The Dead Priest Read online

  The Kelton Cases:

  The Dead Priest

  by K. A. Bledsoe

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters and places are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, places or people is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Kristi Doyle

  All rights reserved

  Print ISBN 978-0-9815890-2-2

  This title is also available as an Ebook.

  Gardoyle Publishing

  Cave Creek, Arizona

  USA

  Dedication

  To all the authors that have come before, both recent and ancient. Thank you for the stories that inspired our dreams and spurred us to become writers ourselves.

  And to all the future authors who I hope will continue to write, keeping imagination and creativity alive in the human race.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter 45

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  THE PRINCESS’S COMPANION

  The Princess’s Companion

  Chapter One

  “I have retrieved your heirloom brooch Miss Heldun, complete with its original box intact.”

  Lenore Kelton presented the trinket to the young lady. The box was open to display the exquisite diamond pin, the size of her palm but detailing a miniature garden with jewels, a truly unique, albeit a bit gaudy, piece of jewelry.

  “Oh. Wonderful!” The twenty-year-old girl fluttered over, gathered and closed the box and tossed it to her makeup table, ignoring Lenore’s intake of breath at this casual disregard of the million-credit brooch. Miss Heldun’s eyes narrowed as she put her hands on her hips. “Did you also find the ruffian who stole it?”

  Lenore sighed. These starry-eyed youngsters were all alike, thinking life was like a holonovel. She wouldn’t even have taken the job without the fact that Dawn Heldun was the spoiled daughter of an extremely wealthy businessman who owned more than half of this planet and several moons. She’d given Lenore a contract promising a reward worth enough to refit the yacht with quality defensive systems. So, Lenore played along, trying not to roll her eyes.

  “Of course I found the criminal. Couldn’t pass up the offered bonus.” She tapped on her wristcomp and her son Quinn came in, dragging a young man about the same age as Dawn. Cuffs bound his hands behind his back, he stumbled through the door, not fighting Quinn’s grip even though he was the older one.

  “Your thief, Miss Heldun,” said Quinn, voice rough. Lenore approved of the disguised voice, slightly deeper and sounding like a tough enforcer or bodyguard. The helmet with an opening only for his eyes hid his true age of fifteen. Quinn gripped the other’s shoulder to pull him forward and the boy fell to his knees, even though he had no reason for such weakness. Lenore hid a chuckle at Quinn’s eye roll. Obviously, he felt the dramatics were as overdone as she did.

  “Oh, Jack! Are you okay?” Dawn dashed to him and knelt to look him in the eyes, face scrunched into a frown. Lenore felt she hid her surprise better than Quinn when his eyebrows disappeared into his helmet as he looked at his mother.

  “They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Dawn said as her hands stroked Jack’s face. “Poor baby. Why did you take Aunt Nikki’s pin?”

  “I needed something to remember you by, Dawny,” he said. “If I couldn’t be near you, at least I would have something that used to be close to your heart.”

  “Oh! If I’d known you cared so much…”

  “I do, Dawny, of course I do.”

  She threw her arms around him despite his hands still bound behind his back.

  Lenore groaned inwardly, tired of the display. She cleared her throat loudly, and the girl looked at her as if she had forgotten anyone else was in the room. She stood and raised her chin as she addressed Lenore.

  “Thank you. You have done well. You may remove the cuffs as I am sure he poses no threat.”

  “I will do no such thing, Miss Heldun,” Lenore said quickly to forestall Quinn’s answer as she saw anger flare in his eyes. “He has committed a crime and will be turned over to the proper authorities. I only brought him here as proof that we captured him for the bonus you promised.”

  “Oh.” Dawn shifted her feet and looked away. Lenore knew she wasn’t going to like what came next. “I’ve heard the stories, about people who help innocents like me. I thought you were in it to do the right thing.”

  “We’re in it for the money,” growled Quinn before Lenore could respond. “Money you promised us.”

  “Oh,” she took a few steps back from Quinn until she realized it put her closer to Lenore. Instead, she retreated to her table where she had thrown the brooch box. “Well, I don’t have those kinds of credits on me or readily available.”

  Lenore reached into her jacket and, ignoring the girl’s small squeak of fear, pulled out a data stick. “A credit transfer will do.”

  Now the girl retreated further until she was against the wall. “I…I can’t do that. I…but my father can. He will take care of it, I’m sure. He always does.” Now her chin came up again, but the slight tremble argued against the bravado. “Take the contract to him.”

  Lenore grumbled but pocketed the stick and jerked her head at Quinn to come. Quinn hauled Jack to his feet even though Lenore knew he would have guessed the girl’s reaction.

  “No, don’t turn him in. I will drop the charges. Please, let him go. You heard him. He loves me, he wouldn’t hurt me.”

  Lenore could see the anger in Quinn’s eyes.

  It’s a good thing he’s wearing that helmet. The girl might faint if she saw Quinn’s whole face.

  Quinn let Jack go with a small shove and tossed the electronic key for the binders to Dawn.

  “So be it. What happens from here is on your head.”

  The girl winced at the comment and Quinn left, Lenore following her son.

  As they were shown to the door by a servant, Lenore could feel the anger radiating from Quinn though she also felt a similar fire.

  “That—”

  “Shhhh!” she said and glanced back at Quinn and up at the ceiling to make her point. He followed her eyes and grimaced but didn’t say anything until they were clear of any monitors.

  Two blocks from the mansion, Lenore let Quinn vent.

  “Sh
e had no intention of paying. What is it with the stupid holonovels and entertainment vids? I have seen enough of them to know that people get PAID for their services.” He was pacing, throwing his hands up in emphasis, and looking around as if he wanted to hit something. Lenore watched, concerned about the volatile reaction from her normally even-tempered son. “Stupid stories ruining everything. Life is nothing like those shows.”

  Ah, thought Lenore, now slightly worried. He was still recovering from the previous case where he had been captured by slavers. His family had rescued him, but not before he had been tortured and put on the bidding block. His father, Diarmin, had told her Quinn’s trauma would manifest in different ways and this was evidently one of them. Maybe he isn’t ready for missions yet.

  When he became aware of her scrutiny, Quinn stopped though he continued to smolder. Lenore decided to ignore the rant for now.

  “Go back to the ship and inform your father of the situation. I will visit Mr. Heldun with the contract to get what we are owed.” Quinn nodded, and she went on. “I will keep an open channel during the conversation and all of you, especially your sister, monitor and be ready for any possible situation.”

  “Dad, I can understand, but why do you need Allison listening?”

  Again, she ignored the slight sulk in his voice. “I have a hunch that her excellent computer skills are going to be needed.”

  “Okay. See you back at the ship,” he mumbled. As he turned to head the opposite direction, she stopped him.

  “Quinn, despite the outcome, you did your job very well, although next time don’t leave expensive binders behind.” She held up the forgotten binders and grinned, hoping it would ease his anger.

  His slight smile before he left did nothing to dispel her worry for him.

  ***

  “What can I do for you?” Mr. Thom Heldun peered at a screen on his left as he sat behind a desk with many terminals in the desktop and on the sides. “Lenore Obar, is it?” The absence of any honorific and the fact he remained seated when she entered told Lenore that he considered her to be beneath him. As he probably did with most individuals not involved in his business affairs. In her experience, rich people were the same on every planet.

  “Your daughter referred me and my business associates to you.” She placed a pad on his desk with its display showing the contract signed by Dawn.

  He laughed, not even bothering to look at the pad.

  “Dawn? Referred you? Has she suddenly turned businesswoman?” He laughed again.

  Taken aback by a father’s complete lack of respect for his offspring, Lenore tapped the pad and pushed on. “She posted a reward for the recovery of a stolen piece of jewelry which we located. Before the search, we both signed a contract stipulating the amount to be paid as well as a bonus for also delivering the thief, which we did, well within the time allotted.”

  Heldun shook his head, continuing to chuckle. “You and your associates may be talented at locating people and things, but you failed to do your homework.”

  “Uh-oh,” came Allison’s voice through her subdermal audio implant. “Checking on it.” Lenore could envision her daughter tapping away the instant she had picked up Heldun’s comment.

  “And what homework would that be, Mr. Heldun?” asked Lenore.

  “Everybody knows that my daughter Dawn has no authority to enter into contracts with anyone.”

  “She is of legal age, with her own accounts.”

  “Ah, but they are only hers through me.” He raised a finger and was obviously enjoying the ‘lesson’ he was about to impart. “When she turned eighteen, I knew that she was entirely capable of throwing away large sums on her imagination and idiotic, romantic notions. I had her declared incompetent to make any legal decisions without my approval. And,” now he picked up the pad to peruse it, “as I do not see my signature on this document, this is not a binding contract.” He let the pad clatter back onto the desk.

  A groan coming through the implant did not bode good news. “I hate to say it but he’s right. I found the document. Dad and I are looking for loopholes.”

  “You disagree with retrieving a precious heirloom?”

  “Precious? Ha. She has a dozen of those which she has lost on a number of occasions. All her property as well as that item is insured. She only wanted to find her boyfriend of the week. Jeff, I think his name was.”

  Lenore didn’t bother to correct him. “You feel no obligation to support your daughter in her decisions or life choices?”

  “If I supported her or her mother’s choices, I’d be completely broke.”

  Lenore picked up the pad and heard Diarmin’s voice now. “Bad news. The only way we could get the money from her is if she wrote a new contract after she declared independence from her father, which would cut her off completely and thus would have no money.”

  “If there is nothing else,” Heldun said as he pulled his side screen closer.

  “I will be back for my payment, Mr. Heldun,” she said, as she tucked the pad in her bag.

  “I doubt it, unless you would like me to sue you for taking advantage of my daughter in her incompetency. Then it will be you who will pay.” He didn’t even bother to dismiss her, just turned his eyes to his work.

  Knowing that was no idle threat, she turned and left without comment. She didn’t need Diarmin’s voice in her ear that echoed her own thoughts.

  “Damn self-important rich asshole.”

  “Let it go,” mumbled Lenore. “I’m heading back now. I need the walk.”

  “Understood.”

  It took more than half of the distance back to the spaceport for Lenore to get her emotions in check. The steady pace of her strides while dodging the crowds on the sidewalks helped settle her mind. Time to look for another mission before all our money is gone.

  “Hello, Lenore.”

  Lenore froze at the voice behind her. It had been years since she heard it and could only mean one thing.

  The Xa’ti’al had found her.

  Chapter Two

  “Careful.”

  That voice belonged to her former mentor. Slowly she turned to face him, his warning stopping her attempt to slip her hand under her jacket.

  As he came into view, she could see the barrel of a weapon peeking out from under a harmless-looking bag carried over his shoulder. She dropped her arms at her side.

  “Daviss. Four hundred Xa and you’re the one who runs into me? What are the odds?”

  He laughed and Lenore tried her best not to scowl. She hated that laugh. Not because it was annoying, but because it was perfect. She could never tell if he was truly amused or faking.

  “The odds are, I’m sure, not worth figuring out.” He sobered. “Let’s go somewhere to chat.”

  “I’d rather stay here, if you don’t mind,” she replied.

  “Come now,” he tilted his head slightly as if chastising a youngster. Her blood pressure rose another notch as he continued. “You know very well if I wanted to drop you, I would have done so by now, and that crowds wouldn’t cause me to hesitate one bit.”

  “Fine. Where?”

  He shrugged. “You pick.” The attempt to put her at ease only raised her anxiety. Using all her will, she turned her back on him, against instincts screaming at her not to, and led him to a place only two buildings down the street, an upscale restaurant, quite pricey for the area. If he was surprised at her choice, he didn’t show it as they were ushered to a seat.

  “You are buying, aren’t you?” asked Lenore as she scanned the menu. “I am famished.”

  “By all means,” he replied as he stowed the bag. Lenore should have felt relief at the vanishing of the barrel pointing at her, but her senses were on high alert. She entered her order on the table’s console and he did as well. She leaned back, trying for nonchalance and debated with herself to keep quiet so he would speak first. Realizing this was a useless ploy against the person who taught her how to do that, she started the conversation.

&nbs
p; “So, what brings you out to this part of the universe?” she said.

  “I was on assignment and ran into an interesting tidbit that indicated where you were. You really should change your name, you know.”

  Lenore tried not to let him rattle her. He knew her name was the only thing she had that was hers. He knew she would be thrown by the idea that she had been sloppy. He knew her and how to push her buttons.

  After all, he had programmed her.

  But she knew that there were thousands of Lenores across the galaxy. And the fact that they had been on this planet for less than a day meant that the ‘interesting tidbit’ was nothing of the sort. She would figure out how he found her later. For now, she wanted information.

  “Looking to cash in on the reward posted for me?” she asked, remembering her face on a pad, held by her interrogator in the stronghold of a high-up person in a prominent slave organization.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You know I am not in this for the money. I couldn’t collect that anyway since it was the Xa’ti’al who posted that.”

  “Why the bounty? Isn’t it bad advertising suggesting that the Xa can’t find someone?”

  He shrugged again. “To keep you on your guard. Make others do the work of finding you. But most of all,” he paused and narrowed his eyes slightly. “To keep your nose out of our affairs.”

  Fortunately, the server arrived with the food, giving Lenore time to rid herself of the chills produced by the menace in Daviss’s voice.

  “I want nothing to do with the Xa or its affairs. I’m keeping my distance.” She took a bite.

  “The Beryshie Corporation would say otherwise.”

  She swallowed, food competing with the sudden lump of fear in her throat as she recognized one of the fronts for the slave organization she had been investigating. Deliberately she took a few more bites as she tried to decide if she would feign ignorance. A glance at Daviss showed him eating as well, but his eyes were uncannily riveted on her, watching for her reaction. Though she was unnerved by the scrutiny, it also told her that he knew a lot about her recent actions. That decided it for her. She put her fork down.