Miss Frost Cracks A Caper

by Kristen Painter

  Lark’s face was unreadable, then she lifted her chin in an expected gesture of haughtiness. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want you to put yourself out for me. This is all going to work out. I know it will, because I’m innocent and they’re not going to find any real evidence against me.”

  Now who seemed confident? I changed the subject. “Where’s Lance?”

  “They picked him up the same time as me. I guess they’re holding him too, but since they aren’t keeping him here…” She shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe they let him go already.”

  “Right.” I thought some more. “Where in town are you staying?”

  “We’re renting an apartment on Black Cat Boulevard. It’s just down from the coffee shop over there.”

  “Okay, I’ll go over there, see if I can find Lance, and talk to him.” If the sheriff didn’t still have him locked up. “Maybe he knows something.”

  “Thank you,” Lark whispered. There were tears in her voice.

  I wasn’t up for that. Not after the night I’d had. It reminded me of how she’d cried with me in college over losing Cooper. And hindsight had proven that to be a big show. Maybe that sounded unsympathetic of me, but I felt like I was walking on thin ice here. Even if she hadn’t physically taken the jewelry herself, she was involved in this somehow. She had to be. She’d been right in the middle of it.

  Unless I was letting past history cloud my judgment.

  “Will you come back and tell me what you find out?” She clung to the bars. “Will you see if they’ll let me out?”

  “The best I can do is call your parents and ask them to pay your bail. Although I’m not sure we’re at that stage yet.”

  “No.” She backed away from the bars. “I don’t want them to know about this. Not until they absolutely have to. Tell Lance I’m counting the hours until I see him again.”

  “Okay.”

  “Promise me you’ll tell him.”

  “I will. Promise.” Although, ew. I left and rejoined the sheriff in the hall. “Have you already picked up her boyfriend? Lance? Have you talked to him?”

  The sheriff nodded. “He claims he was frozen like everyone else.”

  We walked back to the stairs that led to the station. “Do you believe him?”

  “No.”

  I glanced at the sheriff. “Are you holding him?”

  “For twenty-four hours. That’s all the law allows until we have enough evidence to arrest him. Same with Lark.”

  We started up the steps. “He’s at the station, then.”

  “Yes. And you can’t talk to him.”

  “I wasn’t going to ask.” I had been, but knew my boundaries with the sheriff. Birdie on the other hand… “Did you search the place where they’re staying?”

  “Yes.” The sheriff stopped at the landing and gave me a frustrated look. “Miss Frost, I realize you have a dog in this hunt, but it’s not my first time into the woods. I know how to run an investigation.”

  I held my hands up. The last thing I needed to do was make an enemy of the law. And his analogy was also a pointed way of reminding me he was a werewolf and very capable of handling a supernatural investigation. “You’re right, and I know that. But I can’t help myself.”

  I dropped my hands with a groan. “Elenora hired Lark because of me. So I feel responsible, not just for her diamond being stolen, which is awful, but do you realize some of the pieces my mom and aunt lost have been in our family for nearly a century? They’re not just pretty sparkling things, they’re Winter Court history.”

  His expression softened. “I’ll do my best to keep you in the loop.”

  “Thank you.”

  I skipped attempting to see Lance, instead writing him a quick note with Lark’s words, which Birdie promised to deliver. After that, I got back to my office as quickly as possible so that I could talk to my dad. I didn’t need him any more wound up than he already was. It took him about half a second to answer the snow globe.

  “Are you all right?”

  I nodded. “I am. Really upset. But okay. How are Mom and Aunt Martha?”

  “The same. Upset. As am I.” He sighed, and vapor trails whirled through the air. He was mad, all right.

  “I’m really sorry about all this, Dad. I couldn’t be more sorry.”

  “I know you are. And it’s not your fault.”

  “Except it kind of is.”

  “Jayne. No.” He gave me that look that made me feel like I was twelve and had just cut the whisker off of Blitzen. (Yes, reindeer have whiskers.) “I know what you’re thinking. Stay out of it.”

  “But Lark—”

  “Is the sheriff’s to deal with now.” He took a breath. “I realize this is Winter Court business. If Lark perpetrated this crime, I want to know about it so that I can deal with her appropriately, but that doesn’t mean you’re to involve yourself. Do you understand?”

  I slumped in my chair. “Yeah, I get it.”

  He raised a single blue brow. “I’m serious, Jay. Not only do I not want you putting yourself in harm’s way, but I don’t want you doing anything to impede the sheriff’s progress.”

  I almost rolled my eyes. “I understand.” And I was pretty eager to change the subject. “Are you still sending me some holiday help?”

  “Yes, they should be arriving this evening. Vale Bright and Crystal Holliday. Their files should have been sent from personnel last week.”

  I glanced at the stack of stuff on my desk. “I have them. Somewhere. I’ve read them. They seem nice. And very capable.”

  “Their arrival is not an excuse for you to dig into this theft.” His gaze narrowed. “Do I need to remind you that the store is just going to get busier?”

  “Nope. I’m on top of it. Promise. Love you.”

  “Love you too, Jay.” He hung up.

  I sat there for a moment, bummed that my dad was so adamantly against me trying to figure out who’d taken the jewelry. Maybe he was just saying that for my mother’s mental health. He had to know Lark’s involvement made it impossible for me to stand idly by.

  I jumped up. I knew exactly where I was going to start.

  I had to promise Birdie a dozen bacon bourbon eclairs from Zombie Donuts, but it was worth it to get the info I needed. Which was the exact location of the apartment Lark was renting.

  Originally, I figured I’d just check all the apartments on Black Cat Boulevard, because, how many could there be?

  Um, a lot. It turned out to be a much bigger task than I’d anticipated, because as many times as I’d been to Delaney’s Delectables, which was across the street from the Hallowed Bean coffee shop (both purveyors of tremendously delicious goods and beverages), I had never really paid attention to much else on that street.

  Otherwise, I might have noticed that beyond the first couple of shops, there were four apartment buildings and more apartments over most of the shops.

  The only downside to asking Birdie was that she now knew what I was up to. I made her swear she wouldn’t say anything to Sheriff Merrow and prayed that was enough to keep it on the down low. I could not risk word getting back to my dad.

  What he would do if he found out, I wasn’t sure. Come to Nocturne Falls? Not this time of year. Still, the less he knew, the better.

  With both Lark and Lance in holding cells, there was no better time to scope the place out. Well, technically nighttime might have been a better time, but I didn’t want to wait that long. I dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and a hoodie in an attempt to look as nonchalant as possible.

  I also came in from the other side of the street instead of where Black Cat Boulevard met Main. That way I didn’t have to walk by Delaney’s. Less chance of being seen and recognized that way, because yes, I was well known at Delaney’s.

  I’d probably head out on Main, though. That way I could make a stop at Delaney’s. I mean, I was in the neighborhood. Seemed crazy not to.

  The apartment was okay. It wasn’t anything lavish, just a one-bedroom
with a small kitchen/living room combination. The furniture was mismatched and well used, but it was a vacation rental, so that wasn’t so strange. It did have a few nice features, like brick side walls and hardwood floors and a tiny crystal chandelier in the entrance.

  I noticed the chandelier because that’s what I was staring at while the dizziness subsided. Using my magic to slide under the door had that effect on me. That particular skill was one inherited from my mom’s side of the family. It was the magic my uncle Kris used to gain access to all of the houses he visited on Christmas Eve. And while it was a great skill to have, it was one that, for me, came with side effects.

  The crystals acted like prisms, sending out little rainbows of light onto the wall. It was very pretty. And immediately made me want a crystal chandelier in my apartment, but I digress. I got to my feet, shaking off the last of the wobbliness and got started investigating.

  Despite the place being furnished, most of the drawers and cabinets held very little outside of the essentials again because it was a vacation rental. No one expected it to be fully loaded, just workable in the short term. That made it easy to search quickly. The bedroom and bathroom would have the most stuff that was Lark’s and Lance’s, so I saved them for last.

  I would take my time in those rooms too, because I had the time and I wanted to be thorough. There was no telling if I’d get the chance to return. Unless the sheriff found enough evidence to hold Lance on, he’d be released soon and then he’d be back here.

  I assumed he’d stay until Lark could leave, too. But it would be interesting—and telling—if he didn’t.

  The kitchen wasn’t very exciting. Most of the cabinets were empty. The fridge was full of take-out containers. The freezer needed a serious defrosting. There was a pint of ice cream crammed into the small cavern of available space, but the rest was iced over. Mint chocolate chip. Lark had always been a cookies-n-cream girl. Maybe that was Lance’s ice cream.

  I was about to move on to the bedroom when someone put a key into the lock.

  Snowballs.

  I did the only thing I could think of. I hid under the bed. My pulse was racing. Getting caught in here would be a very bad thing, especially if it was the sheriff.

  The door opened and closed, and whoever was now in the apartment came closer. There was nothing under the bed besides me and a suitcase, so if they looked under here for any reason, I was busted.

  Feet came into view. They were wearing those sleek leather European-style athletic shoes, and judging by that and the size, this was a guy. And not the sheriff. Had Lance been released already? That didn’t seem like something the sheriff would do. The only other detail I could see was dark jeans. As best I could tell, the guy was looking around. Or just standing there. Hard to say from under the bed.

  He walked out and came back dragging a kitchen chair. He put it in front of the dresser, then stepped up onto the seat. Small noises followed. A little squeakiness, sort of. Metal on metal, that much I could tell. And every once in a while, the hiss of a breath being sucked through teeth.

  Weirdo.

  I thought about using my phone’s camera to get a better view, but I was face up under the bed, my phone was in my back pocket, and there wasn’t enough room to turn over. I tried sliding it out, but my elbow hit the suitcase. It didn’t make much of a noise, but I went utterly still, even holding my breath.

  The guy on the chair stopped for a second, then resumed whatever he was doing. A few minutes later, there was another louder, sustained squeak. Like a tight hinge being forced open. More noises, softer ones with some overtones of stiff fabric or heavy plastic.

  Something plinked to the floor.

  I bent my head to the side as much as I could, but whatever had fallen must have gone under the dresser. Or behind it. Either way, it didn’t sound like much.

  The softer, original noises returned, then he dragged the kitchen chair back and left.

  As soon as I heard the door shut, I wriggled out from under the bed and ran to the window that overlooked the street. I waited there until I saw a man come out of the building. He had on the right shoes and jeans. But he was wearing a ball cap that hid his face and a loose parka-type jacket. It was cool out, but not parka weather. He was deliberately obscuring his identity. The best I could make out was he had dark hair. Not Lance, then. His hair was blue.

  I went back into the bedroom and looked up over the dresser. An air vent. He’d unscrewed the vent and taken something out, then put the vent back in place. One of the screws was missing. That must be what I’d heard fall.

  There was no doubt in my mind that what he’d taken out of the vent had been the jewels. Had to be. What else could it be? There was no routine maintenance that I could think of that would involve taking an air vent off. And what kind of building super wore fancy leather sneakers?

  He hadn’t been carrying a package that I’d seen through the window, so he must have tucked it into his jacket. No wonder it had been so oversized.

  What now? I couldn’t exactly go to the sheriff, tell him I’d been hiding under the bed and was pretty sure the jewels had just been removed from the apartment. All I could do was look for more evidence of who this third person was. And try to figure out if Lance and Lark were both involved or only one of them.

  My thoughts were a snarled mess of ideas as I started my search again, but there was no evidence to be found. Nothing that could ID another person, or link Lance and Lark to them. There was nothing to even indicate a heist had been planned.

  I was about as frustrated as could be. Finally, I gave up and left. I wasn’t happy that I’d struck out. How was I going to clear Lark and get the royal jewels back without a lead to go on?

  A few minutes later, I found myself in Delaney’s Delectables.

  “Hey, Jayne, how are you doing?”

  I snapped out of the stare down I was having with a tray of truffles and looked up. “Hey, Delaney. I’m…okay.” I was miserable, but she didn’t need to hear that.

  She frowned. “Oh honey, you don’t look okay at all.”

  I tried to smile. I didn’t think it worked. “It’s such a mess.”

  “I know.” She pushed something into my hand. “Try this, maybe it’ll take your mind off things for a little bit.”

  I looked down at the gold-foil candy cup in my hand. It held a bumpy chocolate ball. “What is it?”

  “Pumpkin pecan pie truffle.”

  That didn’t sound terrible. I took a bite. “Mmm, that’s good.” My smile came a little easier this time. “Thanks.”

  She nodded. “This is all going to work out, you’ll see.”

  “I hope so.” I ate the other half and talked with my mouth full, which wasn’t polite, but I was sort of past caring. “Do you think Elenora blames me?”

  “What?” Delaney blinked at me in shock. “No way.”

  I swallowed. “Are you just saying that to make me feel better? I can take the truth.”

  “No, I promise, she doesn’t blame you. She blames whoever did this.”

  “Okay.” I shifted my gaze back to the glass case of goodies. “But I still think I’m going to need some stuff to get me through this.”

  She grinned. “You got it. And it’s on the house.”

  “No, it’s not. You don’t have to do that, and I don’t want you to, really.”

  “How about I just throw in a few extra pieces?”

  “I guess that couldn’t hurt.”

  “Excellent. What can I get you?”

  I returned to my office with two shopping bags’ worth of chocolate, cookies, brownies, blondies, and one mini-cake. Which I would probably be eating for lunch. I restocked the break room with the contents of one bag, then decided two of the boxes of goodies from the other bag would be gifts for the incoming holiday help.

  I opened my office door, flipped on the light, and let out a small yelp. Greyson was on the love seat. “What are you doing here?”

  “That’s a fine welcome home.�
� He swung his feet onto the floor. “But considering what happened last night, I can imagine you’re a bit on edge.”

  “You heard?”

  He nodded as he got up. “I’m really sorry, Jayne. I should have been here.”

  I put the shopping bag on my desk. “It wouldn’t have helped. The room was full of supernaturals, and every single one of us was frozen, including the vampires. If we winter elves couldn’t break free of the ice, there was no way anyone else was going to.” Except for Sinclair, who’d at least freed his fingers.

  Greyson hugged me, and it was nice. I stood in his arms for a few long minutes, inhaling his cinnamon scent. Sinclair smelled like doughnuts. “How was your trip?” I mumbled against his shirt.

  “It was long. And a little harrowing. But the job was completed without any fatalities, so I’m calling it a win.”

  “That sounds so cryptic.” We separated, and I went to my desk. I was eating some of that chocolate immediately. “What exactly were you doing in Rome?”

  He sat back down on the love seat. “I can’t talk about it. But I can talk about Lark and the theft all you want.”

  Greyson not being able to tell me what he’d been up to would have frustrated me on any other day. Today, I had enough to think about already. I opened the box and grabbed a chocolate rum ball. I bit it in half. “I don’t even know where to start. I went to see Lark this morning, and based on what I found out, I don’t think she did it. But I do think she was involved. Wittingly or unwittingly. But I have no real way to determine that. And I’m not supposed to get involved, per my dad and the sheriff.”

  “Like that could stop you.”

  “Exactly.” I ate the other half of the rum ball.

  “You think it’s the boyfriend?”

  “Could be. But…” I told him about my trip to the rented apartment.

  He scooted forward on the love seat. “So there’s a third guy.”

  “Yeah, and what really sucks is I’m sure he took the jewels out of that apartment while I was there. And I did nothing.”