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Wynona slowly forced her heavy eyelids open. She had slept like the dead and the sun was just coming up outside her window. Ugh. Pushing up onto her elbows, she let herself adjust to the dimness of the room. Glancing at the wall clock, she realized the sun was setting, not rising. She’d literally slept all day.
Lazy lugabed, Violet teased.
“Aren’t you the one always saying you need your beauty sleep?” Wynona asked just before yawning.
Yeah, well...you’re not done quite yet.
Wynona scowled and sat upright. Her head spun and she had to wait a moment before dropping her legs over the side. Pressing a hand to the side of her head, Wynona moaned a little.
“Wy?” Rascal called from outside. He knocked. “Are you decent?”
“Come in,” she croaked.
Rascal was at her side in an instant. “What do you need? I can tell your head’s hurting.”
She nodded. “Yeah. Hang on. I’m gonna try and heal it.” She held still and called her magic up. When Violet climbed up her back and nestled against her neck, Wynona’s shaky control settled. She was obviously still weak from the injury yesterday. Magic apparently healed the wound, but couldn’t seem to speed the recovery. Wynona sighed as she felt the headache subside.
Rascal relaxed as well. “Good evening, sleepyhead,” he said with a tired smile.
Wynona knew her smile couldn’t have been much better. “Did you sleep at all?”
He shrugged. “A bit.”
The rings under his eyes were darker than before, so Wynona knew he was fudging the truth. “You need rest,” she insisted.
“After we catch a killer.”
“You can’t protect me from everything,” Wynona insisted.
“No, you’re right.” Rascal put his hands on his hips. “But I’ll protect you from what I can and right now, this is something I can do.”
“Rascal...”
He raised his eyebrows.
“Are we...are we okay? Are you regretting...us?”
His shoulders sank. “No,” he said hoarsely. “I would never regret that. But there’s a...thing with my wolf... We’re...” He pushed out a harsh breath and shoved his hands in his wild hair. “The moon...it’s...”
“Wynona? Are you awake?” Celia poked her head in the door, only giving Rascal a cursory glance. Once she saw her sister was up, Celia came in fully and leaned against the doorjamb. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” Wynona said. She stood and paused, waiting to see if her vision would spin again, but her healing had helped tremendously. Slowly, she walked across the room. “But I think I need to eat.”
Violet scampered around Wynona’s feet and hurried down the hall. You snooze, you lose!
Wynona grinned as her familiar disappeared from view.
“Actually...” Celia drawled.
Wynona paused and turned around.
Celia made a face and wiggled her fingers around her head. “You might want a mirror first.”
Wynona’s hand came up to her head and she realized her hair was wilder than Rascal’s. She winced, not even wanting to think about what Rascal was seeing.
Nothing but a beautiful woman.
She gave him a grateful look. “I’ll be right back.”
Prideful, Violet sent her way. Absolutely shameful, Wynona. You’ve seen me with messy fur.
Not the same thing! Wynona argued.
Violet snickered.
Making it into the bathroom, Wynona quietly groaned when she saw what she looked like. Medusa could have been her twin. Think magic can fix this? she asked her familiar.
Doesn’t hurt to try. You’re getting better.
As of yet, Wynona hadn’t tried to use her magic for her personal looks, but today might just be the day to start. Channeling the electricity, she used one finger to focus a very small stream and pointed over and around her head, taming her hair into submission, fixing her mascara and glossing her lips. “Much better,” Wynona said, smiling at her reflection. “But I’ll need to change the clothes the old fashioned way.” Shifting materials was definitely going to take more practice than simply straightening a headful of knots.
“There she is,” Rascal said when she opened the bathroom door. His smile was still tight, but at least she was seeing it more often.
Wynona ran her finger under his eye. “Want me to see if I can fix this?”
He shook his head. “Good old fashioned sleep will take care of it...eventually.” He took her hand. “Come on. Let’s feed you and make plans.”
“What are we planning?” Wynona asked as they walked into the kitchen.
“How to catch Mrs. Pearlily,” Celia answered.
Wynona stopped. “We’re going to set a trap?”
Rascal made a face. “I don’t like it.”
“Of course not,” Celia argued. “It’ll probably mean having Wynona be bait.”
Wynona nearly fell into a chair at the table. “Bait? Really? What makes you think she’d risk coming after me?”
Celia brought a plate of pancakes to the table. “Because you’re the one who figured it all out.”
“But Mrs. Pearlily doesn’t know that.”
Celia shook her head and went back to the kitchen. “She knows.”
“Prim was with me that day.”
“She knows!” Celia insisted.
Wynona put her face in her hands. “This is crazy. After this case, I’m officially quitting.”
Good. The pay stinks, Violet added.
“Wait...you’re getting paid?” Rascal asked in fake surprise.
Wynona smiled, but it was more because it was the first joke she’d heard from him that sounded like his old self. “Yeah...I get five bucks for every killer I bring in.”
“So you’re like a bounty hunter,” Rascal finished. “Niiiice.”
“You need better weapons,” Celia said wryly. “A purple mouse isn’t exactly fearsome.”
I’ll show her fearsome...
Wynona cleared her throat. “Did you cook this, Celia?”
Celia dropped off the syrup and a plate of bacon before sitting herself. “Yeah. It’s no big deal.”
“I didn’t know you could cook.”
Celia kept her stoic look, but her pink cheeks showed her feelings. “I...spent some time with the cook when Mom and Dad weren’t looking.”
Wynona gave a commiserating smile. “Which was often.”
Celia nodded. “Which was often.” She grabbed a stack of flapjacks and piled them on her plate.
Wynona had to admire her sister’s appetite. It was twice as much as Wynona ate. The meal was done in relative silence and Rascal made sure there was no bacon left by the end. The sustenance went a long way in helping Wynona feel stronger, though she still thought she could sleep for the next week and not be bothered by it.
“Okay...” Celia rubbed her hands together and pushed her plate to the side. “On to more exciting things.”
“Yeah...murder is very exciting,” Wynona drawled.
Celia’s sharp grin was more than simply devious. It was downright dangerous. “So she’s a fairy.”
Wynona nodded.
“And she’s already killed two people.”
Wynona nodded again while Rascal huffed.
“She beat you over the head with a baseball bat.”
Rascal’s growl echoed through the room.
“Easy, Wolfy,” Celia said. “I’m simply laying out the facts.”
Wynona put her hand on his leg. “Yes. She must have been hovering over the ground, though I couldn’t feel the air from her wings. Otherwise she’s too small to hit me at the angle she did.”
Celia nodded. “Have you noticed the pattern here?”
Wynona raised her eyebrows and looked at Rascal before going back to Celia. “Uh...”
“The shop,” Celia insisted. “All the attacks happened at the shop.”
Wynona paused. “She has a way inside,” she breathed. “How did I not see that?”
Celia shrugged. “Probably the blow to the head. I’ve heard they hurt.”
Wynona rubbed her forehead. “Each and every attack. I mean, I knew they’d all happened there, but I hadn’t put together that it meant she had a way inside. Thallia even said the door was wide open. There was no forced entry, which is part of why Dralo’s burglary idea didn’t make sense. And Edana met her there as well, meaning she knew that Mrs. Pearlily had access.” Wynona turned wide eyes to Rascal. “But how? How did she get a key?”
Celia practically cackled. “I know this one.”
Wynona’s head snapped in her sister’s direction. “What?”
Celia stuck her nose in the air in triumph. “Did you really think I’d sit around doing nothing while you went to the station? Just because Mr. Sourpuss didn’t want me to come along didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try and solve the case.”
“Why didn’t you say something before?”
Celia gave her a look. “You were half dead and slept all day. When did you want me to tell you?”
“Fine, fine.” Wynona waved her hands in the air. “Tell us now.”
Celia leaned in, her eyes glowing with excitement. “Sequoia Pearlily is the majority shareholder in the corporation that bought your building when what’s-his-name went to jail.”
Wynona’s jaw dropped. “What?”
Celia nodded. “And the best part is...her husband has no idea. He’s got this massive real estate company and his wife uses it to get herself all the inside deals, since he can’t keep his mouth shut. And he has no idea she’s the one buying all the properties.”
Wynona slowly shook her head while Rascal whistled low.
“How in the paranormal world did you figure that out?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
Celia smirked. “I’m guessing you don’t really want to know.” She studied her nails. “A girl has to have some secrets, you know. And when you’ve grown up doing the dirty work for a dark wizard...you pick up a few things.”
Wynona reached across the table to rest her hand on her sister’s. “One of these days we need to address what Dad’s up to.”
Celia jerked away. “Good luck with that. I want nothing to do with him.” She stood. “Now. Let’s go to the shop and see if we can set something up.”
“Now?” Wynona asked, jumping to her feet.
No time like the present, Violet said, scrambling down from the table. She’s devious. I like it.
Rascal stood as well. “I need to get the chief in on this.”
“Then call him,” Celia called over her shoulder. “But I’m not waiting.”
“If you think you’re doing this without me, you’re crazy or stupid,” Prim said from the doorway. “I don’t know which.” She was in her human form and stood with her legs spread and arms folded.
“When did you get here?” Wynona asked.
“I came to check on how you were healing and your tulips outside said Sissy was forming a plan.” Prim shrugged. “So I sat and let them share everything they heard.” She grinned. “Tulips never could keep a secret.”
“I don’t like this,” Rascal warned.
“Don’t be such a fuddy-duddy,” Celia shouted from the garage. “Call the big bad vamp and he can meet us there. But let’s get this show on the road so that Wynona doesn’t have to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life.” Celia’s dark head came back inside. “I’d deny it in court, but I’m growing just a little fond of her.” In the blink of an eye, she was gone again and Wynona heard an engine start up.
“She has a car?” Prim asked.
Wynona shrugged. “I don’t know. There isn’t room for one in the garage. My Vespa’s in there.”
The roar of a motorcycle burst through the room and Celia sped down the driveway in a cloud of dust. The silence that followed was deafening.
“No wonder she and Chief were an item,” Rascal grumbled. “He’s always had a thing for the edgy girls.” He took Wynona’s hand, who was too shocked to move on her own. “Come on. Let’s get over there before she does something we’ll all regret.”
“I’ll meet you there!” Prim called, rushing back to her own vehicle.
“I think I awoke in an alternate universe,” Wynona said dazedly as Rascal guided her into his truck.
“As long as we’re still together, I’m just fine with that,” Rascal said. He kissed her nose and stepped back. “Buckle up, beautiful. We’re after a killer.”