Valentines and Valkyries

by Amanda A. Allen

  “Why?” Scarlett asked, ignoring Lex’s irritated glance. “She’s a private investigator too right? She should have been able to handle this case unless real cops were needed and then Lex wouldn’t be the right one anyway. He’s doesn’t have any jurisdiction here.”

  Ron’s eyes crinkled at Scarlett just enough to tell her that he caught the jealousy in her voice and knew it for what it was. She’d have flinched but she didn’t care if either Ron or Lex knew she was jealous. Cameron Sloane was gorgeous. She had some sort of history with Lex. And she was a suspect in this crime whether he wanted to believe it or not. She had been in Mystic Cove when Al had died. Of course she was a suspect. It wasn’t like Mr. Throdmore or Mr. Jueavas or any other resident of Mystic Cove would have a motive to kill Lex’s dad. The suspects had to be Cameron, the boyfriend, and people from Portland who knew he was going there. Someone who might have followed, killed him, and got back out.

  “Cameron doesn’t have any motive to have killed my Dad, Scarlett.”

  “That you know of,” Scarlett shot back. “Lex, she was there. Of course she’s a suspect.”

  Ron watched the two of them with a little smile at the edge of his mouth that Scarlett wanted to slap right off.

  “Lex…” She tried again.

  “You remember when you ex was a murder suspect?”

  She narrowed her gaze on him and then said, “You realize, of course, that wasn’t a bright spot in our history.”

  He met her gaze and then looked at Ron. Neither of them explained that Lex had been magically drugged and had been horrible to Scarlett during that investigation. She’d gotten over it.

  Lex cleared his throat and then said, “All I’m trying to say is that you knew Grant didn’t kill anyone. Even though you guys are happily broken up, you were still sure that Grant hadn’t killed anyone.”

  Scarlett took a sip of her tea, so she didn’t have to answer and tried to judge whether she’d crossed back into the crazy, irrational zone without realizing it.

  “All I’m asking,” Lex said, “is that you believe that I can be sure that Cam didn’t kill my dad while also not wanting to be with her again.”

  Ron full out laughed at that. They both turned to him and he grinned openly and said, “Y’all are better than the Spanish soaps. Your ex was a murder suspect too?”

  Scarlett scowled at Ron. He didn’t care at all.

  “Listen,” Scarlett snarled, “It’s been a hard year.”

  Lex laughed at that and then said, “Yeah. Yeah it has.”

  “That a baby bump I see?” Ron asked.

  Scarlett cocked her head at him and narrowed her gaze.

  “Yes,” Lex said, before Scarlett could demand if she was really that fat. “We’re having twin girls.”

  Scarlett took a deep breath and then a slow sip of her tea.

  “Congratulations, boyo,” Ron said. “I’m sorry your dad missed being a grandpa.”

  Scarlett glanced at Lex. Had he never told his parents about Amelie? Or, had they just forgotten her?

  Lex didn’t answer. He cross-examined Ron for information about the boyfriend and ensure that the picture Lex had found when he researched last night was the man. Ron had seen Leanne and the boyfriend—Niles—out a few times.

  “Niles?” Scarlett verified.

  “Right?” Ron demanded, adding, “Clearly a fake name. Your dad was heartbroken, Lex.”

  “Niles is almost as bad as Alexander the fourth,” Scarlett said evenly. She was trying to distract Lex from the idea that his poor dad was heartbroken. Scarlett wasn’t sure she could buy it. From what Lex, and even Leanne said about him, Lex’s dad didn’t seem to be a person who’d be all that heartbroken over his wife. Maybe over the missing money. But not really over his wife.

  Ron laughed, but it wasn’t that funny and it didn’t lighten Lex’s mood.

  “Ron, do you know anything else?”

  He shook his head. Since there was nothing else to learn, Lex made their excuses saying that they needed to head back to Mystic Cove and move on with the investigation.

  Scarlett called Maye while they drove and found out that they found the murder sight. The girls were ok though Amelie was extra upset.

  “I can’t really tell,” Maye said, “If she’s sad about her grandpa being dead or just being dramatic.”

  Scarlett couldn’t help but remember how Ron hadn’t even known about Amelie. They couldn’t have been all that close if they’d ever met at all. “It’s probably both.”

  “Where did it happen?”

  “There’s a dock off of the Cove’s Inn,” Maye said. “Turns out that Lex’s Dad was saying there. Gram found the sight, and Gus confirmed the blood matched.”

  Scarlett took a deep breath and said, “Lovely. I’ll tell Lex. We’ll be home soon.”

  “Scarlett,” Maye said before Scarlett hung up, “Cameron had a room at that inn too.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Lex dropped Scarlett back at the bakery and then went over to the Cove Inn. She didn’t argue with him. She let him go, knowing he needed to focus so he didn’t grieve. Instead, she waited until he drove away and then made her way to the diner where she could see Mr. Throdmore and Mr. Jueavas in the window. She joined them without waiting to be seated and said, “Boys.”

  Mr. Throdmore, Henna’s boyfriend, grinned at Scarlett. “Kitten.”

  Scarlett grinned at them and they smirked back. She bumped fists with each of them and sighed as she sat down.

  “I suppose you have all the details?” As she asked, Mabel, the owner of the diner, took Scarlett’s order and promised a ginger ale right away.

  “Of course we know everything,” Mr. Jueavas said.

  “So,” Scarlett said, “What has Cameron Sloane been up to?” Scarlett’s distrust of the woman was evident.

  Mr. Throdmore didn’t hide his humor though Mr. Jueavas tried. Mr. Jueavas, however, was dating Scarlett’s grandmother and tried a little harder to be friendly.

  “She’s spent a lot of time asking about Lex. You’d think that he was who she was investigating than whatever brought her here,” Mr. Throdmore said, his smile lines crinkling before his face smoothed out and he added, “Taking Amelie shopping and out to lunch.”

  Scarlett hadn’t expected that answer. Had Amelie asked? Or just gone? Did Lex give Amelie permission to skip school and spend time with his ex? Scarlett felt the rush of crazy again and tried to shove it away. What mattered was finding the person who’s killed Lex’s dad, so that Lex could move on. The sooner the killer was found, the sooner Cameron could be on her way.

  Scarlett would deal with what had been happening with Amelie later. Especially since Scarlett wasn’t sure where the line was for being a step-something or other. She couldn’t really imagine how it would be in reverse for Lex and Scarlett’s daughters. But then again, Scarlett didn’t have an ex who wasn’t the girls’ dad. It wasn’t like Cameron Sloane was Amelie’s mother. Grant spent time with Ella and Luna, coming into town twice now since they’d moved. He stayed in a hotel, saw the girls, and left after a few days. But he was their dad.

  Scarlett opened her mouth to say something but she paused. Her head lifted and her attention was caught by a woman who was crossing Arbor Avenue. She leaned closer to the window until her nose was almost pressed against the glass. It couldn’t be. Could it?

  Lex’s mom adjusted her coat, tucking her face into the collar. It didn’t matter though that she was trying to be unobtrusive. Scarlett was sure it was Lex’s mom. Scarlett pulled out her phone frantically and it flipped out of her fingers, flew across the floor, and then slammed into the floor with the sound of glass cracking.

  “Oh no,” she breathed, grabbing her phone from the ground, but it wouldn’t turn on. “Oh no.”

  She turned and stared out the window and saw Leanne disappearing around a corner.

  “Mr. Throdmore, call Lex, tell him I saw Leanne and I followed.”

  “Now, Scar…”

 
She jerked up a hand to cutoff Mr. Jueavas’s objection, taking his phone out of his hand. She snarled, “Do it. Don’t stop calling until he answers.” She ran out of the door of the diner, leaving behind her broken phone.

  Leanne had already rounded the corner and was out of sight. Scarlett darted after, praying she could catch up. Her breath whistled as she ran, and she told herself she needed to start working out as soon as possible. As she ran, she saw Leanne step into a little rental cottage with Cameron Sloane. No way, she breathed. She pulled out the phone and tried to call Lex, but it was locked. She had no idea what the code was to get past the lock screen.

  “Are you kidding me?” She gasped. “Damn it.”

  Then movement caught her gaze and Scarlett froze in utter horror as she saw Amelie walk up the path of the rental cottage. Leanne and Cameron had already gone inside. “No,” Scarlett whispered, but she couldn’t catch her breath or Amelie’s attention.

  Lex’s daughter went inside the cottage while Scarlett was still half a block away. Scarlett growled down at the locked phone and then saw the emergency option. She used it as she hurried towards the house.

  “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency,” someone answered.

  “This is Scarlett Oaken,” she said. “I need Lex at the rental cottage on Hiawatha. Amelie, Cameron, and his Mom are in there.”

  “Nine-one-one is not a messenger service, Miss Oaken,” the voice replied snottily.

  “Send cops. Send all of them. But if you don’t send Lex you won’t have to worry about fall out because I will—personally—make you pay.”

  The girl on the other end of the line cleared her throat to object and Scarlett hissed, “Do it. It’s an emergency. Life and death. Do it or—if I survive—I’ll send my Gram after you.”

  She tucked Mr. Jueavas’s phone into her back pocket and slowly turned the handle to the door where Amelie had gone. It wasn’t locked, and she swung it slowly open. The sound of arguing reached her, and Scarlett closed her eyes, praying she could get Amelie out unharmed.

  She left the front door open, so the east wind could reach her.

  “You are Niles?” Leanne demanded. There was so much emotion in that tone of voice, Scarlett couldn’t read it. “You bastard!”

  Scarlett sidled forward, barely lifting her feet off of the wood floors, listening carefully. She heard, “Are you really that surprised?” Scarlett hadn’t been expecting a man’s voice. How…who…what? Who was that?

  “But Niles…”

  “He’s not real, Leanne,” Cameron hissed. “How stupid are you? You don’t ever send money to someone you meet online. Not ever.”

  “But…” Leanne’s voice cracked with far more pain that she’d shown over the death of her husband. “But…”

  “Cam?” Amelie asked. “What’s going on?”

  Scarlett recognized the smooth tone of Lex’s ex-girlfriend when she said, “Come over here, love.”

  A rush of fury flowed through Scarlett feeding her connection to the east wind. She darted into the room, grabbing Amelie and shoving Lex’s daughter behind her as she faced the rest of the room. Cameron was standing in the corner, her hands in the air while Leanne was across the room. Her hands were also up in the air.

  Scarlett had expected to find Leanne holding a gun or weapon on Cameron. Or, preferably, Cameron holding one on Leanne. She did not, however, expect the man in the corner. Ron, Al’s best friend. Of all people, Scarlett would have never, ever expected him.

  * * * * *

  “What are you doing here?” She demanded.

  He was the only one, she realized, who had seen “Niles.” He was the only one who had said Al was heartbroken. Maybe, he’d used what he’d known of Leanne to worm his way into her heart and trust? That seemed likely, but what did it matter? He had a gun and Amelie was in the room. Nothing else concerned Scarlett.

  “Lex never was one for smart girls,” Ron laughed, eyeing Scarlett up and down. “You get pregnant on purpose? It’ll never last.”

  Cameron snorted and said, “I figured you out, Ron. Maybe we’re smarter than you think.”

  Ron laughed meanly and then said, “Not in time for Al, though did youj? Lex never was all that bright. He won’t figure it out either. And what you know won’t matter.”

  “So you’re going to dispose of his mother, his ex, his daughter, and me and think he won’t hunt you to the ends of the earth?”

  Ron laughed meanly. The laugh rolled out across the room and he said, “He was never all that bright. He can hunt all he wants. He won’t find me.”

  “Is your information about Lex from Al? The drunk? Or Leanne? Because they don’t know Lex at all,” Scarlett snapped. “You hurt me, Lex will find you. You hurt his daughter? He will peel the flesh from your bones and do it without mercy or regret.”

  “Your loyalty is cute,” Ron said, stroking his biker beard. “But like I said, Lex never was one for smart girls. Don’t strain your pretty head.”

  Scarlett held Amelie close. The girl yelped, “Hey. Cam and Scarlett are super smart.”

  “Scarlett makes cupcakes for a living, little bit. That doesn’t take brains.”

  Scarlett took a slow breath in and then let it out. She had called Lex. He would come. They just had to stall. Ron’s gun was freezing Scarlett, but she also couldn’t have it being turned on Amelie. It would only take seconds for him to hurt Amelie, and Scarlett couldn’t let that happen. The girl’s hands were clutched into the back of Scarlett’s shirt, and she could feel them shaking.

  “What’s your end game here, warlock?” Cameron demanded, drawing the attention of Ron from Amelie.

  “Kill everyone, take the money, and get out, valkyrie. I’d have thought that would be obvious.”

  Scarlett’s gaze darted up at that, meeting Cameron’s gaze. Valkyrie’s were powerful, but she didn’t seem to be carrying her sword. Without a weapon to focus her skills, Scarlett wasn’t sure how effective Cameron would be. The east wind could throw Ron, but it couldn’t stop a bullet. Leanne was weeping uselessly. But…Amelie. The girl was hardly useless.

  “So,” Scarlett said as though she were amused, “A druid, a valkyrie, and a hobgoblin stand off with a warlock.” Scarlett’s emphasis was on hobgoblin and Cameron frowned just enough that Scarlett was sure the ex-girlfriend knew that Scarlett was up to something. Hopefully she could put the pieces together. Hobgoblin magic, lashing out in a fury, they could make it work for them.

  “I saw pictures,” Leanne said. “Lots of them. Niles dancing. Niles on the beach. Niles with his grandchild. He’s real. He’s my happily ever after. My reward,” Leanne cried, “For dealing with Al all of these years!”

  Ron’s mean laugh made Leanne flinch as he said, “I stole those. Geez, Leanne. How stupid are you?”

  Scarlett ignored Leanne’s weeping as she dug her fingers into the bracelet blocker on Amelie’s wrist. Scarlett gave Cameron a nod while Leanne had Ron’s attention. Amelie wore a blocker that prevented Amelie’s destructive magic from wrecking havoc every time the girl got upset. Cameron moved, Ron had turned back to her, and Scarlett yanked the blocker free.

  Scarlett pulled Amelie’s wrist into Cameron’s line of sight, yanked off the blocker, and she said, “Now!”

  Amelie let her magic loose as Cameron dove at Ron. He shot at Cameron. Amelie screamed, and the gun exploded.

  By the stars, hobgoblin magic was far more useful that people would think. Ron’s hand was injured by the gun, causing causing a spray of blood. He yelped falling to the ground as Cameron reached him, jabbing her elbow into his throat.

  Scarlett didn’t wait. She grabbed Amelie’s wrist and ran out of the cottage, dragging the girl behind while Amelie struggled to go back to Cameron.

  “Cam needs us,” Amelie shouted. Scarlett hauled Amelie off the porch and around the side of the house, looking for a better hiding spot for Lex’s daughter.

  “Your dad needs you,” Scarlett said. “Cameron is a valkyrie. Ron’s no longer armed
. She’s going to beat him hard.”

  “Coward,” Amelie shouted, but her insults were drowned out by the sound of sirens.

  Scarlett stopped fighting Amelie as Lex jumped out of his car. Amelie screamed for her dad to help Cameron, and he bolted into the cottage as another shot rang out. Scarlett closed her eyes, leaned over her knees and breathed slowly in. Gus had followed Lex out of the cop car, and he caught Amelie before she could go back inside the cottage.

  Nausea rose as Scarlett heard Lex shouting at those left inside the cottage. Was Cameron dead? His mom? Scarlett prayed they were all ok but she’d have done the same thing again. Amelie came first. That was all there was too it. Scarlett lifted her head and stared at Amelie. She was cursing at Gus, demanding the he go help Lex. Gus stared down at Amelie, hauled her to the back of the cop car and locked her inside before running after Lex.

  By the time Lex came out of the cottage again, Scarlett had puked into the bushes twice. The backlash of terror, while you were pregnant, was apparently puking. The first time she puked alone. The second time, Cameron Sloan held Scarlett’s hair.

  “I’m glad you’re ok,” Scarlett said, in between heaving.

  “Thanks,” Cameron said in her smooth voice. “That was quick thinking.”

  Scarlett would have nodded, but the nausea struck harder and she dry-heaved bile into the bushes. Finally she said, “What was the second shot?”

  “Lex’s mom. She shot Ron.” Cameron sounded amused, but Scarlett did not want Lex to have to arrest his own mom.

  “Is he dead?”

  “He’ll be fine,” Cameron said without sympathy. “Leanne, however, is a mess. She’s blathering about happily ever afters and true loves.”

  Scarlett didn’t answer since she was puking again, but as far as she could tell, Leanne had already been a mess. Years of abuse. Losing her son. She was ripe for being taken advantage of. Ron had probably recognized that all Leanne wanted was to be loved. To be important to someone. Anyone. And Ron had played on that hunger.