by Paula Lester
Her voice was so small and pained that my heart ached for her.
Julia’s smile deepened. She seemed to radiate calmness and sweetness, where only moments before, she’d been all claws and fury. “If you mess up, we’ll throw that batch away and start over. Or apologize to the client and re-do the job. Whatever we need to do. It’s not that big of a deal. Besides, you’re the one who’s paying for it, right?” She chuckled.
Becky’s face broke into a wide smile. Her entire demeanor transformed. Instead of a broken young girl, she looked like a hopeful woman. “Right,” she nodded once. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, come on. Let’s figure out how to get these appliances where they need to be.”
The two of them headed for the kitchen, Julia stopping to give my shoulder a light squeeze.
When I got outside, Crosby was just pulling up. He stuck his head out of the truck window. “Let’s go do some questioning, shall we?”
Chapter 19
“WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?” I got out of the pickup and studied the motel in front of me. It was nicer than most motels, probably because it was in downtown Superior Bay. The city did a good job of keeping that part of town reserved for privately owned businesses that kept up with their building maintenance. They didn’t allow franchises in the downtown district, and the fines were hefty if a place started getting crumbly or run-down.
I should know. I owned an old building in the downtown area. It was a constant battle to keep it within code.
“This is where Lila and Albert are staying,” Crosby explained. “Several of the other visiting witches too.”
It really was a nice building, and I hadn’t been in the parking lot before. It was just one story, with all the rooms opening to the outside. As I looked down the long row, I could see a few of the doors were open. It appeared as though some witches were coming and going from each other’s rooms periodically. I glimpsed Dierdre darting from one room to the next. I got the feeling she bounced everywhere she went, and I thought it was cute. It reminded me of Celeste.
Thinking of Celeste brought a brief pang of excitement to my belly. As long as I could remember, I had wished I had a brother or sister. Of course, I’d longed for my parents too, but as an only child, even on the farm with all the animals and my three best friends around a lot, I sometimes got lonely. It wasn’t the same kind of lonely as everyone else. It was the type of lonely that comes from not having anyone in your life who shared your exact circumstances. There was no one for me to talk to about my parents being gone or my aunt’s rules, such as they were, or anything else like that. I’d always wished for a sibling.
And now, if my aunt was right, I had one. Of course, it wouldn’t be the same. We hadn’t grown up with each other and still wouldn’t be able to commiserate about those types of things I’d always dreamed of chatting about. Still, we may have the same parents. The same blood flowing through our veins. Surely, there would be some common ground for us.
For a second, I wondered how we could find out for sure whether Aunt Dru was right. Could we take a DNA test? Would that work for witches?
I scoffed at myself. Of course, it would work. We witches had DNA just like humans, didn’t we?
I mean, right?
Crosby strode forward, and I had to push the thoughts away and hurry to catch up with him. By the time I did, he was pounding on door number three.
Before I could ask him the plan, the door opened, and Albert stood glaring at us. “What do you want?”
“I have some questions to ask you and your wife. Can we come in?”
“No! Not unless you have a warrant. Do you? Have a warrant, I mean?” Albert crossed his arms.
“Albert, what’s going on?” Lila’s sharp voice drifted out of the depths of the room to us.
Albert glanced over his shoulder. “Willow Morgan and that cop from town are here. They want to come in and ask us questions. I told him not without a warrant.”
Lila shoved her way past her husband and squinted into the parking lot at us. The room behind them was dark and dreary. Of course, dusk had fallen, and it was dim outside too. “What do you two want?” Her gaze landed on me, and her mouth twisted into a sneer. “Come to throw a fit about what you lost?”
“I didn’t lose it. You took it from me,” I snarled, suddenly furious with the horrible woman.
She seemed to delight in my anger, smiling broader. “That’s because you’re a criminal, just like your parents.”
A growl erupted from deep in my chest. I didn’t know where it came from, but it felt like somewhere near my soul. Crosby shot me a surprised glance, but I didn’t pay him any mind. The growl continued to rumble, and I let the animalistic fury it represented roll through my body. “Don’t you talk about my parents like that,” I ground out.
Albert took two steps backward, dragging his wife with him. But it didn’t look like she really needed encouragement to get away from me. Shock was written all over her face, along with something else–something far more satisfying to me. Fear. She rallied quickly and dropped a mask of indifference over it, but not before I had seen it.
I stopped growling and leaned back, smirking, proud of myself for having elicited that reaction in her. I wanted her to know that, even though she took my power, she couldn’t treat me any way she liked. She’d do well to remember to respect me. And my parents.
“If you don’t have a warrant, we have nothing to say to you,” Lila said briskly. She reached for the door, but Crosby stuck his boot forward and stopped it from closing.
“I have a warrant.” He pulled a sheet of paper from the inside pocket of his jacket and held it out to her.
A giggle rose into my throat at that, and I had to hold it back. I’d never been so proud of Crosby before.
“Now,” he continued, “I’d like to ask you some questions. Shall we do it here, or should I cuff you and take you to the station for it?”
If Lila were a teapot, she surely would’ve begun steaming at that moment. She was furious, but she stepped aside and let us enter. On the way through, I flipped on the light switch. It was a regular motel room, with pictures of beach scenes on the walls and all beige furniture. But it was nice and looked clean.
Lila and Albert perched on the end of the bed, and Crosby and I stayed standing. “Why are you in Superior Bay?” Crosby began.
“To see what’s going on here.” Lila adjusted her seating on the bed, boosting herself up so her feet were dangling. “We’re part of an elite council.” Her eyes darted to me and her lips twitched. “I suppose you’ve told this man of yours all about our . . . society, haven’t you?”
Even though I took offense at her language and tone, I nodded. “He knows, yes.”
Lila straightened her spine and said in a haughty tone, “I thought as much. Well, then, here’s the truth. We’re part of an elite council that takes care of a very special list for our community. We came because of the death of Marian, the highest leader in our organization. It’s our job to name the next person to send to the Trio.”
“What?” I dropped my arms to my sides. Was what Lila was saying was true? Was she really part of the council that my aunt thought had been wiped out back when my mother was the Messenger? If so, why hadn’t anyone ascended yet? “I thought that council was gone.”
Lila studied her fingernails, which were painted a shocking electric blue. “That’s what people are supposed to think. We engineered it that way years ago, to keep ourselves safer. After what happened with your mother, we had to protect ourselves.”
“My mother was trying to protect the Trio,” I spat. “She wasn’t a danger to anyone other than whoever was trying to kill them.”
“Yes, I suppose that is what you would think. Your aunt is just like Pollyanna, and she never would accept that her sister had gone bad. But go bad, she did. And if you would accept that and take it upon yourself to not follow in her footsteps, things might go much better for you.”
“I don’
t understand what you mean. My mother wasn’t bad, but even if she was, I never knew her. Not that I remember, anyway. She couldn’t have influenced me.” It wasn’t quite the truth. I had snippets in my mind—bits and pieces of memories of my mom and dad. Once in a while, a certain scent or bar of music or image would bring to mind memories of them. When that happened, it was both comforting and excruciatingly painful. But I didn’t need to share that with this evil woman in front of me. And I was sure she was evil. Even though I didn’t know for sure what had happened with my parents, I knew deep in my bones they hadn’t been bad.
“So, how is it you ended up in Superior Bay before Marian died?” Crosby asked, ignoring all the banter about my parents.
“It’s part of our job, really,” Albert said. “We follow the Trio. It’s just what we do.”
Crosby glanced at me, and I shrugged. I had no idea if what Albert said was true. Crosby cut his eyes back to the couple. “So, you’re saying that your council has some mystical ability to know where the Trio is going to be and follow along?”
Lila and Albert both barked out croaky laughs. “We don’t need a mystical ability to follow the Trio,” Lila said. “Pence just gives us a schedule. Our job to follow them. That way, if something like this ever happens, we’re right there, ready to choose the next member of the Trio.”
“Why haven’t you done that?” I demanded. “Nominated another member to the Trio, I mean. There’s been no ascension. Why?”
Another glance flew between the two and then Lila said, “We don’t know. We made a recommendation, but the ascension hasn’t happened.”
“We’re just as flummoxed as anyone else,” Albert added.
I wanted to ask more, but Crosby said, “Okay. Come on, Will.” He turned back, with his hand on the doorknob, and pointed a finger at Albert and then Lila. “You two don’t leave town. I may have more questions for you later.” He patted his pocket. “And this warrant isn’t going anywhere. It’s open for as long as the investigation lasts.”
Lila jutted out her chin. “We won’t be going anywhere, anyway. Not as long as the remaining members of the Trio are here.”
“Not as long as there’s been no ascension, either,” Albert added.
We headed into the parking lot and straight to the pickup truck. Once we were inside the cab, I turned to Crosby. “I don’t trust them, but I got the feeling they were telling the truth about this. I don’t think they know why there’s been no ascension.”
He nodded. “I got the same feeling.”
“So, what’s next?”
“Next, we talk to the Trio and their Guards.”
“Haven’t you already interviewed them? Like, right after Marian died?”
“Of course, but now I have more questions. Do you want to come with me?”
I reached for my seatbelt. “Of course. I want to get this figured out.”
Crosby backed out of the parking spot. “Okay, but we’re going to need to be really careful here. Odds are that the killer will be among these people. And if you see that guy, the one who took your power into his amulet? Give me some kind of sign so I’ll know who he is.”
I laughed, long and loud. “If the Vampire Guard is around, you won’t need me to tell you who he is. It’ll be obvious.”
Crosby’s eyebrows went up more. He drove straight to the Trio’s hotel, and we went inside and took the elevator up without talking. When we got to the vestibule in front of the Trio’s door, he paused and waited for me to nod before knocking on the door. We both stood there, and he seemed to be doing the same thing I was—gathering his strength and resolve before going into the lion’s den.
Pence opened the door after the second knock. He looked us up and down. “What do you want?”
Crosby waved a paper in front of him. “I need to ask some more questions. I have a warrant to bring you all in if I need to.”
Pence narrowed his eyes and looked over our heads. Then he snorted. “And you think the two of you are going to take three Guards?”
And two witches.
But Crosby didn’t answer. He just put the paper back in his pocket and stared at Pence.
Finally, with a sigh, the big man moved aside, and Crosby and I went into the penthouse. The other two Guards were in the living area, and Celeste looked up from her spot near the window.
“I’m sorry I ran out on you at the farm earlier,” I said. “I got an urgent call from a friend.”
She waved a hand. “It’s fine. I had a friendly chat with your aunt before I came back here.”
“You should really stay with the group.” Kressida appeared in a doorway.
Celeste shrugged. “It’s too confining for me. I need to get out sometimes, and you’ve been . . . preoccupied.”
“Of course I’m preoccupied,” the Crux snapped. “We all should be.”
The Key didn’t answer. She merely kept her serene expression trained on Kressida, who came farther into the room.
“I’m sorry, Crux,” Pence rumbled. “They have a warrant.”
Kressida waved him off. “It’s fine. Let them ask their questions. I’m as eager to put an end to this situation as anyone else.” She sat in a light blue chair and gazed at Crosby expectantly.
“Why did your group come to Superior Bay?” he began.
“To test Willow Morgan’s magic control. She recently began using much more than previously, and that’s our cue.”
“Do you know who killed Marian?”
“No.”
Crosby glanced at the others. “Does anyone know who may have killed her?”
“I still think it was her.” Pence pointed at me. “She was the one who so conveniently found our beloved Crone.” By the end of the sentence, he was almost shouting.
Kressida rose and crossed the room to lay a hand on his arm. She murmured something to him, and he visibly settled, pressing his lips together as though to hold in more venomous words.
Crosby narrowed his eyes a little. “How long have the two of you known each other?”
“Us?” Kressida gestured at Pence. At Crosby’s nod, she pursed her lips in thought. “I guess about fifteen years. Maybe twenty.” She chuckled. “I lose track of time occasionally.”
“Twenty-one,” Pence interjected.
Kressida gave him a fond look. “Twenty-one, then.”
Crosby was studying the pair closely, and I knew why. There was something there. The two had the air of a couple about them. Looking back, I realized I’d picked up on it once before but only subconsciously. Were they an item?
“I see. That’s a long time to be co-workers,” Crosby prodded.
“More than co-workers,” Kressida corrected, looking around at the other Guards and Celeste. “We’re much more than co-workers. We spend more time together than many families do. Losing our friend under these circumstances is almost unbearable for us.”
“I understand. Did anyone you didn’t know come to the penthouse the morning Marian died?”
The five of them looked around at each other. Finally, Kressida shook her head. “No. Our Guards are vigilant.”
“What about someone from the council?” I blurted out, ignoring Crosby’s warning look. “Did any of them come for an audience or anything that morning?”
“You were here,” Kressida snapped. “Did you see anyone else here?”
No. I hadn’t. Which meant I was probably right about what I’d suspected, anyway. The killer was likely among the Trio’s group. As much as I disliked Albert and Lila, they’d given a good reason for being in town before Marian’s death.
Since I had the Crux’s attention and Crosby was already irritated with me—I’d know that look anywhere—I decided to throw caution to the wind and try to get another type of information out of her. “You mentioned not letting me do what my parents did,” I said carefully. “What did you mean by that?”
Of course, since my talk with Aunt Dru, I had a good idea of what she’d meant, but I still wasn’t sure how much Kr
essida knew or what she thought of it.
Her expression softened. “I’m sorry for saying that,” she said gently. “I’ve been distraught. Marian was my friend.” She swallowed hard. “But all of us have been strained lately.”
“What you said to Willow about stopping her from being like her parents was Marian’s position on the matter, not yours.” Celeste’s voice was super gentle.
Shock coursed through me. “What do you mean?”
But Celeste didn’t answer. She continued to stare at the Crux.
Kressida didn’t make eye contact with anyone, but she finally nodded. “That’s true. The Crone wanted to take Willow’s power because she believed her parents were traitors. I argued against it.” She finally met my gaze. “I have always believed your mother was trying to help the Trio back then.”
Crosby said, “So, you and Marian argued before she died?”
Kressida ran a hand through her auburn hair, clearly frustrated. “Yes. We’d been arguing for days. Heatedly.”
“I thought the Crux was meant to be the mediator,” I said.
“I am. Usually. But this time, she and I both felt strongly. Rather than hold my tongue and act impartial, I decided to fight for what I thought was best for once.” Her jaw clenched. “I wasn’t willing to stand to the side while justice was mis-served by this Trio. Again.”
Well, that was interesting. My mind raced as I tried to figure out what to ask next. Kressida and Marian had been fighting before the Crone died. And Kressida didn’t like other things the Trio had decided. Had she killed Marian to get out of the mediator position? To have more sway over the Trio’s decisions?
But before I could decide what to ask next, Celeste got up and approached Kressida. “Crux,” she said. “Do you know anything about my parents? My real parents?”
Kressida’s eyelids fluttered a few times and then settled. “Yes.”
“Do you know who they were?”
Pence stepped forward. “M’lady.” He touched Kressida’s elbow. “Perhaps now isn’t the time for this conversation with the Key. Outsiders are present.”
