“Did you want the table?” I asked, about to rise to my feet.
“No, we just wanted to talk to you.” Penny smiled, resting her hand over mine.
“I haven’t figured out how to give you back your mother’s mojo, but don’t worry.” I lifted the amulet around my neck and dangled it between my fingers. “I’m blocking it so I don’t accidentally blow something up.”
Pippy rolled her eyes, and Peter just watched me like he was trying to determine if I was telling the truth.
“Let’s cut to the chase, ladies,” Peter said, clearing his throat. “We know you’re friendly with the Council officer. Is there any news on who killed our mother?”
My mouth parted before I snapped it closed.
“You’ll have to forgive Peter.” Penny gave a sad smile. “He’s angry and upset and wants answers just like the rest of us.”
“We could make you tell us,” Pippy added, raising her brow.
“You could try,” I said, grasping the necklace around my neck. I might just find out if it really did block any magical bombshells.
Her gaze zeroed in on my hold, and she looked away, pissy like she understood why she might fail.
Peter’s gaze turned from his sisters to Sue and Creely Kimbrel as they entered the pool area. Sue took Creely by the elbow and led her down the path toward the chairs on the beach.
Peter’s eyes narrowed, and he shoved out of his chair and huffed his way back into the hotel. There was no love lost there. Maybe Ryder and I had missed something.
“This was a waste of time,” Pippy announced as she rose and followed her brother back into the air conditioned building. I’d expected Penny to do the same, but I was wrong. She sat back and adjusted her hat to cover her face where the sun had started to touch.
“You’ll have to forgive my family. They have no manners.”
“I probably wouldn’t either had it been my dad,” I answered honestly.
She turned to look at me. “Family is important. My siblings have always underestimated me because I don’t crave the things that witchcraft can bring about.”
“I heard Pippy has her eye on the Council seat.”
“That’s no secret. She has since she was ten.” Penny chuckled. “Peter, he’s different. He just exudes power and doesn’t need anything, including the title to prove his worth. He’s very self-assured.”
“You’re actually the smart one, calculating, watching, quiet, never acting on impulse.”
She grinned. “You’re observant.” She grinned and rose. “I have no doubt you’ll help solve this case and bring my mother’s killer to justice.”
I stopped her before she could walk away. “You know who it is, don’t you?”
“I have my guess,” she said, glancing down toward the beach. “You’ve already talked to all of us, and I can tell you, no matter how rotten my family can be, none of us killed our mother. You need to expand your search.”
She started to walk away, but she turned back around. “Oh and about my mom’s abilities. If you ever want to learn to wield them, I can help. She trained me, and I’ve watched her all my life, and like you said, I’m a great observer.”
“Oh, I don’t think I’ll be keeping them.”
“Yes you will, and they’ll save your life more than once. Trust me I’ve seen the premonitions.” She winked and grinned.
Chapter 14
I headed to the B&B where Ryder was talking to Mrs. Fillpot, the owner. She was a nice old lady and had been settled on the island for the last ten years. To be honest, I think Dad only approved her application for status because he found her and her plans for a B&B as non-threat and a way to accommodate the non-islanders when they were visiting island residents. It was a way to keep them out of his hotel. I couldn’t prove it, but it was a hunch.
Ryder was sitting at a table with the old woman. His ceramic cat coffee cup sat untouched in front of him. I neared the table and met Mrs. Fillpot’s gaze.
“Well, there she is. Our very own Tess Venture.” Mrs. Fillpot smiled, giving me a glimpse of her dentures. “Would you like some tea, dear?”
“No thanks. Ryder, can I speak with you a minute?”
“Sure.” He rose from his seat. “If you’ll excuse us, Mrs. Fillpot.”
Ryder led me to the stairs and up to his room. I’d never been in the B&B rooms. I’d never had need, but they were nothing like I imagined. Where I’d been expecting lace doilies and quilted blankets folded on the end of the beds, these were much more sophisticated with warm colors and fine furniture. I seriously think my dad might have underestimated Mrs. Fillpot’s contribution.
If I were visiting an island getaway, I would be more inclined to stay in one of these rooms than around a million tourist guests.
“Tess, what are you doing here?” Ryder asked, closing the door behind him.
“The Halliwells approached me at the pool to inquire about the investigation.”
“What did you tell them?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
I walked to the window to look down on the street below. “I told them nothing and two left in a huff, but not Penny.”
“The quiet one?” Ryder asked, moving across the room to pick up something on the dresser and shove it into his pocket.
“She says we need to widen our suspect pool.”
“Did she say who should be added?” Ryder asked, leaning against the dresser.
I gestured to the bed and pointed. “May I?”
“Help yourself.” He looked confused. I couldn’t blame him, but if I was right, that comforter was an Egyptian thread count and supposed to be like sleeping on clouds.
I plopped down and spread out my arms, engulfed in the comforter as it contoured to my body.
“Who does she believe we need to add?”
I purred and pulled the blanket to cover my body. “I have got to get me one of these.”
“I’ll buy you one if you just answer my question.”
“Oh right,” I said, sitting up and pulling the blanket cocoon with me. “She didn’t come right out and say so, but she implied we should look into the Kimbrels. Sue and Creely were walking through the pool area down to the beach. That’s when Peter left to go back into the hotel mad, and Pippy followed him. I seriously believe there’s more going on between those families than what we know.”
He sat down on the bed next to me and ran his hand through his hair, a sure sign, I was starting to realize, that meant he was stressed out. “Tess, there’s something I need to tell you, and you aren’t going to like it.”
I swallowed around the forming lump in my throat. There wasn’t much that scared me anymore. Even having someone’s abilities inside me was something I could handle if push came to shove, but based on the tone in Ryder’s voice and the look in his eyes, whatever he was about to say was going to hit me hard.
“Okay.”
“Your father has no alibi.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Well, neither do the others. Doesn’t mean he killed Vinette. He has no motive.”
“Actually he does. I wasn’t sure until I got a call from the Council.”
“I don’t understand. My father might not be perfect, but he’s no killer.” I abandoned the comforter and rose. I didn’t think I could take whatever he was about to say sitting down and within striking distance. I clasped the pendant around my neck, hoping that it worked.
“Your mother wasn’t Masterson’s first wife. He was married for six years before her.”
My brows dipped. “Okay, so what does that have to do with anything?”
He met my gaze and rose. “He was married to Vinette Halliwell, and they had three children together.”
I shook my head and stepped back until my but hit his dresser. “You’re lying.”
“I didn’t want to tell you my suspicions until I had proof.”
I shoved against his chest. “I don’t believe you.”
He pulled something out of his pocket and hand
ed it to me. It was a printed picture of my father, much younger, with his arm around Vinette and with three small children of various ages. Words escaped me as I struggled to breathe. My gaze narrowed to slits as I lifted my eyes. “Even if this is true and he co-created those spawns with that woman, it doesn’t prove he killed her. What about Peter and the Kimbrels?”
I stepped forward, my gaze pleading, his unmoving. “There is something more going on. I can feel it. Just question them.”
Ryder licked his lips and visibly swallowed. “You’re right. There is something going on with Peter and Creely.”
My brows dipped. “What?”
“The night they arrived, and he spent it in town, they married.”
“What!” I shook my head. “If that was true, then why wasn’t he with them walking to the beach?”
“I don’t know yet, Tess, but I promise to find out. I’m going to the hotel after I go talk to the Chief.”
She nodded and held up the picture. “Can I keep this?”
“Tess, don’t do anything stupid.”
I let out a stressed breath. “Stupid is one thing I’m not.”
I left the room and jogged down the stairs out into the open fresh air. I rested my hands on my hips and lifted my face to the late afternoon air, trying to combat the throbbing in my head. This wasn’t happening. In a matter of days, I’d found out my entire life was a lie. I had more siblings. My father had been married before my mom, who had bound my abilities, and my father had tried to keep me prisoner on an island. The icing on the cake? What put everything over the top was the man I was starting to fall for believed my father a killer. Maybe he was right. The thought of that had me teetering on the edge.
I hopped in my buggy and drove to my favorite place on the island away from guests, away from the noises, where I always felt calm. I pulled up to the spot where the horizon blurred with colors through the forest trees and stood in silence, listening to the nature that surrounded me.
I felt my mother before she appeared. Margo stood next to me, making goosebumps on my arms rise. “My sweet girl.”
I attempted a smile and failed. “Did you know Dad was married before you?”
“Yes.” Her words were whispered. “Your father and I had no secrets.”
“Did you know about his children?”
She floated to block my serene view. “Your father’s secrets are his own and not for me to tell.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and met her gaze head-on. “Why did you bind my abilities and tie me to this godforsaken island?”
My mother’s gaze softened. “We did it out of love to keep you safe, Contessa Jane.”
“I don’t believe you.” I narrowed my gaze. “You and Dad did it because you were selfish and didn’t want me to leave.”
“Contessa, how could you say that? There is still so much more you do not know or understand.”
“And who can I thank for that?” I turned from my spot and hopped in the buggy, heading back to the hotel for answers. There was only one man still alive that could connect the dots, not only about his three abandoned kids but about my life, and it was time we all got some answers.
Chapter 15
Within the hours following I had all of the Halliwells, my brother Noah, and my father in the restaurant after the kitchen closed from the evening crowd. Staring at their faces, I couldn’t imagine what it was like for them not to have experienced having a father. Looking at him, I couldn’t fathom why he’d abandoned them. Well, technically, I guess I could. It wasn’t like he was parent of the year material; but still, he’d been there each and every time I’d ever needed him.
“Thank you for coming.”
“Have you figured out our mother’s killer?” Peter asked, standing behind his sisters seated at the table.
“Not quite, but I have solved another mystery that affects you.”
I passed around copies I’d made of the picture Ryder had given me. He stood just outside the dining room, leaning against the wall. Okay, so I had broken down and called him to tell him my plans. But only so he could see for himself the outcome. It might not prove anything, but having an innocent bystander was always good in volatile situations.
“This is us and mom,” Pippy said, turning her gaze to her sister.
“Dad, isn’t this you?” Noah added.
“Tess, you shouldn’t have done this,” my dad growled, tossing the picture onto the table.
“Why, Dad? Are you mad I outed your secret? How could you have kept this from me and Noah, and from them?” I pointed to the Halliwell siblings. “How could you even think me and Peter would be a good match?”
“I couldn’t tell you the truth about what we were talking about,” he growled.
“I don’t understand,” Penny said, slowly rising from her seat. She lifted her gaze to my…our dad. “Mom told us our father died in a boating accident.”
“He’d left her and filed for divorce before he ran off with his mistress,” Peter said, tossing the paper down. “I knew. She told me three years ago.” He held my gaze as if I was the most vile thing on the planet. “I’m guessing the whore was your mother?”
I lunged, and my father grabbed me, stepping between me and Peter. “Contessa Jane, stop it.”
I met the truth in his eyes. He had run. The divorce must have come after his departure, the lie to the Halliwell kids fabricated. I glared at Peter from around my father. “My mother was no whore.”
“Tess, have a seat.” My father sighed and pulled out a chair.
I didn’t sit, but I did snatch my arm out of his grip and pace across the room out of killing distance. I held on to the lifeline around my neck. If it weren’t for this locket blocking my abilities, Peter might just be dead.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” my dad said, running his hand over his head. “It’s true. Vinette and I had a past, and I am your father.” He turned to the Halliwell kids. “But it didn’t happen the way your mother said. I was fighting for shared custody for you three, and your mother threatened to expose my secret.”
“Is that why you killed her?” Penny asked, rising to her feet.
“I didn’t kill her. I had no reason. She finally agreed to tell you guys who I was. Why would I ruin that chance for you to know?”
Silence engulfed the room, and Ryder moved through the door into the room. Noah held my gaze, and a look of understanding and pity crossed his eyes.
“And my mother?” I whispered, my voice low, but everyone heard my words.
“Tess, we need to talk about this in private,” he said in the stern voice he’d used when I was growing up.
There was something he was hiding. I could see it in his eyes and in the way the vein in his forehead throbbed, but I wasn’t about to let him off the hook. All of his dirty little secrets were coming out today including why in the hell he and my mother bound my abilities. I deserved answers.
I yanked the necklace from my neck and clenched it in my hands as anger rippled through my body. “Spill it all dad.”
“Tess, don’t drop the amulet. You’ll regret it,” Ryder said, momentarily stealing my attention.
“My whole life is one big lie.” I glared back at my father. “He bound my abilities; he was married and had other kids. Everything I grew up believing about this man is a lie. I want…no, I need to know if the same applies to my mother.” I turned my attention back to my father with laser focus. “Tell me.”
“Tess.” His gaze pleaded. “You were my daughter in every way that mattered, but I’m not your biological father. She was pregnant before we met.”
All of the air swooshed from my lungs as the sting of tears stabbed my eyes. Noah was quick to cross the room and pull me into his arms as my tears began to fall. My world had officially fallen apart. My chest caved with the knowledge I’d been lied to my entire life by the people I trusted. He wasn’t my dad. Noah, not my brother.
“Tess, you are my daughter, and I’ve loved you like
one since the day you were born,” my father said.
“I was wrong,” I whispered into Noah’s shirt, lifting my tear-stained gaze to his. “You aren’t even my brother.” The tears started to fall in earnest. That realization stung worse than anything I could have imagined.
“I’ll always be your brother, and you will always be my sister,” Noah announced without question. “I don’t care what genetics say.” He lifted my hand to his chest. “You are my family. You’re the sister of my heart. You always will be.”
“This is just great.” Pippy sneered from across the room. “Our mother is dead, and we have a father we don’t want and a brother that we never knew. Could our vacation be anymore jacked up?”
I pushed out of Noah’s hold. A sadistic smile crossed my lips. “You’re forgetting your new sister-in-law.”
A look of confusion clouded her face, but not Peter’s. No, he looked ready to spit nails. Served him right for calling my mother a whore. “Tell her, Peter. Tell them all that you married Creely Kimbrel the first night on the island.”
“What!” Pippy spun on her brother, and that was when all hell broke loose. Words were yelled, things were said, and I calmly did the one thing I’d always wanted to do. I walked away from the family drama that wasn’t even mine.
Chapter 16
Noah had tried to stop me, but I told him I needed time, but that didn’t stop Ryder from following me out to the pool.
“Did all of that make you feel better, Tess?”
“The truth is out,” I said, tossing my hands up in the air. “You should be thanking me that I brought out all of Daddy’s little secrets.” I dropped my hands to my side. “Masterson,” I corrected, remembering he wasn’t even my father.
“Tess, you’re hurt. I get it, and I’ll help you sort everything out. I promise, but you have to keep your head right now. There is still a killer on the loose, and after that display, I’m almost positive if any of those Halliwell kids are responsible, they’ll be coming after you. You didn’t play this smart.”
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