The Surfboard Slaying

by Tegan Maher

  "Indeed I am. True king to the faeries."

  "Then yes," she replied, setting her glass back on the bar. "I was referring to you."

  "You question my status?" he said, arrogance lacing his voice. Either he didn't know what the tattoos down her arms meant, or he was an idiot. Or both.

  She shook her head. "I do not. I question your fitness to hold it."

  Oh, man. The shit was about to hit the fan.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  THE GUARDS LAID THEIR hands on the pommels of their swords, but jumped about a foot in the air when a loud whoosh of air blew their little hats off from behind right before the clatter of steel-shod hooves clattered on the ground.

  Buttercup, Stephanie's massive black winged warhorse, had arrived and did not look pleased. He snorted and pawed the ground, his shoes making sparks on the pavement. Stephanie held up her hand. "It's okay baby," she said, cooing to him. "Mama's got everything under control." She stood and strolled leisurely to him and patted him on the neck, her path wide open now that the king's men had skittered back several feet.

  She turned back to the king. "If you care to prove your worthiness, I'll give you the opportunity. I'll even leave Buttercup out of it." The Pegasus snorted and drew his brow low, obviously not pleased to be left out of the foray.

  If it weren't for the fact that the death of not one but two royal faeries would be hell on the resort's reputation as well as a political nightmare, I may have found it funny that a hot, barefoot chick in a bikini was challenging five armed men to a fight to the death, and would no doubt win. One glance at Blake's gray face made me heave a sigh and stop forward.

  "I'll even be sporting," Stephanie said to the king, widening her stance and bending a bit at the knees with one foot slightly behind the other. "I'll hold one my drink in one hand and let you all attack at once. Still not even odds, but it's the best I can do."

  I hadn't even noticed that a mixed bag of guests ranging from leprechauns, who were busy taking bets, to elven children were gathered in a semi-circle around them. Things had gone far enough.

  I stepped between them before the guards—or the king himself—were stupid enough to pull their swords. Turning to Morel, I said, "You do know what she is, right?"

  "Some impudent lass who has yet to be taught her place." He turned his attention to me. "And I assume you're Destiny? I'd like to have a few minutes alone with you once this situation is handled."

  Rolling my eyes, I huffed out a breath. "Once this situation is handled, you'll be fish food and so will your guards, and I'll likely have to clean up the mess. So, let me introduce everybody. I'm Destiny Maganti, the one who found your son's body. I'm sorry for your loss. Stephanie, you're already aware this is Morel, King of the Faerie. King Morel—and this is important—this is Stephanie, Valkyrie to Odin."

  Steph nudged me from behind. "Technically, it's Stephanie of Asgard. Odin's dead."

  I wobbled my head from shoulder to shoulder. "My bad. Morel, meet Stephanie of Asgard. The long and short of it is she's a Valkyrie and she'll pull your arms off and beat you to death with them. Well," I corrected myself, "I guess she'll only beat you to death with one of your arms, since she's giving you the advantage of holding her drink in one hand."

  The king didn't look quite so sure of himself when I finished speaking.

  "Now, are we all ready to be civil?" I asked.

  Stephanie spoke around me. "I am, as long as he agrees to leave you unscathed and free your friend from imprisonment so you may find the true murderer. I was looking forward to a day in the pool, and don't wish to have to go back to my room to shower off the blood of battle before I do so. Nor do I want to leave you with that mess."

  That was the final straw for the good king. He glared at me, then snapped, "you have forty-eight hours," before stomping off back in the direction he'd come from, guards in tow.

  Poor Blake slumped in his chair from relief and a little color seeped back into his cheeks.

  "You," I said, catching his gaze, "Get me the files to the case, please, the go get some sleep. We have two days, and I'm hoping it only takes me a few hours to clear this up. I have most of the information I need, so all I have to do is fit the pieces together. If I can't do that in the eight hours it takes you to get some Zs, you can help figure it out then."

  He stood up and opened his mouth to argue but then shut when his knees almost gave out. He snapped his fingers once and a case file appeared in his hand. He gave it to Colin, snapped his fingers again, and was gone.

  I turned to Steph. "Thanks, girl. You bought me the time I need to clear Marissa's name and find the evidence I need to bring the real killer to justice.

  "Justice is what I do," she said, smiling like the cat that ate the canary. "Plus, I told you I had your back."

  Buttercup snorted again, disappointed that battle had been avoided, then, with a whoosh of mighty wings, took to the air and settled in the shaded are we made for the unicorns, content to graze on the sea grass.

  Just another day in paradise.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  "DID ANYBODY FIND OUT where Marissa is?" I asked.

  "She's locked in her room," Tempest said. "I couldn't get in to talk to her, though. Morel's thugs are guarding her."

  "C'mon then. Let's find out what she knows so that maybe we can sort this mess out." I glanced at Colin. "I'll be right back. Order us some lunch, will you?"

  He nodded. "If you're not back in fifteen, I'm coming looking."

  "Fair enough." I closed my eyes and took us to Margo.

  "Did you get things settled?" she asked. "The king swept past me like he was on fire, then came back looking like a man defeated."

  I smiled. "He thought he was going to teach Stephanie some manners."

  "Oh dear," she said. "How was he dissuaded before she tore him apart?"

  I gave her a brief rundown and she was smiling when I finished. "Good. I'm glad to see him taken down a notch or two. I understand the man's in mourning, but he's been running poor Blake ragged and being a heel in general to everybody around him."

  "Yeah, I'm betting he'll be taking room service for the next day or two. Now," I said, stepping around her. I have to go free Marissa so we can get this mess sorted."

  "Good luck, dear," she said, then resumed her usual pose.

  I was standing in front of the elevators before I realized I didn't know what room Marissa was in.

  "She's in 225," Tempest said as one of the doors slid open. We stepped inside after a couple of Gorgons stepped out, and I punched the button for the second floor.

  I didn't have to look at door numbers; it was obvious which one was hers because there were two faeries standing guard outside it.

  "Excuse me," I said as they moved in front of the door to bar my entrance.

  "Nobody allowed in or out," one said, his expression brooking no argument.

  Was anything going to go easy for me? "Call your boss. He'll not only tell you to let me in, he'll order you to let her out."

  The one who hadn't spoken laughed, but it trailed off as I crossed my arms and cocked a brow at him. Tempest imitated my pose and he pulled his phone from his pocket.

  Whomever he talked to wasn't being quiet, and it only took me a minute to identify the voice; it was the king himself.

  "Let her in. But under no circumstances is the woman to be set free."

  I cleared my throat and stepped forward, holding my hand out for the phone. The guard creased his brow in confusion, but handed it to me.

  "King Morel? This is Destiny Maganti. I believe the deal you made with Stephanie and I included setting Marissa free."

  I held the phone away from my ear as he yelled expletives. When he took a breath, I put it back to my ear. "Okay, your majesty. I'm putting your guard back on, and I'd appreciate it if you'd give the order to release her per your agreement."

  More grumbling, but the guard took the phone back and listened for a minute. Looking at his partner, he shrugged and turn
ed to knock on the door. Marissa opened it as far as the chain would allow.

  "You're free to go," the guard said, stepping away from the door and motioning for his buddy to follow him toward the elevators.

  She watched them go, then pushed the door shut long enough to slide the chain off. I stepped into the room and took a seat on the edge of her bed.

  "What just happened?" she asked.

  I gave her the rundown. "Now we need to figure out who really did kill him."

  "I wish I could help," she said, pulling her hair back from her face as she paced. "All I know is I was at the beach and these men came and escorted me to the resort director's office. They asked me if I knew Dain and if I'd been in his room, and when I said yes, they locked me in here and told me I was charged with his murder."

  I thought of Colin, realizing this was his area of expertise, not mine. He'd planned to represent her, then the whole thing with Stephanie and the king went down.

  "Get dressed," I told her. "We're going to the tiki to figure this out."

  It only took her a couple minutes to put on her bathing suit and cover it up with a pair of shorts and a tank top. When we passed Margo, she grinned down at us.

  "Congratulations, Marissa. Trust Destiny and her young man. They'll get everything straightened out."

  She had a lot more faith in me than I did, because I had no idea how we were going to make the leap from suspecting who did it to proving it.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  BY THE TIME WE GOT back to the tiki, Colin had gone through most of the case file. He had what I liked to call his lawyer face on, and almost forgot to say hello before he started grilling her.

  "Before we get into what's in the case file, tell me your version of events," he said, picking up the file and moving to a solitary table at the far corner of the patio. It was the same one that had been occupied by two trolls and Cassiel when he was killed. I'd insisted on replacing the table and chairs, but the picture of him lying slouched over the table, his cheek in a puddle of half-melted mango margarita, would likely be burned into my brain forever.

  "Can we not sit there?" I asked, moving to the table at the other corner. "Or for that matter, we can go into my office."

  "Outside is better for me," Marissa said. "I've been locked up for almost two days and prefer the air and sunshine."

  We took the table, then Colin focused on Marissa. "Okay, start at the beginning, when you first met Dain."

  She smiled. "I was at the roulette table and felt somebody watching me. We played the whole glancing at each other and smiling game for a couple hours, then he came over and introduced himself. We played a couple more games, then decided to go for a walk. There's this great beach—not the one at the tiki, but down farther."

  I nodded. It was what most of us referred to as the employee beach because most guests preferred to use the beach at the tiki. The one she was referring to was a good ten-minute walk, but blue-collar families used it sometimes because it was less formal and had a small playground and several charcoal grills and picnic tables shaded by huge oaks that only grew because of magically enhanced soil.

  "Anyway," she went on, "we came back and had a nice dinner, then went to his penthouse for a movie. That thing has four bedrooms!"

  When she realized how that might have come across, a slight blush tinged her cheeks. "I swear that's all he did. Well, that and maybe some kissing. Oh, and I noticed he was wearing a jewel-studded ring, and I asked him about it because rubies are my favorite stone. At that point, he hadn't told me he was a prince or anything. I just thought he was a regular guy here on vacation."

  She took a deep breath. "I was actually disappointed to find out he was royalty because then I started asking myself why a prince would be interested in me."

  I rolled my eyes. She was drop-dead gorgeous and wondering about herself. Of course, she did have the whole new-vamp thing going on, and I supposed that would be a kick to anyone's confidence.

  "Okay," Colin said in an attempt to bring things back on track. "What then?"

  Dimitri brought us drinks, so she paused until he was done.

  "When he found out I love rubies, he went to the safe and pulled out a box with a knife in it. It had a huge ruby set in the end of it and was beautiful. There were some smudges on it, so he polished it with a cloth then handed it to me. He explained the handle and the significance of it, I handed it back, and that's the last time I saw it or him."

  "When was that?" I asked.

  "She pursed her lips together and pushed them to the side, thinking. “ That was the day before I met you. Then the next day, he said he had family things to do all day. He texted me a few times and snuck down to have a snack with me right after you left."

  "And did you see him at all the next day?" Colin asked. That would be the day he was killed.

  She shook her head, then leaned up and tilted the umbrella so it was shading us more. "He was surfing with his brothers and cousin that day. We were supposed to meet up on the beach by the tiki later that night, but he never showed. I waited for an hour, then walked down to the beach where we'd spent the day and just sat for a while, thinking about him and about life in general."

  Taking a sip of her water, she shook her head. "Then that night, they dragged me out of bed, told me I was under arrest for murder, and here we are."

  Colin thought for a minute. "Okay, now we know how your prints got on the blade. They said there was another set they couldn't identify on there, too. But you just said he polished them. So that means whoever handled it did so after you touched it. They may just belong to the murderer."

  "Great," I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "So all we need to do is print everybody on the resort and get a match. Easy peasy."

  Just once, I would have liked to be able to say that with an utter absence of snark.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  COLIN GLARED AT ME. "I know it sounds uphill, but Blake did a lot of the work already. All the heads of household are accounted for because they have to use their fingerprints for identification."

  I reined in my irritation and sighed. "Well, that's a start, anyway. I assume the bride's brother's prints are covered?"

  Colin nodded, then held up a finger as he flipped through a few more pages, then turned back and re-read one.

  "Did you find something?" Marissa asked.

  He let out a breath. "Maybe. It says here that the safe holding the knives had an extra ward. The only people who could open it, even with the code, were direct blood relatives of the king."

  I lifted a shoulder. "So?"

  "So that means that, assuming Dain didn't take it out himself, whoever killed him—well, whoever took the dagger out of the safe," he said, correcting himself, "was direct blood. It had to be either his father, who wasn't here, or one of his brothers."

  "Then we need to talk to the brothers," I said. "Are they even still here?"

  A ruckus ensued at the tiki and I turned to see what was going on. The leprechauns were raising Cain about something, so I went over to see what the fuss was about.

  "Gentleman," I said as I approached, "what seems to be the problem? I'm the manager here, so being rude to the bartender isn't going to get you anywhere. For that matter, neither will being rude to me."

  The one who appeared the oldest and had been making the most noise stepped forward. "We need to go. We all have to work day after tomorrow and we need a day to recover."

  I cocked a brow at them. "Recover from vacation?"

  "Yes," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "We've all imbibed a bit more that we should have and need a day to rest up to get ready to go back to work."

  "I'm sorry," I said, "but we have an ongoing murder investigation. That means nobody can come or go until that's solved."

  "Until it's solved?" he asked, his voice an octave higher than had been a minute before. "What if it's never solved?"

  "That's not going to be the case," I said. "We're close to solving it now, but I can
't do it if you're over here hassling my bartender. How about some courtesy casino chips?" There was no way they were going to turn those down. "Twenty-five dollars each." There were ten of them, so I figured it was worth two hundred fifty bucks to shut them up.

  A younger man stepped forward, crossed his arms, and looked at me side-eyed. "Fifty."

  "Forty," I countered. "Take it or leave it. You're stuck here either way."

  The first guy shoved the second one back and stuck out his hand. "Deal," he said.

  "Deal," I echoed, shaking his hand.

  I returned to the table, where Colin was flipping through more of the folder and Marissa was gazing out at the Gulf with sadness in her eyes, lost in thought. I wondered what she was thinking.

  "Why did they clear the guy who was yelling at Dain? The bride's brother?" I asked.

  "It doesn't really say, other than the king vouched for him," he said.

  "My money's on him, though I have no idea how he would have gotten his hands on the dagger. Is it possible somebody forgot to reset the ward?"

  He shook his head. "No. It says here it's self-setting. Every time the safe closes, it resets."

  I lifted a shoulder. "Then let's talk to the brothers."

  Colin shook his head at something as he kept flipping.

  "What?" Marissa asked.

  "It's just ... they don't really have any evidence on you other than the fact your fingerprints were on the dagger. They didn't find anything on your clothes, and they didn't factor in the fact that you're much shorter than him. Nothing. It's like they just said, blame it on the vampire, brushed the dust off their hands, and walked away."

  "Yup," Marissa said, "That about sums it up."

  "Have you told your sire yet?" I asked.

  "Yeah," she said, sighing. "Unfortunately, he can't get onto the resort because of the lockdown."

  I hadn't thought of that. I'd hoped she had some support coming, but it looked like that wasn't going to be a thing.