Bentley held out his hand and wiggled his fingers. “Give it here. Let the expert assist you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Expert might be a bit strong.” Then again, the elf managed to meet his wife through the magic of technology. Maybe he was more of an expert than I gave him credit for.
Bentley flicked through the screens. “They’re friends on the game. You only need to click on the map icon and it should show us the user’s location.”
“Wait,” I said. “I thought you could only check your friends’ progress in the game. You can check their locations too?”
“Sure,” Bentley said. “There’s a tracking system built in.”
I cringed. We could’ve found Clark’s phone much earlier if we’d known. It seemed I was as inept with technology as magic, not that this was news as someone that regularly blew up the microwave.
Deputy Bolan came to stand beside Bentley to peer at the map. “Looks like the woods not far from Fairy Cove.”
Bentley clicked back to the game and scrolled to that location. “There’s a water dragon in that vicinity.”
The deputy’s own phone pinged and he snatched it from his pocket to read the text. “Oh, great.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“A fight broke out between players at the dock and the sheriff is already dealing with a crowd control issue near the fountain.” He shook his head. “I can’t wait for this tournament to be over.”
“I’ll track down obiwandkenobi,” I said.
“I’ll go too,” Bentley said.
Deputy Bolan blew out a breath. “Don’t do anything stupid. Just pretend you want to interview him for the newspaper.”
I gave him a mock salute. “You can count on us, Mr. Deputy, sir.”
He snarled and snatched the victim’s phone from Bentley’s hand. “I’ll keep the evidence, thanks.”
“Now you know how to find Lewis,” I said. “His user name is gardendelight.”
Deputy Bolan tapped the phone against his temple. “Good thinking, Rose. That’ll be next on the list after I break up this fight…I hope.”
I waited for Bentley to shut down his computer and gather his belongings.
“I’ll drive,” I said.
“As long as you promise not to sing,” Bentley said. “My ears function better when they’re not bleeding.”
I plucked the pointy tip of his ear. “And here I thought these were purely decorative.”
Although the drive only took five minutes, there was no way to park nearby, so we ended up walking another ten minutes through the woods to get there. We found obiwandkenobi wandering the cliff overlooking Fairy Cove. The goblin wore a brown hooded cape and had a light saber hooked to his belt. He was with a friend—a dwarf in a white hooded cape with a rope belt. Unsurprisingly, they were tapping and swiping on their screens with abandon and failed to notice our arrival.
“Help me, obiwandkenobi,” I said. “You’re my only hope.”
The goblin and dwarf stopped playing and gaped at me like I’d just emerged naked from the sea on an oyster shell.
“Dude, she quotes Stars Wars,” the dwarf said in awe.
“Will you marry me?” the goblin asked, appearing completely sincere.
Bentley snickered. “I think I’ll leave this one to you.”
“I think you would anyway because you have no idea what you’re doing,” I shot back. I inched closer to the players. “Guys, that’s a line that everybody knows. You don’t even need to be a super fan to know that one.”
“Are you, though?” the goblin asked, his hope evident. “A super fan of Star Wars?”
“I’m more of a casual fan,” I admitted. “I don’t have a nervous breakdown and threaten to storm Skywalker Ranch when my favorite character does something I dislike.” Karl, however, had been a huge fanboy. I could only imagine what his reaction would have been to the later films.
“You’ve suddenly become less attractive,” the goblin said.
“Right back at you,” I said. “My name is Ember Rose and this is my associate, Bentley Smith. We’re writing an article about the tournament for the local paper and would like to ask you a few questions.”
“You want to interview us?” The dwarf’s shining excitement was priceless. “Nobody ever wants to talk to us. I’m lucky if someone says excuse me when they burp at me.”
I felt a twinge of guilt over the deception. If the goblin wasn’t the killer, I’d make sure to include these two in an article and even include a photograph.
“Let’s start simple. What are your names?” Bentley asked. He took out his phone, ready to take notes.
“I’m Darth Nugent,” the dwarf said.
“Your real names,” I said.
“That is his real name,” the goblin said. “He had it legally changed two years ago.” They fist bumped. “An epic decision.”
“And are you General Zod?” I asked.
All three males looked ready to slap me. Bentley found his voice first. “Zod is from Superman,” he said in a clipped tone.
“I know,” I lied. “I was just making up a name. I should have said General Palpatine.”
“Emperor Palpatine,” they said in unison.
“You’ve gone from hero to zero in record time,” the goblin said.
“As long as it’s a record,” I said. “I like to win. I bet you do, too, Mr….”
“Patton Bismark,” said the goblin.
“How’s the game?” I asked. “Are you killing lots of dragons? There’s a water dragon here, right?”
“Patton’s doing better than I am,” Darth Nugent said. “He was able to buy a flaming crossbow which totally helped him defeat the ice dragon.”
“Are flaming crossbows hard to come by?” I asked.
“They’re expensive,” Patton said. “Took most of my gold for that purchase, but it was worth it.”
“How did you manage to get so much more gold than your friend?” I asked. “Haven’t you been playing together the whole time?”
They exchanged wary glances.
“I got lucky,” Patton said. “Got a windfall earlier today.”
“Oh, really?” I asked. “How’d you manage that?”
The goblin rocked on the balls of his feet. “Someone donated it to me.”
“Wow, that does sound lucky,” I said. I turned to Bentley. “I sure wish someone would donate a pot of gold to me.”
“It’s not a pot,” Bentley said. “You’re thinking of leprechauns.”
“As a matter of fact, I am,” I said. I shifted back to the pair of players. “Did you get the gold from a leprechaun, by any chance, Patton?”
The goblin’s eyes rounded. “I don’t know. His user name is cleverclover. I guess that sounds leprechaun-ish.”
“Someone you don’t know donated so much gold to you that you could buy a flaming crossbow?” I asked.
The goblin’s head bobbed up and down.
I faced Bentley. “What’s the penalty for stealing gold in the game?”
“Public beheading,” Bentley replied, completely serious.
“I didn’t steal it,” Patton blurted. “It just showed up in my account, I swear.”
“And you didn’t question it?” I asked. “Are players typically that generous?”
Patton glanced helplessly at his friend. “No, but what was I going to do? Hunt the guy down and ask why he did it? I have a game to play!”
I peered at him. “Maybe he didn’t donate it to you. Maybe you had cleverclover’s phone and used it to transfer the gold to your own account.”
Patton blinked his bulbous goblin eyes. “Why would I have someone else’s phone?”
Because you killed him and stole it.
“Because Clark is the front runner and you want to win,” I said, echoing the statement of the werewolf trio.
Patton gave an adamant shake of his head. “No, I would never do that.”
“He wouldn’t,” Darth Nugent chimed in. “He won’t even tak
e coins from under the sofa cushions. He gives them to his grandma whenever he finds them. Besides, I was with him when he got the gold. He was totally shocked.”
“So, you admit to being an accessory?” Bentley asked with a little too much enthusiasm.
The dwarf glared at him. “Do I look like a necklace to you?”
“Darth and I were slaying dragons,” Patton said. “It was like magic. I’d made it to the ice dragon, but the dragon killed me and came back stronger. None of my weapons were powerful enough.”
“And then the gold appeared out of nowhere,” Darth said. “It was a Wizards Connect miracle.”
It was entirely possible that Patton had pretended that the gold had inexplicably appeared when he knew it had been there since this morning.
“There’s no way to use a spell on the game, right?” I asked. “No one can add gold to their account using magic?”
“No, the game designers made it magic-proof,” Darth said. “You might want to mention that in your article. Don’t want to attract cheaters to the game.”
I needed to find out more information on Patton’s movements over the weekend without letting him know about the investigation. I’d already put him on alert in connection with the gold, so I had to proceed with caution or I risked losing his cooperation.
“Bentley, don’t you think it would be interesting to follow a player like Patton from the start of the game to the end?”
The dwarf raised his hand. “And me. I’d be interesting too. Okay, well not really because I’m pretty boring, but it would be cool to be included.”
I had to admit that I was quickly developing a soft spot for the dwarf. “Yes, definitely. Anyone who changes their name to one of my favorite Star Wars characters needs his time in the spotlight.”
Darth gave his friend a smug look.
“I thought Princess Leia would be your favorite,” Bentley said.
“Why? Because she’s the token female?” I asked.
Bentley shrugged. “Well, yeah.”
“Actually, Yoda is my favorite, followed by Darth Vader,” I said. “I have a thing for men in black.”
“Darth and I prepped last night,” Patton said. “We went around town and tried to get a handle on the hot spots.”
“A lot of us do it,” Darth said. “That way we don’t spend time getting lost during the tournament. It’s impossible to locate all the spots in advance, but it gives you an edge.”
That explained the players lurking at Palmetto House before the start of the tournament.
Bentley stopped typing on his phone and looked at them. “Have you two been together from the start until now?”
“Pretty much,” Darth said.
“Well, we don’t sleep or shower together or anything,” Patton added quickly.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” Darth said. “And we haven’t spent all our time together. We split up this morning.”
My radar pinged. “What time?”
Darth cut a quick glance at his friend. “Early, wasn’t it? You went to get coffee around five-thirty, I think.”
“No, I didn’t,” Patton said. His cheeks turned pink.
“You did,” Darth said. “Because I asked you to get me a peppermint latte and you told me no, that I’d be better off mixing my toothpaste in milk, remember?”
“Where did you go for coffee?” I asked.
Patton suddenly took great interest in the dirt beneath his feet. “The coffee shop,” he mumbled.
“Which one?” I pressed.
Patton met my penetrating gaze. “The one that sells…coffee. How should I know? I don’t live here.”
“Do you have a receipt?” I asked.
“No, I paid cash and told them I didn’t need one,” Patton said.
Bentley fixed him with a hard stare. “Can you describe the interior? Color scheme? The barista?”
“The barista was…pretty,” Patton said.
“Well, that rules out the Caffeinated Cauldron,” Bentley muttered.
Patton pointed at us excitedly. “Yes, that was the name.”
“Was it busy when you were there?” I asked.
“Not really,” he said. “I got my drink pretty fast.”
“What did you order?” Bentley asked.
Patton seemed to stumble over his answer. “A plain coffee. With cream.” He hesitated. “Not sugar.”
Darth laughed. “Dude, I don’t know why you decided to suddenly take up coffee. It sounds like you don’t even know how to order it.”
I kept my focus on the squirming goblin. “You’re not a regular coffee drinker?”
“No, but I figured I’d need it with the early starts this weekend. I’ve been tired.”
If Patton arrived at the coffee shop before six and it wasn’t busy, he still might have had time to kill Clark at Palmetto House. They were within walking distance from each other.
“Hey, would you mind if I add you guys as friends on the game?” I asked. “Not that I’ll catch up to you, but I can keep tabs on your progress…for the article.”
“Awesome,” Darth said. “Just search for our user names and send the request.”
I flashed a smile. “Got it.”
“For what it’s worth, I still think you’re pretty hot,” Patton said.
“I’m almost twice your age and not remotely interested,” I said.
His face slackened. “You just got even hotter.”
“Dude, you can’t drool,” Darth Nugent said. “You might mess up your phone.”
Patton wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
“Good luck with the game, guys,” I said. I linked my arm through Bentley’s and steered him back through the woods toward the car. “For the first time ever, I wouldn’t have objected to you kissing me.” Anything to stave off their interest in me.
Bentley recoiled. “Yes, but I most certainly would have.”
“Don’t be such a baby. You would’ve liked it. There might have even been tongue involved.”
He cringed. “You’re weirdly aggressive right now.”
“It’s the game,” I said. “I think I have an untapped competitive streak, which is strange because I’m also lazy.”
“What do we do now?” he asked.
“We are doing nothing,” I said. “I, on the other hand, have a sudden hankering for a latte.”
And a few questions for the barista.
Chapter Eight
I arrived at the Caffeinated Cauldron not sure what to expect. The coffee shop appeared to have the usual number of patrons for a Saturday afternoon. Nobody was zipping back for refills, it seemed. It made sense. Once these players were in the zone, they probably didn’t want to break their stride by taking a coffee break.
I walked straight up to the counter and greeted Riley, the barista. The pixie was relatively new as the coffee shop suffer from a steady turnover of employees.
“How’s the weekend going so far?” I asked. “I bet the tournament is keeping you on your toes.”
“You have no idea,” Riley said. “We were crazy busy this morning from the moment we unlocked the doors. We had a line out the door and everybody wanted extra large cups. I can’t wait to go home and crash.”
Inwardly, I sighed. If they were that busy this morning, then Patton had lied. I’d hoped the goblin had been telling the truth.
“Do you recall seeing a goblin in line this morning?” I asked. “He’d be hard to miss. He was wearing a brown hooded robe and carrying a light saber.”
The barista laughed. “I’d definitely remember that. No, the only Dark Side referenced here was in relation to coffee.”
I was more disappointed than I cared to admit. I kind of liked Patton and Darth’s goofy demeanors. I hated the idea of the goblin killing Clark. Then again, maybe it was provoked. I’d only spent a dinner with the leprechaun and I could totally understand wanting to knock him on the head with something hard and heavy—not that I was making excuses for the killer.
<
br /> “Were you the only one working?” I asked.
“No, I called for reinforcements when I saw the line forming,” she said. She craned her neck to call to the berserker behind her. “Hey, A.J., did you see anyone here this morning in Star Wars gear?”
A.J. smiled. “No, but I wish I had. Would’ve made my day.”
“Would you mind checking your morning receipts for a plain coffee with cream and no sugar? It would have been between five-thirty and six.”
“Well, we don’t get many of those,” Riley said. “Should be easy enough.” She sprinkled pixie dust on the screen in front of her and studied the results. “No, sorry. I had a flat white at six-thirty, but that’s the closest.”
“Thanks,” I said. Dread coiled in my stomach. I was going to have to let the sheriff and deputy know. Poor Darth wouldn’t know what to do with himself without his constant companion.
I left the coffee shop and hurried to the sheriff’s office to let him know about my discovery. Sheriff Nash was back from his crowd control issue at the fountain and in the conference room with the door closed. I paced the length of the waiting area, keeping myself entertained by practicing incantations. Wren would be proud of me—except for the part where I accidentally extinguished all the leaves off one of the plants. I tried in vain to reverse the spell.
“Rose, what are you doing out here?”
“Waiting for you,” I said, and jumped in front of the plant. “I have information about the case.”
Two minotaurs left the conference room. “Thanks for your help, gentlemen,” the sheriff said. “I’ll be in touch. Remember not to leave town.”
The two minotaurs breezed past me without a glance. Their phones were already out and pressed to their noses. Two more players eager to return to the game.
The sheriff frowned. “Have you done something out here?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, feigning innocence.
“I don’t know. Something looks different in here. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
I shuffled forward, trying to keep my body positioned directly in front of the plant remains. “I spoke to a suspect earlier and his alibi doesn’t check out.”
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