by Zoe Arden
I dropped Eleanor back off at the Mystic Cupcake. She was worried about all the special orders we'd received over the last few days. Even though Trixie and my father were both more than capable of handling things on their own, the control nut in her needed to see for herself that everything was okay.
Snowball went home, full from all the tuna that Tok had given her. Apparently, it had not been just one piece, but multiple pieces. She purred with delight and a full tummy. I hurried to Sweetland Hospital, anxious to talk to Dr. Dunne. On the way, I went over everything I knew so far.
One: The facts keep changing. It was irritating, but I supposed it was a good thing. Every time I learned something new it meant I was one step closer to the truth.
Two: So far, the people who'd been named as the last ones to see Zulubar and Kyrab included Bisnunk, Tok, and now Dr. Dunne. Bisnunk was no longer here to question, and Tok would have told Snowball anything she wanted to know, so I had to assume, as of now at least, that Dr. Dunne was the correct answer.
Three: Bisnunk was shot with a bow and arrow inside Goblin Territory. The last person to see him alive was me, and the only suspect I had in his death so far was Colt... maybe Sheriff Knoxx?
Four: Sheriff Knoxx was receiving secret letters from the goblin castle—official letters—and refused to divulge what they were about to anyone, including Eleanor, who'd had no luck as of yet getting her hands on one.
Five: I still had no idea where Zulubar and Kyrab were, or even if they were still alive.
The facts, when I went over them, did nothing to boost my mood. They spoke of a fading investigation and bad luck.
When I got to Sweetland Hospital, I was actually relieved. Like Eleanor had said, at least Dr. Dunne wouldn't try to hide the truth from me.
He smiled warmly when I entered his office.
"Ava," he said, shaking my hand. He had a soft touch that went with his fatherly look. His thinning hairline only added to his warmth, as did the round glasses sitting atop his nose. "What can I do for you? I hope you're not ill."
"No," I said, "I'm healthy as can be."
"Glad to hear it." He frowned slightly. "Is this about one of your aunts or your father?"
I shook my head. "Everyone in my family is well, thank you."
He relaxed then and leaned back slightly in his chair. "Well, then, a social visit. How lovely. I don't get out often enough to see everyone. Though, at one time or another, it seems that everyone in Sweetland comes to see me... whether it's a cold or flu shots or what have you."
He smiled as he spoke, and I suddenly felt bad that the only reason I was here was to ask him about Zulubar. He seemed genuinely happy to have company who was not made up of patients or nurses. I'd have to remember to come back and maybe bring some cookies with me next time.
"You caught me at a good time, too. I was just taking my lunch."
"Dr. Dunne, the real reason I'm here is that I need to ask you about something." I figured that as a doctor his time was valuable, and I didn't want to waste it by beating around the bush.
He lifted salt and pepper eyebrows at me. "Yes?"
"You've heard about the disappearance of King Zulubar and his girlfriend, Kyrab, haven't you?"
He stiffened almost immediately. It was an unconscious reflex but unmistakable. I'd felt a little silly coming down here to question him—he was well-respected, one of only a handful of humans on Heavenly Haven allowed to know the truth about the paranormal world around him—but now I began to wonder. He was no longer leaning back in his chair; he was sitting bolt upright and tapping his foot on the ground. I could hear it.
"Of course," he said.
I licked my lips, suddenly aware that the tension in the room had increased.
"I heard somewhere that you might have seen them the night they disappeared."
He pressed his lips together and folded his hands in his lap. "Who told you that?"
I shrugged, not wanting to give away Tok's identity.
He sighed. I thought that he was going to follow his sigh with some sort of excuse or explanation, but it never came. Instead, he rose from his chair.
"I have rounds to make."
I rose also. "I thought you said you were just going to lunch."
He looked startled for a second. "Oh, yes. Well... lunch is over now. It was a short one."
He looked away from me, not meeting my eyes.
"So, you didn't see Zulubar or Kyrab the night they disappeared?"
"Even if I had, I couldn't tell you."
I blinked. "Why not?"
"Doctor-patient confidentiality strictly forbids it. Just like a lawyer can't divulge the secrets of his clients, I can't tell you anything about those who come to me for help."
"Zulubar was your patient?" I asked.
His face turned red. "No... I mean... I didn't mean it like that." He looked anxiously around the room as if searching for a way out. He hurried to the door.
"I'm running late now," he said and swept me out of his office. He locked the door behind him and bolted in the opposite direction from me, leaving me to find my own way out of the hospital.
I headed for the main entrance, walking past the nurse's station. "Ava!" a voice called out to me.
I turned to see a pretty redhead in a nurse's uniform. She was heading toward me, smiling.
"Hi, Sadie," I said.
My dad's girlfriend gave me a quick hug.
"What are you doing here? Everything okay?"
"Yeah, I just needed to talk to Dr. Dunne."
"You're not sick, are you?"
"No. I just had a question for him about Zulubar and Kyrab, the two goblins who are missing."
Her eyes widened. "It's such a shame. I hope they're all right. When Melbourne brought them in that one night they seemed like the sweetest couple ever."
The air sailed out of my lungs. "I'm sorry... did you say... Melbourne?"
She looked at me, and her eyes widened. "Oh, I..." She looked past my shoulders at the hallway behind me. "I see Dr. Dunne waving me over. Gotta go."
She gave me a quick smile then ran away. I watched her go. Dr. Dunne was nowhere to be seen. It was the second time in less than twenty minutes that someone had scurried off at the mention of Zulubar and Kyrab. Something was definitely going on at Sweetland Hospital, and whatever it was might hold the key to Zulubar's disappearance.
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CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
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I debated on whether or not I should call Trixie before talking to Melbourne. I knew that eventually I'd have to tell her about what Sadie had let slip out, I just wasn't sure when the best time to do that was. Melbourne and Trixie had an unusual relationship.
Vampires, like goblins, typically kept to their own kind. A century ago, it had actually been forbidden for vampires and witches to date. Times had changed, but not so much that Trixie and Melbourne together didn't garner odd looks from people from time to time. Luckily, those odd looks were generally restricted to paranormals passing through. Those who lived on Heavenly Haven, especially in Sweetland Cove, knew Melbourne well enough to know that he was a good guy. He was well liked in Sweetland, in no small part due to the Coffee Cove.
When I entered the coffee shop, I saw Lucy standing behind the counter. She looked at me, started to smile, then remembered she was mad at me and forced her smile upside down. I smiled at her anyway.
"What's up?" I asked, going up to the counter.
"Still think Colt is innocent?" she asked. "Or have you finally come to your senses?"
I sighed. "What is it with you? Why are you so bent on making Colt into a killer?"
I looked around and lowered my voice. I'd almost forgotten that the silencing charms around the tables at Coffee Cove did not extend to the counter itself.
Lucy shot me a look. "I'm bent on making you see the facts as they present themselves.
" She paused. "You're my best friend. I don't want you to get hurt. If he's been lying to you..."
Melbourne came out of the back office just then. He smiled when he saw me. I smiled back. There was no one in line behind me. I was lucky, I'd caught the Cove in a lull.
I leaned close to Lucy.
"Forget all that for a minute," I told her. "Listen to this."
I told her what Sadie had said at Sweetland Hospital and her eyes widened. "Oh, my roses," she said. She shot a look to Melbourne. "You don't think... do you think?" She gulped and lowered her voice. "Do you think Melbourne knows where they are?"
"I don't know," I told her, "but I've got to ask him about it. I have no choice if I want to prove Colt's innocent in all this." As things were going, he was still on the top of the suspect list as Bisnunk's murderer, which placed him right at the top as Zulubar's and Kyrab's kidnapper, too.
"Why do you think Zulubar and Kyrab were at the hospital?" Lucy asked. "Do you think he's sick?"
"The thought had crossed my mind." Goblins lived a long time, but Zulubar was quite a bit older than Kyrab in goblin years.
The only thing worse than thinking Zulubar had been kidnapped was thinking that he was sick. If he'd been taken by someone, there was a chance I might be able to get him back. But if he was ill... Well, I didn't want to think about that just now. I still couldn't believe an entire species' existence depended upon one individual. There had to be another way.
"I'm going to talk to him," I told Lucy.
"Now?" she nearly squealed.
"Why not? Look around, there's hardly anyone here. This seems like the perfect time." I paused. "Come talk to him with me. You know him better than I do."
"Uh-uh," Lucy said. "No way."
"Why not? You usually love this sort of thing."
"What sort of thing?"
"Getting gossip out of people."
"This isn't people," Lucy said. "This is my boss."
I sighed. "All right. Stay here and man the counters, then. If anyone tries to get to Melbourne while I'm talking to him—"
"I'll tackle them."
With Lucy's role established, I turned and walked straight to Melbourne.
"Hi," I said.
He was leaning against the counter, looking at some paperwork. He looked up at my greeting.
"Hello." He smiled, but it didn't look quite natural. I was pretty sure that had more to do with his pale vampire skin than his actual warmth as a person.
"Trixie says hi," I told him, even though I hadn't talked to her. I was sure that if I had, however, she'd have told me to say hi.
"Does she need something?" he asked.
"Trixie?" I asked, surprised. "No. I mean, I don't think so."
He went back to his paperwork.
Tough nut to crack. I wondered how Trixie managed. He always seemed much happier and friendlier when he was around her. I supposed she brought out the best in him and wondered if that was what made them such a great couple. Trixie was generally considered to be a bit of a free spirit. She dressed in bright colors and strange combinations—things like neon purple skirts and yellow leggings with bright pink t-shirts that featured poodles.
Melbourne wore dress pants and shirts. He wasn't always in a suit, but he always looked like he belonged tucked away in a fancy office building rather than a coffee shop. He was somber. She was outgoing. He enjoyed time to himself. She preferred the company of others.
On paper, the two of them made no sense, but in practice, they complemented each other like cheese and wine.
Personally, I liked Melbourne. Others found him intimidating, but I thought his quiet reserve was a nice change of pace from some of the gossipy loud mouths that permeated Sweetland Cove. That didn't mean I knew how to broach this subject with him though. I knew from personal experience, as well as from Trixie, that he preferred people who were forthright compared to those who beat around the bush.
"Um, Melbourne," I began.
He looked back up at me. "Yes?"
I took a deep breath. "Have you seen King Zulubar or Kyrab lately?"
He registered no surprise at my question. He simply said, "No," and went back to his work. He scratched at his ear and pretended I wasn't there, but I wasn't going to give up that easily.
"Because I heard that you had."
"Where did you hear that?" he asked, not looking back up at me but continuing with his paperwork.
"I don't remember," I said.
"That only means you don't wish to tell me."
I shrugged. No one had ever said Melbourne wasn't observant.
"All right. The person who told me didn't mean to. It sorta slipped out and—"
"Sadie Belle," he said and looked up.
I bit my bottom lip.
"I'm not angry," he assured me. "There's no need to worry. It is human to error." He tugged at his ear as if there was something stuck to it.
He looked back down at his papers. No one in Sweetland was entirely sure how old Melbourne was, but we knew it was over a century. He'd been turned against his will and had been fighting his impulses ever since. He refused to drink human blood; most vampires today didn't have to and chose to follow alternative meal plans.
There was animal blood, readily available at any vampire shop in town, and some vampire in Europe was claiming to have finally created fake blood that tasted like the real thing, though most vampires were dubious.
I think the blood issue was what had changed his mind about Trixie, actually. When she'd first expressed interest in him, he had pulled away. It was only after she had started coming up with her most unusual baked goods ever that he'd given her a chance. She'd spent hours in the kitchen perfecting recipes like chocolate AB positive brownies with caramel nut sauce and peanut butter cookies with an O-negative fudge center.
I really think it was her willingness to bake with blood that won his heart and held it still. Though I wasn't sure that marriage was on the horizon for them, at least not anytime soon, they most definitely enjoyed each other's company. It was one of the reasons I was reluctant to bring Trixie in on this Melbourne issue. I didn't want to damage their relationship.
"So?" I asked.
"Yes?" he said.
"Have you seen Zulubar and Kyrab lately?"
"No." He scratched his ear and looked away from me.
My mouth opened in surprise. "But you just said—"
"I know what I said. I was merely making an observation. My answer is still no."
I heard a cough and turned my head to the right. Lucy was trying to signal something to me, but I had no idea what it was. She was gesturing in what she probably thought was a discreet manner, but which was actually wild and obvious. Melbourne was watching her from the corner of his eye.
"I think she wants you to threaten to tell Trixie about Sadie's accusations if I don't cooperate."
"They weren't accusations," I said. "They were observations."
A soft smile played on his face. The corners of his mouth rose ever so slightly, and he looked up at me with soft brown eyes. In that instant, if I hadn't have known he was a vampire, the thought would never have crossed my mind.
"And they were important observations at that," I continued. "You may have been the last person to see them before they disappeared."
"If you see Colt again, tell him I say hello," Melbourne said.
My jaw dropped open. "How do you know I've seen him?"
He shrugged. I leaned in closer, making sure that only he could hear me. "Do you know where he is? I really need to talk to him."
"No," he said. It seemed to be Melbourne's favorite word today.
"Come on," I whined. I was tired and grumpy and irritated. "Just tell me what's going on. Where are Zulubar and Kyrab? Are they all right? Am I looking for two dead goblins here? Why did you take them to see Dr. Dunne?"
Melbourne frowned. He straightened up, setting aside his paper. "I can't betray a confidence, but I will tell you this—doctors are needed for medi
cal reasons. If—and I say if—I took Zulubar and Kyrab to see Dr. Dunne, then it would have been for one of the appropriate medical reasons for which a person might seek out a doctor."
I sighed. It was a very formal answer, but at least it was an answer.
"And by the way," he added, "that in no way means I was the last person to see them alive."
I blinked. "If not you, then who? Tok? Bisnunk?"
Melbourne cocked his head to the side. "I don't know any Tok or Bisnunk, but I do know someone else you've been asking me about this afternoon."
I gasped. "Colt? Are you saying Colt was the last person to see them alive?"
Melbourne lowered his head and went back to his paperwork.
* * *
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
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It was good to be back at the bakery. I felt like I'd been running around so much the last few days that I hadn't had time to focus on the really important stuff—things like chocolate chip cookies and happiness extract, caramel sauce and pleasant dreams solution.
I busied myself in the back, thinking over everything that had happened. If Zulubar had gone to see Dr. Dunne because he was sick, then maybe his disappearance had nothing to do with a kidnapping. Maybe he had gone for some sort of treatment. That would explain Kyrab's disappearance as well. She'd want to be with him, of course.
But that didn't explain why Bisnunk had told me I was in danger. Or why Colt had that clover etched into his palm. Or why Sheriff Knoxx was so moody.
"For witch's sake," I muttered, accidentally adding Fluffernutter root to peppy powder. The result was that the extract I was trying to create dried up like mud that had been sitting in the sun for too long. I'd have to start over and this time I needed to concentrate.
"Everything okay?" my dad asked from across the room.