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Steady...steady...Violet encouraged.
Wynona allowed a small smile to cross her face as she watched the dishes and trays move throughout the room. The shop had closed twenty minutes ago and instead of her usual habit of walking around to pick up, Wynona was using her magic. It was so much easier now that the curse was fully gone, though she still worried about using a sledgehammer for a job that required a toothpick, at times.
Her ability to hold back the mass of magic, however, had greatly strengthened since her magical burst had burned through the last threads of the curse. While Wynona wouldn’t describe things as easy yet, she had great hope they would become so.
Not to mention, it’ll make your life a lot easier, Violet responded wryly.
“Now if only blocking my thoughts was as easy,” Wynona muttered. She threw up her barrier in her mind. She really needed to be careful about that. Her barrier needed to be instinctual, yet like using magic for everyday life, Wynona still forgot about it. She didn’t mind being able to communicate with Violet, but she didn’t appreciate having every thought in her brain broadcast through her familiar and subsequently, her soulmate.
Still...she had obviously improved in her control over easy things, she knew with a little extra practice she could get her mental situation set up as well.
The last teapot rattled on the tray as the front door opened. “Prim!” Wynona scolded, putting her hands on her hips. She glared at the doorway, waiting for her friend to come through. “You really need to knock instead of—” Her words trailed off as she realized it wasn’t Prim. “Rascal! How did you get in? The door was locked!”
Rascal frowned. He looked even worse for wear than he had this morning. “Uh...no it wasn’t.”
Wynona wracked her brain. She was positive she had locked that door.
I don’t remember you locking it, Violet offered.
“Wow.” Wynona rubbed her forehead. “I guess I’m not doing as well as I thought.” Her forgetfulness was a testament to how full her brain was. She was still struggling with Granny and now worried about Rascal and the murder, it was a wonder the door had even been closed.
“Can I sit down?” Rascal asked. One side of his lips twitched. “Or will I get another scolding?”
Wynona mock glared. “Prim broke in the other day and I haven’t forgiven her for it yet.” Rushing over, Wynona tugged on his arm. “But sit down, or you might fall down.” Once he was seated in the cushioned recliner, Wynona really studied him. Her initial perusal had been correct. He was done. There was no way he could go back to the precinct tonight. “You didn’t get a break, did you?” she murmured, brushing his unruly hair away from his forehead.
Rascal closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth. “We’re fighting time, since the media are all so close. Usually, we can work for a bit without their interference, but the ghost reporters are worse than normal, plus all the social media sites.” He groaned. “If we could just get the kids to stop talking to people, we might be able to make some headway.”
“Let me get you something to drink and then I’ll take care of dinner,” Wynona said softly. Her heart pinched. Rascal was such a good officer. It was no wonder he was the deputy chief at his age. When they first met, Rascal had teased it was because of his nose, but Wynona now knew better. Rascal cared and he went the extra mile. He wasn’t willing to just send his men out, he was going to be among them.
Lusgu was already heating water when Wynona stepped into the kitchen. “Thank you,” she offered.
The brownie grunted, not looking at her, but his grunt seemed a little less disdainful than normal. Could he be softening toward her?
Violet snorted and Wynona shook her head. As interesting as that might be, it wasn’t a priority right now. She began walking to the cupboards, but her familiar stopped her.
Powers, the mouse stated firmly.
“Right.” Wynona huffed. She closed her eyes and worked her way through everything she needed, only this time working slightly faster. Lusgu had already taken care of the heat, so Wynona only needed to gather ingredients.
A proud smile lit her face as she walked back out, the tray floating behind her. It seemed when she had a mission, her magic was all too happy to cooperate. She mentally set the tray down and held up her hand before Rascal could reach for anything. He needed something to brighten his day and this wasn’t perfect, but it would do.
Narrowing her gaze in concentration, she poured the water, stirred the infuser and sent the cup and saucer into Rascal’s waiting hand.
“You’re amazing,” Rascal said with a smile.
Wynona couldn’t help but return it. “I’m learning,” she admitted, then plopped herself in the chair next to his. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Rascal smelled the tea and sighed. “I don’t even know what that is, but it smells good.” He chuckled. “My brothers would have a heyday with the fact that I’m a regular tea drinker now.”
“Comes with the territory of a tea healing witch being your soulmate, I suppose,” Wynona said lightly. “Oh. Hang on.” She grabbed her phone and punched in a few buttons on an app. “Okay. Pizza will be here in twenty.” Tucking the phone back in her pocket, she focused on him again. “I know you can’t share all of it, but maybe talking about what you can will put it in perspective.”
His twinkle came back to those golden eyes. “You’re curious, aren’t you? You just can’t help yourself.”
Wynona rolled her own black ones. “I was trying to help.”
He took a long sip. “I’ll pretend that’s the real reason...for now.” He smirked.
Wynona tilted her head and waited him out. She would never admit he was right, he already knew.
Rascal sighed and slumped in the seat. “The family still believes it was an accident, and everyone conveniently had an alibi.”
“Still just the ex-husband and the two kids? No one else?”
Rascal shrugged. “We’re looking into the possibility that Ms. Roseburg was having an...interlude...with the pool boy.”
Wynona pinched her lips. “You’re kidding, right? Why does that feel so cliche?”
Rascal returned her smile. “Because it is. Wealthy heiress, handsome young pool boy? It’s the oldest trick in the book.”
“Is there any possibility he killed her for her money?” Wynona pursed her lips. “Why not just marry her?”
Rascal scratched behind his ear. “Marriage does seem simpler, but creatures have killed for far less reasons than the millions she had in the bank.”
“Is there going to be a will reading?” Wynona asked.
Rascal nodded and drained his cup. “Yeah. Though the son is positive it’ll all go to him.” He scrunched his nose. “I’m surprised you haven’t been following it all online. The media have been having a heyday with the siblings fighting about the money.”
Wynona blew out a breath. “I hate that money separates families so easily.”
Rascal shrugged. “I think I’ve gotten used to it. It’s almost always a factor in a case.”
“Which is incredibly sad.”
He nodded. “I won’t argue that. But when creatures feel they’re owed something, they’ll go to great lengths to get it.”
“And the ex? What was his name?” Wynona rubbed Violet’s head while she searched her brain. “Mr...Killoran? Is that right?”
Rascal beamed. “Good memory. Yes. Ms. Roseburg never took on his name. It allowed her to keep her family fortune for herself only.”
“Who’s the family lawyer?”
“Mr. Romulus Melion.” Rascal yawned. “He’s a leopard shifter and has a reading planned for after the funeral in a few days.”
“Do you think it’s an accident?” Wynona pressed.
Rascal shrugged. “I’m not sure. All signs point to her slipping and falling in the pool, but I think some pieces are missing. And with this much money involved...” He didn’t need to finish his thought, Wynona knew exactly what he meant.
“Tell me what seems suspicious.”
Rascal took a deep breath, then leaned over and pulled her out of her seat and onto his lap. “There. I can think better this way.”
Wynona smiled as she reached one arm around his shoulders. “You might be able to, but my brain gets all muddled.”
He tapped her nose. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Violet snorted. You would.
Rascal laughed, the sound glorious and free, which helped lighten Wynona’s worry for him. They’d get through this, one day at a time. She’d just have to make sure he was fed and got good sleep in the meantime.
“Your suspicions?” she pressed.
“Right.” Rascal settled his arms around her waist. “The poolboy is a merman. The fact that she drowned is hard to overlook in that case.”
Wynona raised her eyebrows. “You think he murdered her?”
“I think it could have been murder or simply play time in the pool gone wrong, but it seems a little odd that she died in his domain.”
Wynona nodded, encouraging him to continue.
“And the kids. No one is upset by their mother’s death. Again, no real proof, just...suspicious. People who are disliked by those closest to them seem to have shorter life spans.”
Wynona shivered. This just made her glad all over again that she had escaped her family. “Did you look for signs of magic? Did Daemon check things over?”
Rascal nodded. “Yeah. The pool was clear of magic.” Rascal grinned. “We remembered to have him check this time. Aren’t you proud of us?”
Daemon’s ability to see residual magic was something Wynona had brought to light and pointed out how it could help investigations. It had taken a little time, however, before the team began using it on a regular basis.
“And the body?”
Rascal shrugged. “The body was fine. No signs of trauma. She wasn’t in a swimsuit though. Which is just another point toward the suspicious category.”
“Was there any magic on the body?”
Rascal stiffened.
Wynona gave him a look. “You didn’t look, did you?”
He growled low. “I thought of the crime scene, but didn’t think of the body. You’d think after watching Daemon work with that breaking curse, it would be the first thing we thought of.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. “Chief,” Rascal said in a strong tone. Gone was the weary, broken shifter who had entered her door a while before. He was in full police mode now. “We need Skymaw to check the body for magic.”
Rascal nodded slowly and Wynona could hear the rumblings of Chief Ligurio, though she didn’t know what he was saying.
“The body’s still down in the morgue. The autopsy hasn’t come through yet, though I expect it any time. Now would be ideal to send him down there.” Rascal paused again. “Right. I’m at the tea shop. I’ll wait to hear.”
Wynona ran her fingers through his hair. “Where’s Daemon?”
Rascal looked up at her. “He’d already gone home. Chief’s going to call him back and send him to the morgue. The body should still be out since we don’t have the autopsy yet.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe I missed that.”
“You’ve been so tired since this all started, it’s a wonder you can remember your name,” she teased. A knock came on the door and Wynona pulled out of his hold. “That’s got to be dinner. Hang on.”
“I can get it,” Rascal said, starting to rise, but Wynona pushed him back down.
“Let me take care of my shifter,” she said, kissing his lips lightly.
Rascal’s eyes began to glow and he sat back down. “I think I can handle that.”
She grinned and walked away, letting a little of her feelings flow through their connection. Rascal responded with another growl, but this one was anything but angry. This soulmate thing was going to be fun.
She was back in minutes, two boxes of pizza in her hands. She paused at the look on Rascal’s face. “What did I miss?”
“Skymaw was already at the station, picking up something he’d forgotten.” Rascal’s eyes hardened. “He ran downstairs and looked her over.”
Wynona knew she wasn’t going to like what he said next.
“There was a spot of magic on the back of her head.”
“The back of her head?” Wynona’s eyebrows shot up as she realized what that meant. “It was a healing spell, wasn’t it?”
Rascal nodded. “That’s Skymaw’s best guess.”
“So she was hurt and someone healed her.” Wynona shook her head, her heart plummeting to her stomach. “This wasn’t an accident.”
“Nope.” Rascal’s glowing eyes had nothing to do with their flirting now. Instead, his face had gone hard and his demeanor stiff. “As of right now, we’re looking for a murderer.”