“What the hell happened?” Troy asked.
“Too complicated. Could you please just drive?”
Troy turned the car around and drove out of Mountain Rose.
“What took you so long?” I asked.
“We found Sealight,” he said and dropped a duffel bag on my lap.
I unzipped the black duffel. The glittering crown looked back at me, the diamonds sparkling as they caught the light.
The heart-shaped aquamarine was missing.
Chapter 8
I sat on the couch in the dark media room, watching the security feed from the camera. Bern had forwarded it to our tv. The Sealight without the jewel rested on the couch to my left. The bloodstained rapier lay across my lap. My whole face was puffy. A large lump had formed on the right side of my forehead. It throbbed. My skin felt hot and ready to burst. I had an absurd feeling that if my lump healed, a pocket of skin would just sag off the side of my face. Google would probably tell me I was crazy, but I didn’t care enough to do a search on it. I stopped caring about a lot of things. It had been that kind of a day.
On the screen, the table and chairs where I had interviewed Maria and Lance waited quietly for the victims of Bern’s phone spoofing.
Mom walked into the room and flicked the lights on. “Why are you sitting by yourself in the dark . . .” She saw my face, fell silent, and sat on the couch near me. We sat together and watched the empty table.
“I don’t want to go to college,” I said.
Mom just looked at me.
“There is so much pressure to go to college. It starts from the first day of high school and never lets up. Every grade, every test, every club, every sport, everything matters, and not because you want to do it, but because it might count toward the college scorecard. You’re supposed to do great on your SAT, get a scholarship, graduate with honors, and then leave to have this awesome college experience. Winners go on to colleges, losers stay home and work crappy jobs. Well, I’m a loser, Mom. I think you should go to college if there’s something you want to do that can’t be done without a degree. I don’t know what I want to do. I’m not going to waste your money and I’m not going to torture myself just because someone might think that I failed at life because I didn’t move halfway across the country to get a degree I don’t want.”
I braced myself for the crushing disappointment on Mom’s face.
“Okay,” Mom said.
Okay? What did okay mean?
We sat some more.
“Someone’s poisoned Nevada’s wedding cake. There is a man whose job it is to impersonate people’s relatives for a fee. Bug says the company has a really good medical plan. Also, I got in a sword fight.”
“Did you win?” Mom asked.
“I didn’t lose, and he cheated.” I looked at her. “Also, I have learned how to use my magic to get people to tell me their secrets and then make them forget that they did. I’m like Nevada and Grandma Victoria, except I don’t force people. When I violate their minds, I just dangle my magic in front of them and they trip over themselves to tell me everything they know.”
I looked back at the screen.
Mom hugged me.
“Are you mad about college?” I asked.
“No. I’ve done my job. I’ve raised you to be a good person. You’re kind and smart and when you see a wrong, you try to fix it. That’s all a parent can hope for. The rest is up to you. It’s your life. You have to live it, and I would be a terrible parent if I tried to do it for you. I have no doubt that if you want a formal education in the future, you will get one. Everyone’s path is different, Catalina.”
“We found the crown under some bushes,” I said. “They took the jewel out of it and left the expensive diamonds behind. It doesn’t make any sense, does it?”
“It doesn’t make sense, because you assume the thief wanted the crown for the money or because they wanted to embarrass the family. Maybe they just wanted the jewel from the start.”
Bern walked into the room carrying his laptop. He landed in the recliner. “Did you see the email from Bug about Mikel?”
“I saw.” It explained a lot of things.
“Are we ready for this?” Bern asked.
I nodded. Bern typed in a quick sequence. The camera zoomed in slightly, bringing the table into better focus.
“What’s going on?” Mom asked.
“Earlier today we sent Lucian a text from Mikel’s number telling him to meet in that spot at eight o’clock.” I pointed at the tv. “We sent an identical text to Mikel from Lucian. It’s seven fifty-five.”
“Mom,” Arabella called from the depths of the warehouse.
Mom hugged me again, kissed my forehead, and walked out.
Lucian walked into frame. He looked around, clearly impatient.
A minute passed. Another.
Mikel came striding down the path. He hurried to the table and stepped in close to Lucian. They were the same height but where Mikel was thin and awkward, Lucian looked fit and athletic.
“What is it?” Mikel hissed. “I’ve wired the payment. What the hell do you want from me?”
“I don’t want anything from you. You . . .”
“Then stay the hell away from me. There’s no more. You’re bleeding me dry as it is. Leave me alone.”
Mikel took off down the path at a near run.
Lucian looked after him and sneered. There was something very familiar about that sneer. Lucian pulled out his phone and typed something.
“Who is he texting?” I wondered aloud.
“No way to tell,” Bern said. “The angle is wrong.”
Lucian didn’t seem in a hurry to leave. We waited.
A slim figure came down the path and stopped by the table, her chestnut hair spilling over her shoulder.
“Have you lost your mind?” Eva asked.
“I miss you,” Lucian said.
What?
“Really? Now, here of all places, with all the family here, you miss me?”
Lucian moved toward her, and she stepped back.
“What you and I did is in the past,” Eva said. “It’s over. It has to be over.”
“It’s not really over, is it? Some consequences can’t be ignored. Especially when they blunder so badly.” He took another step toward her. “Come on, Eva. Let me help you escape this house, if only for an hour or two.”
She turned around and dashed down the path. Lucian rolled his eyes and started walking in the direction of the house at a leisurely pace.
“Clearly, this is not Lucian’s night,” Bern said.
“Can you bring up Lucian’s image?” I asked.
Lucian’s face filled the screen. He was a very handsome man. Dark hair and a distinctive line of the jaw.
I picked up my phone and dialed Rogan’s number. He answered, “Yes.”
“Can I have permission to request a DNA test from the Scroll database to determine if someone is a relative of House Rogan?”
“Why?” Rogan asked.
I told him.
“I’ll make the call,” he said.
I thanked him and hung up.
“Well, that is a hell of a thing,” Bern said.
I rubbed my face and wished I hadn’t. It hurt. “This is a messed-up family.”
“I’ve got a very nice shot of Isabella collecting money from Elba and restocking her with Oxy,” Bern said. “Does that cheer you up?”
“We still don’t know who took the Sealight.”
“You should rest,” Bern said. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”
“I want to look at some more footage. Maybe there’s something I missed.”
Bern got up and put the laptop in front of me. “The folders are marked by date. Have fun.”
It was past 1:00 a.m., when I watched a gang of kids run down the hallway. Behind them Mrs. Rogan followed in her wheelchair, a happy smile on her face. You would never know she was a dragon. Mia Rosa trailed her, dragging her stuffed unicorn.
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I was so tired, I almost missed it. Mom must have heard me laughing like a lunatic, because she came in, confiscated the laptop, and chased me off to bed.
It was Friday, two days after Xavier had headbutted me and the swelling had finally gone down. I had another bruise on my shoulder, because on Thursday morning Arabella saw my face and we had to physically restrain her from jumping into the car and driving to Mountain Rose to “fix Xavier’s face so good, his mom wouldn’t recognize him.” She accidently punched me while swinging her arms, and then she felt bad, and followed me around trying to get me to eat chocolate she bought for me.
Also, on Thursday Nevada called. She had finally closed the Nightingale investigation. House Nightingale was satisfied, and Rogan and my sister were going to celebrate. Arabella and Grandma Frida wanted to know which restaurant they would be going to, and the answer turned out to be Domino’s. They had ordered pizza and spent the evening watching bad movies.
Today was the day of the rehearsal dinner. None of the high-ranking guests were coming, so it would be just the two families, Rogan’s and ours. The wedding was on Saturday, and everyone involved would be spending the night at Mountain Rose.
I had driven to Rogan’s house and met him in his kitchen, while Nevada was getting ready. Rogan was in a hurry, and so he used his magic to do several things at once. I would never get used to the coffee carafe pouring the coffee by itself.
“What’s up?” he asked, as the coffee mug landed in his hand.
“I found out some things about your family which you probably should know. They’re unpleasant.”
“I’ve known that for years.”
“No, I meant the things I found out were unpleasant.”
“I knew what you meant,” he said. “Why don’t you just tell me what’s bothering you?”
“I can either expose all those things, or I can tell you and Mrs. Rogan in private. If I do it in public, it will get ugly.”
“Are you afraid?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “But I don’t want you or Mrs. Rogan to be embarrassed or uncomfortable. You’re the client. Tell me what you would like me to do.”
“Do any of those things compromise or have the potential to compromise the security of the family?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Rogan drank his coffee. “I say let’s get it all out there. As much as my mother wants to retain her privacy, she would be the first to tell you that potential security issues override that. Do what you need to do.”
“Okay.” I just hoped he wouldn’t regret it.
The rehearsal dinner took place in the courtyard.
In twenty-four hours everyone was going to be dressed up, so for the rehearsal we went with casual. Tables were set out, covered with white tablecloths. Pitchers of lemonade and iced tea were distributed. Baskets of rolls were placed on the tables, next to simple centerpieces of wildflowers in plain glass vases. Valentina’s House Catering had prepared a traditional Texas barbecue, and platters of smoked meats made their way around each table—moist and dry brisket, smoked chicken and turkey, beef and pork ribs, sausage rings with jalapeno kick, followed by bowls of coleslaw, corn on the cob, and baked beans.
I sat at the head table, with Rogan and Nevada, together with Arabella, Bern, Leon, Mom, and Grandma Frida, and Mrs. Rogan. My seat was on Nevada’s left, because I was the Maid of Honor. My sister practically glowed.
I felt so bad. I had warned her that some crazy stuff was coming, but I didn’t go into specifics. It was either ruin the rehearsal dinner or the wedding. This was the lesser of the two evils.
Mrs. Rogan smiled at me. “It’s time, dear.”
I got up and walked to the raised porch where Rogan had set up a huge flat-screen tv. To my right stood a lectern covered with a length of blue cloth.
Rogan’s entire family was in front of me. My family too. So many people. They were all looking at me. My skin felt too tight. I glanced around the tables, noting the familiar faces. Lucian and June; Maria and Mikel; Markel and Isabella; Iker and Eva, sullen Xavier sandwiched between them; Ane and Lance; Zorion and Teresa . . .
I took a deep breath. I had spent a good hour writing the intro to my speech and trying to sound as adult as I could. “Recently we became aware that the Sealight tiara, which is traditionally worn by the brides of the Ramírez family, has been stolen.”
The courtyard went quiet, surprise and concern registering on people’s faces. The blue cloth hiding the lectern fell to the floor, revealing a blue pillow with the Sealight on it, its jewel still missing.
“We were able to recover the Sealight and in the process of our investigation, several facts have come to light, which I will now share with you.”
I looked at Elba sitting at the table with her parents, Mikel and Maria. Elba grinned at me. Keep smiling. Let’s see if you are still smiling when I’m done.
I smiled back and looked to the table where Markel and his wife, Isabella, sat. “Isabella Ramírez is buying and selling prescription medication and is using Elba and two other children, not related to the family, to distribute it. Here’s the footage of her resupplying Elba and collecting the money.”
The flat screen came to life showing Isabella counting off OxyContin pills into the jar and handing it over to Elba.
“The authorities in Bilbao are aware of her activities due to one of the parents of the other children filing a police report.”
A copy of the police complaint appeared on the screen. Bug really was a wizard.
The smile fell from Elba’s face. Isabella went bright red, then white. Markel stared at her. “Why?”
“Because you have me on an allowance like a child,” she snapped. “This man rations everything. He wants to know where every euro went. He would ration my tampons if he could.”
Maria was glaring at Elba. The next part was going to be even better.
“Maria Ramírez,” I said.
Maria jerked in her seat.
“Your husband is not bisexual. He is not having an affair with Lucian. Mikel is running a Ponzi scheme through Ramírez Venture Capital. To date, he has embezzled thirty-four million euros from investors. Lucian de Baldivia became aware of the theft, because his company provides cyber security for Ramírez Capital. He has been blackmailing your husband for the last five months. Here are the financial statements to prove it. They have also been sent to all of your email addresses.”
The courtyard exploded. Everyone shouted at once. Ramírez Venture Capital was the family’s piggy bank.
“I’ve made some bad investments!” Mikel yelled over the noise.
“You had no authority to make any investments!” Mattin Ramírez thundered. “You were supposed to sit on your ass and watch the money. That’s it. An idiot could have done it.”
“I will pay back every euro with interest!” Mikel shouted.
“How?” Ane demanded. “With more fraud?”
“There was no affair?” Maria cried out. “Why do you keep running away from me?”
“Because you drive me insane!” Mikel fired back.
Rogan leaned his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand, watching the chaos like it was a Saturday morning cartoon. Mrs. Rogan was rubbing her temples. Nevada leaned back out of her mother-in-law’s view and gave me a thumbs-up.
“I want a divorce!” Maria announced.
“I am not done,” I announced. “Please let me finish.”
“There can’t possibly be more,” Zorion Ramírez said.
The image on the tv blinked, replaced by Xavier at the fountain. I let his rant roll in all of its glory. When he got to the point of how he would inherit, the courtyard went completely silent. Everyone stared, horrified. The look on Xavier’s face was pure hate. I pressed pause on the remote and looked directly at him.
“Xavier, do you know why your plan won’t work?”
He cursed at me.
I pressed play. Two images appeared on the screen, side by side. Lucian and Eva.
A third image, a document with the Scroll logo on it, popped up under them.
“We have obtained permission from Mattin Ramírez, who is the acting head of your family for the duration of this visit, to test your blood, which you left on my rapier. You do not share DNA with anyone in the Ramírez family. Your DNA profile, however, indicates with a 99.999998 percent certainty that these two people are your parents. You will not inherit, because you are not related to Rogan.”
The silence was deafening. Everyone was looking at Lucian and Eva.
Lucian bared his teeth while Xavier shot up to his feet. “It’s not true! Mom, tell them it’s not true!”
Eva swooned and fainted. Iker stared at her as if he didn’t know who she was.
“Almost forgot,” I said. I picked up Sealight, stepped off the porch, walked over to the children’s table and smiled at Mia Rosa. “May I see Sapphire, please?”
Mia Rosa raised her unicorn up. A bright blue jewel in the shape of a heart glittered in the stuffed toy’s forehead, the white fur around it stained with streaks of purple school glue.
“Did you try to bedazzle it?” I asked.
“The bedazzler wasn’t big enough,” Mia Rosa said. “I glued it.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s not yours.” I plucked the jewel from Sapphire’s head and fitted it back into the crown. The Sealight was whole again.
“You should probably give it back to your aunt,” I told her.
Mia Rosa, Prime Telekinetic, sighed. The tiara floated from my hands, dodging the guests with surgical precision, and came to rest gently on the table in front of Mrs. Rogan.
Behind me a table fell as Iker Ramírez threw himself at Lucian de Baldivia.
Epilogue
The wedding was beautiful.
Nevada looked like a princess with the Sealight tiara on her head, while Rogan looked like himself in a tuxedo. The powerful and magically elite of Texas had gathered in full force. The Herald had declared that an invitation to this exclusive wedding was the most coveted in the last ten years. They also snuck a mole into the wedding. I told Rivera to not bust them until after the vows were said. As the woman was gently expelled, her last post on Herald announced that Nevada’s lilac bouquet was to die for. Apparently power and wealth trumped the clashing colors.
Diamond Fire: A Hidden Legacy Novella Page 10
