Beyond the Pale: A fantasy anthology by Nancy Holder, Kami García, Saladin Ahmed, Jim Butcher, Jane Yolen, Heather Brewer, Rachel Caine, Gillian Philip, Peter Beagle Page B

behind the wheel. She started driving and then said, “No. That wasn’t it.”
    “It was business.”
    “And the fact that one of them was pushing heroin to thirteen year old
girls and the other was pimping them out had nothing to do with it,” Gard said.
    “It was business,” I said, enunciating. “Morelli can find pushers and
pimps anywhere. A decent accountant is invaluable. I sent his bookkeeper back
as a gesture of respect.”
    “You don’t respect Morelli.”
    I almost smiled. “Perhaps not.”
    “Then why?”
    I did not answer. She didn’t push the issue and we rode in silence back
to the office. As she put the car in park I said, “They were in my territory.
They broke my rule.”
    “No children,” she said.
    “No children,” I said. “I do not tolerate challenges, Ms. Gard. They’re
bad for business.”
    She looked at me in the mirror, her blue eyes oddly intent, and nodded.
    ~
    There was a knock at my office door and Gard thrust her head in, her
phone’s earpiece conspicuous. “There’s a problem.”
    Hendricks frowned from his seat at a nearby desk. He was hunched over a
laptop that looked too small for him, plugging away at his thesis. “What kind
of problem?”
    “An Accord matter,” Gard said.
    Hendricks sat up straight and looked at me.
    I didn’t look up from one of my lawyer’s letters, which I receive too
frequently to let slide. “Well,” I said. “We knew it would happen eventually.
Bring the car.”
    “I don’t have to,” Gard said. “The situation came to us.”
    I set the finished letter aside and looked up, resting my fingertips
together. “Interesting.”
    ~
    Gard brought the problem in. The problem was young and attractive. In
my experience, the latter two frequently lead to the former. In this particular
case, it was a young woman holding a child. She was remarkable—thick,
rich, silver-white hair, dark eyes, pale skin. She had very little makeup,
which was fortunate in her case, since she looked like she had recently been
drenched. She wore what was left of a grey business skirt-suit, had a towel
from one of my health clubs wrapped around her shoulders, and was shivering.
    The child she held was too young to be in school and was also
appealing, with rosy features, white-blonde hair and blue eyes. Male or female,
it hardly mattered at that age. They’re all beautiful. The child clung to the
girl as if it would not be separated, and was also wrapped in a towel.
    The girl’s body language was definitely protective. She had the kind of
beauty that looked natural and… true. Her features and her bearing both spoke
of gentleness and kindness.
    I felt an immediate instinct to protect and comfort her.
    I quashed it thoroughly.
    I am not made of stone, but I have found it is generally best to behave
as if I am.
    I looked across the desk at her and said, “My people tell me you have
asked for sanctuary under the terms of the Unseelie Accords, but that you have
not identified yourself.”
    “I apologize, sir,” she answered. “I was already being indiscreet
enough just by coming here.”
    “Indeed,” I said calmly. “I make it a point not to advertise the
location of my business headquarters.”
    “I didn’t want to add names to the issue,” she said, casting her eyes
down in a gesture of submission which did not entirely convince me. “I wasn’t
sure how many of your people were permitted access to this sort of
information.”
    I glanced past the young woman to Gard, who gave me a slow, cautious
nod. Had the girl or the child been other than they appeared, Gard would have
indicated in the negative. Gard costs me a fortune, and is worth every penny.
    Even so, I didn’t signal either her or Hendricks to stand down. Both of
them watched the girl, ready to kill her if she made an aggressive move. Trust,
but verify—that the person being trusted will be dead if she attempts
betrayal.
    “That was most considerate of you, Justine.”
    The girl blinked at me