"No, but you don't have to be to be blackmailed. You just have to have enough money to make it worth it." He pressed his lips together. "Eli was there?"
I nodded. "I went with a friend of Jenny's, Natalie -"
"Cove?"
I nodded.
"She was on the list as well. So it sounds like they are all in on it, but why make Mark disappear and then come back to us about finding him?"
"He said he had nothing to do with Mark's disappearance. Though I don't know if I'd believe him."
Trace shook his head. "I do. With Mark gone, the blackmail wouldn't work. I don't think the wife would pay. But I think it's time that I talk to Chloe again."
"Can I come? I want to ask her some questions about magical things."
"Can you keep the shop closed tomorrow while we do it?"
I mentally went over the numbers I knew. "Yeah, if I close tomorrow, I'll be okay. It's a slow day."
"Then yeah, you can come. Since Copperfield is already home, I'll just pick you up in the morning."
Copperfield looked at Trace and then hopped off to his cage that I had sitting on the floor. I went to the kitchen to make me tea. "I don't understand how this is all connected. Why are Eli and Natalie involved? Are they getting a cut of the money being sent them? Did the bank have any signs of odd transactions from Mark?"
"He was such a sporadic spender that it would be hard to pinpoint them when he had access to the main account. Chloe didn't mention anything odd in his account. I'll call the bank and see if there is something more they can tell me."
I nodded. "Okay, other than that, I would say the night is a bust."
He snorted. "A bust? You've had one hell of a night. Me on the other hand? I've discovered everything shiny has disappeared, and every scrap of paper left has been shredded."
"Okay, so not a ghost, but there's something in your office. Did you set up cameras?"
"Yeah, I did that before I left, so I'm hoping to catch whatever it is on-screen, so I can take care of it. Before it shreds something super important." He shook his head and sat at the kitchen table. "I mean what could it be?"
"Maybe it's that raccoon that got into your office. Maybe it just hasn't left."
He hmmed for a moment. "Okay, I guess I'll call animal control if we catch it on camera. And if we don't, maybe I'll lay some bait out for it and catch it in a live trap."
"As long as Copperfield isn't over there, that's fine. Don't you dare trap my bunny by mistake."
He gave me a dull look. "I can tell the difference between a raccoon and a rabbit, Lace."
"Yeah, I guess you would." I put the teapot on the stove. "I can't believe I dropped a bunch of candy on them."
He started laughing. "I can, it's almost as good as the scarf."
"Almost, almost."
I straightened my shirt as Trace and I stood in front of Chloe's door.
"Nervous?" Trace asked as he rang the doorbell.
I shrugged. "I'm hoping I'm not going to need magic to get out of the situation. I don't know if I can summon any more candy."
He snorted. "Maybe you can summon something fluffier this time?"
"No more bunnies. It took us forever to find good homes for the last ones I summoned." But his joke made me smile, and the tension melt from my shoulders.
The door swung open, and Chloe stood there her arms crossed. "What on earth do you need to speak to me about that can't be done over the phone."
"Mrs. Leer, we needed to talk to you about Mortimer and any connections you may have with him still."
She shook her head and stepped to the side, letting us in. "Mort hasn't contacted me at all. I'm not even sure why he'd reach out to you. He and his brother had a falling out once Mark stood up to him. Mortimer wanted part of Mark's earnings, saying that Mark wouldn't have been so successful if it weren't for him." She shook her head. "Mark was paying Mort about ten percent of the earnings, but when I took over finances trying to get Mark's spending habits under control, I put a stop to that. Mort and Mark had no contract, no reason to split the money at all."
"Why did Mort think he had a claim to it?" Trace asked.
She pressed her lips together and looked away. I was willing to bet that she was going to lie to us. We waited a moment, and neither one of us pushed her to answer. Finally, she sighed. "Okay, fine. Look, Mark was a fraud. Mort would help out at the performances pretending to be a person who wanted to talk to a lost loved one." She rubbed her eyes. "It was a scheme between the two of them. But I didn't let it continue as soon as I realized that was what was going on. I took over, and I spoke to the spirits and fed him the information through an earpiece." She shook her head. "Our shows were the best. It's what people expected, it's what people wanted and then…he disappeared."
She let out a loud sigh. "I'm sorry, I should have told you before, but I didn't think it was relevant to his disappearance."
Trace nodded. "Mort gave me an address saying that he found his brother." He handed Chloe a piece of paper. "Do you know it?"
She studied it and then pulled out her phone. Her fingers moved across the screen, and I assumed she was typing in the address.
"Yes, it's one of our old performing spaces. One that we first used."
"Okay, we'll check it out." Trace put the paper back in his pocket.
I motioned to her phone. "You weren't sure if that was the place?"
"It was over ten years ago that we used it. I wasn't a hundred percent sure." She shook her head. "I wanted to double check the location. Make sure it was the one I thought it was."
It made sense, especially if she hadn't been there in a few years. "You have the true gift of sight, then?"
She nodded. "Do you know much about it?"
I shook my head. "No, it's not a talent in my bloodline, but if you have the gift, why didn't you foresee this happening?"
"The gift of sight isn't something that's perfect and doesn't always work for situations we're close to. That's why we count as unreliable witnesses." She shrugged. "Look, I know it was probably wrong of me to use my husband as the frontman and cut Mort out of it all, but I do love my husband, and I want him back."
There was an honesty in her voice I hadn't heard before. I nodded. "Thank you."
"Has Mort contacted you for blackmail money?"
She put a hand to her chest like Trace's words offended her. "Blackmail? For what?"
"We believe those pictures that were taken to blackmail Mark into giving Mort money. With you and Mark cutting Mort off, it would make sense." Trace gave a small shrug. "I just wanted to see if he'd contacted you or not."
She shook her head. "No, no contact for blackmail money, no ransom, nothing that would have even indicated that this was done for money."
"Thank you, Chloe, we'll be in touch after we go check out the address." He stood, and I followed his lead.
Chloe jumped up and put a hand on my shoulder. "One moment?"
I paused and looked at her. "Yes?"
"There's something different about you. The spirits have talked about you since the moment you walked into my house. Stay safe." She offered me a smile and then removed her hand.
I wasn't sure what to say so I muttered the first thing that came to mind. "Thank you, I'll try."
I followed Trace out the front door and to his truck. Pressing my lips together, I tried to digest what we learned. "Is what she did illegal?"
"I'm not sure. I feel like it's a very gray area. Very gray." He shook his head. "But we have the information we need, and that was the point of the visit. Not her questionable business practices."
I leaned back into the truck and buckled up. "That party is tonight, isn't it?"
He grinned. "It is. I'll pick you up at seven."
CHAPTER SIX
I batted at the mounds of tulle under my dress and cursed it as I tried to get to the door to
let Trace in. I grumbled as I swished it around to reach for the handle and then waddled to the side in an attempt to get the door open all the way. The dress kept getting caught as I moved, and I let out a frustrated growl as I finally got the door open, but the growl died in my throat when I saw Trace.
The black suit he wore fit him like a glove, white gloves covered his hands, and his hair was slicked back from his face. Half of his face was covered with a white mask. My lips quirked up in a smile. "Okay, I should have known."
He chuckled. "Jenny said you'd get a kick out of it."
"She was right. I think it's pretty awesome." I made my way out the door and swooped up my dress so I wouldn't trap it as I shut the door. I grumbled as I worked my way to his truck, making sure to keep the dress up.
"I can't believe I let Jenny talk me into such a fluffy dress." I climbed into the truck and gathered all of the fabric up so Trace could close it.
He got in the other side. "I think it looks great on you." He started the truck. "And it's fun. We could both use a fun evening."
That was true. I buckled up, and he pulled the truck out of the driveway and on to the highway. I watched the city go by as we made our way to the party. I didn't like big social events, but maybe I could make it through this one without too much worry.
We pulled up to the mansion that matched the address on the invitations. Valets walked up to the truck and opened the doors for us. I almost tumbled out because of the dress and trying to move it around me. I took a moment to steady myself before walking to the sidewalk while Trace gave the valet his keys.
I watched as people made their way in. Most of the women were in colorful dresses as fluffy, if not fluffier, than mine, and then men were in a variety of costume-based suits, stripes, colors, and some plain black. Trace stepped up next to me. "Quite the crowd, huh?"
I swallowed. "Yeah, quite. Let's go and maybe I can find a glass of wine to help calm my nerves. I swore Trace rolled his eyes at me, but he put a hand on the small of my back and helped guide me into the main room.
The crowd we'd seen outside barely touched the massive space of the main room, people stood around with wine glasses in their hand laughing and talking with each other. I looked around for the host to see if I knew them, but I didn't see any familiar faces among the crowd. Maybe our host would appear later in the evening.
"Come on, let's go mingle." Trace moved us further into the room.
A couple people I didn't know came up to us and started making small chat. I tried to pay attention, but something in the room didn't feel right. Magic.
I put my hand on Trace's shoulder. "Excuse me, I need to use the lady's room."
He nodded and continued with the conversation as I gathered my dress and marched my way towards where I thought the restroom would be. The noise got louder the closer to the hall I got. More people crowded the area to the point where I was saying excuse me every couple of steps.
A hand landed on my shoulder, and I turned around to meet a pair of dark green eyes. My heart stopped in my chest as I stared at a crazy demon mask. The man in the mask laughed and took a few more steps toward me, and I felt his magic push against me. I did the only thing I could think of. I gathered my dress and ran down the hall. My feet tangled in the tulle of the dress as I tried to make my way down the hall in heels. I looked behind me to see the man pushing his way through the people in the hallway toward me.
Where was security? Why didn't anyone else find this alarming? I kicked my shoes off and gathered the dress more. "Excuse me, sorry," I called as I pushed passed people. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to find a way out or someone who looked like security. Didn't big events have security?
I slammed into someone and stopped in my tracks. I looked up to see Salazar's face. My breath escaped me and panic filled in.
"You're supposed to be in jail."
"And you're running like a scared…rabbit."
I didn't miss the cruel smile on his face. I turned around to see the demon mask guy coming to a stop, far enough away from Salazar to not be touched.
I looked between the two men that had me trapped in the hall. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I hadn't expected him to be in the hall, and I didn't know who my assailant was. I stood there for a couple of seconds until I heard Trace's voice calling for me. Salazar seemed to just melt into the crowd, and the devil mask man ducked into a room before Trace came down the hall.
I looked at Trace as he approached me. "You okay?" He looked down at my feet. "Where are your shoes?"
"I was being chased. I kicked them off in favor of running faster." I took a couple deep breaths and started walking back down the hall. A few of the guests quietly murmured as I walked by. I grabbed my shoes where I had kicked them off and slipped them back on, using Trace to balance me.
"People said you were running through the halls, no mention of anyone else."
"Yeah well, demon-face was behind me, and then I ran into Salazar as well."
"Salazar's supposed to be in jail."
I glared at him. "Yeah, I know."
He looked around the crowd and then back to me. "Stay close, we'll stay for a few hours and then head home."
I nodded. That worked for me.
Trace dropped me off at home after another hour at the party. We hadn't seen signs of either Salazar or the demon face that had chased me down the hall. I'd spent the night restless and headed to the shop early the next morning. I stood in front of the shop staring at the glass of the window that was now covered in…something.
The sticky substance seemed to slide slowly down the glass, spelling out beware on my newly decorated window. I sighed and crossed my arms. It wasn't as bad as the time 'Freak' had been painted all over my storefront, but I had a feeling this wasn't going to be easy to get off.
Trace stepped up beside me. "Make a new enemy?"
"I guess so." I shook my head. "I'll call the landlord so he can get someone out here to clean it up."
"Good idea." Trace sighed. "Do you think this has something to do with last night?"
"I'm almost certain it does. We need to find Mark, figure out where the money went, and exactly who is behind it all and why." I touched the goop on the window. "Ugh, yuck. I'm hoping this doesn't take my store decal off."
Trace sighed. "Who do you think it was?"
"My money is on Mortimer, but I don't think Eli is all that innocent either." I crossed my arms. "The guy in the mask was the right height for Eli."
"Did he know you were going?"
I shook my head. "But Natalie did, and it's possible Jenny said something too since she went on a date with him."
"Interesting little tidbit. Maybe he mentioned something to her?" Trace motioned to the door. "Go call the landlord and the police, file a report, so we have this on record."
"They aren't going to catch whoever did it."
"I know, but it's better to have a paper trail in case it escalates."
I sighed. "Okay, fine."
"I'm going to go look at the old performance space here in a bit. Want to come?"
"As soon as I get this taken care of, yeah. No one is going to shop here with that slimy goop on my window."
I walked in and paused. I had left Copperfield at home since Trace had brought him home last night. The bunny's cage was crushed with a note taped on it.
"Trace!" I called, not sure if he'd hear me through the wall of the store or not. "Trace!" I tried again, my voice a pitch higher.
Trace came in. "What Lacey…" He paused mid-sentence. "What happened?"
I shook my head. "I have no idea. You locked up when you left right?"
"I did. No damage to the door?"
"I didn't even check." I stepped forward and snatched the note off the cage.
DISAPPEARING BUNNY? LUCKY LITTLE RABBIT.
I looked at Trace. "They were goin
g to kill my rabbit." I could hear the tears in my voice.
Trace took the note from my shaking hand. "Go check the safe and make sure they didn't steal anything. I'll call the cops."
I nodded, still shaky, and went to the safe. It was intact, no sign of any attempt at breaking in. I took a deep breath and walked the store. Nothing seemed out of place, everything was exactly like I had left it, except the cage.
I made my way back over to Trace who was agreeing with some 'uh huhs' and 'that's rights' with head nods to go with them.
"Thank you, officer, we look forward to your visit."
Trace put his phone in his pocket. "After the police get here, call the landlord about getting the goop cleaned up. Do you want to come sit in the office with me while I go through paperwork?"
I thought about it. Did I want to stand in my shop where someone so effortlessly got in? I glanced at the cage. "Yeah, I think that might be a good idea."
Trace nodded and put a hand on my back, guiding me to the door. "Hopefully it's just an idle threat. Someone trying to scare you."
"Well, they're doing a good job," I muttered and locked the shop back up as we walked out.
He walked into his office and cursed at the mess that was there now. "What the hell is this?"
Paper was out of the drawer, strewn about. I chuckled. "Your little friend? Didn't you set camera's up?"
"I did. Something ate through the wire."
I rolled my eyes and followed the trail of paper. "I don't know if any animal is smart enough to know that you set up cameras."
"Magical ones?"
"I haven't summoned any magical…" I turned the corner to see what looked like a raccoon sitting on a pile of papers, staring at me. Where most raccoons were gray with black stripes and a black mask, this one was black with a white mask and white stripes. "Oh no."
"Oh no?" Trace came around the corner. "Yikes." Was his response as the two of them stared at each other.
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