"You lost the lands, huh?" I kept my voice even, though inside I was anything but calm.
"Yep," he replied, popping the 'p' with a nonchalance that irked me.
"And you're just...okaywith that?"
He shrugged, a half-hearted gesture. "They're gone. Nothing I can do about it now."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing," he confirmed, and something flickered behind his eyes, a spark of something new, something moving on. "There's always another deal, another opportunity."
With that, he turned away, his movements sure and purposeful. He didn't glance back as he headed to the driver’s side of his car, a sleek black sedan.
"Hey." I called after him, but he didn't stop, didn't even pause.
The car door opened with a creak, a testament to its age or maybe just lack of care. He slid into the driver's seat, his frame disappearing behind tinted windows.
"Damn it," Beth muttered next to me, her arms crossed tight.
The engine came to life with a rumble, breaking the heavy silence that had settled around us. Gravel crunched under tires as he pulled away, the car's taillights glowing red before disappearing around a bend.
"Onto the next thing," I whispered, more to myself than to Beth. "Just like that."
"I guess we are too," she said, her voice low but determined.
"I guess so." I watched the spot where the sedan vanished, the dust settling back down, the night swallowing any trace of him.
That man was an awful person. A person Karma was coming for, but it didn’t make sense for him to be involved in attacking the committee members and infecting them. Not when he never had control over the unicorns. So, who is hurting people? And why?
EIGHTEEN
Emma
We all gathered into a circle in the parking lot. All of us were silently, digesting what we’d just heard. Jamur had implied the committee might be behind all of this, or maybe someone else, I wasn’t sure. But I hardly thought he was a trustworthy person to listen to.
"What do you think?” I asked.
"I didn’t understand most of what that guy said, but I didn’t trust him one bit.”
"Your instincts are spot on there,” Deva said.
Marquis cleared his throat. "Do you mind if I add something here?”
"Go ahead,” I said.
"As a doctor, I’ve participated in many of the fundraisers and events held by The Committee To Protect and Enhance Mystic Hollow Lands. The three committee members who were attacked are good people. I’d stake my reputation on that. I’ve seen them fight tooth and nail, putting their own moneyinto it, in order to protect the Hissing Grump Turtle out in Lake Clearview. There’s no way they’re killing and harvesting unicorns.”
"I agree with that,” Beth said. "I think Jamur was just trying to sow doubt in our minds.”
"Then who could be behind this?” I asked, feeling frustrated.
Daniel rubbed my neck, easing some of my frustration. "Maybe we need to look again at our pool of suspects. After dinner.”
I laughed. We’d nearly been done, but we should go inside and finish. There was always more for Karma to do. We shouldn’t spoil a good night with work if there weren’t any good leads, just lots of doubts.
"Okay, let’s head inside.”
Alice smiled. "I can’t wait to get back to my lasagna.”
