by Lisa Edmonds
I cleared my throat and avoided Sean’s fiery gaze. “Hard to say. We don’t know what was in the compartment, but your grandmother’s fire and blood magic spell books seems to be missing too. So anything that refers to fire or blood magic, an object of power, or really, anything that just seems weird to you.”
“This all seems pretty weird to me.” She thought about it for a moment, then added, “But way less weird than it would have seemed two days ago.”
I laughed at that. “I bet.”
Natalie smiled. “You want some more tea?”
“We’re going to be heading out to go see your uncle. What do you think of him?”
“We’re not very close.” Natalie leaned against the doorway. “As I said, he was my grandmother’s only child from her first marriage, and I don’t think he ever felt entirely comfortable around my mom or my aunts because he was nine or ten when his dad died and my grandmother remarried and his stepsisters were all so much younger. I always got the impression that he felt like a fifth wheel. My mom used to tell me that after he moved out to go to college, he didn’t really come around that often.”
A quick online search revealed that Eppright had no social media presence, but he’d been in the newspaper a year ago. I studied the picture. Peter Eppright appeared to be in his late fifties. He was posing with two other local businessmen, all wearing tuxedos and toasting champagne glasses.
I used my phone to pull up the location of Eppright’s office, which was partway across town. It would probably take us close to a half hour to get there. “We’d better leave soon.” I headed back toward the library.
When I got to Betty’s bedroom, Malcolm was standing inside the library, finishing the wards. I marveled at their beauty as he wove the spells together to form a perimeter around the entire room. No rookie mistakes with Malcolm. Inexperienced and poorly trained mages often warded around doorways and windows, since those were obvious points of ingress, but walls, floors, and ceilings could be broken through, which is why good wards run around the perimeter of the room, top and bottom, blocking all four walls, floor, and ceiling.
I recognized my own magic signature in the wards, along with Malcolm’s and Natalie’s, which granted us free passage. It looked like they were set to incapacitate any trespassers. I thought about upping the ante but wondered if there was much point. Betty had tried to protect the library’s contents with wards so deadly, they’d nearly taken me out months after her death, but it hadn’t been enough; the MacGuffin and the books were gone, taken by one of the two people Betty thought she could trust. Malcolm’s wards would knock out anyone who tried to get into the library. At this point, doing more seemed like closing the proverbial barn door long after the horses were gone.
Malcolm finished his work. “What do you think?” he asked, gesturing with both hands at the room.
“Looks damn good.” I stepped over the threshold. “I had a thought. Can you add to the containment spell and make this a ‘safe’ room for Natalie?”
Malcolm frowned. “What are you thinking?”
“Here’s what I want. If Natalie’s magic breaks free of her binding spells, I’m wondering if we can set a containment spell so she could come in here. The spell would confine her magic and keep her from either destroying the house or attracting unwanted attention, and then drain her magic into the wards.”
Malcolm was thinking. “So long as she doesn’t touch the wards and accidentally null them, it will work. I can do it. It’s going to take some time, though.”
“Sean and I are going to check out Peter Eppright and see if he’s our mage. Why don’t I leave you here to work on the spells and we’ll be back?”
Malcolm looked surprised and then nervous. I realized we hadn’t parted company since he’d popped into my office two days ago. “You can sense me wherever I am, right?” I asked.
He nodded slowly. “You’re like a beacon, but then again, I’ve never been very far from you.”
“I know, but distance shouldn’t matter. I speak from experience on this one. We could be in different states and you’d still be able to find me without too much trouble.”
Malcolm looked a little less anxious. “Okay. No problem. We have to get used to this sometime.” He sounded like he was talking to himself more than me. “Go on and go. I’ll work on these wards while you’re gone.”
“Okay. Back soon.”
I stepped out of the library and led Sean back down the hall to the living room, where Natalie sat on the couch with a cat in her lap. I told her Malcolm was staying to work on the library wards.
“Should I go back there and keep him company?”
I shook my head. “He’s going to be focused for a while. He might come back in here when he’s done, though. Hopefully he doesn’t scare you too badly when he does.”
Natalie laughed. “I’ll have to remember he’s here so I don’t do anything embarrassing.”
I grabbed my bag and headed out with Sean. I went to my trunk, opened it, and dug around in the large duffel I keep back there as an emergency disguise kit. I swapped out my crystal jewelry for a nice pair of gold hoop earrings. From inside a zippered pouch, I pulled out a sparkly ring and slipped it onto my left hand.
Sean looked at the ring. “You keep a spare engagement ring in your trunk?”
“It’s just cubic zirconia. I had to investigate a bridal shop a few months ago.” I closed the trunk and we got in my car.
I followed the GPS instructions across the city to Eppright Insurance and parked in front of the next building over.
“We keep the story simple,” I said as we walked toward his office. “Just got engaged a month ago and moved to the city from Los Angeles. I’ll do the emergency phone call ruse if he gets too pushy.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Sean opened the door and we stepped inside Eppright Insurance.
Chapter 13
A young brunette receptionist with a name tag identifying her as Mandy sat behind a large L-shaped desk right beside the door. A man and a woman in business casual chatted near the door of an open office. No one else waited in the lobby, but I could hear voices down the hall.
“Hi, can I help you?” Mandy asked.
“I’m Audrey Talbot,” I said. “We have a two o’clock appointment?”
“Of course!” Mandy grabbed a clipboard and some forms and handed them to me with a smile. “Have a seat in the lobby and fill these out so Mr. Eppright has a better idea of your needs, and he’ll call you in a few minutes.”
I took the clipboard and went to sit in the small lobby. Sean got two cups of water from the cooler and came to sit next to me as I tapped the pen and looked over the questionnaire.
“Seems pretty standard,” Sean said, glancing at the paperwork.
I started filling out our fake contact information, then moved on to the more detailed questions. As I was reaching the end of the questionnaire, a man’s deep voice said, “Sean? Audrey?”
We looked up. Peter Eppright wore a button-up shirt, slacks, and designer shoes. He glanced at me, then focused his attention on Sean, beaming and holding out his hand. At another time, being dismissed might have annoyed me, but in this scenario, having Eppright’s attention on Sean would work in my favor. While he was busy schmoozing with my fake fiancé, I would be taking the measure of his magic.
He shook Sean’s hand first, then turned to me, almost as an afterthought.
I lowered my shields, smiled brightly, and reached out. His handshake was strong. A frisson of familiar magic trickled over my hand: air and fire, but only a trace. I drew on it gently. Eppright’s smile faltered, as if he’d sensed something, but when I withdrew and raised my shields, it was back up to full strength. The entire exchange took about three seconds.
“Please follow me,” Eppright said, gesturing at the hallway. Sean and I fell in step behind him as he led us past cubicles and offices to the end of the hall and a large corner office. “Have a seat.” We settled into the guest chairs while he sat
behind his desk.
I wanted to parse what I’d sensed about Peter Eppright’s magic, but first I had a part to play. “Thanks so much for seeing us today,” I said to Natalie’s uncle, handing over our clipboard. “We didn’t get quite all the way through.”
“No problem, no problem,” Eppright said, waving it away as unimportant. “It’s just to give me an idea of what we might able to do for you.” He looked over the questionnaire, and I took the opportunity to think about what I’d felt.
There was no doubt he was Betty’s son. His magic felt very similar to hers, but was it the same magical signature from the library wards and the spell on the secret compartment? Perhaps, but he had so little magical energy, it was practically nonexistent. The signature in the wards felt strong. Still, I wasn’t ready to dismiss Eppright as a suspect quite yet.
Eppright finished reading through the questionnaire. He must have liked what he saw, because he leaned forward in his chair. “I can see you are building a wonderful life together,” he said, looking at my ring and then back at Sean. “And you need to protect everything you’ve both worked so hard for. I’m sure I can set you up with the best policies so you can sleep well at night knowing you’re safe.”
“We’re just getting moved in,” Sean lied with a smile so charming that even Eppright seemed to fall under its spell. “We don’t have a whole lot of time here today because we have to be at another appointment by three o’clock, but we wanted to meet you and see if this was the right agency to handle our insurance needs.”
Eppright’s eyes widened. We’d dangled a tantalizing prize in front of him to get us in the door, and he had no intention of letting us walk out without signing on the dotted line.
Sure enough, Eppright quickly reached into his desk and started pulling out forms. “Well, we can certainly start by discussing home coverage and make a follow-up appointment for a complete review.”
Sean leaned back comfortably and propped one ankle on his knee, fingers laced over his flat stomach. Eppright sucked in his gut and I hid my smile behind my water cup.
“I’m sure you understand this is not the kind of decision a man in my position is going to make in a half hour,” Sean said to Eppright, still with that easygoing smile. “Our assets are extensive. We met with Rick Marshall yesterday.”
I didn’t know who that was, but Eppright’s face went grim at the name.
“I have to be honest with you, though; I wasn’t all that impressed with him,” Sean added. The insurance agent relaxed. “My friends in town speak highly of you, Peter, and I’d like to think I’m a good judge of character.”
“What business are you in, Sean?” Eppright asked.
“Risk management,” Sean replied without missing a beat. “So, as you might imagine, I’m a cautious man. After all, there’s nothing more important than protecting what’s mine.” He gave my hand an affectionate pat. He noticed my eyes narrow minutely, and the corners of his mouth twitched. “Tell me about your services,” Sean urged.
Eppright launched into a lengthy recitation of the various types of products offered by his company. My eyes glazed over almost immediately, but Sean looked engrossed, asking questions and making notes on his fancy phone. While Eppright was intently focused on selling Sean on his company, I eased my shields open and focused on Natalie’s uncle.
His air and fire magic were nearly identical to the magical signature in the library wards at Natalie’s house, but something about it felt off. It wasn’t exactly the same, I decided. It was a subtle difference, like having more versus less cinnamon in a recipe. Whoever the unknown mage was, it was someone closely related to Eppright, but it wasn’t him.
I raised my shields. I didn’t realize I sighed in relief until I noticed Eppright and Sean were looking at me. Sean’s eyebrows were raised.
“Sorry,” I murmured, rubbing my forehead. “I’ve suddenly got the worst headache.”
“Oh, babe,” Sean said, and the way he said it made me feel warm all the way down to my toes. “I’m sorry,” he said to Eppright. “She’s not feeling well. Can we continue this conversation another day? I need to take care of my fiancée.”
Eppright looked disappointed but forced a smile. “Of course. I hope you feel better soon.”
“Thank you,” I said.
We got up to leave, but Eppright turned to his computer, clicking quickly. “I have a few appointments open tomorrow and Monday,” he told Sean. “What time would be convenient for you to come back?”
Sean glanced at me. I tried to telegraph to him with my eyes that Eppright was not our guy. He gave me a nearly imperceptible nod. “We are booked solid until next week,” he told Eppright. “But we have next Thursday afternoon open.”
Eppright clicked keys. “Thursday at one, then?”
“Absolutely.” Sean pretended to note the appointment in his phone.
“I hope I can count on you not to make any final decisions until we get a chance to really talk,” Eppright said with an amiable smile and reached out for a handshake.
Sean shook his hand and I followed suit. The mage who’d been in Natalie’s house had been strong. With my shields up, I felt no magic from Eppright at all. We could cross him off our list of suspects.
Eppright led us back down the hall to the lobby. I feigned my headache until we were out the front door.
Once we were inside the car, Sean said, “No joy?”
I explained what I’d felt from Eppright. “So it’s going to be someone close to him, but it’s not him,” Sean said.
“Pretty much.” I turned the key in the ignition.
“Well, we couldn’t expect it to be the first person on the list,” Sean said with far too much cheer. “That would have been too easy. At least I only had to sit through about ten minutes of sales pitch before you got us out of there.”
I winced. “Sorry about that.”
He grinned. “It’s okay. I’ll let you make it up to me at some point.” His eyes glinted and my cheeks got hot. “It drives me crazy when you blush,” he said and leaned over to kiss me. I lost track of time for a bit.
When we came up for air, I was out of breath. “You’re pretty good at this undercover stuff,” I told him. “Who was that guy you baited him with?”
“Huh? Oh, Rick Marshall.” Sean shrugged. “He owns one of the big insurance agencies in town. We talked to them about insurance back when Ron and I started our company. So who do we want next?”
I pulled out Natalie’s list. “How about Kathy the real estate agent? Fancy a look at a nice three-bedroom, two-bath in a good school district?” I typed Kathy’s name into Google.
“Met you two days ago, and now we’re engaged and house-hunting. My mama warned me about women like you,” Sean teased.
I snorted. “Please. Your mama didn’t know there were women like me out there, or she’d have never let you out of the….” My voice drifted off and I stared at my phone.
“What?” Sean asked.
I held up my phone so he could see it, and he whistled. “We’re gonna need a change of clothes,” he said. “And we need to switch cars.”
*
The type of homes Kathy Adams sold were not the kind I would ever be in the market for. All of the houses listed on her website were valued at two million dollars and up.
Sean and I looked over the listings and chose a lovely mansion in a gated community—three stories, six bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, listed for almost three million dollars. Lower-end, by Kathy’s standards, but it looked like it had been listed for a while, and that probably meant she’d jump at the chance to get it sold.
I called Kathy’s office and got put through to her assistant. I introduced myself as Audrey Keller and told her my fiancé and I were very interested in the house but we’d need to see it soon, preferably today. The assistant perked right up, and in a moment I was speaking to Kathy herself.
“I am so glad to hear you’re interested in the Cherry Tree Lane property,” Kathy told m
e. “My afternoon is pretty packed—”
“I know this is late notice, but my fiancé and I are taking the jet back to LA tonight—”
“—but I’ve just had a cancellation at four thirty,” she said quickly. “Will that work for you?”
I checked the time. It would be tight, but we could make it. “Yes. Shall we meet you at the house?”
“Absolutely! I will see you then!”
Kathy hung up. I threw the car into reverse. “Are we closer to your house or mine?”
“Yours,” Sean said. “Let’s roll.”
I broke every speed limit on the way to my house. When we arrived, I whipped into my driveway, parked, and dashed to the front door. I got the wards down and the door open in record time, then sprinted up the stairs. I went to my closet, grabbed my Armani suit and my Louboutin heels and handbag, and went to the bathroom. I stripped, refreshed my makeup, put on red lipstick, dabbed on some perfume, and changed my hairstyle from a french braid to a french twist. I swapped out my jewelry for real diamond earrings, then put on the suit and stepped into the heels.
I glanced in the mirror. The suit was dark blue pinstripe, and I wore it with a scoop-neck off-white silk top. Not bad for a ten-minute change. I blotted my lipstick and headed out.
Sean was waiting by the front door. When I appeared on the stairs, he looked positively gobsmacked. I grinned and headed down the steps, one hand on the railing for balance in the four-inch heels.
When I got to the bottom, I struck a pose. “Do I clean up good?”
“You look beautiful.” I liked the way he looked at me when he said it.
I headed for the door, keys in hand. “Should we pick up your car next, or head to your place?”
“Let’s get the car. It’s on the way to my house. You want to ride with me to my place, or drive separately?”
“I’ll ride with you.” I locked up, raised the wards, and we were off to Natalie’s.
At Natalie’s house, we moved our stuff to Sean’s car and took off. As he drove, I transferred my wallet and a few key items from the messenger bag to the handbag. It appeared Sean lived near Hawthorne’s in The Heights.
