Finn cleared his throat, giving me a sidelong glance before returning his attention to Marion. ‘It’s not a crazy theory, Marion. And I promise you, we’re looking down every avenue. But please, whatever you do, don’t say this to anyone else, okay?’
Marion’s eyes lit up. ‘I knew it! Alpha are behind it all. I knew Mack wasn’t a murderer. I just knew it. I promise you, I won’t tell anyone. But … maybe when you let Mack out of prison, you could tell him I helped solve the case?’
‘Um … let’s just wait and see what happens,’ I said. ‘And listen … we um … we need to take Twinkles off you. Just for a little while. We’ll get her back to Alicia’s family as soon as we can.’
She blew her nose again. ‘Why? What could poor Twinkles have to do with any of this?’
‘Oh, nothing,’ Finn told her. ‘Nothing at all. It’s just … Alicia is in the morgue, isn’t she? So we thought we might leave Twinkles in there with her. A little bit of comfort for them both until they’re buried together.’
Marion gave us a teary smile. ‘That’s so sweet. Wow, this new Wayfarer force really cares about people. Of course you can take Twinkles.’
≈
Finn hadn’t outright lied. He’d just been liberal with the truth. We did take Twinkles to the morgue. She just wasn’t with Alicia yet. Instead, Twinkles was lying beside Pebbles, and both cats were waiting for an autopsy.
Alicia’s sketchpad had been interesting (and a little bit icky, too) but it hadn’t told us anything we didn’t already know. Alicia hadn’t hidden the fact that she was going to an Alpha gig that night. And we already suspected Murphy of working with Alpha. No, none of that was new, and it certainly wasn’t enough to make a court overlook the fact that Bryce Blue’s bite marks were on Alicia’s body.
I couldn’t help but feel that the most important piece of evidence Marion had given us tonight was Twinkles. I sincerely hoped that Shane’s autopsy would reveal nothing more than natural death. But I didn’t think so.
I didn’t even want to think about what it would mean if those familiars had been murdered. But as I flew everywhere except home, it was all that was on my mind.
I took my broom up over Dublin City, veering towards Warren Lane. This time last year, I wouldn’t have been able to see the lights of the supernatural parts of the city – not unless I wore my ugly Pendant of Privilege. And I definitely wouldn’t have been able to fly. So much had changed in just a few months, beginning on the day I met Max.
Right now he was with Emily. No doubt she was hogging my side of the couch, and her face was probably stuck to his. I knew I should go home – at least to keep Melissa from being a gooseberry – but I just couldn’t bear the thought.
I was trying to decide how angry Finn would be if I went back in and worked all night, when I saw lights on down below. It was our new headquarters – the offices that weren’t finished yet. The offices that should definitely be empty at one in the morning.
I could have woken Christine up to ask if there was work taking place that night, I guess. But instead, I found myself dipping the shaft of my broom and flying towards the building.
Our new headquarters was in a building I wished I never had to see again. It used to be the Warlock Arms, an apartment complex owned by Kilian Berry, built on top of the Wizard’s Graveyard. You might remember it – the place where Kilian Berry almost drained me of my power and killed a whole bunch of other witches while he was at it? Fun times.
But the thing about buildings constructed on top of ancient, powerful sites, is that you don’t want just anyone to live there. Because of the potential for world-ending evil and all that. Which is why the Wayfarers had decided it was the perfect place for their headquarters. Well, that and the fact that it was dirt cheap.
Now, I know that a crime-solving gal like me is the last person you’d expect to be suspicious (insert sarcastic chuckle here) but I happened to think that the whole situation stank. Berry Materialization had sold us the building for next to nothing, and they were doing the renovation work for even less.
And now here they were, working away like busy little night-time bees. I mean, who would want to work this late at night? Ahem.
All was quiet as I entered. On the whole, supernatural construction processes weren’t quite as noisy as those in the human world, but if there were people working late I would have expected to hear something. I cast an invisibility spell and made my way through the building, towards where my new desk was to be. As soon as I reached my new work area, I jumped.
Yeah, I’d been expecting to see someone up to no good, but I hadn’t expected it to be Will Berry, the guy who liked to confuse me on just about any day ending in day.
I was beginning to think it was a sport for him. Kissing me underneath the mistletoe … swooping in to help me when I needed it most … and all the while acting like he hated my guts. The guy wasn’t just any old enigma. He was that jigsaw that you found at the back of a cobwebby cupboard, the one that seemed to have the pieces from ten different puzzles stuffed in the one box.
And now he was waving his arms about my desk and murmuring some incantations I’d never heard before. I didn’t even recognise the language.
I sighed. Sometimes you just don’t want the aha moment. Sometimes you’d rather the people you feared were evil would actually turn out to be good. But what else was I supposed to think? Here he was, creeping around my desk in the dead of the night. How could he be up to anything but evil shenanigans?
He stopped incanting and looked at the spot where I stood. ‘I know you’re there, Wanda. I’ve told you before that I know the scent of your perfume. You should really change it if you ever want one of your invisibility spells to work on me.’
I sniffed my wrist. Sure, I’d put a spritz of perfume on that morning, but only because I figured even an hour in the shower couldn’t wash away the stench of my exhaustion. I really had meant to change my scent the last time Will sniffed me out. I just never found the time.
I undid my spell and glared at him. ‘What are you doing at my desk?’
He sat down on top of the desk and looked me up and down. ‘You look exhausted, Wanda. You should get home to bed. And why are you wandering around here with invisibility on, anyway?’
My hands flew to my hips. ‘Because I thought I was about to catch someone in the act of doing something they shouldn’t be, that’s why. The workers were supposed to be gone home hours ago. What would you do if you saw a light on in the middle of the night? In a building that just happens to be on top of the Wizard’s Graveyard, no less.’
‘Right.’ He gave me a lopsided smile and bored his eyes into mine. ‘You were going to tackle these imaginary criminals all by yourself, I suppose?’ He shook his head. ‘Why am I even asking? Of course that’s what you were going to do. That’s the sort of thing you always do.’
I turned my broom upside down, pretending to straighten out the bristles. Anything to pull my eyes away from his. Why did his dimples have to be so dimply all the time? ‘You haven’t answered my question. You’re putting some sort of a spell on my desk. Tell me what you’re up to, Will.’
He gave a nonchalant wave of his hand. ‘Oh, it’s nothing. Standard protection spells. I’ve done the same in your Eile Street offices as well, in case you were wondering. You’re not exactly popular with the criminal element, are you? I figured you could use all the help you can get.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘You’re right, Will. The criminal element does seem to have a problem with being caught. But I’ve managed to survive this long so I think I’ll be just fine without your weird spells.’
‘Really?’ He lifted a brow. ‘You’re going to tackle what’s left of the Dark Team by yourself?’
I decided it was best not to reply to that one. Sure, I’d managed to put more than half of the Dark Team in Witchfield, but even I wasn’t dumb enough to think I could do the same to the rest of them.
‘Y’know, I really am sorry that Gabriel turned o
ut to be a bad guy,’ he went on. ‘I hoped … well, I hoped for your sake I was wrong about him.’
I sank down into a swivel chair. It still had plastic on it, and it crinkled to high heaven. ‘You never liked him, did you? You always told me he was a creep.’
Will bit his bottom lip, looking away from me. ‘Yeah, well, like I said, I hoped I was wrong. Listen, Wanda … I know you. So I know that tomorrow you’re going to test the magic here to see if I’ve done anything iffy. And when you do … when you do you might notice that the protection around your area is slightly stronger than the protection anywhere else. Well, there’s a reason for that.’
Sure there was a reason. But I doubted I was going to get the truth of that reason from Will.
‘We all know the Dark Team are going to go after you whenever they get a chance,’ he continued.
I held my hands up. ‘Actually, they’re just as likely to go after everyone I care about. Look, it doesn’t matter what excuse you make about this. I will be having your protection spells tested. I don’t want to think you’d do anything to hurt me, Will. But …’
He let out a long sigh. ‘But I’m a Berry. Therefore you still think of me as some sort of cartoon villain.’
‘No. Cartoon villains are funny. You’re just … confusing.’
He looked right at me, an odd little smile on his face. One that made his dimples even more dimply. Good goddess, no one should be that gorgeous. ‘Me? Nah. I’m clear as a crystal ball.’
‘That sounds about right,’ I told him. ‘Seeing as the crystal balls that my coven use are made of incredibly veiny and unclear quartz.’
He let out a laugh. ‘That’s just because you guys are cheapskates. We’ve got some nice clear balls in the Berry coven. Useless as a pixie at a picnic, of course – but they look the part.’ He sighed. ‘And sometimes, that’s all that matters. Wanda … I’m … I’m sorry that you’re confused. But just trust me on this one, okay? My protection spells aren’t going to do you any harm. You have to know that I’d never hurt you. Feel free to test the spells, but try to keep it to yourself if you can. This is over and above what I’m contracted to do, and I don’t want it getting out.’ He tried for a cocky grin, but it fell flat. ‘Can’t have everyone thinking they can get something for nothing, now can I?’
A moment passed where he just looked at me. It was the strangest look, too. Part apology. Part fear. Part something I’d seen on Will’s face far too many times – the look of a man who had the weight of the entire supernatural world on his shoulders.
Maybe I was imagining that look. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Maybe it was nothing but the proximity to the dimples. Whatever the reason, all I could think about were the last words of Bowie, Will’s cousin’s familiar. Bowie said that even though it may not seem like it, Will never stopped caring about me. I’d tried to push those words from my mind, but right now I was failing miserably. I needed to know the truth.
‘Will … last Halloween you wanted to speak with me. Outside the community hall. You wanted to tell me something. Something important. What was it, Will? What did you want to say?’
He might have rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide the way his Adam’s apple jumped in his throat. ‘Nothing. I didn’t want to tell you anything. I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘Yes you do,’ I insisted, standing up and kicking my chair back in irritation. ‘Look, you’re here for one of two reasons. You’re either here because you are up to something bad, or you’re here because … because you care. You care about me.’ I paused, a little bit shocked at my own outburst. Oh well. In for a sickle, in for a round. I swallowed down my nerves and looked him in the eye. ‘You’ve done so many nice things, Will. In between some other more questionable actions, sure, but … I don’t think you’re who you pretend to be. I remember how you kissed me at the Masked Ball. And I remember how you didn’t want me to leave. And you know what? I wish I hadn’t, Will. Because kissing you that night … it was something I never wanted to end.’
That tormented expression was still there, but there was something else behind it. I was sure that I recognised my own feelings in his eyes. I was sure he was thinking, certain he was deciding just how honest he was prepared to be. For one long, long moment, he fixed his eyes on mine. His hands began to shake. He stood up and took a step forward. And then another.
All of a sudden I felt like someone had sucked the air out of the room. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. The only thing I could focus on was Will, and his slow movement towards me.
His eyes were wide open, staring into mine. But even though they were wide, they were darker than I’d ever seen them before.
And then I heard a crashing noise, somewhere in the room. Will jumped back from me as we looked around for the source. An empty soft drink can had been knocked to the ground from a nearby table, and a huge marmalade cat was standing on the floor beside it, looking up at Will. I recognised the cat. It was Will’s familiar, Fred.
‘Hey, sorry about the noisy interruption,’ said Fred. ‘I guess I’m just clumsy. So Will, are we going to get out of here anytime soon? Because we have to do that thing, don’t we?’
Will swallowed, staring at his familiar. ‘Oh yeah. That … that thing.’ He brought his eyes to mine once again. ‘Look, let’s just get one thing straight, Wanda. If I ever misled you in any way, then all I can say is that I must have been drunk. Very. Because I have absolutely no memory of kissing you.’
I felt my eyes begin to sting. ‘I … what?’
‘But let’s get onto the only question that matters – am I here tonight to help you or harm you? Well, whether you believe it or not I am here to help. And it has nothing to do with me liking you. My stars! Have you seen my fiancée?’ He let out a snort of laughter. ‘Look, Wanda, no offence or anything. You’re a sweet girl, and you even look kind of cute under certain lights but … I really don’t know what I was thinking last summer when I thought I liked you. But whatever madness I was suffering from, it was over the second you betrayed me and sent my aunt to jail. My coven came first then, and my coven comes first now.’
My stupid eyes were still stinging. But I wasn’t upset about being compared with Mandy Parker (well, not much). I was fully aware that she was a slim, gorgeous blonde, whereas I had hips and a behind that a sumo wrestler would envy.
No, the thing that was upsetting me most was the realisation that, whatever was really going on with Will, it was bad. Because while he stood there shooting insult after insult my way, I couldn’t help but notice that his hands were still shaking. His voice was cracking. And his eyes … honestly, I was pretty certain I wasn’t the only one who was trying to hold back tears.
The past few months ran through my mind. Everything Will said, and everything he did, was playing in technicolour. I could see it all so clearly. Time after time he helped me, and time after time he insisted he was doing it out of self-interest. Sure, he was drunk at Winter Solstice, and at Halloween too. But drunk or not, they were the only two times when he was fully honest. That kiss was an honest kiss. His desperation to speak to me at Halloween was real, but I had turned away.
And if Fred hadn’t interrupted things just now … maybe Will would have finally told me everything. I glanced at the cat. It’s always hard to be sure with cats, but Fred seemed worried. He didn’t want to get Will out of here because they had something to do. Fred was trying to stop Will before he revealed something to me. But what?
I had been dosed by Gabriel for months on end. I had been tricked and compelled into believing I had feelings for him. Ever since then I hadn’t trusted my instincts the way I used to. But maybe I should start to trust my gut again. Because in all that time, I never truly fell for Gabriel. No matter how much he drugged me or hypnotised me, there was still that little voice, deep inside, that never let me fall in love. And right now, that same little voice was telling me that whatever Will was doing, he was doing for a good reason.
No matt
er how much it hurt me (and confused the heck out of me) I decided to do the only thing I could. I was going to play along.
‘Okay, I get it!’ I cried. ‘You don’t like me. But my ego does not need any more bashing, so can you just get it over with and tell me why you are setting all these super-strong protection spells?’
‘Of course,’ he replied. ‘I’m doing it for the same reason I do everything – I’m protecting my own interests. This is about my coven, and nothing else. You’re far from my favourite person in the world, Wanda, but you are a good detective. A brilliant one, in fact, which is exactly why me and the rest of the Berry coven want to see you safe right now. Bryce Blue didn’t kill that fan, Wanda. And I’m betting Mack McAdams isn’t a killer, either.’
I crossed my arms. ‘Well, duh. But why do you care about that? Oh, right – because you’re the big bad boss of the Berrys. And Bryce is with Veronica Berry.’
‘Exactly,’ Will confirmed. ‘You might not think a lot of us, Wanda. But in my coven we look after our own. And Bryce is with Veronica, which makes him one of ours. So you need to stay safe, and figure out who really killed those girls. That’s why I was setting the protection spells.’
Fred wrapped himself around Will’s legs, and Will lifted the cat into his arms.
‘And now I’ve really got to go so just … try to keep yourself out of trouble,’ he said, clicking his fingers and leaving my sight.
16. An Offer I Can’t Refuse
Something was wrong, I thought as I woke up. Something was missing. I reached a hand to stroke my cheek. No slobber. I patted the bed next to me as I opened my eyes. Ah. There was no Wolfie – that would be why there was no slobber, then.
I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and looking around. Wolfie wasn’t the only one missing from my room. There was no Dizzy, either. And seeing as the clock on my bedside table told me it was ten in the morning, his absence was a bit worrisome.
Rocking Out Page 9
