The smile in his voice came through loud and clear. “Did I wake you, sleepyhead?”
“Of course. It’s the kind of day where staying in bed oblivious would be preferable.” I lifted the blinds and checked outside. Yep, raining. What a surprise… not.
“How are you feeling?”
“About as you’d expect, but I’ll survive. Thanks for asking.”
“It’s my job, fiancée.” I couldn’t help but smile at that. Yes, life went on. “I’m also calling because I’d like you to come to a meeting I’m having with Agent Roche. Millicent and James are minding the… stuff.”
“Um, okay. Is it at headquarters?”
“No. We’re meeting at Roche’s house. I’ll come get you. Can you be ready in fifteen minutes?”
“Yep. See you soon. Love you.”
He hung up, and I dressed, then had breakfast. Just as I magicked the dirty dishes clean and away, Will’s footsteps came down the hall. “Hey, Lily.” He had small bags under his eyes, and his hair was a little mussed up, but that made him even more sexy.
I gave him a huge hug. “Hey. You look tired. How are you going?”
“Just like you, I’ll survive.” He smiled. “Come on. They’re waiting for us. I gave Roche a couple of the things we found in the boxes, intact pieces of jewellery. He says he has some very interesting information on them.”
“Okay. That sounds… interesting.” I waggled my brows.
“Come on.” Will made a doorway, and I stepped through. He was right behind me. We came out to a small white-painted room with light-coloured timber parquetry flooring. The only furnishing was a pretty French country-style chair upholstered with cream-coloured fabric, which had blue flowers all over it. Hopefully, I wouldn’t need the chair because Roche would answer the door promptly. Will knocked.
The door swung open, and the bald agent I’d met briefly stood there. He was dressed in his uniform, as was Will. I’d opted for jeans and jumper since I wasn’t an agent, and I wasn’t actually investigating anything. Okay, truth be told, I hadn’t thought to wear the uniform, and Will didn’t ask. Yep, it was totally his fault. “Agent Blakesley, Miss Bianchi, lovely to see you again.” Agent Roche stepped back and gestured for us to come in. “Veuillez entrer.”
I smiled. “Merci.” Since we were in France, it was only polite to use whatever French I knew, which wasn’t much, but still.
Agent Roche led us through a small foyer to a large lounge-dining room, richly furnished with ornate upholstered furniture. It was very French, but it also looked slightly uncomfortable. Will and I sat next to each other on an apricot-coloured chaise lounge. It wasn’t really my style, but I wasn’t here to critique his designer skills. The head of the French PIB dragged a black Louis XV chair close to us and sat, then cast a bubble of silence. “Thank you again for coming today. These are fearful times, the worst I’ve seen in all my years with the PIB.”
Will sat forward, leaning towards our host. “May I speak frankly?”
“But of course. I was hoping you would.” He looked at me. “Earlier today, we both took a vow of honesty, sealed with a spell. Whatever we talk about today to each other will only be the truth.” He turned back to Will. “Which I was more than happy to do. We need cooperation now more than ever.”
“Yes, we do.” Will rubbed his five o’clock shadow. “I must let you know that Chad… Agent Williamson the Third, has stood me down because I refused to interview any more people in relation to the Regula Pythonissam case until we could ensure their safety. So anything we talk about now is strictly off the record. I expect the same courtesy. If you feel you can’t provide it, we can shake hands now and go our separate ways.”
“Please, no. We need your help, and I fear we have lost the support of your head office. I am more than happy to speak off the record. Oh, and forgive me for not asking, but would either of you like a tea or coffee?”
I shook my head and smiled. “No, thank you. I just had a coffee before I came.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Okay, then, let us get into what I have to tell you about the jewellery you gave me earlier.” His magic—steadfast, quietly powerful, and self-assured—tingled my scalp, and a small, round table appeared to his left. A golden-beetle brooch and a ruby-and-diamond necklace were sitting on it. His magic tingled again, and two A4 photos materialised in his hand. He held them up for us to see. “Fifteen years ago, a woman by the name of Lucile Dupont reported having jewellery stolen. This picture of the brooch is enlarged and is a copy of what she sent us.”
I sucked in a breath. “They’re identical!”
“Yes, they are.” He handed the pictures to Will to study. “The necklace was reported stolen five years ago, from a pawnshop in Paris—we have the name of the person who sold it to them on record as well. The interesting thing about these items is that they both belonged to families caught up in this slave trade you uncovered.”
Will looked up from the pictures. He had his most professional poker face on, so I had no idea what he was thinking. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, positive. The brooch belonged to the grandmother of one of the men who was murdered in the apartment, and the necklace belonged to the great aunt of one of the women you still have under protection—her family has not been interviewed yet, but this great aunt disappeared after she sold the item to the pawnshop. No one knows what happened to her.”
I frowned. I had a pretty good idea what had happened. If she was in any way involved with RP and she did something they didn’t like, she was not of this earth any longer.
Will handed the photos back. “I can bring you more of the pieces if you like. You can cross-check them against your records.”
“Three more pieces would be helpful. I think if we can identify them, we will establish a pattern.”
“Agreed.” Will sat back and folded his arms. “What do you think is going on here?”
“I’m not sure, but in the report about the brooch, when our agents went to interview the woman who reported it stolen, she refused to talk to them.”
I scrunched up my forehead. “That’s weird. Why would you report it in the first place and then not help the police later?”
Agent Roche waved his finger forward and back. “And that is the question, is it not? Maybe someone got to her, threatened her?”
My eyes widened. “Threatened to kill her?”
Agent Roche tipped his head to the side. “It is possible. And this is what we must find out, among other things. If they did threaten her, she knew who they were. She died five years ago, so we may never know.”
Will scratched his neck. “But maybe her descendants know. I think we should track down her children and grandchildren and see if they can remember anything. But we’d have to protect them afterwards.”
Agent Roche deflated, his shoulders drooping. “I don’t know how that is possible. I can’t take them to our cells, in case we have a mole, and I don’t have anywhere else to put them.”
I looked at Will. “The other option is that we cut the head off the snake and find out the specifics later. God knows we have enough evidence to put Dana and her father away for life.”
His intense gaze burned through me. He knew as well as I did that we weren’t looking to arrest them. There would be no way that Dana would come willingly. I had a feeling that she’d rather die than be incarcerated—not that she’d ever believe she could possibly lose, especially if she was fighting against me.
Did I have news for her.
Somehow, she blamed my mother for her mother’s death. I didn’t know if it was true, but she had one up on me: the snake group had killed both my parents, and she still had her criminal of a father. As upsetting as it was, I wouldn’t have blamed her personally if she was a nice person whose father happened to be involved. Yet, she carried a vendetta against my mother and all her descendants. It was utterly crazy. And what was I supposed to do? That’s right—I wasn’t going dow
n easily. I might be a nice person—at least I used to be—but I didn’t have a death wish.
“But what about the rest of them?” Agent Roche asked. “Are they really the only two at the top?”
Argh, why did he have to complicate things? “Um, we don’t really know.”
Will stepped in, thank the universe. “We’ve been investigating them for a long time, and it appears that way. We do know that when we go for them, that it will expose most, if not all, of the people at the top. Everything they’ve done so far is to protect Dana and her father. Anyone who works for them is murdered as soon as we start questioning them, sometimes even before.” Will looked at me briefly before turning back to Agent Roche. “Lily’s parents were investigating them years ago. They both disappeared, and from the clues her mother has managed to leave behind, it points to Dana’s father running the show. We have another man who’s featured prominently though.”
Understanding sparked in Agent Roche’s eyes. “The man you have been watching—Toussaint.”
Will licked his lips. “Yes. Those jewels come from his stash.” Roche leaned forward and opened his mouth to speak, but Will shook his head. “Not yet. We’re not quite ready to tell you everything.” It was an effort not to sag with relief. I wasn’t sure how we were going to explain how we’d gotten to the point of stealing the key. There would be too many questions about how we discovered it.
“Well, I will be asking you to explain things before this is all over, and I expect an answer.”
Will nodded. “I understand.”
Hmm, I had a thought, although it was probably stupid. Ha, what was I talking about? It definitely was stupid. “I know a way we can confirm who’s running the group.”
Both men stared at me, disbelief loud and clear in their expressions. I should be used to it by now, but it rankled. “I can’t explain now, but I’ll run it by Will when we leave. If he finds it acceptable, he can fill you in later, when we’ve done what we need to.”
“That’s all very, how you say, wishy-washy, Miss Bianchi.”
“Sorry, but it’s the best I can do. But rest assured, when we take them down, we’ll have all the major players.”
Roche looked to Will for confirmation. He gave him a nod. Then Will’s phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. “Excuse me a moment. I have to take this.”
When Will was gone, Agent Roche pinned me with a shrewd gaze. “So, you suspect they had a hand in your parents going missing?”
My brows drew down. “Didn’t Will tell you about my father?”
“No.”
“Can I trust you not to pass this on?”
“Yes.”
I was hoping the truth spell they’d both sworn to would extend to me. “The skeletons in the boxes….”
His eyes widened. “One is your father?” I nodded, not trusting myself to speak as a wave of grief swamped me. He nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. “D’accord. I understand.”
Will walked back in and gave me a quizzical look. I shook my head. I could explain later. Right now, I didn’t want to cry in front of a stranger. Will looked at Agent Roche. “I’m afraid we have to leave. Agent Bianchi needs some help, but I’ll be in touch in the next day or two.”
Agent Roche stood, and they shook hands. He then turned to me and enveloped my hand in both of his—they were oddly smooth. I guessed even men had ultra-smooth hands when they didn’t perform manual labour. Did he get manicures? Pedicures? A scalp massage? Oh dear, now a smile threatened. I kept it in check because I didn’t want him to think I was hysterical. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Miss Bianchi. Have no doubt that I am on your side, and Agent Williamson the Third will not hear of anything from me. When you need them, my agents are at your disposal, but we must tread cautiously. As in your head office, we may have Regula Pythonissam spies among us.” He released my hand. “Good luck, and God speed to both of you.
We thanked him and left.
Will made the doorway, so I had no idea where we were going until I stepped out into the barn in France. We exited the horse stall and made our way over to James and Millicent, who were sitting on a couple of plastic chairs in the middle of the barn. They both stood. Large bags had settled under James’s eyes, and he hadn’t bothered to shave. I knew just how he felt. Since seeing my father lying in that makeshift coffin, a heavy dolefulness had attached itself to my heart. Everything was harder, more effort, especially breathing and smiling. I went to him and gave him a massive hug. I didn’t bother saying anything. Asking how he felt was a waste of time. He knew I knew, and I knew he knew. We both just… knew.
He was the first to pull out of the embrace, and he turned to Will. “It’s been pretty uneventful for a change. I relieved Imani early this morning, but I haven’t had much sleep. If you could do a few hours with Millicent, I can be back with Imani to take tonight’s shift.”
“I can do that. Get some rest.”
“Thanks, mate. It won’t be easy, but I’m ready to collapse.” He gave Millicent a quick kiss on the lips, made his doorway, and left.
Millicent smiled. “I’m just going to the loo. Be back in a sec. Then it’s you and me, Will. Fancy a game of gin rummy?” She magicked a pack of cards into her hand.
He smiled. “Sounds good to me.”
Millicent handed the cards to Will. “Be back in a sec.” She headed for a door on the other side of the barn, where I assumed the toilet must be.
I planted my hands on my hips and cocked my head to the side. “Hey, I want in if you’re just going to socialise all day.”
Will’s brow furrowed. He was such a worrywart. “It would be good if you were safe at home.”
“I know, but if I’m there, all I’ll do is think about the last couple of days, and it’ll do my head in. Can I at least stay for an hour or so? Then I might be ready for an afternoon nap.” I gave him a cheesy grin.
He blew out a big breath. “Okay.”
“Yay!”
His phone dinged with a message. “Why does it never end?”
“I have no idea.”
He opened the message and blinked. “It’s the coroner from the Paris PIB. He has some news on the corpses.” He looked at me. “I don’t want to leave, but this shouldn’t take too long. I’ll be back soon. If I’m going to be longer than twenty minutes, I’ll message.”
I smiled even though disappointment settled in amongst the other crappy feelings running around inside me. “That’s okay. I’m sure Millicent will still play cards with me.”
“Of course I will!” She called out as she hurried over. She sat on one of the plastic chairs. “Why isn’t Will playing?”
“I have to go to the Paris PIB for a little while, but I’ll be back soon. Even though you’re playing cards, stay alert. Okay?” He handed the cards back to Millicent.
Millicent nodded and patted her jacket pocket. “I’m ready for anything.”
“Good. I’ll see you both soon.” He made his doorway and left.
Millicent’s magic tickled my nape, and a foldout table appeared between the two plastic chairs. She put the deck of cards on top. “Time to play.” She smiled.
“Get ready to lose, baby. I used to play with Mum and Dad all the time. We had family game night every Friday night.” I sighed, trying not to make it into a negative. I’d been lucky to have that time with them. Remember them with joy, Lily.
Millicent grinned. “We’ll see about that.” She winked. “Okay. Cut the cards.”
I reached over to cut them, and she slammed her hand on the top of her chest. Her face twisted. “Are you okay, Mill?”
She blinked, and her magic tickled my scalp. Handcuffs appeared in her hand. She looked at me, alarm in her widened eyes. Crap. Were we under attack? I jumped up and looked around—I already had my return to sender up, so I was as ready as I could be.
Something cold hit my wrist. Click. A gut-wrenching void opened inside me. Millicent stood, pushed me around, and forced my arms behind my back. She clam
ped the other handcuff on my wrist.
What. The. Hell.
“Millicent, what in the name of all that’s squirrely are you doing?”
She blinked. Her mouth dropped open as her glassy eyes resumed their normalcy. “I— I don’t know. Oh my God, let me get those off you.”
The door burst open, slamming against the barn wall. Dana and a tall herculean man walked through.
Crap.
“Hurry up!” Oh, God, I didn’t want to die today. Why had she done that?
But she wasn’t hurrying. She stared at our enemies and pulled her gun—they probably had return to senders up, but I couldn’t tell because I couldn’t access my other sight. Damn. She groaned and shut her eyes as she slowly lowered her gun, although it seemed like she was fighting it. Dana laughed.
Soft footsteps sounded from behind me. “What’s going on here?” Will swore. I spun to look at him. What was he doing back? Not that I was unhappy to see him.
“I think they got control of Millicent somehow. She cuffed me.”
Will pointed his gun at them and kept his gaze on them as he approached me. Dana stopped halfway between us and the door and planted her hands on her hips. “You’re not going to make this difficult, are you?” Her lap thug kept moving towards us, albeit slowly.
Millicent, still gripping her gun, had dropped to her knees in her fight against whatever they were doing to her. Why wasn’t her return to sender working? I assumed she’d had one up—she was a seasoned agent. There was no way she’d make a mistake like that.
Dana smirked. “Uncuff Lily, and I’ll kill Millicent.”
I swallowed my protest. Begging would only make her more excited. Evil witch. If there was something I could do with my hands cuffed behind my back and my magic not working, I’d find it. Hatred, anger, and fear were great motivators… at least in my case.
Will stopped, and the thug took two steps towards me. Millicent had curled into a ball on the ground. What the hell were they doing to her? I stared at Dana. I wanted to wipe that smirk off her stupid face.
“Ooh, Lily, you look angry.” Her tinkling laughter reminded me of doing a number one on the toilet. She was gross even when she wasn’t trying to be.
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