Cobon had set only one place at his expansive stone table, and he pulled out the chair in front of that place as Asher led Hailey into the dining room. Therewere four plates, each covered by a silver lid, three forks, three knives, two spoons, four glasses of different shapes and sizes, each filled with a different colored liquid and, finally, there was one napkin.
She focused on the napkin.
At least I know what that’s for,she muttered to herself.
In the presence of Cobon, the murderer, she had plenty fuel for anxiety, but in that moment, she fretted over which fork to use for which plate. She wondered if Cobon had set the table this way just to shame her.
“My dear,” he beckoned.
Hailey sat stiffly. When she did, Cobon rested his hand on her shoulder for such a quick instant, Hailey didn’t have time to shudder away before it quite suddenly disappeared. She whipped her head around to find Asher, eyes blazing and teeth clenched, lifting Cobon in the air by his throat with one hand. With his other hand, Asher clutched Cobon’s offending fingers in a tight fist.
“My apologies, brother,” Cobon said coolly, his voice unstrained, unworried, and his eyes reflecting genuine remorse. He actually looked and sounded repentant. Asher answered through a barely open mouth.
“I will kill any that endeavor to harm her, Cobon, and you will not touch her.”
“Agreed, dear Asher, now put me down, we’re being rude in front of Miss Hartley.”
Asher released Cobon, who straightened his shirt and smiled kindly at Hailey. “Forgive me, Miss Hartley, but I couldn’t resist touching the human that has beguiled and corrupted my oldest friend,” he said with an alarming dignity and a gentlemanly bow.
“Please, my dear. You must be famished after so long a journey,” he winked. “Eat.” He lifted a silver lid from the plate directly in front of her to reveal a small, crisp salad.
“Strangely, I seem to have lost my appetite,” she said quietly, curtly.
Eat? In the presence of this monster? Was he out of his mind?
Why, yes, Sherlock, he is, her subconscious pipedin.
“Nonsense!” Cobon shouted, taking his seat at the head of the table. He sounded more wounded than angry.
Problem number one: Should she actually eat what he had prepared for her? She looked at Asher, who stood behind the chair to her right. He held her troubled gaze for several seconds before he pulled his chair out and sat next to her. When he did, he placed his left hand on her thigh and squeezed it gently. She supposed that meant she should take a polite bite.
Crap.Problem number two—which fork? She stared uncertainly at her silverware and bit her lip before picking one up, which didn’t escape Cobon’s attention.
“Dreadful etiquette, I see.”
Hailey froze with the fork lifted a few inches from her mouth. She tried her best to do what Asher had advised and remain calm, though she had an irresistible urge to stab Cobon in the eye with the wrong fork.
She lifted the fork again and just before it passed through her lips, Asher seized her hand and shook it loose. It clanged loudly on the marble floor.
Cobon let out a belly laugh followed by a snort and a deep sigh.
“Do you really think I’d poison the girl’s dinner?” he said, his eyes gleaming. He laughed again, and Asher stared, impassive.
“Oh, alright,” Cobon pouted. “Cyanide,” he declared.
With one swoop of his arm, Cobon shoved Hailey’s entire, impeccable place setting onto the floor.
Hailey cringed against the racket of shattered china and crystal, the clang of the metal lids. She furrowed her brow.
“Why do you do these things?” she demanded. She chanced a glance at him. “Why do you kill people?”
Cobon blinked a few times.
“I’m bored,” he said simply.
Remain calm, she told herself, echoing Asher’s instructions, and he must have detected her rising anxiety, because he squeezed her thigh again.
“Not the reason I killed your sister,” said Cobon, guessing her thoughts. “Perhaps I’ll enlighten you of the facts—but first you should know—I made two errors in dealing with dear Holly—not typical of me, my dear.” Cobon cast an accusatory glare at Hailey. “And it’s your fault, you know. I mistook Holly for the end of your family’s energy line, but it wasn’t her at all.It was you,” he sneered. “Your mother passed the necklace to you. You broke the rules, Miss Hartley—you took off the necklace. It’s you that must die to complete the black rock.”
