by K E O'Connor
“There is indeed talk of such a happy event. I will welcome her into my home.” Toby gestured around him. “As you see, I have plenty of space. This house has twelve bedrooms. It’s too large for a single man. It’s time I opened my doors to another.”
“You want that other to be Aurora? You’re really that serious about her?”
“I am. Your sister is flawless.”
I snorted a laugh. “She’s a normal person. It sounds like you’ve put her on a pedestal. I’d hate to see what happens if she falls.”
Toby’s smile faded. “I admit to a little worshipping of your sister, but that’s appropriate. She has a good heart. She’s generous and kind. And her beauty takes my breath away. I want to give her the best things and the best possible life.”
“Her life is good as it is. She loves working at Heaven’s Door, and she’s got a great apartment. Plus, Aurora’s surrounded by a family who loves her.”
“If Aurora wishes, she can keep all of that. I will never take her from her family. And if she wants to keep her apartment, for whatever reason, she may do so.”
“And her business? That’s always been her focus. Aurora’s not going to give that up.”
Toby shrugged. “I admire ambition, but Aurora will need nothing when she’s living with me. After a time, I imagine she’ll find the daily grind of running a small business tedious. She’ll understand that she doesn’t need to do that to earn a living. I will give her everything.”
“What’s she going to do if she doesn’t run Heaven’s Door?” It sounded like Toby wanted to keep Aurora like a pet in his gilded cage.
“She’ll live here. She can pursue her passions.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Heaven’s Door is Aurora’s passion.”
Toby chuckled and shook his head. “You’re young and don’t see the pleasures of this lifestyle. I’m sure there will be a period of adjustment as Aurora realizes all the opportunities she has. If she’s insistent on keeping Heaven’s Door, I’ll give her the money so she can hire someone to run it. She can have that as a hobby while removing the burden.”
“That’s generous of you, but Aurora loves the buzz of running her store. She loves helping people. She can’t do that if she pays other people to run the place.”
“Does she love the stress and the early mornings? Stress does terrible things to the body. It ages a person. I don’t want to see your sister fade because she’s worried about anything. I can take care of it all.”
This guy had Aurora’s future all planned. Samantha was right. He wanted someone who’d be around to service his needs and act as his pampered housewife. That wasn’t Aurora. She’d be bored out of her mind. She’d hate having no purpose other than to fluff Toby’s pillows and make sure his slippers were warm.
Toby leaned forward. “My dear, have I offended you?”
“It’s not me you need to worry about offending. Does Aurora know about these ambitions of yours?”
“We talk about our future a lot. She’s very excited. I hope you’ll be excited for us too. As my relationship with Aurora deepens, I will consider us family. I’m always generous to my family.”
I wasn’t buying any of this, and he couldn’t bribe me into supporting this relationship. Aurora would not become Toby’s house pet. She deserved better. He could charm her all he liked, but he was onto a losing game if he thought he could do the same to me.
“Would you like tea?” Toby asked.
“No, I can’t stay much longer. I do have a question that’s not related to Aurora. I expect you’ve heard about the murder at the hotel, right?”
“Yes, such a bad business. A friend of your auntie’s, I believe?”
“An old friend. They used to be in the same biker gang when they were younger.”
Toby pressed his lips together. “Your family is full of interesting people.”
“They’ll be your family too if you do commit to Aurora.”
He smirked and splayed his hands. “Naturally. What do you want to ask me about this murder?”
“You know one of Auntie Queenie’s other friends, Samantha Smythe-Barrow. She was also in the gang.”
Toby’s jaw muscles clenched, and he glanced away. “I know Samantha. We’ve been friends for many years. She never took the gang seriously. She used to joke about them with me.”
“You’re still good friends?”
“Not as close as we used to be, but we keep in touch.”
“Samantha used you as her alibi for the night of Bastille’s murder.”
Toby nodded slowly. “Of course, she would have mentioned me. We saw each other that night but only after she insisted. Samantha and I parted a long time ago. I left her. She’s a charming woman but not the right one for me.”
“Because she was in a biker gang or because she liked her independence?”
Toby’s nostrils flared. “A little of both. Her beauty was bewitching, and she’s still an attractive older woman. But sometimes attractive features cannot overcome more fundamental character flaws. I had to let her go.”
“That must have been difficult for you both.”
“Samantha took it badly. I believe she still has a small crush on me.” Toby rested back against his seat and flashed his brows at me.
I tried not to show how unappealing I found him. “Did you take advantage of that crush the night she came to visit?”
“The idea never crossed my mind. Samantha is a friend, but I’m not interested in her in that way.”
Toby’s story didn’t tally with Samantha’s. She’d been clear that she didn’t want to be his little housewife and had left him. There’d been no talk of him ditching her, but who was telling the truth?
“What did you do when she came for her friendly visit so late at night?”
“It was late, but I’m a night owl. Samantha knows that. We had a drink, chatted about old times, and she left. Nothing happened between us. I’m with your sister now.”
“Samantha said that you wanted her as a kept woman and you weren’t happy when she wouldn’t give up her freedom.”
“Aaahhh! I see why you’re so interested in my past relationship. You think I’m going to force your sister to do the same?” Toby chuckled. “Aurora’s a strong-minded, smart woman. I could never convince her to do something she doesn’t desire.”
“So Samantha lied?”
Toby shrugged. “Memories are funny things. We change what happened in our past to fit our current beliefs. Samantha was keen on us marrying. She didn’t want to work and was happy to stay at home and live a life of luxury paid for by me. She didn’t make me happy, though. Samantha hides it well, but she’s resentful of having missed her opportunity with me.”
I barely managed to suppress a snort of laughter. Toby was grotesquely wealthy, but he was hardly a catch. He was so self-satisfied and smug that I always had the urge to slap him.
I leaned forward in my seat. “I hope your intentions toward Aurora are honorable. She’s young and still has lots of living to do. I’d hate to see that stifled.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Your lovely sister will have all the freedom she desires. All opportunities will be available to her.”
“Even if that means she won’t be your stay at home housewife?”
Toby’s nostrils flared again. “That’s for Aurora to decide.”
I sucked in a breath to continue my questioning but was hit with a wave of light-headedness. The room felt like it was spinning. I grabbed the edge of the couch, thinking I was about to topple to the floor. I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on calming my suddenly racing heart.
As I opened my eyes, a cold breeze hit me in the face. I blinked several times as I struggled to figure out where I was. The library was gone, as was Toby. I stood at the open front door of his house.
Feodor stood in front of me. “Do come again.” He shut the door in my face.
I stumbled away from the door, my head pounding and my vision blurry. It felt like I’d lost t
ime. The last clear memory I had was of grilling Toby about Aurora. Then I got dizzy and ended up outside.
Wiggles bounded around the side of the house, his front paws covered in mud. “Run! I’ve been spotted.”
I stumbled after him, my balance still not great and my stomach churning.
“Hurry! Feodor’s been chasing me for ages. I escaped when he went inside the house.”
I shook my head as I staggered after Wiggles. “What did you do?”
“I dug a few holes, left a couple of presents. That will teach Toby to have allergies.” Wiggles slowed as he waited for me to catch up. “You look really pale.”
I looked back at the house, my vision clearing. “Something happened, but I’m not sure what. Toby gives me the creeps.”
Wiggles nodded. “You’d be right to think he’s creepy. And something definitely happened to you. Toby used his powers on you.”
I stopped walking and stared at Wiggles. “He did what?”
“I couldn’t see much because Feodor was chasing me, but I watched through the window for a minute when you were talking.”
“What did you see?”
“You two having a cozy chat. It looked like it was getting tense. Suddenly, you stopped talking. You sort of froze in your seat.”
I rubbed my forehead. “I don’t remember that. I was grilling Toby about Aurora, and he wasn’t happy about it.”
“I could tell that from the sour look on his face,” Wiggles said. “Anyway, Toby got up, went to his desk, came back with a pair of scissors, and cut off a piece of your hair.”
I grabbed handfuls of my hair and studied it. Sure enough, there was a small amount clipped off the end. My stomach clenched, and my mouth went dry. “This is bad.”
“No kidding. You need to be careful,” Wiggles said. “Owning a person’s hair gives them power over you. You could wind up as the next Feodor doing Toby’s creepy bidding. He could turn you into his slave.”
A cold shiver of worry ran down my spine. “At least this proves he’s trouble. Toby used magic on me to get my hair. He’s worried I’m going to turn Aurora against him.” It all fell into place as my mind stopped spinning. “That’s how I ended up outside the house with no knowledge of how I got there. A spell was used to compel me out.”
“Then Toby’s doubly creepy, especially if he can control you. Didn’t Frank mind Toby messing with you?”
I checked in with Frank, but he was nowhere to be found. “I doubt he cares about Toby snipping my hair. He probably found it funny.”
“We should go back, call Toby out on his tricky behavior.”
I half-turned to go back to the house. My fists clenched, but I didn’t move. “He’s also a liar. Toby’s story doesn’t tally with Samantha’s. He said he dumped her and that she was free to do whatever she wanted. That’s not the story Samantha gave us.”
“I trust Samantha much more than Toby,” Wiggles said.
I nodded. “Same here.” Spending time with Toby Matlock was never on my top ten list of fun things to do, but now I had evidence to show Aurora that he couldn’t be trusted. There was no way she’d stay with him after she learnt about this.
“What are you going to do about your hair? You need to get it back before Toby uses his magic on it.”
“He won’t do anything yet,” I said. “He’s got my sister in his thrall and won’t want anything bad to happen to me, in case it makes her suspicious.”
Wiggles cocked his head. “That could be how he’s gotten Aurora so crazy about him. He’s used a spell on her.”
I gritted my teeth. I’d had the same concern. It was the only way this relationship made sense. “Toby would need to strengthen whatever magic he’s using constantly, though. Aurora’s magic eraser never leaves her throat.”
“He spends a lot of time with her,” Wiggles said. “That could be the reason why. If they spend too long apart, Aurora starts to see what a creepy old dude he really is.”
“Let’s get out of here,” I said as I turned and walked away from the house. “Toby Matlock is on my hit list, but we’ve got another problem to focus on.”
“You still need to be careful,” Wiggles said. “I couldn’t be certain what it was, but there are dead things buried in Toby’s garden. You don’t want to become the next dead thing fertilizing his roses.”
A shudder ran through me. “I’ll get my hair back and make sure Aurora knows not to trust him. Toby Matlock’s made his first mistake and proven he’s not safe to be around.” I shook off the remnants of his dizzy inducing magic as we walked slowly to the hotel.
I stopped as I saw Sablo and Jophiel walk out the front door. Caprice was sandwiched between them, her head down.
“That looks like trouble,” Wiggles said.
I hurried over. “What’s going on?”
Caprice raised her head, tears on her cheeks. “I’m innocent.”
Sablo looked at me. “We had an anonymous tip-off about Caprice.”
“Tempest, they think I killed Bastille.” Caprice sniffed. “I didn’t do it. You know me. You tell the angels I’d never do anything to hurt Bastille.”
“Are you charging her?” I asked Sablo.
“Not yet, but she’s under caution, and Dazielle wants her in for questioning. The tip-off said she was about to leave Willow Tree Falls.”
“I wasn’t. I went to get breakfast. I took a walk to clear my head. I was still upset about last night.”
“What happened last night?” Sablo asked.
I winced. “Nothing bad. Things got heated over dinner. We all want to find Bastille’s killer.”
“And you all thought it was me.” Caprice hiccupped a sob.
“No! Not all of us.” I felt guilty. Caprice’s expression was one of shock and sadness. I focused on Sablo. “What evidence have you got?”
“Nothing I can discuss with you,” Sablo said.
“Which means you have nothing concrete.”
Sablo pursed her lips. “Which means we have a strong lead, and we’re following it.”
“Tempest, you have to help me.” Caprice’s bottom lip quivered as the angels moved her away from the hotel.
“I’ll do everything I can.” At that moment, I could do nothing but watch as they led Caprice toward the Angel Force headquarters.
I had my own suspicions about Caprice, but they weren’t strong enough to declare her the killer. She didn’t have a great alibi and had the power to kill with her fire magic, but was that enough? What was her motive?
“What do you reckon?” Wiggles asked. “Have they found Bastille’s killer?”
“I’m not so sure they have,” I said. “While they question Caprice, we’ll keep asking questions, see if anything strange pops up. One question I’m interested in having answered is who sent in the tip-off about Caprice.”
“The killer wanting to frame her?”
I nodded. “That’s what we need to figure out.”
Chapter 13
I walked away from the hotel with Wiggles, my mind churning over the possibility that Caprice had killed Bastille.
“We should celebrate the capture with a cake,” Wiggles said.
“It’s a little soon to celebrate. All we know for sure is that Caprice reacted badly when Esmeralda quizzed her about her alibi at dinner.”
“And she tried to escape before the angels got her.”
“Caprice must have known that fleeing would put the spotlight on her.”
“She got nervous because she thought people were onto her. Caprice panicked.” Wiggles nodded. “Case solved. Now, about that cake to celebrate. I’m thinking something with whipped cream.”
I shook my head. “What about the anonymous tip-off? Who sent it in?”
“Someone who knew what Caprice had done.”
“Someone who was in the hotel,” I said, “which means someone who knew Caprice.”
“You think it’s someone else in the gang? One of the others saw what happened?”
I
tilted my head back. “If they did, they’re hiding what they know from everyone else, but why?”
“They’re covering their own behind. They called in the tip-off to deflect attention and skulk away before they’re caught.”
“That’s possible. The real killer figured out that Caprice has a lousy alibi. They stirred up enough heat, and the angels reacted and took Caprice in. When they have a prime suspect, they stop looking at anyone else.”
“Which means what?” Wiggles raised a paw. “That we deserve cake?”
“No, it means we still have a killer on the loose, and the angels are wasting their time.”
Wiggles lowered his paw. “It won’t be the first time that’s happened.”
I slowed as we reached Aurora’s store.
Wiggles bounded to the door. “Aurora often has treats.”
I shrugged. Now was as good a time as any to speak to her about her sleazy boyfriend and make her see sense.
I pushed open the door and walked inside with Wiggles. Aurora smiled at me and gestured to the customer she served.
I wandered around, looking at the beautiful crystals and pre-made spells sitting on the shelves.
Once the store was empty, I walked to the counter. “How’s business?”
“Good, as usual,” Aurora said. “What brings you by?”
“Oh, you know, just seeing how my little sister’s doing.” I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. “How’s your love life?”
She raised her eyebrows and grinned. “Great. How’s yours?”
“The same.” I took a deep breath. “Have you seen Toby recently?”
“Yesterday. He came by the store. We had tea together.”
“You’re still into him?”
Aurora laughed as she opened a box on the counter. “Of course. He’s being as lovely as ever.”
“No second thoughts about being involved with a much older man?”
She tilted her head, her hair falling over her shoulder. “No. Why do you ask?”
I couldn’t keep what I knew from Aurora. The more time she spent with Toby, the greater his influence would be. I needed to free her from his deceitful arms before this went too far.
