Silence settled again, heavy as grief. Her shoulders shook, and then the tears came. Big, silent sobs that sent ripples fanning out in all directions.
I waited while she cried. Eventually, she pulled herself together and took in a deep breath.
“He wasn’t a good man,” she said softly. “Not a good man at all. But he said he loved me, and I thought maybe?—”
I crouched closer. “I need to ask you some questions. The crystal point came from Elwood’s shop, and Grady is questioning him, so we need to figure out who did it.”
She surged back up out of the water, making me stumble back again. “Not Elwood. He would never kill someone. He’s kind and only wants to help.”
“I know, Tulip. No one believes he’s a murderer. But I don’t want this to drag on. So I need to ask you some questions.”
She nodded. “You may ask.”
I hated to. Winston hadn’t treated her well, but Tulip had cared about him anyway, and it felt cruel to ask her questions about his death. But she might know something that would help.
“Do you know anyone who might want to hurt him?”
“Many didn’t like him, but to actually kill him…” She shook her head. “I don’t know. I know the contractor was furious with him about non-payment. Someone had tried to buy the building, but he’d outbid them. He said they were furious about it, but I don’t know who. He didn’t give me a name, but he wasn’t a gracious winner. He said they were fools who only wanted the building because they believed it had gold in the walls. Humans are weird about stuff like that, you know. What good is gold? You can’t eat it, and pearls make much prettier jewelry.”
“Humans are weird about a lot of things,” I said.
“That they are.” We shared a smile, but hers was still a bit sad.
“I’m sorry about Winston, Tulip.”
She sniffed and nodded. “Thank you, Gideon. It doesn’t matter anyway. He didn’t love me back. He only said he did. He had already moved on.”
My ears perked up at that. I hadn’t heard rumors of another woman, but that could be a clue.
“With who?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, probably that coffee witch. She was always hanging all over him, bringing him weird human food to try.”
“Lily, you mean?” I asked, and she nodded. “I don’t think there was anything there, Tulip. I think she’s just desperate to sell her coffees, and you know she isn’t really a witch.”
“Calling her a witch was me being nice, Gideon.” She scoffed. “And she was desperate for something, that’s for sure. But it doesn’t matter. He’s gone, and I have to move on. You find out who killed him and tell me. I’ll drag them to the bottom of the pond to a watery grave. That would be a fitting end for them, don’t you think?”
“I think we’ll let Grady handle them.”
“If you say so.” She pouted in disappointment, and I wasn’t sure if it was because she didn’t get to seek justice for Winston or because she didn’t get to drag anyone to the bottom of the pond.
“I do say so. Maybe we should have a support group meeting later today. We didn’t get to have one last night, and some people might be feeling unsettled after this.” By some people, I meant her, but she didn’t have to know that.
“Without Elwood?”
“I have the key to Elwood’s shop, and Declan’s here now, remember. Besides, I don’t think they’ll keep Elwood long.”
Chapter Nine
Magical revelations and misfit monsters
Declan
I stormed across the street to The Mystic Menagerie before stopping short at the door.Shit. I didn’t have keys.
What were the chances that Elwood hadn’t locked up? Except if he hadn’t secured it before leaving to meet us at the Nook, the place had been open for hours. I slipped my hand around the doorknob, unsure if it would be better to find it locked or not.
I tugged. It opened.
