Chapter 5
The police wanted to talk to Mom about Easton’s death? What about the murderer standing on the other side of the room?
The club erupted in a flurry of whispers, throwing me back to the many times as a child when we’d been teased and gossiped about.
I exhaled sharply and curled my hands into fists, hoping my cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.
I was used to my family getting caught up in minor embarrassing situations—it seemed to be a magic all its own for my sisters and Mom—but this was something else.
How could the police think Mom was capable of murder?
And why? My family and I had never even met the victim from my Portent.
I pushed my way through the rest of the people separating me from Mom and stopped by her side. “What’s going on?”
“We’d like to bring Mrs. Bennet to the station to ask her a few questions,” said the second policeman whose face looked too young for the badge he wore.
“Why?” I put my hands on my hips in my best Maxine impersonation. She didn’t take crap from anyone.
“I’m afraid we can’t provide any details at this time.” The first officer smoothed his mustache.
“We have a right to know.” My chest was tight, and the candles over the dance floor were suddenly much too bright. The whispers grew louder, and my cheeks burned hotter.
“It’s okay, Lizzy. I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding.” Mom patted my arm, though her hand shook slightly.
How dare they make her feel afraid. She might’ve been silly and embarrassing, but she was my silly and embarrassing Mom.
“We understand your concern, but we have to do our job, miss.” The baby-faced man put a hand on Mom’s shoulder. “You can check with the public information officer later, if you’d like.”
“Oh, rest assured. That’s exactly what I’ll do.” I glared at him.
“I’ll be home before you know it, Lizzy.” Mom gave me a wan smile. “Take care of your sisters while I’m gone, and make sure that Jane gets Charles’s number!”
And then she and the police officers were gone.
I glared at Darcy, who stood on the other side of the room, caught up in conversation with Charles. This was his fault. A knot of indignation coiled in my stomach, pulled tighter by my frustration.
“Lizzy.” Jane’s voice was more subdued than normal. She and Charlotte had already gathered Kitty, Lydia, and Mary. With all of us together, the crowd’s conversation grew even more pointed.
The club returned to normal, as if someone unpaused the scene, but an undercurrent of gossip and suspicion hummed beneath the beat of the music.
“Who is Easton Hancock?” someone on my left asked.
“Do you think she killed him?” another person whispered.
Lydia wrapped her arms around herself, reminding me that I had other things to take care of right now. Although every instinct urged me to go to the station and get to the bottom of this, my priority tonight needed to be my sisters.
“Come on.” I swallowed hard and schooled my expression, then ushered everyone outside, stepping around piles of sodden leaves that clung to the sidewalk in damp clusters. The sour smell of decayed foliage hung in the air.
A wind blew by, rustling the leaves and tugging at my bun with invisible fingers until a few strands came loose. With everything that was happening, I felt as undone as my hair, but I fought to keep it together.
“I’m so sorry.” Charlotte’s worried gaze passed over my sisters.
Mary clutched her book to her chest, her eyes wide, and Kitty had an arm wrapped around Lydia, although it was impossible to tell who was supporting whom.
Jane walked at the end of the line, her face pale but her shoulders straight.
That was how it always was. Me charging ahead, Jane in the back, and our sisters safely between us.
“Is there anything I can do?” Charlotte’s question pulled me back to the present.
I shook my head, trying to maintain my composure when so many of the others looked like they would shatter with the slightest touch. “I don’t think so, but I doubt Jane and I will be home tonight.” My gaze darted to my sisters again. “We should probably stay at my parents’ house.”
Charlotte grabbed my hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “Text me if you need anything.”
“Thanks.” I gave her a faint smile, then led my sisters to my Honda. Knowing how crazy parking could be at Club Meryton, Jane had offered to have us pick the others up from the house—a fact I was grateful for now.
My phone buzzed with a message from Riley asking how tonight was going. I sent him a quick message letting him know it hadn’t turned out at all like I’d expected, and I’d tell him about it later, then I shoved it back into my bag.
On the way home, my headlights barely pierced the heavy mist that had crept from the seaside cliffs to curl around the buildings. I drove slowly down Main Street, my tires bouncing over the cobblestones. The group of decorated scarecrows along the shops looked like hunched shapes in the fog.
Had Darcy framed Mom? Maybe the real reason he’d told Charles not to get involved was because he was planning on further ruining our reputation.
I fought the urge to go to the police station and tell them about my Portent, knowing it would do little good. I needed actual proof if I was going to put the blame squarely where it belonged. It also wouldn’t hurt to find out more about Easton and why Darcy killed him.
We made it back to the house in strained silence, which almost never happened with Kitty and Lydia in the car. As soon as I parked, they threw the door open and ran around the porch to the backdoor, which led into the house instead of the bakery.
Mary was slower to leave the safety and warmth of the car. “Will Mom be okay?”
“I’m sure she will be.” I forced a smile for her. “We’ll figure it out.”
Mary said nothing else as she exited the car, leaving Jane and me alone in the front seats. A lonely breeze whistled across the yard, rustling the branches by the house and catching on Mary’s blouse.
“What do we do, Lizzy?” Jane watched as Mary shuffled inside, still clutching her book like a lifeline.
“I don’t know.” I turned off the engine. “Let’s stay here tonight to keep everyone company and see what happens. They said they only wanted to ask Mom some questions, so at least they weren’t arresting her.” Not yet, anyway.
We crossed the lawn in silence, but I hesitated by the back door, the doorknob cold under my fingers. “I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
Instead of going inside where privacy would be limited, I sat on the porch swing. It creaked loudly. “Tonight wasn’t my first time seeing Darcy.”
Jane’s eyes widened, and she claimed the spot next to me. “What do you mean? Charles told me they only got to Austen Heights two days ago.”
Another gust of wind blew across the porch, sending dry leaves scratching across the wooden deck. Jane shuddered and scooted closer.
“I recognized Darcy the moment I saw him.” I blew out a breath and turned to meet her gaze. “He was the fae from my Portent.”
Jane stiffened. “That can’t be right.”
“I’m confident it’s him. Plus, the police even said the victim’s name.” Maybe I’d have an easier time looking Easton up now that I had his last name too.
“Surely there’s some mistake.” Jane shook her head. “Charles could never be friends with a murderer. He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.”
“Even terrible people can be kind to their friends.”
“Maybe you misunderstood the Portent,” she said. “Sometimes that happens.”
For the first time in my life, I regretted shunning my fae magic. Maybe if I’d trained it more, I’d have more information—or at least more credibility.
I bit my tongue to keep from having the same argument. “In this case, I’d rather not be wrong. We need to prove Darcy’s guilt so the cops leave Mom alone. Plus, if I was wrong about Easton being dead, the police wouldn’t have taken Mom away for murder.”
“We don’t know that they suspect Mom.”
“We know they hauled her off to question her about a murder victim she’s never met in her life.”
Jane sighed. “Okay, I’ll admit it looks bad, but I don’t want to make things worse by rushing into anything or making assumptions.”
“Yeah, that’s Darcy’s job.” I exhaled through my nose, trying to push away all my annoyance when I remembered Darcy’s slight—a slight which didn’t even matter.
I wasn’t his type? More like he wasn’t my type. I didn’t date killers.
Jane raised an eyebrow. “Did something else happen with Darcy?”
I fidgeted with my scarf, then told her about what I’d overheard at the bar. It wasn’t like she wouldn’t hear about it later. We told each other everything, and if I didn’t bring it up, Charlotte might.
“I can’t believe he said that.” Her eyes were wide by the time I finished. “Maybe he’s not good around new people.”
“That’s for sure,” I muttered. “Anyway, I need to clear Mom’s name and prove Darcy’s guilt.” Then I could avenge Easton’s death and get the scoop I needed for my promotion.
“Are you sure this isn’t about what Darcy said? Because it seems like he hurt your feelings, and maybe now you’re willing to think the worst of him.”
I stood and glared at her. “Are you kidding? You think I’d accuse someone of murder because they didn’t want to dance with me?
” I sliced a hand through the air, not giving her a chance to respond.
“This has nothing to do with Darcy turning me down. He could be the prince himself and I still wouldn’t be interested in him.
He’s nothing but a stuck-up, know-it-all highborn fae who thinks he can get away with killing someone and framing a witch for his crime. ”
“Okay,” she said softly.
“And for the record, I recognized him the moment I saw him in the VIP room, which was well before he was a jerk to me.” I started to storm off.
“Lizzy, wait.” Jane caught my hand and pulled me back down beside her.
“I’m sorry, okay? I’m a little overwhelmed by everything that happened, and I worry about accusing someone of murder based on your Portent.
” She didn’t repeat her earlier concern about how I’d never really learned to use my fae power, but the words hung unspoken between us.
“I know.” I sighed and forced myself to let go of some of my tension. Most of it wasn’t directed at Jane anyway. “Which is exactly why I’m going to look into this.”
“You are?” She gave me a hopeful smile.
I squeezed her hand. “I promise to have Mom back home in no time. And I can almost guarantee that the first thing she’s going to want to know is if you and Charles exchanged numbers.”
Jane’s shoulders slumped. “In that case, take your time. I don’t want to have to be the one to tell her he did not ask for my number.”
Neither of us said anything, but it was obvious we were both wondering if Mom’s police escort from the club had ruined Jane’s relationship before it even had a chance. I thought of Darcy warning Charles away from my family and scowled.
“Why do you think the police wanted to speak with Mom? They must have had some reason, but I can’t imagine what it was.” Jane bit her lip, something she’d done so many times tonight that she’d worn her lipstick clean off.
“I don’t know.” I couldn’t think of any reason besides the fact that Darcy must’ve put them up to it, but Jane didn’t want to hear that. “Mom has nothing to gain from killing a total stranger, and they’ll soon realize how wrong they are.”
“You’re right.” Jane gave me a relieved smile. “It must be a misunderstanding.”
She said it as if the whole situation, including Easton’s death, was a simple mistake. I ground my teeth but folded my hands in my lap before I caught myself waving them around again.
Jane stood and patted my shoulder. “We better go check on everyone. I’m sure they’re worried.”
“Yeah, let’s go inside.” I needed to look up whatever I could about Netherfield Park, Easton Hancock, and Darcy.