Arabella:That’s absurd. I never met Winnie’s ex, and I wouldn’t give that rat Danny O’Hare a second glance. His family tree is a circle.
Mina:Celeste makes a good point. If this killer is stalking you, they’ve probably been listening to our meetings. They know that we hated Patrick for hurting Winnie. And all of us have had run-ins with Danny. He spilt beer on your Versace dress two weeks before he died, remember?
Arabella:Vividly.
Komal:I just thought of something. Remember that book club meeting a few weeks ago, when Winnie swore she heard someone moving in the bushes outside?
Winnie:Er… that was Alaric being adorably creepy, as only he can.
Komal:Oh.
Mina:Alaric’s adorable creepiness PROVES that any vampire could have been hiding outside, listening to our every word, trying to get intel on Arabella.
Isis:I wish a man would be adorably creepy for me!
Celeste:No, you don’t. This is serious. This guy could be trying to please Arabella with these deaths, but now he’s turned against her. We have to protect her.
Celeste:I think the killer is someone at Sanctus Estate. Do you think they’re worried we might expose them? We were asking a lot of questions at the Midnight Garden opening.
Mina:I don’t think so, otherwise the message would have said “STOP SNOOPING”, not “MINE”.
Beth:Yeah, this seems like a stretch. It’s probably something to do with Arabella’s past.
Arabella:I agree, and I’m going to make him pay.
Celeste:I think I’m onto something.
Beth:Sorry, Celeste, but this whole theory seems far-fetched.Someone at Sanctus Estate covering up an illegal Thrall operation seems much more likely. We need to do more snooping.
Winnie:Speaking of snooping, one of the servers told me Alyra Maythorn was feeding at Brimstone one night when Patrick walked in and saw them. Gideon offered Patrick a permanent job at Sanctus as chief architect, with a huge bonus package, but Patrick refused. So Gideon asked Lilac to make Patrick a drink so he’d forget, but he ran away and got himself killed before he could take it.
Mina:That’s the second time Alyra’s name has come up in connection to a victim.
Arabella:But if Lilac’s potions work, why would Alyra – or anyone – need to kill Patrick?
Winnie:That’s a good point, but it definitely warrants more investigation. She’s your client. See what you can find out.
Arabella:I see we’ve cycled back to “Arabella, do all the work”.
Celeste:You won’t let us help!
Arabella:That’s because you’re all useless.
Beth:We love you, too.
26
Arabella
Maisie:O Magnificent One, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you doing this! Have fun at the auditions tonight.
ASINGLE WORD FLASHESacross my mind as I pull into the Zen and Tonic Pole Studio parking lot.
MINE.
The back of my neck crawls with the horrible feeling that I’m being watched. It’s been over a week since the Midnight Garden party, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t get that message out of my head. Especially because I recognise the handwriting.
It’s the same loopy, spiky letters that were written on the mirror at La Petite Mort.
