KERRY WALKED DOWN Main Street, mulling over everything the brownie told her earlier. She never did ask his name. Hell, she wasn’t even sure brownies had names. They sure as hell could put away the chocolate, though.
How did her sister go from sleeping with Quinn one night and fighting with him the next? Lovers usually don’t get into fights that fast at the beginning. Or was it the beginning? Did her sister really like the leprechaun? And if so, what had they fought about? Paddy. The brownie told her Quinn didn’t like Brandie with the cluricaun. Was Brandie dating both men? Damn, my sister has more game than I thought.
She meant to stop in the bank to find out, but wound up searching the surrounding area for signs of her sister. By the time she entered the bank, Quinn had left as had Arden. The giant mountain of stone at the door couldn’t tell her where they went, so she was about to shrug and head back out when she noticed Paddy staring at her, a smirk on his face. Something about the cluricaun irritated her. There’s just no way my sister fell for his shenanigans.
Straightening her posture, Kerry took a deep breath to screw up her courage and moved over to where the little man stood behind his teller window.
The smirk never left his face. “May I help you with something? I don’t believe you have an account with us.”
“What do you know about my sister, Brandie Underwood?” Perhaps too direct, but Kerry was losing time and needed answers.
“I don’t think I know to whom you’re referring,” he said, and by the glint in his eyes, she could tell he lied. “I only deal with the patrons of Black Hollow, and I know you aren’t one. Now, if you wish to open an account, you’ll need to see Miss Jane O’Hare in the corner office. She handles all new accounts.”
“You were at her room at Daydreamer Inn,” Kerry said, ignoring the way he glanced at the customer behind her. “So, I know you know her. Now, what did the two of you talk about in her room?”
His green eyes went wide as he feigned shock. “Now, now. That be a little bit on the rude side to talk about, don’t ya think? What goes on behind closed doors and all.”
Kerry rolled her eyes. “Please. I already know you didn’t have sex with her. Besides, she’s more than twice your size. What the hell did you use? A step ladder?”
“Ah, you be one of those lassies who think size matters,” he said with a sad shake of his head. “Have you ne’er heard that dynamite comes in wee packages? Besides, once I use my magic, everything kind of grows, don’t you know.”
“If you don’t tell me what the two of you talked about, I’m going to make sure your package blows up,” she snapped. A buzzing noise sounded around her ear again, and Kerry tried to shoo the invisible bug away. She’d be glad to get away from Black Hollow and the town’s infernal insects. “And please don’t waste my time trying to convince me she gave you the time of day.”
Paddy shrugged. “Your sister took me out to dinner, trying to pick my brain about leprechauns and their magic. Said she was working on a project for someone—didn’t tell me who—and needed some perspective from someone who knows them and all their dirty secrets.”
“And I’m sure you were more than happy to fill her in on what you knew,” Kerry said with disgust. “You don’t exactly strike me as a loyal employee.”
“Now, that hurts, it does,” Paddy said, clutching his heart for emphasis. “You don’t e’en know me, and you be passing judgment. Granted, you’ve seen me at my worst since you passed through the doors of our bank, but I assure you, that’s not who I am. Your sister saw that.”
Kerry highly doubted her sister saw anything good in the cluricaun. “What else can you tell me about her? When did you see her last?”
“That night at dinner was the last time I saw her. I answered her questions, and she paid the tab. We said goodbye, and she walked back to Daydreamer Inn, while I made my way out to my hovel in the woods. That’s all I know.” He glanced at the line behind Kerry. “Now, really, you’re holding up the line and our customers. I need you to move along before I call Nunk over to help you out.”
She wanted to dare him to try, but there wasn’t anything else he would tell her, so she didn’t see the point in causing a scene. She would do what her sister would do; she would go to the Fireside Grille and see if anyone there overhead her sister and Paddy talking. With a deep breath, she turned and walked away, heading back outside. The dinner hour was just starting, but if she was lucky, she could get there before the restaurant became too busy.
As she stepped back out into the late-afternoon sun, she wondered what she’d discover at the restaurant considering the motif of that seafood place Arden took her to for lunch yesterday. She crossed the street, passing the pet store and an arcade as she made her way to the Fireside Grille, which she remembered seeing as she walked to the bank from her inn.
The outside of the place seemed normal enough, but then, so did Scales and Tails. Once Kerry stepped inside, however, it seemed as if she stepped back into medieval times. The walls were a dark stone with large lanterns hanging every few feet with flames flickering inside casting shadows on the walls. Every table had a removable center that opened up into a small firepit where patrons could cook smores or enjoy some fondue. The serving girls wore tight corset dresses that appeared to be made out of dragon scales, which Kerry couldn’t imagine would be comfortable at all, and quite possibly dangerous. Weren’t dragon scales sharp?
“Can I help you?” a tall, dark-haired man asked when Kerry approached the hostess stand.
Kerry showed the man a picture of her sister on her phone. “My sister ate here a few nights ago. She was with a cluricaun. I was hoping I could talk to whoever served them.”
“The cluricaun?” the man repeated, his face scrunched up in an obvious look of disgust. “He is no longer permitted to dine here. The man can’t seem to stop playing practical jokes on innocent people, and my restaurant is not the place for such childish pranks. He kept shrinking the other patrons’ meals, making their portions minuscule and causing my customers to complain. I don’t need his brand of humor.”
Kerry didn’t blame the man for his distaste of Paddy. So far, she hadn’t found anyone who liked the man. Why Arden kept the cluricaun employed at the bank, she had no idea. “Do you know if someone overheard what the two of them talked about that night? My sister is missing, and Paddy may be the last person who saw her.”
The man shook his head. “I would not put it past that idiot to have something to do with her disappearance, but I can’t imagine what it would be other than causing her to run off.” He sighed. “You are free to ask Meredith, she worked that night, and I believe she served them. However, I can tell you your sister and the cluricaun left together.”
That news didn’t sit well with Kerry. Nothing about Paddy McDuffy sat well with her. “Is Meredith here?”
The man nodded as he glanced around the restaurant, obviously searching for his server. As soon as he spotted her, he called her over, introducing her to Kerry. Turning back to Kerry, he said, “I hope you find your sister.”
She thanked him as he walked off and then turned her attention to Meredith. Holding up her phone, she showed the other woman the picture of her sister. “This woman ate here a couple of nights ago with a cluricaun, Paddy McDuffy. I’m told you served them. Can you remember anything they said? My sister is missing, and I’m hoping you heard something that might tell me where she is.”
Meredith was a young woman, barely out of her twenties by the look of her, with long, dark hair and breasts that oozed out of her top. “I’m sorry to hear about your sister,” she said. “I try not to pay attention too much to my customers’ conversations, but I do remember them talking about some sort of safe. Your sister asked Paddy several questions about his magic and his time in Black Hollow. She seemed very interested in one of the ogres, Ruck, I think.”
“The man I talked to a second ago said he thought the two of them left together. Do you know if that’s true?” Could Paddy and Ruck be working together, Kerry wondered. Arden thought it had to be two people, one with intent, and the other with the necessary magic. Ruck was in charge of the security monitors, so it was possible he could cover for Paddy breaking into the vault. However, why would he have allowed the cluricaun to set off the alarm? That only tipped their hand.
The woman looked troubled as she nodded. “They did. I believe Paddy told your sister he had something to show her back at his place, some sort of proof of whatever else he said to her. I remember him using the words evidence and security measures. He played some of his stupid tricks on the other customers, so I was busy trying to make the others happy. I may have misunderstood his words.”
Or she may have heard them exactly right. “Do you know where Paddy lives?”
“He lives out in the woods with the rest of the leprechauns and cluricauns.”
Kerry thanked the woman and then made her way back outside—to the now dark outside. This is going to be fun.