Chapter 23 The Groundskeeper’s Poodle
THE GROUNDSKEEPER’S POODLE
Samuel called a meeting in his office late that afternoon.
Barney was already inside when I traipsed in with Bo, the vampire’s gaunt frame draped in the leather chair opposite Samuel’s desk.
Didi occupied the other chair, her coffee clutched like a weapon.
Gavin, who’d come into the office late, was perched on the settee, his tail curled around his ankles and a fire extinguisher within arm’s reach.
Samuel looked tired.
That made two of us. I’d spent the rest of the day chasing Delaware shell companies through a digital maze that would have given my former employers migraines all while Melody’s whispered warnings turned over in my mind.
Bo settled quietly at my feet as I took a seat. The Husky had been subdued since the cat chase that morning.
With Didi already in the know, Samuel and I gave Barney and Gavin the condensed version of what had happened at Melody’s house and Bean Me Up. I also related where Bo and I had previously spotted the black cat.
Barney listened without expression.
Gavin’s horns started smoking halfway through and didn’t stop.
“According to Ellie, that cat had a vampiric scent,” Samuel said.
Barney frowned. “You can trust a newborn vampire’s nose.”
Samuel leaned his elbows on his desk and steepled his hands beneath his chin. “Arthur Holt told us the Black Chalice Rite grants its user the ability to assume the form of another supernatural creature or animal.”
Gavin’s nostrils sparked in alarm in the strained silence.
“You think the black cat is the witch you’re after,” Barney said quietly.
“It would explain many things,” I said. “Bo and I sensed something off about her when we first saw her at Coven Headquarters. She was probably there to keep an eye on Melody.”
Didi’s fingers had gone white around her cup. “If this woman can assume other forms beyond a cat, that’s a significant problem. She could impersonate anyone.”
We glanced at one another, the implications settling over the room like a cold draft.
“The Marchefords were a dead end. And everything we’ve uncovered so far keeps pointing back to what the Thornwicks tried to do all those years ago,” I said, my chest tight. “It has to be them or someone connected to them.”
Didi hesitated before nodding. “It’s starting to look like that from where I’m sitting.”
Samuel turned to Barney. “I want you to work with Didi and Gavin. Dig into the Thornwick family records. Property deeds, Alliance archives, coven registries—anything that tells us if any Thornwicks are still alive and where they might be operating from.”
Barney’s dark eyes were unreadable. “The Alliance archives on the Thornwicks would be in the restricted section. I’ll need Cornelius to authorize access.”
Samuel dipped his head briskly. “I’ll handle Cornelius.”
“I’ll start with the coven registries.” Didi rose.
“The incident about the Thornwicks was scrubbed from the records after their exile, but the historical information about their family should still exist.” She paused at the door.
“If there’s a property somewhere that everyone’s conveniently forgotten about, the old land deeds will show it. ”
Gavin hopped off the settee, his tail swishing with nervous energy. “I’ll check the county clerk’s office. Even supernatural families have to register property with the human authorities.”
Samuel’s gaze found mine.
“Keep working the Delaware angle,” he said. “If we can crack the shell companies, the money trail will lead us to a name and location.”
I nodded. It was the one thread I was uniquely equipped to pull. Whoever had set up those entities had been clever, but no financial structure was airtight. There was always a seam.
I was two hours deep into corporate filings when my phone rang.
Mrs. Chen’s name flashed on the screen. I’d taken the witch’s number the last time I’d visited her. I picked up immediately.
“I think we’ve got trouble.”
The elderly witch’s voice was taut in a way I’d never heard from her.
Mrs. Chen normally dispensed wisdom and herbal teas with the kind of unflappable calm that came from weathering every storm Amberford’s supernatural community had thrown at her.
Hearing her rattled made the hairs on my arms stand up.
“What’s wrong?” I asked guardedly.
“I saw a woman in town just now. She was buying magic ingredients from a shop I frequent.”
I straightened in my chair. Bo’s head rose from his paws where he lay under my desk.
“She was young,” Mrs. Chen continued. “Or at least, she looked young. The way she carried herself—let’s just say it reminded me of something I hadn’t seen in decades.”
My stomach turned. “The Thornwicks.”
“Bingo,” Mrs. Chen muttered. “That family had a particular bearing. An arrogance that went bone deep. I remember it from before their exile.” Her voice dropped further.
“This woman had the same look. The same eyes. In fact, she reminded me very much of Esmeralda, Cordelia Thornwick’s granddaughter.
Except that’s impossible. Esmeralda was ten years old when her family was exiled.
She’d be in her fifties right about now. ”
My heart slammed against my ribs. “Can you describe her?”
“She was slender, with dark hair. Well-dressed. Attractive, in a sharp sort of way.” Mrs. Chen hesitated. “She’d masked her magic pretty well but I still got a hint of it. It smelled—”
“Wrong,” I finished in a deadly voice.
“Yes. Very wrong.”
I thanked the witch and hung up, my mind racing. I worried my lip with my teeth for a moment before calling Arthur Holt.
“The Black Chalice Rite, could it make someone look younger than their years?” I asked tensely after we exchanged greetings.
“Possibly,” Arthur replied, puzzled. “Why do you ask?”
“Because a witch who looks like a younger version of Esmeralda Thornwick just showed up in town.”
A fraught pause echoed across the line.
“If it’s really her, then she’s capable of really strong magic,” Arthur said in a strained voice.
My heart sank. Like I needed more things to worry about.
“How’s the ley line map coming along?” I asked before I ended the call.
“I’m nearly done. You should have it soon.”
A shadow fell across my desk as I hung up. I looked up. It was Samuel.
“Are you ready to go?”
I realized belatedly that we’d come to the office in his car that day. I hesitated and looked at the pile of paperwork around me.
My alpha’s face softened. “It can wait until the morning. We won’t be of any use to the Lincoln sisters if we burn the candles at both ends.”
“Alright,” I said reluctantly.
I told him about Mrs. Chen’s phone call on the elevator ride to the first floor and what Arthur had told me.
Samuel frowned. “I better brief Cornelius.”
He called the fae on the drive home.
Dinner was a small affair. Victoria had gone out for a social function and Hugh was nowhere to be seen.
Nora had just served dessert when Bo rushed in from the garden, his tail wagging in a way that meant he had something to report.
He parked himself next to my chair and got distracted by my creme br?lée.
I waited a moment. “You look like you had something to say?”
Bo gave me a preoccupied glance. “Oh. Yes, I did. I talked to Marshmallow just now on our social howl.”
He focused on the dessert again, a bit of drool escaping his jowls. I carefully moved the plate away. Samuel sighed.
Bo licked his chops and gave the creme br?lée a sad look before gazing at us. “You know how my canine circle mentioned that weird stuff going in the old industrial district lately? The lights and the vehicles?”
I nodded.
“Rosie told Marshmallow that Gigi, the cemetery groundskeeper’s poodle, has been sniffing around down there.
Her owner jogs through that area sometimes so she decided to investigate.
” Bo’s ears twitched. “She said one of the old warehouses smelled bad. Like, really bad. Not dead-animal bad. More like”—he searched for the word, his nose wrinkling—“scary bad. She said it was the kind of smell that makes your fur stand up and your legs want to run the other way.”
My wolf went very still. So did Samuel.
“Did she tell Rosie the location of that warehouse?” my alpha asked sharply.
“From the way Marshmallow described it, it’s probably the building on the corner of Porter and Ninth.
” Bo wagged his tail hesitantly. “The one with the busted windows and the loading dock. Gigi said she’s too scared to go near it now.
” The Husky studied me with serious eyes.
“I think it might be that nasty magic we smelled at the clinic and in that fae-witch’s house. ”