by Fitz Molly
“Sam?” I touched him on the shoulder.
He blinked at me. At first his stare was blank, but it cleared when he realized I was speaking to him. “Oh. Sorry. Not everyday you find a body, is it?” Sam smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Is there something you want to talk about?”
He opened his mouth, but shut it just as fast. Sam’s jaw tensed and he shook his head once, a sharp motion that told me I’d get no more from him tonight. “I’m just wondering how I’m going to explain a body to the patrons of the library tomorrow.” Worry and something else I couldn’t quite figure out beat off of him in waves. The atmosphere around him felt charged.
But there was something a lot worse about this. Sam was lying through his teeth.
Chapter Three
I poked at the remnants of the fire in an effort to put it out before I went to bed. Bob lounged on the patio chair, once again holding a warm cup of cider.
“What do you think he was lying about?” I asked the skeleton.
“Who knows,” he said in that droll, dry voice. “Everyone in this town holds secrets. It could be a million things.” He eyed me from over the mug. “You think he might have had something to do with the murder?”
I gasped with affront. “Of course he didn’t! I can’t even believe you’d say that.”
Bob’s eye sockets glowed orange as the low fire flickered in the night. He held up his bony hand. “First,” he said as he held up a finger, “he came straight to you instead of the police. Second,” he held up another, “he acted super weird all night. And third,” he held up the last finger, “you can tell he’s lying with your witchy nose.”
“Yes, he lied to me, but we don’t know what it’s about.”
Bob rolled his eyes, the effect eerie in his bony visage. “What do people usually lie about when they’re standing at a murder scene and they’re the ones who discovered the body?” His tone was so dry I could wipe it with my dust cloth.
“It’s something else,” I insisted. “Sam isn’t a murderer.”
“I agree,” Bob said. “I have another theory.”
When he explained what it was, I felt like the floor dropped out from under me.
I was elbows deep in bath bombs when the bell over the shop door rang merrily. “Closed!” I called from the back.
Silence.
Concerned, I put down the scoop I used to fill up the bath bomb molds and wiped my hands on the towel I kept at the station. “Hello?” I called as I walked around the corner. “We’re closed until eleven.” It wasn’t unusual for someone to walk into the shop before I opened. I kept telling myself to make sure the doors were locked, but I forgot, and it was a small town. I wasn’t too worried about getting robbed. You’d think I’d be more careful after someone tried to frame me for murder, but … I hadn’t.
As soon as I turned around the corner and saw who was waiting for me, my knees went out from under me.
Strong arms caught me and the smell of old leather and fresh air tickled my nose.
“Well,” the voice drawled in my ear as his strong arms held me close, “if I knew I’d get that kind of welcome home, I would have come back a long time ago.”
Cliff. He was here. After all this time. He still smelled the same.
I pushed away from him even though my knees were still weak. I wouldn’t let him treat me like a damsel in distress. Cliff sighed as I resisted his embrace. When I stood on two feet again and had put myself at a respectable distance from him, I calmed my traitorous heart and spoke to the one man who’d broken my heart all those years ago.
“What do you want?” I asked him as I smoothed my apron down. “Trinity isn’t here.” The dig spilled out of my mouth before I could help it. He’d been the love of my life and he’d cheated on me with my best friend. Recently, Trinity had asked for forgiveness. So far, I hadn’t been able to give it to her.
Cliff winced. “I deserved that.”
He did. He deserved what I said and so much more. Cliff was just as tall as I remembered. But the decade since I’d last seen him had been kind. His sandy blonde hair was a touch longer than I remembered and his eyes were brilliantly hazel. His jaw was more defined and his style had morphed from preppy into casual cool. And his smile.
Still devastating.
Cliff tucked his thumbs in his pockets. His posture was casual, but his eyes were a maelstrom of emotion. “I’m moving back to Moonmist.”
My eyebrows went up to my hairline. “No.”
Cliff grinned at me. “No?”
I shook my head. “Absolutely not.” My mind spun with the implications of it. Him moving back here would be the equivalent of getting a box of exploding glitter in the mail.
Not. Cool.
“Why not?” he asked. Cliff still wore the grin.
I couldn’t very well tell him I didn’t want him to move back because I didn’t trust myself around him, so I blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Murder. We’ve had two murdered here in just a few months. Moonmist isn’t safe.”
One of Cliff’s eyebrows rose. “Murder.”
“Yup.” The bell jangled again. I looked up praying to see someone I knew.
Sloane walked in. “Ivy. Thank goodness.” He stopped short when he saw Cliff standing there. The tension between us was palpable. “Did I interrupt something?”
Cliff opened his mouth, but I spoke before he could. “Not at all. What did you need?”
Sloane glanced at Cliff and back at me. “I can come back.”
“No!”
Cliff stifled a laugh. Sloane shook his head. “Listen. I need your help. Can you come to the station?”
Surprise filled me. “What can I do?” Normally Sloane told me to butt out of his investigations and now he needed my help?
He gave Cliff a meaningful look, but my helpful ex-boyfriend ignored the social cue. Sloane shook his head. “Meet me at the station in half an hour and I’ll explain it.”
I glanced up at the clock. “I can’t. The store is opening in a little while and I don’t have an assistant.” I never hired another one after the disaster of Piper.
“I can help,” Cliff offered. He looked around the store. “This is a beautiful place you got here, Ivy. I’m glad you finally opened something of your own. You always talked about it.”
Sloane’s jaw tightened. “We can reschedule.”
Cliff waved his hand around. “Nonsense. I can help even if it’s stalling people until you get back.”
“I haven’t seen you in ten years,” I told Cliff. “I’m not going to turn over my shop to you or anyone else.”
Hurt flashed in Cliff’s eyes. “Ivy.”
“I’ll call Holly,” I told Sloane. “If she’s available, I’ll come in as soon as she gets here. If not, I’ll have to come another time. How long can it hold?”
Sloane’s dark eyes flickered over Cliff. “It can hold, but not long. Is everything okay here?”
Cliff stood a little straighter. “Who is this?” he asked me.
Sloane took a step closer to me. “Sloane Kramer, necromancer for the Moonmist Police Department. And you are?”
Cliff took a step closer. If they moved any closer to me, I’d be in the middle of an uncomfortable man sandwich. “Cliff Danes. Ivy’s ex-boyfriend.”
I squeezed my eyes shut for a second. “Cliff, please leave.”
“Ivy, I’m trying to -”
“Leave,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I’ll be back, Ivy. We aren’t finished talking.” Cliff’s eyes flashed with anger. “I owe you an explanation.”
“You owe me nothing. It’s all water under the bridge.” I walked over to the shop door and opened it, hoping he’d take the hint.
Cliff walked toward the door. “We both know it isn’t.” He lowered his voice. “Give me a chance to explain.”
“It’s been ten years. I’m not interested in hearing a single thing you have to say.” Cool wind whipped my hair around my face.
Clif
f sighed. “We aren’t done, Ivy. I came back here for a reason.”
“I’m sure you did. I have to go, Cliff.”
He stepped out the door, then turned to me. “I’m going to come back here every day until you talk to me.”
“Stalking is illegal in Moonmist,” Sloane chimed in helpfully.
I allowed the door to close and made sure I locked it behind me. Cliff lingered at the doorway for a moment before he jogged down the stairs.
Sloane and I stood in silence for a long, awkward second. “Ex-boyfriend, eh?”
“Yup. Ex being the key word.” I picked up the phone and held up a finger. “Hang on and I’ll give Holly a call.”
“Broom and Bloom,” my sister’s cheery voice answered. “We grow it, you know it!”
“Hey Holly!” I explained what I needed. Sloane watched me like a hawk. Whatever he needed must be really important.
She agreed and said she’d head right over.
“Good! I’ll leave the shop open. I’m heading to the police department for a little while. Maybe an hour?”
Sloane nodded.
Holly and I hung up. I grabbed my jacket and headed out the door. “You drive,” I told him.
“Your wish is my command.” He held open the door to his patrol car, and I slid into the front seat.
We drove in silence for a while. My mind spun with thoughts of Cliff. Why was he back? What did he want? And most of all, what did he want with me?
“I need you to tell me if someone is lying,” Sloane said, jarring me out of my thoughts.
“Wait. What?” My jaw dropped. “Sloane, you can’t just dump something like that into my lap and expect me to say yes! I’m not a circus elephant. You can’t command me to do something. Especially not when it has to do with my magic.”
Sloane pulled into the police department and shut off the car. “I didn’t have a choice, Ivy. And when you see who it is, you’ll thank me. Everyone else is ready to throw him in jail and I asked for an extra couple of hours. You’re a foolproof way to figure out if the witness is lying.”
“I’m not foolproof,” I reminded him. “This will never be admissible in court.”
“You’d be surprised,” Sloane said. “Plus, we’re paying you for this.”
I perked up at that. “You are?”
He nodded. “When I first got here, I read all the regulations governing the department. There’s a little known fund for hiring outside helps - consultants, if you will. I suggested you and the department jumped on it.”
Nervousness squirmed in my stomach. I’m always careful with how I used my magic. Consulting wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for me, but I wasn’t sure I wanted other people to know how powerful I could be. Emotions were a tricky thing to decipher and I couldn’t always nail it, but consulting with the police department put me in an odd position. I could bring in more money doing this, but I’d also have to divulge what I was capable of. “I’m not sure about this.”
Sloane stilled as he held open the door for me. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not comfortable talking about my powers or using them in front of other people.” People are vulnerable with emotion. We hide things and hold the way we feel close to the vest. Few people are comfortable with others knowing how they feel. The few people who’ve found out what I can do treated me differently afterward. The problem is, I knew they were doing it, so it rang against my senses like a lie … because it was a lie.
A variety of emotions filtered over his face until understanding filled his face. “People act differently around you once they know?”
I nodded. Sloane grunted. “I’ll see what I can do about getting an NDA signed.”
“Before I go in?”
He sighed. “I’ll do my best.” Sloane followed me inside.
“I won’t do this until I have something in hand.” He led me back to a room with a large window. Inside the window was another room with a small metal table and Sam Carroll.
Chapter Four
I took an involuntary step back. “No,” I said out loud to the room. I bumped into Sloane’s hard chest. His hands came over my shoulders, holding me gently into place. “Why is he here?”
His chest expanded and a deep sigh escaped him. “He’s hiding something from us. I know it.” Sloan turned me around to face him. “I wonder if you know it too.”
Bob’s words came back to me. I did think Sam was lying but was it about murder?
“Sam is my friend,” I protested weakly. I couldn’t look at Sloane because if I did, I’d crack.
He tilted my chin up, forcing my eyes to meet his. “I know. He’s mine, too. But I have a job to do and you have a gift that can help solve this case.” His gaze was beseeching. “Help us find out who did this. Please?”
I turned my head. Sam sat with his head in his hands. I couldn’t see his face, but his posture was nothing short of defeated. I didn’t believe this man had murdered anyone, but if he had, wasn’t it my duty to try to find out? I swallowed hard. “Get me the agreement and I’ll try my best.”
Sloane released me and gave me a short nod. “I’ll be right back. Sam can’t see or hear you.” He looked away. “Maybe take a look at his body language and see what you can come up with?”
“I’ll try.” Something occurred to me before he walked out. “I may not be able to feel his emotions unless I’m in the same room with him.” The thought of it made me ill. Behind the glass, Sam didn’t know I was here. He had no idea I would be the one who could make or break him. But if I had to be in the same room with him, he would feel betrayed. I knew he would because I’d feel the same way.
Sloane’s lips twisted in thought. “Hopefully that won’t need to happen,” he said before he stepped out of the room.
I didn’t move for almost a minute, frozen in the same position as I watched Sam. I didn’t dare open up my senses yet for fear of what I would feel from him. If I could feel anything.
Sam shifted in his chair, and when he lifted his face, my breath caught and held. His eyes, normally so vivid and green glowed gold underneath the poor lighting. I’d never seen him look so tired. A deep five o’clock shadow gave him an almost haggard appearance and his hair, normally neat and styled, stood in angles all over his head like he couldn’t stop running his fingers through it.
I took a step closer to the glass and touched my fingers against it. Sam’s head jerked around and he looked in the exact place I stood. I gasped in surprise and froze, fear traveling from my head to my feet. He looked like nothing I’d ever seen before. Like a hunter.
My friend, Sam. The local librarian. Intelligent and mild. I suspected he was maybe something more now. Something more than any of us suspected.
Was Sam Carroll a werewolf?
Or was this time of year making me paranoid about all the things that went bump in the night? His gaze lingered on the window - right where I stood. Did he know I was here?
I closed my eyes because I couldn’t look at his haunted expression anymore. Opening my senses, I first felt the receptionist’s emotion. Sloane walked right past her and as he did, her heartbeat picked up and she …
Whoa. Did not want to know that. Moving on.
I skimmed past all the feelings the receptionist was having about Sloane Kramer and moved slowly down the hall. I felt a variety of emotions - happiness, sadness, grief, the first blushes of love, fear, but when I made it to Sam’s room and allowed my power to creep through the walls and on the floor, all I could feel was a bone-chilling deep sense of fear.
Sam Carroll was terrified. Of what I didn’t know.
The door opened suddenly and my power cut off like a switch. I spun only to see Sloane there holding a stack of paperwork.
“Can you feel him?” he asked. He waved at me with the paperwork. “Your eyes glow when you do that. Weird.”
I blinked. “No, they don’t.”
“I’m the only one looking at you right now and less than five seconds ago, your eyes wer
e silver. And now they’re brown.”
A frown formed on my face. I’d been expending a lot more power than normal. Something to watch, I guess.
“I can feel him,” I said. And the girl who wants to be your wife, I didn’t say.
“Good.” He plunked the paperwork down along with a pen. “I read everything, but you might want to double-check it. This is an old agreement, so I had them change a few things to fit your situation.”
I snorted. My situation. I leaned forward and thoroughly read the paperwork. Sloane leaned against the wall, his posture full of casual grace. When I finished and signed, the breath Sloane released was audible. I stifled the smile threatening to form on my face. When I set the pen down, Sloane took the paperwork quickly, as if I’d change my mind if he left it in front of me.
I didn’t stand. I didn’t want to. Sam still sat alone, his posture despondent. Fear beat off of him in waves and even though my power was stifled, it still beat against my shields. I watched him and felt like a voyeur - a terrible person intruding on someone’s private grief.
“Ivy?” Sloane followed my gaze. We both watched Sam for a moment. “It’s necessary,” he said finally. The apology was unspoken but still there. I nodded and stood.
An officer walked into the room. I watched as Sam’s posture became wary and alert. He sat a little straighter. His mouth thinned. No longer was he the man who feared anyone. This was a much different Sam than I was used to. He appeared fierce like he was scared of no one.
I didn’t know if I liked the man he’d become.
The officer attempted to befriend Sam first - an attempt that fell flat.
“Excuse me,” Sloane said and touched my elbow. A moment later, the door opened and he stood in front of Sam. What occurred next was a blur of boredom and questioning. I opened my senses, the tendrils of my magic swirling over all three of the men.
From Sloane, I felt calm tension. He was nervous. From the other officer, I felt anticipation. He liked the thrill of the chase and wanted Sam to be guilty. I planned on telling Sloane once this was all over. Someone like him shouldn’t be on the force or at least shouldn’t be questioning suspects.