by Esme Addison
But no. He sat calmly in his seat with a slight look of distaste directed at her. “I knew that would come out eventually. Actually, I’m relieved.” He gave her a sickly smile. “Apparently I was the last person to see him alive.”
“Yeah. And?”
“And I was delivering papers. That’s it.”
“Paperwork related to Neptune Investments?”
He rolled his eyes. “This again?”
She pushed on. “From what I understand, it’s a company within a company. Do you know who owns it?”
He chuckled. “I let my lawyers handle that. As long as their cash is good, what do I care?”
“Well, I care.” She grabbed a pen and a sticky note from his desk and wrote down her cell phone number. “I’m trying to clear my aunt’s name. Call me if you think of anything that could help her. Please.”
He shot her a bored look. “I doubt I’ll—” Edwin suddenly stopped and stared at something behind Alex. She followed his gaze. The receptionist was standing in the doorway, a look of confusion on her face.
“Sir?” the receptionist interrupted. “The police are here to see you. They told me it was urgent.”
Edwin rose as Jack entered the room.
“Mr. Kenley?” Jack said, before noticing Alex. “What are you doing here?” He sounded exasperated.
“Talking.” Alex stood and put on her most innocent smile. “We met at a charity event last week, so I stopped by to say hello.”
A muscle on Jack’s jawline moved. “Alex, can I speak with you?”
“Detective,” Edwin said, “what’s all of this about?”
“I have a few questions for you, Mr. Kenley. Nothing that should take too long. But first I need to speak with Ms. Daniels for a moment.”
Jack led Alex out of the office and back into a private area off the hallway. When he was certain they were alone, he whispered, “What are you doing? I thought I told you to let me handle this.”
“I know,” she said, “but I had some questions for Edwin too.”
Jack closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Stephanie Bennett is a dead end. We checked her alibi. She was out of town at a spa the days before Randy died. She returned to town the morning we found him dead. She may have had motive to kill her husband, but she didn’t have opportunity.”
Alex stared at him. “That’s not possible. Of course Stephanie killed him. She’s the only one—”
“She didn’t.” Jack’s voice commanded her attention. “You have to let this go. We were able to eliminate her in a matter of minutes. She gave us receipts for spa treatments and names of witnesses.”
What about one of those spells for trouble? she wanted to ask him. But how crazy would she sound, explaining to him that Stephanie might be an unregistered Magical with the ability to be in two places at one time … probably? Desperate, Alex grabbed his arms. “But you arrested the wrong person.”
“I should also tell you that I made a discreet inquiry into the mayor’s schedule with his assistant.” He paused for effect. “He was two towns over at a mayors’ retreat on creating more green spaces in the community. The meeting was taped for one of the local public-access channels.” He gave her a concerned look. “He didn’t do it either.”
“Okay, I get it. The mayor’s innocent; I can totally buy that. But Stephanie’s different. She has a reason to frame Lidia, a reason to kill her husband, there’s an affair, and she may be—” She stopped short of saying the word Magical. He needed context, but she just couldn’t. She huffed in exasperation.
“She may be … what?” When Alex didn’t speak, he smiled gently at her. “Look, I understand you want to believe that your aunt is innocent, but the evidence suggests otherwise.” He gently twisted his arms out of her grip. “Allow me to do my job without civilian interference.”
“What about Edwin? He just told me he was the last person to see Randy before he died.”
“You know, I regret telling you about the footage now.” He shook his head wearily. “I will talk to him about it, but you have to let this go.”
“I know, but his alibi is so weak.”
“Alex, leave it alone.”
“But—”
He held up a hand to silence her. “No buts.”
Her throat tightened. This was so unfair. She had to learn more about those spells for trouble. How had Stephanie pulled this off? And how was Edwin involved? Everyone knew it was always the spouse. And in this case, the spouse had an accomplice. An accomplice with motive. She shot Jack a frustrated look. She was not letting this go. Not when she was this fired up. Not when she was this close to figuring it all out. “There’s something we’re missing.”
Jack sighed. “Just stay out of my case, okay, Alex?”
She lifted her chin. “I’m afraid I can’t make any promises. Not so long as my aunt is under house arrest while the real killer goes free.”
Jack clenched his jaw. “Then you’d better be careful about interfering with the investigation. I don’t treat that kindly.”
“I can’t interfere in an investigation you’re not conducting, Detective.”
She turned before he could say anything to stop her. Even if he had, she wouldn’t have listened. Edwin was standing in the doorway to his office, watching the exchange. Their eyes met. Alex lowered her head and walked toward the exit.
Chapter Twenty-One
That evening, Alex took off her shoes and walked on the beach. She would be meeting Dylan soon, but she’d left early to clear her head. Walking on the beach was only second to running on the beach for the best way to clear her mind. The sand was cool and the wind off the water whipped the hem of her dress around her legs, but she was too absorbed by her own thoughts to give it much thought.
Yesterday she’d been so hopeful about Jack investigating Stephanie, but that had been short-lived. Now that he was convinced Stephanie had an alibi, Alex was back to square one. The Magical element was a complication. Alex couldn’t explain to Jack that Stephanie had somehow used her powers to create an alibi so that she could poison her husband. She had to find something a Mundane would understand.
She sat on the sand, drawing her knees close to her chest. The skin on her legs was pocked with gooseflesh. As she watched the sun hovering above the horizon, Alex ached for her mother. This was where she had vanished under the waves, never to surface again. The police had said she was caught in an undertow and pulled out to sea, but Alex had prayed each night that she would see her mother at the breakfast table. All she wanted was to wake up from the nightmare.
She’d often thought about the things she would have done with her mother had she lived, like shop for prom dresses and talk about her boyfriends. Now she knew there was so much more they would have done together. Her mother could have taught her about magic and how to operate within this confusing world. She could have sent her out prepared for the challenges she’d face. Maybe then, Alex would know how to help her family out of this situation.
“I miss you, Mom,” she whispered.
Alex swirled shapes in the sand and wiped them away again, drawing hearts over and over, as if the images could seep into the water and bring her back.
She checked the time on her phone and saw a series of texts from Pepper. All of her research on Neptune Investments had come up empty. This is a company that wants privacy, she wrote. It’s not even a domestic corporation. An international company wanted to purchase Bay Realty? Who owned that company? Was it Bronson Bellamy? Or someone else?
Or perhaps the sale of Bennett’s company—like his divorce—had nothing to do with the reason he was murdered. She’d operated from a series of assumptions, but Alex had to face the fact that she might be wrong. There might be something she was missing entirely.
She rose to her feet and brushed the sand off her legs and dress. Now she wondered if she’d dressed too nicely for her dinner with Dylan, or not nicely enough. She was wearing a blue cocktail dress and carrying heels, but she didn’
t know what to expect. Dylan had mentioned they would have dinner at his house, but did that mean they were going to be making spaghetti in the kitchen together? Or was he imagining a four-course meal by candlelight?
Her stomach turned with nerves. What if Bryn was there? Or—heaven help her—Tegan? She’d felt braver about smoothing over tensions before this moment.
The water was receding. Alex hadn’t noticed, but the tide had been moving out, and quickly. Only puddles remained where the waves had lapped minutes before.
Alex approached the area, wondering if the low tide would reveal any sea glass. Suddenly her heart began to race and the air was filled with electricity. She gasped as the water mounted in the distance, forming an enormous wall. She couldn’t stop staring at the water, almost mesmerized by the sight before her.
Her feet felt glued to the sand, and her attention focused on the water. It was almost hypnotic. Multiple shades of blue swirled together, climbing toward the sky. It was beautiful. It was frightening. It’s a tidal wave, she realized with a start. With a scream, she took off in a sprint for the boardwalk, but she was too far from the stairs—she’d never make it in time. She looked over her shoulder.
The wave had to be twenty feet high, and it was coming right at her.
There was no time to get to higher ground. She wrapped her arms around a boulder and willed her muscles to hold on. A bone-chilling wave slammed her against the rock. Her body rose and floated away from shore. Alex tried to scream. She was pushed below the icy surface. Desperately she clawed at the black water. It held her down, drawing her deeper. Not like this, she thought. Not like my mother. Her lungs burned. She tumbled deeper into the darkness. Alex no longer knew which way was up, or how far she was from shore. Something hard knocked against her leg, sending shards of pain. She screamed and took in a lungful of water.
Not like this.
The water released its hold and flung her violently down onto the sand. The waves receded again, leaving her on her hands and knees, choking as she struggled to regain her breath.
“Alex,” a voice called from far away, but she didn’t reply. She was staring at the pool of blood gathering at her legs.
Someone lifted her. “I’ve got you. Come on.”
Numbly, she allowed herself to be moved, too tired and stunned to fight. It was Dylan. He was carrying her away from the water. No, he was carrying her through the water, which had parted like the Red Sea in the Bible to reveal a passageway back to shore. “There’s a path,” she whispered, and pointed at the dry sand beneath them.
“I made it,” he said. “You were about to drown.”
“Oh.” She rested her head against his shoulder. She was so tired, and her chest was heavy.
Dylan carried her over the sand and up the stairs to the boardwalk. Once they reached safety, he eased her onto a bench. “Alex, look at me.”
She struggled to focus her eyes on him.
“Bleeding,” she whispered.
A burst of white flashed across her vision. Fire in her face. Her cheekbone was probably fractured. Her lungs wouldn’t work the right way. She coughed up a mouthful of salt water.
“Let me help you.”
He set his hands on her arms and went very still. Her nerves tingled under his touch. The energy gathered until it burned, flaming across her body.
“What are you doing?” Terror squeezed her voice.
His dark eyes met hers. “I’m healing you.”
Alex ground her teeth, helpless against the pain of energy coursing in her veins. “It hurts,” she gasped, screwing her eyes closed.
“Stay with me, Alex.” His voice was distant but soothing. “Look at me.” Somehow Dylan was calm as he burned her from the inside out. She held his steady gaze. “That’s right,” he said. “Just keep your eyes on me.”
The pain surged faster now, traveling in waves up her body. Suddenly Alex’s lungs lightened. She leaned to one side and coughed, releasing what seemed like buckets of water. Her cheek was hot and tight, and her leg felt like it was being stitched together from the inside. She groaned. “Stop. It hurts too much.”
Instantly, the pain ended. Alex fell to her side. “Alex.” Dylan lifted her face to look in her eyes. “Talk to me. Please. Tell me I got here in time.”
She inhaled a sharp, frosty breath that felt bottomless. Her lungs were clear. She touched a hand to her cheekbone, but it felt normal. There was no hint of the wound on her leg.
“You saved me,” she gasped. Overcome, she flung her arms around his shoulders as tears slid down her cheeks. “I thought for sure I was going to die. M-my mother drowned there.” Was this what her mother had experienced?
Dylan smoothed his hand down her hair and held her tightly. “I know, darling. But you’re safe. Did I miss anything?” He pulled back and studied her battered figure, which actually didn’t feel quite so battered anymore. She felt almost euphoric. “Your cheek is better, but your face will be tender for a few days. The artery in your leg is closed again.”
“Artery?” She glanced down. Blood covered her dress, but there was no sign of a cut on her leg. Then she saw Dylan’s blood-soaked white shirt and gasped. “Are you—did you—”
He glanced down. “No, that’s from you. That wound on your leg alone would’ve killed you. You would’ve bled out. What hit you out there? No, never mind,” he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.” Dylan sat back on his heels and grasped his head in his hands. “Someone just sent a giant wave after you. If you can’t protect yourself, stay away from the water.”
Alex looked down at the ground. “I’m glad you were here.”
“You’re lucky I was here. You would’ve died.” He gestured out to the water as his voice rose in anger. “Parting the ocean is basic magic for our kind, Alex. Do you really know nothing about this?”
“I guess not.” She shivered as a gust of wind hit her body. Her skin was ice and her teeth were chattering, but the tear that rolled down her cheek was hot. “I don’t know why you’re yelling at me. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
He took a breath. His face softened, and he set a hand on her knee. “You’re right, I’m sorry.” She noticed for the first time that he was wearing a suit. He peeled off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”
Alex held up a bare foot. “I lost my shoes. She looked back over the water. “They were designer, too.”
“I’ll bring you back to your aunt’s home, and you can get another pair of shoes.”
“No, I don’t want my family to panic. I’ll just go barefoot.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard today.” He rose to his feet. “Give me a minute.”
She sat on the bench and waited while Dylan walked back down the stairs to the water. A gentle wave hit the shore. He bent down to pick up something from the sand and lifted his hand in the air to show her.
She grinned as he bounded up the stairs and proudly presented her shoes to her. “Your heels, madam.”
“How did you do that?” She picked a strand of seaweed out of one toe and scooped some mud out of the other.
“I asked,” he said, and offered his hand to her. “You’d be surprised at what’s possible when you ask the ocean. She’s very generous.”
“She?” Alex leaned her back against the bench. “The ocean is a woman?”
“The ocean has a feminine energy.” He gazed at the body of water thoughtfully. “All life came from the ocean,” he said as he took to one knee. “Some of us more recently than others.” He helped her foot into one wet shoe.
Alex glanced back over the water. “That water has taken a lot from me,” she replied, her throat thickening with emotion. “I don’t trust it. I don’t trust her.”
Dylan eased on her other shoe. “Sometimes people misuse the ocean. But she means no harm. You should talk to her sometime.” He reached out a hand to help her to her feet.
She hadn’t gone swimming in the ocean since her m
other’s death. To Alex, the water loomed like a constant threat, and the tidal wave had not changed her mind. “Maybe.”
Alex gripped his hand as he led her to his car. To her dismay, he was driving a very shiny red sports car. “Well, that certainly makes a statement.”
“Does it?” He gazed at the car for a moment. “I guess. I hope it says fun.”
She glanced at the back of the car. Maserati. She raised her eyebrows but said nothing.
“Picked it up last week. It’s a sweet ride for the summer, don’t you think?”
“Sure. But …” She worried that her wet bottom was about to ruin the leather seats. “I’m soaking wet. Maybe you should use your powers to dry me off?”
He shook his head. “I only use magic in life-saving situations. It’s where I choose to draw the line.”
Alex sighed. “Then I hope you have towels in there.”
But Dylan just smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ve never minded water.”
* * *
The car drove like a dream, hugging the turns on the coastal roads like they were nothing at all. Alex stole a glance at the man behind the wheel. He had probably ruined his clothes while rescuing her, and he would certainly have to do something about the puddles she was leaving on the seats, and yet he was cheerful.
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
He did a double take. “Are you kidding?”
“You barely know me and you’re driving me around in your new sports car, saving my life. Why?”
“The first time I saw you, I was ten years old and being driven to piano lessons. I told myself, if you were still playing in the garden when I returned, I’d ask my driver, Simmons, to stop so I could meet you.” He looked down at his feet in an uncharacteristically shy manner, and Alex, oddly touched by the gesture, suddenly recalled him doing it often when they were younger. “You were there,” he grinned. “And I made Simmons stop. I met you. And we played together. And twice a week on my way back from music lessons, we explored your aunt’s gardens together.”
