He cocked an eyebrow. “Who is it?”
“Patton, the goblin who inherited the gold,” I said.
The sheriff nodded and stroked his stubbled chin. “Oh, obiwandkenobi.”
“He seems kind of sweet, so I’m actually surprised,” I said.
“You think because someone seems sweet, they can’t be guilty of murder? That doesn’t sound like the Jersey girl I know.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I guess I don’t get a killer vibe from him, that’s all. He wears a Star Wars robe and carries a light saber. He probably has C-3PO underwear on.”
“But he lied about his alibi and he has all the gold from Clark’s account?” Sheriff Nash offered a sad smile. “Sounds like we need to have another talk with our young Jedi.”
“I think I can find him,” I said. “I added him as a friend on the game so I could track him if I needed to.”
The sheriff squeezed my shoulder. “Look at you, Rose. Thinking ahead.”
“Right? If I could apply this to my domestic duties, I’d always have an answer to ‘what’s for dinner?’” I said. I took out my phone and opened the app. “According to the map, he’s…” I peered at the screen. Okay, now was an embarrassing moment to admit I wasn’t a skilled map reader.
“What’s the matter, Rose?”
I glanced up to see the werewolf grinning. “The map is…broken.”
His grin broadened. “Broken, is it? Here, why don’t I take a look and see if I can fix it?”
Reluctantly, I handed him the phone. Map reading fell by the wayside when you had a soothing lady’s voice telling you which roads to take and where to turn. The only danger was that her voice was so calming that I risked slipping into a coma.
The sheriff pretended to tinker with the phone. “There. Now it’s perfect.” He returned the phone. “According to the blinking dot, I think we’ll find him at the Burger Boggart.”
“I guess he’s one of those players that eats meals,” I said. “A rare breed.”
“Yeah, those minotaurs I questioned were loaded with protein bars and energy drinks. They weren’t too happy about stopping to answer questions.”
“I was wondering who they were,” I said. “I guess you cleared them.”
“Yep. Alibis and no motive.” He started toward the door and I cut in front of him.
“I’m driving this time.”
He bit back a smile. “Just to prove to me that you can?”
“I don’t have to prove anything. I know I can,” I said. “I just think it’ll be fun to annoy you.”
“Good grief,” the sheriff said. “Why do I put up with this abuse?”
I laughed as I sailed out the door. “Because you…” I stopped myself before I said something stupid. “Because you’re a fool.”
“That I am, Rose. No arguments here.”
An awkward silence settled over us until I started the car and turned on the magic radio. “Play Billy Joel’s Big Shot.”
The music began and Sheriff Nash winced at the sound. “I suppose I owe you,” he said.
I sang along as loudly as I could with the windows down, banging on the steering wheel at appropriate points in the song. The sheriff observed me with a twinkle of amusement in his brown eyes.
I pulled into the parking lot of the Burger Boggart and made him wait until the song was finished before I turned off the engine. Only then did I roll up the windows.
“You’ve got quite a voice there, Rose. I imagine we lost a few animals along the way. May they rest in peace.”
“You’re just jealous because I’m willing to let loose and not worry about how I’ll sound to others.”
“Oh, you’re clearly not worried about how you sound to others,” he said.
“You shouldn’t worry about how you sound,” I said. “The joy is in the singing, not the listening.”
He shot me a quizzical look. “If I were worried about how I sound to others, I never would’ve done karaoke.”
“That was one time,” I said. “It’s not like you’re regularly belting out tunes for public consumption.”
“I don’t think either one of us should be doing that,” the sheriff said. “Might fall under cruel and unusual punishment.”
We vacated the car and entered the Burger Boggart. I spotted Patton and Darth in a booth. Their plates were nearly empty and they were preoccupied with their phones.
I sidled up to the table. “Howdy, boys. Darth, why don’t you take a walk? The sheriff and I need a word with your friend.” When I saw the fear reflected in Patton’s eyes, I almost felt sorry for him.
Darth surveyed the restaurant. “Where should I go? To the bathroom?”
“Sure. Or outside to scope out girls. I saw a pretty pixie out there with her hair in a bun.” Okay, it wasn’t two buns on the sides of her head but close enough.
Darth hustled from the table like we’d lit the booth on fire. I slid across from Patton and the sheriff sat beside me. I slotted my fingers together and gave the goblin a hard look.
“Why did you lie about the coffee shop?” I asked. Patton opened his mouth and I held up a hand. “No more lies. The next words out of your mouth need to be the truth or the sheriff is going to have to throw you in a cell. Right now, the sheriff’s office is busy because of the tournament. Lots of disorderly conduct and muscled minotaurs crammed in cells together. Trust me, that’s not where obiwandkenobi wants to be. Understand?”
“And we’d have to confiscate your light saber,” the sheriff added.
Patton gulped. “Okay, okay. I wasn’t getting coffee this morning.”
“No kidding,” I said. “Where were you?”
He made a soft, whining sound. “I was…doing sunrise yoga.”
Not the answer I expected to hear. I leaned forward and cupped my hand to my ear. “I’m sorry. What was that?”
“I’ve been trying to be more present and mindful in my daily life. Games take me away from that, so I make an effort during high intensity times like tournaments to seek out yoga classes to keep me grounded and reduce stress.” His cheeks were tinged with color again. “I’ve only been doing it for about six months, but it’s made a big difference to my attitude and general mindset. I think it’s had the added benefit of making me a better player too.”
“And why is this a secret?” I asked.
The goblin stared at the plate in front of him. “I can’t tell Darth and our other friends I’m doing yoga. They’d never let me live it down.”
“So you lied to Darth about where you went this morning,” I said. “And to me.”
He rubbed his temples. “I know it was stupid. I froze. In the moment, it seemed the lesser of two dark sides.”
“Is yoga really that uncool?” Sheriff Nash asked. “I thought it was pretty mainstream now.”
“Not for goblins,” he said. “And definitely not for my crew.” He tapped on the prongs of his fork and nearly knocked it off the table as a result.
“Where did you go for yoga this morning?” Sheriff Nash asked.
“I met a group of witches. One of them is a big deal in the coven.” He knocked on the table, thinking. “Some kind of flower.”
“That doesn’t really narrow it down in the Silver Moon coven,” I said.
He lit up. “Iris. Her name was Iris.”
I glanced at the sheriff. “I think he’s telling the truth. Iris Sandstone teaches a yoga class.”
“We’re going to check with her all the same,” the sheriff said.
Patton nodded quickly. “I swear on my light saber. It’s the truth.”
“And what about the gold?” I asked. “Did you find Clark’s phone and dispose of it after you transferred the assets?”
“There’s no need to lie, Patton,” the sheriff said in a reassuring voice. “If your alibi checks out, we know you’re innocent and it would be really helpful to know where you found the phone.”
The goblin licked his lips. “I didn’t find the phone. I’m sorry.
I wish I could say I saw something helpful, but I swear the stuff just showed up in my account. I was too ecstatic to care about how it happened.”
A thought flashed in my mind. “Have you had any arguments with anyone at the tournament?”
Patton shrank back. “Me?”
“I hate to be Captain Obvious, but he’s not the dead one, Rose.”
“No, but someone transferred Clark’s gold to Patton in an attempt to incriminate him. Maybe the killer was settling two scores.”
The goblin blew out an anxious breath. “I can’t think of anyone. Darth and I mostly keep to ourselves. We haven’t interacted with a lot of players…” He stopped abruptly. “Hang on, there was that girl that made fun of my outfit when Darth and I were checking out the hot spots yesterday.”
“If everyone who made fun of your outfit was responsible for murder, we’d have a massacre on our hands,” I said.
Patton squirmed in his seat. “No, seriously. It was more than that. I mentioned that I couldn’t swim and she threatened to push me off the dock to see if the Force would rescue me.” He made a dismissive noise. “She obviously has no understanding of how the Force works.”
“She sounds delightful,” I said. “What’s her name?”
“I think it’s Nova,” Patton said. “At least that was the name on her backpack. She’s a banshee. Just follow the trail of wincing werewolves and you’ll find her. Her voice is pretty awful.”
“What caused your altercation?” the sheriff asked.
Patton lowered his gaze. “She might have overheard me say something unkind to Darth about her voice. That it sounded like someone was strangling a dolphin while raking their nails down a chalkboard.”
“That’s quite the comparison,” I said. “I can see why it might have annoyed her.”
“I didn’t expect her to hear me,” the goblin said. “She threatened to take my light saber and shove it…”
I held up a hand. “We get the picture.”
“Any chance you know her user name in the game?” the sheriff asked.
Patton scratched his head. “No. We’re not friends. I’ve never seen her at a tournament before. This might be her first one.”
“And, hopefully, you’ll never see her again,” I said.
“Thanks for being forthcoming, Patton,” the sheriff said. “Until I clear your story with Iris, though, I need to ask you not to leave town.”
“Okay, cool. I like this town. I don’t mind hanging around after the tournament, but I hope you find the killer soon. If someone’s targeting players, it might set off a wave of paranoia.”
“It seems to be an isolated case so far,” the sheriff said. “And Clark was a known winner, so more incentive to bump him off.”
“Just out of curiosity,” I began, “do you wear your robe for yoga?” For some reason, the mental image of obiwandkenobi performing sunrise yoga in his hooded cloak with a light saber filled me with unexpected joy.
Patton tugged the ends of the cloak together. “I only take it off to shower.”
“Do you have a spare, so you can wash them?” The mother was strong in me.
“Rose, why don’t we stay focused?” the sheriff suggested.
Patton edged his way out of the booth. “If that’s all you need from me, I’m going to the register to pay. I want to get back to the game.”
“Have fun,” the sheriff said. “Slay a dragon or whatever it is you folks are doing.”
Once Patton was out of earshot, I turned to the sheriff. “I have Iris in my contacts if you want to call,” I said.
The werewolf gave me a wry smile. “I’m the sheriff, Rose. I’ve got the High Priestess in my contacts too. I’ve got almost every notable resident in here in case of emergency.”
“Even Alec?” I asked.
“I said notable, not arrogant.” He squeezed his eyes closed. “Sorry, Rose. I didn’t mean that.”
“Yes, you did, but that’s okay. You’re entitled to your opinion.”
He tapped his screen and called Iris. I decided to text Alec while I waited and see whether he’d be finished with work early enough to see each other tonight. The vampire had been hyperfocused on his book lately and I was trying to give him the space he needed.
Whitethorn, tonight? I typed.
Not sure yet, he replied. Stuck in a chapter.
Anything I can do to help you get unstuck? I paused. That was meant to sound flirty. I’m not very good at sexting. Maybe there was a class I could take for that. I bet Florian was a decent sexter, not that I wanted tips from my cousin.
“His alibi checks out,” the sheriff said, snapping me back to reality. “Iris said she didn’t know his name, but that he was impossible to forget.”
“Because of his outfit?” I asked.
“No, because he practically fell off the side of the cliff after mountain pose. Apparently, he’s not very coordinated.”
“All the more reason to do yoga then.”
He glanced at the phone still in my hand. “Did I interrupt something?”
“No, no. Just killing time until you finished.”
“That’s what she said,” he quipped.
I gave him a disapproving look. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, you’re right. That’s not my kind of humor.” He slid out of the booth. “Time to track down the next suspect.”
“Apparently, you’re the litmus test. When your ears explode, we know we’re in range of Nova.”
“Great,” he said, less than enthused. “Looking forward to meeting her.”
“Hey, if she’s our killer, then your temporary pain will have been worth it.”
He gestured to the wand tucked in my purse. “Can’t you magic me some earplugs?”
I cringed. “I burned all the leaves off your plant earlier. I can only imagine what I’d do to your appendages.”
He shot a quick glance down at his lap. “On second thought, I’ll pass on the earplugs.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Thought you might say that.”
Chapter Nine
Despite our inquiries, nobody seemed to know Nova or a banshee participating in the tournament. Given the ratio of males to females, I would’ve thought a banshee would be memorable. Aster checked the roster of registered players for a Nova but there was no one by that name.
“We’re sure she’s a player this weekend and not a resident, right?” I asked. Sheriff Nash and I had left the Burger Boggart and were now lingering in the parking lot in front of the sheriff’s office.
“According to our records, there’s no Nova in Starry Hollow,” the sheriff said. “She must be flying under the radar.”
“Seems like something a killer might do,” I said.
“My thoughts exactly.” Sheriff Nash raked a hand through his thick hair.
“There’s also the chance that Patton was wrong about her name,” I said.
The sheriff shrugged. “It’s all we have to go on. I’ve sent her name and description to Bolan to be on the lookout.” He cut a glance at me. “You know, a little magic might go a long way right now.”
I perked up. “What kind of magic?”
“Any chance you could do a locator spell—or do I need to ask a real witch?”
I reeled back. “Bite your tongue, Mr. Sheriff. Consider the gauntlet thrown.”
“Can you really do one? If you can’t, it’s okay, Rose. I’m happy to ask someone else from the coven.”
“Yes, yes. Your girlfriend Iris is on speed dial. I got it.” I took a moment to consider whether I actually could perform a locator spell on Nova. Although I fully recognized that I wasn’t yet the skilled witch Aunt Hyacinth wanted me to be, my ego couldn’t handle appearing inferior to the sheriff.
“It’s nothing personal, Rose. It would obviously be easier for me if you could do it since you’re already part of the investigation.”
“To be honest, I don’t know if anyone can do a spell like that without a personal connection to Nova,” I said. “
It’s not like we have a strand of her hair or anything.”
A slow smile spread across the sheriff’s face. “No, but I bet I know where I can get one. How about I track him down while you get set up at the cottage and I’ll meet you there?”
I whipped out my phone. “Allow me to use the magic of technology to tell you exactly where our Force-loving friend is right now.” I clicked on the game map. “You can find him at Balefire Beach.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you shortly.”
I held up my hand for a high-five. “Woot! No weak links in this teamwork chain!”
The sheriff slapped my hand. “Nope.”
We divided so that we could conquer. I drove back to the cottage and found Raoul and PP3 on the floor with an empty box.
“What on earth?” I stared at the powdered dust all over the floor. “Were those donuts?”
‘Were’ is the pertinent word in that question, Raoul said.
I bent down to examine the dog. “Did PP3 eat any of them?”
They were mini donuts and he only ate a couple.
“How can you be sure?” I asked.
Because I’d already eaten the rest.
My hands cemented to my hips. “You know this is going to probably give him diarrhea, right?”
Raoul sucked in a breath. Ooh, that’s nasty.
“No kidding. And if that happens, guess who’s going to be cleaning it up?”
He tapped a claw on his chin. I don’t know much about dogs. Does he lick it up himself?
I shot him a warning glance. “Raoul…”
The raccoon offered a weak smile. If a dog has diarrhea in the woods, does anybody really hear it?
“He’s not going to have it in the woods and who cares who hears it?”
It was meant to be a philosophical question.
“Okay, I don’t have time for this. I need to get stuff ready before the sheriff gets here.”
Raoul fixed his beady eyes on me. Wait. Sexy time with the sheriff? I is confused.
“Not sexy times. Locator spell time. I need to prove I’m a decent enough witch to help him track a suspect.”
You’re right. That’s not sexy at all…Unless you wear a low-cut dress and thigh-high boots while you do it. Make sure you lean over the candle far enough so that…
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