Two days was not a lot of time. “You think she’ll be here at least until then, right?”
“Definitely. No way is a woman like Francine going to let her fancy-pants antiques and high-end household paraphernalia get loaded onto a truck without being there to supervise. But then she’ll probably leave right after the truck does. No point in sticking around after that.”
“Okay. Good enough.”
Birdie cleared her throat, then lowered her voice. “Can I ask why you need this info?”
“You can ask…but I’m not sure I should tell you.” I bit my lip. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Birdie, but again, she worked at the sheriff’s department. And I was technically about to commit a crime. A relatively harmless one, but still.
“What are you up to, Princess?”
I sighed. “I appreciate the info, but I don’t want to involve you any further than I already have.”
“Ahem.” I could practically hear Birdie’s drawn-on eyebrows lift. “Involve me any further in what?”
“Birdie, I just think this is a conversation better left unhad. Especially over the phone.”
A long pause followed. “Are you at the shop?”
“Yes, but—”
“I’ll be right over.”
I shot forward. Like that was going to help. “Birdie, wait—”
The line went dead.
I hung up. This was getting far more complicated than I’d anticipated. My brain was starting to ache. I planted my elbows on my desk, then leaned my head into my hands. If Birdie figured out that I was going to break into Francine’s and rifle through her stuff to see who wanted that imp, there was no way I could go through with it. I couldn’t risk it.
My father might be willing to overlook a lot of things, but getting arrested was probably not one of them.
I sighed, then got up and walked over to the employee break room. The box from Delaney’s shop beckoned. I opened it and stared into the chocolate abyss. It was glorious. I took a deep breath, the majestic aroma instantly relieving some of my stress.
I popped a truffle into my mouth, then snagged a small plate from the kitchenette and added a few more things, including a chocolate cupcake with what I hoped was peanut butter icing, and two frosted sugar cookies that were decorated to look like beach balls. The truffle dissolved on my tongue in a blissful mélange of dark chocolate and raspberry, sending my endorphins to a new, happier level.
The deliciousness also reinforced my belief that Delaney was a freaking genius with sweets. If there was anyone Aunt Martha was going to share her fudge recipe with, it should be her. At least it would be in safe hands. And Delaney could do it justice.
I went back to my office, plate in hand, and wrote myself a note to talk to my dad about getting Aunt Martha on the globe sometime this week.
Halfway through my daily batch of paperwork and all the way through my plate of snacks, Birdie opened my office door. “Am I interrupting?”
Even if I’d said yes, I wasn’t sure it would have mattered. “No, come in.”
She put a takeout bag with a large Styrofoam container in it on my desk. “I brought you some chili cheese fries from Mummy’s.”
I squinted at her, my mouth already watering. I could smell the fried, cheesy goodness. “Is this some kind of bribe?”
She sat in the same spot Delaney had just occupied. “Think of it more like edible persuasion.”
I shook my head in disapproval. But took the box out and opened it anyway. What? You didn’t turn down chili cheese fries from Mummy’s. Not if you had an ounce of decency. I picked up one fry dripping with bright orange cheese sauce flecked with spicy bits of chili and popped it in my mouth. “I still can’t tell you anything.”
She frowned at me. “Why? Don’t you trust me?”
“You work at the sheriff’s department. And you’re the sheriff’s aunt.”
She thought on that a moment. “So you’re planning something illegal.”
“Not exactly.”
“And it involves Francine.”
I groaned. I was having a hard time lying about this. “Birdie, please.”
She shrugged. “I was going to see if you needed some help, but if you’re going to take that kind of attitude, well, then, I guess we’re not the friends I thought we were.” Then she sniffed like she was on the verge of a cry.
Big hairy snowballs. “Birdie, you have to understand why someone wouldn’t want to include you in their plans to hypothetically do something that might fall into a sort of legal gray area. Right?”
She crossed her arms. “I’m not the law. Hank is. And what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” She uncrossed her arms and leaned closer. “In fact, having me involved might keep him from finding out.”
I was on the horns of a dilemma here. I ate a few more fries while I thought it over. They were stupidly delicious. Or they were so delicious they were making me stupid. One of those. Finally, I held up my hands in surrender. “Okay. But is there any kind of confidentiality agreement we could come to?”
She pinched her fingers and ran them over her closed, smiling mouth. “My lips are sealed. Consider me at your service, Your Highness.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, hoping the pain would keep me from laughing out loud. Her earnestness was endearing. “I was thinking I really need to have a look at Francine’s files to see who she was buying that imp for. I mean, someone in town might be in danger. And if I could prevent that and didn’t, and then something bad happened, well, I’d feel awful about it for the rest of my life.”
Birdie gasped. “You’re so right. We have to do this.”
We? “Confiding in you doesn’t mean you can tag along. I’m talking about breaking and entering.”
“For a good cause! You’ll be saving someone’s life.”
“That might be a bit of an exaggeration.”
“You don’t know that.”
“True, but—”
“How are you going to get in? I think Hank has a lock-picking kit in his office somewhere. I can look for it.”
“No, I already have a way in. If you’re going to help at all, what I need is a lookout.”
Her eyes lit up with an odd glow that I suddenly realized was her wolf shining out. “Oh, I can do that.” She lifted her finger for emphasis. “We should have a signal. An alarm sound, in case someone shows up.”
“Sure, that might—”
She tipped her head back and howled. Like, genuinely howled. I held on to the edges of my desk, slightly unnerved by the way the low, keening sound cut through me.
She finished and looked at me. “What do you think? That’s the warning howl we use in the pack.”
“Um…yeah, that would do it.” Who was I to argue with a werewolf? “I don’t think I’d be able to repeat it if I had to warn you about anything, though.”
“Oh, you won’t have to. You’ll be inside the house. Nothing in there to worry about.”
“Except Francine. Which leads me to the other sticking point in this whole scheme. Getting into her house with her still in it is going to be extra tricky. And I can’t think of a way to make her leave.”
That little shimmer of light reappeared in Birdie’s gaze. “How long do you need inside the house?”
“Long enough to find the boxes holding her business stuff, then some more time to go through them and find the order lists. Half an hour minimum, I’d say.”
“I can get you an hour. Maybe a little more.”
Now that was impressive. “How?”
She lifted her chin a little. “Maybe I shouldn’t tell you.”
“Birdie.”
She grinned. “I was thinking I could set up a fake meeting with her in Clarksville. That’s about half an hour away. That would give you plenty of time.”
“What kind of a fake meeting is going to get her to drive half an hour to meet someone she’s never met?”
“Honey, I’m a werewolf. I have things that she’d like to buy.”
I shook my head. “Such as?”
“My baby teeth, for one thing. Do you know what werewolf fangs go for on the black market?”
“Not a clue.”
“Trust me. If I text her a picture of those, she’ll meet me anywhere I ask her to. Once she gets to Clarksville, I’ll let her stew for a few minutes, then text her that something else has come up and I have to cancel. Problem solved.”
“Except what if she doesn’t deal in relics? Greyson told me about them. They’re definitely black market stuff.”
“Oh, she’ll bite. No pun intended.”
“The other problem is she knows you live here in town. Why would she be willing to go all the way to Clarksville to meet you?”
“Because I’m not going to be me. I’m going to be someone else.” She tipped her head. “I’ll be Myrtis Lobb.”
“The Peach Cobbler Queen?”
Birdie nodded slyly. “That name is as good as any other. And I’ll use one of the burner phones Hank keeps around the station for undercover work, so she won’t recognize the number.” Birdie rolled her eyes. “Like we ever have undercover missions in Nocturne Falls.”
I studied the woman across from me. “You’re a lot more devious than I gave you credit for.”
Her smile was wide and bright. “Never let it be said that Birdie Caruthers isn’t a deep well of untapped talent.”
“I’ll say. Can you get this set up for tonight?”
She stood and settled the handle of her straw and bamboo handbag into the crook of her elbow. “You betcha. I’ll text you when it’s done. And then I’ll see you tonight. We’ll meet at the warehouse door at nine. If that works for you.”
“It does. I’ll see you then.”
And just like that, I had a partner in crime.
Later that day, Corette called to say the visibility spell was in place and that she’d designed it so the imp would only be visible to supernatural eyes. She’d said word had been spread to keep a lookout, and if the imp was spotted, she’d let me know where. Then I told her about baiting the box with my aunt’s fudge, and she agreed that was a great idea.
Other than that, the rest of my day was strictly store business. And a busier day in my office than I was used to. By the time I got back to my apartment, I was a little worn out. Fortunately, I had time for a quick nap before dinner and my outing with Birdie. First, I put some fudge in the still-untouched box, then I set my alarm for half an hour and lay down with Spider curled happily beside me.
When my alarm went off, I grabbed my phone and sat up as I turned the beeping off. There were messages from Birdie, Greyson, and Cooper awaiting my attention. I scratched Spider’s head while I scrolled through them. Birdie’s was just confirming everything was a go and we were set for tonight. I had serious respect for what she’d pulled off. Getting Francine out of the house was going to make things so much easier.
Greyson wanted to know what I was up to, and Cooper’s note was letting me know Lark had responded but we could talk about it tomorrow.
That made me curious. So naturally, I called him first. I got his voice mail. “Hey, Coop. I’m really curious to hear what you found out about Lark. Maybe we could get together sometime after work tomorrow. Let me know. Bye.”
I hung up and texted Greyson. I have plans with a friend. What are you up to?
Then I texted Birdie a smiley face and a ninja emoji. That was the closest thing I could find to a burglar without actually texting something that might incriminate me.
Greyson answered. What friend? The lifeguard?
He’s a fireman. And no. A female friend.
Winky face. Have fun. I miss you already. Any chance for a night cap?
I grinned. Maybe. After what I was about to get up to, I might really need a drink. I’ll text you when I’m home.
Perfect. He signed off with a heart.
I tried not to read too much into that, but decided that if I did see him tonight, I would broach the subject of seeing other people so I could gauge his reaction. After Cooper’s declaration that I was the only one for him regardless of how I felt in return, I confess I’d become pretty curious about where Greyson stood on the matter.
He was as extraordinarily handsome as Cooper was, just in a very opposite way. Greyson was dark, mysterious and a little dangerous, whereas Cooper was light, open and made me feel protected. Not that I thought Greyson would ever hurt me, but when I’d first met him and found out he was a vampire, there were a lot of unknowns. There were still some, frankly. And both men were bone-meltingly sexy. Cooper might not be dating anyone else, but Greyson very well could be. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t, really.
And I was okay with that. I had to be. Because I wasn’t about to give either of them up. I was so equally divided between the two that I wasn’t sure I could ever choose one. And I hoped tonight’s conversation with Greyson didn’t go down that path.
Because if it did…well, I had no idea what lay at the end of that road.
Nor did I want to think about it any longer. I got up, tossed a frozen pizza into the oven (not even close to being as good as Salvatore’s), then put on my standard B&E outfit. Kind of sad that I had a go-to outfit for criminal activities, but such was my life.
Black T-shirt, black yoga pants and, in deference to the August heat, black flip-flops. I watched a little TV while I ate my pizza and drank another Dr Pepper, then brushed my teeth, gathered my stuff and headed down to meet Birdie.
She was on time, which was nice, but her outfit wasn’t even slightly ninja-esque. “Um, are you sure a hot pink pantsuit is the right choice for tonight’s event?”
She gave me a quick once-over. “I can understand why you’re dressed in black, but honey, it doesn’t matter what I have on.”
“It doesn’t?”
“Nope.”
“Can I ask why not?”
She smiled, and her eyes lit with that wolfy glow again. “Because I’m not going to look like this while I’m standing guard. That wouldn’t be smart. People know me. But they don’t know my wolf form, and in the dark, they’ll just think I’m a German shepherd or some such creature. Best camouflage you could ask for.”
“All right, then.” Birdie just got more and more interesting. “We should get going, then. Has she left the house already?”
“She should have, but we’ll know for sure when we get there.” She pointed at a shiny, navy Mercedes. “That’s me right there. Hop in.”
I got in and waited until she was in the driver’s seat. The car was pristine inside. “Will people know your car too?”
“Some, yes.” She angled away from the curb and headed toward Francine’s. “But I’ve already worked that out.”
“How so? Are you going to park a few blocks away?”
She smiled. “Something like that.”
The driveway she pulled into belonged to a lovely Victorian in the same neighborhood as Francine’s house. There was another Mercedes in the driveway and lights on inside. “Someone lives here.”
“Several someones.” She tucked her purse into the backseat, then opened her door, got out and ducked her head in to speak to me. “Leave your purse here and come on.”
I threw my bag in the back too, then followed her up the steps of the beautiful house. It was gorgeous and looked freshly painted. Whoever lived here took real pride in ownership.
Birdie knocked on the door.
A petite redhead answered. “Hey, Birdie.”
“Good evening, Pandora.” Birdie gestured at me. “This is my friend, Jayne Frost. Jayne, this is Pandora Williams, the number one realtor in Nocturne Falls and a mighty fine witch to boot. She’s one of Corette’s daughters.” Then Birdie whispered to Pandora, “She’s the princess.”
“Oh, yes, of course.” Pandora stuck her hand out. “Nice to meet you, Jayne. Any friend of Birdie’s is a friend of ours.”
I shook her hand, still not clear what this was all about. I wasn’t sure how close we were to Francine�
�s. Maybe Pandora was going to use her witch skills to make the car invisible. “Nice to meet you too. Your house is beautiful.”
“Thanks. It’s really my boyfriend’s place. It’s still a little bit of a project, but we’re getting there.” She grinned. “Come on in.”
I hesitated. “We kind of need to be somewhere.”
Birdie grabbed my elbow and moved me toward the door. “This is all part of the plan, Jayne. You’ll see.”
Hoping for the best, but having my doubts, I went along. The house was equally impressive inside, even with the ladder in the hallway and the partially painted dining room.
Pandora led us through to the kitchen. “Cole and Kaley are at the movie in the park. Then they’ll get ice cream after, so they won’t be back for another hour or so.”
“Perfect timing,” Birdie said as we came to a stop.
“Perfect timing for what?” I asked.
“To leave the car here,” Birdie said.
Pandora jerked her thumb toward the doors that led out to her porch. “Our house is right behind Francine’s. You can cut through my backyard to get to her place, and no one will see you. Our backyard is a little overgrown, but nothing like it used to be. The upside to that is it makes great cover.”
A shiver of panic went through me. This was not good. “You know why we’re here?”
She put her hands up. “I do. But don’t worry, I’m on your side.”
That didn’t matter. What we—what I was about to do was still technically illegal. The fewer people who knew about it, the better.
Birdie put her hand on my arm. “Jayne, you can trust Pandora.”
Pandora nodded. “You can, I promise. I helped my mom with the visibility spell. I’ve done some research on imps since finding out that’s what’s behind all the craziness in town and they can be dangerous if directed. I definitely believe whoever wanted this imp in the first place meant to use it against someone.”
I took a breath, feeling slightly better. “I agree and I think whoever wanted it will probably seek out other means to accomplish whatever the imp was supposed to.”
Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) Page 14