The corpse with four wiv.., p.4
The Corpse with Four Wives, page 4
“I told you we could drop you off at the hotel. Why did you insist on coming?”
She wasn’t looking at me but at Aiden’s retreating back. She did slow down to answer me. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? I think Aiden might be my next conquest. You’re not dating him, right? I didn’t get that vibe, but if you already called dibs, I’ll back off.”
“He is just my closest friend in town.”
“But not romantically?”
“Hillary,” I said with a warning tone.
She rolled her eyes. “Either claim him as someone you are interested in, or he’s free game.” She stared at me before smiling. “Then I guess the hunt is on. Dragon-shifters are so hot, and I heard him call me pretty. I think he is interested. Don’t worry. When it’s time for me to dump him, I will be extra nice so you two can stay buddies.”
I was considering throttling her, but Aiden had paused at an open doorway to gesture for me to join him.
We tried to stuff ourselves into the room that served as Dwayne’s office, but I was quite sure it was actually a broom closet. It held what I could only assume was a child’s desk and two chairs. Aiden gestured for us to take them, either because he was a gentleman or because his knees would never fit in the space between the chair and the desk. Airline seats had better legroom.
Dwayne looked at Hillary. “Who are you?”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Brooke’s sister.” She batted her lashes at him.
“Were you at the party?”
She paused, likely because he was immune to her smile. Normally, she got at least a moment of appreciation from males. “No. I just got into town today.”
“Then step out into the hallway.”
She screwed up her face before turning to Aiden. “Then Aiden can talk to me in the hallway and give me suggestions on what to see in town. I need a great hotel, restaurants…” Her voice faded out as she went into the hallway with him then forcefully closed the door.
I glared at the door for a split second before turning back to Dwayne.
He pulled a keyboard in front of him. “I’m helping out the lead detective with some interviews. The poisoning took place hours after the party, so we really don’t think any of the attendees are involved, but we’re interviewing everyone just in case they saw anything relevant. Can you tell me about who you saw and what happened?”
“Of course.” I ran through the timeline of events: how we arrived late, who I had met and recognized, my best recollection of the speeches Toby had made, and the altercations with the wives.
“What was your take on Sparrow and Teeni’s interaction?” Dwayne asked after I had finished.
I had to give him credit. He was sounding like a real officer, a shift from when I had first met him and it had felt more like he was playacting the role. Though when push came to shove, he had shown real courage every time it was required.
I leaned back in my seat to think about his question before answering. “It felt tense, like maybe this was an ongoing argument that had flared up again. Sparrow was very worked up, like she had personally been attacked and was going to do or say whatever it took to protect herself, or maybe it was about her family. I think Teeni felt similarly, but for her, it was about protecting the image that they are easygoing and not looking for conflict.”
“So you think it was a sore point?”
“Between them? Possibly. I have to say that I found Teeni a lot more likable than Sparrow. I want to stay as far away from Sparrow as possible.”
“She’s a siren. Do you two know each other?”
I shook my head. “First time meeting her. I actually don’t know any sirens that aren’t family members. I mean, I’ve met some before in passing, but we’ve had no friendships.”
“Anything else that you want to add?”
I turned to look at the door as my sister’s laughter leaked in. “No, but I’ll call if I can think of anything.”
Dwayne pecked away at his keyboard. “I’ll handle that.”
“Handle what?”
“Just go ahead and let Aiden know I am ready.”
I opened the door, and Hillary was showing Aiden pictures on her phone. “And this is from when I went to the Met Gala. The theme was whimsy, so I wore nothing underneath.”
Aiden was already looking at me. “Dwayne ready?”
“Yeah. Hillary, you should go over to the hotel and get a room, and I’ll bring over your luggage later.”
Hillary giggled. “Oh no, I’ll just wait. Aiden was telling me about your friend Tavros, who knew Mom and Grandmother. I was saying that we could get lunch.”
Dwayne spoke from behind me, making me jump. “Great. I’ll give Twyla a call, and we can all go. Twyla and I are just like Aiden and Brooke.”
Hillary studied Dwayne’s face. “Good friends?”
“The best, you could say. Oh yes, Officer Park, thank you for coming by. I figured you could give Hillary a tour of the building. Introduce her to a few of the officers on duty, especially the single ones.”
Hillary perked up a little and faced the small, compact woman in uniform who had mysteriously appeared behind us when I wasn’t looking. “Are any of them fun?”
Officer Park nodded. “I hear they are quite popular at the bar. Come along.”
They left as I scrunched myself back into the office, taking the seat closest to the wall so Aiden could pull his chair into the space beyond the desk and stretch out. Aiden launched into a truncated retelling of the evening, which he reduced to just the bullet points.
When he was finished, Dwayne looked over from his computer. “What was your impression of the family.”
“Tense.”
“Anything to add?” Dwayne asked.
I shifted in my seat. “You told me that Toby was pushing you really hard to become a polygamist. And then he announced it in front of everyone. You kinda left that out.”
Aiden shook his head. “You’d think I’d be better at this. I think I might be in more shock than I realized. I did know the guy, and he’s another dragon-shifter. Seems crazy that he’s dead.”
I reached over to grab his hand, which was resting on his knee. “I’m sorry. I haven’t really even asked how you feel about it.”
“You good?” Dwayne asked.
Aiden gave his head a little shake. “I really should call Mom and let her know. She knows the Brauns. Has someone already notified the family?”
Dwayne nodded. “Yes. The authorities have been out at the house for at least twelve hours. I’m just going to do your two interviews and compile a list of other people they might want to talk to and then get back to the case I was working on. You still on board with that, Aiden? Did you talk to Brooke?”
“Sure. It’ll give me something to do. And Brooke is on board, though I haven’t told her any details.”
“Great. I should have that in a few hours. The event is supposed to happen soon.”
“Perfect. Let’s wrap this interview up. Lunch does sound good, as I haven’t eaten. Regarding the polygamist talk, during that one-on-one meeting I had with Toby when we first arrived, he was really pushing me to become a polygamist. Maybe because he knew my mom really wants me to get married, and dragon-shifters do have a more common history of polygamy. I didn’t want to shut him down completely.”
“Because you are open to it? Have a few wives in that big house of yours? It would break up the cleaning.”
Aiden sighed. “No, Dwayne, because he was so worked up about it. I didn’t want him to flip out. He was so amped up every time I tried to say I wasn’t interested, I figured I would talk to him later in the week and set him off the idea completely. I just said I would think about it. I wanted to get out of there and back to Brooke. I didn’t mean to abandon her at the party I insisted she come to.”
“I didn’t mind,” I added.
“So I said I would think about it, and not even half an hour later, he made that big announcement that I was on board. It was more annoying than anything, but it makes me wonder if he takes that approach with everyone. I could see him getting under people’s skin if that was how he always acted.”
“You’ve known him for a while?” Dwayne asked.
“I knew him casually when he lived here decades ago, but we weren’t ever terribly close. He only had the one wife, Keri, and he was this eager, needy, show-off kind of guy. Kind of a dweeb. Frankly, I’m shocked that he got another three women to marry him, but it did seem to give him a strange confidence. Most people would be scared to push me as hard as he did. Forty years ago, I would have handled him a lot differently, so I guess we’ve both changed.”
Aiden sighed again and sank into his chair, looking exhausted.
I made eye contact with Dwayne and jerked my head toward the door.
Dwayne tapped a few more keys on the keyboard and stood up. “I’ll let you know if I need any more, but let’s grab lunch at the Bull in the Bookcase.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Despite my sister’s protests, we decided to walk the several blocks to the speakeasy hidden behind a small bookshop. I gave the monthly password—“Fear is the mind killer”—to the lady at the register, and she swung open a bookcase to allow us entrance to the pub inside.
Twyla waved to us from the upper level, and we wove our way through the mix of adventurous tourists, local regulars, and a few lunchtime partiers whooping it up at the bar. Twyla gave me a quick hug before turning to Hillary.
“You must be Hillary. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Twyla. Brooke and I work together.” She extended her hand.
Hillary shook it carefully, sizing Twyla up as a potential competitor for single men. “Nice to meet you.”
Aiden and Dwayne took seats opposite each other on the couches on either side of the table. Hillary slid into the loveseat and nestled up against Aiden, looking over his shoulder at the menu highlighting the daily specials.
I sighed and took the velvet chair at the end of the table and looked over the menu, more out of habit than necessity.
I noticed Twyla in my peripheral vision and looked up. She glared at me then across the table at Aiden, who was answering my sister’s question about what was good. Then Twyla looked back at me. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, dismissing whatever concern she had.
She pursed her lips and turned back to them. “So, Hillary, how long are you staying? I hear you are quite the world traveler.”
Hillary put down her menu and smiled. “I usually am, but I think I’m going to stay in town for a bit. I recently had a heartbreak, and I want to relax and discover if there are still good men in the world.” She turned back to Aiden and fluttered her eyelashes.
Aiden nodded. “Lots of nice folks in town. You should check out the springs. Your sister is a big fan, and I bet you would like them too.”
“That is so kind of you to offer. I would love to check out the springs with you.”
Aiden pulled back a bit before recovering. “Oh, yeah, I suppose we could all go up together. You want to come?” He turned to us.
Out of his line of sight, my sister’s eyes narrowed briefly before she slapped that gorgeous smile back onto her face.
Twyla had watched the whole exchange like a bird of prey ready to swoop in on a prairie dog. “Yes, we will all go together.”
Maybe because I knew my sister’s angle, I could feel the tension at the table. Aiden seemed completely oblivious, but I was already exhausted. That was how I always felt when she was around, and it was why I avoided her. But now, she was in my town, drooling over my… friend. My very best friend.
“I need to get something to drink,” I blurted and bolted from my seat. I was halfway to the bar before I even realized I had left the table. I was in an adrenaline haze and slowed my pace as I approached the bar. I would get a drink and chill out before I returned.
Tavros was behind the bar, his hooves subtly shaking the wood planks under my feet as his massive frame moved smoothly in the space. His wide horns curved out and up but didn’t hit any of the items behind the bar.
“I was just about to call you, Brooke.”
“Why? And can I start a tab with a Purgatory Mule?”
“Sure. I can make that while you tell me why that thin woman over in the corner came in here begging for your phone number. She won’t tell me why or who she is.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder.
I followed the gesture into a dark corner of the bar, where a woman in a long black dress, a black hat, and dark glasses was staring down at the empty glass in her lap. It took me a few moments longer than I cared to admit to recognize her. “Did you hear about the weredragon that was killed last night?”
Tavros nodded as he poured liquor into a shaker. “I didn’t know him, but I heard the gossip. I give regulars the friends-and-family discount if they keep me up-to-date on the town’s happenings. Is she one of the wives?”
“The newest one. Her name is Sparrow, and she’s a mermaid, but I’m not sure why she would be asking for me. What did she say?”
“Just that she thought I might know you, and she wanted to talk to you. She knew you are a mermaid, and since that is not common knowledge, I was kinda suspicious. She didn’t know your last name or anything. I said I would see what I could do. She just arrived a few minutes ago, and I didn’t want to reply too quickly if you wanted me to blow her off. What do you want me to say?”
“How about if you give me another one of whatever she had, and I’ll go over and find out what she wants.”
He put my drink on the bar and grabbed another glass. “It’s on the house if you give me the gossip later. I know it’s good, ’cause my nose is tingling.” He scrunched up his large bovine snout, the gold nose ring bouncing in response.
“Deal,” I said. I grabbed her Jack and Coke and the copper mug containing my Purgatory Mule and headed over.
She looked up to dab at her eyes under the dark glasses, then her body straightened. “Brooke?” she asked as I handed her the drink and pulled a chair closer to her. “I had no idea he would be able to get you here so soon.”
I debated for a moment whether I should console her on the loss of her husband or pretend I didn’t know but decided to be as neutral as possible. “How can I help you?”
She took a long drink from the glass then stared at it when she lowered it into her lap. I had to resist the urge to fill the air with words and, instead, waited.
Finally, she spoke. “Toby was killed last night. I just can’t believe it. I thought we had hundreds of years ahead of us, and now, he is gone.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. I just…” She faded out, and her nose turned redder as she dabbed under her glasses again. She gathered herself up. “You have to understand that the house was all locked up. The poison was fast acting, so it couldn’t have been from earlier in the day. Someone had to give it to him. Someone he trusted. Either it was someone in the house, or they let someone in.”
“You think one of the other wives did it?” My heartbeat accelerated, but I tried to keep my face smooth and my voice calm.
“I can’t imagine who it could be or why, but someone did it. I can’t believe I am saying this.”
I once again twisted my ring into my palm to hide the glow from the lie-detecting charm. It was clear that whatever was going on, Sparrow had more ideas than she was currently sharing. “This must be very hard for you.”
She seemed to gain some steel in her spine as her face snapped up to mine, her eyes unreadable behind the shades. “Sister wives should not be jealous of each other. We should revel in our sacred loneliness. The few months I have been in the family have been the best of my life, but not all my sister wives feel the same. Jealousy is a problem. Plus I am younger, and I’m the only one that isn’t a dragon-shifter. They just don’t always understand or welcome me. The idea that one of them could be responsible for my husband’s death is just unbelievable.”
I peeked at the ring again and wasn’t surprised to see it glowing, and I sighed with a huff. The issue with the ring was that it couldn’t tell me whether she did know who the murderer was already, if she could imagine them responsible for the death, or if there was some other minor untruth in her statement. It was rare for people to tell the whole truth, so the ring alerted me far too often.
I didn’t want the glow to be visible, so I slipped the ring off and slid it into my pocket. I was going to need to leave it at home until I was able to tweak the spell to be more useful.
Sparrow was still watching me, or at least I assumed she was, from behind those sunglasses.
I tried to find a middle-ground response. “I’m sorry about what happened to your family. I can assure you the police here in town are very good and have experience in this type of case.”
“Murders happen here a lot?”
I hesitated before replying, not wanting to paint my new hometown in too dark a light. “Not all the time, but we have had a few, and the police have handled the investigations professionally.”
She leaned in. “My mom doesn’t trust them. She says that mermaids never get a fair shake, especially away from the ocean. They will be happy to pin this on me. I’m the newest to the family and don’t know anyone in town to vouch for me. You have to help me.” She grabbed my hand with hard, bony fingers, her nails digging into my skin.
I flinched at the sudden movement but didn’t tear my hand away.
She lowered her glasses to expose her eyes. Holding eye contact with me, she repeated, “Help me.”
I was not familiar with all kinds of magic, but I could recognize that she was trying to use magic to compel me with her voice. For a year, I had been wearing an amulet that protected me from that kind of magic, but it was extremely interesting that she was trying. Whatever her situation, she was desperate for help.
“What would you like me to do?” I asked calmly, not wanting to give away that her magic wasn’t working.
She put her glasses back on and removed her hand. “You know people in town. Please ask around, and see if you can find something to help me. I know there are secrets in my household, but I can’t find them out. Until the estate is settled, I cannot move out. I must watch out for my tenders.”
