Murder by the Cup

by Abigail Thornton

  “Some help you are,” Wynona puffed. She finally reached Roderick’s floor and cautiously poked her head out of the door. The floor was silent and she made her way to his office.

  Carefully, as if the knob was booby trapped, Wynona tried to turn it. “Shoot,” she grumbled. It would have been too easy for it to be unlocked as well. She had figured she would need to break in, but Wynona had never actually picked a lock before. That definitely wasn’t a skill her granny had taught her and without any magic, she was a little stumped.

  Violet scrambled down Wynona’s arm and Wynona froze as she watched the purple rodent disappear under the door. Tiny scratches could be heard climbing higher and higher until there was a soft click.

  Trying again, Wynona slowly pulled the knob and the door swung open, Violet dangling from the knob like an acrobat.

  Wynona quickly held out her hand and caught the mouse. “Why, you clever little creature.” With a grin, Wynona tucked Violet back into her hair. “That’s an extra cookie for you tonight.”

  Violet chittered happily and settled down.

  Wynona was sure to close the door behind her, and she stayed bent over so people wouldn’t be able to see her silhouette through the windows. One thing she couldn’t avoid, however, was using her flashlight in order to read the words on Roderick’s documents.

  She began to shuffle through the papers on his desk, but even without saying so, Wynona was fairly certain that Roderick was too smart to have left something incriminating out in the open. She moved around to the back of the desk and methodically went through his drawers.

  She wasn’t even sure what she was looking for. Just something to confirm her suspicions. While waiting in the alley, Wynona had done a little more investigating and despite her hurt, she felt like she was finally on the right track.

  When a search of the drawers brought nothing unusual to light, she began to flitter her hands around the edges of the desk. She had once seen in a movie that desks could have hidden drawers. Perhaps...

  Wynona gasped when she found what felt like a button. Anticipation had her pushing it before she could think better of it and a click sounded before a small part of the wall swung open.

  “Did you see that?” Wynona asked Violet.

  Violet was clinging to Wynona's neck, but gave a tiny squeak.

  Wynona walked over and pulled open the safe. A single manilla envelope lay inside. Sweat beaded on Wynona’s forehead and bile churned in her stomach as she pulled it out. Reaching inside, she pulled out a bundle of pages.

  It didn’t take her long to figure out that what she held was more than enough to put Roderick in jail for a very long time.

  That same sense of betrayal flooded her and Wynona found it hard to breathe. How could this be happening? He had been by her side this entire time. He’d encouraged her, supported her, made her feel beautiful and worthwhile despite her cursed state.

  It seemed unreal.

  “I see you found it.”

  Wynona jerked her head up just in time to be blinded by the overhead light. Blinking rapidly, she stumbled backward a few steps. When her vision finally cleared, her heart sank like a petrified gnome. “Roderick,” she said tightly. “How could you?”

  His eyes fell to the floor, but a soft smile spread across his face. “Doesn’t quite seem right, does it?” Slowly, he began walking around the room.

  Wynona matched his steps, not wanting to be any closer to him than she had to be. “You were going to let me be a sacrifice to your crime? All for what? Some recipes?” Anger joined her hurt. This man had no right to treat her this way. As nothing more than a scapegoat, worthless.

  Roderick stopped walking and shook his head. “It wasn’t that way at all,” he insisted. “I knew you wouldn’t be convicted. No one who knows you would ever think you could kill a person.” He shrugged. “If Chief Ligurio hadn’t been so caught up in trying to exact revenge on your sister by using you, he would have seen that as well.”

  Wynona’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

  Roderick began walking again. Even in slow motion, he was difficult to look away from. His gait was strong and assured. He oozed power from every pore, but instead of being impressed, Wynona felt choked by it.

  Since he was headed for his desk, she began to inch her way to the door. Perhaps she could slip out and reach the police before he could catch her.

  “I don’t think you should go any farther,” he said coolly. His lips turned down in a frown. “I really did like you, you know. I had great plans for us once this was all over.”

  “You really think I would welcome the attention of a killer?” Wynona said incredulously. “That goes against everything I stand for!”

  “You weren’t supposed to find out.” He tilted his head, and his silver eyes practically glowed as he studied her. “I suppose I didn’t give you enough credit. If the spell on my safe hadn’t let me know someone had broken in, I might have missed the chance to stop you.”

  Wynona’s jaw clenched tighter. She’d looked everywhere for traps, except for the magic ones. She was a fool.

  “Even with your curse, genetically speaking you should hold great power from your family line. Plus, it’s not as if you’re bad to look at. You might need a little help in the fashion department, but you’re still a very beautiful woman. Marrying you would give my children more than just power. Looks, magic and intelligence...what an intoxicating combination.”

  Wynona wanted to gag. He had never liked her for her. All he had wanted was her genes. If she threw up, she hoped it left a stain on his carpet. Why were witches and warlocks so obsessed with building powerful family lines? What happened to marrying for happiness and love?

  “Tell me,” he said in that annoyingly calm tone. “Just how did you figure it out?”

  Wynona pinched her lips together. She shifted her weight, ready to run for the door as soon as the opportunity arose. “There were several things, but it wasn’t until I had my meeting with Ms. Kimoko this afternoon that I remembered about the allergy.” She glared at him. “No one knows about that. You shouldn’t have known about that.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Perhaps it was simply a word that slipped into an impassioned speech from an ardent suitor.”

  Wynona shook her head. “It was too much of a coincidence. The only way you could have known about that was if you were in my office, snooping through my books.” Her nostrils flared in indignation. “My guess is you looked around the night that you killed Mr. Skinflayer.”

  “Ah.” Roderick trailed his finger along the edge of his desk. “Mr. Skinflayer. He had one simple job, and yet...” Roderick shrugged.

  “So you killed him. All because of some recipes,” Wynona accused.

  “Not just some recipes,” Roderick said as if scolding a recalcitrant child. “The recipes. You tasted Atherton’s pastries. Surely you didn’t miss how much they kept pulling you back for more.”

  “So...what? You wanted to be able to open a competing business with them?”

  Roderick tsked his tongue. “Have you no imagination, Wynona?” His grin was nothing short of malicious. “I was going to sell them to the highest bidder. My legacy would have been assured.”

  “Money,” Wynona spat, moving a couple more inches toward the door. “Two dead men because of money.” She shook her head. “You make me sick.” She could feel Violet moving down the back of her shirt and Wynona fought panic at the thought of the mouse coming out where Roderick could see her. She tried to shift and stop her, but Violet soon was out of reach.

  “You said there were several things,” Roderick continued and Wynona found herself grateful for the distraction. Maybe if she kept him talking, he wouldn’t notice a purple mouse. “Tell me...where else did I slip up?”

  “After I figured out that you had been in my office, other things started popping up.” She took another step. “I hadn’t realized it at the time, when I walked in on you talking about delivering the package. The story about your s
ister was completely believable,” she said, trying to stroke his ego a little.

  His smirk let her know it worked. She took another step toward the door.

  “But knowing you’d been in my office made me question it.” She bit back a smart remark. “You don’t have a sister, do you?”

  Roderick’s chuckle was low and eerie. “Very good, Wynona.” He scratched his chin. “I suppose in our courtship that lie would have eventually come out anyway, but sometimes we have to improvise.”

  She tried to move again.

  “Not another step, dear.” Roderick tilted his head in a way that made her feel like a mouse being watched by a cat. He gave her a fake frown. “As much as I would love to continue hearing about my mistakes, I believe that if we draw this out any longer, you’re going to hold onto the hope that you’ll escape, and that would just be cruel.”

  His hand rose in the air, palm toward her.

  Wynona knew she was about to see just how powerful his magic was. “Why kill Chef Droxon?” she blurted out, knowing she was only delaying the inevitable. “I still haven’t put that together. Surely you could have stolen the recipes without killing him.”

  His hand dropped a couple of inches and she let out a tentative breath. “Not quite as smart as you thought, then?” He grinned. He looked too happy for the situation, as if it were normal to go around eliminating people. “Chef Droxon was nothing but a decoy.”

  Wynona’s brain sped through his words, putting it in place with the rest of her facts. “You needed to throw us off,” she accused. “You needed us to believe Droxon had been the original target. The chef’s apron wasn’t enough.”

  He clapped in a derogatory manner and gave Wynona a bow. “Very good. Any other questions?”

  Wynona couldn’t think of anything else to keep him talking and his hand came up again.

  “Like I said, it’s a pity. I really did have plans for the two of us.” He sighed. “But I can’t have any loose ends.” He grinned. “At least we know the chief won’t miss you.” Sparks began to drip from his hand and Wynona’s panic became all consuming.

  Light shot toward her and Wynona screamed as an automatic response. Her hands came up as if they could stop the spell, her head turning to the side with her eyes squeezed shut.

  Cursing filled the room and Wynona chanced opening her eyes in time to see purple sparks dissipating throughout the room.

  “You said you didn’t have any magic,” he snarled. Gone was cool, collected Roderick, and in his place was an angry warlock who had just been thwarted. The problem was, Wynona had no idea how.

  “I don’t,” she whispered in a hoarse tone. She looked at her hands, but they weren’t lit up or showing any signs of a spell. How in the world had that just happened?

  “No matter,” Roderick muttered to himself. He hunted through his top drawer. “Luckily, I come prepared for just such an occasion.” His hand came out again, but this time instead of light, it was filled with silver that flashed in the light. “Goodbye, Wynona.”

  CHAPTER 29

  This was it. Wynona had no idea what had happened with the hex, but she had no way of stopping a gun. It felt as if everything blurred into slow motion as she watched his finger begin to squeeze the trigger.

  “AH!”

  Wynona flinched as his voice mixed with the sound of the shot, and just like before, she waited for the world to disappear, but once again, she was still standing.

  Roderick swung his gun toward the ground. “Stupid mouse,” he ground out.

  “NO!” Wynona screamed, realizing that Violet had saved the day. She rushed forward, only to scream again and drop to the floor when the door behind her smashed in and a snarling, giant wolf landed in the middle of the room. Wynona looked over her shoulder. “Rascal,” she breathed.

  The wolf’s shoulder would have been in line with Wynona’s, making him much larger than a biological wolf. His fur was multiple shades of brown, ranging from light caramel to the deepest chocolate. But his golden eyes were unmistakable.

  His hackles were raised and a deep growl shook the room, causing Wynona to cover her head, half afraid the ceiling would come down on them.

  “Well, if it isn’t the little Rascal,” Roderick drawled. The curled lip and line of drool hanging from the wolf’s mouth apparently wasn’t nearly as intimidating to him as it was to Wynona.

  Even though she knew Rascal wasn’t going to hurt her, his appearance was terrifying.

  The wolf howled, his head raised to the ceiling.

  The sound was eerie and Wynona whimpered slightly as she covered her ears. Never had she felt more helpless with her lack of magic. One of these days her inability to protect herself was going to get her killed. Her mind went to the Banshee Scream Rascal had given her and she lamented the fact that in her hurry, she had left it at the shop. If she survived this, she would never leave the house without it again.

  “Impressive,” Roderick said sarcastically. He waved the gun around. “But not even you can withstand a couple of bullets.”

  Rascal growled again and took a couple steps forward.

  “Careful,” Roderick warned. He turned the gun to face Wynona. “Another step and she’s gone.”

  Rascal backed up, whimpering slightly.

  “Don’t listen,” Wynona whispered, knowing his wolf hearing would allow him to hear. “Just worry about stopping him.”

  Another whimper and those golden eyes met hers for a split second before going back to watch Roderick.

  “Cursed mouse.” Roderick once again turned his head toward the ground and Rascal took full advantage. He leapt forward, landing on Roderick, the gun going off before it flew through the air.

  Wynona automatically covered her head once more, then looked up as she heard Roderick cursing rapidly. Magic flew through the room and she began to worry that Rascal could be hit by a spell.

  Gathering all her courage, Wynona climbed up on her knees, looking for something in the room she could use to help Rascal, but there was nothing within view. A table full of paperwork was going to do very little against an angry wolf and an evil warlock.

  A brush of fur against her arm caught Wynona’s attention and she jerked toward it. “Violet!” Wynona grasped the mouse and brought her close to her chest. “Oh my goodness, never scare me like that again.” The tiny body was shivering, but Violet snuggled in, relaxing in Wynona’s hold.

  “Okay, we need to help,” Wynona whispered. She ducked as an errant spell shot over her head. “Go on up.” Wynona handed Violet up to her neck and the creature immediately nestled back in her hair.

  Wynona rose up just enough to see man and wolf rolling around on the floor. Roderick was holding Rascal’s snout away from him. Sharp teeth flashed as Rascal strained against the warlock’s hold. Roderick had to be using some kind of strength spell in order to keep Rascal at bay.

  Scurrying to the side of the desk, Wynona popped her head up just enough to see what was on top. “Please, please, please,” she chanted. Her eyes widened. “Bingo.” Keeping one eye on the men, she reached out and grabbed a heavy paperweight. The shape was square, which was going to make it awkward to throw, but all Wynona needed was a small distraction.

  Another set of sparks hit the ceiling and Wynona ducked down, covering her head when dust and debris began to fall.

  Roderick laughed in a dark tone. “You can’t win, Strongclaw. Might as well let me go.”

  Wynona peeked around the corner of the desk to see Roderick and Rascal facing off. Roderick had never looked so disheveled, with tears in his suit and bruises forming around one of his eyes. A quick glance at Rascal told her nothing. She couldn’t see if he was injured with all that fur.

  Closing her eyes, she whispered a quick prayer and spun, throwing the paperweight at the back of Roderick’s leg. Magic or no, Wynona knew a miracle had occurred when it landed on his knee, causing it to buckle.

  Rascal had obviously been waiting for just such an opportunity, since he leapt almost
as Roderick fell. Slamming to the ground, his forepaws on Roderick’s chest, pinning not only the warlock’s body, but his arms as well, without his hands, Roderick wouldn’t be able to cast any more spells. The wolf snarled directly in Roderick’s face.

  “Oh, thank goodness,” Wynona said as she panted for breath. She pushed a hand through her hair, which had become a wild tangle with all of the fighting. Looking up, she met Rascal’s golden eyes.

  He tilted his head at the desk and Wynona sat up to see what he was talking about. “Oh, the phone! Of course.” Despite the giant wolf holding him down, Wynona couldn’t help but keep one eye on their prisoner. She wasn’t about to underestimate him again.

  “Para-one-one,” a bored voice said on the other end of the line. “What is your emergency?”

  “Hello. My name is Wynona Le Doux. I’m with Deputy Chief Officer Strongclaw at the Creatures Park Business Plaza. We have a criminal in custody. Please send help.” Wynona listened and nodded, answering all the other questions that the woman asked before hanging up. “They’re on their way,” she said softly to Rascal.

  A string of curses broke free from Roderick for the thousandth time and Wynona wondered what she’d ever seen in the man. His slick persona was an act. Underneath, he was crude and horrible, and she hoped after today she never laid eyes on him again.

  Rascal snapped in Roderick’s face, barking loud enough to wake the dead, and Roderick clenched his teeth. His face was red and his nostrils flared, but he didn’t speak.

  The next five minutes were the longest of Wynona’s life as she waited on pins and needles for the police to arrive. Rascal stayed at steady attention the whole time, but when his ears twitched toward the window, Wynona knew help was on the way.

  Thundering footsteps came through the main foyer and soon the office was too full of people to move.

  “Ms. Le Doux.” Officer Nightshade came up beside Wynona.

  “Amaris,” Wynona stammered. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  The vampire officer put her arm around Wynona. “Let’s go out in the lobby and have a seat, hm? It’ll be a few minutes before the chief can get to you.”