by Esme Addison
Athena yelped. Alex reached down to greet her. “Sorry, Athena. Where are my manners?”
Kamila wandered in then, carrying a glass of water. “Hey, Alex,” she said, and rubbed Alex’s shoulder. “How’re you holding up?” She held out the glass. “I thought you could use this.”
“I think she might want something stronger than water,” Minka said. “And I don’t mean herbal tea.”
“No, I’m fine.” Alex took the glass. “Thank you both. I mean it.”
“I’m just glad it’s over,” Kamila said, releasing a breath. “Tobias said that he’ll be filing papers on Monday. All the charges will be dropped.”
“A deathbed confession is compelling evidence,” Minka added.
But it’s not over, Alex wanted to say. And I know who the murderer is. You guys are never going to guess. Maybe Lidia was going to be freed, but there were now two dead bodies and still no murderer in custody. She took a sip of the ice-cold water to avoid saying anything out loud. Her cousins were right to be relieved. She had no business taking that from them.
“Come on,” Kamila said, wrapping her arm around Alex’s shoulder. “We’re all in here, and Mom has cookies.”
When they entered the living room, Lidia and Tobias were engaged in a serious tête-à-tête on the couch. They finished their discussion before standing to greet Alex.
“My dear.” Lidia pulled her into an embrace. “What a terrible shock you must have had.”
The comforting feel of her aunt’s embrace settled around her, and she realized how tired she was. “It was awful.” She turned to the attorney and held out a hand. “Hi, Tobias.”
“Quite a lot of excitement for a Saturday.” He was dressed for a day on the golf course in a white polo and khakis, but he looked genuinely pleased to be there. “I was just telling Lidia that Stephanie Bennett is about to be a very wealthy woman.”
Alex’s limbs were heavy with fatigue. “I guess,” she said. Then she frowned. “Why is Stephanie going to be wealthy?”
“Edwin must have been planning this … act,” Winston replied delicately. “He came into my office last week. Just after Randy’s funeral, it must’ve been. He wanted to change his will. Left everything to Stephanie.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t quite believe it. “Guilt makes people do strange things. That woman just made more money in the past two weeks than most people earn in a lifetime.”
Lidia set a hand on Alex’s forearm. “You look pale. Please, sit and relax.”
Alex’s knees weakened. She allowed herself to be led to a seat, but she couldn’t relax.
“It’s terribly tragic,” Lidia said. “He seemed like such a gentle man. To think that he would hurt Randy …”
He didn’t, Alex thought. And he was killed by the same person who killed Randy. By the look of surprise that Lidia gave her, she’d heard her thoughts clearly.
Alex turned her attention to Tobias. “Did Stephanie change her will?” He glanced away. “No, that’s all right, Tobias. Never mind. I understand you’re concerned about attorney-client privilege. But Edwin’s will must be published with the probate court now that he’s deceased.”
“That’s right. It’s no longer privileged.” He still appeared uneasy.
“But I’ll bet she changed her will, too,” Alex said. “They loved each other.”
And that’s why Alex didn’t believe Edwin had been having an affair, like Stephanie feared. He wasn’t a womanizer like Randy, although it was natural that someone who was used to having a cheating husband would fear that every partner would betray her. But Alex didn’t think that was what had happened.
When Tobias and her aunt began talking again, she pulled out her phone and reread the texts Edwin had sent just before his death. He had been asking for help with Neptune Investments. Had someone threatened Edwin on the phone call Stephanie overheard? Had the woman they’d seen leaving the office lured him under the guise of working out their differences when what she really intended to do was kill him?
Alex rubbed at her forehead. Back to Dylan. His hey-I’m-a-good-guy act had been just that. An act. He had to be involved; after all, Neptune Investments was his company and he was a Magical. She recalled Celeste’s friendly manner with him at the coffee shop. Of course, she was friendly with all of the customers, but now Alex wondered if there was more to it. Were they working together? Maybe Dylan had put her up to dating Edwin so they could … what exactly?
Alex glanced at Minka, wondering if she could have a full-fledged telepathic conversation with her. Her cousin must’ve heard her, because she looked her way, and her response of Sure reverberated through Alex’s mind. What’s up?
Then she heard Kamila’s thoughts. Are you guys seriously going to do this now? Alex stifled a laugh but composed her features and pretended to be listening to Tobias as he continued his conversation with her aunt. Sorry, this is important. It’s about Celeste; she works at the coffee shop. Do either of you know her beyond being a barista?
Alex observed the smirk of Kamila’s face and suppressed an eye roll. Her cousin was sarcastic even in her thoughts, Alex thought with a grin. She could hear the tone even telepathically.
Minka gave her sister a reproachful look. Why?
Is she a Magical? Alex couldn’t stop herself from turning to look at Minka. Does she practice black magic?
At this, her aunt gave her a stern look before turning to smile at something Tobias had said. Could her aunt hear her too? Yes, I can, came the thought, louder than all of the others. And it’s very rude for you to be doing this while we have company. Can this wait?
Alex bit her bottom lip. Sorry, no it can’t. I have reason to believe that—
Celeste is registered, came the abrupt thought. As is her mother. They’re both rule-abiding and upstanding members of the Magical community. What’s the problem?
Alex couldn’t hide the shock on her face. Celeste was a witch, too? She’d hoped she was wrong about Celeste. But now? How had she missed it? And why hadn’t Celeste just told her? Sighing, she set down her water with a clink. Of course Celeste and Dylan were working together. Laying down the groundwork, my behind. Celeste was good; she had to give her that.
Tobias gave her a concerned look before taking another cookie from the dish. She really wished he’d leave. She needed to talk to her family in the normal way. She focused her thoughts on the attorney. You’re tired. Go home. Get up—
Stop it, her aunt said, loud and clear.
Alex was afraid to look at her aunt’s face, but she knew she’d find a scowl there. Swallowing hard, she nodded slightly. She realized she was exhausted, and her temples pounded.
Her aunt’s words appeared in her mind, softer this time. You’re tired. Why don’t you get some rest. Tobias will understand.
That’s a good idea, Ciocia. Alex smiled at her aunt for giving her the excuse she needed to leave.
She rose and stretched. “I think I’m going to rest for a little while before dinner. Tobias, it was nice to see you again.”
“Likewise, Alex.”
“Have a good rest,” Lidia said.
Athena followed Alex up the stairs and into her bedroom. Once they were there, Alex turned off the lights, pulled the curtains closed, and shut the door. Her mind was full of facts, speculation, and theories. She needed some alone time to work through everything. She would try to meditate.
* * *
Smiling to herself, Alex lay on her bed and closed her eyes. It would please her father to know she was giving it another try. She tried to still her mind, but everything she knew whirled around inside her head at a frantic pace. She couldn’t grab hold of one single idea, her thoughts were so chaotic.
She took deep, calming breaths until her mental churning slowed down. There were a few moments of darkness, no thought, and she went deeper into those moments, seeking guidance and clarity. Finally, she went so deep into her mind that she must’ve fallen asleep. Her eyes snapped open, and she had the sense that more time t
han she realized had passed. She also felt more refreshed.
Blinking away her fogginess, she sat up. And then she remembered the last image she’d seen in her mind before she fell asleep. The journal. Was there something in there that she’d missed? She looked over at Captain Bellamy’s tattered old diary, which was still on her nightstand. She picked it up.
Alex had flipped through the old pages last night. John Bellamy had been as gossipy as his great-great-granddaughter, painstakingly chronicling town rumors and legends about the Sobieski and Wesley families and even drawing mermaids in the margins. One day Alex would go back through the journal with an eye toward learning more about her family, but for now she was looking for something else. She just didn’t know what.
Unfortunately, aside from the gossip, Captain Bellamy was kind of dull. He grew corn, beans, and potatoes and kept some livestock, and he documented his farming efforts in detail. Jakub said last frost has passed. We will begin planting in the morning. Or, Found pigs on Wesley farm. Repaired wall with stones found in cornfield. Alex skimmed these entries again, feeling like maybe this journal had been a dead end after all.
She set the journal down. Maybe it was nothing; after all, she’d tried to meditate only to rest her mind, not to solve the case. The mental image of the journal probably meant nothing. Before Edwin called her, her plan had been to leave. She could do that now. Lidia was going to be set free. Let the police handle the rest. Isn’t that what Jack wanted, anyway?
Her suitcase was still lying open on the bed. She opened her dresser drawers and grabbed clothing by the armful. She’d stay a couple more days at most.
Alex froze. That was it. That was what she’d been missing. She grabbed her phone and pulled up an Internet browser. She waited impatiently for the search to complete, and then there it was. “It was right in front of me.”
All of the pieces fell into place. The Wesley family was all over Captain Bellamy’s journal. Jakub Wesley helping him to plant. Pigs wandering into the Wesley yard. The families sharing their harvest. That means the Wesleys and the Bellamys had been neighbors. Friends. She recalled that the Captain John Bellamy Homestead Nature Preserve was located across the street from Bay Realty headquarters. A quick Internet search revealed that this land had once been John Bellamy’s farmland. No one else had lived anywhere near that remote property. Therefore, the Wesleys’ homestead must have been where Randy and Edwin’s office now stood.
The land dispute Tegan had with Randy concerned the site of the Wesley homestead—the site of the home that had burned to the ground a hundred years ago. It must have, because Bay Realty was located on that very land. That’s why Dylan had created Neptune Investments and had been willing to spend top dollar to buy the entire business. He wanted his ancestral land back. But why? Was it just sentimental value? Surely that couldn’t be the motive for killing two people. Unless the Wesleys just had no regard for human life—for Mundane life?
Alex ran through the information she’d amassed on the case. With Randy out of the way, the property went to Stephanie and Edwin. Neither was interested in selling the property. He was going to sell the business and develop the real estate as an additional investment, and he’d just filed the application that would allow him to break ground. This was about the land. First Randy had been the problem, and he’d been removed. Then Edwin was in the way, and he’d been killed …
Now Stephanie Bennett was going to inherit the entire business, but she didn’t want to sell the land, either. As Alex recalled, Edwin had said Stephanie wanted to sell the business but live on that property herself.
Alex’s heart began to race. She knew for a fact that Stephanie wasn’t an unregistered Magical. She’d had no part in either death. She was just a Mundane. The breath caught in Alex’s throat. A Mundane who is in grave danger. And Celeste was leaving town, which meant she had one more murder on her list.
She raced out of the bedroom, Athena quick on her heels. She raced down the stairs, stumbling toward the bottom. “Minka, I need your car.”
Her cousin entered the foyer with a kolaczki in her hand. “What’s going on?”
“I need your car,” Alex repeated. “It’s an emergency.”
“What?” She lowered her hand to feed the cookie to Athena, who was happy to gobble it up. “I’m going on a date in half an hour.”
“Can he pick you up?”
“I guess so—”
“Great. Thank you.”
Alex was in too much of a rush to explain. And Tobias was still eating cookies and drinking coffee with her aunt. She grabbed the car keys and raced out the door. She sped toward Stephanie’s colonial on the other side of town.
Alex turned the corner onto Stephanie’s street. She pulled into the driveway behind the Porsche, relieved that she was home. Now she had to convince Stephanie to get to safety—wherever that was. She hoped the woman would trust her. She rang the doorbell and waited while the chime echoed through the house. Stephanie’s voice came over the intercom beside the door. “Hello?”
“Stephanie, it’s Alex Daniels. Can I come in? It’s urgent.”
“Sure. Door’s unlocked.”
There wasn’t a minute to spare. Alex pressed the door open and stepped inside. The house was quiet. “Where are you?”
“Upstairs. Come on up,” her voice called from above.
Alex sniffed, and the hair on the back of her neck rose. There was magic in the air. Guard your thoughts, she reminded herself. Celeste was already here.
She mounted the carpeted stairs. Alex’s heart was in her throat. She clutched the banister, white-knuckled.
“Stephanie?” she called into the silent hall. “Where are you?”
“Over here,” rang out the cheerful reply. “I’m packing for a trip.”
Alex paused at that. She was also leaving? It wasn’t possible that she and Celeste were working together, was it? She had to admit that if they were, it was kind of brilliant and Stephanie deserved an Oscar for her acting abilities.
Moving slowly now, Alex went in the direction of the voice. She came upon an office. The door was partially closed. Alex tucked her cell into her back pocket to keep her hands free, just in case. With her foot, Alex nudged the door open, wondering once again if Stephanie was friend or foe. “Stephanie, we need to talk—”
But Stephanie wasn’t able to talk. She was being held against the wall by what looked like glowing ropes of blue energy that crisscrossed her body like magical tape. She was a few feet off the ground, and even though she struggled against the restraints, she was trapped. She was also trying to scream, but she couldn’t open her mouth. The same luminescent blue material covered the lower half of her face in a glowing gag. Stephanie’s eyes were the only thing free to move, and they clearly transmitted her emotions. They were large with fear, her pupils dilated with panic. She looked from Alex to behind the door several times, as if she were trying to send her a message.
Too late, Alex figured out someone was hiding there, but she smelled them first. The fragrance of magic was strong—overpowering, really. It filled her nostrils, causing her to cough and her eyes to smart. But the scent meshed with notes of something else. A flower? Honeysuckle? No … it was a fruit, a base note of something sweet and juicy. Alex gasped with the knowledge. She knew who the murderer was.
And then someone stepped out of the shadows.
Alex’s breath hitched in her throat.
It was Jenna, and she was holding a gun.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Jenna,” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”
And why did she smell magic? It was the strongest she’d ever experienced. Was someone else here? Or was Jenna a Magical, too? Unregistered and flying under everyone’s radar? She was so confused.
“I could ask you the same thing. Except it’s no secret you’ve been running around town sticking your nose into matters that are none of your concern. Now why would you do that?”
Alex studied the young woman
, wondering at the change in her voice. Normally sweet and soft sounding, it had a hard edge to it and a nasty tone. Jenna had been acting the whole time … but why? She had nothing to gain by killing Randy and everything to lose.
Just then Alex felt a vibration against her skin. Her cell phone. Alex reached into her pocket, but a gust of wind knocked it out of her hand. It barreled across the room, hitting the wall.
“Oops, hope I didn’t crack the screen.” Jenna curled her lip. “Now why don’t you settle in. No one’s going anywhere.” She gestured Alex further into the office using the gun. The room contained a beautiful wooden desk, built-in shelves filled with books, and not much else.
She twirled the gun in her hand with a laugh. “This is Stephanie’s. Can you believe she tried to stop me with it?” Jenna set the gun down on the desk next to a stack of papers. “Such a shame about Edwin,” she continued. “Randy got what he deserved. But Edwin was nice. Greedy, but nice. Stephanie and I were just talking. She’s simply heartbroken over Edwin’s death. Two men in a few weeks.” Jenna shook her head. “No one will blame her for making a rash decision.”
“Jenna.” Alex nearly choked on her name. “Why are you here?”
“You haven’t figured it out?” Jenna scoffed. “Stephanie has our land, and she won’t give it back.” She glared at the poor woman writhing on the wall. “It’s not yours. I thought you understood that.”
“But it’s not yours either, Jenna,” Alex said. “You’re not a Wesley.”
“Oh, right.” Jenna grinned, and the scent of magic increased as a strong wind began to blow around her, giving her the appearance of being the actual eye of a storm. Jenna’s hair whipped around her face, darkening in color before Alex’s eyes. The contours of her heart-shaped faced stretching into more angles. All the while, she smiled knowingly, staring Alex straight in the eyes. Then the wind stopped. Jenna shook out her hair and smoothed it down. She patted her cheeks and touched her nose as if she was making sure everything was in place. “That’s much better. Nothing like being in your own skin.”