by Sonia Parin
“How exactly is this program going to help with your... marital problems?”
If looks could kill, then Lana had just buried her husband six feet under. Lana gave a brisk smile. “It’s about confronting the problem head-on and dealing with it openly. This will put us back on track. No more straying.”
She sounded determined. Going by the husband’s steely expression, Lexie guessed Lana was the driving force behind this adventure.
She made a point of looking up at the ceiling as if inspecting it. “Any idea how much this place would be worth?”
“We were wondering that ourselves. It’s in excellent condition. The upkeep must be astronomical. The moment you finish painting it, you have to start again.”
“Painting the house has become a bone of contention with us,” Lana offered. “It’s our trigger and usually rears its ugly head when we wrap up a translation project.” She turned to her husband. “Maybe we should stop arguing about it and simply do it. If we don’t like the color, we can always change it next year.”
“But if we don’t argue about painting the house, what will we argue about?” The remark set them both off on a lengthy discussion about home maintenance.
Lexie tried to steer the conversation toward the case but Lana and Daniel were going at it full steam ahead and she couldn’t get a word in edgewise.
As she turned, she caught sight of Gerard watching her. Luna still sat on the armrest, her attention fixed on him.
When he lifted an eyebrow, she decided to take it as an invitation to join him.
As she strode across the sitting room, her stomach grumbled. She’d kill for a slice of pizza...
“Any luck snooping around?” Gerard asked.
“What makes you think I would disobey your orders?”
“You strike me as the type to challenge authority.”
“Did you ever think I might come in handy?” She took the chair opposite him and eyed Luna who continued to stare fixedly at him.
“Are you saying you have something to contribute?”
“I might have.”
“Give it your best shot, Ms. Mackenzie.”
She grabbed the first thought that came to mind. “GPS. Can you get a fix on cell phones? Whoever went into the McCullen’s suite might have had a cell on them. You could track their movements.”
“Are you suggesting I run a check on everyone’s cell?” He chuckled. “Everyone’s signal would be locked into this general location.”
Clearly, she hadn’t thought it through properly. “I’m tossing ideas around. You never know, I might come up with something you hadn’t thought about.”
“What else do you have?”
She trawled through her mind and was about to give up when an idea occurred. “I can give you the precise time the killer entered the suite.”
Gerard responded with an easy smile. If she hadn’t been sitting down, she might have fallen down. The man could actually smile...
But it didn’t last. Before she could blink, his mouth set into a firm slash. “What are you talking about?”
“I know exactly when the killer gained access to the room and I can prove it.” She hoped she could. “There’s a key card missing from Jeeves’ office.” Gerard didn’t even blink so she couldn’t tell if he’d known about the missing key card or not... “He’s not security conscious, so I figure the killer slipped in as Joshua Taggart stepped out on one of his breaks.”
“What were you doing in Joshua Taggart’s office?”
“Really? I give you a juicy bit of information and you fixate on that?”
“That’s not my only concern. Did you send your feline companion to scout for you? We caught her on the video footage shortly before everyone thought they heard a scream.”
Luna’s whiskers twitched. “I’m being victimized. And yet... I can’t stop looking at him. He has a mesmerizing voice. All the O’Rourke detectives do but Gerard O’Rourke’s voice has an extra layer. Like a coating of dark chocolate mixed with spices. Also... and this has me deeply troubled, I’ve been sitting here for half an hour. Anyone else would have tried to stroke me, but not him. There’s something wrong with him. People usually fall in love with me...”
You’re coming across as too needy.
Catching his brisk smile, Lexie remembered Gerard could read her thoughts... and, most likely, Luna’s...
“She’s not going to stop staring until you scratch her behind the ear,” she said trying to distract the detective from asking why Luna had gone upstairs.
“Then let her stare.”
“Don’t you like cats?”
“Not particularly. I’m more of a dog person.”
Lexie brightened. “So am I.”
He drew out his cell and keyed in a message. When the response came through, he put his cell away and leaned forward. “When were you going to tell me about the missing key card?”
“Did you just order one of your people to look into it?”
“Are you withholding any more information?”
“Would I do that to you?”
“I don’t know you. Would you?”
She lifted the edge of her lip. “Have you considered the killer might have gained entry through the connecting door?”
He sat back and she thought she heard him murmur something about her being rambunctious.
The word sounded familiar but why had he used it?
Rambunctious...
Lexie remembered the last time she’d had pizza delivered, the word had been written on the box. But why?
Thinking she needed a dictionary, she tried to mask the thought with images of melted cheese and Mr. Lorenzo’s special tomato sauce, which she believed was the secret to his perfect pizza.
Noisy. Undisciplined. Unruly... out of control...
Lexie sat up. Had that been Luna?
“No,” Luna replied. “I did, however, notice that focusing on pizza muted the extraneous noise produced by your overactive mind.”
Huh? Extraneous...
Irrelevant or unrelated to the subject being dealt with...
“Interesting,” Luna mused. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you swallowed a dictionary.”
Had she? How?
“Has anything else come to mind?” Gerard asked.
Lexie gave a distracted shake of her head. “I’ve told you everything I know. I’m too hungry to think.” She looked up. “When are we having dinner? And... What are you doing here?” it suddenly occurred to ask.
“Marcela Taggart asked me to stay.” He gave an easy shrug. “As a security measure. She thinks my presence will set her guests at ease. They’re on edge and I don’t blame them.”
“Did you just exclude me?”
“Are you saying you’re not on edge?”
“If I do, are you going to suspect me?” She didn’t think she had any more questions left in her. “And are you going to answer my question with another question?”
A message came through on his cell. After reading it, he looked up at her. “You’re officially in the clear. The security system here records every time a key card is used, so we now have the precise time the missing card was used to gain entry into the McCullen’s suite. At the time this happened, you were still standing at the foot of the staircase.”
Is he seriously saying I’ve been a suspect all along, which is another way of saying guilty until proven innocent?
Gerard looked at her for long seconds. Finally, he nodded. “Yes. And yes, like all my colleagues, I can hear you.”
Luna scrunched up her little face. “I want to know if he can hear me. Why is he ignoring me? I have a good mind to bite him. Then he’ll notice me.”
Lexie waited for Gerard to acknowledge Luna, but he didn’t.
“I don’t think he can hear me. How can I be sure?” Luna lowered her head. “I know... You should tell him about the other thing you discovered. It’s crucial to the investigation.”
Knowing she wouldn’t get any peace
from Luna if she didn’t play along, Lexie waited for Gerard to respond. He didn’t, which meant he couldn’t hear Luna.
“He can’t hear me. So I can say anything I want.”
Lexie shifted in her chair. “Well, now that’s sorted out...”
“What?” he asked.
“Honestly, I’m starting to wilt and I can’t stop smelling pizza. I think I’m hallucinating.”
“You’re not. They’re setting up a buffet.”
Lexie sprung up. “Pizza?”
“Are you surprised? You’ve been thinking of nothing else. You were bound to conjure it.”
“Yes... but. Wishing and wanting...” No, impossible. Her powers didn’t work inside the house and... She’d never before been able to conjure something. Unless...
I think Octavia’s fixed our problem, and then some.
“Who’s Octavia?” Gerard asked.
“He can definitely hear you, but not me. Do you think it has something to do with him not liking me? Ask him... Ask him if he doesn’t like cats in general or if he’s taken an instant dislike to me.”
“Why are you ignoring Luna? You’ve hurt her feelings.”
He slanted his gaze toward Luna. “That’s a cat trait. They only notice people who don’t pay attention to them.”
Lexie slid to the edge of her chair. “Are you saying you deliberately set out to ignore her?”
He gave her a small smile but didn’t answer.
Luna screeched, leaped off the armrest, raced around the sitting room twice and, on her third trip, she leaped onto his lap and rolled onto her back, literally throwing herself at him.
What are you doing? Get off him.
“Tell him to give me a belly rub or I will bite him.”
“You’ll have to excuse my needy feline companion.” She leaned over and scooped Luna off him.
Settling her on her lap, she gave her a scratch under the chin. Luna purred deeply and tried to lunge for him but Lexie held her back. “So... about the murder case. Do you have any suspects?”
He shook his head. “Do you?”
“Are we back to answering questions with questions?” she asked, her attention sliding over to the pizza being brought in. “Take your time... think about it... I’ll be back in a minute...” She set Luna down on the armrest and, giving her a warning look, she strode over to the table.
It looked like pizza. It smelled like pizza. “It has to be pizza.” She grabbed a slice and sunk her teeth into the most heavenly concoction ever created. “Pizza.” Lexie looked around her. Everything appeared to be normal and the pizza tasted real.
“Is there something wrong?” a server asked.
“No... Everything is perfect.” Lexie grabbed a plate and piled on a couple of slices.
“What’s that?” Luna asked as Lexie sunk into her chair.
“What does it look like?”
“Where did you get it from?”
“It just appeared.”
“Do you think you had something to do with it?”
Gerard cleared his throat. “Are you having a conversation with your cat?”
“Sorry, I suppose I should relay the conversation but she’s not really saying anything worth listening to.” She finished one slice of pizza and decided to give herself some breathing room before attacking the next one. “You were saying something about the killer.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You’re seriously going to keep me out of the loop? I’m putting my life on the line here.”
“How do you figure that?” he asked.
“What assurance can you give me the killer won’t come after me tonight and kill me in my sleep?”
“You seem to have your powers back. Cast a protection spell.” He smiled.
As if she could. Did she have her powers back? “Luna. Check to see if you have your powers back.”
“I am forbidden to disappear in public. It risks exposure. And... I’m busy right now staring at the detective. Sooner or later, he will yield to my desire. Try calling Octavia.”
Octavia.
Yes?
You can hear me?
Why do you keep asking me that? Yes, I can hear you.
I guess this means you managed to destroy the scroll.
Yes, it’s been disposed of. However... I’m afraid it was booby-trapped. But you shouldn’t concern yourself. By the time you get back, everything should be under control.
What on earth happened?
I’m sorry. I can’t talk now.
Octavia’s odd behavior had Lexie frowning at her pizza. At least she had her pizza. Even if it might end up being her last meal... If they’d underestimated the killer, she could be the next victim.
“Well?” Luna asked.
“Contact’s been restored.” She could click her heels and get them out of there. Although, she suspected that wouldn’t get her off the hook with the disciplinary board or the shrink.
“What do you know about the High Chairs Disciplinary Board?” she asked Gerard.
“They can’t be reasoned with so don’t mess with them. They tend to shoot first and ask questions later.”
“That’s not very comforting.”
“More pizza?” a server offered.
“Yes, please.”
Luna sniffed the air, “Enjoying your meal?”
Lexie nodded.
“Do you think you had something to do with pizza suddenly appearing?”
“Don’t know, don’t care. This is the best pizza I’ve ever eaten.”
“Is it possible you might have acquired a new power?”
She hadn’t thought of that. Growing up, she’d turned her back on her heritage, showing no interest in anything magical, so she had missed out on nurturing her powers. However, with a few instructions from Mirabelle, she’d learned to transport herself from place to place. The trick had been in holding a clear image of where she wanted to be. Could the same principle apply to conjuring what she wanted? She had been thinking a great deal about pizza to the point of obsessing about it...
“How would you like some Game Indulgence?”
Luna’s little tongue poked out.
What if...
What if she only needed to think of something and she’d get it?
“That would be splendid,” Luna whispered.
“Why are you whispering?”
Luna lowered her head. “The disciplinary board has eyes and ears everywhere.”
“They are bullies and clearly open to bribery and corruption. I know Mirabelle had something to do with us being here as well as the embargo on my pizza—”
“I had no idea you were so obsessed with pizza. Aren’t you worried people will think you’re a nutcase?”
“Are you worried what people will think about your obsession with Game Indulgence?”
Luna huffed out a breath. “I can’t help myself. I didn’t ask to acquire a taste for it, but now that I have, it’s rather difficult to go back to generic food.”
A server approached and set a bowl down next to her chair.
Luna sniffed. Her eyes widened. “You did it.” She surged to her feet. Without another word, she lunged for the bowl. Moments later, she peered up at Lexie. “Alexandra Elizabeth Mackenzie, you are a true witch now.”
“Are you telling me it really worked?”
Luna answered with a small nod.
Gerard leaned forward. “Do you have any idea what your one-sided conversation sounds like?”
Huh? “Oh... right. You can only hear me.”
“I know you’re talking with her but I don’t actually see Luna moving her lips. How does she do it?”
“I have no idea. She comes through loud and clear. Must be some sort of mental voice hocus-pocus projection.” She polished off another slice of pizza. “I should stop before I slip into a pizza coma.” Yet... she couldn’t help herself. Picking up another slice, she smiled.
“What other ideas have you come up with?”
She tried to
speak around a mouthful of melting cheese.
“Run it through your mind. I’ll pick up on the thoughts.”
Multi-tasking... Sounded good to her.
Where to start?
This had to be the best pizza she’d had... Ever.
Had the killer come here with a fully formed plan or had they made the best of an unexpected opportunity? How were they linked to Lauren and Lance McCullen? Same business? Another bite of pizza wouldn’t kill her, surely...
Gerard laughed.
“What?”
“All I’m getting is, pizza... yum, yum, yummy, yum pizza.”
“Sorry. I’ve been deprived. It’s been a staple for so long and suddenly, my supply was cut off.”
She tried again, this time focusing on what she had come up with.
Gerard brushed his hand across his chin. “We’ll have to take a closer look at the video footage. Correlate the time the key card was swiped with the person coming out of either adjoining suites.”
“What if the killer swiped the card, exited the suite in disguise, and then went back in? Again, in disguise.” She shrugged. “That’s what I would do to cover my tracks.”
“You have a criminal mind?”
“If I don’t, I think I need to acquire one.”
“I thought you weren’t completely onboard with working for Delicate Matters Investigations.”
“It’s Crafty Investigations and... I can kick and scream all I want, at the end of the day, there’s no arguing or reasoning with the powers that be. At least I’ll have something to do while I get used to being the incoming High Chair. The job doesn’t come with a position description so I’m playing it by ear.” She picked up another slice. “Now I’m thinking it’s not such a bad gig, especially if I can conjure all the pizza I want without having to lock horns with my local pizza joint or Mirabelle.”
Gerard looked over her shoulder. “Marcela Taggart looks like she’s on the war path. She’s making a beeline for you.”
Lexie turned. Marcela actually looked livid. Her lips were pressed into a hard line, her eyebrows speared downward, her hands were fisted and pummeling the air. “Ooops. I think I’m in trouble.”