Chapter 22
“Ineed another charm, Valkyrie,” Savage said as he sashayed into the kitchen the next morning. “Preferably a diamond or emerald this time.”
I snorted. “Dream on.”
Savage stopped and looked at me…or rather, looked down his nose at me. Which was saying something seeing as how his nose was about a foot off the ground. Yet, somehow he managed to pull it off.
“Are you trying to sabotage my first true love? Is that it? You’re jealous and don’t want anyone else to be in love?”
I closed my eyes and shook my head before dumping the last of the tuna into his bowl. It was seriously too early in the morning for this kind of nonsense.
Savage gasped as he leaped onto the barstool. “That’s it, isn’t it? You don’t want me to be happy. You want me all alone and miserable so you can feel good about yourself.”
“You found me out, Savage. Way to foil my big plan.” I set the bowl of tuna on the kitchen floor. “Now I’ll have to find another way to make your life miserable.”
“You’re doing a fine job as it is, Valkyrie.” He hopped down onto the floor and over to his food bowl. “Pretty soon, you’ll be giving me dry cat food and non-filtered water.”
“Don’t tempt me,” I deadpanned.
Grabbing my cup of coffee, I headed to my bedroom to get dressed for the day. On Sundays, I usually skipped breakfast at Zane’s, unless Alfred is doing something special. But I liked having my Sundays to myself and to get dressed at a leisurely pace, sip my coffee, and just find peace in the day.
“This tuna seems a little dry!” Savage yelled from the kitchen.
“So much for peace and relaxation this morning,” I muttered.
I’d just finished braiding my hair when a knock sounded on my front door. Before I could even get out of the bedroom, I heard Zane’s voice.
“Kara? You in here?”
“Back here,” I called. “Just getting dressed.”
I grabbed my coffee cup and hurried down the small hallway and into the dining room-kitchen area. Zane was striding through the living room. I knew him well enough to know something had happened.
“What is it?” I demanded.
“Call just came in. It seems Hunter was supposed to have breakfast with Sasha this morning, and when—”
“Seriously? His wife isn’t even in the ground yet.”
Zane gave me a fleeting smile. “I know. But that’s not the news. It seems when Hunter went to pick her up, he found her on the floor in her living room. Dead.”
“What? Sasha Carter is dead?” I shook my head. “I didn’t see that coming. Why Sasha? This is…” I thought about what we’d witnessed last night. “Rayna was the aggressor. She pretty much threatened them all last night. Do you think Rayna killed Sasha to prove a point?”
“I’m not sure. Doc Treestone called from the scene and he said it was strangulation, just like with Mari. Even the same jute fibers. So I think we can safely say the same person who killed Mari just killed Sasha.”
I nodded slowly. “So definitely Rayna. What about Eliza and Reed? Because I can’t see Hunter killing Sasha.”
“I’m still not sure what Reed’s motive is.”
“I know,” I said. “I feel the same way. But I don’t see Eliza doing this.
If she were a magical, yes. But we know she doesn’t have the vampire speed like she should have.
Plus, I don’t think she’s that great an actress.
If she knew what Mari and the others did to her fifteen years ago, I don’t think she’d have said what she said to us last night. I still think she’s in the dark.”
“So that leaves Rayna and Reed.”
I nodded. “The question is, did they do this together or is it just one of them?”
Zane glanced at his watch. “It’s almost eight-thirty. I’ll call Herman at the marina while you finish getting dressed. If Rayna is there, he’ll tell me.”
“Give me two minutes,” I said as I turned and jogged back to my bedroom.
“Does he have to drive so fast?” Savage demanded from my lap. “I’m about to be car sick! I should have never agreed to go on this wild ride.”
“Don’t get yer knickers in a twist,” Link said from my shoulder. “Think of it as a grand adventure you can tell Nyxie about over dinner tonight.”
By the time Zane had disconnected his call with Herman, I was strapping my seax to my outer thigh and snapping on my duty belt with PADA-issued handcuffs and Binder.
He said Herman had informed him Rayna wasn’t in yet.
But that wasn’t unusual. Sometimes she didn’t come into the marina on Sundays until mid-morning.
Then when it became apparent I was heading out, Savage had announced he was coming along too.
He heard you could find pearls in oysters and clams, and he was going to go on a treasure hunt for Nyxie.
I didn’t point out all the flaws in his plan.
Then when we’d hit the front yard, Link had zipped out of his tree stump. Lily was visiting her sister, so he had nothing to do all day. So he invited himself along as well.
“Do you need Rayna’s home address?” I asked as Zane sped down the winding two-lane road into town.
“Yes. Give me her address.”
I pulled out my phone, pushed on the PADA app, and entered Rayna’s name. “She lives at 839 Pearl Lane.”
“Pearl Lane!” Savage cried. “It’s a sign, Valkyrie! I’m going to find a pearl for Nyxie by the end of the day. Mark my words.”
Five minutes later, Zane pulled onto a quiet road where the houses were far apart, and the yards were large and well kept.
Rayna’s house was a two-story craftsman with dark blue shingles and white trim. The front porch was wide and deep, lined with clay pots of varying sizes. Driftwood wind chimes hung from the porch eaves, and a mosaic of sea glass and shells was set into the porch floor.
“Rayna might be mean, but she sure does have nice taste.” I ran my boot over the pattern on the floor. “I really like this.”
“We aren’t here for fashion, Valkyrie. Unless there’s a pearl necklace inside. Then I call dibs.”
In the distance, I could hear the crash of waves over rocks. That was it. No sound was coming from inside the house. I knocked on the front door. Nothing.
I knocked again. Still nothing.
“I’ll check around back,” Zane said.
I glanced at Link hovering near the porch ceiling. “Link, take the chimney. But be careful. She may be in the shower or something. Don’t get caught.”
“Or she may have a cat that will eat you.”
Link nodded, his wings glowing purple and green. “I got this, lass.” He shot upward and vanished over the roofline.
I stepped back from the porch and looked up at the second-story windows.
Two on the front face, both with curtains partially drawn.
I whispered the levitation spell I’d learned and slowly rose to one of the second-floor windows and looked inside.
It was a bathroom. I drifted to the second window immediately to my right and cupped my hands around my eyes to cut the glare.
This was a bedroom. But I didn’t get the feeling it was the master bedroom.
That would overlook the water, surely. All the same, there was no one inside as well.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel below, and I looked down to see Zane rounding the corner.
“Back door’s locked,” he said, shielding his eyes as he looked up at me. “Windows too. No signs of forced entry.”
Link shot out of the chimney. “I saw a purse in the upstairs bedroom.”
I lowered myself to the ground. “Doesn’t really mean anything. She can have more than one purse.”
Zane turned back toward the Aston Martin. “Let’s go talk to Reed.”