I dove into the story. I had practiced it many times in preparation for meeting her. Hopefully the comfort of repetition would drive away the tears. “My dad never told me I was a mage, and he told everyone else that he had a son that lived across the country. We’re not sure why he did that, but I found a letter from him that implied it was for my protection.”
“Bear told me that. It seems like he was hiding you for some reason.”
“Exactly. I had been using my middle name as my last name, and I tried to keep a low profile, but that didn’t last forever. Vanessa and I sorta made a mess right in front of the marshal, and he demanded to know who I was. That’s when I declared myself a Monza.”
“And that was the first time you said anything? What made you decide to be a Monza?” She leaned in slightly.
I hesitated. This was one area that I wasn’t sure how honest to be. A seer had told me what to say, but at the time, I hadn’t even realized what it meant. I wasn’t supposed to repeat a prophecy from a seer, but that was only part of it. Would she even want to try to work with me if she knew that I fell into Monzahood by accident?
“It seemed like the right thing to do.” I picked up another éclair, not wanting to look into her eyes because I might not be able to hide my nerves. I heard once that liars gave themselves away by providing too many fake details. I would keep it short and breezy. Totally natural. Did I breathe this fast normally? And I was sure my heart was racing. Nothing felt natural, and I was waiting for her to point a finger at me and scream that I was clearly lying. I waited, but she said nothing. I looked up finally, but her face was totally blank.
“Then you investigated for Bear at the Magia?”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. She had accepted the explanation. “Yes, that was the first time I worked for Bear. There were several overdoses at a festival that Bear thought were suspicious. It was a drug called Legacy. We are still looking into the drug, but progress is slow. Two samples of the drug are with a local doctor who is trying to work out what it does. We tried to investigate all the local dealers, but it looks like the whole operation is shut down at the moment.”
I explained the entire investigation to her. I found myself skimming over the details involving Thomas. I mentioned him but only as he related to the investigation. I really didn’t need to say more, but it felt weird to refer to him as “an employee at the casino” when he meant so much more to me. I couldn’t help but frown in frustration as I found my complicated feelings rising to the surface at the most inopportune time.
She had continued her note-taking sporadically. I couldn’t really figure out what details would cause her to frantically start scratching notes, but it had to be a good sign that she was interested.
“Bear told me that you were looking into a murder when I arrived last night?”
“Oh yeah, but it was probably either an accident or just a robbery. I told him that I would look into it later—”
The doorbell rang, and I spun around in surprise. I wasn’t expecting anyone. I debated ignoring it.
“Do you have a bathroom?” Colleen asked.
“Of course.” I gestured down the hallway as the doorbell buzzed in multiple succession until it was held down in one increasingly annoying request for immediate attention. The insistence gave me the uneasy feeling that I knew who it was.
I threw open the door, but before I could even greet Tiffany, she shoved past me into the loft.
“Ugh, this place is so small. And in such a bad part of town.” She didn’t bother to greet Bear but did grab a cannoli from the table. “You didn’t answer my text.”
I started to close the door, but a grunt stopped me. Vanessa pushed past me, her hair at all wild angles, and behind her was an enormous roller bag that she let fall onto the floor. She moved like a recently reanimated zombie as she shuffled to the couch. She mumbled, “Hi,” or something similar, to Bear before collapsing facedown on the couch. I thought she had fallen asleep until a hand snaked out to grab an éclair. Perhaps she was sleep eating.
“I was having a private meeting, but sure, come on in. Make yourselves at home.”
Tiffany ignored my sarcasm. “From now on, I expect you to respond to my text messages within ten minutes. No, five minutes. Got it?”
“Excuse me?”
She pulled a stack of papers from her expensive leather purse. “Here’s your schedule. We have a full day, and then tomorrow we start at six a.m. You’ll anoint my body in special oil then massage me. I will lie nude as the sun rises, and you’ll lift me up so the first rays will hit me. It’s going to be tough with just the two of you but doable. I am going to need both of you to wax your entire bodies today to prepare.”
I held up my hands. “Oh, you have got to be kidding.”
Tiffany smirked. “It’s your duty. And that is just one thing. You have to do everything on this list.”
Anger flared up in my chest, and words built up, ready to explode.
Colleen’s calm voice cut off my rant before it could begin. “Do you believe that is what duty means?” It carried an edge to it, like a test question with a trick answer.
Tiffany could sense the trap in the question and didn’t immediately answer.
In the silence that stretched out, Patagonia jumped onto Vanessa’s back. Vanessa bolted straight up. Her arms pressed her up while her back arched. She looked around, with most of her hair obscuring her face. “What? Who? Where am I?”
She rolled over and pressed her hair out of her face. She looked around until her eyes landed on Tiffany. Rolling her eyes, she finished the half an éclair that was still clutched in her hand.
She smeared chocolate all around her lips and shoved too much in her mouth. “That psycho busted into my apartment at the crack of dawn. All of her freeloading friends are going to stay at my place. She made me pack up a bag and leave.” She chewed as she talked. The half-masticated food in her mouth made Tiffany turn a little green.
I chuckled. I had seen Vanessa’s apartment at the Golden Pyramid Casino. If it were hit by a tornado, it would be an improvement. Tiffany’s friends would be staying in a biohazard zone. “Does that mean you are crashing with me for the week?”
Vanessa nodded and grabbed a cannoli off the table. As she bit into it, the cream squished out and landed with a plop on her décolletage. Patagonia took the chance to lick the creamy filling off Vanessa’s shirt.
Tiffany gasped. “You’re so gross. That’s it. I’m seeing if I can’t get you in for etiquette lessons.” She pulled out her phone and started tapping at the screen.
“No,” I said. “We are not at your beck and call every moment of the day. I have other obligations.”
“Obligations? Not you losers—I mean…” She trailed off after a quick glance at Colleen, who she must have forgotten was still there watching her.
Colleen turned to me. “Don’t forget your other responsibilities this week.”
Tiffany narrowed her eyes. “Like what?”
“She is working on a case with my great-great-nephew. And like I said, duty is very important, and Ella would never neglect it.” She coasted over to Tiffany and pushed her toward my front door.
Tiffany tried to protest. “But my list!”
“Ella will be too busy. This investigation of hers is too important to too many people.”
Tiffany spun around. “What investigation?”
In a gentle voice, Colleen said, “It’s private.”
“Then Vanessa can still do this.” She waved her stack of papers.
Vanessa sat up with a start. “What? I always help Ella with her investigations. She promised after last time.”
Colleen led Tiffany to the entryway and opened the door. “You will just have to pick one thing a day for them to assist you on. Now you’ll have to excuse us. We have to get to work.”
She firmly shut the door behind Tiffany, and the hint of a smile teased at her lips. “Why doesn’t someone wake up Vanessa, and
we can put together a plan for your investigation?”
CHAPTER SIX
I carefully eased into my car, every muscle protesting after my altercation the previous night. I had woken up stiff but figured I would feel better once I was moving. That had been true… briefly.
Vanessa oozed into the passenger seat and groaned loudly. She sounded the way I felt. “Can we grab breakfast on the way?”
I rolled my eyes as I drove down the driveway that twisted around my building from my third-story loft to the ground floor. I honked twice as I passed Badger’s car shop and pulled into the street.
“You just ate twenty dollars’ worth of pastries.”
“I’m still hungry. Catch me up on the plan.”
Patagonia meowed from the back seat as she slid from one side of the car to the other when I pulled onto the street. I headed toward the mini mall where the murder had taken place.
Vanessa had taken a shower and gotten ready while Colleen, Bear, and I had discussed the investigation. Colleen would follow my progress, and maybe, if I solved it quickly enough, it would convince her that I was a good match for her to train.
“Since I was already seen with Bear last night and most of the tenants know who he is, there’s no point in trying to go deep undercover. I’m going to say that I am here to deal with the tenants and paperwork until they hire a new property manager, which is technically true.” I pulled into a drive-through place that made the cheesiest, spiciest breakfast burritos in town.
“Get me a double with sausage and bacon, please. What am I supposed to be?”
“You’re my loyal secretary.” I placed the order into the crackly speaker then pulled forward to pay and pick up our order.
Vanessa grabbed the bag out of my lap and tore into her burrito. Bits of cheese fell across her lap. Cheetahs in nature shows had better manners than Vanessa. “Next time, I get to be in charge.”
“Next time, you pay for your own food.”
As I pulled back onto the street, I saw Patagonia stalking up from the back seat. Her ears were swiveled back, and she was low as she snuck between the seats. It was her pre-pounce position, and as I pulled up to a red light, I turned to watch.
Vanessa was focused on her burrito, making happy little grunting noises as she ate. She leaned forward to look in the bag for something when Patagonia made her move. A swift paw smacked the burrito. Bits of cheese, egg, bacon, and sausage went flying.
Vanessa yelped and jerked her hand, but Patagonia was in full attack mode. With both paws, she grabbed the burrito. There was shrieking, howling, and fierce snarls from the both of them, but in the end, Patagonia was in the back seat with the burrito, and Vanessa was picking egg out of her hair.
Someone honked behind me, and I realized the light was green.
Vanessa grabbed my burrito from the bag and unwrapped it as she glared over her shoulder. “She scratched me.”
“My car’s a mess,” I countered. I had gotten used to Patagonia’s forceful ways, but she could be a bit too rough. “It isn’t too bad a scratch, is it?”
“I’ll survive.”
“I’m sorry. If I had known, I would have ordered her a burrito of her own. I really should take that away from her so she knows she was wrong.” I peeked in the rearview mirror. Patagonia glared at me in the mirror, her eyes narrowed so all I could see were her black pupils. Her low growl rumbled even over the car engine. “On the other hand….”
Vanessa swept a large hunk of sausage off her lap. “So are we just going to talk to all the store owners and hope to gather some clues?” Before her shower, I had caught her up on the location and what we knew had happened so she had the basics of the situation.
“Pretty much. Bear gave me some fake business cards and a cell phone. We’ll look around the office. Talk to the store owners and maybe some of the tenants in the apartment building. Basically see if anything interesting is said.”
“Bear knew you were going to investigate. Why didn’t I?” Vanessa gave me a sideways stare.
We had had this argument previously when I hid my investigation from her. “I didn’t plan on investigating, at least not yet. I probably would have told you sometime today, but there was no rush. I wanted to wait until after Colleen’s visit, but it didn’t work out that way.”
“Makes you wonder if Bear didn’t make some arrangements with Colleen to pressure you into this. What’s she like? I mean, super intimidating is obvious.”
I slowed down for another light. “That’s what I noticed too. She is so in control and strong and I think really powerful. And can you believe how good she looks?”
“Do you think she would mind if I asked for beauty tips?”
I snorted at the idea of Colleen and Vanessa trading skincare routines. Surely Colleen had more important things to do.
I pulled into the parking lot, which was about as empty as it had been the previous evening. Most of the store fronts were still dark. Checking the clock, I realized that it was only a little after eight, and most of them probably didn’t open until later in the morning. “I guess we’ll just see who is here and catch the rest later.”
Only three stores had their lights on. The martial arts studio at one end, a liquor store roughly in the middle, and a florist in the penultimate position to the other end, where the property manager’s office was located.
“Oh, let’s go to the liquor store first.” Vanessa threw off her seat belt and jumped out of the car.
“Wait! My car’s a mess. We can’t leave it like this.” The front seat was covered in the debris from the breakfast burrito battle. The back seat was even worse since Patagonia had completely shredded the aluminum foil that the burrito was wrapped in and the tortilla hadn’t fared much better.
“Your cat, your car, your problem.” She laughed a little at her own joke. “Crack the windows so the smell doesn’t get trapped inside, and we’ll stop at a car wash later and use their vacuum.”
“Leave my windows down?” I looked around the slightly depressed neighborhood. Seemed like leaving the windows down was an invitation for trouble.
Vanessa rolled her eyes. “If only there were some way to make humans ignore your car.”
After all this time, I still didn’t immediately think of magic as the answer to my problems. I scrunched up my face in thought. I didn’t have any spells memorized for this exact situation, but I should be able to modify a spell. Modifications were advanced magic and one of the things we had been focusing on the past few months.
“The invisibility spell is way too magic intensive, but I’m not sure I could pull off the modifications without an incantation or potion.” Spells cast without any help were the most flexible but took a lot of skill, talent, and effort.
Incantations helped to direct the spell, like a road map to the final destination, and were necessary for many of my most complex spells. Potions helped to relieve some of the magical workload of a spell. Whenever I had a bit of magical energy leftover at bedtime, I would invest it in a potion for later use.
I had only a few potions in my bag but didn’t want to waste them. I hadn’t expected to have an investigation so soon. I needed to be better about stockpiling potions and not wasting them in training.
“I agree. Invisibility isn’t the way to go. So what is?” Vanessa leaned back against the car, enjoying her role as the one who already had the answers.
More and more in training I was faster, stronger, and knew the answers better. It had been a swap from when we started training, but since I was older by half a dozen years and she had always been a lazy student, she hadn’t been as bothered by the shift as she could have been.
Patagonia meowed and circled the car, sniffing at errant cigarette butts and a crushed potion vial.
“I’ll use the ignore spell, then they just won’t pay attention to my car. So I need to shift it from me to something outside myself and from a living creature to an object.” I did the calculations and cast the spell with a heavy grunt.
Patagonia gave a full-body shake as the spell snapped into reality. The aura of my own magic surrounded me, like crisp melons and cucumbers.
I tipped my head to the left and right to crack my neck after the exertion. “Did it work?”
Vanessa squinted at the car and looked away then back. “I think so? It’s hard for me to tell ’cause I already know it’s here, but… yeah, I think it worked. Besides, we should be able to see it from the stores, and if anyone gets too close, you can come yell at them.”
I grabbed my purse from the car and locked the doors out of habit. “That’s a good point. Why didn’t you mention that before I worked all that magic?”
“You’re the one always complaining about lazy mages. I’m just helping you to put that magical theory we learned into practice.”
We headed out, but instead of going to the liquor store like she had suggested, I veered off to the martial arts studio. Patagonia ran ahead of me as if she knew where we were going. “I met the guy that works there last night. He was pretty tight-lipped, and I wonder if he might know something.”
“Everyone might know something. That’s the whole point of this investigation.”
“Not so loud,” I whispered. “Remember you are here to help me.” I passed her a pen and notebook.
“Oh, cool. I’ll pretend to write.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “No, you’ll really write. Come on. Use your brain. Write down names, numbers, and anything that you think might be useful. We probably won’t recognize the importance of anything until later on.”
“Got it.” But she grumbled under her breath.
I pulled open the door to the martial arts studio for us to enter, then the door slammed behind us when the autumn breeze turned into a strong gust.
The slamming door had about a dozen heads swiveling around to look at us. I hadn’t noticed them as we approached because they were on the floor, below the sight of the windows. On the thick black mats covering the floor were some of the most beautiful and sweaty women I had ever seen.
Their bodies were contorted like pretzels. Elbows and knees were twisted at unnatural angles, and every one of the women shook with the effort of holding their positions. After realizing that we weren’t doing anything interesting, the women turned their faces away, unable to hold their positions with their attention on us.
Casino Witch Mysteries Box Set 2 Page 22
