“Yeah, I can break it.”
“It’s pretty. The color.”
I’d forgotten werewolves could see most magic. “Yeah, looks both pretty and easily breakable. Riona is smart.”
I slammed my bleeding hand into the ward andpushed. The ward seemed to snarl back at me, but a moment later it popped out of existence.
“Will it stay down?”
“Unlikely. Most witches create their wards to reform after they’ve been broken, unless they’re destroyed completely.”
Riona’s apartment was spotlessly clean. The front door opened directly into her living room, which sheltered a plush cream sectional sofa, a scarred wooden coffee table, and a rug patterned with whites, blues, and grays.
Flowers drooped in a vase on the coffee table, and a painting of horses galloping across a beach hung on one wall.
“Looks like her sister was right,” Kyla said, pointing to the large box wrapped in silver and gold on the small table by the window. “That’ll be the gift for the engagement party.”
“Let’s try not touch anything. The human cops might’ve dusted for prints, and if they haven’t, we need to be careful. No sign of a struggle, and you’d be able to tell in this place.”
“Yeah. She sure keeps it neat and tidy.”
We both glanced around. I wasn’t the neat and tidy type, and I was guessing Kyla wasn’t either.
“You take the kitchen, I’ll check out the bedroom.”
Riona had indulged her love of pretty things in her bedroom. It was mostly done in light colors, with a frilly white comforter that drew the eye. A fluffy gray blanket was draped along the end of the bed. Her white side tables held girly silver lamps, the faux-crystal glass beads glimmering in the sunlight streaming through the window.
Nothing to indicate she’d been worried about someone targeting her. At least not at home.
She’d set up a small workstation in the corner, and it contained a laptop, a few notebooks, a folder, and a collection of pretty pens. What it didn’t hold was a planner or calendar. I pulled on a pair of gloves and opened the laptop.
“No password?”
“She’s obviously the trusting type,” Kyla called and I rolled my eyes. Werewolf hearing.
The laptop had been sleeping, and Riona’s schedule was open in one of her tabs. I let out a low whistle.
“You’re a busy girl.”
Her work schedule was intense. Most of her mornings were blocked off with the word ‘manuscript,’ and in the afternoons she drove for Lyft, walked dogs, and occasionally nannied. It looked like she also did both pet sitting and house sitting as well, and I made a mental note to check out the addresses.
Then I used her printer to print off a couple of copies of her schedule for the three-week period leading up to her disappearance.
“Nothing,” Kyla announced when I walked back into the living room. “Towel in the bathroom is bone dry, plants need to be watered, and the takeout Chinese food in her fridge looks like an interesting science experiment.”
“She has a packed schedule,” I said, holding up the laptop. “I’m going to take this with us. We need to see if her car is downstairs.”
“You think maybe she picked up the wrong person when she was driving?”
“I don’t think anything yet.” I took a final glance around. The wrapped gift, the drooping flowers, the high-heeled shoes sprawled next to the small TV… they made me sad.
Hold on, Riona. If you’re still alive, just hold on long enough for us to find you.
I went still, my gaze stuck on a framed photo hanging on her wall.
“What is it?”
“Small world. I know that witch.”
