the hit. I got an up close and personal view of her figure when she walked past me as I was pumping blood in the gutters. She’s someone I have a history with.” I exhaled a stream of gasper smoke. “Bad history. For her the hit was personal.”

Ms. Kilby studied my face. “You’re sure about that?”

“She told me enough to know we’ve met before.”

“And do you have an idea who this mystery woman might be?”

“Haven’t the foggiest.” I cut a keen glance her direction. “That’s where you come in.”

Kilby leaned back, a hint of a smile on her lips as she adjusted her thin-rimmed eyeglasses. “Why would I know something that you don’t, Mr. Trubble?”

“You wouldn’t. But folks you know might. Because when it comes to badass dames with guns, none come any badder than the Gutter Girls, right?”

Kilby’s eyes narrowed. “You understand I’m only loosely affiliated with that organization, don’t you? You don’t see me in a latex catsuit with weapons strapped to my body for a reason.”

I lifted my hands in a forestalling gesture. “I understand. But loosely affiliated or not, you should be able to do a little digging and find out if any of their members have a contract on your favorite Troubleshooter, right? Just trying to eliminate as many possibilities as possible.”

Kilby’s mouth tightened, but she nodded reluctantly. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Outstanding. Give Selene my regards.” I turned to Flask. “What have you turned up so far?”

His laugh was distinctly humorless. “Nothing, Mick. Just been sitting around with my thumbs in my ass waiting for you to solve the case.”

“Besides that.”

He glowered. “I’ve got men combing the city for clues, goddamnit. They’re not going to come up with much. People get their throats cut every night in this city and you know it, Mick. And on top of that the Mob is all tied in, so you can bet nobody will talk even if they know something. So don’t play games with me. I got you on the case because I don’t want some kind of gang war to explode in the streets. Seems like all you’ve been able to do so far is catch a few stray slugs. Pardon my lack of empathy.”

Angel patted him on the arm. “No need to get all riled up, Roddy. Everyone’s one edge right now.”

I gave Flask my most annoying smirk. “That’s right, ‘Roddy.’ Let’s not let our emotions get the best of us. Time to bump noggins and see what spills. So what do we got so far?”

Benny cleared his throat. “My cousin Sophia — murdered. That’s first and foremost.”

I nodded. “That’s where everything started. This faceless dame claimed the hit, but why?”

Benny frowned. “I thought you said this was someone out to get Moe by knocking off his family. You said Sophia was the first, and the attack earlier tonight was the same person trying to whack me.”

“Earlier last night, actually. It’s a brand new day, sport. But you’re right. That was my assumption at the time. Things have changed.”

“How so?”

Poddar stirred from his chair, his dark eyes thoughtful. “Because the attack on Mick wouldn’t make sense in that scenario. Why attack Mick if the point was to kill you, Ben?”

Benny shrugged. “To get him outta the way, I guess.”

“The dame said she was targeting me with an X-ray scope. I don’t think she was bluffing. That being the case, there was no need to even alert me at all. She could have taken the shot at you in your room and been ghost before you hit the floor.”

Benny scratched his head. “I don’t get it, then.”

Flask tapped some notes on the interactive screen that emitted from his holoband. “So the hitwoman calls you up, lures you in the alley out back and proceeds to give you a bad case of lead poisoning. Obviously she didn’t know about your built-in healing system, but she definitely meant to kill you.”

“I’m not so sure. The dame was obviously a pro, and a pro wouldn’t make the mistake of leaving before making sure the kill was righteous.”

Flask gave me a skeptical glance. “You saying the assassin knew you would survive that hit? I don’t know, Mick. Sounds like the meds talking.”

“C’mon Flask, you’re embarrassing yourself. You’ve been on the beat long enough to clean up after a few professional hits, right?”

“Yeah. So what?”

I shook a finger his direction. “You wanna punch someone’s ticket, you tap them in the heart or head. You know what I’m talking about. I’m telling you, the dame knew I could take the damage.”

“Then why go through the trouble at all? What’s the point?”

“She wanted to show him what she’s capable of,” Natasha said. “She wanted him to know she can kill him whenever she wants to.”