“He told me he was a detective, and judging by the NYPD badge in his pocket, he wasn’t lying. I don’t think this was his regular gig. I’m guessing he was filling in for someone.”
Harriet’s eyes widened in alarm. “He told you? You had a conversation with him?” Her voice strained in her throat. “My goodness, did you two have tea and cookies before you wiped his brain?”
“I admit it wasn’t my brightest moment. Honestly, I can’t explain what came over me. Harriet, he walked into the room and all logical thought flew out the window.”
“What did you say his name was?”
“Nick Grandstaff.”
Harriet stilled, then disappeared behind her desk. Rowan watched her bony hands dig in the recycle bin beside her chair.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking something. I’ve heard that name before.” If she had, Harriet would remember. As old as she was, her mind was like a steel trap. Sure enough, when she sat back in her chair, there was a folded paper in her hand. “Here it is. Detective Nick Grandstaff, NYPD, recent recipient of the Governor’s Medal of Valor for pulling a teen girl from a burning vehicle.”
“No shit?”
“Not even a little. This guy is the real deal. A hero. I hope you didn’t bamboozle him too badly. This city needs him.”
Harriet passed the paper over to Rowan, and she scanned the article, her eyes lingering on his picture.
“Nice to look at as well, isn’t he?” Harriet stared at her with piercing blue eyes that narrowed perceptively.
Rowan shrugged.
Sighing, Harriet added, “Since you are ambivalent to the detective’s attractiveness, you should be aware that a man with a strong mind like his might fight the serum. I don’t recommend letting him see you again or having additional long-winded discussions. It could jar the memory loose. Which identity did he see?”
“This one.” It mattered. She had several identities, but this was the one that was public-facing. Unlike the Rowan version she’d recently buried, the detective had seen the face of the owner of Zelda’s Folly and the director of the youth center, Sunrise House. Sheneededthis identity.
“Oh, Rowan.” The frown of disappointment Harriet sent her cut right to her heart.
“I made a mistake. It is what it is.” Rowan removed a small empty vial from her belt. “By the way, I’ll need more forget-me juice.”
“It will take time to brew. My stores are low and some of the ingredients have to be shipped in from Europe. As far as this goes”—Harriet rotated the rusty pick between her fingers—“it is irreparable. I’ll have to start from scratch. I hope you’re not planning any more heists in the near future.”
She scoffed. “Not anytime soon. Now that I’ve had my revenge on Gerald Stevenson, I’m retiring my cat burglar suit.”
“Good. It’s not like you don’t have enough jewels.”
Sweeping the Raindrop into her hand, Rowan rubbed her thumb across the large, tear-shaped diamond. “True, but it’s in my nature to collect things. There would be something poetic about liquidating Stevenson’s prized possession and using the money to buy the land under my building back. What are politicians going for these days? One million? Maybe two?”
Harriet waved a hand dismissively. “I’m sure you’ll find out. Just be careful. News of your other identity’s death is spreading. Your brothers came by the old apartment this afternoon looking for you.”
She froze. “Here, in New York? Did you say brothers, as in plural? The only one of my brothers who knows where to find me now is Alexander, and it couldn’t have been him.”
“No. Although Alexander did send another painting.” She gestured toward the back room where they processed shipped artwork.
“Who was it then?”
“Tobias and Gabriel.”
“Oh, that’s right. Tobias must have remembered the old place from his visit… goddess, that was forty years ago.”
“I gave them the box. They were with a woman named Raven.”
Rowan had to sit down as realization dawned. She chose a chair in front of the desk and folded into it. “Tobias and Gabriel were together?” That didn’t make any sense. All of her siblings had gone to great lengths to stay separated for their safety. When they’d come to this realm, their mother had warned them to keep their distance, and aside from a few limited visits, they’d adhered to that edict.
“He did not introduce Gabriel as his brother, but I recognized both of them from your drawings. Of course, neither knew who I was. I passed myself off as Mrs. Fernhall, the landlord. However, I was worried the witch might be on to me—”
