Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“Evan, wait,” Fen called out.
Trent knew better. He simply kept up with me. He was by my side when we got to the open door and realized things had taken another turn.
Jade was on her knees in the foyer, Relda’s body in her arms and a knife at her side. Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she registered shock as she realized we were standing there. “I didn’t…I didn’t do this.”
But it certainly looked like she had, and I had another problem to solve.
Chapter Fifteen
I forced down a piece of toast as my brother stood in the middle of the bedroom and gave me the distinctly bad news. “Really? You didn’t find anything?”
Eddie had popped over to Dallas to bring back Nate. Jamie was apparently on call with the royals being in Dallas. They were both preparing to make the move to Frelsi in the next few days. My mother was currently packing way too much and fully intended to “help” me through my pregnancy.
That had been conveyed to me with an almost vicious glee. I was way more afraid of her than I was of Tix. The thought of my mom moving seriously close to me and not having any kind of a job except mom and grandma was terrifying, but I had to move the morning along.
“Yes, I found all the stab wounds,” Nate replied with a yawn. “She was stabbed. And with what looks like a kitchen knife. Not even a ceremonial one. It’s kind of sad. If you’re a witch and you’ve got to go out, one would think it should be with a ceremonial knife.”
“Could you be serious for five minutes?”
“I’m too tired to be serious,” Nate quipped, reaching for the mug of coffee Eddie had brought him. “I know you want me to connect this to Alvis’s death, and it’s probably true, but I can’t tell because there wasn’t a lot left of Alvis. He could have been stabbed but a knife wouldn’t kill him. I can tell you that the witch died from a butcher knife to the heart, and not a particularly clean one since I found some trace elements of herbs in the wound and on the knife. It looked like she’d been using it in the kitchen and then someone killed her.”
“But she wasn’t found in the kitchen. My question is why was her body found in the foyer?”
“Because she was killed there and the other witch was found with the knife because she was the one who did the killing,” Nate summed up. “Sometimes these things are easy, and what we see is really what happened. Most of the time, actually.” He looked down at his watch. “I wrote it all up in my report. I’ve got some samples to take back for further testing, and I’ll send that to you as soon as I have it, but I don’t think that’s going to change the outcome of this investigation. I know you like the girl, but sometimes people disappoint us.”
People disappointed me all the time. It wasn’t like I was Suzy Sunshine. There were times in my life when I was Nihilistic Nancy. I was now trying for Reasonably Suspicious Ruth, with a pinch of Optimistic Opal. My brother was seriously annoying me. “I’ll find Eddie for you.”
“Don’t get mad at me because I don’t give you the answer you want.” Nate softened slightly and sat on the bed beside me. “Are you feeling better?”
I’d had a morning. After trying to talk to Jade and getting mostly hysterical tears, I’d finally gone to bed and gotten some sleep. I’d had dreams of Tix throwing me a baby shower that ended with him locking me up so I would be forced to deliver my son on the Hell plane. I’d woken up and promptly had one of those amazing experiences where I throw up a lot and generally feel miserable for about thirty minutes before Nate had come in to deliver my not-so-great news.
“I guess so.” I wasn’t sure because my appetite hadn’t returned, and that made me worry. I liked my appetite.
“Jeanie had a rough first trimester.” He chuckled. “It’s hard to believe I use words like ‘trimester’ now, and I know what a cervix is and that it dilates. Yesterday I was concerned with our next D&D night.”
No matter how irritated I was with him, he was still my brother and I adored him. I shifted so I was sitting next to him and I could wrap my arm around him. “I know. I’m still surprised you know what sex is.”
That got me a hearty laugh, and he leaned against me. “I am, too. Sometimes I look at this life and I’m so in awe of how we get to live.” He took a long breath, sobering. “And then sometimes I’m terrified that this kid is going to come out and be so disappointed to have a human for a father. What if she can’t change? What if she hates me for taking that chance from her?”