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Wynona unclipped her helmet and stepped off her Vespa. “Don’t say it,” she warned Rascal, who was waiting by his truck
The wolf shifter put his hands in the air. “I didn’t say anything.”
Wynona sniffed as she walked past him. “You didn’t need to.”
He chuckled, low and delicious behind her, and Wynona had to pinch her lips to keep her smile in check. She loved that wolf a little too much.
There’s no such thing as too much, he teased.
“Get out of my head,” Wynona hissed.
Then close it up!
Wynona sent up her mental block so fast that Rascal actually winced.
“Point taken,” he said, rubbing his temple.
Wynona’s eyes grew wide. “Did that actually hurt? Like, for real?”
Rascal pressed circles against his head. “Surprisingly enough...it sort of did. Like someone closed a door too fast inside my brain.”
“I’m so sorry,” Wynona gushed, rushing back to him. She checked him over as if touching him would assure her he was alright. “I didn’t know that was even possible! How could I hurt you?”
“Wy,” Rascal said, grabbing her wandering hands and smiling. “I’m fine. I guess we’re both still learning about this soulmate thing, huh? I didn’t know it was possible either.”
Wynona shook her head. “That’s twice I’ve hurt you,” she whispered thickly. How was it that the person she adored most in the world was the one who always seemed to be caught in the middle of her mistakes?
“And that’s twice I’ve moved on without even thinking about it.” He kissed the tip of her nose and spun her around. “Now come on, Detective. We have a house to look through.”
Still feeling heavy with guilt, Wynona looked at the apartment door in front of her. “What did Thallia say he did for a living?” she asked.
“Grocery store bagger.”
Wynona looked over her shoulder. “I’m guessing she paid for more than his motorcycle.”
Rascal nodded. “Guess the elf had a sugar fairy... Must be nice.” He laughed when Wynona elbowed him gently. “That’s one way you can’t hurt me, babe.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
Rascal winked. “I know. And I fully plan to use that to my advantage.”
Wynona rolled her eyes. He was ridiculous...and wonderful. “Let’s go inside.”
Rascal handed her a key and Wynona let them in. Just as they walked inside, another set of tires pulled into the driveway of the condo and Wynona turned around. “Oh good, Daemon’s here.”
“Speaking of,” Rascal hedged, “don’t think I didn’t hear you interrogating him yesterday.”
“Ugh.” Wynona groaned. “I wasn’t meddling.”
Bright gold eyes gave her a disbelieving look.
“I was trying to help!” Wynona threw her arms to the side. “Someone has to break the ice between them!”
“Pretty sure I can handle that myself,” Daemon said gruffly as he walked inside. “Sorry I’m late, Deputy Chief. Got stuck in traffic.”
“We have sirens for that kind of thing,” Rascal said wryly.
“Some of us don’t get away with fudging the law as much as others,” Daemon shot right back.
Rascal snorted. “Just don’t get caught.”
Wynona shook her head. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Thank you.”
Sighing and turning to Daemon, Wynona asked, “Can you turn on your sight? I think we need to keep an eye out for magic from the get go.”
Daemon’s eyes immediately went solid black. He slowly turned around the room. “There are traces of red everywhere.”
Wynona nodded. “I’ll bet that’s Thallia’s color.”
“Her wings are sort of blue,” Rascal pointed out.
“Their wings are parts of their body,” Wynona responded. “Not magic .So they don’t necessarily have anything to do with each other. Just like her hair and eyes. They’re all teal. My magic is purple, but my eyes and hair are black.”
Grumbling under his breath, Rascal walked farther inside. “She might have paid for everything, but this definitely looks more like Dralo’s decorating than Ms. Pearlily’s,” he murmured.
Wynona had to agree. The condo was dark. Very dark. One wall was painted completely black and the furniture blended right in. A rug with bright red accents sent a shot of color through the room, matching the throw pillows scattered through the sitting area. “I don’t think he did much of the decorating, though,” she said after a moment.
“He’s a dark elf,” Rascal argued. “Thallia doesn’t strike me as the type to like such masculine surroundings.”
Wynona shrugged. “And yet, how many men do you know who worry about matching their throw pillows to their rugs?”
Rascal frowned. “If I didn’t have sisters, I wouldn’t even know what a throw pillow was.”
“Exactly my point,” Wynona said. “Look.” She pointed to the rug, the pillows and then a large piece of art. “Either this place came furnished, or Thallia had a say in what she bought.”
“She didn’t influence his groceries much,” Daemon called from the kitchen.
Wynona and Rascal headed that direction.
Daemon smirked as he opened a couple more cupboards. Canned soup, chips and bottles of soda were the main ingredients in each and every one.
Wynona laughed softly. “Good thing I didn’t bring Violet. She would have had something to say about Mr. Ziumar’s palate.”
Rascal snorted. He opened and shut a few cupboards. “I’m not seeing anything out of the ordinary here.”
“Can we look in the bedroom?” Wynona asked. “If he was a thief of some kind, I’m guessing he has to have a safe space where he stored the stolen property until he could sell it.”
Rascal led the way down the hall. More artwork hung on either side of them.
“You don’t think he stole art, do you?” Daemon asked from behind Wynona.
“He doesn’t seem the type,” Wynona murmured, her eyes wandering to every nook and cranny. “But sometimes looks can be deceiving.” Just as they reached the bedroom, her phone buzzed. Grabbing it out of her pocket, Wynona was surprised to see a note from Prim.
Salon sisters are quiet, but they’ll keep their ears to the ground. What are you doing now?
Deciding not to waste the time typing it all out, she pressed the call button.
“Whatcha got, hot mama?” Prim asked.
Wynona grinned. “Hey, Prim.” She didn’t miss Daemon’s head jerk. “We’re at Dralo’s house looking for clues.” Wynona hesitated only a moment before asking, “Did you want to help?”
Rascal scowled and Wynona ignored him.
“Really? Let me lock the greenhouse and I’ll be right over.”
She was gone before Wynona could share the address. “I’m gonna guess she already knows it,” Rascal said, giving Wynona a look.
She winced. Sorry, but she’s been feeling left out. If it’s a big deal, I’ll call it off.
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. You promise this isn’t about setting them up?
Wynona shook her head. Promise.
He made a face that said he’d capitulated and Wynona gave him a sweet smile. Finally, she took the time to go over her surroundings. “Whoa...”
Daemon nodded. “Yeah. Whoa.”
Dralo’s bed looked like it hadn’t been made in six months. Whoever helped keep the front part of the house clean never ventured to the bedroom area. His sheets were wadded up and covers flung in a chair in the corner.
A pile of dirty clothes sat on the floor next to the full laundry basket.
“I’m guessing Ms. Pearlily didn’t pay for a maid,” Daemon said with a snort.
“Is there magic in here, Daemon?” Wynona asked.
He paused, his head slowly swiveling. “Nothing more than what I saw out front. Hints of red, but it’s all just dustings.”
“Fairy dust?” Rascal tried to hide his laughter behind a cough, but as usual, he wasn’t fooling anyone.
“Do fairies actually leave dust?” Daemon asked in seriousness. “I’m not sure I’ve ever actually thought about it.”
Wynona shook her head. “Not that I know of. None of the books I read growing up said they did.” She put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. “I’m guessing the light color is simply because Thallia didn’t do direct magic on any of it.” She paused. “Come to think of it, I’m not sure exactly what type of magic Thallia can do.”
“She works with fire.”
All the heads whipped toward the doorway where Prim stood. Her bright pink hair looked awful against the black and red decorations.
“Fire?” Wynona asked, her jaw agape. “How do you know that?”
One pink eyebrow shot up. “She’s a Pearlily.”
“Does the whole family work with that element?” Rascal asked, his laughter gone.
Prim nodded. “As far as I know. The parents had an arranged marriage and Thallia is their only daughter. If any of them have other gifts, they aren’t strong enough to be talked about.”
Rascal nodded. “Thank you, Prim.”
Prim gave him a grin and tilted her head. “Glad I could be of help, Detective Strongclaw.”
He chuckled. “Come on in and see what you can see, huh?” He dropped his voice. “Just don’t tell the chief. He’d have my hide.”
“Literally,” Daemon snorted.
“So what are we looking for?” Prim asked, daintily stepping through the messy room.
“Anything out of the ordinary,” Wynona said. She began walking along the walls. “If Dralo was trying to steal something at the shop, odds are he’s stolen before.”
“So he probably has a place he stores his goods, right?” Prim asked.
Wynona smiled at her friend. “Exactly.”
Prim’s pink eyes flared. “Has anyone looked for a secret room? Or maybe a hidden safe?”
Daemon chuckled softly. “There’s plenty of artwork. Why don’t you have a look?”
Prim bounced on her toes and began rushing from one picture to the other. For the next half hour the entire group searched the house up and down, but the only thing they found was more expensive furnishings, expensive dirty clothes and a garbage can in desperate need of being dumped.
Prim’s bottom lip poked out as they reconvened in the front room. She put her hands on her hips. “This is way more boring than I thought it would be.”
Wynona laughed. “What did you think would happen? We would just find evidence lying around in the middle of the room?”
“Something like that.” Prim tapped her lips. “There has to be something here, though, right? I mean...he was killed. Shouldn’t there be something that hints at what was going on in his life?”
Rascal shrugged and rested a hand on Wynona’s lower back. “Not necessarily. He was the victim, but we’re not sure exactly why he was the victim. It could be for any number of reasons, and that means his normal life could be exactly that...normal.”
“Booooring.” Prim groaned, throwing back her head.
Wynona shook her head. “Where to next?” she asked Rascal.
Prim huffed. “You guys are going to keep going? Stink. I have to get back. I have a bride coming in to look at flowers.”
“I’ll catch you up on whatever we find,” Wynona assured her.
“I’ll walk you out,” Daemon offered quickly. His look at Rascal’s snort told Wynona she and Rascal had better back off.
Prim hesitated, then shrugged. “Whatever. It’s not like I could stop you anyway.”
Rascal shook his head slowly back and forth as the two walked out the door. “She likes him, doesn’t she?”
“I think she does,” Wynona whispered with a smile. “But she’s...hesitant.”
“Do we know why?”
“Daemon said it’s because he was the guard in charge of her at the prison.”
“Huh.” Rascal scratched the back of his head. “I can see how that would be a little awkward.”
“Remember,” Wynona teased, “no meddling.”
Rascal rolled his eyes. “Yes, ma’am. Now come on. I say we talk to the Pearlilys next.”
“Won’t they want their lawyer there?”
Rascal’s smile was full of mischief. “I’m hoping they’ll talk to you at home without worrying about it. You tend to put people at ease.”
“Sneaky,” Wynona muttered.
“I prefer the word genius.”
“I’ll bet you would.”
Rascal laughed as he set her helmet on her head. “I hate that you’re not riding with me.”
“I know, but I don’t want to leave the Vespa here.”
“How about we stop at the shop and you can leave it there?”
“That’s the complete opposite direction!” Wynona said in exasperation.
“So?”
Her shoulders fell and she huffed a laugh. “Fine. If that’s what you want.”
“It’s what I want.” He left a quick kiss on her cheek. “Meet you there.”
Wynona started the scooter and took off. Prim was already gone and she knew Rascal would be right behind her, with Daemon probably right behind him. They’d make a nice line-up headed back toward town.
Violet?
A loud yawn came through their mental link. Yeah? Did you find anything at Elf Boy’s house?
No. The place was definitely a bachelor pad, but nothing that would hint at an illegal operation.
Figures, Violet murmured. Glad I stayed behind.
We’re heading to the Pearlilys to see if they’ll talk to us without their lawyer. I’m stopping by the shop first. Did you want to come this time?
How long until you get here?
Maybe ten minutes? Wynona guessed.
Yeah...Lusgu’s sweeping for the tenth time and there are no crumbs left anywhere. Might as well do something else.
Wynona smiled. I’ll see you in a few.