by Tegan Maher
Men and their toys. Though to be fair, witches had their own glitches when it came to propriety, so I couldn't say much without being a hypocrite at least in theory. And I knew the faeries were sticklers for convention and had their own rules for that sort of thing, so it made more sense when he framed it like that.
"So if nothing else, it was just habit for them to carry them." Colin said.
"Pretty much," Shane replied as Mia and Calamity pushed through the door at the same as a group of elves. "I've gotta go, but I hope I helped."
"It's another piece of the puzzle," said Colin, "so thanks."
Mia already knew what she wanted just like we did, so we gave him our orders so he could go take care of the elves.
"So the knife used to kill him wasn’t just any old knife," I told her as she plopped her purse up on the table.
"What made it so special?” she asked. “And why does it really matter? Does it tell you who killed him?"
"Not really, but it was one-of-a-kind, and I’m sure not just everybody had access to it." I took a sip of my beer.
"The reason it matters," Colin continued for me, "is that was his own ceremonial dagger."
"Why are we worrying about the murder weapon at all?" she asked. "Isn't this something the resort, the faerie council, and the PCIB will take care of?"
I sighed. "Yeah, but for some reason, I have a gut feeling I should follow along."
Her face became serious. Witches in our family, and in general for that matter, knew better than to ignore gut feelings—they were rarely wrong, and if they were, you probably weren't listening closely enough to them.
"Well in that case, then,” she said, “you should probably move fast. From what I understand through the grapevine, once the faerie council has a solid suspect and enough evidence, they don't dilly dally around; they take immediate action, and unless I'm sorely mistaken, the penalty for killin' a prince is gonna be death."
Colin agreed. "She's right. Once they have somebody, the council will give the PCIB a courtesy twenty-four hours or so to wrap things up on their end to their satisfaction, then they'll take action. But note I said courtesy. That’s all it is."
So, no pressure at all then.
Shane returned with Mia's beer and a refill for us, and it wasn't long after that our burgers arrived. I cut the one Calamity and Tempest were sharing in half and gave them each their own plates, then dug into mine.
The Cauldron's burgers were incredible—the kind that were so big you could hardly get your mouth around them, then the juices ran down your arms when you bit into them. They were massive, and the seasoning on the fresh-cut fries was to die for. Thank the gods for a high metabolism or else I'd have been as big as a house. Mia too, for that matter.
I leaned back and patted my belly two-thirds of the way through. I couldn't eat another bite, and the half a beer in front of me seemed more like a gallon. I was full to the gills.
"You not gonna finish that," Colin asked, licking his fingers clean of the last bit of salt from his final fry.
I waved my hand, switching plates with him without leaning forward; at that point, I don't think I could have bent in the middle if I'd have had to.
He scarfed it down and I couldn't decide whether I was impressed or disgusted. Mia hit the wall with hers not long after I did, and Tempest and Calamity eyeballed hers the same way Colin had mine. She cut it into two chunks and put one on each of their plates and divided her remaining fries amongst them. I'd stopped being surprised by their ability to eat their own weight in food a long time ago.
After all the plates were licked clean—literally—we took a few minutes to let our food settle.
My phone chimed with a text, and I pulled it from my purse. It was from Blake. I swiped to read the whole thing and my stomach, full as it was, dropped to the floor.
You and Bob can come home now, but if you're already settled, I've covered your shifts for tomorrow, so take your time. We found the murderer, a vampire named Marissa.
"Oh, no," I said as four sets of eyes swung toward me.
"What?" Mia said, a combination of curiosity and concern on her face.
"Now I know why I've had that gut feeling. They've gone and arrested the wrong person. I need to get back to the resort."
CHAPTER TWELVE
I TEXTED BOB AND JOLENE to make sure Blake had contacted them, and he had. They wanted to stay another day to visit since two days off in a row was so rare lately, but I had to get back.
We didn’t waste any time making tracks back to Ingrid’s, and after a quick explanation, we gathered our bags from and paid up. I'd bought her a box of her favorite chocolate-covered strawberries as an apology for waking her up in the middle of the night and she hugged me when we left.
"Don't stay away so long, next time," she said with a sniffle. "I miss you girls."
"Why don't you take at least a couple days off and come stay with me at the resort?" I said, warming to the idea as soon as I'd said it. "You can relax and let somebody wait on you for a while."
She smiled and smacked me playfully on the arm. "I wouldn't know what to do with myself in a situation like that."
Colin gave her a wry smile. "Trust me—you'd figure it out."
"I don't know about that," she said, her leathery brown face crinkled into a smile, "but I'd sure love to try."
"I'll help you out," Tempest said, jumping onto my shoulder. "I'm a pro at it."
"She's not lying," I said. "She's grown about as lazy as a cat."
She dug her claws into my neck, just enough to be irritating. "A cat would never be able to keep up with you."
"I agree," I replied, holding back a snicker at her disdain. She was not a fan of cats even though she acted like one most of the time.
Ingrid stopped me with a hand on my arm. “I know what you’re heading back to, and I know you want to help this girl. But be careful with the king—and the queen too, for that matter, if she’s there. Like with all royal families, things are more complicated than they’ll admit to. I’ve heard rumors about everything from civil cover-ups to illegitimate children about that family, so watch your back.”
I gave her another squeeze and assured her I would.
Since Colin had a full stomach and wanted to keep it that way, he convinced me to walk to the portal rather than apparate straight back. Tempest, on the other hand, opted to pop back to the resort to see if she could find anything out. She had her own clearance, so getting back into the resort wouldn't be an issue for her.
After she left, I didn't let him burn any daylight, full stomach or not. With each passing minute, my dread increased. It seemed like it took hours to get back to the resort.
Once we were standing in front of the cliff mirage that hid the resort from humans, I pressed my finger onto what looked like a little rock on the side of the faux cliff to get us back into the resort. I was so worried I was too late to help Marissa that I was about to chuck my own burger.
It took another ten minutes to walk back to my cottage. I stopped long enough to drop my stuff off, then headed straight to the resort to talk to Blake. Colin declared he was coming with me. I asked why.
"As an attorney, I want to make sure she's properly represented. Unless I miss my guess, they likely haven't explained the rules to her, and since she's newly turned, I'd be surprised if she knows them, or even realizes she has rights."
"Are you up to Apparating yet?" I asked.
He pulled in a deep breath, then released it. "As bad as I hate to risk losing such an amazing burger, I suppose I need to be."
I rolled my eyes. "Look at it this way—if you lose the burger, you love the steak at the tiki, so you'll have room for one of them when we get things ironed out.
His face lit up as he took my hand, and I couldn't help but laugh at him. Leave it to a werewolf to be willing to put himself through something that made them sick if there was a steak at the end of the stick rather than a carrot.
"That's a good way to look
at it," he said. "Lead on."
"Take a deep breath," I said. "I've never had any problems, but other people say it helps."
As soon as I heard him inhale, I closed my eyes and pictured Margo the sphinx, with her Greek-goddess face and lion's body. When I opened them two seconds later, we were standing in front of the statue herself.
"Well hello, Destiny." A smile curved her lips and she tilted her head forward to look at me. Sand showered down as she did so, and I ducked my head to keep it out of my eyes. "Sorry about that," she said. "One of the disadvantages of living in a windy, seaside place. By the expression on your face, I assume this isn't a social visit."
I frowned. "Unfortunately, no, it isn't, Margo. But how have you been?"
"Not so good," she said, a frown marring her beautiful face. "The faerie king and I had a bit of a disagreement when I wouldn't let him pass with his full guard."
"You don't say," said Colin, interest covering the slightly green tint to his face. I was proud of him; each time he apparated, he seemed to be getting better with it. Good, because when you lived in a place where the air was so thick with humidity that it felt like you were breathing water, walking was overrated sometimes.
"Yes," she said. "He showed up here with murder in his heart, and that's my raison d'etre, as it were—to stop those who would do harm to others from entering the hotel. I wouldn't let him pass until security came and disarmed him and his men. He blustered and threatened, and it was quite the fiasco, but I'm afraid I had to insist."
Despite my urgency, I had to smile at the image that put in my head. I'd never met the king, but by now, I didn't exactly have a favorable opinion of him. I realize it was unfair since he'd lost a son, but with the fear I'd suffered at just the threat of him, I was having a hard time finding my sympathy.
Many people experienced heart-wrenching grief; it was a poor leader indeed who allowed that grief to turn to unjustified violence. Just because a man was one of the most powerful beings on the planet, or even especially because of it, didn't mean he should use that power for vengeance rather than justice. That led to a curious thought.
"You said he threatened. What could he have done to you?" I asked her.
She gave a tinkling laugh that seemed out of sync with her looming form. "Why nothing at all. He's not even a millennium old, the silly faerie. I've existed for five that I'll admit to." She winked. "Believe me—it'll take way more than threats from a being such as him to make me disregard my duties."
"I do love you, Margo," I told her, delighted again by her sass. "I have to go find Blake because I'm nearly positive they've accused the wrong person, but I'll be back to hang out before too long. I miss you, too."
The view from there was incredible, and it wasn't by chance. When they'd built the resort, the hotel had been designed so that it sat up a bit and faced the gulf. Shimmering blue water led to the faraway horizon, and the sunset from there was one of the best on the Gulf Coast. Back when I'd been dating Blake, I'd often sit and watch the sunset with her while I waited for him to finish work, or we'd gaze at the stars while she told me stories about history I'd only read about in books, but that she'd lived through. She was an amazing creature and a good listener. Her advice, though not always what I wanted to hear, was usually spot-on, too.
"Destiny," she said as I started to dart past her.
I froze and turned back toward her. "Yes, Margo?"
"I agree with you; they have the wrong person, but they wouldn't listen to me. Come sit with me when you're done in there; I think we need to talk."
And that was all I needed to hear. When a sphinx says it's time to chat, it's time to chat.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
OUR SHOES SQUEAKED on the marble floors as we rushed through the grand foyer of the hotel. Flashing lights and the sound of cherry machines flowed from the casino to the left while the smell of cooking food and the sounds of happy shoppers drifted from the restaurants and boutiques to the right. Finally, we reached the bank of elevators that led to Blake's office.
I hadn't thought to text him before we left my place and wished I had; I hated to think we were wasting our time hunting for him when we needed to be laser-focused on finding Marissa. I fired off a quick text to him before the elevator doors slid open and we stepped inside.
Using my finger on the biometric security pad that granted me access to Blake's level took longer than it should have because my hands were shaking so badly I couldn't hold still long enough for it to read it. Finally, though, the doors whispered shut.
Though I knew it was less than a minute, it felt like it took hours for the elevator to climb all the way to the fourth floor of the five-story building. When the doors finally whooshed open at our stop, I bolted out of them and down the hall to his office, where his secretary—not the same one he'd lip-locked—was manning a desk, pecking away on the keyboard in front of her.
She looked up, startled, when I barreled through the doors, and patted her hair. She was another perfect ten, just like his last one had been, from her perfect hair and teeth to the fancy acrylic, manicured nails. A practiced smile sprang to her lips and she opened her mouth to say something.
I cut her off before she could.
"I need to see Blake,” I said, not wasting any time. “It's an emergency. Please and thank you," I added, cringing because I knew I’d catch more flies with honey than vinegar. It as a reality I often forgot.
"I'm sure you do,” she said, her attitude condescending. “I'll have to see if he's busy."
The fake smile she gave me was about enough to make me want to snatch her from behind her desk. Rather than acting on my druthers, I reached across the desk and grabbed the phone myself, punching the button for the direct line to his office.
"It's me," I said as soon as he picked up.
"That's lovely," he said. "Just tell them to leave it at the tiki for me and I'll come get it as soon as I'm finished with my meeting. Thanks."
He hung up, and I looked at the phone in my hand as if it were covered in alien goo. The secretary, on the other hand, didn't know whether to be terrified or indignant. Just for the fun of it, I growled and snapped my teeth, and her expression settle solidly on terrified.
I turned to Colin and told him in a whisper what had happened.
"Then we go wait at the tiki," he said, turning to leave.
Giving the secretary one final glance, I turned on my charm and let a little more of my accent drip through than usual.
"I shore do appreciate your time, sweetie. And bless your heart, just look at those gorgeous nails. They're almost as good as if you paid to have 'em done in a salon!"
Her expression went from scared to seething in three seconds flat, though I wasn't impressed it took her that long. Any good southern girl would have already been across the desk and had me by the hair.
When I saw the confused look on Colin's face, I grinned, pushed my shoulders back, and walked out of the office with my head held high.
"What was that all about?" he asked as we went back to the elevators.
I waved him off as we stepped into the same one we'd just used. "Don't worry about it. I was just teaching Ms. Hot-to-Trot a lesson in hospitality. Now, I wonder who's in there that he didn't want us to run in to?"
"Probably the king," he said after the doors slid shut.
"Maybe," I said. "I can't think of any other reason he'd dodge us like that—not when he was the one to tell us it was okay to come back."
"He also told you it was fine if you took another night, too," he pointed out.
That was a valid point. Too late, I wondered if that had been a hint, then shrugged. Blake knew me well enough to know that I didn't do too well with hints. If he meant for me to stay away for another night, he should have said so, not that I would have listened knowing Marissa's neck was on the line.
I still wasn't sure what it was about her that made me so sure she was innocent, but I felt it in my gut. She was. Now I just needed to prove it.
WE PAUSED OUTSIDE THE hotel beside Margo.
"Back so soon?" she asked. "I thought you were going to talk to Blake about Marissa."
"We were," Colin said, "but he was busy. Gave us some cryptic message that we assume meant he'd meet us at the tiki when he was finished."
"Then I assume you have a minute," she said, "and even if he's with the king, and the king comes out and gets his hands on you like he's been demanding, I can take care of him."
I climbed up on the base she was poised on and took a seat, then motioned for Colin to do the same. Thanks to all the walking, my feet were killing me. I rolled my toes toward my shins to stretch the cramp from my arches.
"So," I said once I was comfy. "What is it you wanted to chat about, and why do you think Marissa is innocent?"
"I'll answer your last question first. The girl came and went from the hotel numerous times, and all I ever saw in her heart was confusion—she feels like a lost soul. She even stopped and chatted with me once."
That surprised me. Most people didn't realize Margo was anything other than a statue; they didn't realize she was actually a living sentry.
"I couldn't help it," she said. "The first night she was here, she went for a stroll on the beach, then climbed up on my base and took a seat, just like you are now. She was talking to herself about what her future held, and the heartbreak she was feeling made me so sad for her that I just had to comfort her."
I tilted my head, stuck on something she'd said. "I thought vampires had no soul."
"Pht," she said, and I could imagine the consternation on her face. "You should know better than that. Every living thing has a soul. It was actually one of the things she was lamenting—the loss of it."
"But vampires aren't alive," Colin said.
"Of course they are," my stony friend returned. "They walk and talk and feel just like anybody else does, and have just as wide a range of emotions and personalities as every other creature does, too. Just because her heart doesn't beat doesn't mean she doesn't have a soul."