Murder by the Cup

by Abigail Thornton

  Delila dropped her hands to her lap in a huff. “Help? You’re accusing me of murder! Why would I help you?”

  “Delila,” Wynona said, trying to bring down the tension in the room. “Why won’t you tell us where you were?”

  Mournful, but determined eyes met Wynona’s and she had to blink a couple of times to keep from getting pulled in. No wonder men made such fools of themselves around sirens. “I wasn’t at your tea shop,” Delila whispered thickly. “I didn’t even know the place existed yet.” She looked pained. “I’m sorry.”

  Wynona shook her head. “That doesn’t matter. Can’t you tell us what you were doing?” A thought occurred to Wynona. “Or with whom?”

  By the stiff set of Delila’s shoulder, Wynona knew she had hit a nerve.

  Her mind churned. Who would Delila have been spending time with? A family member? A boyfriend? The boyfriend seemed likely, but why hide it? Sirens were known for being attractive. It shouldn’t have been a big deal for her to be in a relationship.

  Unless the relationship was forbidden.

  Saving the thought for another time, Wynona turned back to Rascal. “You said you have evidence against her. Her not being at the office isn’t exactly condemning. Is there something else?”

  Rascal sighed and nodded. “Yes.” His eyes flickered between Wynona and Delila, as if he were sorry to have to bring it up. “A search of her home brought us this.” He opened a drawer and set a small black binder on the desk, then pushed it closer to the women.

  Delila gasped and Wynona’s eyes widened. She’d seen that before. In the fat fingers of a baker who was trying to protect his legacy.

  “I didn’t take that,” Delila cried, her voice shaking. She pointed at the object. “I don’t know how that got in my apartment, but I didn’t put it there.”

  Despite being fairly sure herself, Wynona had to ask. “Are you sure that’s Chef Droxon’s binder?”

  Without speaking, Rascal opened up the small binder. Inside was a ripped page with what appeared to be a list of ingredients on it, only it was cut off before Wynona could tell exactly what all it contained.

  “Delila,” Wynona said breathlessly, shaking her head. “You’ve got to tell them the truth.”

  “The truth is that I didn’t kill Atherton,” Delila said through clenched teeth. “I didn’t put that in my apartment. I’m being framed.”

  “Where were you?” Wynona asked more forcefully. She had a feeling that Delila’s real alibi would reveal everything, but the woman was being exceedingly stubborn.

  Before Delila could respond, the door to Rascal’s office slammed open. “You,” Chief Ligurio snarled, looking at Wynona. He crooked a slim, white finger. “Come with me.” His eyes shifted to Rascal. “You too, Deputy Chief, if you value your job.”

  Without another word, the vampire turned and was gone, his footsteps a whisper in the noisy office.

  Wynona pinched her lips together and gripped the arm rests on her chair to push herself into standing. She’d really stepped in it now.

  Before she could get all the way up, a clammy hand gripped hers. Wynona looked down to see Delila holding her tightly. “I didn’t do it,” Delila pleaded one last time. “You have to believe me.”

  Holding back what felt like her millionth sigh, Wynona nodded and patted the siren’s hand. “We’ll get this figured out. Don’t you worry.”

  “Ms. Le Doux?” Rascal waited by the door, his face drawn and serious.

  Wynona clenched her fists as she walked past him, wishing to offer comfort, but not knowing what she could possibly say or do that would ease the situation.

  Feeling like she was walking to her doom, Wynona forced her knees to stop trembling and her shoulders to stay straight. If she was going down, she was going to do it on her terms.

  CHAPTER 20

  “Have a seat, Ms. Le Doux.” Chief Ligurio didn’t even look at her as she entered his office, simply waved toward a hard metal chair across the desk from him.

  Wynona glanced at Rascal, then moved forward.

  He gave her a small smile, but both of them knew they needed to keep their distance at the moment. She had no desire to get the Deputy Chief in trouble and he was tied by the law.

  While Rascal stood guard at the door, Wynona gingerly sat down. “How can I help you, Chief Ligurio?”

  The vampire snorted. “How can you help me?” He set down the pen he’d been writing with and folded his hands across his desk. “I think the answer is you can stop trying to help me.”

  Wynona pasted a pleasant smile on her face. It was the same one she gave her family when they treated her horribly, but she didn’t want them to know she was hurting. This case was bigger than just the police department. While it might be routine for them to solve cases similar to this, this was Wynona’s life. Everything she and her granny had worked for. No one cared about what was going on more than she did, and she had learned over the years that if she didn’t stand up for herself, few others would.

  “I’m not trying to interfere,” she began, but cut off when the chief snorted again. “Chief Ligurio...” Wynona leaned forward and rested her fingertips on the edge of the desk. “We both want the same thing here. To see a killer brought to justice. Why does it matter where your information comes from?”

  His red eyes narrowed. “You look just—” Suddenly the police chief blinked, leaned back and cleared his throat. “It matters, because you’re not authorized to do any of the things you’re doing.” He leaned in. “I know your family doesn’t like to take ‘no’ for an answer, Ms. Le Doux, but in this case...you simply aren’t wanted.”

  The words hurt more than they should have. He had been unwelcoming from the beginning and it shouldn’t surprise her that the longer the investigation went on, the more he would protest her presence.

  The chief had no way of knowing she had been unwanted her entire life and that those words pricked an old and still unhealed wound.

  “Then I’ll be sure not to get in your way,” Wynona said, doing her best to hide the pain.

  “You’ll be sure to go home and let us handle this,” Chief Ligurio said more forcefully. He pinned her in place with his gaze. “You’re not a member of my force, you’re not even a private investigator. You have no jurisdiction to do anything.”

  Wynona bit back a sharp response. His words were true. She didn’t have any jurisdiction. All she had was a worry for her future and that wouldn’t hold up in court for two seconds. “I understand,” she said, careful not to actually promise to stay home.

  The chief’s eyes narrowed, but his door opened before he could say anything more.

  “Chief?”

  Wynona didn’t recognize the officer standing in the doorway. He hadn’t been at her shop or the Droxon office.

  Chief Ligurio raised his eyebrows in response.

  “The judge is playing golf with the DA and apparently, that can take three or four hours. His secretary said she’ll show him the warrant for Ms. Caseis’s office when he gets back.”

  Chief Ligurio scowled but nodded. “Make sure she knows it’s top priority.”

  Wynona kept her eyes on her lap. She was taking in every word, but didn’t want the chief to know that. Right now a plan was forming, but the only way she would manage to pull it off was if Chief Ligurio let her go.

  “Hang on a minute,” the chief said, rising and following the officer out into the hall. Their voices were muted by the door, but Wynona didn’t need to hear any more. She knew enough.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Rascal warned.

  Wynona turned to him with her innocent face on. “What?”

  His dark brows were furrowed. “I can see it in your face, Wynona. Let us handle this.”

  Wynona shrugged. “I haven’t said a thing.”

  “You don’t need to. Your face says it all.”

  Wynona made sure to wipe any and all emotion from her face. “No, it doesn’t.”

  He leaned over, an amused grin
on his face. “You can’t hide from me,” he said.

  Wynona tilted her head to the side. “I beg to differ.” Wynona knew full well she’d been hiding her emotions from others for her entire life. It had taken some practice, but she knew she was good at it. She’d have never survived the castle if she wasn’t.

  “And I don’t beg.”

  Wynona’s mouth pulled into a grin. She couldn’t help it. “Is it true that wolves hate being compared to dogs?”

  A low growl slipped from his lips, but Wynona wasn’t afraid. Rascal had shown his hand too many times. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. “It’s like calling a unicorn a pony,” he explained. “One is vastly superior to the other.”

  “Maybe so, but which one?” she teased.

  The slow, wonderfully boyish smile that crept across his face was almost more than Wynona could handle. “I’ve got just the way for you to find out.”

  How was it that she, who had zero experience with men, was now juggling two handsome gentlemen? Ones who were polar opposites of each other?

  The door opened before any more flirting could occur, and the chief came back through, his face a thundercloud, accenting the dead, grey undertone to his skin. “It’s time for you to go, Ms. Le Doux.” He pointed at her, holding the door at his back. “But stay out of our way.”

  “Like I said,” Wynona said quickly, “I understand.” She stood and slipped out without looking at Rascal or the chief again. She was afraid of what Rascal’s face would say, and she didn’t want to give anything away to Chief Ligurio.

  Careful to keep her walk casual, Wynona walked out of the office, nodding politely to everyone she made eye contact with. She didn’t want any of them to have any reason to pull her aside and claim she was hiding anything.

  Once outside, she got on her scooter and headed toward home. About halfway there, she pulled into a side alley and parked. Coming to the edge of the street, she searched, doing her best to ascertain whether or not the chief had put a tail on her.

  When she didn’t notice anything suspicious, Wynona jumped back on her scooter and went back the way she had come. Taking a side street, she worked her way deeper into the city until she made it to Runes Road.

  Evening was here and many of the businesses were starting to close, flooding the streets with people and creatures of all kinds. It made it easy for Wynona to slip into the alley unnoticed since everybody was eager to get home.

  Parking her scooter behind a dumpster, Wynona walked cautiously to the front door. Just as before, it was locked when she tried to pull on it.

  “Shoot.” She put her hands on her hips, glaring at the door before immediately dropping them, and looked around. No one was paying any attention to her. She blew out a breath and walked back around the corner. There had to be an alternate entrance. Just as she left the front sidewalk, she heard a noise that had her turning back.

  Peeking around the corner, she saw a minotaur emerging from the door. He raised his head after ducking through the opening. Straightening his work jacket, the half man/half bull created an automatic clearing of the sidewalk. He didn’t even appear to notice how the crowd parted for his bulk, and the masses of creatures moved seamlessly around him as if they’d done it a thousand times before.

  Wynona had to shake her head at the world she lived in. So different from her isolated upbringing.

  The glass door shut with a soft sucking sound, catching her attention. She grinned. That was her ticket in.

  Staying in the shadows, she waited another ten minutes before another employee came out. Wynona had to dive through the masses and almost didn’t manage to grab the edge of the door before it closed. The tips of her fingers burned as she held it open. Blowing out a long breath, Wynona made sure the employee didn’t notice her actions. The dark head that had come out was nowhere to be seen, so Wynona assumed she was in the clear.

  Straightening, she regripped the door, pulled it open as if she belonged and walked inside. A blast of cool air smacked her in the face and Wynona had to smooth down her mussed hair.

  Her eyes immediately went to the elevators, noting they were both on the upper floors. There had to still be other employees coming down. Searching, she found a restroom in the corner that would make the perfect hiding place for the building to clear out.

  Going inside, Wynona waited for a solid twenty minutes before venturing out again. She had just poked her head out when the elevator door dinged, and she pulled back inside with a soft squeak.

  “That’s it, Curce,” a feminine voice called out. “I’m the last one down.”

  “Thanks, Eaden,” a deeper voice replied. “The front door is already locked.”

  “See you tomorrow.”

  Wynona put her hand on her pounding heart, trying to slow it down. Apparently she had a night watch guard or custodian to deal with before she could accomplish her mission. She glanced at the clock on her phone. One minute, then two... Finally five more minutes passed and Wynona tried to look out again.

  Only silence met her ears as she cautiously searched the lobby. When nothing worrisome occured, she headed to the door in the corner that indicated the stairwell. Walking ten flights didn’t sound appealing, but neither did getting caught and having to face Chief Ligurio.

  The stairwell was dark and eerily quiet, but it allowed Wynona to feel safe as she worked her way up. By the time she arrived on the tenth landing, her thighs were screaming bloody murder, her neck was drenched in sweat and Wynona knew she was going to be sore for days. “If I keep this up, I’m gonna need to start working out,” she panted quietly to herself. It was a good thing she had no intention of solving any other cases. This was a one and done for her.

  She slowly pushed open the door, once again straining for any sound that might indicate another person in the building. She relaxed only slightly when the floor appeared empty. Reminding herself that the guard could come do rounds at any moment, she scurried quickly through the darkness until she reached Delila’s office and slipped inside to find her desk.

  Wynona pulled up the flashlight feature on her phone and began looking through the secretary’s papers.

  The top of the desk was littered with everything under the sun and it was difficult to check thoroughly while still keeping things where they belonged.

  After twenty minutes, Wynona plopped down in the seat and blew out a breath. This seemed hopeless. She wasn’t even quite sure what she was looking for. Huffing, she began opening and closing drawers, starting in the top left, working her way down and then going to the right-hand side of the desk.

  Nothing.

  “Come on, come on,” Wynona urged to the empty room. There had to be something here. Something that could prove Delila’s innocence or at least hint at what the secretary had been doing the night of the first murder. If Delila was trying to protect someone, there must be proof of it somewhere, and the police had already checked her home.

  Wynona was running out of ideas. She needed some kind of break in the case or her shop was doomed. Delila was going to be convicted of something she didn’t do and the real killer was going to go free.

  A manilla envelope caught Wynona’s attention and she picked it up, not feeling particularly enthused about going through more receipts. She dumped the contents in her lap and slowed down.

  It appeared to be bank transactions, but after looking through them, Wynona could tell the numbers didn’t quite make sense.

  “KAD,” Wynona mused, noting the letters marked in red on the side of the transactions. “What is KAD?”

  A few receipts fluttered about and Wynona grabbed one. It was for a month ago, for a cafe on the far side of town. Nothing important there. She grabbed another one. “Whoa...” Wynona’s eyes widened at the amount on the receipt. Looking at the top, she nodded. The dinner had been at the fanciest restaurant in Hex Haven. Well, technically it wasn’t in the city limits.

  The Goddess’s Table had been built inside an old Gothic castle up on Spell Summit, the lar
gest mountain in the area. It was a place her family frequented, though Wynona had never been invited. Only the ultra wealthy or those trying to impress ate there, since their prices were closer to that of a small car than a normal dinner.

  The receipt showed two entrees and at least two bottles of wine. “Maybe I should have been a secretary,” Wynona grumbled. “Or just a siren.”

  She began to set the receipt to the side, along with her jealousy, when she paused. Down at the bottom, near the credit card information, was another set of numbers. Wynona sucked in a breath as her mind went on a frantic journey.

  This was it. This was what she had been looking for.

  Now to put the pieces together and figure out what it all meant.

  Carefully putting the envelope back together, Wynona made sure the desk was exactly how it had started. Turning off the light from her phone, she slunk to the staircase, bracing herself for the painful walk downstairs.

  Her heart began to speed up in anticipation and sweat broke out on her forehead before she’d barely started. Snorting at her own issues, she let out a muttered prayer to the gods that she’d make it to the street without having a heart attack. Delila and the tea shop were depending on her.

  CHAPTER 21

  The lights of the city were magnificent as Wynona breezed through the streets toward her cottage. Or at least, they would have been if she had noticed them at all. Instead, her mind was on other matters, leaving the bright neon signs and twinkling fairy lights behind.

  Her stomach churned slightly and Wynona came back to herself enough to realize that she needed dinner. It was getting late and her early sandwich was long gone.

  Finally paying attention to her surroundings, she began watching for somewhere she could get takeout. She really didn’t feel like cooking, but she also didn’t want to sit in a crowded restaurant when she was trying to piece everything together.

  A greek cafe came into sight and Wynona pulled over. A fresh chicken gyro would be perfect right about now. The line was longer than she wanted, but she used the wait to write down everything she knew on the notes app of her phone.