I flipped my notebook to a clean page. “And what would those circumstances be?”
“If I were in deathly distress, I may allow a god to use the Feather to find me. It is a hypothetical.”
“Have you ever done that?”
She drew in a quiet breath, then pressed her lips together and shook her head.
“So we can rule out the gods being involved?”
“Yes.”
“Good. That’s good. What about the other supernaturals? Could any one of them move the Feather?”
“I suppose there could be spells, curses. There might be a demon or fae power…but no. I do not believe so.”
“You’re usually definite on these kinds of things.”
“And yet, this is Ordinary. What can and can’t happen here is not easily replicated in any other place in the worlds.”
I loved that about my little town. We might be Ordinary, but we were certainly not normal.
“So we’re down to mortals. Can you give me a list of mortals who might be able to pick it up? Mortals youlike?”
She just stared at me, giving me a look like I should understand something. Like, maybe, I should be tellinghersomething.
“I promise it will remain confidential. I can lock it up so the information isn’t accessible by anyone other than me.”
Bertie watched. Just watched. “Are you sure?”
I nodded, though there was a knot in my gut. She was getting to the point of something, and I wasn’t following her lead.
“I’ve decided to withdraw my complaint.”
“You reported a robbery.”
“I reported the Feather had been stolen and requested to speak to you.”
“You…that’s the same thing.”
“No. It is not. And here you are. I’ve spoken to you.”
“But you want your Feather back, don’t you? It’s still an open case, and the information you’ve given me will help us find who took it.”
“That is no longer necessary.”
“I think it is. You might be okay with something so valuable on the loose in the town, but I am not.”
“I assumed you would feel that way. Will I have full police support during the High Tea Tide?”
“We’ve already said we’ll be there. Why the subject change?”
“I’m very busy, Delaney.”
I glanced down at my notes which were only marginally helpful, back up at her, then at the empty space on the shelf behind her. I had spent the entire time in her office not looking at that space, at where the Feather should be. Seeing the emptiness, the shadow where there should be gold, stirred something else in my gut.
Something that felt like guilt.
“If you’re sure,” I started.
