by Kelly Ethan
“Sooo?” Xandie drew the word out, waiting for an explanation.
“This fang looks like a dragon tooth. Feels like a dragon to the touch. It might be a side effect of my hybridness, but I know this tooth isn’t real. It’s not the same one on display the night of the showing. This is a fake.”
Bingo. Iris Malone’s motive. “This is where the red book comes in.” Xandie held up the red journal. “It’s a list of artifacts and dollar amounts.”
“Malone and Archibald sold dragon artifacts?”
“No, I think they were selling fakes to the suckers in town, then selling the originals on the witch market. There’s an initial against each entry. P.C. I’m sure it stands for Penne clan. They were running a scam right under Ronald Penne’s nose. The fight between the two of them was about the scam. Archibald didn’t need her contacts anymore. He wanted to sell direct. Iris may have killed him to keep him quiet.”
“Wow.” Priss looked impressed. “What do we do now?”
Xandie took the journal underarm. “We need to deliver that snow globe to the fire at Hazel’s. Then we go to the police and get you off the hook.”
Priss pocketed the fake fang before they climbed back through the window.
Daylight dawned on the snowdrift surrounding Hazel’s bed-and-breakfast. “Trust you lot to get involved. Zach’s gonna lose his shift when he comes back. And you’re lucky Ms. Hazel had her naked poker game at the Inn last night.” Deputy Melody Braun pouted over her chipped blood-red nail polish before glaring at the Harrows and Priss. “Tell me you didn’t set fire to Ms. Hazel’s place.”
Why did people believe the worst of her? Xandie cleared her throat. “Deputy Braun, we had nothing to do with setting the fire. But we have information that will affect the case of Archibald Penne’s death.”
Melody Braun groaned. “Another murder? You were almost killed on the last one. Zach was a grizzly the whole time.”
Lila smirked. “Chief Braun’s a bear shifter, anyway.”
“Not a grizzly, we’re black bears. Big difference.” Melody shifted large muscled shoulders and glared. “Fine, everyone in. Mother can sort you out.”
The girls clambered into the cruiser.
Priss leaned forward and whispered in Xandie’s ear, “Her mom’s in charge?”
“Trust me. Agatha Braun runs the family and the station with an iron paw.” If anyone can sort this out, it was Agatha.
Hopefully before Police Chief Zach Braun stuck his oh-so-appealing nose in.
Seven
“Let me get this straight.” Agatha Braun ran a calloused hand through her frizzy grey chin-length bob. “Makepeace here is innocent of murder. You broke into the gallery, found evidence of Iris Malone and Archibald Penne running an art fraud black-market business. And you think Iris killed Penne and firebombed Hazel’s because there was evidence there of Makepeace as a long-lost Penne heir?”
Priss laid out her letter in front of Agatha. “This was written by Marjorie and banishes my mom. She never wants to see her again.”
“Bull poop. Marjorie Penne adored Melinda. She wouldn’t care if your father was a serial killer. She’d never have banished her.”
“My dad was a dragon slayer. Apparently, that tipped her over into banishing my mother.” Priss laid a hand on the desk. “Mom came back after she had me to tell Marjorie, but never made it. She collided with a crop duster outside of town.”
Agatha sat back in a chair and crunched on a beef jerky strip. “That was during old man Wolf’s reign of fire hydrant terror. My mate, the previous police chief, was away on a joint task force. Wolf was acting chief. He made such a mess of things in Point Muse the paranormal investigator group was called in for clean-up duty. But I’m telling you. No way would Marjorie cut Melinda off.”
Xandie leaned forward, putting as much unwavering trust for Priss as she could dredge up into her voice. “Agatha, Priss didn’t kill Archibald. Trust us. Malone is in it up to her money-hungry armpits. We just need time to find the evidence to prove it. That’s all we ask.”
Agatha slapped her desk. “All you had to do was ask, sweet Xandie. Why, I think of you as a daughter-in-law.” Agatha winked as Xandie flushed bright red.
Priss dumped all the evidence in front of Agatha. “Thank you, Mrs. Braun.”
Agatha smiled at Priss. “You know, you do look a little like your momma. In fact, I think you have Marjorie’s stubborn chin. Now scatter, the lot of you. And stay away from Malone; we’ll track her down. Now get.” She flapped a hand at the two women to get them to leave.
As the girls trundled out of the station, a worried Priss whispered to Xandie, “Can she help me?”
“There’s not much that gets past Agatha Braun. She just needs evidence to make it stick.”
All they had to do was track down Iris Malone...
“Two days, Theo. Two days of patiently waiting.” Xandie shelved a book with extra oomph. “All Agatha tells me is to shut it. She’ll call me when she has something concrete on Malone’s location. The wait is driving me crazy.” Xandie blew her hair away from her face.
“So what? Not your place to hunt Malone down. Take her advice.” Theo ran his tongue over Horatio’s hairless head. The imp chattered to Theo as the cat groomed him.
“Priss and Lila are doing okay rooming together. But who knows how long Lila’s good mood will last?” Xandie moved a pile of books off the desk and opened the appointment book. “Right, library, let’s go.” Xandie flicked to the requests for admittance and wrote them into the book. The library decided whom it wanted inside it. Some of the requests disappeared, and then appeared written at different times during the week. Some were noted information only. Those requests meant Xandie had to dig the information out and copy it. The library then sent the information on.
Xandie ducked as a scroll flew overhead to land with a skid on the library desk. Grabbing it, Xandie headed to the office to copy the scroll. “Mating practices of a Basilisk is done and dusted.” Xandie shuddered at the thought of mating with a lizard that killed with a look.
The library phone rang, shocking Xandie from the images of a basilisk mating. Her hand flew to her chest as her heartbeat raced. The ley lines around the town interfered with phones and Internet reception. She’d become used to the silence as opposed to the constant strident ringtones of her phone. Elspeth had a charm to ensure phone reception, but her grandmother wasn’t a fan of sharing. Snickering at her silliness, Xandie grabbed the phone. “Xandie Meyers. How can I help you?”
“I need to talk to the old broad. Put her on the phone, would you?”
Low, gravelly, smoke-a-pack-a-day male tones flowed through the line. By old broad did he mean her late great-aunt? “Do you mean Sera Meyers?”
“What I said. Time is money, girl. Hurry it up.”
Xandie narrowed her gaze and drummed her nails on the library desk. No one over twenty and under sixty enjoyed being called girl and at twenty-five she was no exception. What made it worse is that now she had to explain to a complete stranger about Sera’s death. “I’m sorry, but Sera died a few months ago. I’m her great-niece, Xandie.”
“Scandinavian skipping skunks.” The man cursed a blue steak. “The old girl owed me. I’ve spent time and money on this case.”
Case? What on earth was the weird swearing man rambling about? “I have no clue what case you’re talking about. Sera never mentioned anything before she was killed.”
Dead silence.
“Killed? Huh, I’m not surprised. That librarian had a cranky streak and held a grudge more than any troll woman I’ve ever dated. But she was a good poker player. Respect for that.”
“You knew she was a librarian?”
“I’m a troll, not a moron. It’s my job to know my clients. I’m a private investigator, Trollish Investigations Inc. You lose ‘em, we find ‘em.”
What the heck would Sera need an investigator for when she had the library?
“Say, you said your name was Meyers, ri
ght?”
Xandie’s skin prickled and she adjusted the phone in her hand, wary at the troll’s sudden interest. “Yes, why?”
“That’s the case. The old girl had me looking into your mother, Miranda Harrow’s disappearance.”
Stiffening, Xandie’s breath caught momentarily. “My mother’s disappearance was twenty years ago. When did Sera contact you?”
“Six months ago. She wanted the investigation kept quiet. She paid half my fee up front and the rest on delivery of my findings.”
Xandie’s thoughts raced as she tried to make sense out of his words. Why would Sera get a private investigator to investigate years after her mother’s disappearance? Why six months ago? “Why would Sera contact you now?”
The troll sighed on the other end of the phone. “Look, love. All I know is what the librarian told me about the case. Something had come up recently that had her thinking about the chick. She wanted me to look into it. So, what about the rest of my money?”
Had Sera realized the Knight of Sanguis had caused Miranda Harrow’s death or was it something else? “If Sera owed you money, the library will pay it. But it’s pointless now, we know the Knights of Sanguis caused her death.”
“Her supposed death, you mean. I heard about the Knight murders in Point Muse. Nice catch of the killer, by the way. Maybe you should be a P.I.”
Supposed death? Xandie bit tears back. She’d finally come to terms with the loss of her mother. Now this pushy troll was throwing words like ‘supposed’ into the mayhem of her world. “The knight chased my mother off a cliff. I think that’s pretty definitive, don’t you? Plus, what mother would desert her child for that long?”
“In my line of work, you’d be surprised. All kinds of lowlifes out there. In fact, with your case…”
Xandie cut off the troll’s words with a growl through gritted teeth. “My mother was not a lowlife.”
“Hey, no offense.” The troll backpedaled. “I was gonna say your mother’s case was different. But you cut me off. I’m just saying there’s some questions raised about the circumstances around your mother’s disappearance. It’s all in my file, if you want it?”
Did she? She’d buried her mother figuratively and literally. Especially if you counted the memorial service her father had held in Andrews, seven years after her mother was declared legally dead. The Harrows had probably had something in Point Muse too. But if there were questions unanswered, maybe she should look at the file. “Fine, send it. Send an invoice. You’ll get your money when the library deposits it.”
“That’s the way to do business, sweetheart. I’ll be in touch when the gold clears my account at Witch and Creature Financial Holdings.” The troll hung up without another word.
Lowering the phone, Xandie stared at it as if it were snake ready to strike. The pit of her stomach churned, a mess of knotted feelings. She thought she’d solved her mother’s death, but now Sera and that damn troll had cracked open that can of emotional worms again. Xandie dropped the phone and laid her head against a wall. “And I still have Archibald’s murder to solve and Priss’s name to clear. I don’t need this.”
“What was all that about?” Theo glared at Xandie, his grooming of his pet imp forgotten in the hunt for gossip.
Xandie cleared her throat and faced her feline guardian, unsure just how much to tell him. Like everyone else, he thought the case of her missing mother finally solved. Now with the troll P.I’s investigation, the events surrounding her mother looked murky again. Plus, he always worried she’d do something stupid and leave the library without its librarian. “Some troll looking for Sera. He didn’t realize she’d died.” Xandie busied herself tidying scrolls, unable to meet Theo’s gaze.
“And the rest?”
“Nothing, like I said. He wanted to speak to Sera about private business.”
“You’re a bad liar, librarian. Now spill,” Theo hissed and slammed a paw down, narrowly missing Horatio, the imp.
“Fine.” Xandie threw her hands in the air and stomped to the couch next to Theo. “He was a troll and was looking for Sera. But he’s also a private investigator. Sera had him looking into my mom’s disappearance.”
“Was it so hard to tell me the whole truth?” Theo sniffed his disdain at her antics.
“Did you know Sera was investigating my mother?”
“I know she’s always had doubts about Miranda Harrow’s disappearance. Six months ago, she changed her routine. Would disappear for a few hours at a time. She’d get super-secret phone calls at all hours. I thought she was going senile.” Theo stretched, and then jumped off the chair to pace the floor.
“What kind of doubts? At the time the police thought mom had run off. What were Sera’s suspicions?”
“Sera and the Harrows swore Miranda would never leave you. They thought she’d had an accident.”
“Well, I guess in a way she did. The knight chased her until she fell off a cliff.” Xandie grimaced then stared off into space.
“So, what’s the problem with this troll guy? You already know what happened to her.”
“Do we? I explained about the knight, but he said there were still unanswered questions surrounding her supposed death. ‘Supposed,’ Theo, that’s the word he used. What if there’s another reason for her disappearance?”
“Sounds like you’re grasping at straws. You’re a librarian, act like it. Do your research, this guy could be a scam artist.”
“Thanks for your feline advice, but if there’s a chance he has more information on my mom, I have to take it. But you have a good point about research.” Xandie leapt up and rapped on the wooden desk. “Library, do you have any information on the company, Trollish Investigations Inc.?”
A thick green book rattled on a bookshelf near the window overlooking the garden.
Rushing over, Xandie snatched the book up and rifled through it before exclaiming in victory as she flashed the page at Theo. “See, he’s listed in the top five hundred reputable otherworldly private investigators in North America.”
Theo snorted. “Doesn’t mean he’s legit. Just means he can tick and flick boxes to appear above board.”
Xandie slammed the book shut. “I’ve made up my mind. He’ll contact me once the library deposits the rest of his fee. I’m meeting with him.”
The library’s lights dimmed to a muted glow.
“See?” Xandie pointed to the roof. “She agrees with me. So, suck it up, kitty cat.”
The power flickered off and on with a crack and a sizzle punctuating Xandie’s words.
She rubbed a hand over the surface of the library wall. “Have a nap, library. Theo will let you know if there’s an issue.” Ever since the library had rushed to her rescue the last time she tried to solve a murder, the poor supernatural entity had labored. The massive amount of energy it used to change itself to save Xandie had depleted its inner power core. For now, the library had to nap like an old women woman and fill up its energy well.
Xandie shooed Theo and Horatio out the door. “Get some rest, library. We need to focus on solving the dragon murder before delving into the troll’s case file. You need to keep your energy up.” She shut the door behind her and sagged against the wood. “Meanwhile, I’m still stuck waiting for Agatha to track down Iris Malone. Argh. One step forward, two steps back.” Just like her life in Point Muse.
A pounding on her front door shocked Xandie and she jumped and squealed. Grumbling at herself, she stalked down the hallway and flung the front door open. And was greeted by the sight of a morose dragon teenager faking a nonthreatening smile. “Do you need something, Es?” The dragon teen rocked back and forth, hands clasped behind her back. Her long silver and black hair flew out behind her.
“Hi, Ms. Meyers.”
Es Penne, plainly on her best behavior, if the fake smile was anything to go by. But Xandie noted silver and green iridescent scales flickered to life in random patterns on her skin. Maybe Es wasn’t a calm as she was projecting. A flash of silver scal
es surfaced along her jawline. Xandie tried to put her at ease. “You can call me Xandie. Can I help with anything?”
Es sighed and produced a gold and silver business card. “My father asked if you would meet him and my mother at Mayweather Inn for a drink at midday today. They want to speak to you.” Her fake smile fell away and her normally surly attitude appeared. “I only agreed to ask because they wouldn’t get off my back. So, my job is done. I could care less if you turn up or not.” Es spun to leave but paused for a moment. “My parents don’t do anything without a reason. Especially my father. Be careful what you agree to.” Es strode off and flicked the card behind her.
Xandie bent down and picked up the glossy card. Adeline and Ronald Penne was engraved in gold-embossed type across the front of the silver gloss card. Ostentatious was the theme. She wondered what the dragon socialites were after. And why did Es Penne warn Xandie about her own parents? Xandie checked her watch. “Only one way to find out.”
A drink with the social elite of Point Muse it was.
Eight
“Why, Alexandra dear. What a lovely surprise.”
Rose Mayweather’s grimace said anything but. The woman had hated her great-aunt Sera because a demon professor had preferred Sera to her. Aphrodite’s descendant wasn’t the forgive and forget type when it came to matters of the heart.
“Hi, Rose.” Xandie offered a small smile. She had no clue where the Pennes were, either the bar or the dining room. But she’d bet high society of Point Muse wouldn’t be caught dead in the bar.
“Are you on your own or meeting your cousins?”
Silent code for you can’t be meeting a man. “I’m supposed to meet Adelind and Ronald Penne for a drink.”
Rose coughed into her hand. “Oh sweetie, Adelind would never meet you for a drink here.”
Xandie produced the Pennes glossy business card. “Es Penne invited me this morning.”