“Nonsense,” she said. “If this creature is here, we must find and destroy it.”
Alec returned, carrying a plate of chocolate eclairs, with Coco behind him carrying the plates and forks.
While she passed them out, Alec said, “Owen knows I love chocolate, so he’s been teaching me to cook desserts.” He glanced at his grandmother. “Don’t worry. I’m starting to learn how to cook real food too, but I prefer the desserts.”
“You made these?” I asked in wonder. “They look delicious.”
“Hope so,” Alec said. “Remember, George, when we were little and Cook made eclairs at the keep?” He glanced at Benvair, smiling. “George and I stuffed ourselves. We must have eaten twenty of them. Cook was so angry when she went into the kitchen and they were all gone.”
George laughed. “Yes. You had us bring the dogs in so we could plausibly blame them for eating all the treats.”
“That was you?” Benvair acted as though she was outraged to have been deceived, but I could see the relief in her posture, in her expression. Talk of the twins and their mischief was far better than picturing Alec stolen away from them, alone, and in pain.
“Owen supervised?—”
“Barely,” Owen interrupted. “I sat by the window and read.”
“You helped with piping the pastry,” Alec clarified.
George and Alec ignored the forks and picked up the eclairs, polishing them off in two bites before reaching for seconds.
“Mmmm, heaven. You know,” I said, “if you wanted, you could come to work with Owen. I’m sure Dave could teach you some new recipes.”
Alec nodded and swallowed. “I’ll think about it.”
Good evening, darling.
I looked out the doorway and across the great room to the windows. They were dark, the bridge lit up in the distance. Hey, you.
Are you at Owen and George’s?
Yep. We just had dessert. And I may have learned something about our possible killer.
Good. It sounds like it was a successful dinner. I don’t want to interrupt your evening. I’m just letting you know that Cadmael, Vlad, and I are headed down to the wharf to stake out The Bubble Lounge.
Perfect. Here’s hoping you catch the bastard.
I turned back to my hosts. “Clive and his friends are going to the wharf to stake out the scene.”
“Actually,” Alec said, “I’d like to do that too. I want to see if there’s something there I recognize.”
There was a charged silence. No one wanted to tell Alec not to go, but everyone was worried, especially after that story.
Benvair nodded decisively. “Yes. That’s an excellent idea. I’ll go with you. I want to know what’s going on.” She stood abruptly. “We need to change. I’d suggest all black. I’ll be back in a few minutes and we’ll drive downtown. All right?”
So many emotions played across Alec’s face. He knew what she was doing, and he appreciated her care. “Yes. I’ll get changed too.”
“It seems only fair,” George reasoned. “Grandmother and I gave two of the bastards who were manipulating Fyr the dragon’s kiss. It’s your turn to do violence with Grandmother.”
Benvair’s smile was razor sharp. “I enjoyed that.” She patted her lips with her napkin. “I’ll be back shortly.” She strode out of the dining room and out of sight.
When the front door opened and closed, I slumped in my chair. Owen laughed.
Alec rose and turned to his sister. “Will you be here when I get back?”
She paused, so George answered for her. “She will be. We’re going to make some popcorn and watch a show while we wait for you.”
Coco looked between the twins and finally nodded. “I guess I’m watching a show and eating popcorn.”
