The office was surrounded by windows and the occupant of the office next door hadn’t closed their shades. The neighboring office was roughly the same size as Agent Bramble’s and contained the same SPA-issued furniture. That was where the similarities ended. In stark contrast to Agent Bramble’s order and neatness, the office next door was a disaster area. Cartons from local eateries littered the desktop, which was completely covered with stacks and piles of paperwork. Two file boxes sat at the edge of the desk, but if there was a system in place, it would be impossible to follow as each of them was stuffed to bursting.
A dark coat hung on the back of the chair, indicating the occupant was somewhere nearby. It looked like the one Agent Mache had worn to the initial interview. If I was Agent Bramble, I would pull the shades on my own side of the shared wall so I wouldn’t have to look at the mess all day. I wasn’t by any stretch a neat freak, but it was impossible to look at the mess and not want to snap on a pair of rubber gloves and get to work clearing the clutter.
I was still frowning at the empty office when I sensed movement behind me. I swiveled around in my chair just as Agent Bramble entered the room. Her appearance was just as orderly as her office. Both her fitted tweed skirt and the long-sleeved, eggplant blouse were wrinkle-free and looked as though they’d come straight from the dry cleaner. There were spells that could be applied to clothing to render them resistant to stains, wrinkles, stretching, or shrinking; however, those charms were only accessible to the wealthiest of supers. I didn’t know the specifics of an SPA officer’s salary, but I imagined it wouldn’t go very far toward having a witch or wizard enchant your entire wardrobe. Additionally, there was something about Agent Bramble that told me she enjoyed the process of treating her own clothing, that perhaps that’s what she looked forward to doing on an otherwise lazy Saturday afternoon.
“I apologize for the delay, Ms. Boldt,” she said, taking her seat behind the desk. She reached up and smoothed her long fingers over her slicked-back bun and then retrieved a large pad of paper from the top desk drawer. She placed it before her and reached back into the drawer for a pen.
“You can call me Holly. If you’d like.”
“That’s all right,” she said. With a click, she lowered the pen to the page and took down a few notes. “Now, the main reason I wanted to see you today is in regards to your plans. In order to assign you a new case worker, we need to know what you plan to do now that your temporary banishment has been lifted.”
I drew my eyebrows together as I watched her scribble notes. “What about Harvey?”
She lifted her eyes but kept her pen poised against the page. “What about him?”
“Well I mean, is he, has there been—” I stopped and gave a slight shake of my head, refocusing my thoughts. “I assumed this meeting was to talk about his murder.”
Agent Bramble straightened and lowered her pen. “Have you thought of any other pertinent details?”
“Uh, well no.”
She gave me a confused look. “Then what would there be to talk about?”
I drew in a quick breath and twisted my hands together in my lap. “I want to help. That’s all, Agent Bramble.”
“We appreciate that, Ms. Boldt. And of course, if there is anything you have to share, we are open to meeting at any time to discuss it. However, for now, that’s all out of our hands. It’s being investigated to the best of the SPAs abilities.”
Right. It was a brush off. Ever so polite, but it stung all the same. Harvey’s murder was too personal for me to simply walk away.
“I would like to be kept in the loop,” I said forcefully. “We still don’t know what that note meant. It could very well have something to do with me. He was with me right before he was poisoned. What if I’m the ally it was referring to?”
Agent Bramble plucked her pen up again. “You think you might be a target? Is that what you’re saying?”
“I don’t know. It all feels a little too strange. The timing, I mean. He was supposed to testify for me and then he gets this mystery call and the next thing we know, he’s dead.”
“I’m sure that was nothing but an unfortunate coincidence. However, I will pass along your concerns to the agents and officers investigating the case.”
There was more that I wanted to say—to argue—but Agent Bramble’s gaze drifted back to her paperwork.
“Now, back to the topic at hand,” she said, starting to write again. “Are you planning to move back to the Seattle haven? Or will you remain in—” She glanced over the papers, her eyebrows furrowed.
“Beechwood Harbor,” I supplied.
“Yes.” She wrote it down.
“I don’t have plans to move back to the haven anytime soon. Without my potions license, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense.”
She glanced up at the note of disappointment in my voice. “Right.”
“My lawyer, Teddy, is trying to get a second hearing, but I’m not getting my hopes up.”
She gave a quiet nod. “Probably for the best. I’ll put down that you’re staying in Beechwood Harbor.”
We fell silent as she took down some additional notes. I vaguely wondered what she was writing down. As I waited, my eyes drifted back to the pig sty next door.
“Where’s Agent Mache?” I asked her.
“Oh, out campaigning for his new job, I’d imagine.” There was a sharp edge, almost a tartness, to her reply but as soon as the words echoed back to her, her dark eyes snapped to mine. “I mean, he’s very busy. We all are.”
Curiosity uncurled inside my stomach but I ignored it. Agent Bramble didn’t seem like the type who would take kindly to any sort of prodding.
“Remind me what it is you do for work, Ms. Boldt? It says here that you work in a restaurant. Is that still correct?”
I nodded, not bothering to differentiate between a coffee shop and a restaurant. What difference did it really make in the end? As long as I wasn’t using magic on the job, the SPA really couldn’t care less what I did upon waking each day. I could be a snow cone vendor in the arctic and they wouldn’t care. Agent Bramble asked a few other basic questions and then explained that I should have a new case worker assigned to me by the end of the week.
Agent Bramble said goodbye and herded me out of her office. I thanked her for her help and then asked to be pointed toward the nearest restroom. She rattled off the directions and then quickly ducked away, closing the door behind her.
After a quick trip to the restroom, I wove back through the corridors and ended up in the same hallway as Agent Bramble’s office. The door had been reopened and from the end of the hall and I could see someone standing in the doorway, halfway in and halfway out of her office. My footsteps slowed as I neared her open door.
Agent Bramble’s voice filtered out into the hall. “—don’t think it’s proper. It hasn’t even been a week! I always knew he was an ambitious man, but this is extreme even for him.”
The second voice made a sympathetic noise.
“And before anyone goes around saying I’m jealous, I’m not! I have no desire to take Colepepper’s place. This isn’t about politics or my estimation of Mache’s qualifications. It’s a matter of propriety and not looking like we are all a bunch of sharks in the water!”
My eyes widened at Agent Bramble’s adamant words. It hadn’t even occurred to me that Harvey’s death would leave a desirable job vacancy inside the SPA. I only had a fragment of an idea as to the inner workings of the elite office, but as I hurried toward the elevator bank, I wondered for the first time if maybe Harvey’s killer wasn’t motivated by revenge or anger but rather a desire to move up the SPA ladder. Maybe someone had wanted Harvey out of his prestigious office. Permanently.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
After leaving the SPA building I wandered through the haven. I didn’t talk to anyone but observed the comings and goings as the afternoon wound down and local restaurants ramped up for the impending dinner rush. As savory scents poured into the streets I
remembered my own evening plans and headed back to the SPA building to use the portal to get back to Beechwood Harbor. I’d been granted permission to use the portal for the duration of the investigation and planned to use it as much as possible. One step through a doorway and I was transported to the root cellar of a quaint bungalow on Thirteenth Street within the blink of an eye.
Adam was jogging down the stairs when I pushed through the front door of the manor. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans, a navy blue t-shirt, and his signature black leather jacket. He flashed a wide grin at me. “Perfect timing, Gorgeous. Hey, would you mind if Evie and Teddy tagged along with us to dinner? Kind of a double date if you will.” He wiggled his eyebrows, obviously quite impressed with his own detective skills.
“That’s fine,” I replied, kicking out of my shoes.
“How was the meeting?”
“Just dandy.”
“Holls … .”
I glanced over at him. He was sitting on the bottom steps, lacing up his boots. He paused. “What happened?”
“It was a total waste of time. She didn’t have any information about Harvey and when I asked, she basically told me that it isn’t any of my business, which is obviously ridiculous. Of course it’s my business!”
“What did she want then?”
“To ask me about my plans for the future. You know, now that I’m only a mild social pariah instead of a full-blown fugitive or whatever.”
Adam pushed to his feet. “Come here.”
I shook my head. “I’m fine. Let me go get changed so we can leave.”
Adam sighed but didn’t push it as I hurried past him to the hall that led to my room. It was the only bedroom on the first floor. Lacey, Evangeline, and Adam were all housed upstairs. Boots unfolded himself from a pile of clothes on the end of the bed and blinked up at me as I pushed into the room. Normally, he was a miniature bulldozer when I came home, but apparently he’d been too busy napping to bother with it tonight. I stroked his fur and he burst into a loud, echoing purr. The sound soothed the edges of my frayed nerves and I allowed myself a moment to sit beside him before getting ready.
“I don’t even know what’s wrong with me, Bootsie.” I chewed on my lower lip and stared blankly out the windows that lined the opposite wall. They looked out over the generous side yard, a thatch of pristinely kept grass with a large rose bed that hedged the section of wrap-around porch. The door that led out to the porch was in the study that adjoined my bedroom. None of us used the study, mostly because Posy liked it when she was in a dark mood, which, to be honest, was the majority of the time. If things were really bad, she’d be in the attic.
“Do you think we should go back to the haven?” I asked Boots, dropping my gaze to the orange ball.
He rolled to his back and stretched his expansive stomach into the air.
I rolled my eyes but smiled to myself as I granted his unspoken request for belly rubs. “Oh to have the life of a cat.”
His eyes slid shut. Clearly not in a helpful mood.
His purring slowed as he fell back to sleep and I stood to change into a cyan knee-length sweater-dress, black leggings, and a pair of chocolate-colored suede booties. I layered a chunky statement necklace over the cowl neck of the dress, keeping the Larkspur tucked underneath. For a moment, I thought about calling upon Grandmother Honeysuckle. She had recently proved more and more useful when I hit bumps or was in full-blown crisis mode. However, regardless of her improved batting average, it still took way too long to cut through her preamble and get to the heart of the advice. I wasn’t in the mood to try to pry her off the topic of my love life, not to mention the amount of time it took to gently remind her of my identity every time we spoke!
No, Grandmother Honeysuckle was a last resort and I wasn’t quite that desperate yet. Not to mention I now had three people waiting on me for dinner.
I slicked on a layer of lip gloss, freed my auburn from its braid, teased out the soft waves that remained, and went to meet the rest of my dinner companions in the foyer.
Adam gave me a concerned look but I smiled and he relaxed and offered me his elbow. “You look beautiful, Holly.”
Evangeline and Teddy smiled at us. “Thanks for letting us tag along,” Teddy said, one of his hands going to rest on the small of Evangeline’s back. “I think we all need a night out on the town.”
Evangeline smiled at her friend—or date—or whatever he was. “Agreed, and Holly, please tell me I can borrow that dress sometime! It’s gorgeous.”
I laughed. “Of course.”
Evangeline was dressed casually—well, casual for her—in a pair of skinny jeans and a bright jewel-tone top that looked even more vibrant against her caramel-colored skin. She always looked amazing in rich or splashy colors.
She and Teddy made an attractive couple. He was wearing a dove grey three-piece suit, as was his custom. His hair was pushed back from his face with a layer of gel that glistened as he moved under the light cast down from the large chandelier that hung over the foyer. The two of them looked like they should be modeling together in a department store catalog.
Evangeline smiled as Teddy moved her to the door and helped her into a long black coat that reached mid-calf. I tugged on my own coat and let Adam usher me out the door.
“Adam said you went to the haven today?” Evangeline started as we walked down the steps and toward the sidewalk. McNally’s was close enough that it didn’t make sense to drive.
“It was a whole lot of nothing,” I said. “Agent Bramble is basically playing matchmaker to find me a new case worker and wanted to know what my plans are now that I’m able to return to the haven.”
“Oh?” Evangeline gave Adam a curious look. “I didn’t want to pry, but what are your plans?”
“I don’t really know yet. I’m know I’m not planning to move back to the haven.” I stepped onto the sidewalk, careful not to scuff my boots in the gravel. “At least not now.”
Adam glanced at me but said nothing.
“Hang in there,” Teddy said, offering a reassuring smile. “We’ll get a second hearing and get you back on the track you want.”
I nodded and tried to return his friendly smile but it was fleeting.
Conversation faded as we neared the restaurant. Adam held the door open and we all shuffled inside. McNally’s is something of a local watering hole and most of the faces gathered around the tables and along the bar were locals. Some offered quiet nods or looks of recognition as we entered. It was strange that a group of supernaturals could blend in so well.
If only they knew ... .
I thought back to when Gabriel and I had been together. He’d always been something of an outcast in haven society, which you would have thought should have been a red flag. However, I’d been an outcast all my life, so it didn’t seem so odd to me. The stigma attached to my last name, thanks to my family heritage, was not easy to overcome. I’d never been able to walk around the haven with my head held high, not a care in the world. I’d always secretly worried that people were talking about me behind my back, and it was a given that other witches and wizards were going to judge me as soon as they learned my family name.
It was ironic that the only place where I could finally shrug all that off my shoulders was in a tiny little coastal town made up mostly of humans who had no idea that magic was real, let alone knew that several supernatural beings lived and worked in their sleepy community on a daily basis. There was something comforting about living under the radar. It allowed me to truly be the best version of myself. In that light, I wondered why I would ever consider returning to the haven. Why would I want to subject myself to living among those who thought of me as a second-class citizen simply because I’d been born into a notorious bloodline?
Adam took my hand when the chirpy hostess announced that our table was ready. I tucked away the thoughts and smiled, my mind suddenly lighter as we wound through the dining room to a table in the far corner.
Once we were seated,
the conversation turned to Harvey’s murder and whether or not I’d gathered any more information since the initial meeting with the SPA agents. Teddy was the one most interested in the case and asked a series of questions. “They didn’t say anything about the case when you were at headquarters today?”
“Nothing more than the standard boiler-plate speech.” I shook my head and used my straw to stab at the slice of lemon bobbing along with the ice cubes in my iced tea. “I got the feeling that I wasn’t welcome to ask a lot of questions about it. Something strange did happen though.” I recounted the snippet of conversation I’d overheard before leaving, as well as the comment Agent Bramble had made about Agent Mache campaigning for Harvey’s job.
“That was the word she used?” Teddy asked. “Campaigning?”
“Yeah.” I tilted my head at him. “It seemed odd somehow.”
“Also a little soon,” Teddy added as our server delivered our salads.
“What exactly was Harvey’s title?” Evangeline asked me. She was delicately picking her way through her house salad, separating the tomatoes from the pile of greens. “I always forget to ask them to leave them off,” she added, mostly to herself.
I shrugged. “I never really asked. But I can tell you one thing: from looking at the office spaces alone, it’s obvious now that Harvey was somewhere near the top of the food chain.”
Evangeline frowned up at me. “I always thought he was … well I don’t know, just a regular agent. Why would you be assigned to such a big wig?”
Adam leaned in conspiratorially and flashed a wicked grin. “Secretly, Holly’s a government-sanctioned assassin.”
I bit out a laugh. “Right. And my weapons of choice? Plants and pastries?”
Witch Way Home: A Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery (Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries Book 4) Page 8
