“Nope.” I hesitated, then just told him the rest of the story. He deserved to know, and it should come from me.
I could tell he didn’t want to believe me at first. But eventually, his body relaxed again. “He’s really your brother? No kidding here?”
“Yup. Well, half-brother. I guess his dad sowed some wild oats when he was younger. Arc was one of them, and I was another. Now he and Mom are actually married. I’m still kind of pissed about not being invited to the wedding.”
“No doubt.”
The next silence was longer. So long in fact that I fell asleep. It had been a long, hard night, and I’d only gotten a few hours of rest before getting up to tackle the whole computer thing. Plus, it felt really good lying there next to Opie. I was safe. He would make sure of that.
Chapter 11
WHEN I WOKE UP, HE was gone. Well, from the bed. I looked over, and he was sitting at the table with Sonya’s laptop open, going through my notes.
I sat up and stretched. I could get used to waking up with him there. It was sure a better feeling than the last few days without him had brought me.
“Good, you’re awake.” He pointed to the computer in front of him. “I think you might be right about Arc’s innocence after all.”
Well, yeah. Did he miss the whole part about the truth spell, or what?
“What brought you over to our side?”
“Well, first of all, this Sonya chick wasn’t a nice lady. At all. Any number of people on this ledger would have reason to do her in. And yes, I’ve seen your notes, and for the most part, I agree with them. Those three would be my top picks for suspects too.”
“But . . .”
“But you can’t really stop there. People are strange creatures. For some, it would take an unbelievable amount of motivation to kill someone. Like, say, the person shot their dog or something.” Yeah, yet another reference to yet another one of his favorite movies. “But for other people, the sick ones, it can take almost nothing to get them flying into a murderous rage. For instance, just cutting someone off in traffic. People have been shot for less.”
He had a point. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people on that ledger of hers. It would take time to check them out one by one. And time was something we were running short of.
“Well, I plan to start with the ones who had the most motivation and work my way down from there. Maybe I’ll get lucky and it will be one of the three I wrote down.”
“Just because they’re the obvious choices doesn’t mean they’re guilty, or innocent, for that matter.”
I gave him one of Opal’s looks. I’d been practicing. I must not have it down quite right yet, though, because all it got was a chuckle.
“Yeah, keep working on that.”
I went to the cooler that we had stocked with ice and sodas and pulled one out for each of us. After handing him one, I asked, “Okay, so what’s second of all?”
He looked confused. “What?”
“You said first of all that Sonya wasn’t nice. I already knew that. But if there’s a first of all, then there’s a second of all, right?”
“Well, yes, at least in this case there is. I have a friend who transferred down to the Oak Hill Police Department. While you were napping, I made a call.”
My heart sped up. “You didn’t tell him you knew where Arc was, did you?”
He was much better at Opal’s look than I was. I took that as a no.
“All I told him was that Archimedes Mineheart was a long-lost relative of my girlfriend and that she was worried that he might be being framed for the murder charge . . .”
Opie said a few more things, but by then, I was totally zoned out.
“Amie?” He waved his hand in front of my face. “Earth to Amie.”
I snapped out of it, and my eyes focused on him again. He was giving me that lopsided smile. “It was the girlfriend thing, wasn’t it?”
After swallowing the lump in my throat, I nodded. “Is that what I am now? Your girlfriend?” I held my breath. After all, it could have just been an embellishment told to get access to information from his friend.
Opie stood up and walked over to me. “I’d like you to be. But usually girlfriend status is kind of a two-way street. Both parties have to agree to it.”
I thought about it. Did I agree? It surprised me to find that the answer was an immediate yes. With an exclamation point. How cool would it be to have your best friend as a boyfriend? And why on earth had it taken me all these years to realize that?
“I think I’d like that too. As long as we agree that even if the boyfriend slash girlfriend thing doesn’t work out, we still keep the best friend status.” I couldn’t bear to lose him. If a few days almost killed me, what would the rest of my life do? Probably finish the job.
The next thing I knew, his lips were on mine.
And then my hair started floating.
“Ouch!” Opie stepped back from me. “I’ve heard that attraction can be electric, but—” Then he noticed my hair and took a couple more steps backward, stumbling into the table.
Crapsnackles. Not the reaction I wanted for our first kiss. I reached a hand out to him but stopped short of touching him. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”
After the incident at Opal’s shop, she had made it a priority to teach me how to dispel magic harmlessly. It was far better than having to search for a sapling to grow, and far less exhausting too.
Closing my eyes, I imagined myself as a pool of cool spring water at the top of a mountain, water flowing into me from multiple sources. Then I concentrated on reversing the flow. Sending the water—or rather magic—out of me and back to its original source.
I’d caught this in time, before too much magic had accumulated, so it was a matter of seconds before I was back to normal. I wish I could say the same for poor Opie.
He was still backed up against the table with that same horrified look on his face.
“Is that going to happen every time we kiss?”
I took a deep breath. “I’m not sure. Maybe at first. For some reason, the magic seems to come whenever I get over-emotional.” I gave him a sad smile. “That kiss was definitely the thing to get my emotions revving up.” I was hoping he’d take that as a compliment.
Instead of looking happy, he just looked worried. “If a kiss does that . . .”
“Yeah, I’ve got some work to do.” I swallowed. I wanted to ask if he was sure this was what he wanted after all, but I feared the truth to that answer would be no. I didn’t think I could take that right now, and I didn’t want my emotions to gear up again.
Finally, he reached out to me. His face was still crinkled with stress lines, but his eyes had a determined look to them.
Instead of a kiss, this time he just leaned his forehead down against mine. We stayed like that for a minute or two. It felt good, but not nearly as electrifying as the kiss had.
“I’ll get there, I promise.” It came out as a whisper.
“I know you will. And I’m not going anywhere this time.” His voice was soft but firm. Opie meant what he said.
That gave me the calmness to do what I did next. Kiss him. Hard.
This time, my hair stayed in place. Right where it should be. It wasn’t the same kind of kiss, though. I could tell that Opie couldn’t really get into it. His eyes were open and staring at my hair.
My own personal early warning system.
I was the one who stepped back this time. “How’s about we distract ourselves from all this for a bit with a little sleuthing?”
He nodded. “Sounds good. Where were you going when I got here?” Then he paused. “No, let me guess. The sexy school librarian?”
Opie always did know how my brain worked.
I glanced over at the clock. The day had gotten away from me. It was actually early evening. My stomach rumbled, reminding me that all I’d had to eat all day was a couple of donuts. It was demanding more.
Opie’s stomach must have heard min
e and decided to reply. It was enough to break the tension between us. Sometimes the Goddess worked in mysterious ways like that.
“Okay. How’s about we grab some fast food first and then make our way to see the librarian?” he asked.
I nodded. “Excellent idea. But we have to be sure to get to her house before eight o’clock.”
We were walking out the door when he paused. “What happens at eight?”
“Her internet show starts.” I didn’t think we really wanted to be there for that.
At least, I knew I didn’t. Opie was a man. He might feel differently about it.
Chapter 12
By a quarter till seven, we were on the street in front of the sexy librarian’s house. It was a small, well-maintained bungalow, and the landscaping was enough to make even a witch like me jealous.
I’d be asking myself how she could afford a cute little place like this in a good neighborhood, but I already knew the answer to that. She was selling herself on the side. Maybe it wasn’t outright prostitution, but still, it was a far cry from a respectable way to earn a living.
“So, how do you plan on doing this?” Opie was looking at me.
I shrugged. He knew me well enough by now to know that I rarely had a plan for anything I did. I was a seat of your pants kind of girl.
“We’re just here to chat, right?” I opened my car door and stepped out, but not soon enough to miss hearing Opie’s groan.
I waited for him to come around the car, and then we walked up the short sidewalk and up the steps onto her porch. I was rather proud of our little second-story balcony at the farmhouse, but it wasn’t nearly as ritzy as this place. Nothing so mundane as a porch swing or rocking chairs here.
Her seating consisted of some really cool, futuristic-looking hanging chairs with tables between each set of two. Hanging pots with flowers and vines surrounded them all. It was beautiful, but not nearly as cozy and warm as my little balcony. And that was what I’d keep telling myself too. All of our patio furniture probably didn’t cost as much as one of those chairs.
Opie cleared his throat. Okay, yes, I’d been staring.
Straightening my back to give the impression of a little more height, I knocked on the door and waited. Within seconds, it swung open.
No safety worries here, apparently. Not if she was willing to open her front door wide to two strangers standing on her front porch. Especially as she was wearing nothing more than a thin silk robe.
Believe me when I say thin. It was obvious that she didn’t have a stitch on under it. Tonight’s show might just be starting a little early.
“Can I help you?” Her eyes glanced at me and then settled on Opie with an interest that I didn’t take too kindly to.
That was my boyfriend she was ogling, dang it. Even if that would take some time to get used to.
A quick glance over at Opie showed the ogling went both ways. At least, it did before I elbowed him in the side.
I took a short step forward to get her attention. “We wanted to talk to you about Sonya Ignacio.”
Her eyes widened, and the blood seemed to disappear from her cheeks. She even took a tiny step back before she said, “Who?”
Yeah, not buying it, lady. For someone who spent so much time on camera, she was an even worse actress than I was.
“Sonya Ignacio.” I paused. “I believe the two of you had a small business arrangement?”
She swallowed and then looked at Opie as if for help. Finally, she opened the door even wider and stepped back. “You might as well come in.”
Once the door was shut behind us, she led us over to the couch, and then flopped down in a recliner. Her head went into her hands, and her shoulders started shaking.
Was she crying? Was that a sign of guilt?
I glanced at Opie, but he seemed just as clueless to what her actions meant as I was.
“Ms. Miller? Are you okay?”
She took a deep breath and then sat up, defiance in her still watering eyes. “No, I’m not okay. I thought this nightmare had ended, but it hasn’t, has it? You two are here to continue sucking me dry just like Sonya. What is it you want? My grandmother’s china? That seemed to be next on Sonya’s list.”
“We don’t want anything like that,” Opie said quietly. “We just want to talk.”
She sniffed and grabbed a tissue from the table beside her. “Then talk.”
“Where were you the night Sonya was killed?”
Her gaze flew to me. For the record, the question seemed to totally take her by surprise. “What?” Then she looked at Opie. “But she was killed by her boyfriend, wasn’t she? I heard they found her dead in his bedroom.”
“That’s where she was found, yes, but not where she was killed. Someone is trying to frame Archimedes for the murder.”
“That’s awful! I’ve met him a couple of times. I have to admit that I kind of liked him.”
A gorgeous man like Arc? Somehow that didn’t surprise me.
“So, could you answer my question, then?”
She tilted her head at me. “What question?”
“Where were you the night Sonya was killed?” If this was an act, it was a good one. Maybe I’d been wrong about her acting skills. Perhaps she just needed a little time to get into character first.
One hand flew to her chest. “You don’t think I had anything to do with that?”
I was getting a little impatient. I’d asked twice, and she had yet to give an answer. Opie must have noticed my tension, because he decided to step in.
“We aren’t saying anything like that,” he said.
We weren’t? Then why were we here?
“Right now, we’re talking to all of Sonya’s . . . business partners to see where they were that night and what they might have seen.” He shrugged. “Oak Hill isn’t that large of a city. Someone had to have seen something, right?”
She nodded slowly. “Maybe. But not me.” Then why did she look so very guilty? “I was entertaining that night. Kind of a reward for my online followers.”
“You had people here?” I asked. “How many, and can they verify that you were here all night?”
Her eyes narrowed as she turned to me. “Funny, but that doesn’t sound like innocent questions to me. I think I’ll deal with him, if you don’t mind.”
That tore it. I took a step forward, but Opie held me back. “That’s fine, Ms. Miller, you can deal with me. Amie here will just stand quietly and listen. Is that okay?”
It took a minute, but she finally nodded. “I guess. And yes, I had people here. Two men, actually. Winners of a contest I held online. That’s where you’ll find the proof of my alibi—online. The timestamp of our video should be pretty conclusive.”
“You were streaming live that night?” Opie seemed interested. A little too interested. “Do you do that often?”
She wiped her wet cheeks with another tissue and smiled at him. “Three times a week, but that one was special. As I said, it was the prize in a contest I held with my viewers.”
I was starting to get a picture that my mind really didn’t want to accept. In a word . . . eww.
“Well, that should be it, then. Except for one thing—do you know anything that might help us find who really killed Sonya? Anyone who might want her out of the way?”
“No, but to be honest, I’m quite sure I wasn’t her only ‘business partner,’ as you put it. Any one of us had reason to want her out of the picture. She was bleeding us dry.”
“If you think of anything, give me a call.” Then he handed her one of his cards. I wanted to snatch it out of her hand, but I contained myself. Opie and I would have a long talk later about proper boyfriend behavior. Giving your phone number out to sexy, near-naked women wasn’t on that list.
Once we were back in the car, Opie turned to me. “I shouldn’t have given her my card, should I?”
Maybe there was hope for him yet.
WE WERE HEADING BACK to the hotel when my cell phone went off. It wasn
’t a number that I recognized, so I started to swipe to cancel the call. Opie took the phone from my hand and answered it.
“Amethyst Ravenswind’s phone.”
I was leaning over in my seat, but there was nothing but silence on the other end. Grabbing the phone back, I said, “Who is this?”
“It’s Arc. Was that your cop buddy who answered your phone? I’d hoped he’d gone back home by now.”
“Nope. He’s my new partner. You should be grateful instead of surly, you know. He's a dang good cop, and a good person to have on your side.”
“Yeah, well, tell that to the rug burns all over my body.”
Opie must have heard that part, because he was grinning. I really didn’t think the two of them would ever be fast friends. But then, I’d been wrong before.
“You just calling to complain, or did you have some news for me?”
“Actually, I was calling to see where you were. I’m pretty sure I told you that Lily doesn’t like it when people are late.”
Late? To what?
“Huh?” That was my elegant response.
“The nightly dinner at Lily’s. You know, so we can all regroup and discuss what we learned during the day? Remember?”
Nope. Not a single bit of it. “Sorry, but I don’t recall being told that would be a nightly thing.” I looked over at Opie. “I’m willing, but there will be an extra person coming. Is that okay with Lily?”
“Let me guess, your new partner?” He didn’t sound happy.
I heard Lily in the background, and then she was on the phone. “Arc didn’t tell you to come tonight, did he?”
“No, ma’am, he didn’t.” Then, feeling a little guilty for throwing him under the bus, I decided to add to that. “But things did get a little crazy for a while at the hotel. It most likely slipped his mind in all the excitement.” There, that should make up in part for the rug burns.
“Hmm, well, if you say so. Are you close? We're having call in pizza tonight. Plenty for an extra mouth too.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “We are actually quite looking forward to meeting your young man.”
Relatively Familiar (Accidental Familiar Book 2) Page 7
