“Right.” I shifted my weight back onto my heels as my mind pedaled through the half a dozen scenarios in my mind. Had Georgia wanted Paul dead? It certainly didn’t sound like it. But what if she’d said something in the heat of the moment and Greyson took it upon himself to take care of the problem? Then again, it was just as easy to teeter the other direction and assume that Paul’s murder had nothing to do with the Molder family.
“I don’t know who killed Paul, Ms. Boldt. But I can assure you it wasn’t me. I have an airtight alibi and three friends who will back me up.” She scoffed and tossed her long hair over her shoulder. “I’m sure Chief Landon is already running down security footage to prove I was at Le Blanc, an art gallery, thirty miles south of where Paul was found.”
“I’m sure Chief Lincoln will double-check everything.” I wasn’t sure what unnerved me more, that the woman before me wanted to be turned into a vampire or the utterly breezy attitude she had towards the death of her husband.
“Is that everything then?” Georgia asked before making a show of consulting the silver—or, likely platinum—watch around her wrist. “I do have places to go.”
“One last question,” I replied, holding up a finger. “Where did you meet Greyson?”
“There’s a club,” she answered, suddenly looking a little shifty. “It’s underground and kind of … gritty. Raven. A lot of vampires hang out there. Not that I knew that at the time. A friend took me.”
“Just Raven?”
“Yes. Now, if you’ll excuse me …”
I reached into the neckline of my sweater, tugged the Larkspur free, closed my eyes and whispered, “The greenhouse.”
When my eyes fluttered open, I was surrounded by the familiar scent of all my plants and smiled to myself, wishing I could have seen the look on Georgia’s face when I vanished right before her eyes.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Holly, how do you get yourself into these messes?” I muttered to myself as I bustled around the greenhouse. I’d never heard of an underground vampire club. According to Georgia, the elusive Raven was the best place to start my search for information, but I had no idea where to even start looking for it. Luckily, I knew someone who would. However, undead or not, beauty queens needed their sleep, and it wasn’t likely that Lacey wasn’t going to be in the mood to answer questions for at least a few more hours. Since I was still way behind on potion orders, I’d use that time to catch up. I needed to do some harvesting before heading over to Evangeline’s spa to take over the back room for a potion brewfest.
Evangeline was thrilled to see me and quickly ushered me into the supply room after barking at everyone that I was not to be disturbed. I thanked her and dove into work as soon as she closed the door. The hours flew by as I whipped up potion after potion, restocking my supplies and working on custom orders for my ever-growing clientele. The town of Beechwood Harbor was growing rapidly—too rapidly according to most of the residents—but it seemed that more and more supernaturals were moving into the area, most of them coming over from the Seattle haven, which was only a few hours away. I wasn’t sure whether it was the ocean views, the generally mild weather, or the charm of small town life bringing them in. Whatever it was that drew them into town, I was grateful. My business had been booming for the past few months and there were no signs of slowing down. Well at least not before Harvey’s sudden appearance.
As I worked, I ran through all the facts of the case and replayed my strange visit with the late Mr. Banks’ pretty wife. I hadn’t been able to ask her all the questions rolling around in my mind, the most pressing of which was why she even wanted to become a vampire. She was young, rich, beautiful. She already had everything that most people coveted. So why was she still unhappy and searching for an escape? How had Greyson Molder sold her on the idea of giving up her mortal life? And why? Was it really love, or was there something else he wanted from her?
When I finished my work, I started to clean up the discarded fragments of plant material and other potion supplies. My stomach growled as I finished packing up my small trunk and I realized it was nearing five o’clock. Surely Lacey would be awake by now. And if she’d had a chance to have her first glass of fake blood, she might even be in the mood to talk. I tucked my potion supplies back into the cupboard Evangeline had assigned to me and double-checked that all my security wards were set.
I left the supply room and made my way down the hallway that led to the treatment rooms and pushed through the dark green curtain that separated the retail space from the spa rooms. Lacey was already there, getting her nails painted a shocking shade of red by Lucy, the telepath. Figured. Evangeline was seated at the front desk talking on the phone, but she looked up as I stepped into the room and offered me a smile.
I waved at her on my way to join Lacey and Lucy.
“Hey, Holly,” Lucy said. “You all done working?”
“Yeah. Hey, Lacey.”
“Hello,” she replied before continuing to blow on the nails that Lucy had just finished painting. “You need to spend more time at the manor. Your cat is getting clingy.”
I smiled. “Aww, are you two finally bonding?”
Lacey gave a repulsed look. She wasn’t an animal person. Heck, most of the time she wasn’t a people person.
“Adam should be coming back soon,” I said. “That should get Bootsie off your case.”
“More like my leg,” she grumbled.
Lucy and I exchanged a look as we tried to control our giggles. “Trust me, Lacey; I would love to be able to do my work at home. I’m grateful to Evangeline for letting me work here, but the supply closet has nothing on the manor’s kitchen. But with Harvey poking around, it just isn’t possible.”
“What does he even want?” Lucy asked.
I shrugged. “No idea. But the other night, Chief Lincoln came by to ask some questions about the murder—” I paused, wondering if they’d even heard about it. “You know about that, right?”
They both nodded and Lucy said, “It’s all anyone can talk about. Some of the old-timers are saying the town’s cursed.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh brother.”
“Yeah.”
Lucy finished Lacey’s second hand and leaned back in her chair, rolling her wrists through the air to release the tension. “It’ll blow over. Right?”
Lacey nodded. “Next week there will be some new scandal to rave about. You know, someone cutting their grass before ten o’clock on a Saturday morning or a stray dog eating people’s newspapers.” She shifted her ice blue eyes to me and smiled. “After all, you said Adam was coming back soon, right?”
I scoffed. “Don’t make me stun you.”
Lucy laughed. “Now, now, ladies.”
I glanced around the room and spotted a woman in her mid-thirties consulting a bottle of shampoo. She looked lost in deep thought but I leaned in a little closer and lowered my voice. “Anyway, when I finished talking to the chief, Harvey was there on the stairs, and had apparently listened to the whole conversation. I told him off and he vanished into thin air.”
“Really?” Lacey asked, sitting up a little straighter.
“Yeah. It was creepy.”
“And you don’t have any idea why he’s here?” Lucy asked.
“Not a one,” I replied grumpily.
Lucy frowned. “Well I hope he leaves soon. I’m going to need a double batch of Permasmile.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Oh?”
“The monster-in-law is coming back to town in three weeks.”
“What? Why? I thought she moved to Maine?”
“She did.” Lucy shook her head, sending her shoulder-length black hair flying around her face. “But she was there for exactly two weeks before deciding the entire layout needed to be changed. And guess where she’s staying while the work is being done.”
I grimaced.
Lucy heaved a sigh. “Exactly.”
I reached across the narrow table and patted her shoulder. Lucy’s mother-
in-law was constantly picking at her and even when she didn’t say anything out loud, Lucy had the misfortune to overhear her every thought because she hadn’t yet mastered her telepathy. She relied on my potion to keep her smiling and relaxed so that she wouldn’t throttle the woman. “I’ll have the potion ready for you tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Holly. You’re a lifesaver.” She pushed up from her seat and added, “And I mean hers.”
I laughed and gave her a nod. “I figured.”
“Lacey, I’ll go get set up for your facial,” she said, heading for the green curtain.
“Thank you. I’ll be there as soon as these are dry,” Lacey replied, wiggling her freshly painted nails.
“Quite the day of beauty you’re having here, huh?” I said, casually reaching for a magazine.
Lacey shrugged. “Why not?”
I flipped open the magazine and glanced over the top at the woman still agonizing over which shampoo to buy. Evangeline ended her phone call and swooped in to assist the woman. Once the two were lost in conversation, I turned to Lacey. “Have you heard of a vampire club called Raven?”
“Raven?” Lacey blinked, clearly surprised by my out-of-nowhere question. “Sure. It’s not exactly the kind of place I hang out, but some of my friends like it.”
I drew in a deep breath, wondering how much I should tell her. Normally when trying to puzzle out a case, I had Nick to bounce ideas and theories off of, but in this case, he had to be kept in the dark. “Okay, so long story short, the man who was murdered was married to a woman, Georgia Banks. She’s been seeing Greyson Molder on the side for a few months now and he’s agreed to turn her—”
“What?” Lacey snapped. “That’s insane!”
I held up my hands. “Just the messenger.”
“That’s against the vampire code. Even a Molder would know that …” Lacey fumed. “This has to be reported to the Vampire Council.”
“Vampire Council?”
Lacey sighed impatiently. “Yes. Some vampires prefer not to go through the Haven Council. Vampire matters are … well, they’re different than other supernaturals. Most vampires have been around longer than the haven system has even existed!”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about another governing system running under the radar of the one put into place for all supernaturals, but I wasn’t going to argue about it with Lacey. At least not before I had all the information. Still, it was disconcerting that I’d never even heard of the Vampire Council and had spent the majority of my life living among supernaturals.
I pushed my hair back and puffed out a breath. “Okay, well, he hasn’t done the turning yet, but what I need is information. See, Nick is tangled up in this case. Georgia was his client and he feels responsible to get to the bottom of it. Obviously I can’t tell him to stay out of the way, but I can’t just sit back either. He has no idea what he’s up against! If a Molder killed Paul Banks …”
Lacey finished my thought, “They would have no problem killing anyone who got in the middle of it.”
A shiver snaked up my spine as I nodded in agreement. “I can’t let that happen.”
She turned to me. “I’ll see what I can find out.”
“Thank you, Lacey. I really appreciate it.”
She swept up from her seat. “Just keep that cat away from me.”
I rolled my eyes as she stalked to the back room to continue her beautification. Evangeline was still busy with her customer, so I waved to her and mouthed my goodbye as I left the spa. I burrowed into my coat as soon as I got outside and hurried back up the hill to the manor. Boots would be howling for dinner by now and no one would be there to feed him. My own rumbling stomach agreed that dinner was a good idea. I also needed to call Adam and see if he was coming back tonight or in the morning.
The manor was quiet for half a heartbeat, then a raging tabby shattered the peace with an ear-splitting howl before I even got the front door closed. A pair of glowing amber eyes appeared in the shadows at the end of the hallway and I knew I was in deep trouble. “Boots, I’m sorry!” I said, kneeling down on the welcome mat. I extended a hand, trying to coax him near, but he continued to glare at me. “Okay, okay, message received. Food now, apologies later. Got it.”
I pushed up from the floor, kicked out of my boots, and shrugged out of my coat. Boots didn’t race ahead, as per his custom, but instead followed me from a few feet’s distance as though supervising me to make sure I didn’t deter from the course. I hurried to get him a bowl of food—spoiling him with the entire contents of the can, instead of just a half—and only after he finished stuffing his fluffy face did he come over and let me stroke his silky fur.
“Holly?”
The sound of Posy’s voice startled me and, in my squatted position, I nearly lost my balance. I steadied myself with a hand on the side of the cupboards and craned around to see her silvery silhouette solidify near the stove. “Hi, Posy. How are you?”
“I’m fine, dear. I came to tell you there’s someone outside. That PI friend of yours.”
“Nick’s here?” I pushed up from the floor after giving Boots a final pat on the head.
The doorbell rang.
“He doesn’t look too happy,” Posy added before she shimmered and floated back through the kitchen door.
“Great,” I said with a sigh. I headed out of the kitchen and let the door flap closed behind me. Boots would likely go and curl up in his cat bed and spend the next hour grooming himself. “Posy, do you know where Harvey is?”
“Mr. Colepepper? No, dear. I haven’t seen him today, although the door to his room is closed. I suppose he could still be in there. I expect he’s off doing important SPA work.”
“I suppose …” I gave a withering glance at the stairs and hoped he wouldn’t pop into view while Nick was here. “Thanks, Posy.”
Posy vanished up through the ceiling and I opened the front door. She hadn’t been exaggerating. Nick was wearing a scowl so deep I feared he was etching permanent wrinkles into his face. “Nick?”
“What were you thinking, Holly? What gave you the right?” he fumed, stepping into the manor without an invitation.
I closed the door and whirled around to face him. “Slow down, Nick. What are you talking about?”
He crossed his arms. “Why did you go interrogate Georgia?”
I reared back as though he’d landed a physical slap. “What?” I spat.
So much for not dragging Nick into it.
Nick glared at me. “She called me this evening and told me that I needed to call off my—well—I won’t use her exact language, but she told me all about your little visit.”
My heart slammed against my chest. “All about?” I repeated. Harvey was going to kill me. A human finding out about the supernaturals in Beechwood Harbor would be unforgivable. Un-sweep-under-the-rug-able.
“She said you drilled her for information about Paul and she had to demand that you leave.”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes up at the ceiling even as a surge of relief spread over me. At least she’d kept her word about not bringing up the whole witch thing. “That’s ridiculous, Nick.”
“So she’s just making up the whole thing?” he asked, leveling me with another harsh glare.
“No.” I paused and dragged a hand through my hair. “No, she’s not making it up. I did go see her. I just wanted to ask her a few questions about Paul and see if she had thought of anything that might help us.”
Nick’s jaw flexed. “Why? You don’t think I’m doing everything I can to get to the bottom of this? You thought I needed your help?”
“I didn’t mean anything by it, Nick. I thought I could help. That’s all. I promise.”
He threw his hands up in the air.
“Nick, please,” I stammered, closing the gap between us. “I’ve helped you before and thought I might be able to lend another pair of eyes.”
Nick took a step back, out of reach. “Just stay out of this, Holly.”
His anger s
urprised me. Nick and I had successfully solved two murders over the past year and regularly joked about me going to work for him as a junior PI. Beyond that, we were friends.
“I’m sorry, Nick.”
He stormed back to the front door. “You might have meant well, Holly. But Georgia just fired me and is refusing to pay me because she thinks I broke her confidence. Your whim, or instinct to help, or whatever it was, just cost me a big job and I have no doubt that Georgia will share her experience with her friends. A woman like that has pull, especially in a town this small. This could cost me my entire business, Holly.”
I was speechless. My mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. Nick didn’t wait for me to rally. He wrenched the door open and stalked out into the night. Only once he was gone did a few tears slip past my lashes. I had no idea how I would be able to fix it, but I knew I had to.
I dragged myself back to the kitchen to finish making myself something to eat, although my stomach was churning and I was no longer hungry. As I pushed the door open, I heard something rustling around. My jaw hit the floor when I stepped inside and found Harvey elbow deep in my messenger bag, his stubby fingers wrapped around two potion vials that I’d filled while working at Evangeline’s.
No, no no.
Harvey’s eyes were dark as they flicked up to me. “Well, well, well.” A cruel smile twisted his features. “What do we have here, Holly Boldt? Back to your old tricks, I see.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Harvey,” I exclaimed, surging into the kitchen. I raised my hand, ready to summon the bag and vials away from him, but I wasn’t fast enough. He snapped his fingers and my wrists slapped together in front of me. I tugged and twisted but there was nothing I could do. The magic encircled my wrists as tight as if I were physically cuffed. I couldn’t break free. “Harvey, no! Please, don’t do this. I can explain!”
He chuckled. “Oh, I’ll just bet. Holly, in all the years we’ve known each other, you’ve always had a good excuse. Last time you were in cuffs, I went out of my way to give you a second chance, and now I can see that all of your promises were meaningless. I’ve already tested these potions. They’re marked with your signature. There’s no way you can deny you were the master who produced them.”
Witch Slapped: A Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery (Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries Book 3) Page 8