The next day, Charlotte, Declan, and Blade drove to Lady Venus, Inc., which wasn’t far from Charity. The twenty-acre Cafferty compound housed the entire family and the corporate offices, all in one giant mansion, plopped in the middle of horse country.
“It says turn here,” said Charlotte, looking at the map on her phone. They’d driven inland from Charity down a long stretch of mostly empty road. They’d been running parallel to a row of white fencing for the last quarter mile. Every fifth section sported a pale pink heart. In the center of each heart stood a stylized version of the Goddess Venus on a scallop shell—an image from Botticelli’s famous painting, The Birth of Venus—and Lady Venus’ official logo.
Charlotte had her view from the backseat of Declan’s car. She’d never sat in the back before, but Blade needed the roomier leg space of the front passenger seat more than she did. Their enormous new employee had worn another of his usual weapon-themed tee shirts for the meeting. This one had a skull clutching a large knife in its teeth—a terrifying choice for a business meeting, but better than a mint green suit two sizes too small and a stuffed owl for an accessory.
“I see her logo, but this place looks residential,” said Declan as he turned onto a gravel road where the white fencing split.
“It’s a house and office rolled into one,” explained Charlotte.
Ahead, what looked like a sandy-colored stone castle, complete with towers at either end, rose from the field. Nothing about the place said office, though, in the middle of a horse pasture, it would have been stranger to see a square, glass-walled office building.
They rolled to a stop in front of a pair of golden gates blocking the path to the castle. Like the fencing, the doors had hearts and Venuses mounted to them. Giant Cupid statues flanked either side; their golden arrows pointed at the sky.
“Not subtle,” said Charlotte.
“I feel confident this is the right place,” agreed Declan.
He pulled to a standing speaker box and opened his window to press the button.
“Hello? We’re here to see Cupid, ah, Curt, er, Cupid Cafferty?” Declan sighed. “I’m never going to get used to calling him Cupid.”
A moment later, a male voice answered.
“Hello? How can I help you?”
“Hi, we have an appointment to see Cupid?”
“You are...Charlock Holmes?” The man stalled before saying the agency name aloud, as if he couldn’t believe what he was reading.
Charlotte second-guessed herself again on the name.
So goofy.
“Yes,” said Declan. She saw his eyes bounce in the direction of the rearview, and she chuckled as their eyes met.
“The name’s going to take some getting used to,” she said.
“I’ll let you in,” said the voice.
A buzzer sounded, and the gates cranked open.
Declan continued down the driveway as horses galloped in the pastures on either side. It was as if someone had trained the animals to escort visitors.
Declan parked in a large open area featuring stone pavers in the shape of a heart. In the heart’s center sat a fountain with yet another Cupid aiming his arrow at the sky.
“The house that love built,” said Charlotte as she stepped out of the car. “They sure know how to beat a theme to death.”
“I’m thinking understated isn’t their thing,” said Declan. “I mean when you start with a castle...”
When the three of them had walked the few steps to the door, a man Charlotte guessed to be in his late forties appeared wearing black slacks and a white buttoned shirt. Though the man’s outfit was reminiscent of a servant’s costume, it didn’t feel as if he were a butler. He appeared fit and wore a high-end watch. She supposed some might call him handsome, though mustaches weren’t her thing.
She was more fascinated by the castle’s gigantic wooden entrance. It resembled a drawbridge but split in the center to open left and right like a standard pair of doors.
“I’m Brent,” said the mustachioed man.
“Follow me.”
He didn’t bother with a further introduction, but Charlotte heard enough to guess it had been his voice crackling through the speaker at the gate.
The group entered a two-story foyer. An ornate crystal chandelier dangled above their heads. The center section of the castle was grander than any house Charlotte had ever seen, without counting the east wing and a west wing she had yet to see.
“We could get lost in this place,” she said to Declan as they walked.
“Please don’t,” said Brent without turning.
They traveled through a cream-paneled hallway into an airy living room. The décor felt modern and clean, which surprised Charlotte—judging from the hearts and Cupids outside, she’d expected gilded scrollwork and angry-looking swans.
From the living room, they passed through collapsable sliding doors to an outdoor pool area. The heart-shaped pool had a rock waterfall occupying the upper left lobe. The cost of creating the enormous stone paver area—let alone the pool itself—boggled Charlotte’s mind. She’d looked into having her small driveway redone with pavers and nearly fell over upon seeing the quote.
Apparently, crime wasn’t the way to get rich—love was.
I am in the wrong business.
Beneath a large covered outdoor kitchen area, Curt ‘Cupid’ Cafferty and a woman Charlotte recognized from her research as his sister, Selene, sat at a table scrolling through their phones. She pegged the enormous ironwork table custom-built—the hearts worked into the intricate pattern of the legs gave it away.
In the center of the table’s smooth glass surface sat a tray of the most amazing donuts Charlotte had ever seen. There was a coffee carafe, too, but she only had eyes for the glossy chocolate icing.
If the Caffertys intended to matchmake her with those donuts, they were geniuses at love.
“Your guests are here,” announced Brent.
“Thank you,” said Curt, looking up from his phone. He smiled at the others as he stood.
“Please, have a seat. This is my sister, Selene.”
Selene was thin and small-boned like her mother and brother. The two looked like children tucked behind the massive table, though both appeared to be in their late thirties. Though it was hard to tell with the wealthy—the pair could be well-preserved fifty-somethings with ten thousand dollars worth of anti-aging products in their bathrooms and a standing appointment at a plastic surgeon’s office.
Selene’s gaze passed over them only to snap back to Blade. Her jaw dropped as she stared with large, dark blue eyes.
Charlotte, Declan, and Blade took seats at the table.
“Thank you for coming out here,” said Cupid.
“No problem. It’s quite a place,” said Charlotte, trying not to drool on the table. Having moved closer, she discovered the donuts smelled as good as they looked.
“Please help yourself,” said Selene, motioning to the sweets.
Charlotte smiled.
I think I love you.
Selene looked at Brent as if he’d disappointed her.
“Pour them some coffee,” she said.
Charlotte was so excited to claim the treat mercilessly flirting with her from the center of the table that she almost missed Brent’s reaction to Selene’s command.
His expression soured, but he reached for the carafe.
“Coffee?” he asked with a saccharine smile.
All three of the Charlock Holmes crew nodded, and he poured them each a cup. When he’d finished, he silently motioned to the sugar and creamer set and sat back down.
Charlotte placed a chocolate-iced donut with crumbled toffee stuck to the top on one of the provided plates and slid it in front of her. The plates had the Caffertys’ stylized heart logo in the center, making a lovely backdrop for the new love in her life.
“So,” said Cupid, clasping his hands together and focusing on Declan. “Let’s pick up where we left off. You said you would be one of the bodyguards?”
Declan nodded toward Blade. “Yes, and Blade here would be the other.”
“Blade?” asked Selene, who sat to Blade’s right. “What a terrifying name.”
The woman’s words and expression didn’t match. She batted her eyelids at the giant and didn’t look as if anything about him terrified her.
Charlotte found it odd. She didn’t expect everyone to be frightened of Blade, but Selene looked as if she wanted to gobble him up.
She looks at Blade the way I look at those donuts.
“I’m not so scary,” said Blade in his baritone. “My mother was a hippie. She named me after a blade of grass.”
“How beautiful,” said Selene.
Blade smiled, his blond mustache stretching to its limits. “Yeah, I made out better than my brother, Acorn.”
Selene giggled as her gaze dropped to the flying knives covering the front of Blade’s tee shirt.
He noticed. “The rest came later,” he added.
“You’re still very large and strong,” she said, lowering her chin and looking at him to blink several times in rapid succession.
Blade swallowed.
Charlotte’s mouth hung open above her donut.
What is going on here?
Was Selene flirting with Blade?
Selene noticed Charlotte watching her. Her cheeks flushed with color, and she looked away.
Charlotte took a bite before people noticed her gaping and chewed as she tried to make sense of what she’d witnessed.
Selene was in the public eye—it was her job to be beguiling. Blade charmed everyone he met just by looking like an extra from a Rambo movie.
Was she reading too much into their interaction?
The deep buttery flavor of the crumbled toffee crunched between Charlotte’s teeth, and she forgot about Selene’s flirting.
Best. Donut. Ever.
“What sort of experience do you have?” Cupid asked Declan.
Charlotte didn’t mind that he directed all his questions to Declan. She couldn’t be happier serving as moral support on this trip. Declan could do the talking—it meant his jawing went wasted on words instead of donuts.
“I served in a government-sponsored anti-drug taskforce based in South America, and Blade is a decorated Army veteran,” said Declan.
Cupid seemed impressed. “Wow. I guess you’re saying you’re more capable of handling whatever goes down. Do you have any references?”
Declan grimaced. “We don’t. We’ve just opened the agency. I could track down my commander and get a letter of recommendation from him?”
Charlotte knew Declan hoped Cupid wouldn’t ask him to do what he’d offered. His commander had been his uncle Seamus. That’s who’d dragged him into his stint fighting the cartels in South America, and while their work was impressive, getting a recommendation from a guy with the same last name wasn’t.
“We’ve worked cases as freelancers, and I could gather character references from local law enforcement,” added Charlotte.
“I saw you were tight with the sheriff,” said Cupid. “He respected you, and that’s good enough for me. But what if we need more bodyguards? More than two?”
“You have other siblings?” asked Declan glancing at Brent.
Brent shook his head. “I’m their manager.”
“No,” said Cupid, “but we have upcoming events, including a weekend getaway on our island. We might need additional security as floaters.”
“Charlotte is more than capable,” said Declan. “And I have another man who served in the same unit as myself.”
Charlotte froze, her teeth hoving over chocolate.
Oh boy.
Declan was referencing Seamus again. This worried her. Say Seamus’ name three times, and he might appear like Beetlejuice.
They hadn’t asked Seamus if he’d be up for moonlighting as security, but she supposed Declan felt confident his uncle would help if needed.
Cupid seemed satisfied.
“You sound qualified. Especially since this is probably all for nothing.”
“Hopefully,” chirped Selene.
Charlotte felt her phone buzz against her hip and stood from her seat. The caller ID told her it was Rachel.
She held up her phone for all to see. “This is the coroner on the phone now. I’ll see if they know anything yet.”
She glanced longingly at the remaining donut on her plate and wandered from the group.
Until we meet again, my love.
“Hi, Rachel,” she answered.
“Hi, Charlotte. Do you have any idea where Frank is?”
“No. We’re at a client meeting. You can’t reach him? Is it about Lady Venus?”
“It is,” said Rachel.
“I’m with her family right now. Can you tell me?”
“Um...”
Charlotte could tell Rachel needed convincing.
“You know Frank will tell me as soon as you tell him, anyway,” she added.
“Yes, but—”
“These people need to know if their mother had a heart attack or if they’re in danger.”
Rachel went silent, and Charlotte knew she had her.
“Fine. But you didn’t hear it from me,” said the coroner. “It wasn’t a heart attack. Venus Cafferty reacted to something. There’s swelling, a rash—”
“Could it be poison?”
Rachel sighed. “I don’t know, but I can’t rule it out yet. Her family could be in danger. That’s why I’m calling Frank. He needs to treat the community center as a crime scene, just in case.”
“Wow, thank you for letting me know. If you can’t get Frank, I’ll track him down as soon as we get back to Charity.”
“Thank you,” said Rachel. “I’ll keep trying.”
Charlotte hung up and walked back to the covered area. All eyes turned to her.
“Any news?” asked Declan.
Charlotte braced herself. She figured the easiest way to deliver the news was to spit it out.
“Results are inconclusive, but she can’t rule out poison.”
“Poison?” Selene grabbed Blade’s arm and buried her face into his bicep. Blade went rigid, looking like a deer in headlights.
Charlotte imagined she and the big guy shared the same thought.
This is weird.
Cupid responded to the coroner’s news less dramatically.
“I think we officially need to hire you,” he said quietly.
Brent didn’t say a thing, opting instead to stare at the table, a grim expression on his face.
Declan nodded to acknowledge they’d been hired and tried very hard not to look at Selene, who continued to clutch at Blade.
Blade raised the arm not in a death grip, and patted Selene’s hair as if she were a frightened child.
A minute passed with Selene’s soft sobbing as the only sound. Then, as quickly as she had folded, she sat up, eyes glistening.
“I want Blade with me,” she said, punctuating her sentence with a sniffle.
“I’ll take Declan,” said Cupid. He turned to Charlotte. “And I guess I’ll need you to look into my mother’s murder. Let’s make that official, too.”
Charlotte swallowed the last bit of donut.
“Absolutely.”