We stepped up to her booth to find a sandwich board that said:Try our Abracadabra blend: A dark alchemy of roasted beans stirred thrice with phoenix ash, thickened with eye of newt, and finished with dragon’s blood.
“That sounds horrible,” I whispered.
“I know, but she tries so hard,” he insisted.
“True, but I’m still not drinking that.”
It was no surprise that we didn’t have to stand in line to talk to her. As soon as we walked up, she painted on a fake smile and greeted us.
“Hey, guys, are you having fun at the festival? You should check out my Abracadabra blend. It really is magical.”
Declan glanced down at the sign like he hadn’t already said it sounded horrible. “Dragon’s blood, huh?”
She leaned over the table like she was sharing a secret. “It isn’t actually blood. It’s beet juice.”
“No way!” he exclaimed, like he’d thought it had actual blood in it. “Well, that’s a good thing. I’ve had enough blood to last a lifetime.” Then he leaned in as well, like he was joining her in a conspiracy. “You heard what happened to Jim Walton, didn’t you?” He glanced at me and then back to her. “We found the body.”
“And Jim was such a nice man, too. Everyone liked him. Well, almost everyone.” She glanced down the row of vendors.
“I thought pretty much everyone did. Did someone have a problem with Jim?”
“Sure, Leon did, and not just because of the work on this new building messing up the festival either. They had an old beef that went back years. Something about a woman Leon liked, and Jim stole. But it’s not just that, you know?”
“What else?” he asked, sounding like he couldn’t get enough of her gossip.
“I heard Jim was stabbed, and do you know who has a bunch of old daggers?” She paused dramatically. “Leon does.”
“Really? That’s wild. I had no idea. Well, I guess we’d better get moving. Good luck, Lily.” He grinned at her and practically dragged me away.
As soon as we were far enough away, he stopped and looked up at me. “That’s it, Gideon! That’s where I saw that dagger before.”
“What do you mean?”
“I kept thinking I’d seen it before, and that’s where… on Leon’s display table. I saw it there yesterday.”
Chapter Seventeen
Murder boards and more!
Declan
After my startling realization about Leon’s dagger being used to kill Jim, I marched toward Leon’s tent.
“Where are you going?” Gideon asked, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and turning me away from my destination.
“I want to confront Leon. Are you coming?” I tried steering us back toward Leon’s tent, but Gideon didn’t let me. “What are you doing? We need to get him to confess. I knew he was shady. Right from the start.”
“We don’t know he did it,” Gideon said, making a point. “Anyone could have taken the dagger from his stall, just like someone took the crystal point from Elwood’s shop.”
I crossed my arms and frowned up at him. “Convince me it isn’t him.”
He sighed and wiped his hand down his face. “I’m not saying it isn’t. I’m just not saying it is. I feel like there’s something more going on here.”
“So, we should ask some more questions.”
“The only question you want to ask Leon is if he’s a murderer.”
Another raven–it’s like the little feathery beasts were following me around–cawed like it was agreeing with Gideon. Gideon frowned at it, like he didn’t understand why it was interrupting our conversation any more than I did, but then quickly dismissed it and turned his frown back on me.
