by Diane Darcy
“Seriously, Grandma?” Olivia sighed, and sank back down in her chair. “We’ll be talking about this later,” she said in Lena’s ear before arranging her napkin on her lap once more.
“Of course.” Esmeralda looked confused. “We have much to discuss.” She gestured to the waiter to serve the main dish, and the salads were taken away at speed, and replaced with chicken, asparagus, and scalloped potatoes.
After a long lull in the conversation, Ava said, “We’re still trying to get a read on you, Lena. What can you do, exactly?”
“Not much.”
The three witches visibly didn’t believe her.
Scarlett smiled brightly. “We’re hoping that all of you will be willing to come to our upcoming Waning Crescent Moon event?”
“Sounds fun,” Mom looked normal again, her expression interested. “Now, about that witch coven?”
“Yes,” Esmeralda continued. “As I said, we thought we could join forces, so to speak.”
“We’re in,” Grandma said. “It’ll be nice to have new blood in the DeVille Coven and, of course, we have much to learn from each other.”
“Actually,” Esmeralda said, her voice steely, “we were hoping you would join The Hemlock Coven.”
Grandma bit into a piece of asparagus and chewed for a moment. “That’s a lot to ask,” she finally said. “What do you say we flip a coin for the name?”
Ava immediately pulled out a bright gold coin and expertly flipped it. It spun in the air for far too long until Grandma called it.
“Tails.”
It dropped, Ava caught it in her palm and flipped it onto the back of her other hand. She slowly lifted her fingers to reveal, “Heads.”
Lena looked at her Grandmother and held her breath as Grandma’s eyes narrowed on Ava.
Ava stared back, her look of innocence fooling no one.
Finally, Grandma threw back her head and laughed, her genuine amusement making everyone smile.
Esmeralda tapped a spoon against the side of her wineglass, grinning broadly. “Welcome to The Hemlock Coven.”
Chapter 3
When Emilio’s friends started a major, drunken freak-out, William grabbed them, sat them on their butts in the hallway against the wall, summoned Felix out of the room, and called Quinn.
“Get the team together, I’m down in the cages with Felix. There’s been a murder.”
“Be right there, Boss.”
He looked at Emilio’s friends, and barked out, “Names!”
The one with light-brown, spiked hair, was crying. Pink tears filled his eyes and spilled onto his cheeks as he frantically wiped them away. “Dimitri Renner.”
“And yers?” William asked the blond vampire who seemed to be in shock: eyes blank, knees drawn up, arms wrapped around thin legs.
William used the tip of his shoe to bump the other man’s Armani loafers.
“What?” The man looked up at William, eyes dilated and muzzy with drink.
“Name.”
“I’m…it’s… Heath Zamora.”
“Dimitri and Heath. Do ye want tae explain what just happened tae yer friend in there?”
Dimitri looked devastated, and pink tears continued to flow. “Emilio’s really dead?”
William couldn’t say he was unaffected by the other man’s grief, though it was in his nature to be suspicious. “He is, laddies, I’m sorry.”
Dimitri started to sob, and Heath placed a hand on his shoulder.
Down the hallway there was a knock on the cage door, and the nearest cashier sat forward to look out her window, and then jumped off her stool to open it.
Quinn and Caleb came in the room, quickly shutting the door behind them.
William pointed to the three glasses set outside the office door. “Caleb, get Alistair to test these for poison. Quinn, take photos and make arrangements for the body.”
“On it, Boss,” both said.
Quinn had his phone out as he went into Felix’s office. Caleb whipped out his cell, took pictures of the three glasses, and found a tray to set them on. He lifted each glass carefully, one at a time. A finger on the bottom, one on the lip, so they could also check for fingerprints. Once he had them situated, he left out the back way.
“Are we going to die?” Dimitri sniffled.
William was wondering the same thing. “How do ye feel, laddie?”
“Fine, other than the fact that Emilio is dead.” That brought on a fresh wave of grief, and William glanced at Heath. “Do ye feel all right?”
He nodded, still looking dumbstruck. “I’m fine.”
William knew this was going to look bad. Emilio had won the Corvette, William had taken him into the back room, and the boy had dropped dead.
He remembered with a wave of relief that Emilio had already signed the paperwork, which meant the car belonged to him, or anyone he might have left his possessions to.
It would not be a good idea for The Hemlock to retain ownership of the vehicle at this point.
“Can we go now?” Heath asked.
“Nae one is going anywhere until I figure out why yer friend is dead.”
Dimitri’s mouth hung open. “But…but we didn’t do anything.”
“If that’s the case, then ye’ve naught tae fear from me lookin’ intae the matter, do ye? Ye said Dorinda is yer queen?”
Both nodded.
Dorinda and her brood were located in the heart of Philadelphia. He knew from past experience that he’d better come up with some answers, quickly, before she turned this into an incident.
As Heath seemed the more composed of the two, William started his questions with him. “Do ye ken anyone who would wish tae harm yer friend?”
“No, of course not. I mean, we had a run-in with some rival vampires, but it was nothing but posturing. We know the rules, and wouldn’t break them. If we did, it would be decades before we could come again.”
“Do ye have any names?”
“No, it was nothing. We just bumped into four of them walking through a crowd on the strip.”
“Did ye see any of them here today?”
Heath considered, then shook his head. “No.”
William himself had seen the three of them pick up their drinks on their way into the cages.
Of course, there was no saying the drink had been contaminated. He could just as easily have been slipped something earlier, depending on what kind of poison it was.
They’d know more after the glasses had been tested.
Dimitri took his phone out, and just as quickly William took it off him. He then held his hand out, and Heath, looking uncertain, slowly pulled his own phone from a jacket pocket and handed it over. “Shouldn’t we call Dorinda?”
“I’ll no’ have her interferin’ in my investigation. She’ll know soon enough.”
Heath’s blue eyes narrowed. “And what are you going to do with us, in the meantime?”
“Consider yerself a guest here.”
“You mean a prisoner.”
“I need answers, and until I have them, I’ll want tae ken where the two of ye are at all times.”
Heath looked toward the door as if considering doing a runner.
“I’d no’ advise it but, ye are, of course, welcome tae try.”
There was another knock, and the cashier let Berkeley in. Big, buff, and serious as always.
“I’m going tae need ye tae lock these two up until I get some answers.”
Both men jumped to their feet, yelling protests, flashing fangs, but it did them no good. Ultimately, they didn’t quite dare engage in a fight, not that they could have won anyway, and William and Berkeley soon had them in reinforced handcuffs.
“Take them through the passageway. I don’t want them talkin’ tae anyone.”
“Got it, Boss,” Berkeley said, and hauled the two of them out the back way.
William sighed. He’d have to take care of this quickly.
It looked suspicious. Even now, there were probably eager be
ings waiting for Emilio to emerge, keys in hand, and more crows of victory.
Another knock, and when William moved forward, he spotted Felix, head in hands, sitting on a chair behind the cages.
William swung the door wide and admitted the cleanup crew.
Time to get to work.
After lunch, they stood and said their goodbyes. Lena wasn’t sure how her family felt, but she was a little overwhelmed, and ready to go.
As they walked down the mall again, headed toward the parking lot, Lena said, “Do you all mind if I stay? William can give me a ride home.”
“Why not?” Mom smiled. “And if you learn any more secrets while you’re here, return home and report.”
Grandma laughed. “Yes, but make sure you don’t reveal any of ours!”
Olivia didn’t say a word, she just sped up as if to get away from them, or rather, her.
Lena caught up and grabbed her by the elbow. “What’s the matter?”
“What just happened in there?” Olivia threw out a hand. “I feel like we were all talking different languages! Only, I’m the only one who didn’t understand what was going on! I’m done. This is stupid. Joining a witch coven is stupid, Lena.”
Lena pressed her fingers to her throat as she tried to work out what to say, how to make this all right. “I’m…I’m sorry, Olivia.”
Olivia scoffed. “Whatever. I just wish I’d never signed you up for that ridiculous dating website. You know what? I’m going to go home, right now, and leave them a bad review.”
Tears pushed at the back of Lena’s eyes. “Do you want me to go home with you? Or do you want to go shopping?”
Olivia’s lips twisted in disgust. “No. Stay here. I know that’s what you want, anyway.” She turned and stormed off.
Mom walked past her. “Don’t worry, she’ll come around,” she said, as she continued on, hurrying after Olivia.
Grandma placed an arm around Lena and gave her a one-armed hug, engulfing her in a cloud of perfume. “She’s right. Olivia will be just fine. Go find your young man. Be crazy, have fun, and say hello to William for me.”
Biting her lip, she nodded, following Grandma down the escalator. Mom and Olivia were long gone, probably already halfway across the parking lot.
Lena felt a little torn, still wondering if she should go after her sister. She hesitated and Grandma made a shooing motion as they exited the escalator. “Go, go. Olivia will be fine.”
Still uncertain, she watched Grandma cross the bridge to the parking garage. Finally, she took a breath, turned and stepped down the stairs to the back entrance of the casino.
She looked around, searching for William, wanting to surprise him. She loved seeing his face light up when he saw her.
She walked into the crowd. The Hemlock was one of the most luxurious hotels in town, and the casino was no exception. Part of the walls were stone, others painted a deep bronze. There were columns throughout, red carpeting with medieval designs, and fancy slot machines and tables scattered about.
The high rollers tables sat off to one side and from the cheers coming from that direction, someone had just won something big.
A glance at her phone told her it was only two-thirty in the afternoon, and it was crazy how busy they were, even at this time of day.
She wove around customers, employees, and was starting to wonder if William was upstairs as she couldn’t see him anywhere. With his size, he should be easy to spot.
Several employees gave her a second glance as she walked by. It was weird, but she was sort of getting used to it. Apparently, being William’s girlfriend came with a lot of attention.
She slipped around the roulette wheel in an attempt at anonymity. One of these days, she’d work up the guts to ask him if all the attention was because he’d had a lot of girlfriends, or because he’d had very few.
“Lena?”
She turned to see one of William’s men behind her. “Yes?”
“Are you looking for William?”
“Uh…” She suddenly felt a bit stalkerish and hesitated to admit that was exactly what she was doing. “Just looking around.”
“I’m Caleb, William’s friend. Do you remember me?”
So much had happened lately, and she had to admit she’d pretty much only had eyes for William, but she’d seen him around. Short dark hair, smiled a lot, happy-go-lucky. “Of course.”
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you alone, but haven’t had a chance yet.”
“What about?”
After a quick glance around, Caleb smiled. “We’re planning a surprise birthday party for William. We’re hoping you’ll come.”
She was delighted and relieved by the idea. She’d been wondering what a new girlfriend was supposed to do. She’d offered to make him dinner, and he’d accepted with alacrity, but somehow it hadn’t seemed enough. “Of course, I’d love to.”
“Great! Any chance you’ll give me your number so I can text you the information?” He held up his phone.
Lena hesitated, but Caleb seemed warm and friendly so she quickly rattled off her phone number and he keyed it in before looking up to grin.
He lifted his phone. “Thank you. This is perfect. I’ll send you the details as soon as we have it all worked out.”
“Sounds good, thanks. Let me know if I can do anything to help.”
“You being there?” He looked excited by the prospect. “That is going to be plenty.” He backed away, gave her a wave, and was gone.
She wandered about for a while longer, but William still wasn’t anywhere to be found.
Again, she caught several dealers staring, though no one in the crowd bothered her.
Maybe she had it all wrong, and no one knew about her relationship with William, and she simply looked like a card-shark or something? The thought made her smile.
Wending her way through a heavily crowded area, someone bumped into her from behind and yanked her hair.
“Ouch!” She swung around, her hand going to her head. That really hurt. It felt like someone had snatched out a hank of her hair. She looked around for the culprit, but there were so many in the crowd, going this way and that, she just wasn’t sure. Jeez!
Rubbing her head, suddenly claustrophobic — which was unusual for her, because she was accustomed to large crowds — she gave her head one last rub, and then moved to the side to stand next to some older ladies for protection; from both staring eyes and hair pulling. “Having any luck?” she asked.
A blue-haired, bright-eyed lady, on the short and tiny side, turned to look at her with a wide smile. “Why, yes, dear! This place is simply the best.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “We prefer to play the penny slot machines. It lasts longer, though we don’t win as much. But still, we’re having a good time.”
Another lady gave her a wave. “I’ve won five dollars!”
Her hat-wearing friend at the next machine shot Lena a smile. “I’m down, but I don’t mind. We’re having fun.”
The lady at her side gave her a nudge. “Would you like to try your luck? I’ve warmed up the machine for you.”
“If you don’t mind, I’ll just watch.” She glanced around, noted a few of the dealers staring again, and moved over to block their view with one of the slot machines.
Seriously, what a weird place.
She finally gave up on surprising William and texted him. I’m in the casino, where are you?
She chatted with the ladies before looking at her phone again. Still no response.
“Hello, beautiful,” said a voice at her ear, causing a pleasant case of the shivers.
She turned to smile up at William, and he looked as glad to see her as if she’d actually surprised him. “Hi.”
He took both her hands and they stood smiling at each other for a moment until a chorus of giggles broke out behind her.
Lena glanced back and chuckled at the ladies. “I know, eye candy, right?”
Murmurs of agreement sounded behind her, more chortles, and l
ooking beyond a smiling William she realized they were collecting quite an audience. “Is it just my imagination, or are we being watched?”
William followed her gaze, threw a glare at those standing nearby. “Move along now.” Half of them scattered, a few of them bumping into each other.
Lena laughed as the surprise of it raced through her.
Apparently, there’d been more people watching than she’d realized.
William shook his head. “Ye’re not tae worry about them. They’re just curious tae see what’s so special about ye. When they get used tae seeing ye about, it’ll stop.”
She didn’t even know how to process that comment, so she ignored it. “What are you doing now? Are you busy?”
He squeezed her hands. “It seems we’ve another case tae solve. Are ye interested in helping me?”
“What is it?”
He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I’m sorry tae say tis another murder.”
Her eyes widened and a chill ran up her spine. “Again?”
William straightened and lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “We’ll need tae solve it fast. And if ye’d care tae help, so much the better.” Turning, he pulled her with him, tugging one of her hands to twine around his arm.
“Where are we going?”
“Tae the dungeon if ye’re amenable.”
Lena sucked in a breath, not sure she should feel excited considering what she’d just learned. But they really did have a dungeon? They’d joked about it the first night they’d met, but she hadn’t been sure if he’d been serious or not.
How was she supposed to resist? “I am so in.”
Chapter 4
William walked Lena down to the dungeons, as he quickly explained the murder.
She was, of course, horrified. “That poor guy! He went to collect the car and was murdered instead? That’s so awful. Why would anyone want to kill him?”
William’s first thought had been that if Lena wanted to help him solve this, so much the better.
His second thought? The dungeon was where they hosted visiting vampires, and kept werewolves a few days every month during the full moon — both visitors, and those who lived at, or near, The Hemlock.