“You just made my decade. You get some of my chocolate cake.”
“Glad I could help,” he answered, taking the fork.
I tapped mine against his in straight cheers fashion as if we were holding champagne flutes and took a bite of cake.
The chocolate was heavenly against my tongue, and I moaned.
Ryder, on the other hand, had a different response. His face turned sour, and he ran to the trash and spit his out before grabbing a paper towel to wipe his mouth.
“Your taste buds must be fried from that magic you chase. My brother’s cake is the best anywhere.”
“Yeah?” he asked, sipping his coffee. “There’s a reason for that. He uses magic.”
I glanced down at the chocolate heaven and shook my head. “You’re wrong.”
Ryder lifted his brow. “He’s your brother, Tess. You’re magical because of both parents, and one of those parents is his. He has the same juju as you even if at a lesser potency. I can taste it in the cake. Its part of that magic I sense. It isn’t subjective to what I can see with my own eyes or smell in the air. It affects all of my senses.”
He tossed the fork into the sink, and I pushed the cake to the middle of the counter. “How can you know for sure?”
“Trust me. I’d know that taste anywhere.”
I walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, and grabbing my pillow, I hugged it to my chest. “He knew.”
“Looks that way.”
I shook my head, and a frown marred my lips. My trust in everyone was fading and fast. Everything I thought I knew was a sham. These dirty little secrets made up my entire life.
“Don’t go too hard on your brother,” Ryder said, sitting next to me. “The magic he used was harmless so you’d find comfort in that cake.”
That still wouldn’t excuse the secrets he kept. I sighed and met his gaze. “No one thought I could handle the truth. Not even him. If he could keep that secret, what else isn’t he telling me?”
“Why not ask him?”
That would have been easy enough. A simple, yet hard conversation might prevent any further feelings of treachery. I loved my brother, really I did, and his lie, even though bad, wasn’t meant to stifle or hurt me. I could still taste the bitterness of betrayal. “I need to get off this island and start fresh.”
“Not until this case is solved, you can’t. You have no alibi, and even though I believe you innocent, we still need to find the killer before he strikes again.”
He pointed to the last murder mystery box I had open on the table. “You any good at solving crimes?”
“I hold the highest score on the leaderboard.”
“Impressive.” He grinned. “You must be Tesslvania.”
My mouth parted. “You’re familiar with the game.”
He winked. “I should be. I’m RottingCorpse23.”
I tossed my head back and chuckled. “You’re number 2.”
“Not for long.” He wiggled his brows. “How about we work together to solve this case. It will go a long way with showing your cooperation. You know everyone on the island better than anyone else, and I know magic. We could work together and solve it quicker.”
“Time isn’t on our side. We only have six days before the ferry returns to take them all back.”
“Well, how about we get busy,” he said, rising and holding out his hand. “We can begin with the coroner and see what Chief Stein found so we can get started.”
I took his hand and let him pull me up with enough force that I landed against his chest. I stared up into his eyes as I laid my hand on his shirt, silently wondering if touching his bare chest would feel just as warm as when he’d kissed me.
Within an instant, his shirt vanished and my hand was on his toned chest. I think it surprised me more than it did him.
“You didn’t put the coin in your pocket, did you?” he asked, covering my hand with his and holding it against his chest.
I shook my head and fanned the rising heat in my cheeks, making his grin grow. “I don’t mind walking down the beach shirtless, but maybe you should grab that coin before the rest of my clothes go missing.”
I slipped my hand free and hurried to the counter, grabbing the coin. “You shouldn’t have said that. I had to fight back those thoughts.” I held out my hand, stilling him from coming closer. I took a deep breath and set the coin down, imagining him back in the same shirt he’d been wearing.
Instantly it reappeared, and I grabbed the coin again. This coin and I were going to be fast friends. I wouldn’t ever be leaving home without it.
Ryder
Chapter 8
She was going to be trouble. He’d known it the minute he’d laid eyes on her at the ferry. She was sharp, beautiful, and a temptation that he couldn’t afford to give in to. His track record with women was what had gotten him into trouble with the Council and given him this task of hunting this killer to begin with.
He’d thought a week in paradise and a quick capture and he’d join the good graces of those trackers again. There was nothing easy about this case. He’d followed this killer for three months. Three months of some of the weirdest deaths he’d ever encountered. There was no connection between the people killed, no motive that even worked, but one thing was certain. It was the same magical scent that he’d smelled on the air. Remnants of it could still be felt in the goosebumps on his skin from the ferryboat. Everyone was a suspect on that boat. He’d scratched the crew off the list when the scent lessened as everyone departed to the shore.
It was most definitely one of these guests, and Tess Venture might just be an asset when he figured out who was responsible. She had the abilities, although Vinette hadn’t compared to whatever force she’d been up against. Between Tess and her family line and Ryder’s bag of tricks, they could outwit even the smartest criminal. Tess was more than capable. She’d proved it a long time ago when she’d passed his high score in the murder game. The vixen.
Tess pulled up outside the police station in her little golf cart. She drove like a woman going to a shoe sale where only one pair in her size remained. The chief was in the interrogation room when they entered. The rest of the Halliwell clan sat in the waiting area. He eased Tess to a stop, pulled the sunglasses off his eyes, and slid them onto hers. Her being near the murder was a secret that they needed to keep quiet.
“Hey, Tess.” An elderly woman greeted them with a warm smile. The front desk cop had been there yesterday when Ryder had arrived.
“Hi, Velma,” Tess greeted back. “Is the Chief around?”
“He’s got Pippy Halliwell in interrogation,” she said, glancing back at the closed door. “She sure is a handful and nothing like her brother and other sister, who seem much more scared to be here.”
Ryder glanced at the other man and woman. The woman sat with her dark hair hiding her face while she fidgeted in her seat. The man was leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees with his head down. Anxious and yet something else Ryder couldn’t feel.
“That’s Penny and Peter,” Tess said, leaning in to whisper in his ear.
“I know who they are,” Ryder answered, turning back to Velma. “Any chance we can observe?”
“Of course,” Velma answered with a smile. “The Chief gave explicit instructions that you were to have access to anything you needed. Just follow me.”
He led Tess with a hand pressed against her back into the room with two-way mirrors. Velma flicked the speaker so they could hear before quietly closing the door behind her.
“Explain to me again where you’ve been since you stepped off the bus.”
Pippy narrowed her eyes and crossed her legs. “Not until you tell me why you brought us here.”
The Chief sighed. “Did your mother have many enemies?”
Pippy uncrossed her legs and leaned across the table. “Is she in some kind of trouble? Is that why we’re here?”
“No, she’s not in trouble.” The Chief cleared his throat. “She�
�s dead. We found her body on the beach this morning.”
Pippy’s hand flew to cover her mouth. “This is a joke, right?” She glanced at the mirror. “My sister put you up to this to get back at me?”
“Why would she do that?”
“She hates me.” Pippy slammed her hand on the table before taking a calming breath. “Did she get my mother’s abilities?”
The Chief remained quiet.
“She did, didn’t she?” Pippy rose from her seat and started pacing the room. “She’s a wallflower without a spine.” Pippy rested her hands on the back of the chair she’d vacated. “I tried to tell my mother she wouldn’t last a day as head of the Clan seated at the council table, but she wouldn’t listen.”
“Your mother wouldn’t listen. Is that why you killed her?” the Chief asked.
Pippy gasped and retook her seat. “I loved my mother. I didn’t kill her.”
“She was killed by a witch.”
Pippy sat back in her chair and shook her head. “That’s not possible. My mother was the strongest witch in the tristate where we live. No one could beat her. Everyone was scared of her.”
“Apparently someone on the island did. I’m sorry for your loss, but I need you to write down everything you’ve done since you stepped foot on the island.”
“You still think I did this? What motive do I have to kill my mother?”
“Money, revenge, the possibilities are endless, and that’s what we’re trying to get to the bottom of. You and your sister and brother stand to inherit her entire estate.”
Pippy laughed. She outright laughed like it was the funniest joke she’d heard yet. “You obviously didn’t know my mother. If I had to guess, she had a will and probably left everything to her stupid cat.”
“I’ll need to speak with her attorney.” The Chief rose from his spot and opened the door. “If you’ll just come with me, I’ll have another officer take your statement on where you’ve been while I talk to your brother and sister.”
They watched as the Chief led her out of the room.
“She didn’t even shed a tear finding out her mom was dead. I cried for a week straight when mine died, and I was only ten.”
“I don’t know much about Vinette, but I do know she wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. She ruffled several board members’ feathers, and they had a hard time keeping her constrained to their rules.”
“Still, it was her mother,” Tess whispered.
“Not everyone likes their parents,” Ryder said as the Chief escorted Penny into the room. She gave a worried look out into the lobby as the door shut.
“Please take a seat.”
“Why are we here?” Penny asked.
“I’ll tell you after you answer some questions for me.”
“Okay.” She rested her clasped hands against the table.
“What did you do after arriving on the island?”
“Um.” She moistened her lips. “We checked into our rooms at the hotel.”
“Did you share a room?”
“Oh no, Mom likes her privacy. We all have separate rooms.”
“Okay, and what did you do?”
“Let’s see.” She smiled. “I called home to check on Roger.”
“Who’s Roger? A boyfriend?”
“Roger is my Chihuahua. He really hates it when I leave him with a sitter, and Mom wouldn’t let me bring him since the hotel has a no-pet policy.”
Ryder rolled his eyes and started to agree with Pippy’s assessment.
“Once I talked to Roger, I went down to the pool and swam for a bit until I was tired. I took a nap in the room and then met my family for dinner.”
“And where did you go for dinner?”
“Mom and I ate at the hotel restaurant. My brother and sister went into town to check out the other places. I don’t know where they ate.”
“And what time did you finish eating?”
“Around eight forty five or so.”
“And you and your mom went up to the rooms?”
“I did; she didn’t. I left her talking to Mr. Venture in the lobby.”
The Chief made a note on his pad. “Was your mom acting strange at dinner?”
“Come to think of it, she kept watching Mr. Venture and was acting like she knew a secret. She was rather giddy about it. Happy, and she’s never happy. Have you seen her aura? It’s the color of mud. Not bright.”
“Must be when she formed a plan to marry her son off to you,” Ryder said in the silence of the room.
Tess nudged his arm. “As if.”
“Okay, thank you.” The Chief cleared his throat again. “I’m sorry to be the one to inform you, but your mother is dead.”
“No, no, no.” Penny shook her head. “That can’t be.”
“We found her on the beach this morning.”
Penny’s shoulders sagged as a tear slipped from her eyes.
“How? Did she at least die peacefully?” Her lip started to quiver.
“She didn’t do it,” Tess said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“It’s always the quiet ones,” Ryder said. “This could all be an act. Her sister said Penny was the strongest in the family.”
“She’s crying.” Tess pointed to the woman in the room. “Killer’s don’t grieve.”
“Sociopaths can conjure tears on a whim,” Ryder announced. He would know. He had first-hand experience. “How can you be a skeptic and be winning on the murder board?”
“Maybe because I’m not quick to judge.” Tess smiled.
The Chief led Penny from the room and returned with Peter, the last of the Halliwells.
“Did you know that he’s like a ninja master?” Tess grinned. “He was top of his class in college, and he’s a therapeutic doctor. He uses energy or chi to heal people.”
“Sounds like a good guy. Maybe you should meet him. You can have ninja babies.”
Tess rolled her eyes. “I’m guessing he’s gay.”
Ryder tossed his head back and let out a full belly laugh. “Why in the world would you think that?”
“In my entire background check of the family, he was the one I worried about the least. He was never in the headlines, never with a woman on his arm, even though he’s handsome, powerful, and rich. Some chicks dig that, but that’s not why I think he’s gay.”
“And why do you think so?”
“Because when I was getting everyone checked in, one of our most stunningly beautiful employees tried to discreetly hand him her room key, and he handed it right back without a second thought.” Tess turned to look at me. “I’d think most of you guys would be eager to jump at meaningless sex with a beautiful woman.”
Ryder tilted his head. “And what vast worldly experience would make you say that?”
Tess shrugged. “Out of all of the guests that have come and gone, Peter Halliwell was the only one that ever returned the key.”
Chapter 9
Okay, so maybe my father’s idea had merit. Peter was a good-looking guy after all, and he hadn’t fallen victim to the siren’s call. Still, my money was on the fact that he wasn’t on the market.
Peter was told of his mother’s passing, and his alibi would be easy enough to check out. He’d gone into town and spent the night away at a local bed and breakfast. He’d claimed he’d needed some time away from the Halliwell drama and his mother’s nagging. Hopefully, someone would remember him at the B&B, and if not, there might be street cams that would have caught him coming or going. When asked if he was with anyone, his answer had been a hesitant no, but it didn’t take a genius to not buy into his words.
His look had been sincere enough when told of his mother’s passing. Pain and sadness had crossed his gaze. Not that I was giving him the benefit of the doubt, but judging by his muscular bod- building physique, he wouldn’t have needed magic to kill the old witch but sheer brutal will.
I waited for the Chief to reassemble the players when Ryder left to inform him I was there. I wru
ng my fingers together as I stared at the trio behind the glass. Any one of them could have done the deed against their mom. What were the odds they’d try something on me when they found out that their mother’s witchery was running through my veins?
“It’s time,” Ryder announced, peeking into the observation room.
“What if they try something?” I asked.
“I’ll stop them.” His look was stone-cold serious.
“What if they don’t believe me?”
“They’ll believe me,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me from the room. He opened the interrogation room door, and all eyes turned my way.
“What is she doing here?” Pippy asked. Her tone dripped with disdain. “Is the hotel trying to kick us out?”
The Chief gave me a nod, and I slid the sunglasses down my nose.
Pippy’s eyes narrowed, and the other two siblings merely sat looking confused.
“The only way you could have gotten her powers is if you killed her.” Pippy pointed a long, bony accusing finger in my direction.
“That’s not true,” Ryder announced. “They go to the closest worthy recipient, so even though your mother was killed by a witch, that witch wasn’t deemed worthy, but Tess Venture was.”
“Then she must know who did it,” Peter said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I didn’t hear a thing,” I answered in all honesty. “I’d been sleeping around the bend from where your mom was killed, and if there was a way I could gift you her witchcraft, you have to believe that I would. I don’t want it.”
“You should be honored,” Penny said. “She felt you worthy, and we’d be happy to have you in the clan.”
It was apparent Penny was either really nice to the point of me needing to knock some sense into her or really good at lying. Either way the sense I knocked into her might work to handle either case.
“We don’t know this girl,” Peter said, tilting his head. “We don’t know anything about her, Penny. You can’t just be offering a seat at our table to a stranger.”
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