I glanced around before leaning across the table. “I thought you guys were checking up on the hit-and-run guy.”
Senior nodded. “We did. It isn’t him.”
Tilting my head, I waited. I was going to need more than just his say so before scratching the man off the suspect list.
Finally, he blew out a breath. “Look, Dylan has had a drinking problem for a while now. Hitting that woman . . . well, it woke him up. Then when Sonya tried to blackmail him, he just couldn’t take the guilt any longer. It wasn’t what Sonya wanted, but he went into rehab, and when he came out, he turned himself in. Turned down the opportunity for bail, too. I think he really wants to set things straight as much as he can.”
“He was in jail at the time Sonya was killed?”
“Yes. I would have known that had he come to me for legal representation as he should have. But he didn’t. I think he wants a long sentence out of this.” He grunted. “As if him going to prison will change anything.”
Mom patted the back of his hand. “It’s his choice, dear. You’re just going to have to deal with it.” Then she reached over and grabbed a couple of menus, handing the extra one to her new husband. “And don’t let the prices shock you two. Lunch is on Archie and me.”
Surely it couldn’t be that . . . holy cow! They wanted how much for a hamburger? I could buy stock in McDonald's for that price. Swallowing, I nodded. “That would be very nice.”
The waiter who approached our table wasn’t anything like I’d pictured him to be. I guess with him being a friend of Arc’s, I’d expected another handsome man with a strong chin and a somewhat overbearing personality.
None of that applied. Ryan Shea wasn’t ugly, but handsome wasn’t a word that would describe him, either. He was . . . average. It was hard to tell while I was sitting down, but I was guessing him to be around five feet ten inches or so, and he weighed maybe two hundred pounds. He wasn’t fat, but he wasn’t exactly skinny, either. Again, everything about him was average. Right down to his dark brown hair and blue eyes.
“Are you all ready to order?”
Archimedes . . . Archie, I guess . . . did a double take. “Ryan? I can’t believe I forgot you worked here.”
I really had to practice my acting skills. Even I believed him for a second, and I knew better.
A brief emotion flashed over Ryan’s face, but it was gone too quickly to put a certain name to it. Fear? Anxiety? Or maybe he’d just eaten a bad clam or something.
“Yup. I’m here until something better comes along, anyway.” He hesitated and then glanced around at the full dining room. “I’d love to chat, but the manager likes the busy lunch hour to go smoothly.”
“I understand completely,” Archie said with a smile.
We asked for a few more minutes to choose our meals, and Ryan stepped away from the table. On a whim, I stood and told them I was going to use the lady’s room. Something seemed off about Ryan, and I wanted a crack at figuring out what it was.
As I rounded the corner behind him, I saw him talk to the hostess and then head toward the door. I had to double step to catch up with him. He was really booking it.
“Ryan!”
At first it seemed like he was going to ignore my call, but finally, he turned to face me.
“Is something wrong? Why are you leaving?”
He hesitated, then pulled out his phone. “My girlfriend just texted me. She’s having car trouble, and I need to go help her.”
“Isn’t that going to get you in trouble? That doesn’t sound like a smooth lunch hour to me.”
Ryan shrugged. “They can fire me if they want. In fact, it would probably be best if they did. I hate this place.” He peered into my face. “Do I know you?”
The way he asked gave me a chill down my spine. Like he really didn’t know if he should know me or not. How weird was that?
I shook my head. “No, but we have a friend in common.” I hesitated and glanced around, trying out the whole acting thing. “I’m kind of helping Arc out right now. I was hoping I could talk to you for a minute.”
His eyes widened, and I noticed his Adam’s apple bobbed a few times before he said anything. “Is he okay? They haven’t caught him yet, have they?”
“No. He’s lying low right now, but he can’t get out and about without risking being seen, so I’m doing the running for him.”
“I see. What did you want to talk about?”
“First of all, you know Arc didn’t do it, right? Kill Sonya?”
“Of course he didn’t. Those two were tight. No way would he hurt her.”
So why didn’t his voice match his words?
“Well, we’re trying to figure out how the killer got into his apartment to dump her body. Arc said you stayed with him for a while. Did you have a key?”
His face lost just a touch of color. “Are you accusing me of murder?”
“No, I just wanted to know if you still had the key. Arc said you may have lost it. If that’s right, I wanted to know if you had any idea where you lost it.”
He didn’t look like he believed me. “I did lose it. But if I knew where I lost it, then it wouldn’t be lost now, would it?” He waggled his phone at me. “Look, if that’s all you wanted, I really need to be going.”
And he turned and walked off down the street.
I watched him climb into a late model Chevy Camaro and drive off before turning to go back into the restaurant.
The manager caught me as I walked past the hostess station. “Is he coming back?”
Turning to him, I shrugged. “I don’t think so. Not for a while, anyway. He said his girlfriend was having car trouble.”
“Well, that’s the last straw, as far as I’m concerned. He used to be a really good worker, but something changed when he got back from his little vacation. Now he just does the bare minimum, and the customers aren’t liking it.”
I remembered what Arc said about Ryan losing his brother and how that could change a guy. Maybe he’d been right.
After all, I had just found out about Arc, and if I lost him, I’d definitely be feeling it.
I liked him. And having a brother was kind of cool.
Losing him wasn’t something I planned on doing anytime soon. Not to the witches’ council, not to the cops, and not to whoever the heck was trying to put him behind bars for something he didn’t do.
Arc was right. Losing a brother, even if you hadn’t had him long, could really change a person.
THE REST OF THE LUNCH had passed pleasantly. It was kind of nice spending time with Mom and . . . Dad. Man, was that ever going to take some getting used to. Funny how I could totally accept that Arc was my brother, even if it was a bit of a shock, but Senior being my father was really throwing me for a loop.
When we finished, Ruby and I headed back to the hotel for another look at Sonya’s ledger to see if there were any possibilities that I had missed. Like Opie had said, some people kill for very small things. It wouldn’t hurt to look at all of them, but going top to bottom in seriousness of secret just made sense.
Opie’s car was parked two spaces down from my room, but he was nowhere in sight. That was kind of weird. Then he came strolling out of the room next to mine, grinning.
“I wrapped things up back home, so I decided to take a mini vacation while I finish out my medical leave. Oak Hill seemed like a good choice.”
I’ll bet it did. Probably exactly what he had in mind when he sent Ruby down here. I couldn’t really complain about him getting a room of his own if both my beds were taken, now could I?
We all went in to check out Opie’s room. It was just as nice as mine. I’d thought maybe mine was a one-shot deal, but no. Turns out if you could get past the exterior looks of this place, you had a quite pleasant place to stay.
His room only had a single bed . . . a king-sized one, no less. I filed that information for future reference, and we headed back to my room, with its better options for seating.
Ruby and I plo
pped down on my bed, and Opie settled on Ruby’s.
“So, any news from your cop friend at the department?”
He grinned at me. “Actually, yes. I just treated him to lunch and pumped him for information. He really doesn’t think Arc did it. According to him, there was no way Sonya was killed there, and no one but a crazy person would bring a dead body home with them.” Then his grin faded. “The rest of his department don’t seem so sure about that. They still want to talk with Arc pretty badly.”
I could understand that. The problem was that if Arc talked to the police, even if they didn’t hold him, the council would have the opportunity to nab him. And they would make the most of it too.
“That can’t happen. Not until we find out who the killer is and can offer him up.”
“Or her,” Ruby said.
I nodded. There were plenty of women on Sonya’s list, and women could be killers too.
“Are they looking at anybody else in particular?” I asked.
“As a matter of fact, yes. They also seem very interested in Stan Grayson, owner of Firestorm something. I guess it’s a demolition company? Anyway, he was Sonya’s boss.”
Sounded about right. He’d said the cops weren’t exactly leaving him alone about the case.
“Is there a reason they are looking at him?” Ruby asked.
I’d met the man. I was pretty sure of the reason, and I was right.
“My friend says that Grayson is a real slimeball, especially when it comes to women. He’s had complaints of sexual harassment filed against him from former female employees.” Opie paused for dramatic effect. “Sonya filed one herself just the day before she turned up as a dead body in Arc’s bed.”
Sounded fishy to me too. Had he killed her out of anger? Because she’d rejected him, or because she’d turned him in for inappropriate boss behavior? It was as plausible as any other theory we had going.
But there was still a major problem. How had he gotten past the Mineheart Fireworks Ward?
Had he found the missing ward key? Was there some connection between him and Ryan Shea?
Then it hit me. Of course there was. Sonya. What if Ryan had lost the key while visiting Sonya at work?
My brain was busy traveling down that road, when Opie handed me a thumb drive. I just looked at it for a minute.
“What’s this for?”
“You need to copy all the files on Sonya’s computer that you think might hold information. Then I’m taking it in to my friend. I’ve told him it’s coming, so this is going to happen.”
That had been the plan all along, anyway. Copying the files took a while, but in less than an hour, Opie was on his way to drop off the computer with his friend. I didn’t know what story he would give the man, and I really didn’t care. I trusted Opie.
“What’s next?” Ruby asked from directly behind me.
I jumped. “Are you using Arc’s quiet carpet spell? That’s not fair, you know.”
She laughed. “No, but it’s fun. I changed it up a little. My version is the quiet shoes spell.” She lifted a foot. “No one will ever hear me coming again.”
I raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at my own sneakers. She took the hint. It was a quick spell, and she was prepared with the ingredients she needed. I’d have to remember to have her do my hiking boots when we got home. Those things were noisy as heck.
Walking around the room afterward, I marveled at my soundless passage. This, I could get used to. A very handy spell, indeed.
“Okay, so now you have quiet shoes too. So, I repeat . . . what’s next?”
She seemed excited. Ruby was really getting into the investigation part of things. She’d kind of missed out when I’d had my first case trying to clear her mom. Besides, that one had hit a little too close for comfort for her. Not something she could enjoy.
I’d be glad when the cases I worked on didn’t involve family members. Maybe then I could enjoy them too. For now, I’d settle for just getting to the bottom of them.
“I was thinking maybe it might not hurt to revisit Stan Grayson.”
We grabbed our bags and were ready to head out, when the knock came. I glanced out the window before opening the door, and my heart nearly froze in my chest.
It was Patricia Bluespring. The witches’ council was at my door.
Chapter 16
THE FACT THAT SHE WAS alone gave me hope that it wasn’t anything serious. If she’d been there to arrest me, or whatever the equivalent to that was for the council, she’d have two more witches with her. A full trinity.
I took a deep breath before I opened the door. I tried out a smile, but I didn’t think it really came off the way I had intended.
“Hello, Ms. Bluespring.”
“Amethyst. I’m here on official council business. May I come in?”
I had to think about it for a minute. It wasn’t like she was a vampire or something. If she truly wanted in, she would be in already. But if she was waiting for an invitation?
“No. I don’t think so. Unless you have a search warrant on you.” I paused. “Does the council use search warrants?”
She didn’t look happy. “No, we do not. But fine, we can do what’s necessary right here, then.”
“And what would that be?”
“I’m here to put a sight and sound traveling spell on you.”
Not if I had anything to say about that. The spell she was talking about would allow the council to watch me and hear any conversations I might have from wherever they happened to be. I couldn’t imagine that even the council would go to such extremes on an innocent witch, and they had nothing on me. If they did, there’d be two more witches at my door.
I gave her a look. “Doesn’t that type of spell fall under the magical manipulation that is frowned upon by the council?” Thank you, Ruby, for that little tidbit.
She didn’t look happy that I knew about that. She’d probably thought me to be ignorant when it came to council rules and regulations. Which I had been, right up until this morning.
“An innocent witch with nothing to hide would be more than willing.”
Is that so? Personally, I couldn’t imagine any sane person being willing to give up their right to privacy.
“Why me? Is this because my magical signature is too close to Archimedes Junior's? I don’t think that breaks any council sanctions. It’s not like it’s something I can control.”
Her face would have given lemons a lesson on how to be sour. “That little mystery has been solved. Archimedes Mineheart Sr. has claimed you as his child. It’s still odd that your signature is as close to Junior’s as it is, but at least now we know the why behind it.”
She leaned toward me, her eyes narrowing. “I know you are hiding him. It would be better if you came clean and let the council do its job.”
“I’m not hiding him. In fact, I have positively no idea where he is right now, or what he is doing.” Literally the truth. He could be at Lily’s or out taking a feline stroll around the block for some air for all I knew. “But answer me this: why do you hate the Minehearts so much? Even the police don’t think Arc killed Sonya. Why do you have your heart set on him being the killer?”
“You’re wrong about the police. They are looking for him just as hard as we are. And as for your question, I have a personal relationship with the Minehearts, so believe me when I say that the entire family is made up of nothing more than thieves and liars.”
That was a little strong. I heard Ruby’s gasp from over my shoulder. It drew Bluespring’s attention to her.
“Oh, Ruby, I’m so disappointed to see you involved in all this. You had such potential.”
And apparently, I had none, even before all this started. Yeah, I knew what the council thought of me. A waste of a good bloodline. Well, wouldn’t they be surprised to find out I had magic now? Even if it was just temporary. And technically Arc’s magic, now that I really thought about it. Probably wouldn’t impress them much at all.
“I’m
afraid I will need more than your say so on their character, Ms. Bluespring. They seem perfectly nice to me.”
Her lips drew up, and I more than halfway expected her to spit at my feet. “Well, you’re family now, aren’t you?” She hesitated, her eyes beaming with hatred. “But if it’s proof you need, ask Senior to show you my grandfather’s pocket watch sometime. It’s quite the rarity. Probably why he never returned it to me as he promised he would.”
Didn’t sound like the man I was getting to know. Or the type of man that my mom would marry. It was time to end this.
“I’ll make you a deal, Ms. Bluespring. I’ll agree to your sight and sound traveling spell . . ." Her eyes widened, and a smile started creeping over her lips. “If you’ll agree to let me put one on you.”
The smile shut down, replaced with a frown.
“After all, an innocent witch would have no reason not to agree to one, right?”
She growled, and her eyes flashed for just a second. That glowing green color of an animal caught in headlights at night. It was creepy as heck. Patricia Bluespring was no ordinary witch. She was something . . . else.
It took every ounce of willpower I had to stand my ground after seeing that flash, but I did. I was a Ravenswind, dang it.
She stood there for a full minute in silence before turning and walking back to her car without another word. What more was there left to say?
There was no question in my mind that Patricia Bluespring hated the Minehearts with a passion. The only question was: did she hate them enough to kill Sonya and frame Arc?
Right now, I’d have to say yes.
And I really wanted to know what the hell she was.
AFTER THE RUN-IN WITH Patty Bluespring, I just didn’t have it in me to face the leech in human clothing that was Stan Grayson. So, we ran to the nearest office supply store and picked up the cheapest printer they had. I wanted to have a hard copy of the file at hand. Something more mobile than the laptop that we could mark out names as we eliminated them as suspects.
We were getting good at marking names off. What we needed to be doing was circling one in red with a big bullseye around it. But every name that came off the list was one closer to that bullseye. I just had to keep that in mind.
Relatively Familiar (Accidental Familiar Book 2) Page 9
