Toil & Trouble

by Emery Belle

  I wasn’t prepared for this.

  I still hadn’t narrowed in on the killer, nor did I have enough evidence to exonerate Gerald; right now, I just needed to buy myself—and Gerald—more time. But no matter how long it took, no matter how many leads I had to track down, I would find out the truth. Gerald was depending on me… and so was Auggie. The shifter deserved for the real killer to be behind bars.

  By the time the cab glided to the sidewalk outside the courthouse, the knot had graduated to a ten-pound weight. I tossed a few coins into the cabbie’s till and dragged myself out of the car, then spent more time than was necessary straightening my clothes and smoothing down my hair. Finally, when I could stall no longer, I took a deep breath, heaved open the courthouse door, and marched to the High Court’s chambers, scowling at Millicent on my way inside.

  The proceedings had already begun, and I slid onto the bench at the very back of the mostly empty courtroom, wincing as my legs rubbed loudly against the wood. A quick look around revealed Gerald, in his prison-issue uniform, looking more woebegone than ever; Tanner and his mother sitting in the front row, clutching tissues as they listened to one of the lawyers describe Auggie’s injuries; and a cluster of High Court justices that did not include Lord Macon.

  Lady Amabelle seemed to be leading the trial—she had a gavel in one hand and a wand in the other, and her eyes were glued to the lawyer as he spoke. Her gaze skated to me as I sat down, and she raised her eyebrows in surprise before returning her attention to the proceedings.

  After opening statements were completed, the prosecutor began laying out the case against Gerald—as I suspected, the bulk of it revolved around the sworn written testimony of Pete, who had opted not to appear in court in person, and Kellen’s insistence that Auggie kept repeating Gerald’s name before he died. When the prosecutor began discussing the death of poor Ollie, Meryl’s beaver familiar, my ears perked up.

  “The defendant”—the lawyer jabbed his finger at Gerald, who shrank back in his seat—"knowingly, intentionally, and without regard for the sanctity of that familiar’s life, sold the victim an invention that was not ready for public use; in fact, he had applied for a patent six months earlier on the same technology but was denied.” The lawyer whipped out a piece of paper and presented it to Lady Amabelle, who immediately took it and began scanning its contents.

  “As you can see, my lady,” he continued, “after Ollie’s death, the victim, Auggie Atwater, filed a complaint with the Office of Magical Inventions, who shortly thereafter revoked the defendant’s inventor’s license. Only one day after receiving notification that an OMI enforcer would be dispatched to the defendant’s home to destroy his workshop and any and all inventions and inventions-in-progress, Auggie was brutally murdered in his home.”

  Uh-oh. This evidence was new to me, and even though on the surface it certainly sounded an awful lot like the key to Gerald’s prison cell being thrown away for all eternity, the facts were still the facts. Gerald couldn’t be responsible for Auggie’s death because I’d fallen asleep beside him at the hospital on the night in question. No fancy legal work could undo that simple truth. I squirmed in my seat, torn between excitement and sheer terror, as I waited for an opportunity to speak.

  But that opportunity never came. The defense’s case—led by the lawyer who had brushed me off so easily at the police station—was over so fast I barely had time to process it. Before I knew what was happening, Lady Amabelle and the other justices were rising from their seats.

  “Thank you for your time,” she said to the lawyers, inclining her head regally to each of them. “The High Court will now return to our chambers to weigh the evidence, and we will return with a verdict sh—”

  “Wait!” I catapulted out of my seat, my voice thundering around the quiet courtroom. Dozens of pairs of eyes shot my way, and my throat suddenly felt so parched I could barely swallow. I glanced at Gerald’s defense attorney, who looked positively furious, and then at Gerald himself—the gnome’s face was so hopeful that I had to turn away. This was my one chance, and I couldn’t blow it. I took a deep breath and—

  “Miss Winters, what is the meaning of this?” Lady Amabelle’s gaze was so furious that I took an automatic step backward, banging my legs into the wooden bench and almost losing my balance. “May I remind you that you are in a court of law, and it is well within my rights—and my duty—to hold you in contempt for interrupting these important proceedings?”

  Across the room, Kellen was glaring at me, the steam spiraling out of his nostrils so thick I could barely see his face. Auggie’s mother and brother were looking from me to Lady Amabelle, wide-eyed, and I could have sworn I saw Tanner give me a thumbs-up when no one else was watching.

  I cleared my throat nervously. “I know, my lady, and please accept my sincerest apologies for the interruption. But I have evidence that supports Gerald’s innocence, and I believe”—I shot Kellen a filthy look—“that it has been purposely suppressed.”

  Lady Amabelle sat back in her seat, stroking the end of her gavel, as the other justices began murmuring amongst themselves. “That’s quite a serious accusation, Miss Winters, and one this court cannot take lightly. Why do you believe this evidence would be withheld from us?”

  “Because it doesn’t fit with the police chief’s theory about what happened.” My voice was gaining strength and confidence now, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kellen lunge forward, baring his teeth, before a security troll caught him by the arm and forced him back to his seat.

  Lady Amabelle’s dubious gaze slid his way. “Another grave accusation, and quite frankly, Miss Winters, one I have a difficult time believing. Kellen is the finest chief of police our island has ever known, and he has worked tirelessly over the decades to keep our citizens safe.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, then caught myself. I needed to keep Lady Amabelle on my side, not antagonize her further. It was time to cut to the chase.

  “Gerald could not have murdered Auggie, because on the night in question, and at the time in question, I saw him sleeping in the breakroom at the hospital. I gave Kellen this information the very next day, but he refused to take me seriously. By that time, he had already made up his mind that Gerald was the killer.” Auggie’s mother let out a small cry and swayed on her feet, and Tanner whipped around and steadied her by the shoulders.

  Lady Amabelle’s mouth dropped. “Is this true?”

  When I nodded, she turned to her fellow justices and began conferring with them in low voices. The rest of the courtroom was so quiet you could hear a unicorn hair drop, with the exception of Auggie’s mother, who was weeping softly into her other son’s shoulder. My heart went out to her—they were now back at square one in their hunt for Auggie’s killer—but right now, all of my focus was on Gerald, whose shoulders were hunched as he awaited the verdict.

  Finally, Lady Amabelle turned her attention back to the courtroom. “In light of new information, I am calling for this trial to be adjourned until all of the evidence can be properly reexamined and new witnesses can be questioned. I am also calling for Gerald to be released from custody immediately, pending a new trial.” Her eyes on him were stern. “The defendant must report weekly to an officer of the court, and he is not permitted to leave the island during this time. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, my lady,” Gerald squeaked, a grin splitting across his haggard face. As soon as Lady Amabelle banged her gavel on the table, he jumped up from his seat, sprinted toward me, and launched himself into my arms. His tears mingled with mine as we held each other, and when he finally released me, he pressed a soft kiss to my cheek before allowing his attorney to lead him from the courtroom. I watched them go, my heart lighter than it had felt in weeks.

  “Miss Winters, a word?”

  Lady Amabelle had swept down from the dais and was approaching me while the other justices piled into their chambers. She stood before me, arms crossed, and I swallowed nervously. I was well aware that the litt
le stunt I’d pulled today gave her more than enough reason to throw me in jail for contempt of court, but I didn’t care. Gerald was free, at least for now, and that was all that mattered.

  “I must say,” she began, “your methods are unorthodox, and I don’t want the other islanders to catch wind of what you did today and start storming my courthouse whenever they feel they are being wronged…”

  Her face broke into a genuine smile. “But what you did today was also very brave, and I’m sure Gerald will be thanking you for it for the rest of his life.”

  “I do what I have to do,” I said with a shrug.

  Lady Amabelle inclined her head. “Most people I know wouldn’t stick their neck out so far for someone else. You’re a good witch, Wren, and I very much hope you stay that way.” And then, after a final, brief smile, she turned and walked away.

  Chapter 15

  The next day, in celebration of my win before the High Court, Hunter, Garnet, and I grabbed ice cream cones at Sugar & Spells after our mixology lesson—Glenn, now sporting two black eyes and a fat lip, was far less cheerful than usual—and brought them to the beach. A chill had settled over the air, and I wrapped my arms around myself as I enjoyed my cone and watched a group of surfers bobbing with their boards far out in the sea.

  A broomstick tour group led by Meryl soared past us, and I tipped my head back to watch the witch, wondering if she held the key to solving Auggie’s murder. Now that Gerald was free—for now—I had allowed myself to take a break from the investigation and focus on my own well-being, but not knowing who had killed the leopard shifter was a constant needling in the back of my mind. Someday, hopefully, I would discover the truth, and help clear Gerald’s name once and for all. But today was not that day.

  As the sun drew higher in the sky, more creatures arrived on the beach for a little sea air and exercise, and I watched for a time as a female centaur and her three foals galloped up and down the shoreline, their blond manes gleaming in the light as they tossed a frisbee back and forth. Beside me, Hunter was sprawled out on his back, arms behind him, making sand angels, while Garnet leaned back on her elbows and eyed a muscled, shirtless werewolf practicing karate moves.

  “This is the life,” Hunter said, smiling up at us as he shielded his eyes from the sun, and as I listened to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, I had to agree.

  The day grew hotter, the warm air and sunshine making us drowsy, and as Hunter and Garnet dozed on their beach towels, I climbed to my feet, brushed the sand from my hands, and set off down the sand toward a secluded cove I’d once visited with Sebastian. Now that the investigation was on hold, I needed to take some time to think about what Homer Vale had said to me during our brief session.

  Was I really a danger to everyone around me… a danger so great that he’d wanted me to leave the island completely? In the cold light of day, far from the elf’s gloomy tree and the sickly-sweet smell of damp earth, that sounded ludicrous. Despite the circumstances under which I’d come into this world, I always tried to do my best, to be kind to others and fight for the little guy—thanks to a childhood spent bouncing around from foster home to foster home, I knew all too well what it was like to feel like you had no one in your corner. At the end of the day, I was just… me. Wren Winters. Did it really matter what kind of blood ran through my veins?

  I neared the cove, stepping over a bundle of seaweed that had drifted to shore before bending down to pluck up a perfectly formed pink seashell that was sticking halfway out of the sand. Pocketing it, I headed into the cove, then stopped short at the sound of a woman’s low, flirtatious laughter.

  “Sorry,” I said, cringing as I came upon a couple entwined in each other’s arms. “I didn’t mean to interr—”

  “Whoopsie,” the woman said with a giggle, adjusting her shirt and giving me a sly smile over the man’s shoulders. “I didn’t realize we had company.”

  She fiddled with her long black hair, her turquoise eyes never leaving my face, and I realized with an unpleasant lurch of my stomach that I’d seen her before. When her male companion disentangled himself from her and turned around, the smile immediately fell from his lips, and his cheeks paled.

  He jumped to his feet and reached for me. “Wren, I… this isn’t what it looks like, I swear.”

  I looked past Sebastian to Tamara, and she gave me a slow, exaggerated wink that plainly said I won.

  She had. And you know what? She could have him.

  As I looked at Sebastian, as I finally came face-to-face with his lies and was forced to acknowledge that everything I’d ever heard about him had turned out to be true, I discovered that I didn’t really care. Shaking my head, I turned on my heel and walked back out of the cove, ignoring Sebastian’s pleas, not bothering to say a word. I didn’t need to.

  My heart had never really belonged to him, anyway. And right now, there was someone far more important I needed to see.

  “Let me in,” I snarled, brandishing my duct-taped wand inches from the man’s heart. The magical injuries ward had fallen silent as everyone around me abandoned their task to stare openly at the confrontation, and behind the nurses’ station, I could see Andrei giving me a thumbs-up.

  The man narrowed his silver eyes into deadly slits. “Point that thing at me again and I will make sure that the next breath you draw will be your last.” He was standing inside Cole’s hospital room, squaring off against me, our noses so close they were practically touching… or they would be, if not for the ward still erected between us.

  “Then do it.” I jabbed the wand tip toward him for emphasis. “Because I’m not leaving until I get inside.”

  I heard swift footsteps behind me, and a strong hand on my shoulder alerted me to Andrei’s presence. The vampire stepped up next to me and gave the man with the silver eyes a cool, detached smile. “This is the third and final time I will warn you. Disable the ward, or I will call the authorities.”

  The man’s lip curled into a sneer. “The gargoyles do not answer to your so-called authorities, vampire. Now step back, before I make you.”

  I stood on my tiptoes, trying to see into the room, but between the dim lighting and thick bedcovers, Cole was little more than a dark lump. But he was in there, and I wasn’t going anywhere until I could see him. Enough was enough.

  “Why are you doing this?” I stepped as close to the ward as I could, my gaze locking on the gargoyle’s. “It isn’t up to you to dictate who he can and cannot see.” Or love, I wanted to add, my heart pounding almost painfully.

  But the man must have read beyond my words, for he shook his head and said, in a softer voice this time, “I have warned you: no good can come of it, for either of you.”

  I swallowed hard, tears springing to my eyes. “That’s for us to decide.”

  We continued staring each other down, neither of us blinking, neither of us willing to be the first to look away. Finally, with a sigh and a shake of his head, the gargoyle stepped back and raised his hand. He pressed it against the ward and murmured something under his breath, and then the air shimmered for the briefest of moments before returning to normal.

  The man with the silver eyes swept past me out of the room, his footfalls echoing down the hospital corridor as he walked away, his black robes billowing behind him. I lowered my wand, glancing up at Andrei for support, and the vampire gave me a sly wink and a gentle nudge, urging me forward.

  My pulse was racing as I approached the bed, gazing down at Cole’s serene face. His chest was rising and falling steadily, and his cheeks had regained some of their former color. If not for the whirr and buzz of the machines beside him, he looked as though he were merely sleeping. I sat down in the chair beside his bed, then reached forward, slowly, tentatively, and took his hand.

  “I’m sorry I haven’t visited in a while,” I whispered, scooting closer. “There have been a few… complications.”

  I grinned to myself, then settled back in my chair, my eyes locked on his face, my fingers st
roking the rough skin of his hand. I didn’t know how long we remained like that, but eventually, I must have drifted off, for I jerked awake quite suddenly and glanced around, blinking hard to clear the cobwebs from my mind.

  Only then did I notice the movement, subtle at first and then stronger, as Cole’s hand twisted in mine. I leaned forward, my heart in my throat, just as his eyes slid open, and when they landed on mine, the air suddenly felt like it had been sucked out of the room.

  “Wren?” His voice was throaty, unused, and the word seemed to cause him considerable effort. His lips held the trace of a smile. “You came.”

  I jumped to my feet. “Cole, thank God! I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry for what happened to you. It’s all my fault, it’s—”

  He blinked at me rapidly, as though trying to focus on my face. “Your fault? No, not what happ…” His voice trailed off and he licked his lips feebly. “Not what happened,” he tried again, though each word was growing fainter. “I had an assignment… got hurt… dark…” The last word, barely a whisper, was followed by a long pause.

  When I glanced down at him, I saw that his eyes had drifted shut again, and before long, his shallow breathing grew deeper with sleep. I watched him for a few minutes, and when he didn’t wake, I bent down and pressed my lips against his forehead.

  “I’ll come back soon,” I promised, then gave his hand one last squeeze before I walked away, waving goodnight to Andrei, still at the nurses’ station, on my way out.

  Before starting my evening cleaning shift, I decided to pay a quick trip to the housekeeping department to tell my coworkers about my victory at the High Court. Given Gerald’s ordeal, I had a feeling he hadn’t stopped by to tell them himself yet, but I was bursting at the seams to share the good news. When I arrived, though, I was slightly disappointed to discover that it was already the talk of the breakroom.