Chapter 11
“No Link today?” Rota mused as she sat down at Zane’s kitchen table the next morning.
I tossed my long braid over my shoulder and sat down across from her. “Nope. I think he’s still celebrating his first Valentine’s Day as a newly married pixie.”
“How did your lava cake turn out, Kara?” Alfred asked, setting down a bowl of oatmeal in front of Zane.
“Pretty good,” I said.
Zane winked at me. “Don’t be modest. It was excellent.” He smoothed down his midnight blue Armani jacket before taking a drink of his espresso. “Thank you, Alfred.” He picked up his spoon and smiled at me. “The cake was moist, and the chocolate was warm and rich.”
I smiled. “That’s because I used the best chocolate. I went to Wickedly Good Chocolates and had Roland Larder help me.”
“So what did Zane get you?” Rota asked. “Did he do good?”
I laughed. “He did good.”
After we’d gotten home and had dinner, Zane had surprised me with an all-day spa package not only for me, but for Bettina, Zahara, Crystal, Ashlyn, and Lily. It was the most thoughtful gift he could have given me—a day with the girls.
“My gift paled in comparison to what Kara gave me,” Zane said, suddenly serious. “What she presented to me was the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me.” He ran a fingertip over my hand. “In all my years of living.”
Tears filled my eyes, and I quickly blinked them back. “I knew you’d like it.”
“May I ask what it was?” Alfred mused.
“The 1674 revised edition of Paradise Lost,” Zane said.
Alfred nodded and smiled at me. “Yes, indeed. A rare and beautiful gift. Just like you, Kara.”
I wiped a tear from my cheek. “Stop it. You guys are gonna have me bawling if you don’t stop.”
“Speaking of bawling,” Rota said, “did Nyxie like her gift, or is Savage feeling sorry for himself today.”
I laughed. “She loved it. Savage talked about nothing else all morning while I was trying to get ready.”
“So who are you questioning today?” Rota asked before scooping up a forkful of scrambled eggs.
Thankful for her obvious change of subject, I took a sip of coffee before commenting.
“I’m thinking at some point we’ll need to talk to Hunter Quinn and Sasha Carter again.
But I want to wait until Sasha’s store is open later today.
This way we might be able to run into both Hunter and Sasha. See how they react to that.”
“I still can’t believe those two were having an affair,” Rota said. “But I guess you never can tell.”
“That is true,” Alfred said, dropping his napkin onto his lap.
I nibbled the corner of my peanut butter toast, chewed, and swallowed.
“I’d like to question Eliza Nordic. For some reason, Mari, Hunter, and Rayna Halter all had a reaction to her.
I think there might be something there. Especially since Rayna said she thought Eliza was sending these odd valentines cards.
” I wiped my mouth and set down my napkin.
“Which means we’ll also need to question Rayna Halter sometime today. ”
“What about backgrounds?” Rota asked. “You want me to run all these guys?”
I glanced at Zane. “What do you think?”
“Can’t hurt,” he said, finishing off his oatmeal.
Rota got out her phone. “Okay, who are the names?”
“People of interest,” I said slowly, thinking about everything I’d heard over the last two days. “Hunter Quinn, Rayna Halter, Sasha Carter, Eliza Nordic, and Reed Masterson.”
Rota clucked her tongue. “I’m not a big fan of Rayna’s. She has a sort of ‘bully’ presence about her when she sits on the city council. But even still, I hope she doesn’t have anything to do with this.”
I hid a smile. “Because the town’s elected officials have had enough problems lately?”
Rota snorted. “Exactly!”
I took another sip of my coffee. “Can you also find out about any life insurance on Mari?”
“And maybe if there’s a will,” Zane added. “Check with Gabriel Vladamire or maybe Parker Harrington. They’re both high-profile attorneys who handle estates.”
“I’m not sure I’ve been to this marina before.” I shut the door to the Aston and glanced around the busy marina. “How many marinas does Mystic Cove have?”
“Two. This one and another.” Zane came to stand by me. “Each is privately owned.”
I tucked my hands into my jacket pockets as Zane and I walked toward the marina’s store.
Boats sat shoulder to shoulder, their hulls knocking softly as the tide rolled in and out.
Fishermen were hauling in coolers and crates, calling to one another over the slap of water against wood.
All around me was the smell of dead fish and sea life.
An angry selkie shifter shouted a weight, and the merman he was arguing with shouted a price.
The selkie must not have liked it because he gave the merman a rude finger gesture.
“How many boat slips does the marina have?” I asked.
“Thirty. Plus, there’s the store.”
“Is this a family business?” I asked. “Or how did Rayna come to own it?”
“Her great-grandfather built the marina about a hundred-fifty years ago.” Zane placed his arm on my shoulder and maneuvered me around a crate of fish. “He was a sea witch who saw the future.”
“You knew him?” I mused, not sure why I was surprised.
Zane smiled. “I did. I liked him, too.”
Gulls screamed overhead, diving low whenever a fish came out in the open. I laughed and shook my head. “Between the boardwalk food and the marina, I’m surprised the birds around here aren’t too fluffy to fly.”
Zane laughed. “I guess I can see why you might have that concern.”
Zane called out to a fisherman hosing down his deck. I wrinkled my nose as the pink-tinged water slipped between the planks and back into the harbor. Another fisherman, a sea witch, hurried past us, his cooler of fish hovering in the air near his shoulder.
“I’ve never been happier to be a PADA detective,” I said, flipping my blonde braid over my shoulder. “I don’t think I could do this every day.”
The marina store sat at the end of the massive dock.
.. almost like it was hovering above the water.
The weathered wooden sign above the door read Halter Marina Supply & Tackle in faded blue lettering.
A chalkboard near the entrance listed the morning’s catch, and I slowed for a second, taking it all in.
It was just after ten o’clock, and already the marina was packed with fishermen bringing in their morning catch.
“These guys must be on the water by five or earlier,” I said.
“Earlier in some cases,” Zane said. “Some of the fishermen don’t come in until evening time, but most finish earlier because they start at three or four in the morning.”
“Coming through,” a gruff voice said behind me. “I got fish to sell, little lady.”