Well, I didn’t know about that. This town wasn’t worthless at all. Once again I kept my mouth shut. “So you killed her.”
He nodded. “I knew she was at the apple-picking contest, so I showed up later, found her and stabbed her. I’m not sorry. Crystal deserved to die.”
I hadn’t liked her either, but she didn’t deserve to die.
That was when Wylie fixed his beady gaze on me. “And now, it’s your turn to die.”
I didn’t know much about magic. I could make it so that spells could be seen. I could create a spear and throw it a few yards. I could blast someone against a wall if they touched me. I could…okay, that was about all I could do.
And it looked like my old reliable was the only choice I had left.
“You fire that weapon and everyone will hear it,” I said, trying to bide time.
He shrugged. “It’s a risk that I’ve got to take. Now, say goodbye, Miss Cooke. It’s all over for you.”
I threw myself at Wylie, aiming for his legs. My goal was to knock him off-balance and then get a hand on his bare flesh—like his arm—and use my charged-up magic to blow him back a few yards.
But that wasn’t what happened. The gun fired as I lunged. I didn’t feel any pain, but I heard screams coming from nearby. My hands hit Wylie’s feet a second later. His legs got all tangled in my arms and he thrashed.
I whacked my hand against his to dislodge the gun, forgetting all about my charged-up magic.
That was when Wylie got knocked halfway down the alley, taking me with him. We careened right into the crowd that was already freaking out and half a second away from serious chaos.
Women screamed and dragged their children away. I could understand why. I was lying flat atop Wylie, and he still had the gun in his hand. A shadow crossed over me, and I glanced up to see Rufus, extending a hand.
“You weren’t supposed to get into any trouble,” he said with a bemused smile on his face.
I took his hand and rose to my feet. “He killed Crystal,” I started to say, but Rufus pulled me into a hug, crushing me against his chest.
His hand went to the back of my head, and I melted against him. All the way to my bones I felt that I was home. Rufus was my home.
Yes, I should have been thinking of the killer, but when you know something’s right, you know it. There is no need for any wavering or any reason to sway to one side or another.
I heard him kick the gun from Wylie. I thought we were about to search out the police, but Rufus slid his hands over my cheeks and kissed me long and hard.
Oh yes, I had found my home, and I didn’t want to let go. I curled my fingers into his shirt, and before someone told us to get a room or our display became a little more than PG-13, Rufus slipped back and took my hand.
“Well,” he said, looking down at Wylie’s unconscious form. “It looks like you got the bad guy. Not exactly the way I would have liked for things to happen, but you can’t have everything.”
I grinned so hard it hurt. “No, not exactly, but it is what it is.”
He dragged his gaze from me to search the crowd. “Now all we need to do is find the police, and they should be showing up any second now.”
That was when Earl Granger appeared. “You got our man?”
I shot Rufus a confused look. “Earl?”
He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “I called him a few days ago and asked him to be ready.”
My gaze filled with pride. “Well, if wonders will never cease.”
Rufus nodded toward Wylie. “Officer Granger, that’s him. He’s the one who killed Crystal Darsey.”
Tuney Sluggs walked up, huffing and puffing, his face redder than the comb atop a rooster’s head. “Clementine Cooke, I should arrest you just for that stunt you pulled.”
Earl Granger turned to Chief Sluggs. “This man killed Crystal Darsey.”
Sluggs looked from me to Wylie and scratched his head. “Well then, let’s bring him in.”
