“Rayna might be mean, but she sure does have nice taste.” I ran my boot over the pattern on the floor. “I really like this.”
“We aren’t here for fashion, Valkyrie. Unless there’s a pearl necklace inside. Then I call dibs.”
In the distance, I could hear the crash of waves over rocks. That was it. No sound was coming from inside the house.I knocked on the front door. Nothing.
I knocked again. Still nothing.
“I’ll check around back,” Zane said.
I glanced at Link hovering near the porch ceiling. “Link, take the chimney. But be careful. She may be in the shower or something. Don’t get caught.”
“Or she may have a cat that will eat you.”
Link nodded, his wings glowing purple and green. “I got this, lass.” He shot upward and vanished over the roofline.
I stepped back from the porch and looked up at the second-story windows. Two on the front face, both with curtains partially drawn. I whispered the levitation spell I’d learned and slowly rose to one of the second-floor windows and looked inside. It wasa bathroom. Idrifted to the second window immediately to my right and cupped my hands around my eyes to cut the glare. This was a bedroom. But I didn’t get the feeling it was the master bedroom. That would overlook the water, surely. All the same, there was no one inside as well.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel below, and I looked down to see Zane rounding the corner.
“Back door’s locked,” he said, shielding his eyes as he looked up at me. “Windows too. No signs of forced entry.”
Link shot out of the chimney. “I saw a purse in the upstairs bedroom.”
I lowered myself to the ground. “Doesn’t really mean anything. She can have more than one purse.”
Zane turned back toward the Aston Martin. “Let’s go talk to Reed.”
23
“This road needs to be serviced,” I grumbled as Zane did his best to navigate down Wharf Way. “I think one of my organs just shook loose.”
Zane chuckled. “It’s the trucks. They’re hard on the road.”
Zane’s phone rang, and he tossed it to me.
“It’s Barbie.” I slid my finger over the icon and put her on speakerphone. “Hey, Barbie. Zane’s driving. What’s going on?”
“You guys were right. There were two different spells on the petals. I was going to give my results to Sheriff Stiles if that’s okay, and then head over to the new crime scene.”
“Definitely,” I said. “Rayna needs to be held accountable for what she did.”
I disconnected and handed Zane back his phone.
“There’s Gadray’s place up ahead,” I said. “Shouldn’t be too far now. And thank goodness because at this slow rate, Reed could be long gone by the time we actually make it to his cottage.”
Gadray Sandu stepped outside his open bay as we came closer. He raised his hand in greeting and strolled out to the road, a coffee mug in his other hand.
“We don’t have time for this,” I whispered, trying not to move my lips. Not that he could hear me, but I still didn’t want to hurt the man’s feelings.
“I know,” Zane said. “But we can take a moment to see if he knows anything.”
I rolled down the window manually and plastered on a smile. “Hey, Gadray. How’re you doing?”
“Great, Kara.” He bent down to look inside the vehicle. “I see everyone is here. Hey, Link. Hey, Zane.”
“Am I invisible?”Savage demanded.
Gadray took a sip of coffee and reached in to pet Savage. “Aren’t you gorgeous?”
