Cassian threw me a wary look before leaning over the bar to ask, “Would Willorunia be willing to help?”
Griffin’s good nature suddenly crumbled, and his expression became guarded. Willorunia must have been his wife, and he didn’t want to speak about her in front of me, a Force officer.
Cassian smiled at me before continuing, still speaking low. “I don’t feel I can handle it by myself. I’m technically still a witch’s apprentice. My desk caught fire when I tried to teleport something last week, so I don’t trust myself with the entire inn.”
This was the first Cassian had actually admitted he was a witch in front of me. A smile crept onto my lips despite my desire to keep cool.
“Wow, Cass. You were right to worry about burning the place down,” Griffin said, chuckling. “I’ll ask, but no promises. She’s very serious about who she decides to help.”
Cassian clasped his hands together. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said. “Tell her thank you and that she’s beautiful and smart and that I’m her biggest fan.”
“Hell no, Cass. You gotta get in line behind me,” Griffin said.
Cassian giggled and leaned back in his seat, sipping on his drink again.
“Meantime, you should find that stable hand boy. He always had a bad energy about him,” Griffin said. “And I heard he quit because he thought Boris owed him money, but he was paid up. Little bastard lied about the dead to line his own pockets.”
“What was his name?” I asked.
“Ricky something. Ricky…” Griffin stroked his beard. “Marshall? Ricky Marshall? Does that sound right?” he asked Cassian.
“Ricky Marshall, yeah. I don’t know, though. He was just a kid,” Cassian said, scratching his head.
“Nah, if you would interrogatemeover this, you better interrogate him too,” Griffin said.
Cassian shot him an apologetic smile.
“And you,” Griffin said, pointing to me. “I know you were just trying to question me, but you still owe me a conversation. Now, what’re you drinking?”
The demand surprised me, but I was starting to understand what kind of person Griffin was. I didn’t believe he hated his job like Cassian thought. I ordered the same as he made Cassian and decided to move on from Griffin for now. A suspect’s insistence that they were innocent wasn’t good enough for me, but his willingness to help and to get his wife involved was a good sign.
I guessed I’d have to find Ricky.
Chapter Four
CASSIAN
“Mornin’, Cass,” Griffin said to me when he arrived the next morning.
“Good morning, Griffin!” I said, looking up from the messy jumble of keys in the drawer, which had become a disaster since business picked up.
Instead of heading for the pub, he approached the counter and rapped his fingers across the top a few times.
“You all right?” I asked.
“Willo said she’ll consider helping you,” he said.
I beamed at him. “That’s great!”
“She’d like to talk to you first. And Mr. Thorndrop. Caught me by surprise, frankly. She hates officers of the Force, but hearing about what he did for you yesterday must’ve softened her,” Griffin said. “I also told her how well the two of you are gettin’ along, and she figures if you trust him, she’ll give him a chance.”
Heat bloomed in my cheeks, and I turned away to hide my embarrassment. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Sure you do. Anyhow, I can watch the inn until Jasmine’s up if you and your man want to visit her today,” he said.
“He’s not myman,” I said through a laugh.
Griffin shrugged. “Whaddya say?”
