Daughter of the Dead Part 2

Daughter of the Dead

Case 1

Part 2

Draft 3

By: Chase L. Currie

“By law,” Icarus stated quickly, “I’m supposed to tell you to go to the authorities, but you know that, and it is why you are here.”

                “Correct,” Elder said putting his hands on the back the old chair sitting in front of the desk.

                “So, what can I do for you?” Icarus asked.

                “I’ll pay you whatever you wish,” Elder said, and Icarus wasn’t he was going to enjoy the next part of his statement, “to retrieve my daughter’s body.”

                Icarus raised an eyebrow this was a new one for him. Most his work was taking pictures of lovers cheating on their so-called loved ones or helping the Planet Guard from time to time to solve a murder, but never picking up a dead girl.

                “Where is she?” He asked.

                “Deathead moon,” Elder said. “She was taken before we could put her to rest.”

                “By whom?”

                “A Lowell Borthall,” The Elf said. “A bounty hunter and a cutthroat, so I’m not sure why he took her.”

                “How do you know he went to Deathead?”

                “He told us, of course,” Elder said. “He wishes for us to paid to get her body back.”

                “That’s dirty,” Icarus mumble to himself with smoke pouring from his mouth.

                “Yes, it is,” Elder said and Icarus cruse in his head forgetting how great the elf’s ears were. A knight-ear like this one must have the best hearing of all them.

                “How much is this Lowell asking for?” Icarus asked.

                “A hundred thousand,” Elder said crossing his arms.

                “I’ll take half,” Icarus said with a sly grin. “It is better than paying him.”

                “Very well,” Elder said with a sigh.

                “Half now,” Icarus told him pulling out a tablet with a standard contract on it and handing it over to the elf. “And the other half when the job is done. If I fail, which I won’t, I keep the first half no matter what happens.”

                Elder signed it nodding and then said, “I understand.”

                “Good,” Icarus said, “then we have a deal.”

                “Yes, we do,” Elder agreed with him putting the tablet back on the desk. “I’ll wire the money to you within the hour.”

                The dwarf smiled telling him, “I guess, I should start packing then.”

                “Good luck, Mister Ironwings,” Elder said heading for the door.

                “What was her name?” Icarus asked before the elf left the room. He wasn’t sure it matters, but for some reason, he wanted to know. It felt right to know the name of the dead person he was looking for no matter how odd that sounded in his mind.

                “Her name is ---” And made sure to put inference on the word ‘is’ --- “Eliza.”

                Icarus puffed on his pipe watching the shadow of the elf faded from his closed door and understood why the elf had come to him. Eliza sounded like a human name, and if she was human then the elf could be put to death for mixing the blood of the races, but Icarus felt there was more to the story then some Lord trying to escape death.