The Detective Wins The Witch (Nocturne Falls Book 10)

by Kristen Painter

  “Me either.” She tucked it back into her pocket. “I have a friend here in town who does. I was hoping you could help Leah mind the store while I go see her this morning.”

  “Yeah, sure. But I don’t like the idea of you going by yourself.”

  “I’ll be fine. I appreciate your concern, but nothing happened last night, right?”

  “Actually…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Do any of your neighbors own a dark sedan?”

  Marigold squinted a little as she thought. “Silver Camry, blue Explorer, black Tahoe, silver F-150, tan Pacifica…and one yellow Corvette. Nope, no dark sedans.” Then she squinted at him. “Why?”

  So much for not telling her. “There was a dark sedan a few doors down from your house last night. I rolled by your place, then ran the block and came back. When I pulled into your driveway, the sedan took off.”

  “Oh…crap.”

  He nodded. “So I’d really prefer if you not go see your friend alone.”

  She nodded. “Agreed. But the bookends are here. I’m not sure how I feel about you coming with me and leaving Leah alone with them.”

  “Is Newt coming to get them today?”

  “Yes. Right before lunch.”

  “And when are you going to see your friend?”

  “Pretty much now.”

  “Is there anyone else you can call to sit with Leah? Can that woman Birdie get a deputy to come up here? Just the visual of a patrol car parked out front would go a long way.”

  Marigold picked up her phone off the worktable. “That’s a great idea. Birdie can get anything done.”

  Taking Wyatt with her to see Willa wasn’t Marigold’s ideal plan, but she didn’t want to go without him either. Not after what he’d told her about the car parked outside her house last night. What if those men showed up again? She’d much rather have Wyatt at her side.

  She also liked being with him. The way he looked at her, the way he wanted to take care of her. She was happier around him than she’d been in a long time, and he made her feel special.

  Feeling safe was just an added bonus.

  She felt safe with Deputy Jenna Blythe at the shop, too. Besides being an outstanding officer of the law, Jenna was an honest-to-goodness valkyrie. Leah looked up to her like she was Wonder Woman. As a result, the two got on pretty well.

  As Marigold and Wyatt walked, she pondered her new problem. How could she buy some private time with Willa to discuss the magic surrounding the pendant? She had an idea, but she wasn’t sure if Wyatt would see through it or not. If he went for it, she and Willa would be able to talk about the pendant’s magic without spilling the beans in front of him.

  But just in case her plan didn’t work, she’d also texted Willa that the man with her was human.

  Talking about the pendant in front of Wyatt wouldn’t help much, though. Marigold needed to know what powers this thing had.

  As they got closer to Illusions, Willa’s jewelry store, Wyatt seemed to be scanning their surroundings and assessing every person they passed. It was obvious that he hadn’t lost any of the skills he’d learned in the police department.

  “That’s the shop up ahead.” Marigold angled her head toward Illusions. That felt more discreet than pointing just in case someone was watching them. “I was thinking once we go in and I introduce you to Willa, you might want to come back out and do a perimeter check. The way you did at my house.”

  He nodded. “I was planning on doing that, actually. Does she have a back entrance the way your shop does?”

  He’d bitten. That had gone easier than expected. “Yes, but it’s unmarked as an extra safety precaution. And it’s always locked. It’s the door under the steps that lead to the apartment upstairs. She lives up there. For now.”

  “For now?”

  “When she and her fiancé get married in two weeks, they’re going to move into his house. Not sure what she’ll do about the apartment. Maybe keep it.” Marigold shrugged. “It was kind of a package deal with the shop.”

  He was still studying every face that came by. “Seems like an unnecessary expense. Especially for newlyweds.”

  “I think she can afford it. She was the queen of—” Marigold shut her mouth. She couldn’t very well explain that Willa had very briefly once been the Queen of Rhoswynn, the fae kingdom hidden in the mountains of Arkansas.

  “The queen of what?” Wyatt asked.

  Crappity crap. Think fast. “The queen of jewelry design. Her stuff is really sought after.” Wow, worst save ever.

  “She was the queen of jewelry design?” Wyatt stopped looking at the passersby long enough to glance at Marigold. His expression said he thought something wasn’t right about that answer. Him and his dang gut instincts.

  “Well, the shop keeps her so busy. I don’t think she pursues the competitions and stuff like she used to.” Marigold hurried forward to grab the door to Illusions and pull it open. “Here we are!”

  Thankfully. Her ability to cover her slipups was horrible. And frankly, she hated lying to him. She wanted to tell him everything. She was just a little scared. Okay, maybe a lot scared.

  But there would be time for truth telling later. Much later.

  With Wyatt following, she went inside, blinking at the cool air and glittering showcases. Illusions was one of the best places in town to window shop. So many pretties. There were no customers in the shop yet, just Willa and one of her employees, Ramona.

  Ramona was a brownie and a bit of a flirt. Marigold gave both women a little wave. “Hi, Willa. Hi, Ramona.”

  Ramona was cleaning the glass top and front of one of the showcases. “Hey, Marigold. How are you?”

  “Great, thanks.”

  Willa came out from behind the counter. “Good morning, Marigold.”

  “Morning, Willa. Thanks for making time for me.”

  “Of course.”

  Marigold put her hand on Wyatt’s arm. “This is Wyatt West, the guy I was telling you about. Wyatt, this is Willa Iscove, my friend and the best jeweler in town.”

  He nodded at Willa. “Nice to meet you.” Then he grinned at Marigold. “You were telling her about me?”

  “Maybe a little. Settle down.” She winked at him.

  Ramona was giving Wyatt an approving gaze, then she caught Marigold watching her and grinned. “You go, girl.”

  Marigold laughed softly. She wanted to tell Ramona she was, but thought that might embarrass Wyatt.

  “Why don’t you come into my office?” Willa gestured toward the back room, visible slightly through an open door. A big window next to the door looked like a mirror, but it was actually two-way glass that allowed whoever was in the office to keep an eye on the shop. “I’ll see what I can do to help.”

  Wyatt jerked his thumb toward the outside. “I’m going to make sure everything’s good with a once around, then I’ll be back in.”

  “Perfect.” Willa smiled. “We’ll see you in a few then.”

  He left and Marigold followed Willa into the office. Marigold pulled the pendant from her pocket even before Willa had the door shut.

  As the pendant swung free, Jasper, Willa’s cat who often came to work with her, hissed from his spot on her desk. He sat up and let out a low yowl, swatting at the eye-shaped medallion. The hair ridged up along his back.

  “Wow, he doesn’t like this thing at all, does he?” Marigold asked.

  “Now, now, Jasper. It’s not going to hurt you,” Willa said. She put her hand on his back to calm him down as she spoke to Marigold. “That’s not a good sign.”

  “No, it’s not. Animals can sense dark magic. Some witches even keep pets for that reason. As a sort of first-alert system against hexes and such.”

  “Interesting,” Willa said. “Did Frank react to it?”

  Marigold shook her head. “No, Frank didn’t have any response to it. Although he hissed at the picture of the bookends this was hidden in. He saw it on my phone. But the pendant itself…” She thought for a moment. “I think
he was asleep in the shop window when I had the pendant out this morning. And I was in the back room.”

  “Enough distance that it may not have registered. Especially if he was sleeping.” Willa held her hand out. “Let’s have a look before Wyatt comes back in.”

  Marigold held it out.

  With a throaty growl, Jasper jumped down and ran into the front of the store.

  Willa glanced at him. “He really doesn’t like this thing.” She took the amulet. “And I understand why. I can feel the magic in the metal. Feels prickly. Like dark magic would.”

  “That confirms what I felt.” Marigold exhaled. This just got better and better. “Do you have any idea what it does? Is it for protection against something? Is it cursed?”

  Willa turned it over, looking closer. “It’s sterling. The stone is golden topaz. You can tell Wyatt that much. Tell him too that I’m going to research it some more. See if I can find out when it was made and by whom.”

  “Sounds good. Now, what else can you tell me?”

  Willa closed her hands around the pendant and went silent for a moment. Then she shook her head. “This isn’t fae magic. This is strictly witchcraft. Old witchcraft. There might be blood magic involved, too, but I imagine one of your coven members could answer that better than I.”

  Marigold grimaced. Blood magic wasn’t always dark, it depended on the spell and the intent. But when it was used in dark magic, it was bad news. “This is so not my area. Plants, sure, all day long, but this kind of stuff? Nope. I need to talk to my mother about this. And soon. Like, I should go now.”

  Wyatt walked in. “Go where?”

  Willa glanced at Marigold as she handed the pendant back. “I should go find Jasper before he crawls into one of the showcases and takes a nap in it.”

  “Who’s Jasper?” he asked as Willa left.

  “Her cat.” Marigold stuck the eye pendant into her pocket. She didn’t like having it so close to her knowing what might have been involved in its creation, but she couldn’t explain that to Wyatt either. So into her pocket it went.

  He glanced back toward the storefront. “She has a shop cat too? Is that a thing here? I know it is in some places. New Orleans has some shop cats.”

  “Jasper isn’t really a shop cat. He’s Willa’s pet, he just comes into work with her a lot. Since she lives upstairs and all.”

  Wyatt nodded. “So what did you find out?”

  “Willa couldn’t tell me much about the pendant, unfortunately.” Not much that she could share with him. “She did say it’s sterling and the stone in the center is a golden topaz.”

  “Sounds fancy. Did she say what she thinks it’s worth?”

  “She’s going to do some research on it. See if the age of it and the designer affects its value.” She had to get to her mother. And she had to do it without telling Wyatt why. She contemplated putting the truth out there, but if he freaked out, she was going to be on her own for this. She didn’t want to lose him.

  Not when there was so much possibility for them. Not when she was sure she could find a way to explain who she really was in time. When he loved her and wouldn’t care.

  “What’s going on?” he asked with that keen look in his eyes. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  She shook her head and forced a smile she didn’t quite feel. “I need to run down to see my mom. Wedding stuff. Do you mind?”

  “Not at all. In fact, I can go over to Guildman’s and pick up my clothes while you talk to her.”

  Her smile turned genuine. That worked out well. “Perfect. Let’s go. I don’t want to leave Deputy Blythe on flower shop duty for too long.”

  They said goodbye and hit the sidewalk again. This time, Wyatt reached over and took her hand.

  He glanced at her. “Is that okay?”

  She smiled and squeezed his hand. “Yes.”

  It was more than okay. It was strange and wonderful and perfect.

  They walked like that all the way to her mom’s shop, then Wyatt kissed her cheek. “I’m only right across the street. Call me if you need me. I’ll be there instantly.”

  “Okay. See you in a few.”

  “You got it.” He headed to Guildman’s, and she went into the bridal shop.

  The soft sounds of conversation reached her ears. Her mother must be busy, but this was an emergency. She followed the voices back to the dressing rooms.

  A young woman was on the podium in one of the many, many dresses the store had available. Marigold smiled. It was impossible not to with a radiant bride in front of her. “Oh, that dress is beautiful.”

  The woman, her entourage, and Corette all turned. “Thank you,” the woman said, smiling. “I think this might be the one.”

  “I can’t imagine a more perfect dress. You look like a million dollars. And I’m so sorry to intrude, but I need to talk to my mom for a couple of minutes. My sister’s getting married tomorrow, and well…” Marigold shrugged and smiled like they would understand. “Wedding stuff.”

  The young woman’s eyes lit up. “Is Corette your mom?”

  Marigold smiled. “Yes.”

  “You lucky duck. And yes, please, go ahead and talk to her. Wedding stuff always comes first,” the young woman said. “I’m going to twirl around in this gown for another ten minutes anyway.”

  Corette walked toward Marigold. She was smiling, but Marigold knew that smile. It was the something-had-better-be-on-fire smile. Corette did not like to be interrupted when she was working with a bride.

  They were back into the main area of the salon before Corette spoke. “What’s going on? Did something happen to Pandora’s flowers?”

  “No, Pandora’s flowers are fine. I just—”

  “Then why did you drag me away from my bride? You know how I feel about that.”

  “I do, but this is very important. We need to go into your office. I don’t think we should talk about this here.”

  “Talk about what?”

  But Marigold was already halfway to her mother’s office. This couldn’t wait. Wyatt would be back soon enough.

  Corette strode after her.

  As soon as her mother was in the office, Marigold shut the door and locked it.

  “What on earth are you—”

  Marigold pulled out the pendant.

  Corette sucked in a sharp breath and put her hand to her heart. “Stars preserve us. Where in all of creation did you get that evil thing? Why do you have that?”

  “Mom, I don’t even know what this is. That’s why I’m here.”

  “You don’t know? I guess that’s good.” Corette swallowed. She’d yet to take her eyes off the pendant.

  “What is it? Tell me.”

  Corette let out a ragged exhale and shook her head. “It’s a tool of evil. A cunning device used to trick and sway. I thought they had all been destroyed, but apparently they weren’t.”

  “Mom, what is it?”

  She swallowed. “That, my dear child, is a piece of blood and ash magic called the jaundiced eye, and it is the worst kind of trouble you can imagine.”

  “The jaundiced eye? Sounds like a disease.”

  Corette frowned. “It’s worse. Whoever wears that pendant gains the ability to see a person’s weaknesses, and the power to use those weaknesses against them. But it takes a little piece of the wearer too, making their own weaknesses worse with each use.”

  “Why would Newt want this? He seems like such a nice old wizard.”

  “Power,” Corette answered. She held out her hand. “You have to give it me.”

  “I can’t. How would I explain that to Wyatt? What good reason do I have to turn it over to you? Unless I tell him the truth.”

  Her mom thought for a few long seconds. “Then tell him the truth.”

  “Right before the rehearsal dinner?”

  “Honey, if he can’t handle it, then he’s not the man for you.”

  “But you’re the one who told me to wait until we were in love.”

  “I kn
ow. And I wish you could. But this…this is a special circumstance. That pendant cannot be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. It needs to be destroyed.”

  “So destroy it.” Marigold held the offensive thing out toward her mom.

  “It’s not that easy. It requires a ritual. You can’t just let that kind of magic loose into the world. I’ll contact the coven, and we’ll start preparations, but there’s no way it can happen before the wedding.”

  “Are you going to tell Alice about this?” Alice Bishop was the head of the coven and the most powerful witch Marigold had ever known. She was responsible for the spell that gave the water of the falls the ability to hide the truth of Nocturne Falls.

  “I have to. We’ll need her for the ritual. Why?”

  “Because she’ll figure out that I’ve told Wyatt the truth.”

  “Don’t worry about that. He’s already shown himself to be a good person. I’m sure he’ll understand once you explain things to him. It won’t be an issue.”

  Corette seemed so sure, but Marigold wasn’t. Finding out the truth of the world, that there were shapeshifters and vampires and witches and a whole host of other creatures who lived and worked alongside you, that wasn’t the kind of thing everyone could accept.

  Wyatt had been a police officer. They relied on truth to do their jobs. Maybe, just maybe he would be okay with it.

  Then again, he’d only just changed his mind about even being in a relationship. What if being in a relationship with a witch (who had a whole witchy family) was more than he could handle?

  Corette put her hand on Marigold’s shoulder. “Do you want to tell him together?”

  “No. If this goes poorly, I’d rather not have witnesses.” She smiled as best she could. “I’ll do it as soon as we get back to the shop.”

  As much as Wyatt would have loved to hang out and chat with Dexter Guildman, he didn’t like leaving Marigold alone. Not even if she was just across the street in her mother’s bridal salon. Where technically she wasn’t alone. But he wasn’t there to protect her.

  And that’s what really bothered him.

  So he hustled through trying on the clothes, which all fit perfectly, then got everything wrapped up and headed back to Ever After.