Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Harriet
I nearly swallow my own tongue. “Well... kind of!”
Josie narrows her eyes. “No wonder Maverick seemed pissed. You’re back on your wedding saboteur thing?”
I snort. “I never left it.”
Josie shakes her head. “I really think the stairway collapse was a warning from the Snag Tooth Riders. Everyone thinks it. It’s the whole ‘fight nights’ thing.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Naturally, Alexandru perks up at this. “Fight nights?”
Josie studies his face. “Our local motorcycle gang, the Snag Tooth Riders, used to have these barn fight nights that were a massive income-generating situation for them. They’d sell alcohol and everything.
But the mayor of Ashwood shut it all down.
Cue the threats flying back and forth, and the next thing you know, the mayor and the deputy mayor are lying in a pile of rubble. ”
“Did they get any proof that it was them yet?” I ask. “Did they make any arrests?”
“Maverick says it’s just a matter of time. He’s a good cop and you know it.”
“I also know there’s a pattern,” I say, “and it’s escalating.”
“I mean, you’re amazing at tracking things, but it seems like such a clear cause and effect.”
I can feel Alexandru’s gaze burning into my profile, oddly warming. “Her kind possesses an uncanny ability with patterns. If she senses something, it exists.”
Josie’s brow furrows. “Her... kind?”
“My father did his bookkeeping for him,” I say. “Alexandru is super impressed with our family’s spreadsheet skills.”
“Harriet is brilliant,” she agrees. “You were smart to hire her. But I’m not so sure about this theory. At least, I hope you’re wrong because that would not be good. Wedding festivities are one of Ashwood’s top tourism drivers.”
I pull out my iPad. “We just confirmed two of them.”
Josie peers at my list. “Wait. You don’t have the curtain fire on here.”
I stiffen. “What curtain fire?”
Josie winces, clearly regretting saying anything. “Never mind.”
“Screw off, you have to tell me now.”
She leans in. “It was here at Glassworks Galleria, but you can’t let it slip that I told you.”
“You knew I was looking into this and didn’t mention a fire?”
“I didn’t know it wasn’t on your list!” Josie says.
“It wasn’t huge. No injuries, thankfully.
Some decorative curtains on the third floor caught fire during a reception, and the sprinklers went off.
It was not pretty. Chief Knox found traces of accelerant and concluded a photographer had spilled equipment cleaner near a candle. ”
“Accelerant?” I say, keenly aware of Alexandru tracking my rising interest or my pulse or skin temperature or who knows. He’s like a predator on a scent trail. It’s a bit unsettling.
“Accelerant can be a lot of things, though,” she says.
“Was it Richardson Photography?” I ask.
“Who else? I think it was at Mandy and Jim Gordon’s wedding.
The Richardson crew might still have the photos.
You should check. Not that I suggested it, okay?
You didn’t get it from me.” Josie fixes me with a gaze that can be translated into I’m really, really, really serious!
“Harlan Delmere has been aggressive about keeping it quiet. You cannot tell him I mentioned it.”
“Harlan was trying to cover it up?”
“Who is Harlan?” Alexandru asks.
“Sort of a local developer and power player,” Josie explains. “He owns the Galleria and a whole bunch of other places.”
“We’ll keep quiet about it,” I say, shooting a look at Alexandru. The last thing I want is to get Josie in trouble.
I tuck away my tablet. “I can’t believe I missed this one. Also, sprinklers went off during a wedding reception, and there’s nothing online? That’s a little scary.”
Alexandru’s eyes glitter with predatory focus. “Where would we find this Harlan?”
Josie looks panicked. “Absolute discretion.”
“Alexandru won’t say anything, I promise,” I say.
“And that’s my cue to go schmooze with potential voters. You two have fun with your... activities.” She gives me a look that promises a detailed interrogation later.
“This is all very interesting,” I say, making a note.
“If we don’t unmask our killer, I’ll simply pay a visit to this Harlan.”
“What? You can’t!”
“You and your friend dislike and fear him.”
“Yeah, but that’s not a reason to kill a man.”
Alexandru gives me a mystified look. “Maverick, then?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What? No!”
“He wants to bed you.”
“Excuse me? Maverick is not into me.” I broke it off with him, but he definitely had a lot of complaints about me, including that I asked too many follow-up questions after sex. “I don’t appreciate undergoing an exit interview every time we bang,” Maverick once said to me.
He didn’t love my true crime hobby either, which at the time involved researching the big regional cases. Like everyone, he chalked it up to my unresolved trauma about James.
One of the nice things about Alexandru’s arrogant disinterest in my life is that he doesn’t know about James. He hasn’t formed opinions about me based on my refusal to accept that James is dead.
Alexandru stares into the crowd milling about in the huge space, hopefully not tracking a 180-pound morsel of freckle-faced prey.
“Maverick Cooper wishes to bed you, and I will not tolerate it. Renfields in my employ belong to me. They do not court and they do not mate, unless it is with the express intention of seeding future Renfields.”
No comment.
“Where do we find this Harlan Delmere?”
“His usual habitat is a gross mansion on the river up in Creighton, though he could be here somewhere, considering he owns the place. But don’t forget we’re hunting with data right now.”
Alexandru keeps his stare up. Somewhere off to the side, another baby bursts into tears.