by Zoe Arden
Trixie's mouth opened in a silent "O." She ran her fingers through her long golden hair, pulling anxiously at the split ends. "Why didn't I think of that? Of course." Her eyes were bright. She began to fidget with her clothes, pulling at the bottom of her shirt and bouncing from one foot to another.
"You know where he's gone, don't you?" I asked.
"I can't say for sure, but I have an idea."
"Are you gonna tell me or do I have to guess?"
She looked less nervous and more excited now. "If you were a vampire, where's the one place on an island of humans and witches that you might feel comfortable?"
I looked toward the blood bank boat disguised as a tomato shop.
"No, no," Trixie said. "You said it yourself. Not where would he go to but who would he go to?"
My eyes lit up as a name occurred to me. "Russell."
Trixie nodded. "Russell. The only other vampire living directly in Sweetland Cove."
"What are we waiting for?" I said. "Let's go."
Russell Hudson with Colt's dad. It was kind of a long story, but for most of his life Colt had thought his dad was actually dead. Not vampire dead, but dead-dead. It wasn't until about a year ago or so that he'd discovered Russell was still alive. Well, if you counted being a vampire as living.
Russell was a nice man, and we got along well. Like Melbourne, he kept mostly to himself. When Russell had finally come out of hiding, it had been Melbourne who'd helped him integrate back into society. I don't know if "best friends" was the right term for them, but it was close enough.
I knocked on Russell's door, wondering if I should've come by here sooner. Colt had told me that if I needed to find him I should ask his dad. Something had stopped me from coming down here sooner, though. Maybe it was the fact that part of me knew, deep down, that if I found out he was the killer, I'd have no choice but to turn him in. Part of me thought it was safer not knowing where Colt was.
It would be so much easier for both of us if I could prove Colt's innocence before running into him again. I just didn't know if I could wait that long. The more I looked into things, the more signs seemed to point to Colt.
Russell opened the door. For a moment, he looked surprised to see us. Then his expression changed, and he broke into a smile.
"Ava, Trixie," he said, inviting us inside. "What a pleasant surprise." He gave us each a quick hug and offered to make tea.
I shot a look to Trixie and knew she was thinking the same thing I was.
Something's wrong.
Russell was a nice guy, but he wasn't the type to be overly friendly. Hugging us? Offering to make tea? He was either drunk, which I wasn't even sure vampires could get, or he was hiding something.
"Actually, Russell, we just came here to ask you something," Trixie said.
"Of course," Russell said. He turned to us expectantly, not a hint of tension or anxiety in his face.
"Have you seen Melbourne today?" I said.
"Yes. I went by Coffee Cove earlier this morning for a cinnamon vanilla latte and said hello."
I looked at Trixie.
"That's it?" Trixie said. "You saw him at Coffee Cove this morning?"
He cocked his head to the side, looking confused. "Have I said something wrong?"
"No," I told him. "It's just that we thought you might have seen him since then. Like in the last hour or so."
"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I can't help you there."
I looked at Trixie again. I could tell that neither one of us believed him. He didn't have any tells as far as I could account for—not like Melbourne had, at least—unless you counted his being overly friendly. It was just a feeling we both had.
I looked around his apartment, searching for something that might give us a clue as to whether Melbourne was here right now. It was a simple one-bedroom apartment. We were standing in the living room; the kitchen was off to the right. The bedroom was at the far end of the hall, it's door hanging open. The bathroom was in the center of the hallway. Its door was shut.
"Can I use your bathroom?" I asked suddenly.
Russell blanched. "Bathroom?" He looked suddenly anxious. His shoulders tensed, and his eyes began to dart around the room.
"Unless, of course, there's some reason you'd rather I didn't."
Trixie was looking at me. She caught on. "Actually, I need to use the bathroom, too, if you don't mind."
"Unfortunately, the bathroom's out of order at the moment," Russell said.
"That's okay," I told him. "I just need to splash some water on my face."
I headed for the bathroom before he could stop me. I pushed the door open and saw nothing but a toilet and a shower curtain.
Russell ran up beside me. "I told you, it's out of order."
"Why is your shower curtain closed?" I asked him.
He looked blankly back at me. "Why shouldn't it be closed?"
"No reason," I said and shrugged. I turned around as if I meant to leave. Melbourne walked out ahead of me. When he was out of the room, I shut the door and locked it. He started banging on it from the other side.
"Ava? Ava, come out here please," he said, remaining surprisingly calm. He banged lightly on the door.
I could hear Trixie trying to talk to him as the banging on the door grew louder and his tone more irritated. I ignored him and turned back to the shower curtain.
"Melbourne, if you're in here, you should just come out now," I said. "There's nowhere for you to go; you must know that."
I waited, counting to five, then drew back the shower curtain.
Melbourne stood there, looking embarrassed. For just a minute, I could've sworn his cheeks turned pink.
"Hello," he said.
I sighed. "What are you doing? Get out of there."
He stepped out of the shower and opened the bathroom door. Trixie smiled triumphantly. Russell smiled apologetically.
Melbourne looked at him. "It's okay," he told Russell. "Trixie's too smart for her own good." He shot me a look. "And Ava's not far behind."
Trixie stood with her arms folded across her chest. "Now that we found you, are you going to finish answering our questions?"
"What is it that you want to know?" he asked, resigning himself to being caught. "I may not know as much as you think I do."
"What does Colt have to do with Zulubar's and Kyrab's disappearance? I asked him.
"He's the one who asked me to take them to Sweetland Hospital," Melbourne said. "Beyond that, I don't know."
I watched to see if he tugged at his ear, but his hand stayed at his side.
"You told me before that Colt was the last person to see them before they disappeared."
"As far as I know, he was." He shrugged. "I escorted them to the hospital from Goblin Territory, but I didn't stay. Colt met us there, and he took over."
"So, he was protecting them?" I said.
"I thought so."
"Protecting them from what?" asked Trixie.
Russell was watching us, his eyes bouncing from one to the other as we spoke about his son. I turned to him.
"Russell, do you know what's going on? Has Colt told you anything?"
Russell shrugged. "I know as much as you do."
I sighed and turned back to Melbourne. "So, why the hospital? What was wrong with Zulubar? Was he sick? Is he still sick?"
Since getting shot, Dr. Dunne had yet to wake up. He was alive, but he was in a coma. According to Sadie, he would wake up, it was just a question as to when. Until then, I was stuck.
Melbourne was shaking his head.
"What?" I asked.
"You've got it all wrong. It wasn't Zulubar who was sick," he said. "It was Kyrab."
* * *
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
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I stood beside the boulder in Beggars Forest, waiting for the door to appear. I was alone. Trixie needed so
me time to cool down and recover from yesterday's events with Melbourne and Russell. When the door finally revealed itself, I slid the key in and unlocked it, then tucked the key safely back into my pocket.
I headed straight for the castle, bypassing the marketplace altogether. There was a guard standing in front of the door that opened into the castle itself. I showed him my key, and he let me pass. I kept the key close by. If any other guards tried to stop me, I wanted to be ready.
It wasn't nearly as hard to find Perx as I'd been afraid it might be. The guard who'd let me in had told me to go down to the end of the hall and turn right. There was a large wooden door with a big sign on it that read Perx in six-inch letters.
I knocked on the door.
"Open," a voice shouted from inside.
The door opened, and I stepped in. The room was large and smelled of mothballs. The walls, like the rest of the castle, were made of stone. It was dimly lit, with several candles as the main source of lighting. Perx was sitting behind a massive desk made of cherry wood. He looked up when I came in.
"You have news for me?" he asked, rising from his seat. I thought he might greet me by shaking my hand, but he only sat there, a stern expression on his face like he had better things to do than listen to me.
"Um, yes," I said. "Some."
I had debated on whether I should come down here at all, given that some of the information I had only garnered more questions than it did answers. But I'd wanted to make sure he knew that I hadn't forgotten him or the case. It seemed important that he knew we were working on it.
Well?" he said. "I haven't got all day. If you have something useful to tell me, then tell me."
"Zulubar was last seen at Sweetland Hospital the night he disappeared." I waited to see if he would have any reaction to this, but if he did, he did not express it.
I cleared my throat and continued,
"It wasn't Zulubar who was ill. It was Kyrab."
At this, Perx did show a reaction. His mouth dropped open, revealing tiny brown teeth. He stood up and began to hop from one foot to the other. His eyes grew as big as baseballs.
"Are you certain?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Who told you this?"
I hesitated, not wanting to give away Melbourne's or Russell's names. Goblins were known to have a temper, and I didn't want them taking it out on either vampire.
"I can't reveal my source, but I assure you it's accurate."
He glared at me but said no more about it.
"Thank you for this information," he said. "It confirms a suspicion I've been harboring for some time now."
"A suspicion?" I asked.
"Yes, about your Sheriff Knoxx."
My heart began to thump in my chest. "Sheriff Knoxx?"
"Yes." He looked at me for a moment as he retook his seat behind his desk. He looked at me as if he was sizing me up, trying to decide on something. Finally, he nodded to himself.
"This may come as a surprise to you, but your Sheriff Knoxx is more goblin than he was previously aware of."
"What do you mean?"
"He is a distant—very distant—relation to King Zulubar himself." He leaned back in his chair, waiting for my reaction. When none came, his eyes grew narrow.
"You already knew this," he accused.
"I only found out recently."
"And you said nothing to me?"
"Why should I tell you something you already knew?"
"But you didn't know that I knew." He grunted.
I sighed. This was getting us nowhere.
"What about Sheriff Knoxx?" I asked. "You said this confirms some suspicion about him that you've been holding."
"Yes. With Zulubar gone, Sheriff Knoxx is next in line for the throne."
He stared at me. I stared back, not comprehending.
"And?" I asked.
"Is it not obvious?" When it was clear to him that it was not obvious to me, he let out a noise that sounded like a leaf blower. "It's a wonder that you've been able to find any information at all given your limited intellect."
My jaw hit the floor. "You asked me to help out on this case, not the other way around."
"Yes, yes, of course. I apologize for my outburst." He sighed again, but this one was softer and subtler. More of a heavy wind than a leaf blower. "It is almost a certainty at this point that both Zulubar and Kyrab are dead."
"I don't know if I'd say that's a certainty." I licked my lips. "I mean, the last person who saw them saw them alive. I think that's a good sign, don't you?"
But he was shaking his head.
"I'm afraid not. If Zulubar was alive, he would have returned by now. I can only come to one conclusion. Sheriff Knoxx took his life so that he might replace Zulubar on the throne."
I laughed out loud. "You've got to be kidding me."
Perx's face remained as it was. There was not even the hint of a smile.
"I'm quite serious," he said.
"Sheriff Knoxx would never want to be Goblin King. He doesn't even like to acknowledge that he's part goblin."
"That might be what he tells everyone, but how could he not want the power and riches that go along with being king? It is a gift that many would kill for."
"But he's a sheriff. He fights to keep the law, not to break it."
"Everyone has a temptation that proves too great for them to ignore. For some it is money, for others power, for some a pretty face."
"You're making a huge mistake," I said, shaking my head.
"It is no matter. Once he has been arrested and is in his prison cell, you will see that I am right."
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. "Prison cell? What are you talking about?"
"If Zulubar had been ill, then there would have been no reason for the sheriff to kill him. Now that I know it was Kyrab who was ill, then Sheriff Knoxx would've had no choice other than to kill Zulubar if he wanted the throne."
"I'm telling you there is no way that Sheriff Knoxx wants to be King of the Goblins."
Perx went on as if he hadn't heard me. "Once he is arrested, he'll confess. And then you'll see that I was right."
He pushed a button on his desk that I hadn't noticed until now. A moment later, two guards appeared at his door. "Will you seem Miss Fortune out?" Perx said.
One of the guards grabbed hold of my arm and spun me around.
"Wait!" Perx yelled.
He walked over to me and for a brief moment, I thought he was going to apologize. Tell me how wrong he was and that he was being foolish. Instead, he held out his hand. I went to shake it and he swatted it aside.
"Key," he said.
"What?" I asked.
"Give me the key," he said, talking slowly, as if to a child.
"Oh." I reached dumbly into my pocket and picked the key out. I handed it to him.
"Thank you for your service. The goblin community appreciates your help."
My chest was so empty of air that my lungs actually hurt. The goblin community might have thanked me for my services, but I was fairly certain that Sheriff Knoxx wouldn't.
* * *
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
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I was walking so fast I was practically sprinting. All I could think about was what a mess I'd made of things. If Sheriff Knoxx didn't kill me, I was pretty sure that Eleanor would.
I paused halfway back to the bakery, realizing I was going to the wrong place. I should've been going to the sheriff's station. I had to warn Sheriff Knoxx before it was too late. If I could get to him before Perx, he might be able to get away. Or at least figure something out. It wasn't as if he was guilty. It wasn't as if he had to run.
I rounded a corner and ran into a wall. I smacked my nose against its hard surface and landed on my butt on the sidewalk. I looked up and realized it wasn't a wall I'd just run into, it was Colt. My eyes popped out of my head.
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"Colt!" I yelled.
He looked quickly around and lifted me up off the ground. He pulled me into an alleyway between two buildings.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
I was both happy and irritated to see him. I'd spent so much time worrying about him, looking for him, thinking about him, that now that he was actually in front of me, I wanted him to go away again.
"I know you went to see my dad," he said.
"Did he talk to you?"
"No, but I've been keeping tabs on you both. I saw you go into his apartment with Trixie the other day."
I bristled at his comment. "Keeping tabs? You mean you're following me?"
"Someone has to."
"Well, if you'd been doing a better job of it, then you'd have known I went to your dad's apartment looking for Melbourne. Not you." Though I had to admit, if only to myself, that in the back of my head I had wondered if Colt might not be there. Part of me had been disappointed to show up at Russell's and only find Melbourne.
"I'm doing the best that I can," Colt said. "You're not the only one I'm keeping tabs on."
"Does your dad know that you're watching him, too?"
"Probably. He's a vampire, after all. Vampires have a way of seeing things others can't. And anyway, it's not just you two I'm keeping track of."
"It's not?"
"Right now, I can't take my eyes off anybody."
Something sparked in my brain just then. I licked my lips, my heart rate increasing. "Colt, how long have you been following me?"
"I don't know," he shrugged. "A while now."
"Since I started looking for Zulubar or before that?"
"A little before, I suppose."
"Is that why you were in Beggars Forest with me the night Bisnunk was murdered? Were you following me then?"
He paused. "What makes you think I was in Beggars Forest that night?"
I reached for his hand. He jumped, startled by the sudden movement, but he didn't pull his hand away fast enough. The mark was almost faded, the full moon was just about to pass, but if you looked closely enough, you could still see the faint outline of the clover.
