I doubted many other people got personal updates on murder investigations. It was pretty handy knowing the local alpha.
“I have questions,” I blurted out. My mind had been going in circles with so many questions all day, so it was hard to pick just one. When Grady didn’t refuse, I said the first one that popped into my head. “Had she planned to kill me all along?”
I hadn’t meant to ask that question first, but it just fell out of my mouth. And okay, yes, I was maybe a little self-absorbed, worrying about myself first. But I didn’t think anyone could blame me under the circumstances.
Gideon wrapped his free arm around me as we waited for Grady’s answer. Other people in the pub had quieted and were listening, too.
“She said she’d expected to see you in the coffee shop that morning. Said you were becoming something of a regular.”
Gideon squeezed me tighter, and he started growling. “So she’d picked the moonbane specifically for Declan.”
“Right,” Grady agreed. “Then, when Paula came in acting strange, Lily figured Jim must have said something to her and decided she needed to go, too.”
“Fantastic. I try to support someone, and instead of being happy, they try to kill me,” I muttered. Since Grady had answered one question, I decided to try my luck and ask another. “So, why Winston? Had she gone over to him planning to kill him that night? Because I swear, she didn’t look angry with him at the festival meeting.”
“That one wasn’t planned.” Grady paused, and I could hear him flipping through pages in a notebook. “Lily says she went over with the crystal as a gift for Winston, because she’d wanted his help. Says she grabbed it on her way through the store that night and that she’d planned on paying for it the next day. She’d asked if he’d be a silent investor in her coffee shop.”
We’d all seen Winston’s reaction to that on the video recording.
“Apparently, she hadn’t liked how he said no,” Gideon murmured.
And wasn’t that the understatement of the year?
“After he was dead, she decided to look for Xalvador’s treasure. She found a bunch of… babies? Wait. Is that right?”There was a pause, and the sound of more pages being turned. “Not like children, but stuffed toys? I don’t know. One of my constables is looking into it.”
“Beanie Babies?” I asked.
“Yeah! That’s the one. She found them behind one of the walls. So she stole those. She’d planned to sell them and get enough money to retire on an island somewhere. But when she’d talked to Leon about them, he’d laughed at her and said they were worthless. Sounds like Jim called right after that saying he wanted money from her or he’d show the police the video of her murdering Winston that he’d found on the cloud or whatever…”
“And she thought she’d get rid of both of them by killing Jim and framing Leon,” Gideon finished for him.
“That was the infamous treasure? Beanie Babies.” I snorted. I slapped my hand over my mouth. Gideon appeared even more worried than he had a few minutes ago. And then the dam broke. Suddenly, I was laughing so hard I couldn’t stand up straight, and tears were flowing down my cheeks.
“We gotta go,” Gideon said to Grady as he ended the call. “Declan?”
“I’m okay,” I said, waving my hand in front of my face, but I couldn’t stop laughing.
Gideon stared at me like he was seconds from throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me to the nearest doctor to demand I be given something for hysteria. He rubbed my back and made awkward little shushing sounds between pressing little kisses to the top of my head. Eventually, the need to laugh eased, and I let out a shaky breath. I gave him a wobbly smile and patted his chest.
“I swear I’m okay now. I promise.” I wiped my wet cheeks with the hem of my t-shirt before using it to clean my glasses. “But Beanie Babies? Fuck.” I shook my head.
“We should go upstairs for a bit. Rest.”
“Nope.” I grabbed his hand. “I feel much better now. I think I just needed some answers.”
“Okay…”
“Let’s check out the last day of the festival,” I said as I tugged him to the door. “I remember seeing something about magical snow cone ice pop things.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” I said. And I wasn’t even lying this time. It was like that conversation with Grady had lifted a weight off me.
Gideon must have sensed the change in me, because he came without protest. As we walked down the cobblestone sidewalk, I remembered the day I’d arrived. Just like then, the day was hot. The sidewalk was once again crowded with people eating ice cream cones. But today I found it… delightful.
Despite everything that’d happened with Lily, I was glad I’d come to Ravenstone. The raven that had been watching me in the pub circled the sky above us.
As we passed The Mystic Menagerie, Tulip was locking the door. She winced when she saw us.
