“All these diamonds would have made for a nice haul if the guy had gotten away with them.” She shook her head, making her blond hair shimmer. “The moon must be full or something. This is the second robbery I’ve been called out to today, and it’s the fifth one this week.”

“Well, that’s not so unusual, is it?” I asked. “This is Ashland, after all. Somebody’s always up to something in this town—usually something evil, dastardly, and violent.”

She shrugged. “Maybe, but it seems like more bad guys than usual have come out of the woodwork these past few days. And the really weird thing? There’s no one around to stop them.”

Bria looked over at the saleswomen. “Excuse me, ladies. Does the store employ any security guards?”

Red actually glanced away from Finn long enough to answer her question. “We used to have a giant. But Anton called in yesterday and said that he’d gotten a better offer. So the owner hasn’t had a chance to replace him yet.”

Bria nodded, and Red turned her attention back to Finn.

“I’ve gotten that same explanation twice now,” Bria said. “It’s like all the giants who work as bodyguards have suddenly decided to move on up to bigger and better things. This is the third robbery I’ve seen this week where nobody’s been guarding the goods, even with an obvious score to be had.”

I frowned. That was strange. Vampires, dwarves, elementals, humans—lots of folks hired themselves out as security or bodyguards to banks, businesses, and wealthy individuals. Sure, it was a dangerous gig, especially in this town, but the money was good, and most positions came with excellent medical and dental. Some folks even offered their employees 401(k)s and profit-sharing plans. Not to mention the bonus hazard pay you could collect if you thwarted a robbery or an assassination attempt.

But given their tall, strong physiques, giants were the top choice when it came to keeping something or someone safe, especially among the underworld bosses. Practically every crime lord in Ashland had at least half a dozen giants—if not more—on his or her payroll. For the bosses, hiring them was a way to keep the rest of their underlings in line and hold on to their turf. For the giants, it was usually easy money for mostly standing around and looking tough. Win-win all the way around—unless you happened to cross somebody with a cadre of giants at his disposal. In addition to providing protection, giants were also very, very good at enforcing one person’s unpleasant will on another—and beating you until you got the bloody message.

Bria shook her head. “Anyway, at least this case is cut-and-dried. All I need to do is get some witness statements from the saleswomen, and Xavier and I can take the perp over to the station—”