Chapter 14
Wecreptoverto319, and I knocked on the door. No one answered, so I used the key I’d stolen to unlock it. Then I gave the key to Wickham, and he crept around to the back.
“Hello?” I said quietly.
The door opened easily, so I stepped inside the dark room.
Somewhere near the back, a floorboard creaked.
“Anyone here?” I whispered. I turned on my phone to record the conversation. If we got a confession, then we could be done with all of this.
From around the corner leading to the sleeping area, I made out a familiar copper and deep-purple aura, with zips of electricity trickling through it.
“Zoe?” I recognized those colors, they were a perfect match. Of course it was Zoe. The clues came together in my mind. She and Alex wrote a lot of lyrics together. He may have even acted interested in her, but for him, it was all about the money. I played it as calm as a summer afternoon. “Hey, what’s going on? You’ve been pretty busy lately, haven’t you?”
She sat in an armchair and sniffed but didn’t respond. The copper in her aura dulled, then changed to a fiery orange.
“You didn’t want this to happen, did you?” I asked.
“Of course not!” Zoe cried. “I’m tired of people using me.”
A lightning-hot wave zipped through her aura.
“Using you? What do you mean?” I used the mirror to watch her movements from around the corner and caught Wickham’s shadow outside the back door. He had my back, so I was safe. I stepped closer to her so we faced each other.
“All of the lyrics that Alex came up with, the lyrics he was going to sell... they were mine. He said he loved me and wanted to help my career take off, but I found his contract to sell the band.” A stifled sob escaped her lips. "Not only was he stealing from me, he was going to break the Grey Doors up."
Now I was in my domain. Girl talk. I had this. “Are you kidding me? That jerk. He didn’t even give you credit. And we all saw him flirting with your groupies. I’m so sorry.”
“You get it, right?” Her aura simmered down to magenta. “He tossed me aside like a used towel. He just wanted to profit from my talents. Disgusting.”
“You deserve better.” I huffed and stepped closer to her. “Zoe, I bet we can figure something out. But right now, a lot of people are blaming Wickham.”
“Oh, Wickham.” Another wave of electricity rippled through her aura. “Seriously, Lydia, that’s all you care about. You’re acting all sweet... but,oh, Wickham.”
I tried to smile at her. “You can’t blame me for trying. He’s nothing like Alex.”
"Alex only loved himself."
I kept her talking while Wickham cracked open the back door and crept inside. “But, for what it’s worth, I really do think you deserve better. You’re incredibly talented, Zoe.”
Her aura settled a little, then flared bright. “But then Wickham took the promise ring I gave to Alex. I was just going to get it back. But Tim had to follow me to yourcabin. He tried to turn me in. If he had stayed out of it, the police probably would have thought Alex’s death was an accident.”
“So, you had no choice but to kill him?” I asked gently. “Sounds like an awful dilemma.”
“It was practically self-defense.” She shrieked, stepping closer to me. “Why are you asking me this?”
It was only then I noticed the bolts of electricity building up in her fists.
Zoe started toward me, but before she made any progress, Wickham tackled her, pinning her arms against her body. “Sorry, Zoe, I can’t let you hurt Lydia.”
Within minutes, the police burst through the front door. I directed them to where Wickham sat on the sofa, gently but firmly holding Zoe in place.
Chapter 15
IsatnexttoWickham as we finished dinner at the Sky Powder Cafe. “I’ve been texting Kitty. She was a chimera, but her disguise was impressive. The police are pretty sure Zoe was the one who started the fire.”
Wickham stopped eating and leaned back in his seat. “That makes sense. With the note she left and everything, it had to be connected. It didn't seem like there was too much damage to the bakery though."
