by Bella Falls
He chucked me under the chin. “But see, none of them hold a candle to how valuable you are to me. You far outshine any gem, my Ruby.”
I wrinkled my nose. “You’re laying it on a bit thick, but who cares.” Gripping the tiara, I placed it on top of my head and gave my best royal wave. “Look at me, I’m a princess.”
His smile dissolved from his face, and he moved to return to the safe. “You could be,” he muttered in a low voice.
Flipping open another lockbox, I sifted through the jewelry until I found a leather pouch with a cinch at the top. Tugging it open, I dumped its protected content into my palm. A golden chain slithered through my fingers as I ran my thumb over a brilliant ruby nestled in a gaudy gold setting with what looked like a crown and something else molded into it.
“Hey, Luke. This ruby matches the one you wear. Except yours is simpler, and you wear it with a leather cord.” I let the pendant dangle from the chain.
He rushed over to me and snatched it out of my hands. “Don’t touch it,” he snapped, shoving it back in the leather pouch. “I’ve been wondering where I misplaced that,” he added in a softer tone to try and cover up his overreaction.
“Nope. Don’t even think I missed what just happened.” I removed the tiara and set it on the table. Ignoring his frown, I tugged on the leather cord around his neck and drew out the red gem to hold it. “What’s so important about both pieces? And why does yours look a little different? The truth,” I demanded.
He glanced down at the jewel in my grasp. “I changed the setting a long time ago.”
“Why?”
“Because it belongs to my family, and I’ve spent ages trying to forget them.” His finger stroked the back of my hand, but he didn’t try to take the ruby away. “The other one that I rudely seized from you belonged to my sister. I took it with me when I left.”
His words sounded as if he were talking about an event that had happened a few years ago, and yet the weight of history behind them threatened to drag me under the depths of what I didn’t know.
“Is your sister…” I started, not knowing how to ask if a vampire was alive or not.
“She no longer walks this Earth,” he admitted, sadness pooling in his eyes. “Because of that, I defied my family and left them to live a life I chose. In the manner I wanted.” He dragged the ruby away from me and held it. “But I continue to wear this in remembrance of her. My Isabella.”
The way he said her name felt like a vocal caress. I knew he had given me something big, and it was my job to carry it with me and accept him for making an effort.
“Thank you,” I whispered, uncertain of what to say or do to offer comfort.
He leaned his forehead against mine. “No, cara. Thank you for giving me a beautiful moment of remembrance. And for your trust.” He kissed the top of my head. “You know, I’ve only ever called two women in my life cara. And both of them owned my heart, but in very different ways.”
If I allowed him to continue wooing me with such pretty words, I’d end up a melted puddle on his concrete floor. Ignoring the rising heat in my cheeks, I returned to our immediate task.
A little flustered and wanting to distract myself, I tested out a few rings, sliding them onto my fingers. “If you have access to all these jewels, then I guess you won’t have to go to a store to buy me an engagement ring.” The second those words left my mouth, I wanted to dig my own hole in the floor and jump in it. “Forget I said that.”
“Mm-mm, not a chance.” Luke grinned, and he sat down on a stool next to me, choosing appropriate pieces to use as our fake treasure. “You can have your pick of any ring you want.”
I got lost in all the beautiful sparkles coming from my fingers when I wiggled them. “But you haven’t asked the important question. Until then,” I pulled each ring off, “back into the safe they go. Besides, you know I don’t need anything nearly as gaudy as any of this.”
He nudged my knee with his. “Which is one of the many reasons why I love and adore you. I could probably slip a piece of twine around this,” he said, touching the correct finger on my left hand, “and you’d be happy.”
I shook my head. “Let’s not go that far. Come on, help me choose pieces from the right period, old man. The others are probably finished composing the verses and waiting for you to return to scribble them out on the parchment with your favorite quill and ink.”
When we finished collecting the different jewels and placed them in a lockbox with a handle, I shimmied up the steps.
Luke smacked my behind with a playful tap. “I told you I would spank you for calling me old man.”
“Well, you are,” I teased, relieved to see the last of the afternoon sun streaming through the kitchen window.
“As long as I’m your old man, I guess it doesn’t matter.”
On our drive back, I focused my attention out the window, wondering what it would be like if the second meaning of that phrase came true, making me an honest woman and officially taking my last name.
Chapter Nineteen
Rissa’s nerves were so high, I could practically hear her knees knocking. “Remind me again why we’re out here in the middle of a mostly unpopulated island at my former mentor’s cabin luring in a murderer and why it’s a good idea.”
I placed a hand on her leg to stop it from bouncing up and down. “Because if I read him right, he’ll like getting one over on all of us. It’ll drive his ego to the point where he can’t not come here. Plus, there aren’t lots of people around who could get hurt if things don’t go well.”
She almost squealed but covered her mouth with both hands. “You think this will get dangerous?”
A strong female voice spoke into the earpiece I wore. “If you stick to the plan we’ve gone over several times, both of you will remain safe the entire time.” Olivia Alwin, former lieutenant for the sheriff’s office and now a deputy agent for the World Organization of Wardens reassured the two of us with her steadiness.
I touched the miniscule device in my ear. “It’s good to know you’ve got our backs, Lieutenant. I mean, Deputy.”
The new agent chuckled. “If we keep working together like this, you might one day have to call me Olivia. We’ve got listening and recording devices all over the premises. There are several agents and wardens surrounding the area, including your friend. If you can get him talking and to confess to any of the crimes, then we’ll storm the place. But if you think something’s wrong, then I want you to get out of there using whatever methods you have to.”
The headlights of an approaching car pierced the darkness and shined through the grove of trees surrounding the cabin. “Looks like he took the bait after all.”
We’d staged the full chest in Auggie’s bolt-hole and taken pictures of it, the key, and one gem in Rissa’s palm, sending all of them to the number the imposter had given her. He hadn’t responded, so we didn’t know until just this second whether or not he’d ever received the images or the last text asking him if he wanted to see what was inside the box that the key opened.
“I’m not as strong as you, Rue,” Rissa exhaled. “I’m going to mess this up because I’m so nervous.”
I patted her back and attempted to pump her up. “Take a deep breath and let it out. You’ve got this, and I’m right here with you. We’re two bad witches who can take on any mere mortal. And if that doesn’t work, then channel WWAD.”
“What’s that mean?” my friend asked, distracted by trying to figure it out.
“What Would Auggie Do.”
Rissa chuckled as did Olivia’s voice in my ear. “Get ready. He’s about to come inside.”
Heavy footsteps walked up the porch, and the screen door to the cabin swung open. “Ah, Ms. Ward,” he purred in his British accent. “And…you. I am gratified to have received your invitation prior to my departure from the area. If you do not mind, I would greatly like to view the items you sent to me over the phone.”
“Of course.” Rissa used a side table under a
lamp to place the key we’d switched out, the wrinkled parchment with the fake clue written on it in Luke’s antique handwriting, and the gem next to each other. “If you read my text, you’ll know that we found the key in a hidden compartment of your box after you left.”
Although his eyes stayed glued to the large sapphire Luke and I had chosen, the fake Dr. Simons placed a hand over his chest. “I cannot apologize enough for my poor behavior. Had I maintained my civility, I might have been there to witness when you found the surprise.”
Rissa swallowed hard, trying not to move away from him when he reached out to pick up the key. “Well, you’re here now to see the fruits of our labor.” She nudged the parchment. “When I contacted my old professor, she revealed how she had found the chest using the clue written on this and wrapped around the gem.”
He held onto the sapphire while lifting the paper up to the light and reading it to himself. “And that old bat figured out what all of this means, found an entire chest of treasure, and dragged it back here and down into a hole all by herself? It must not be a very big amount.”
Rissa’s offense at how he referred to Auggie was far from fake. “Excuse me, but Augusta Waters is one of the finest professors I have ever had the pleasure of studying under and working with. I would hope that any of your students would refer to you with the same amount of respect, Dr. Simons.”
Realizing his misstep, his demeanor changed in an instant. “You are right, and I find myself having to issue yet another apology.” He paused, his foot tapping on the floor with impatience. “To delay our gratification anymore would be folly. Shall we?” He gestured for all of us to go over to the entrance to the bolt-hole.
The deputy agent’s voice crackled in my ear. “He’s a bit of a hot head, which might work to our advantage. Try to get him talking. Mention the adventurer’s name and see if he reacts.”
I’m a witch, I’m a witch, I’m a witch, I repeated to myself, trying to remember I had the upper hand in this situation no matter how sideways it might go. “I’ll bet Nigel Lansing would pay a high price to be here right now.”
The fake Dr. Simons faltered in his step. “Yes, I saw the unfortunate video earlier today. It’s a shame what happened to him.”
Taking a shot, I pressed harder. “It sounded as if he knew who it was that killed him. The way he spoke, he knew the person. And at least they got a clear picture of the bottom of a shoe before the feed died. Did you know that the way the soles of our shoes wear down can be as distinctive as a fingerprint?” I caught him glancing at his feet, but without words, it did no good.
“Fascinating,” he said in a bored tone. “Where is this bolt-hole you spoke of?”
Rissa crouched down and pulled back the dilapidated rug, revealing the cut out in the flooring. “Professor Waters showed this place to me once before.” Her voice trembled a little with her returning nerves.
Deputy Agent Alwin spoke again, and I fought against the instinct to touch my ear. “We’ve got his real identity. Rupert Berkeley.”
“Like the Elizabeth from the journal,” I muttered, a little amused that Willie turned out to have an even better first name.
“What was that?” he asked, his hand jerking to his hip.
“I was just thinking about that journal entry by Elizabeth that you read to us,” I covered. “How her husband Roger would probably rise up from his grave in order to witness what you’re about to do.”
“I would not give a thought to Captain Moreton. His actions brought about the ruination of his entire family line,” Rupert stated with palpable hatred. “He would not deserve to be the one to discover the treasure and restore his family’s honor and place in society.”
His response puzzled me. Why would he care so much about history long past and with such an intense emotional response?
Crouching down, he pulled the flooring away to reveal the dark hole. “Have either of you brought a torch with you?”
“I’m not sure adding an element of fire would be a good idea in a wood cabin,” I replied, looking at all the natural kindling around us.
“No, a torch where I come from is the same as, what do you Americans call it? A flashlight,” he finished with the same arrogance that rubbed me the wrong way before.
We had used our magic to conjure light balls when we were here before. It never occurred to us to bring anything else along on this sting operation. Rissa checked the room for any possible source of portable light. “There’s an oil lantern over there.”
“I’ll get it.” Not knowing if there were any matches nearby, I took the opportunity to shield the lantern from view and spellcast a tiny flame in it. “Here, I think there’s plenty of fuel for you to use.” I handed it over to Rissa to take over to him.
The plan had been to coax him into the bolt-hole and seal him in for the authorities to catch in the act of trespassing if he didn’t openly confess to anything else. But every second that ticked by, the more Rissa lost her cool and my nerves jangled. If the man we knew was a killer suspected something was off, who knew what would happen before we could fire off one spell?
“Pineapple,” I sighed through my gritted teeth.
“I’m sorry, Ruby Mae,” Deputy Agent Alwin said in my ear. “Did you just give us your safe word? I need you to repeat it if you want us to intervene.”
It took me a second to realize that my need to see Rupert lose far exceeded my fears. “Mm-mm,” I grunted in response to the agent, then made my way to join the other two. “Can you see the chest down there now?”
Rissa lowered the lantern to illuminate a small area where we’d planted the box. “I do,” she confirmed. “Dr. Simons, you should be the first to open it. I’ll hold the lamp while you climb down.”
“Where is the key?” he asked, rubbing his hands together. “I will need it.”
I grabbed it off the side table and rushed it over to him. At the last second, I pretended to stumble and threw the key down into the hole with a metal clank. “I am so clumsy. But I bet you can find it when you get down there.”
“Good improvisation, Ruby Mae,” the agent complimented. “Once he’s in, seal the entrance and we’ll come extract you.”
When she finished giving me instructions, I looked up to find the fake professor staring at me with an odd expression. “Why do you look funny? It is as if something or someone is distracting you every few seconds. This all seems a little too convenient for my liking.” He reached into his waistband and pulled out a gun before either Rissa or I could summon any magical protection.
“What’s going on?” Agent Alwin said in my ear. “Do you need us to come in?”
I dug my finger underneath the mechanism and pulled it out of my ear, tossing it on the floor. “All you had to do was go down into the hole. I think you actually would have liked what you found, Rupert.”
All semblance of British formality dropped away, and his posh accent changed. “I knew there was something screwy about the two of you.” He grabbed Rissa, careful not to jostle her too hard to make her drop the lantern. Pointing the gun at me, he smiled. “I’m gonna need you to go down in the hole, find that key, and open the chest. And don’t dawdle. I don’t like people messing me about. When they do, they tend to find themselves in a right foul-up.”
I held up my hands, flashing a reassuring smile at Rissa. “If I were you, I’d confess to everything you did, like assaulting Auggie here and stealing the bell. Breaking into the museum and taking the coin.”
“No, that one wasn’t me. That was Nigel. But he might have done it at my urging, casing out the place to see what was what,” Rupert explained. “But then he wanted a bigger cut of whatever I found inside the box. I made sure he didn’t try to make any more demands on me. Now, are you going to do as I asked,” he continued, swinging the gun at Rissa and making her shriek, “or do I have to shoot her first?”
My chuckle turned into a full-blown, body-shaking laugh in response to his bad boy bravado.
“What’s so fu
nny?” he demanded.
“Boy, did you choose the wrong two girls to pick on. Rissa, run!” I shouted.
My friend moved her feet as fast as she could but dropped the lantern in her escape. Summoning my special powers, I harnessed the flames that ignited when the fire ignited spilt oil and contained them in a tight ball before they could set the rest of the oozing puddle of fuel ablaze. The ball of fire obeyed my will and rose in front of Rupert’s face.
He sputtered and batted at it with the gun. “What’s this? What’s going on?” The fake Dr. Simons danced around, trying to get away from the strange assault.
With a few twists and turns of my hands like directing an orchestra, I flustered the killer until his foot caught the edge of the opening. He screamed as he lost balance and fell into the bolt-hole, losing his grip on his gun. It skittered across the floor and went off, the ammunition whizzing past me, shattering a bottle of whiskey, and embedding itself into the dark wood wall.
Deputy Agent Alwin broke through the door followed by several other magical law enforcement personnel. Mason checked to make sure I had the fire under control, and then escorted Rissa outside with him.
“Well, that didn’t go quite as planned,” Agent Alwin said, staring at the ball of fire hovering in front of me. “What are you going to do about that?”
“Oh, this?” I willed it to come to me and held out my hands as if to cradle it. The flames danced across my skin but did no harm, and I played a little with it, enamored in its dangerous beauty. But to make sure it didn’t escape my control, I gathered my will and diminished the blaze little by little, making the orange and red glow dim until it extinguished with a final flourish of my fingers.
“You took a big risk, Ruby Mae,” the agent scolded. “I’m glad that this time, it worked out for you.” She glanced over at the broken glass and the alcohol dripping onto the floor. “Although you might owe the owner a nicer bottle when you replace that.”
Rupert’s voice rose from the bolt-hole’s entrance. “I’ve done it. I’ve finally found it. I’ve broken the curse and avenged my family.”
