“Dimitri, I’m so sorry for your loss,” I said, hating how hollow the sentiment sounded even as it left my lips. “I can’t quite wrap my head around this. I mean what happened? How do we even know, uh—” I trailed off, unsure how to phrase my question.
“It was her,” Francois said quietly. “Her dress and jewelry were found among the remains. As for what happened … I’m afraid we don’t know at this point.”
“Which is all the more reason why we need to find Alice,” Dimitri said, frustration mixed with desperation and strained his tone.
“Do the guests know?” I asked, peeking inside the ballroom. Everyone was still eating and carrying on as if nothing happened, which answered my question. “Should we tell them?”
“I’m not doing anything until Alice is found. We don’t know who did this, and she could be in danger!”
Turning to Dimitri, I nodded. “Right. She’s not out in the gardens, and I’ve checked all the bathrooms here on the first floor. Have you been upstairs?”
“She’s not upstairs,” Dimitri replied, his eyes scanning the ballroom.
“The staff member who found Lucinda has already called the SPA. They’re sending agents right away,” Francois said. “I’ll have my staff continue serving. No one has to know what’s happened. It will only cause panic.”
I nodded, still scrambling to get my racing thoughts under control. “Right. Yes. We’ll keep everyone calm. The agents will know what to do.” I looked up at Dimitri. Tense lines showed at the edges of his eyes.
I hadn’t quite puzzled out the state of Dimitri and Lucinda’s relationship. Sure, they were mother and son, but they’d never showed a drop of affection for one another. I got the impression that Dimitri knew better than to bite the hand that had popped a silver spoon into his mouth from birth. He had his own job within the haven and powerful connections, but those were mostly the result of his mother’s influence, and I got the feeling he knew it could all be swept away with a single word from her.
Which, to a degree, made his choice of mates all the more surprising. He was risking a lot by marrying the human girl.
Dimitri shook his head. “I can’t believe this is really happening. It feels like some kind of terrible nightmare.”
“Come on,” I said, gently taking his arm. “I’ll help you look for Alice.”
I glanced over my shoulder, and Francois gave me an assured nod. He would handle things in the ballroom. As I turned back around, prepared to follow Dimitri’s lead, I felt the muscles in his forearm stiffen under my fingertips.
“There you are!” he exclaimed, rushing forward.
Alice walked into the kitchen, her face ashen. “Is it … true?” she asked, her voice trembling.
Dimitri gathered her into his arms and nodded.
My chest tightened and I left the couple to console one another. “The agents should be here soon,” I said to Francois, joining him as he walked back to the kitchen. “They’ll know what to do.”
Which was a good thing, because I sure as heck didn’t.
A pair of agents from the Supernatural Protection Agency arrived fifteen minutes later, likely thanks to a nearby portal for official SPA-business use only, as the Vanguard property was a good hour’s drive from the Seattle Haven.
While we’d waited for their arrival, Francois had filled me in on the details. Apparently, one of Lucinda’s staffers had been the one to discover her ashes at the bottom of a back staircase that was generally used only by the other members of the household staff. Francois and his employees heard the scream from the kitchen and raced into action. According to Francois, no one had seen or heard anything prior to the maid’s scream.
It went unspoken, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the real possibility that the murderer was still under the Vanguard’s roof, and could be any one of the hundred-plus guests in the ballroom. Someone could be sitting beside a killer and not have the faintest hint.
When the SPA agents arrived, I forced myself to ignore the thrumming of blood in my ears and marched across the ballroom, legs quivering, eyes shifting. I joined the band on the temporary stage and gestured for the music to stop. The leader of the band gave me a strange look, but directed the others to stop playing, and the music died in a sputtered cough.
With a surreal, almost out-of-body feeling, I told the guests what had happened and announced the presence of the SPA agents. I told them to stay calm and to remain in the ballroom until the agents were through taking statements. Panic and chaos erupted, but with the help of Lucinda’s staff, it looked as though we would be able to keep things contained.
The two agents went to work right away, appearing to take a divide-and-conquer approach to questioning any potential witnesses. The leader of the band offered me a hand as I turned to leave the stage, and only then did I realize how badly I was trembling.
“Thank you,” I said, taking his hand.
He asked if I needed anything, but I waved off the offer and tried to convince him I was all right with a quick smile. It didn’t appear to work, but he released my hand when my heels landed on the marble floor, and I made a beeline back to the kitchen.
Safely inside, I sagged against the wall and gulped in as much air as I could.
Francois sidled up to me and handed me a glass of water. “Ana, are you all right? You look green.”
I drank the water and then nodded. “I’ll be fine. This isn’t about me.”
He eyed me suspiciously, but didn’t argue.
“Seems to me, the SPA could have sent more than two agents,” he muttered, refilling my glass. “There are over a hundred people here! It’s going to take all night to get statements from everyone.”
He was right. I’d placed the order for the 113 invitations. I remembered because Alice had sneered at the thirteen and said it was a perfect omen. The guest list didn’t even include the bride, groom, household staff, Lucinda, or Francois and his two assistants. I imagined, all told, there were close to two hundred souls in the Vanguard mansion, and each and every one of them was a suspect in Lucinda’s murder.
With a slight chill, I realized that list would have to include me as well.
Even knowing full well that I’d had nothing to do with the murder, it was still a strange realization to think I’d temporarily be listed among possible suspects.
“Who would do something like this?” I asked, taking the second glass of water from Francois, though I didn’t drink it. “And tonight, of all nights. It seems like a statement of some kind, doesn’t it?”
“Lucinda was a powerful vampire,” Francois said. “And power always comes with enemies.”
He was right, but I shook my head, unable to quite wrap my mind around it. “But why tonight? Why the rehearsal dinner of her son’s wedding?”
Francois shrugged. “I’m sure there were more than a few vampires here who disagreed with her allowing a human into the family. Think of them all coming here and being forced to put on an act for the humans in attendance. That was bound to make waves.”
I drank the second glass of water and then handed it back to Francois. “I should get back in there in case anyone needs something.”
Francois deposited the glass in the sink and wiped his hands on a white kitchen towel. “I’ll go with you.”
When we stepped into the ballroom, I spotted Kait and her boyfriend for the night speaking with one of the agents. The groomsman at Kait’s side was fairly tall, but the agent dwarfed him by at least half a foot. He had broad shoulders that tapered down to a trim waist. I pegged him as a swimmer. His sandy brown hair was styled, but not overly so. I couldn’t see a wand holster at his hip, but that didn’t necessarily rule out the possibility that he was a wizard or mage or some kind.
The other agent, a lithe female with a blonde pixie cut, stood on the opposite side of the room, interviewing Dimitri and Alice. The vampire had his arms folded over his chest and a tense look that made me wonder what the agent was asking him about. Then again, he’d j
ust found out his mother had been killed at his own rehearsal dinner. Alice appeared to be doing most of the talking.
As I watched Alice speak, I caught a glimmer of motion out of the corner of my eye. Kait was gesturing toward me, and the towering agent zeroed in on me with laser focus. My spine straightened as I drew in a deep breath, resisting the urge to reach up and smooth my fingers through the lock of hair that hung down from my updo to frame my face.
The agent said something to Kait, still looking at me, and then started my way. Each step he took seemed to send shockwaves of palpable energy through the space between us. His dark eyes were intent, and when he stopped before me, I had to crane my head back slightly to meet his stare.
The agent gestured at his badge, in case I was confused as to who he was or what he was doing there. Habit, I figured. “Agent Caleb McCord,” he said. “You’re the wedding planner?”
“That’s right. Anastasia Winters with A Touch of Magic Events,” I answered. “This is Francois Berger; he’s the caterer for this event.”
Agent McCord nodded at Francois and then returned his attention to me. “I imagine you have a complete list of guests for this event?” he asked.
“I do,” I replied with a firm nod. “Not on me though. I can have it sent to you as soon as I get back to the office.”
“Very good.” He paused and looked at the notepad in his large hands. “Can you think of anyone on that list that might have motive to kill Lady Vanguard?”
I balked, caught off guard by the bold question. “I—uh—I’m not really sure. Lucinda was a hard woman—” I stopped, immediately regretting my choice of words. “What I mean is that she could be harsh with people, from time to time.”
“So I’ve gathered,” Agent McCord replied.
My gaze drifted to Alice and Dimitri again. Alice was still speaking, her hands moving in wild gesticulations as the agent took notes.
“I still can’t quite wrap my head around a vampire lord marrying a human,” Agent McCord said.
I snapped to attention and realized he was watching me as I watched Alice. My cheeks warmed.
“That’s got to be one of the strangest wedding requests that’s come across your desk, I imagine,” he added with the hint of a smile.
“It’s not conventional,” I agreed.
Agent McCord chuckled. “The entire agency is still buzzing about it. No one is quite buying the story her fiancé is trying to pass off. You seen her do any magic?”
I shook my head. “As far as I can tell, no.”
“She and Lady Vanguard weren’t the best of pals, from what I understand.”
His subtle insinuation hit me in the chest. “Alice wouldn’t do this, if that’s what you’re suggesting!”
Agent McCord cocked his head. “I’m not suggesting anything.”
I chewed the corner of my lower lip and glanced at Alice again. “Lucinda wanted her to turn into a vampire, and Alice didn’t want to. It seemed pretty obvious that the more Alice fought it, the more … insistent Lucinda became. Even tonight, she made a speech that implied she would give the couple a sizable gift, but only if Alice agreed to turn.”
“What was the gift?” Agent McCord asked.
“This house,” I replied, gesturing at the marble floor we stood on.
Agent McCord let out a low whistle. “Extravagant indeed. I’m no real estate agent, but this place has got to be at least worth a few million.”
I nodded absently and looked up at the agent. “Maybe she meant once the wedding was over, but it sure seemed like she meant something more by it. Alice was really upset, and she stormed out after the toast.”
Agent McCord made another notation in his book.
“Is there anything else I can do to help?” I asked, resisting the urge to peek over the top of the pad to see what the handsome agent was writing. “Besides the guest list, I mean.”
“Not right now. We’re asking everyone to stay here until we finish questioning witnesses, so if you don’t mind hanging around …”
I shook my head. “Of course not.”
He asked Francois a few questions, but the caterer wasn’t able to shed much light on the horrible night either. After he finished, Agent McCord gave an approving nod. “I think this should do me for now. Ms. Winters, may I have your phone number?” he asked, his pen stilled in midair.
“My phone number?”
Stars, when was the last time a good-looking man asked for that?
I shook the thought away, harshly reminding myself that he wasn’t asking for personal use. “Of course,” I said. “Actually, here—”
I fished a business card out of the small clutch I carried and handed it to him. “This has my office and cell phone numbers on it.”
He took the white-and-gold card and flipped it over. Like the company pens, it shimmered with some kind of spellwork, and he gave it an amused smile. “I guess there’s no chance of misplacing this on my desk,” he said, a teasing air to his deep voice.
“Just be glad it doesn’t shoot off miniature fireworks,” I said.
He lifted his thick brows.
“A couple years ago, some genius in the marketing department thought fireworks shooting from the cards would be a good idea to drum up New Year’s Eve business,” I told him.
“You’re kidding.”
I laughed. “I really wish I was. I still have a singe mark inside one of my purses from a spontaneous combustion.”
Agent McCord smiled at me, an almost puzzled look in his eyes. After a moment, he held up the shiny business card. “Thank you for your time, Ms. Winters.”
“Of course. I’ll stay close by, in case you need anything else.”
“I appreciate it.” He gave me a final smile and then set off toward his next interviewees, a pair of gossipy vampire twins lingering near the fireplace.
“I wouldn’t put up a fight if he wanted to take me down to headquarters,” Francois said under his breath.
With a gasp, I batted his forearm playfully. “Francois!”
“Oh, come on, Anastasia. Don’t play innocent with me. I saw the way you were twirling your finger through your hair at the end there.”
My eyes popped open wide. “I did not!”
Francois chuckled. “Oh, that’s really bad, when you don’t even realize you’re doing it.”
With a groan, I hid my face behind my fingers. “Well, that’s mortifying.”
Francois chuckled and bumped me with his hip. We’d hit it off at a wedding convention show several years ago, back when I’d been a junior associate, and had remained industry friends ever since. He catered a good majority of my events, and in return, he threw as much business my way as he could.
Francois cackled. “Don’t worry, love. If he’d had his own long locks to swizzle, he’d have been doing the same.”
My cheeks warmed. Had Agent McCord really been flirting with me?
I shrugged my shoulders, shaking off the thought. It wasn’t appropriate for a number or reasons, number one being that the only reason we’d met was because a woman had been killed.
I shook my head. “I still can’t believe any of this is really happening. What am I going to do?”
“When he calls, you ask him out for coffee. Dump those antiquated he has to ask you rules. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.”
“No, I mean about this,” I interjected.
“Ah,” he said. “Well, I imagine the wedding plans will get put on ice. If not canceled altogether. Guess we’ll both have a free weekend coming up. When’s the last time you could say that?”
I knew he was only trying to pull at the silver lining, but I couldn’t help groaning. “Hyacinth is so going to lock me in a broom closet and make me enchant pens the rest of my life.”
Francois raised an eyebrow. “Enchant pens?”
I wave a hand. “Nothing.”
“I can’t see how you’d get in trouble for this. It’s not like you’re the one who knocked off the old hag.”
He shrugged. “What? She was awful. We both know that.”
“I know that, but still, she didn’t deserve this.”
From the look on his face, it was apparent he considered Lucinda’s fate her just desserts.
“I think they are looking at Alice as a suspect,” I told him. The couple had finished their interview with the other agent and were clinging to one another, surrounded by the other guests. Everyone had a goblet in hand and spoke in hushed tones.
“It’s possible,” Francois said. “You think she did it?”
I started to object but as I watched Alice across the room, I realized there was a shadow of doubt over my answer.
Francois shrugged, not waiting for my answer. “You’d think if it was her, she’d at least have had the sense to wait until after the wedding. This way, no matter how they move forward, Lucinda’s murder will overshadow the whole thing.”
An image flashed behind my eyes, the look on Alice’s face when she’d told me about the pre-nup Lucinda was forcing her to sign. With Lucinda dead, would that mean Alice could get clear of whatever agreements she’d made in the contract?
I shook the dark thought away. “She wouldn’t do this. It has to be someone else.”
Francois jutted his angular chin at Agent McCord. “Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
Chapter 5
It was past midnight by the time I got back home and finally crawled under the covers. I found Harmony asleep on the couch, the TV blaring. I tucked her underneath a coverlet and turned off the sitcom she’d been watching and then tiptoed past her and down the short hallway to my own room. I’d finally stopped shaking, but my restless mind wouldn’t wind down, replaying the night over and over again as if I could make sense of it if I just focused hard enough. But, as my head hit the pillow, I was no closer to making sense of any of it. I turned on some music, hoping it would distract my fatigued mind. The only positive thing that had come out of the entire night was that I finally had some leverage over Kait. If I told Hyacinth she’d ducked out on her duties to make out with one of the groomsmen, she’d find herself headed to the haven’s unemployment department.
Newly Wed and Slightly Dead Page 4
