A Cold Case Froze (Ice Witch Mysteries Book 2)

by J L Collins

  “What’s up?”

  Well, might as well do as the Romans do. Or the Greeks…

  I took a seat on the beanbag across from him and smiled. “Sorry to bother you like this—I’m sure you’re busy. But I just had a couple of questions if you wouldn’t mind. I was um, sent on behalf of Mrs. Rumpleroot.” I paused a beat to see if he would buy it.

  “What kind of questions?” His dark brows furrowed as he sat up.

  “She’s trying to put together Helio’s last night, and she asked for my help. Since I’m a professional and all.” That sounded believable to absolutely no one, yet somehow he shrugged.

  “All right.”

  I smiled even wider. “Great.” I thought carefully about the first question, not wanting to sound so straightforward. “I heard he threw a rager here that night. Did he seem normal? If you were even around to notice, of course.”

  A rager? Really, Indie?

  “Yeah, I saw him. It’s kind of hard to miss the guy throwing the party. It was an impromptu rush party that none of us had planned but Helio was all over the idea. The curse messed him up, you know. He was a jerk who pretty much did whatever he wanted after the snow stayed. Sorry,” he quickly added. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

  I pretended to zip up my mouth. “No worries. So was he acting weird or out of character?”

  “Not really unless you count him being drunk.”

  “How long did the party go on before anyone knew he was missing?”

  Ridge shrugged. “I wasn’t there all night. I had some… stuff to take care of with a couple of pledges so we left kinda early.”

  “Did you happen to talk to him at all?”

  “Yeah. He was around, but he was being an a—-being a jerk. Goofing around with his main dudes on the track team, drinking, hanging with the sorority chicks. You know, same ol’. He tried to tell me off before I left so I bounced.”

  Part of me wished Goldie was here with her mind like a steel trap, as she put it.

  I raised a brow. “Why was he mad at you?”

  “It was just some stupid thing I said. It wasn’t even a biggie. He was mad that I was joking about him flying crooked or whatever in the races. Just giving him a hard time. He acted like a drama queen and took off. That’s the last time I saw him.”

  Maybe talking to this guy wasn’t so hard after all. He seemed pretty unconcerned about everything. Which was both crappy and helpful.

  I knew it was a long shot but if I could just dig a little deeper with him… “Chief Putnam brought you into the station, right? To talk about Helio?”

  His expression turned stony as he stood up, looking down at me. Okay, so maybe my rapid-fire questions weren’t helping my process any. I didn’t need Ridge to get all cagey on me.

  “Yeah, so? He wanted me to explain the camera footage stuff and I told him the truth.”

  The camera footage stuff. Bingo!

  I nodded along, trying to act more aloof as I stood up. “He was interviewing a lot of people, so I wouldn’t worry about the cops,” I said reassuringly.

  “Whatever he thought he had on me was a misunderstanding. I didn’t see him after we left.” He started to walk away but then turned right back around, pacing back my way. “Listen, I didn’t do anything to him, all right? I was on that camera with the Pines brothers because I had to pay up but didn’t want everyone else to see. It’s sounds shady but I’ll tell you like I told the chief. Just because I lost a bet to Bay doesn’t mean I had anything to do with whatever happened to him and the others.” He threw up his arms defensively. I backtracked, thinking fast.

  “I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m trying to piece together that night, is all. Helio’s grandmother is concerned, you know? It’s hard for her to understand and I just want to console her the best I can.”

  Okay so that was an outright lie and no, I didn’t feel great about it. Especially since this kid seemed so spooked. But he did seem to relax a little.

  “All right, all right. Sorry,” he muttered.

  I retraced the steps I left off with. “This bet Bay Pines won, what was it, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  Ridge adjusted his stance, rocking back on his heels. He didn't want to spill the beans.

  “Hey, I don’t care personally,” I said casually with a shrug. I was taking a big chance here. “Just trying to paint a picture. Was it something illegal, or you don’t want to say—”

  His dark eyes flashed at me, offended. “Illegal? What the? Nah, it’s not like that, lady. I’m pretty sure betting on the races is totally legal.”

  Gotcha. “The races?” I feigned my cluelessness.

  He rolled his eyes. “The triathlon? If you talked to his grandmother then I know you know what I’m talking about. His family is all about his medals.”

  “Oh, right. I remember. That’s coming up soon, right?”

  “Yeah, but it’ll be worthless as a fairy to even watch. We’ll get creamed this year.”

  Admittedly I knew zero about how this triathlon worked or what teams were what but reading between the lines told me enough. “Without Helio, you mean?”

  He shrugged. “There are only a few guys fast enough to compete with any edge, and with him dead and the other two either passed out or too chicken, there goes our shot.”

  “Why wouldn’t the other two…? Oh. One of them is sick.”

  “And the other kid is probably scared he might be next, I don’t know. People are talking about someone rigging the races.”

  Now that was an interesting tidbit of information. I nodded, turning to grab my coat from behind me. “I gotcha. Well, thanks for—”

  “Hey, wait. None of this is going to get back to the school is it?” He narrowed his eyes at me.

  “No. I have nothing to do with the school. I’m just trying to put an old lady’s worries to rest.”

  I hate lies, I hate lies, I hate lies.

  “All right.” He nodded, loosening back up as if he were the most collected guy in the room. “All right.”

  I thanked him again and headed back to the camper, ready to relax some and hopefully eat dinner. Knowing my luck, I’d be interrupted mid-bite.

  I didn’t even make it to the camper.

  Goldie swooped down from the darkening sky, flying ahead of me as I pulled the truck behind my mobile house on wheels.

  “By all means,” I said after hopping out and unlocking the front door.

  She flew in past me, letting out a soft hoot.

  “You look pretty chipper. Did you get some dirt from Granny?”

  Goldie plopped down on the perch I set up for her in the corner of my makeshift bedroom. She shook out her wings. “Brr! I think the weather dropped at least ten degrees out there.”

  “The truck was nice and toasty.”

  She ignored my comment. “To answer your question, yes. But it wasn’t as much as we were hoping for. She’s still pretty upset, as you can imagine. Thank you, by the way.”

  “For what?”

  Her large gold eyes flashed at me. “For sticking me with the grieving grandmother. Lucky I'm such a compassionate soul that I was able to navigate that.”

  Setting the scene for me, Goldie explained her visit with Granny Rumpleroot while I got settled in. “She was at home the night of his death and didn’t find out until the next morning. And either no one told her about the suspicious glue gunk found on his wings or she’s forgotten, because she didn’t mention it.”

  That seemed like an important thing someone’s loved one wouldn’t skip over or simply forget. “The police might not have been forthright with her just yet.” I shook my head. “Figures.”

  “Either way, she thinks that he drank too much and fell off the roof. No foul play suspected and to her mind there was no evidence that he would commit suicide which I guess is another theory going around. From what I gathered, picking up on gossip, most people don’t know the truth about the adhesive. They think it was an accident, or that Helio did it on
purpose.”

  “That poor woman. I can’t even imagine… I would want to know the truth about my grandkid if I were her, but on the other hand, maybe it’s best to hold off telling her until the full truth is known. With someone older and frail like her you just don’t know how that would affect her.”

  She scoffed. “If you ask me, that makes it all the more important to tell her now.”

  I wasn’t in the mood to argue. If we were going to really dig in again tonight, I needed some fuel. “Did you eat yet? I’m starving.”

  “That depends on what’s on the menu,” she said, pulling the slats of the blinds apart to see out the window.

  Predictably, Goldie opted for her own meal while I cooked for one. Again.

  When she was all cleaned up and full, it was my turn to explain my progress.

  I flopped backward on the bed. “I really wish we had that stupid case file. It would make it so much easier. I want to know more about the fairies with the sleeping sickness. Ridge said he lost a bet to Bay Pines the night of Helio’s death, which is also the same night the fairies fell ill. If he lost a bet then I’m willing to bet that Bay Pines had a nice wad of cash or something like that on him. Which… would also explain why the security camera picked up on Ridge and the Pines twins sneaking off to the back of the campus. It would help his claim, anyway. Though that still doesn’t explain why they claimed his statement was faulty.”

  “What if ‘faulty’ doesn’t mean what we think it does?” she suggested. “You said something about his trip to the police department and how Chief Putnam got frustrated halfway through because their recording was messing up.”

  I thought back to the way Goldie has scribbled the words down. “Maybe. It’s possible.”

  “Then that means they didn’t have an issue with his statement and we don't need to find some secret reason why they don’t believe him.”

  You know what’s bad? When you lose a game of logic with a bird. I mean, a smart-as-a-human bird, but a bird, nonetheless. It was doing nothing for my self-esteem as a supposed journalist.

  I groaned. “Okay. Maybe you’re the Holmes, after all.”

  She beamed at me with her beaky smile. “Precisely. Actually, now that you mention it, I found something else out. Did you know that the school has a no gambling policy?” Goldie said matter-of-factly. “Helio’s grandmother mentioned it. She was worried he might have gotten into some trouble that way. Something about falling in with the wrong crowd. Guess he’s had a past with that, too.”

  Huh. “Another small piece of the puzzle, I suppose. Good looking out, girl. It sounds to me like Ridge and the twins were trying to keep the betting out of view from their elder frat brothers. A mark against them like that is potential for expulsion from the fraternity, for sure.”

  With Ridge moved from our inner-circle of suspects to just someone to keep an eye on, we were ready to move on.

  At least after I got some sleep.

  11

  Girl’s Night

  “Another list? Really? At least this one is legible,” I mumbled as Goldie handed me the piece of paper with Fatima’s neat cursive on it. “Is this all?”

  Goldie squawked and laughed. “I can’t partake in the junk food, but I think that’s enough for all three of us, really.”

  Fed up with having my mind constantly shifting between the cases and work, I was completely relieved when Fatima suggested a girl’s night just for the three of us at her cottage.

  The last time I had one of those was with my friend Gabbie in college. When I’d finally told her what happened with Gavin earlier this year, she couldn’t find time to fit me into her busy schedule to even commiserate with me like a good friend would do. The only person who was there for me outside of Nan was my friend, Jess, and she was married and had three kids. Girl's nights weren’t an easy venture for her, either.

  Somehow, I’d been appointed the go-to person for picking up our supplies. And by supplies, I mean the wine and snacks. Fatima was blessed with a decent selection of blu-rays and even some DVDs, so the plan was to veg out on the couch and let the rest of the stuff go for the night.

  Which honestly sounded like heaven.

  Ye Olde General Store spanned one of the main corners in downtown Charming Springs, classic sign and all. By this point, I was a regular and waved at Prince, the wizard who owned the shop and also happened to represent the water magic residents on the Special Council.

  He gave me the shaka sign like he'd just walked out of the clear waters along the Hawaiian coasts. “Indie. Is it gnarly out there yet? I heard it’s supposed to drop below freezing tonight.”

  Cold was cold to me at this point. “I’m not sure.” I laughed and pushed back my hood, turning down the aisle where Prince kept the wine. Luckily for us, wine didn’t go bad over the eleven-year period where everyone but Ash and Goldie was asleep.

  The options were slim as far as snacks went, but snow cream tubs were always on sale in the back. Add Fatima’s special sugar syrup to it and you’ve got a dessert that was fit for movie night.

  I yanked the freezer door open, browsing the snow cream situation. There were so many things I craved that just weren’t an option, but what topped the list was chocolate. You couldn’t exactly grow cacao trees here.

  The bell over the door jingled and Prince called out another equally stoner-guy greeting to whoever came in. The bell reminded me of being out by the pasture at the farm. Harriet, Nan’s prized dairy cow had a bell around her neck because she was likely to get lost. She was a ditzy thing, but so sweet.

  I shook my head, trying not to get trapped in my memories and tapped my finger against my chin. “Traditional vanilla, or cinnamon and nutmeg?” Or… why not one of each? I grabbed both tubs.

  “Both are good. I’d go with both.”

  I jumped and turned, startled. “Jesus, dude—”

  All of the thoughts that were bouncing around in my head froze on the spot.

  I’d never looked at a guy up close and thought ‘oh my god, he is exactly my type!’ And honestly, I wasn’t even what my type was. Preferably someone who wasn’t a cheating jerk?

  I tried to find better words as I looked up into the vivid blue eyes of the man regarding me with surprised interest... but it was a lesson in futility.

  Frustrated by my own inability to speak, I tried to stall by turning back to the freezer and putting one of the tubs back, while quickly assessing him out of the corner of my eye.

  The most noticeable thing right off the bat was a faded yet jagged scar that ran from the corner of his eyebrow to the top of his cheekbone. It didn’t mar his handsome features, but somehow seemed to enhance them.

  A few inches over 6’0” and built in a way that made me think of something that Jess always said about the gym rats she dated—he looks like he lifts. But he wasn’t so much a bodybuilder as a knight that might wield a sword.

  He had that kind of wavy hair that framed his face, somewhat softening the strong jaw covered in a hazy auburn five o’clock shadow. Now, I did know myself enough to know that I preferred dark hair, but his auburn hair fit him perfectly somehow.

  And that chip in his tooth when he gave me a confused smile… it paired well with the dimples on either side of his mouth.

  In other words, I was staring at the kind of guy who I imagined whenever I caved and bought a romance novel.

  “Is something wrong?”

  I had spent entirely too much time looking at him and not enough time speaking.

  Oh no. Think. Quick. You mastered this language Indie, you moron!

  I really couldn’t help the sputtering of words that came out of my mouth in response. I cleared my throat and reached back into the freezer, realizing I still wanted the other snow cream. “Oh, uh, sorry. I thought I recognized you.”

  What in the world did that even mean? I was half tempted to try and open up the ground beneath us just so I could fall into a hole.

  Wait. Something about his face did sort of st
oke the embers of a memory in my mind, but I couldn’t quite place it.

  “You’re the new witch here… and you thought you recognized me?” His husky accent had a melodic lilt to it that strummed through me. It wasn’t rude the way he said it, more genuinely curious than anything. And then there was the fact that he knew who I was.

  “Yes?” I said, unconvincingly.

  “I see.” There was a quirk of his mouth. “Well, since we don’t properly know each other.” he stuck out a calloused hand that was nearly twice the size of mine, “I’m Julian. I apologize if my daft spatial awareness right scared you.”

  I stuck mine out and shook his, trying to seem unfazed. “Indie.”

  He nodded, pointing down to the containers in my hand. “Local secret—dinnae try the toasted goat's cheese flavor. You won’t know if it goes bad until you end up with little enchanted horns growing out of your head. Don’t ask me how I ken.”

  The soft Scottish accent slipped in and even though there was almost no way that what he said was true, an unintentional grin broke across my face. “I feel like I should ask anyway.”

  He chuckled. “A rebel lass, I see. I lost a fight with a crane and it knocked my noggin one day. I came in here looking for the coldest thing for my forehead and that snow cream was my only choice. I dinnae ken why it seemed like a good idea to try and eat the snow cream once it started melting…”

  “Likely a concussion.” I stuck my tubs of snow cream in my tote bag and smiled again. “Luckily for me, my night is not nearly as complicated. Just hanging out with some friends,” I said, ready to book it out of there.

  He was the kind of charming that dug its innocent claws into me and refused to get out from under my skin. He could’ve been a fairy without the wings. Maybe he was a shifter. Maybe that explained the animal magnetism thing going on. Or… maybe I was just that single.

  He nodded toward the next freezer down. “Excuse me, I just need to get past you a tick,” he said, stepping around me.

  Was this the point where I was supposed to say something witty and mysteriously leave, never to be seen again? Not likely in a small town like Charming Springs.