by Tegan Maher
“You didn’t happen to hear what they were angry about, did you?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t. I scanned them for ill intent, and when I didn’t pick up any, I turned my attention to a large group of witches who’d just shown up.”
That was her superpower, so to speak, as well as her job at the resort. She could look into people’s hearts to determine if they came with ill intent. If somebody did, she either notified Blake or, if she felt the person was an immediate danger, she detained them. If things went sideways, she had full authority to chomp them, though she’d never utilized the privilege. At least not to its fullest.
“That’s okay,” I said. “You’ve given us a lot, and we appreciate it. Have you noticed anybody else going through that may have set off any alarm bells?”
She shook her head. “If anything, just the opposite. People have been overwhelmingly happy lately. I guess because summer’s in full swing and they’re on vacation.”
“Thanks, Margo,” Colin said. “We’re gonna go in and check out Liz’s room and see if we can learn anything. Maybe she has some sort of journal or something that’ll give us some clues.”
“Are you sure she was intentionally murdered?” Margo asked, frowning in thought. “I mean, there are a lot of valuables on this place. If somebody was out there sneaking around and she ran across them, maybe that’s why she died.”
“What sort of valuables are in the forest that people would be willing to kill for?”
She lowered her head so that she was almost looking us in the eye, her giant head taller than we were. “You didn’t hear this from me, but there’s a leprechaun who’s been displaced by urban sprawl, and he contracted with Blake to hide his treasure in the forest while he scopes out a more secure location.
I rolled my eyes. “Are you kidding me?”
“I would never kid about something like that.”
“Well then are you absolutely certain it’s a thing?” Colin asked.
She lifted a shoulder, sending another cascade of sand down. “I just know what I hear. This leprechaun was standing right in front of me a few weeks ago, talking on his phone. He made the arrangements for all of his belongings to be put into storage, then he said he’d be moving his treasure here while he looked for a new place.”
That was quite possibly one of the strangest—and dumbest—things I’d ever heard, but I also knew she wouldn’t tell us if it wasn’t the absolute truth.
“So,” she continued. “Whether or not he actually did it is anyone’s guess. All I know is what I heard.”
I pecked out a quick text to Blake using code just in case anybody was monitoring. Don’t laugh or call me paranoid—somebody had hacked my phone in order to kidnap me, so excuse me for being a born-again skeptic.
Is there any way this could be related to that oversized shipment of Lucky Charms?
It took several seconds, but my phone dinged with his tone. His initial response didn’t do much good, though, because it was mostly angry and annoyed emojis followed by the grimace face drilling into his own head. Then a second text.
How did you even know about that? Talk in 30. Your house. Almost done here
“Well, Margo, it looks like you were right,” I said, grinning.
Her expression, however, was one of dismay. She chewed on her lip, causing a few pebbles to fall. “Can we keep my name out of it unless it’s absolutely necessary? It would look really bad since I’m one of the top beings in charge of security if I were the one to spread that kind of secret.”
Colin smiled. “I’m sure Destiny will be able to work around it without using your name.”
I patted her paw. “I’ve got your back, Margo. We’ll do a sunset as soon as all this is over. And thank you.”
She breathed a sigh of relief and returned to her natural position. “Good luck to you both. If I hear anything else or sense anything off, I’ll let you know immediately.”
With that, she turned her gaze back out to the ocean and settled into what, to an average eye, looked to be nothing more than a beautiful statue gracing the grand entrance of a luxury resort.
Chapter 9
I STOPPED BY HOUSEKEEPING and got a skeleton card so that we could access her room. I could have gotten a copy from the front desk, but that would have required talking to somebody. I figured it was better to involve as few people as possible, both for optics and to keep the chatter to a minimum. It would be much harder to pick fact from fiction once the rumors started flying.
The Enchanted Coast was just like any other small resort town. We had our own drama and everybody had a role. Since there were only about 1500 employees, everybody pretty much knew everybody else, and we even had our own little shops. Then there were all the salons and whatnot that were part of the resort experience. Scuttlebutt traveled fast while facts were often shed along the way.
I waved the key in front of Liz’s door and waited for the telltale click. Once we were in, I stopped at the entrance to look around. She’d booked one of the smaller suites, which had a small living room/kitchenette combo, a separate bath, and of course the bedroom. The balcony, visible from the entryway, had a direct Gulf view.
The place was neat as a pin, and not just because we had good housekeeping. Her empty suitcases were visible through the cracked closet door in the entryway, which meant she’d taken the time to unpack. I stepped further into the room and poked my head into the bathroom. All her toiletries were neatly arranged on the black marble vanity around the sink, and her towels were hung over the shower rod so that the bottoms of both were straight and in line with each other.
“Wow,” Colin said with a low whistle. “This girl was almost a super-freak about being tidy.”
I nodded. “When you consider her mom was a member of an ancient military guard and her dad is likely a fairy, it’s not that surprising.” Fairies were notoriously fastidious. “I doubt rebelling by leaving towels on the floor or living out of a suitcase would have even occurred to her. Neatness was coded into her DNA.”
We wandered through the kitchenette then into the bedroom. Her purse was on the dresser, which wasn’t a shocker. She’d gone to a luau on the beach. The resort issued all guests little vinyl wallets on lanyards so that guests could carry their room key, ID, and maybe a little cash. There was a larger pouch just big enough for a phone and a travel-sized bottle of sunscreen or whatever, too. That eliminated the need to carry a purse.
I pulled in a deep breath before I opened it. Even though she was gone, it still felt like a huge invasion of privacy to be going through somebody else’s purse. There wasn’t much to be found besides the standard stuff, though—Chapstick, a couple lipsticks, gum, loose change, a hairbrush, and a granola bar. I emptied it, then growled in frustration.
“There’s nothing here,” I said, stuffing all her belongings back into the bag and shoving it across the counter with a little more force than was necessary. We didn’t know any more about her than we had when we’d found her, and time was running out.
When Colin didn’t respond, I turned to him. He was still standing in the entryway to the bedroom, his nose in the air.
“Wha—”
He held up a finger to silence me, then pointed toward the bedroom closet. He sniffed again. “Whoever’s hiding in the closet, come out right now. If I have to come in after you, it’s going to be unpleasant.”
There was no response for a heartbeat, but then a man said, “Okay. I’m coming out. Just ... don’t do anything. I’m not trying to hurt anyone.”
The door slid open and a hand poked out holding a wicked-looking golden crossbow by two fingers, showing he was only holding it, not aiming it. Colin reached out and snatched it, and the guy pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped out into the room.
“Hey,” Charles said, a watery smile on his face. His eyes were red-rimmed and his voice was hoarse when he spoke. “I can explain. Well, sort of.”
I glanced at Colin, who raised a br
ow and replied. “I’m pretty sure sort of isn’t going to cut it. We’re gonna need full disclosure on this one.”
Charles sighed. “I’ll tell you what I can. The rest isn’t up to me.”
“Make it up to you,” I snapped. “Liz is dead, and we just found you in her closet holding a damned crossbow. Plus, I saw you two arguing down by the tiki today, and somebody else saw you arguing in front of the main building, and yet another saw you having words with her at the luau. I have a pair of Valkyries out for blood. It’s not in your best interest not to spill your guts before they do it for you.”
“Unless, of course, you’re the one who killed her,” Colin said.
“What? No!” Charles exclaimed, then clamped his teeth together. Tears glistened in his eyes. “I didn’t kill her. I loved her. I’m the reason she was out there to begin with. It’s my fault she’s dead.”
He collapsed down onto the edge of the bed and dropped his head into his hands. His shoulders shook with grief.
“How about you start with how you even knew she was dead,” I said, doubt settling over me like a mantle.
He heaved a sigh and cleared his throat, then swiped the tears off his cheeks. “I overheard you two when you were coming out of the woods,” he said. “We’d had an argument. She went into the woods to clear her head and think. As a fairy, she’s more comfortable there than on a beach. She was gone too long, though, and I got worried. I was going in to look for her when you two came out.”
Colin gazed at him, considering for a couple of seconds. “And how did you get from there to hiding in her closet holding what I assume is her bow?”
I held up my hand and cast a cautionary glance at Colin. “I think you should wait to say any more until you can tell it to everybody at once. You’re coming with us.”
His gaze bounced back and forth between the two of us, suspicion warring with fear as his predominant expression. “Going with you where? I’m not sure I’m willing to do that.”
“And I’m sure you don’t have a choice,” I replied. Before he could say another word, I reached for Colin’s hand, then strode forward and laid my hand on Charles’s shoulder. It the span of a heartbeat, we were in my kitchen.
Chapter 10
“WHERE ARE WE?” CHARLES asked.
My ears popped, a sure sign that somebody else had just ported nearby. Sure enough, footsteps sounded on my porch. I recognized them as Blake’s right away—he always wore loafers, which made a soft sound, but he walked from mid-foot to toe, so the sound was a little squishier than somebody who just clomped. It was the runner in him.
“My kitchen,” I said as I flicked a hand to unlock the front door. “C’mon in,” I called to Blake. “We have a guest.”
Tempest trudged into the kitchen blinking at the light. “What’s goin’ on?” she asked, cranky. She didn’t do well when woken up from her nap.
“You missed it. The Reader’s Digest version is that Liz was murdered in the forest, stabbed with a barbecue fork, and we found this guy hiding in the closet in her room, holding a crossbow. Oh, and I saw them arguing down at the tiki earlier.”
She blinked twice then stretched. “That’s so much information all at once. I knew I shouldn’t have left you two alone. You always manage to get yourselves into a mess.”
Blake tromped into the kitchen, stopping long enough to glare at all of us. He pointed at me first. “We can’t discuss it now, but I want to know where you got your information about the ... Lucky Charms from. There are only two people supposed to know about that, and you’re not one of them. And no, I don’t see how this has anything to do with that situation.”
I rolled my eyes. “Assuming you’re one of the two, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who leaked,” I said, then motioned to Charles and made the introductions, along with the reason he was in my kitchen.
Blake walked around Charles. To his credit, Charles didn’t slouch or even look away. On the opposite side of that coin, though, he was a big guy—six feet tall if he was an inch and stacked like a linebacker—but his posture was non-threatening. He was nervous, but he wasn’t acting shady.
“So,” Blake said. “You were seen arguing with the victim—”
“Three times,” I cut in, counting what Angus had seen.
“Three times,” Blake added, cutting me a look. “Then these two find you in her hotel room, hiding in the closet with a crossbow? I think you may want to explain before I just call the Valkyries and hand you over.”
“I can explain the arguments,” he said. “The rest might be a little tricky. But Liz and I’ve been dating for a couple of months now. We work together, so we’ve kept it quiet. I wanted to take the relationship public but she didn’t.”
“Sure,” I said. “It’s always the guy who doesn’t want to sneak around.”
“Uh, not fair, Des,” Colin said, shooting me a sideways glance.
“Agreed,” Blake snapped. I couldn’t argue with him, considering I’d been the holdout in our relationship. He’d wanted to take things public almost right from the start, but I hadn’t wanted to be seen as the girl sleeping with her boss. Not, at least, until I was sure we were on stable ground.”
“Okay,” I said, raising my hands. “I take it back. Now, please continue.”
He glared at me, too. “As I was saying, I wanted to go public with the relationship, but she wasn’t sure it was a good idea. What we do is dangerous, and she didn’t want anybody’s focus on us rather than the task at hand. I’m pretty sure most of our ... coworkers already know, anyway, so I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“So, what? You two came here separately but are actually here together?” I asked, trying to figure the logistics of it.
“No. Well, sort of,” he replied, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his knees. “I really was here to meet Mila, who, by the way, still isn’t answering my calls or texts. I have to leave day after tomorrow. Liz had to be in the area for her current project. When Stephanie and Mariah mentioned they were coming, Liz decided to make it a working vacation.”
“And why were you in her room? Hiding in the closet, no less?”
His lips lifted into a humorless half-smile. “When I overheard you two, I freaked out. I didn’t know what to do. I just ... ran. And ended up here. The only place I could think of to be close to her. Then, when I heard somebody at the door, I figured it might be the person who killed her. Since I have no idea who that was, I figured it was better to stay unseen until I could assess the situation. Her bow was on the bed. I was at a luau, not a training exercise. I didn’t have my own weapon, so I grabbed it. Plus, I sure wasn’t going to leave it laying there for somebody to use against me.”
“So what’s up with the crossbow, anyway? I mean, why did she even have it with her?” I asked, leaning back against my earth-toned marble counter. That was bugging the crap out of me because the only person I knew who brought a bow of any sort on vacation with him was Stan, a cupid who was a semi-regular. He had to have it with him in case he needed to go. That’s the only reason that made sense for bringing that sort of weapon with you on vacation.
He bit the inside of his lip, and for the first time, averted his gaze. “That’s getting into trickier territory. It was a gift from her mother—one of a kind. A Viking goldsmith made it for her centuries ago for giving his brother an honorable death. She needed it for work, and also, in the wrong hands, it could cause horrible destruction.”
“What kind of work?” I asked, not too worried about the bow. Artifacts with that kind of punch were pretty much a dime a dozen in the magical world. Anything could be used for evil in the right hands.
He worked his jaw but didn’t say anything.
I was losing patience. “What. Kind. Of. Work?”
Again, he opened and closed his mouth like a fish gasping for air.
Blake walked closer, examining him, and narrowed his eyes. “You can’t say, can you? I mean, you literally can’t utter the words. You’re bound.�
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Relief flooded Charles’s face. “Yes!”
I glared at him, suspicious. “Why didn’t you just come forward and say that the minute you knew she’d been murdered instead of skulking into her room?”
“I didn’t skulk. Like I said, I just ended up there. Besides,” Charles said, his expression cynical. “I’m no dummy. I know what the punishment is for killing a Valkyrie.” Sadness shadowed his features. “And I can’t wait to find who killed Liz so we can hand them over. But I’m not sacrificing myself for the cause.”
“So, point-blank,” Colin said, glancing at Blake, who nodded. “You didn’t kill Liz and you don’t know who did?”
Charles shook his head. “No, I didn’t, and I don’t. But you can bet your bottom dollar I’m gonna find out.”
I looked at Blake, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Charles while he answered. “He’s telling the truth,” he finally determined.
I sighed. “So now we’re back to square one, but we still don’t know what she did for a living or anything else about her, for that matter. At least we cleared Charles.”
“About that,” Blake began, looking at his feet. “We may have cleared him, but Stephanie knows they were having a heavy conversation at the luau. She came back not long after you did, and Angus told her.”
“Great,” I said, rubbing my temples. I should have told Angus to keep that between us, but it was spilled milk at this point. She knew. Which means she was looking for him. I thought back, trying to remember if I’d mentioned Charles by name. I didn’t think I had.
Lightning flashed outside and the ground rumbled. Dread washed through me because there was only one species that could make that kind of an entrance.
“What was that?” Charles asked, his gaze darting to the window.
“That,” Blake said, “Is your worst nightmare right now. Keep it zipped and let us do the talking.”