Chapter 13
“I know you’re a demigod.”
Vandre paused with the sandwich halfway to his mouth, then nodded and took a bite.
“Delaney?” he asked.
“Myra told me.”
“They’re good people, the Reeds.”
“I know. You said you checked in with them.”
“Did I?” He stabbed a strawberry with his fork and popped it in his mouth. “Have I not?”
“You have not.”
“Futures and nows get a little mixed up when I get close to Ordinary. There’s a lot of power and magic there. It has a way of crossing my wires. Of course, you’d understand that.”
“Because I’m a demigod?”
“Because you’re a demigod. Is your name really Piper?”
“Yes. Is yours Simon?”
“Yes. Look at how well we’re getting along. Just two future people shooting the breeze.”
“This doesn’t mean we’re friends.”
“Why can’t we be friends?”
“Because I don’t think you’re a very nice person.”
“You don’t think I’m nice, or someone told you to think I’m not nice?”
“Can you manipulate the future?”
He hadn’t expected that. I could see the surprise all over his face.
“That’s a tricky thing to answer.”
“A yes or no should do it.”
Futures flashed, spinning like a roulette wheel, appearing and disappearing too quickly for me to make sense of any of them.
Vandre pressed his palms flat against the tabletop, his fingers bent just slightly like he was getting a good grip on the surface.
The futures slowed, and three came into focus.
Vandre ignores my question and makes a joke…
Vandre tells me no one can manipulate the future…
Vandre tells me he has some powers, and can influence the future…
All three futures seemed equally as possible. Each just as clear as the other.
Then Vandre shifted his grip on the table, lifting his fingers one at a time and flexing them against the table again.
One future burned bright.
Vandre telling me he has powers…
“I have some powers,” he said, as I knew he would.
“But it is more that I can influence the future, sort of lean my weight into it. It doesn’t always work.
So yes, I suppose you could say that I can manipulate the future.
That doesn’t mean I go around killing people—I know you wanted to ask me that, so let’s just get it out of the way now. ”
“Fine. Did you kill Hugo?” I asked anyway because I didn’t like being told what I could do.
“I did not.”
“What about Kenny?”
“Kenny?”
“His business partner.”
He took a drink of coffee. “I didn’t know. I didn’t see that coming. No, I didn’t kill him. Why would I?”
“You deal in antiques, right, Detective Vandre? Kenny had a pawn shop and it’s possible he wasn’t just selling old teddy bears.”
“That’s…teddy bears? Tell me what you know about Kenny. What else was he selling?”
“Are you interrogating me? Should I get a lawyer?”
“Nothing official. This is off the record. But if you think the two crimes are connected, I’d like to know the proof you’ve gathered.”
“What makes you think I’ve gathered anything?”
“You’re very smart, Piper. And you care about your people—everyone who comes through here is your family, even if only for one meal. Of course, you’re going to look for answers.”
“You’re very observant,” I said. “Were you still here at the diner, maybe outside, the night Hugo died with something he stole that Kenny wanted?”
“Yes.”
Oh. Well, that was straight to the point.
“You haven’t told the police?”
“I am the police, Piper.”
“What do you think he stole?”
He took another drink of coffee. “How well do you know Aggie?”
That came right out of left field.
“We get along. How well do you know her?”
“That’s a change of tone. Has she talked about me?”
I didn’t want to throw Aggie under the bus, but I didn’t want him to think that she didn’t have anyone at her back either.
“She worked for you.”
“That’s…true. We handled an antique shop for a year or so.”
“You’re stalking her.”
He blinked, then frowned, eyebrows knitting. “I didn’t know she worked here. I am not stalking her.”
“So, you being here is just a coincidence?”
“I don’t believe in coincidence,” he said.
“Neither do I.”
“I do believe in magic, though,” he said. “And fate. And other random gods and creatures who like to meddle.”
“Such as demigods?”
“Worst meddlers on the block.” He raised his cup in a small toast.
I grinned. Yes, he was a demigod, yes, he’d said he was looking for stolen goods, and yes, Aggie had said she didn’t like him, but I was finding it hard not to.
“You didn’t tell me what you think Hugo stole,” I said.
“I didn’t. You didn’t tell me what the thing with teddy bears and Kenny was all about.”
“Meddlers like us know how to keep secrets,” I said.
He smiled. I liked the lines that winged out from the edges of his eyes.
“I don’t actually know what he stole this time. But it’s possible…” He looked in the middle distance, his fingers on the table tapping one by one, four even snicks. He nodded.
“Pandora’s box? I think he stole Pandora’s box.”
The sounds in the diner did that thing where they all faded away and the rushing in my ears became far too loud.
“You think he had it here?” I stage-whispered.
“Or a line on it. He had knowledge of where it was and how to get it.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“No, I never had direct contact with him.”
“But you knew he was going to be here that night?”
“I can see some of the future, Piper. Glimpses. And the future showed me you would be here. It showed me I would be here. So, I came here. Hugo was a surprise. So is his business partner, Kenny. And their deaths.”
“Do you know where Pandora’s box is?”
“I don’t. It’s not the sort of thing that should be traded on the open market, which is what I assumed Hugo wanted to do.”
“I thought you said you didn’t have contact with him.”
“Direct contact. He sent an email. Wanted me to assess an item he had ‘inherited.’”
“The box.”
He nodded.
“You get a lot of calls for assessing magical antiques?”
His smile was swift and genuine. “I do actually. Magical items are the basis of my antique business. I’m surprised Aggie didn’t tell you that.”
“Aggie knows about magic?”
“Yes. She didn’t tell you that either?”
No, she hadn’t. But why would she? I hadn’t told her about my abilities.
In the world just one step outside Ordinary—and heck even for the normals in Ordinary—talking about magic as a real and tangible force wasn’t something that came up in casual conversation.
“Tell me more about Kenny,” he said.
“Kenny’s dead.”
“Do you know the cause of death?”
I shook my head. This was really above my pay grade. I’d thought I could talk him into confessing he’d killed Hugo and Kenny, and all I’d done was find out that he was just as much in the dark as I was.
And that he could pause futures with that hand trick.
I slid out of the booth. “I think you’ll need to talk to the police.”
“Is that a future glimpse?”
“No, just me giving some friendly advice.”
“No need for you to rush off. You can stay.”
I laughed, even though he seemed sincere. “My break’s over and there’s a group of eight who are going to show up at the door right…now.”
The door opened and eight women, who looked like they were out for an adventure, piled into the place.
“Nice,” he said. “Very precise.”
“Unless I can get you anything?” I asked knowing he wasn’t going to ask for anything.
“You know I’m good.”
I tipped my head to both sides. “Good enough, I suppose.” And didn’t that make him smile?
I welcomed the group of eight and got them settled at two tables that I scooted together.
I took a minute and dropped off Vandre’s ticket. By the time the table of eight ordered, he was gone.
* * *
“Go over it again,” Jules said.
I’d gotten off work late but knew she was still up and would want to talk things over, so I’d driven straight to the little cottage she was living in right next to the Rookery.
Dusi was there too, with her baby otter Tufa, who was a golem.
Jules’ kitten, Oolong, was fascinated by the otter’s cavorting, but was staying safely ensconced on Jules’ lap.
“Buzz didn’t see anything and doesn’t know anything.
Detective Vandre can’t see the future as precisely as I can, but he can make the futures pause.
Aggie was on break before the murder, in the bathroom resting, then left.
There’s a tiny possibility she had access to a knife since the Blue Owl is a diner.
“I talked to Shelly too. She wasn’t there that late, and she hasn’t heard or seen anything, which she was very disappointed about. And Gail seems really upset Kenny’s dead.”
“So maybe none of them did it,” Jules said.
“It doesn’t seem like it. But I don’t think Jean did it either even though I guess she had access to a knife, too.”
“No,” Jules said. “Jean did not steal a knife and kill Hugo.”
Dusi made a sound and Jules sent a surprised look her way. “You can’t possibly believe Jean would kill someone. Tell me you don’t believe that.”
“I don’t think Jean would kill someone. But I know magic and magical beings. If there was a way to use magic to pin a crime on someone else, they would do it.”
“What are you suggesting?” I asked.
“Possibilities,” Dusi said. “Could someone have possessed Jean and used her body to kill Hugo? Could someone manipulate her memory and erase that they had been there? Could someone change reality or time to cover up their tracks, or to change the future so they erase themselves from the past?”
Jules sighed. “Maybe. The gods and supernaturals outside of Ordinary don’t have to follow the rules we have inside Ordinary.”
“But Kenny was killed inside Ordinary,” I said. “Assuming it’s the same killer, it wouldn’t be a god, right? Because if a god used powers to kill in Ordinary, Delaney’s alarms would go off and she’d arrest them, throw them in jail, kick them out of town.”
“Absolutely,” Jules said. “So, we can rule out gods.”
Dusi made a sound like she never ruled out gods when trouble was afoot, but I thought Jules had the right of it.
“Other supernaturals, though,” I said. “It could be almost anyone.”
“But it isn’t everyone,” Jules said, catching the note of despair in my voice. “It’s only one person. Or two. I mean, three tops. But probably one. We can figure this out. Opportunity, motive, means.”
I pressed my palms over my face. “Seeing the future hasn’t helped at all.”
“Nonsense.” Jules patted my arm. “It’s important. I can’t tell you how many times you seeing the future helped me.”
“And me,” Dusi said.
“You’ve caught things before they fell,” Jules said, “warned me when I was heading into danger, and helped me make decisions when I was too afraid to pick a direction.”
“Even without seeing the future, you found out Vandre was here to find Pandora’s box,” Dusi said. “Maybe he burned down the storage unit.”
“Or Hugo did, to cover his tracks,” Jules said.
“Or Joanie?” I suggested timidly.
They both made distressed sounds.
“I know, I like her too! But could she have burned it down to cover up having opened the safe and stolen the box?”
“And given the box to Hugo to sell?” Jules shook her head. “I don’t think Joanie would do that.”
“Okay,” I said, letting it go for now. “But why would Vandre still be here asking questions if he had Pandora’s box?”
“Good point!” Jules shifted in her chair. “So. If Joanie didn’t burn down the unit, but Hugo did, how did he know the safe was there, and how did he know how to handle the box?”
“Hugo was good at stealing,” Dusi said. “Maybe he’d always been good at stealing magical things.”
“It might explain why Vandre has been on his trail,” I said. “Is there any chance Hugo was a demigod?”
“Huh,” Jules said. “Since he lived outside of Ordinary, he wouldn’t need to tell Delaney about his powers. But if he used his powers in town, she’d know.”
“He wasn’t a demigod then,” I said.
“Could you tell Vandre was a demigod when you met him?” Jules asked.
“Oh,” I said deflated. “No. He didn’t give me any supernatural vibes at all.”
“Maybe it’s just demigods that throw you off,” Dusi suggested.
That was a good possibility. When I’d met Vandre my radio signals went wonky. Aggie threw me off, too, even though she was human.
Or maybe she wasn’t human, and that’s why I kept getting weird vibes off her?
“What about Aggie?” I said. “She’s new here and loved being in the antique business.”
“Would she commit murder?” Jules asked.
They both looked at me expectantly.
I took a deep breath. “I don’t know.”
“Whoever did this was angry enough to kill up-close,” Dusi said. “A lover, a friend, a rival?”
“Aggie kept calling him a thief,” I recalled. “But she wasn’t really angry. She just seemed disappointed she didn’t know what he’d stolen.”
“But with Pandora’s box on the line…” Jules shook her head. “Maybe that was enough to kill for.”
“Or, again,” Dusi said, “it could be as simple as someone who hated Hugo and Kenny and didn’t know about the box, which Hugo may not have even stolen.”
“Which is why I thought Gail fit the bill,” I said. “She wanted the business. She was angry at Hugo and Kenny. But she really looked sideswiped by Kenny’s death.”
My phone beeped and I worked it out of my pocket.
“It’s Yancy,” I said. “He wants to meet me tomorrow at Boast of the Coast.”
I typed that I’d be there with coffee, then yawned.
“It’s getting pretty late,” Jules said. “And you’ve had a long day, Piper. Do you want to stay in the guest room?”
“No, I should head out. Thank you. Talking helped, even if we don’t have any answers yet.”
“Okay then.” Jules stood and so did Dusi.
They gave me a hug, and with a final wave, I wandered out of the cozy little cottage toward home.