He gave me a strange smile. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just happened to see you here and thought I'd ask if you had given it a look. I thought PIs worked around the clock."
"I'm not a PI, I'm just a consultant." I gave him the nicest smile I could manage, before stepping away from the car and locking it. The horn gave a tiny beep as the lights flashed, illuminating Mortimer to make him even creepier than he was acting. He sauntered off to a black car and started it. I waited for him to drive away before I walked back into the mall.
I pulled out my phone to text Trace about the odd meeting but decided against it. It wasn't like Mortimer pushed for information or threatened me. Maybe he was really just curious if I'd seen the tape or not. He was probably just here to shop.
I went and found the Dress Forever shop and was greeted by a voluptuous woman who wore a dress that barely managed to contain her curves. "Hello, what can I help you with? Are you shopping for a special occasion?" Her voice was a raised pitched that many salespeople took on when trying to sell.
I gave her a small smile. "I'm actually meeting a friend here to help her pick out a dress."
"Oh, she must be the one in the back with Natalie. Head on over there, and she's sure to help you out." She wandered back over to the cash register and started looking over some papers.
I found Jenny giggling with who I assumed as Natalie. "Find a dress?"
"I've got three choices. Come see?" Jenny grabbed my arm and pulled me into the dressing room lobby. She gently pushed me into one of the cushy chairs and danced her way into one of the stalls.
Natalie sat down next to me. She wore a black wrap dress that seemed to fall perfectly on her. Her auburn hair was done in beach waves but pulled away from her face with some fancy headband. Her makeup was tastefully done, and her nails manicured. She could have passed as someone going out on the town more than a retail worker.
"You friend has picked out some wonderful dresses. She's very excited about her date."
I leaned back in the chair and smiled. "Oh, I know. She's been shopping around for her prince charming for a while now. I'm glad to see her so excited about something."
"It's always nice to see our friends excited."
Jenny came out in a very low-cut dress that showed off her cleavage, and I swore it almost went to her navel. The fabric clung to her hips and fell down to her ankles. "What do you think?"
"Exactly where is this guy taking you?" I raised a brow. "Because that's like rich person cocktail dress right there."
"We're going out for a steak dinner and then dancing."
"Something a bit less cocktail-y then. You're going to fall out of that one with the way you dance."
She rolled her eyes but sashayed her way back into the dressing room.
"So, look, I know this is awkward," Natalie fumbled over her words a little bit. "But Jenny mentioned that you were magical, like me…and um…"
I waited for her to say what she wanted to, but Jenny came out in a short dress that held her in a bit more than the last one. "Oh, I like this one." I grinned. "Sexy, but you aren't going to spill your cleavage out when you dance."
She nodded and walked back in with an extra sway in her hips.
"Looks good from the back too!" I called as she shut the door. I turned to Natalie. "Anyways, what were you saying?"
"Look, I got invited to this thing, a get-together, through some people I know, but I'm not close with. Do you want to go?"
I blinked at her. "You want to take a complete stranger with you, to a gathering with people you don't really know? That doesn't make sense."
"We're supposed to invite new people." She leaned down and pulled a card out from her boot. "This is the invitation. I don't know a lot of magical people. I'm kind of an introvert. I don't like to talk to people after work, so I don't go out."
I took the card and looked it over. It looked identical to the card Mortimer had given me earlier, same paper, same feel, same font, but this time it had "Join others like you, come enjoy the magic of like-minded people." written on it and an address, date, and time.
Curiosity was probably going to get me killed one day, but with all these invitations going around with black paper, I wanted to see what was going on. "You know what, I can close my shop down an hour early tomorrow to go."
She seemed to relax. "Thank you, thank you. Jenny swears you're fun to hang out with."
"Does Jenny shop here a lot?"
Jenny walked out in a third dress that was almost all straps, and it was no wonder it took her a while to get it on. "I shop here a lot. Natalie and I are good friends."
Ah, so she knew that Natalie was going to ask me, I'm sure. "So this is where you get all the dresses you wear out."
"Yep, how do you think I knew it was here?" She grinned and then held her arms out. "I like it, but I think it's a bit much to get on and off."
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I would say so. Might be a bit hard to pee in."
She smirked. "I wasn't thinking about peeing." She ran her hands over her curves.
I put a hand over my eyes. "I don't want to think about that."
"That's okay, you and Natalie continue to make plans while I find my way out of this thing."
Making plans with Natalie had gone smoother than I thought it would. We were just going to meet at the address after I closed the shop. Jenny planned on meeting me at home after she stopped to grab a bottle of wine to celebrate her date. Even though I told her I had to work, it wasn't going to stop her.
I popped in the disc that Mortimer had given us and started it when she brought me a glass of wine. I watched the screen flicker to life and leaned back on my couch. I watched as Mark walked into a circle of people. I looked around to see if I could find his wife, but there was no sign of her in the audience that surrounded him.
He put a hand to his head. "I…I'm getting something."
"Oh lord," Jenny said. "Even I can tell he's acting."
I nodded. "Not super convincing."
"A letter towards the start of the alphabet. Does someone here have a name that starts with an A, B, C, or D?"
I rolled my eyes as a few people raised their hands as Mark reached out as if seeing an invisible force. "Someone who's recently lost a…a…" His eyes grew wide, and his face became pale. He put his hand up to his ear but quickly masked it. "Wife."
Interesting. Had Chloe told him something shocking in the earpiece? We needed to confirm that's what went on at the shows. I wanted a look at the performance space, even if Trace had said he hadn't found anything.
Three people raised their hand, and I knew one of them. Salazar. Holy shit.
I watched as Salazar stepped forward. "I just recently lost my wife. Her name started with an A."
Mark looked at Salazar and shook his head. "No, no, I said…" He paused again. "Oh, I was mistaken. The wife's name started towards the start of the alphabet. Ariel, like the mermaid."
I wondered how Trace hadn't realized that it was Salazar in the audience. Of course, I hadn't seen it until he stepped forward. I don't think that's what Mortimer wanted me to see though. I think it was just a coincidence. Then there was something I didn't expect to see, tears in Salazar's eyes.
"Yes," he whispered. "She loved that movie too."
"She wants you to know…" Mark put his hand up to his ear and then muttered something. I didn't catch it, so I rewound it and turned the volume up.
"I can't tell him that."
I frowned and turned it back down. I saw Salazar's gaze flicker to behind Mark, and then he shot toward the exit without another word.
"I'm sorry everyone, I'm feeling a bit weak. I need to go lay down."
The screen flickered and went black. I sipped my wine and thought about what just happened.
"Wasn't that the guy that was arrested on your first case?"
"The one in
the audience? Yeah, it was." And that was interesting. Was he there because he thought that Mark could actually help him? Or was here there for some other reason?
Jenny sipped her wine. "Well, this is going to be an interesting case then. Do you think you can go visit him in jail and ask him about it?"
"Not me. I'm not getting near him, but I'll mention it to Trace." I got up and ejected the disc. "I was given this to see something that Trace might have missed. There were a couple little details, but I'm betting he saw them as well too. There was nothing that I could see that needed magical eyes." I shook my head. "Maybe Mortimer just doesn't trust Trace."
Of course, he seemed to think I was going to see something in the tape since he stopped me in the mall parking lot.
Jenny sipped her wine. "Well, if there's nothing there, then work is done. How are your parents doing?"
"Well, crazy as always. Dad's helping out in the shop on occasion and mom is still on her 'I want grandbabies' kick." I laughed. "Apparently they have started playing bridge."
"That's like an old people's game. They aren't old enough to have bridge nights yet."
I nodded. "Apparently they are. And they sit there and chat about their kids and invite people over for dinner."
"Oh, oh no, they didn't. Did they invite someone's kid?"
I gave a slow nod. "They did. A wizard name Eli."
Her face deadpanned for a moment. "Eli what?"
"Standford."
She threw her head back and laughed. "Oh my god."
"What?" I stared at her as she hunched over laughing.
"That's who I'm going on a date with tomorrow night." She continued to giggle. "We met through a dating website."
I ran a hand over my face. "Well, that's good to know. At least I won't feel bad for walking out. I do have to call him though because he might be connected to all this. So don't think I'm trying to pick up on your man."
"I'm not worried about you picking up on my man, especially if you walked out on dinner with him." She nudged me. "Now that work's done, let's turn on late night tv and enjoy our wine." She held up her empty glass. "Can I get you another?"
"Please." I handed her my glass and flipped the tv on to one of the late night talk shows. Jenny came back and sat down, handing me my wine. We both leaned back and enjoyed the show.
The next morning Trace was standing in front of my store, leaning on the door with his arms crossed. I gave him a little wave. "What's up?"
"How was your night out?"
I shrugged. "I got a big poofy dress. Jenny helped me pick it out, so I hope it works for your costume. She said she talked to you about what you are going to wear."
He cracked a smile. "Yeah, don't worry, I'm sure it's fine. Did you look at the disc?"
I nodded and dug it out of my purse and handed him to it. "Salazar was on there."
"The guy who attacked you?"
I nodded. "He was there claiming his wife had died. The only other thing I saw was that Mark touched his ear and with the volume up said 'I can't tell him that.'"
"I saw that too, and I assumed he was putting on a show for the audience."
"I would have too, but Salazar saw something behind Mark before he stormed out, and right then, Mark shut the show down. I want to go look at his performing space with you."
Trace hesitated slightly. "That's not the same performance space. I was looking into it last night, and someone burnt that one down."
"Isn't that an interesting turn of events. So where does that leave us?"
"Well, did you call Eli yet?" He asked.
"It's on my list to do today during my downtime. Also, I got invited to a get-together. The invitation is on the same card stock with the same font as Mortimer's card. I might be overthinking it, but maybe there's a connection?"
Trace was quiet for a moment. "A magical gathering?"
I nodded. "Yep. Jenny told one of her friends I could go with her."
"Jenny's right. You should go. It'll be good for you." He smiled. "And convenient since it's not you crashing the gathering for the case's sake."
"We don't know if it's the same group." I shrugged. "Or if Mortimer will be there."
"True, and we won't know unless you go." He smiled. "When is it?"
"Tonight."
"Make sure you text me to let me know that you're safe or if Mortimer is there."
I turned to unlock the store. He followed me in as I went to Copperfield's cage and let the bunny out. He bounded out and to his regular spot where I typically placed his food. He looked at me expectingly, waiting for me as I pulled out the veggies and pellets for him. Trace shut the door and came up next to me.
"Did you need something else, or do you just enjoy hanging out with me and the bunny?" I asked with a joke in my voice. I didn't mind when he hung out in the shop at all. I went around the counter and to the safe to get the till out for the register. When I stood back up, Trace was staring out the window. I followed his gaze and noticed a black car with dark tinted windows parked across the street. It wasn't a car of a local shop, and it certainly wasn't the type we typically saw here.
We both stood there in silence, waiting for someone to get in or out of the car. Nothing happened. We couldn't see anyone in the car move. It just sat there idling. After a few minutes Trace shook his head. "I'll see you later." He walked out of the shop, and I flipped the closed sign to open and went back to the counter.
The black car shot out into traffic and disappeared out of view. I shook my head at the reckless driving before turning to Copperfield. "What do you think? Should we try another trick today?"
He shook himself and went back to his food, and I thought that might have actually told me no. I rolled my eyes at him and went to find Eli's phone number to see if I could get a hold of him this morning. I pulled my phone out and dialed the number, waiting for him to answer.
"Yo, what's up?" Eli's voice came through the other line.
"Hey, this is Lacey Willow, you know -"
"Yeah, I know." He laughed. "Look, I didn't know that your parents' little dinner thing was them trying to set us up. No hard feelings."
"Great, that's good, but I actually need to ask you something else." At least there were no hard feelings. Of course, he was going on a date with my best friend tonight, so he probably really wasn't butthurt about it.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, you attended a gathering with a man named Mark Leer."
He was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, I did. Look I don't know what happened, because I wasn't there that long." Then the line went dead.
What the heck? I shook my head and tried to call him back, and it went straight to his voice mail. Jerk.
I put my phone down and went back to work in the shop. If he didn't want to give me information, that was fine. It just made him look more suspicious than he intended.
Trace came into the shop a couple hours later with a box of pizza. "Okay, so it's not the rabbit stealing stuff."
"I told you it wasn't." I grabbed the box of pizza from him. "What went missing this time?"
"My car keys."
I stared at him. "Don't you normally keep those in your pocket?"
"Yes, and luckily I have another set in a drawer. But I took my keys out because I was heading out and my phone rang, I sat them down, turned around, and they were gone."
"I wonder if you have a ghost." I opened the pizza box. "Got a hold of Eli."
"Hold on, back up, a ghost?"
"I mean, it's a possibility. Either that or you have a stow-a-way in your office." I shrugged. "Back to Eli."
"Why is the idea of having a ghost in my office less important than Eli? A ghost, Lacey!" He almost threw his hands up in the air.
I snorted. "Because I doubt a ghost would actually steal stuff. Maybe stake out the office and see what's going on? Or set up a video camera? Don't you have security
in there anyways?"
"I hadn't even thought about checking the camera." He shook his head. "Okay, back to Eli then. Get anything good out of him?"
"Nope, he said he wasn't at the party long and hung up on me. So whatever happened, he doesn't want to talk about it, or he's hiding something."
Trace nodded and reached over to grab his own piece of pizza. "I got a release to go look at the burnt building that was Mark's old performance space."
"Oh good. That sounds like a fun time. You enjoy that." I took a bite of my pizza. "I'll be hanging out with magical people like myself. Hopefully not making a fool of myself." I stared at him. "All in the name of the case."
He rolled his eyes. "I don't think those gatherings become a magical pissing contest."
"How do you know? You've never been to one, and Mark ended up naked in a unicorn horn. We don't know what goes on at all there."
He was quiet while he ate some of his pizza. "Okay yeah, please don't show up naked in any pictures. I don't want to have to hunt someone down."
"You hunt people down for a living." I met his gaze, giving him a look that said I was not amused.
"Not always. Sometimes I just dig up information for people." He chuckled. "Just let me know how tonight goes. If you want, I can go with you too."
"No, you aren't magical. That wouldn't work. If you had a tiny bit of magic in you, I probably could bring you, but you'll stick out like a sore thumb. Besides, you have a performance place to check out. See what you can find there. I want to talk to Chloe again and call her out on being the mastermind of it all and see what she says."
"I think you're getting ahead of yourself. Let's start with the magical gathering and the performance space and go from there, hotshot." He shook his head. "One step at a time. If she's involved, we'll find out."
I mocked him for a moment. "One step at a time, hotshot." I snorted. "I'm not your sidekick."
"You're right; you're a consultant. Let me handle Chloe, and you handle the magical people."
I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be offended or not. "Okay fine. Sorry I overstepped my boundaries." I grabbed another slice of pizza and ate it in silence while he finished his piece.
Disappearing Coins Page 4