by Tegan Maher
"Aww," I said, taking her face in my hands and scrunching her cheeks. "You're adorable when you're mad."
"I'm going to kill you in your sleep one of these days," she mumbled through squished lips.
"And that's exactly why you're not allowed to have eggs."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
WHEN WE GOT TO KITTY's, Noelle and her crew were sitting on the porch, coffee in hand. Coralee's makeup was, as usual, perfect and she didn't have a hair out of place. On the other hand, Noelle had pulled her mass of curly red hair through the back loop of a Bulldogs ball cap and was wearing minimal makeup.
"Hey, y'all," Coralee called. "What are you doin' out and about so early?"
Noelle yawned from her position beside Hunter on the porch swing and gave a little wave, then took a sip off her coffee like it was a lifeline. Maybe we were more alike than I'd originally thought.
Alex reached out and shook Hunter's hand, then Buddy's.
"Kitty invited us out to breakfast," I said, unwilling to share the real reason we were there.
"And who's that?" Noelle asked, motioning to Chaos and making that cutesy face everybody does when they're addressing sweet little creatures. "She's adorable."
"Finally," Chaos said, rubbing up against her hand. "Somebody with taste. And her man's cute, too. I bet they'll be good for an extra couple slices of bacon or sausage. Unless they're the people we're here to investigate, of course."
I bit my lip—Chaos wasn't used to regular people being able to understand her, so she pretty much said whatever crossed her mind.
Noelle raised a brow. "Don't be too sure about that, little girl. I'm not inclined to share bacon with anybody. Not even my cute man."
Hunter drew his brows together; as a human he couldn't understand her, so Noelle translated.
Chaos scowled at me. "You could have warned me in advance."
I lifted a shoulder. "You should have known she was a witch."
"Don't worry about it," Noelle said with a wry grin. "I've had much worse said about me. I'm Noelle. Pleased to meet you."
"Chaos," my little fox answered. "And likewise. But my comments stand."
Coralee gave her an amused smile, and I wondered if she could understand her. There were a few humans who had just enough latent magical ability to tune into some facets of witchiness, and it wouldn't have surprised me if she were one of them.
Noelle answered before I could ask. "Coralee's special. I attribute it to her absolute acceptance of everybody, no matter what color, race, species, or living status. So yes, I'm assuming she can probably understand Chaos."
Coralee nodded, an amused expression on her face. "I can, and let me tell you—we have a talkin' donkey named Max at home, and I think these two would get along like two peas in a pod. Either that or they'd kill each other."
I shot Noelle a quizzical look. "Your familiar's a donkey?"
"Oh god no," she said, shuddering. "Max is definitely not a familiar. He's way too self-centered for that. As a matter of fact, it was his arrogance that got him in trouble to begin with. He used to be human, but tried to pull a slick one on a witch a few hundred years ago. She didn't take kindly to findin' him in a ... uh ... compromising situation with another woman."
"He's part of the family, though," Coralee said. "And he's a sweetheart once you get past all his bull."
Addy popped in beside Noelle and Hunter, and I gave a little start. So did Chaos. This time, Alex didn't so much as twitch. "Hmph," she said. "Sweetheart's not the first word that pops to mind when I think of that scotch-swillin' cantankerous old coot. But she's right—he's part of the family."
I laughed. "Now I really want to meet him."
Chaos scowled. "I'm not entirely sure I appreciate being compared to a pack animal."
Addy snorted. "Neither does he."
"So," Hunter said, probably tired of only catching parts of the conversation. "You're out here to investigate more? I'm assuming you mean the older couple?"
Since Chaos had already spilled the beans, I didn't see any point in denying it. "Yeah. I need to get something she eats or drinks from to pull a DNA sample. It would take me forever to get a court order, and we don't have that kind of time."
He nodded, then looked around, likely making sure we wouldn't be overheard. "First, if you need help getting those results, I have a guy that works as a CSI for the Atlanta FBI. If you'd like, I can call him and get it fast-tracked for you. He gets results in a few hours rather than a few weeks."
I looked at Alex. "Can we get it back that fast from our people?"
He shrugged. "It depends on how busy they are. It's a crap shoot."
That was a no-brainer then, so I nodded. "I'll take you up on that. I don't want to give them a chance to escape if they're the ones who did it."
"Just out of curiosity—and I understand if you can't say—why do you need a DNA sample?"
I chewed my lip, trying to decide whether or not I could trust them. With the way things worked in Castle's Bluff, I'd be shocked if word hadn't already gotten around about the bloodstain, so I decided there was no reason not to. "We found a spot of blood on Daisy's shirt."
He nodded. "The Band-Aid. It could be just the connection you need."
"Are you talkin' about that snooty old couple stayin' here?" Addy asked.
"Yeah," Alex replied. Clair and Harold Smith."
Addy furrowed her brow. "That's not what they called each other a little bit ago. Or at least not what he called her."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I mean, he called her Cloe. Just now, upstairs when they were whisperin' about somethin' in the hallway."
I glanced at Alex. "He did introduce her as Clair, right?"
He nodded. "Definitely."
"Give me one second," I said, holding up my finger, then pulling out my phone and walking to the other end of the porch. Despite her age, Ms. Ellen was a computer whiz. It wouldn't take her two shakes to run a background check on these people. While I waited for the call to connect, I pulled up the pics of their licenses I'd taken when I'd interviewed them the day before.
When she answered, I gave her the numbers. She said she'd run them and get back to me as soon as she found anything.
As soon as I hung up, Kitty called us all in to breakfast. Chaos, of course, beat us all to the table.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CONVERSATION AT THE table was relaxed, except for when we tried to interact with the Smiths, or whoever they really were.
"So how was your outing on the lake yesterday?" I asked.
Clair snorted. "Nothing like we were expecting, I assure you. That was not a yacht, by any stretch of the imagination."
"Now, Clair," Harold said. "It wasn't that bad. I caught a few nice bass."
"Yes," she sniffed, "but your definition of not bad is vastly different than mine. I'd have rather stayed ashore and gone shopping, not that there's an abundance of options there, either."
I tilted my head at them. "If you don't mind me asking, it sounds like this may not have been the ideal vacation spot for you. What made you pick Castle's Bluff?"
Harold elbowed her and shot her a dirty look, then turned to us. "We're having a lovely time here. We chose your little town because we were looking for a quiet little out-of-the-way place to rekindle the romance, if you know what I mean." He waggled his eyebrows, and they reminded me of two woolly worms.
She gave me a fake smile. "Exactly that, dear. We wanted a place to get away where it would be just us, with no distractions. And we certainly found that."
Somehow, she didn't strike me as the romantic-getaway type, and I wondered what Ms. Ellen was going to dig up on them. The more they said, the fishier their story sounded. I also noticed that she'd changed the Snoopy bandage for a skin-toned one.
"That must have been quite a pinch if you still need a bandage," I said.
She glanced at her finger. "It was. Not pleasant at all."
Clair kept casting nasty glances at Chaos
. Kitty had made her a plate and set it on the floor, but Chaos had torn through it like she was at an eating contest and was now going back and forth between Alex, Buddy, and Hunter, who were all sneaking her bites of biscuit and whatever else under the table. Alex had thought ahead and warned them that eggs were on the no-fly list, so at least the truck ride home would be non-toxic.
The Smiths finished before the rest of us, which we were all thankful for. It was stressful trying to include them in the conversation when they obviously didn't want to take part, but it felt rude to all of us to ignore them.
Once I was sure they were back in their room, I pulled an evidence bag out of my backpack and bagged up both her glass and her fork. Surely they'd be able to get something from at least one of them.
Hunter scribbled down an address and handed me the slip of paper. "Just send it to this address, care of Jim Sanders. I've already texted to make sure it was okay, and he's in the office today and tomorrow, so you're in luck. As early as it is, you can probably still same-day it."
I thanked him and tucked the address into my pocket.
Glancing around for Chaos, I found her curled up in Buddy's lap, a half-eaten piece of bacon still clutched in her paws. I shook my head, but Coralee laughed.
"The little piglet's eaten herself into a food coma, bless her heart. At least you won't be gettin' any sass for a couple hours."
I grinned back. "Silver linings, then, because she sure can dish out the attitude. I wouldn't trade her for the world, though."
Noelle laughed. "I know what you mean. Max is incorrigible and drinks his weight in scotch, but he's also loyal and loves us just like we love him, even though he'd never admit to having actual feelings for anybody but himself."
Alex laughed. "Then these two really are two peas in a pod."
"I've never seen a black-and-white fox," Buddy said, stroking the sable stripe that ran from her nose to the tip of her fluffy tail. Other than that and a few random black spots, her fur was a gleaming white.
"She's an arctic fox. I was playing in the woods with my sister Mila and our cousin Destiny when we found them. They were just babies, and Georgia isn't exactly their natural habitat, so we've just always assumed they were put there for us to find. Her sisters live with them, and she stayed with me."
"They don't live around here? Your sister and cousin, I mean?" Coralee asked.
I shook my head. "No, Destiny works at a beach resort in Florida, and Mila has a little boutique in a small town not far from her. I miss them."
"That must be hard," Noelle said. "My little sister Shelby is getting ready to go to Albany for college. It's about killin' me, and she's only gonna be a few hours away. I can't imagine if it was hundreds of miles."
"It's not easy. We went to the resort over the holidays"—I started to tell them I'd met the honest-to-goodness Santa Claus and helped save Christmas, but stopped myself just in time—"and we had a blast. I wish we could get together more."
"Did you find out anything about the woman in the convertible?" Noelle asked, and a little zap of pain shot through me.
"I did. She's on my suspect list, but I'm not sure where she fits into the picture just yet." Considering she'd just come back from the dead as a vampire. I didn't add that last part, of course.
"Well I hope it works out soon. I know cases like this are a mess, especially when you have multiple suspects and none of them seem to have much of a reason for doing it."
"And on that note," Alex said, pushing back from the table, "we need to get back to it. As much as we'd love to hang out, we do have a murder to solve."
"Believe us," Noelle said, holding up her hand, "we know the feeling. Good luck."
Alex scooped Chaos up, doing his best not to wake her up. She wiggled into his chest, smacked her lips a couple of times, then remained still. Noelle was right; for all her sass, I loved her, and I know she loved me back. Even if she did like Alex better most of the time.
My phone rang right as I was picking up my bag—it was Ms. Ellen.
"You're not going to believe this," she said when I answered.
"Not going to believe what?" I asked.
"Your Mr. And Mrs. Smith don't exist. The licenses are phony and there's not a trace of them anywhere in the system. I checked the address they gave, and it's bogus too. I mean, it's not bogus, but they don't live there and never have. Some young couple does."
"Maybe it's their kids," I said.
"Nope," she replied, popping her P. "Checked that, too. One of 'em's parents are dead and the other one's folks live in Florida. And neither of them are named Clair and Harold Smith."
I rubbed my hand over my face and turned back to the table. Harold's drinking glass was still on the table, covered in bacon-grease fingerprints.
"Your timing couldn't have been better, Ms. Ellen. We may not know who they are, but we will by this time tomorrow."
"Okay," she said. "Keep me posted. Now I'm curious. I wonder if they're international jewel thieves or something?"
I laughed. "I highly doubt that, but you'll be the first person I call when I know for sure."
We disconnected and I glanced toward the second-story balcony where the door to the Smith's room was located.
Now I was in a pickle. I didn't have anything to arrest them on other than presenting me with false IDs, and I preferred not to let them know I knew about that just yet. On the other hand, it didn't sit right with me to just let them go. Pulling another evidence bag from my backpack, I stuck my hand in it and picked up Harold's glass. I made a snap decision and turned to Hunter.
"May I speak with you outside?"
He glanced at Noelle, who swished her hand toward the door. "Absolutely. Go."
I paused, then looked her in the eye. Once I had her attention, I gave a tentative knock on her psychic door.
Yes? She thought.
They aren't who they say they are. That's why I need to speak with him outside. I don't want to be overheard.
What do you mean, they aren't who they say they are? How do you know?
The IDs they gave me are fake.
Talk to Hunter. He was on the force in Indianapolis for years. He'll have good advice.
Once we were outside, I gave Hunter and Alex the rundown.
"That's a tough one," Hunter said. "Personally, I wouldn't arrest them. They're apparently confident enough in the fake IDs that they're not going anywhere. I can keep an eye on them here if you want me to, though I don't know what to tell you if they decide to go somewhere."
I waved a hand. "I'm not gonna ruin your vacation by asking you to tail somebody rather than enjoy yourself. I know what y'all have just been through, and you need the break."
I'd spoken with Mom the evening before, and she'd told me Noelle and her family had been viciously attacked as part of a larger scale movement to take down the witch's council. From what Mom had heard, they'd handed out one heck of a beat-down, but only after being stalked for months. She deserved the R&R.
"I'll at least hang around until they leave for the day and make sure they don't take everything with them," Hunter said. "Then at least we'll know they're not packing up for good yet."
"Now that, we would appreciate," Alex said, and reached out to shake his hand.
"My pleasure," Hunter said, grinning. "At this point, I'm not sure what we'd do if we actually managed to escape without some sort of mess falling on us. I swear, it seems like we're cursed."
I raised a brow at him. "Don't even think that. Trust me—if you were cursed, you'd know it."
"Then here's to never being cursed. And I hope everything works out with your friend."
That startled me. I'd never told him Rhea and I were friends.
He seemed to read my mind. "You didn't have to say anything. When Addy told you about it, you looked like somebody'd punched you in the gut. I've been at this too long not to recognize the difference between a personal and professional reaction."
"Thanks," I said. "And I'm not sure h
ow it's going to work out. As far as I knew, she’s been dead for five years. I'm not sure how to come back from that."
He sighed. "If I've learned anything at all from being around Noelle and her crew, it's that everything happens for a reason. You may not know what it is, but trust the universe."
I laughed. "You sound like a fortune cookie."
A small smile slipped across his face. "Maybe so, but I'm right."
"I sure hope so," I replied. "Otherwise, I'm going to lose her all over again."
CHAPTER TWENTY
"SO WHAT are you going to do about Rhea?" Alex asked once we were back in the truck. "We know she was here right around the time of the murder, and she lied about it. We also know she had a grudge against Daisy, and she admitted to having rage and control issues. And Daisy had a secret that she was agonizing over. Maybe she'd already seen Rhea, and was struggling with whether or not to tell anybody."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Or maybe she found out something about somebody else. There are a million options, and there's no way we can find out, because she's dead."
"True," he said, sticking the key in the ignition and starting the truck. "But which one of those sounds the most likely?"
I pulled in a deep breath and released it. "Honestly? It would make more sense that she saw Rhea. That would be a decision she'd agonize over, without a doubt. Speaking of secrets, though, we do need to go talk to Marcus's mother. If she's as whackadoodle as everybody seems to think she is, she's one heck of a suspect herself."
"Yeah," he replied, “except nobody saw her peeling out of here in a huff."
"Ah," I said, “but that doesn't mean much. Her property backs right up to Kitty's. She could have walked here, done the deed, and been gone before anybody even knew she was here."
He raised his brows. "Then by all means, let's go talk to the lovable Mrs. Harvey."
"Just take the next left, then the left after that," I said. “We just need to go one road over."
If I'd learned anything in my life, it was that fanatics of anything—not just religion—were hard to predict. Some were quiet about it and minded their own business. Others, though, believed they had to convince everybody to think the way they did, and when somebody—especially somebody close to them—didn't live up to that, things could go sideways with them in a heartbeat.