“Definitely not something I’d want to try," I muttered.
Wren gave me a fond look.
“So you never met my mom?" I asked, switching topics.
Wren shook her head. "She left before I was born," she said. "Mom's told me stories, but I never got to meet her in person.” Wren’s expression was complex, showing both sadness and unfamiliarity at the same time. She was sad for someone she had never known. "She sounded like an amazing person.”
"Do you know anything about my grandparents?" I asked, figuring I might as well cover all the bases.
Wren shook her head. "Biologically? No," she said. "But like us, you’ve got Lettie. About your dad's parents? I don't know," she admitted. "I don't think my mom ever found out who your dad was."
How cliché, I thought. Like a story book, but one I was living.
"Right,” Wren said firmly, pulling out her phone and starting to jot down notes. "Let's check what we have that's not dispensable," she said. "We can start with the inventory and go from there.”
Having a feeling that the conversation was over, I nodded. I had to focus on moving forward, at least for now. Besides, maybe the coffee shop would give us some clues as to what happened to Millie and Mildred – and why.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I crossed my arms over my chest as Wren and Theo stared intently at the frame of the door, looking for any clue as to the spell that had trapped me the day before. Their silence was unnerving. "See anything?" I asked, apprehensive.
“They’re there,” Theo said, her face dark and confused. “It’s familiar. I'm just not sure why.”
“So, not something covered in the Academy?” I vaguely remembered something Wren had said about inherited runes.
“Correct.” Wren straightened up. She had the same frown on her face that Theo had, a sort of scowl that reminded me of Lettie. Maybe that was where they got it.
“Come take a look at this,” Theo said, nodding to me. “I want to see if you recognize any of them.”
“I’m not sure now is the right time to quiz the newbie,” I muttered, but I moved closer anyway. “Where are they?"
“Just look,” Mocha said, exasperated. I ran my fingers over the smooth wood, going inch by inch and it wasn’t long before the runes appeared underneath my fingertips, flaring so intensely they left bright spots in my vision. "Oh," I said, caught off guard. I looked at them carefully, then I shook my head, disappointed. "I don't recognize them. You don’t recognize them?” I asked, looking at Wren. Since she was the teacher of us, she was my best hope.
“I do," she said, a hint of a smile on her face. "But I wanted to see what you’d do if you didn't.”
I pointed a finger at her, although there was no real hostile intent. "That's not nice.”
"It's not," she agreed without any shred of remorse.
"Should we tell Ethan?" Theo asked, and she didn't really look thrilled at the idea. As much as I wanted somebody authoritative in the know, Ethan had enough going on. Vance – his fiancé – had been shifty, possibly involved in the crime. If he wasn’t, his brother probably was. I didn’t want to add more to his plate, not when we had no proof this spell hadn’t been put in place a long time ago.
"Could it have been something Mildred set a long time ago?" I asked.
They nodded. "We have no idea when it was set to go off, or if it was something she just undid every time she entered the café.”
Wren looked thoughtful. "She didn't let anybody else unlock the door, so she was always the first one there. So maybe it was something like that.” The mood dimmed some. “In that case, we should probably look into it a bit more before telling him.”
"Does that mean there's more potential booby traps?" I said, entirely unenthused by the idea.
"Quite possibly," Theo said, looking way too excited.
I shook my head at her, but I was smiling. My mind was spinning now, the murder and the coffee shop and the drugs all criss-crossing. “Ethan and Vance?” I said, trying to puzzle them out. They didn’t seem like a good match, not as I had gotten to know them. Not that I really had, and I was probably being judgmental, but something about Vance had just rubbed me the wrong way throughout the investigation.
Something dark fell across Theo’s face, and I saw a Wren give her a wistful look.
"It's a long story," Wren said.
"He saved him," Theo said with a shrug. There was a long story behind that, something that bound them together.
"That doesn't mean he owes him," I said carefully.
Theo shook her head. "He doesn't.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but Theo was already shaking her head again. "If you want the whole story, Vance will have to give it to you."
"I wasn't going to pry," I assured them. And I wasn't. As curious as I was, I wasn't going to try and get the story out of them. I did try not to pry into other people’s business. Well, not this business anyway. Besides, I had plenty of prying to do in other areas.
I glanced over at Wren, who seemed to be jotting down a rough version of the runes on her phone with a finger. Bits of the runes popped out to me, a brighter sheen of silver, and I was surprised to realize they were errors in the runes Wren had drawn.
"You got the first and third wrong," I said. “The lines for the reeds should be sharper, and the lines for the curves more rounded.” I didn’t know how I knew I was right, but I did.
Wren glanced at me in surprise, and then down at what was she was copying. She stared at me. "I do," she said. She looked at me, her curiosity unhidden. "How'd you know?"
I shrugged, because that was the honest answer. "I just saw them.”
"Good catch," she said.
I smiled.
"I think," Theo said, drawing both of our attention, “I may know somebody who's familiar with these."
"Really?" Wren asked, attention drawn away from the runes.
"This use of the trap here reminds me a lot of Valencia," Theo said.
"As in the coffee shop employee Valencia?" I asked. My eyebrows were tilting into my hairline. She hadn’t seemed the type to set traps in coffee shops.
Theo nodded. "It's similar to one of her family things that she showed me. It was a long time ago, so I could be wrong.” She didn’t look like she believed that she was.
"But you're not," Wren said.
Theo grinned, and it was the tiniest bit rueful. "It's not easy being right all the time," she said, sounding falsely modest.
Wren rolled her eyes at her, but she looked fond. "Don't be so modest," she said. "It doesn't suit you.”
I laughed, but there was till uncertainty prickling across my skin. “Why would Mildred know Valencia’s runes?”
Theo looked uncertain. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “They may have a relative a few generations back, or something.”
“Would it be worth talking to Valencia?” I wanted to talk to her, but all I could think about was Mix’s hospital bed, the beeping, him being sick. This was important, but was it really more important than her dying boyfriend?
"I don't know where Mix is, which means I don't know where she is," Wren said with a frown. "If he's in the hospital, that's where she's at.”
“Does she work any more?" I asked.
“Not since the coffee shop closed," Wren said with a shake of her head. Her phone was already out, although she stopped when Theo reached out and touched her shoulder.
"She's at home. We can go visit.”
Wren put her phone away, nudging Theo with her shoulder. “I always forget you two know each other.”
I blinked between Theo and Wren.
“Theo’s so quiet,” Wren explained. “Valencia isn’t.”
Theo smiled faintly. “We’re old friends," she said. "Valencia wants your name cleared as much as we do.”
"I take it Kerrity's not really popular here?" I asked.
Wren looked like she had choked on her own laughter.
“Not surprised.” That was sort of wh
at I had expected. I thought of the photo I carried with me. Was that related to the runes? To Valencia? Maybe, if we had time, I would ask.
“Let’s get going,” Wren said, glancing at me for agreement.
“Don’t get murdered,” Mocha said cheerfully, apparently content to ignore us.
“Thanks,” I said dryly. “I’ll try my best.”
Valencia had left the door unlocked, and it swung open easily when I pushed it. Wren and Theo were right behind me, and there was comfort in numbers.
"Sorry," I said, glancing at Mix and keeping my voice low. He was awake this time, but still pale and wan in the hospital bed in the living room.
"Don't do stupid things," he said, his voice feeble in what I assumed was a joke.
Valencia’s smile was sad. "Sometimes you make dumb decisions," she said. "Sometimes those bad decisions ruin your life."
Inwardly I winced. I could only imagine what she was talking about, having read about way too many accidents where all it took was one small decision and nobody ever got their life back. It wasn’t my business what had happened to him, but whatever it was, I doubted it was good.
"So we ran into this in Mildred’s coffee shop," Wren said, pulling out her phone and pulling up the image with the runes. She showed it to Valencia, who took the phone and tilted it as if she was looking for something specific.
"Got any more details?" she asked.
Wren shook her head. "I just made a basic copy."
"What do you need to know?" I asked.
"Were there any circles around them?" Valencia asked, looking at me. It almost seemed like a challenge, but I stayed steady.
I shook my head. "No," I said. I felt like I was overstepping, because I was definitely the most junior in the room. But I knew a lot about what I was talking about. I didn't know how, but I did.
Valencia looked at me, and then at Wren and Theo. "Has she been tested?" she asked.
I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic. "Tested?"
"For aptitude," Wren said quickly. "Nothing weird.”
That was reassuring. My shoulders slumped as I relaxed. "Had me worried there, for a second.”
Wren laughed. “We haven't," she admitted. "It's next on the list, but it got delayed with the whole murder thing.”
Valencia nodded. "Any idea who did it?"
"Not really," I said. "There's potential suspects, but none that really have a good motive.” It was more frustrating than anything.
"You'll get there," Valencia said. She leaned closer, tapping her finger on the runes. "This definitely has at least some basis in my family," she said. "This corner here, this combo we created, a long time ago.”
I glanced at Wren and Theo, who were looking closer at the design she was pointing at. Created? Could you create something like that?
I hesitated, then took a risk. "Do you recognize this infant at all?" I asked, pulling out the photo of the child I had found.
Valencia looked closer and shook her head. "I don't recognize them at all," she said. "Any idea who it was?"
"We’re not sure," I admitted. "I've heard some rumors that Mildred had a kid.” Another test of the waters.
Before I could finish, Valencia was nodding. "I've heard that too," she said. "I just always assumed rumors were rumors.”
“Did Mildred ever say or do anything that made you think there may be some truth to it?” My focus had changed.
“Not that I'm aware of," Valencia said.
"She’d get tetchy if a kid yelled," Mix said, catching all of us by surprise.
Valencia looked over, worry drawing her eyes together. "You shouldn't be speaking," she said. It was a soft lecture.
"You know it doesn't matter," he said, and he coughed. I didn't like the sound of it, and from Valencia's eyes, she didn't like the sound of it either. "You know it," he repeated, his voice firm. "You can't fix it.”
I had a feeling this was a recurring argument between the two of them, something that came up over and over again.
Valencia gave him a dark look, and then turned back to us. "Sorry," she said. "He gets exhausted easily.”
"We’ll leave," I said, fairly certain that was where she was going.
She smiled, but the gesture wasn't as polite as she'd been at the beginning.
I rose to my feet, Wren and Theo standing near me. We made it to the door before Valencia stopped, her hand on it.
"I don't think you're guilty," she said.
I stopped and half-turned. “What?”
"Of the murder,” she said. "Or of stealing the coffee shop. That requires some high-quality magic.” She tilted her head, and her eyes were serious. "It's not that I don't think you can do it," she added hastily. "I just think – you're probably not ready.”
I thought about what Addie had taught me, which she had said not to teach others. Where was the line drawn? What was high level and not?
"The more people we rule out, the fewer people we have as suspects," I said ruefully.
“That is unfortunately how it works," Valencia said with a smile. "What about one of the humans?" she asked.
I lifted my head, surprised.
"What if this trap and Mildred's murder are unrelated?"
"But why would they kill Millie?" It was a question I didn’t have an answer to. There were a lot of those at the moment.
“I don't know," Valencia admitted. “We just are assuming things are related, and I don’t know what evidence we have to support that.” Her hand lingered on the door knob.
Not sure if she was going to say anything else, I took a step outside, then stopped when someone touched my arm. "Did you hear about the drugs?" Valencia asked.
I glanced at her, surprised. "The ones that killed her?" I was fairly certain we’d had this conversation before, but maybe I misremembered.
"Yeah.” Valencia sighed. "I wonder if it really was just Mildred," she said. “Or if Millie was involved in them, too.”
"That's not an angle we’ve tried," Wren said, glancing at me.
“It's worth a try," I said, hope threatening to bubble up. How had we missed that? Maybe the whole thing was related to drugs. But why had Millie revealed them? Still questions, still no answers.
Theo nodded. "I hope he feels better," Wren said, glancing back inside at Mix.
Valencia smiled faintly. "Me too," she said. "But he won't." She shut the door, leaving us standing there on the doorstep.
We stood there looking at each other, the heavy weight of Mix’s health and Valencia’s struggles hanging in the air between us. Without speaking, we headed back to Wren’s car.
“Do you know what happened to him?” I asked softly, not sure how far away you had to be before even magic wouldn’t help someone listen in to your conversation.
“Not really,” Theo said. “It was a nasty reaction to a drug he had at the hospital, I think.”
Something dawned on me at the same time it did on the others. “Was he on the client list?” I asked, scrambling for my phone. Ethan hadn’t said one way or another. I went to text him, but hesitated. Did I really want to add to that?
But I needed to know. It could be important.
"What do you think of what she said about the humans?" I asked. Theo got in the back seat, leaving me to sit up front next to Wren.
"If you’re magic," Theo said, her voice deceptively nice, "you're more likely to use magic if you're going to kill somebody."
Wren glanced at Theo in the back seat. “Not that murder is enough of a problem here that we have enough evidence to talk about it," she said primly.
"No," Theo agreed. "But I know the magic community. If you can avoid getting caught— and if you're good, which a lot of us are—the humans won't catch you.” She inclined an eyebrow, her smile a bit wicked.
"I'm guessing the humans would be offended?" I asked, my voice wry.
"Basically," she said. "They like to pretend they know what they're talking about."
“But Mildr
ed and Millie were killed by overdoses of the same drug,” I said, glancing at Theo in the back seat.
“That’s what the autopsies say,” Theo said amicably. “But was it actually overdoses? Or was it made to look like that?”
I stared at her. “How do you guys decide anything if it could always be a million options?”
Wren chuckled. “Things take forever around here for a reason.”
“Would Valencia have a motive at all?” I said suddenly, not sure where the idea came from.
“I doubt it,” Theo said. "Or at least not one we’ve discovered.”
Mentally I sighed. Accusing everyone of murder wasn’t really helpful. I found myself stifling a yawn. “Let’s get you home,” Wren said. "We can play private detective tomorrow.”
For the first time since Mom’s death, I didn’t feel alone.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Am I the only one that can hear you?” I asked, parking my car and getting out. I was tired, I wanted a nap.
“What you mean?" Mocha asked.
“You can hear everyone, but you can only talk to me. Or are there others you can talk to?” I had no idea why I was curious at that moment, but I was.
Mocha smiled faintly, or as much as a dog could. "That's beyond my pay grade," she said. "Someday, you'll get that info.”
"So even the magic world has politics," I said.
Mocha snorted. "You can’t have thought that the human world had a monopoly on that.”
"I like to be optimistic sometimes," I said.
“There's optimistic, and there's delusional.” She shook her head. I rolled my eyes, but I headed to the side door, up the stairs.
I heard a sharp scratch, and glanced at Mocha, curious what she was doing. But she’d stopped and was staring, just like I was.
“What was that?" I asked, my heart suddenly beating faster.
“Shush," Mocha said. Then someone came barreling down the stairs faster than I could see them, tossing me into the wall without even touching me. When I got up to the top of the stairs, the door to my apartment was open, and it was in disarray.
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