“Oh no, stop that.” I shake my head and back away from my dad and the mink. “I don’t want to hear about that!”
“Who the hell is she talking to?” Dad asks, bewildered.
“Her familiar.” Felix uses one hand to cover what I think is a smile and the other to point at the animal.
Dad looks down. “That’s great, kiddo!” He pops me on the back, and I stumble forward a little. I appreciate the fact that he treats me like one of the boys—most of the time.“A mink, huh? A little unusual, but still perfectly acceptable.”
Acceptable?Percival questions snootily.This coming from a man who spreads more pheromones than a gypsy moth?
I stomp my foot on the ground. “Come on, Percival, I don’t want to hear this stuff.”
Six more months without a witch, and I probably would have died peacefully, but now I have to deal with this and she doesn’t want to hear it.He scurries back into the lower level of the library.
I look up to see all three men staring at me. “We should head inside, he…he asked for help moving his things.”
“What was he saying that you didn’t want to hear?” Remy questions as we make our way back to the front of the building.
“Traumatizing crap I don’t want to think about or repeat,” I mutter as Dad unlocks the door to the library. I hear Felix chuckle, but when I glare at him, his face is a mask of innocence.
Dad pushes the doors open, and the smell that belches out is even worse than yesterday.
“Hexing hell.” Remy nearly gags as he waves his hand in front of his face to dispel some of the odor. You’d think removing the body would have helped, but there was a lot of blood and gore left behind. I don’t envy whoever has to clean this place. I bet the smell has seeped into all the books.
“You guys can wait out here,” I offer, keeping my upper lip stiff, even though I want to cover my nose.
“We’re fine.” Felix swats Remy’s back, silently telling him to toughen up.
“Don’t puke on my scene, Broussard,” Dad chastises.
“I’m not going to puke.” He lifts his chin, and although he still looks a little green, it’s a matter of pride now, so I know there’s no way he’s going to hurl.
“Why don’t you guys go see if you can help Percival? We really can’t have you upstairs anyway. Having too many people on the scene can contaminate it.” Feeling bad, I offer them an out. I remember the first time I was on a bad one, it’s not fun. I could see the room when I closed my eyes, and the phantom odor of decay hounded me for days.
“I’m fine,” Remy replies.
“I know you’re fine, but I could use your help with the mink, plus I still need to know if there is any other way to get in the building. You’d be helping me.” I’m not just placating him, it really would be a help.
“We’ll head downstairs and keep our eyes open for anything that might be out of the norm.” Felix steps in front of Remy, holding my gaze. He’s more confident, sure of himself. I like all the new little things I’m learning about him. Too bad I can’t say the same for Grayson.
“Thanks,” I tell him softly.
“You ready to head up?” Dad asks after a prolonged moment of silence.
“Yeah, yeah, let’s see what we can sort out.” I push away old regrets and focus on why I’m here in the first place.
When we reach the top of the stairs, I tell Dad, “Felix pointed out something strange in one of the photos.” Dad gives me the eye. “I know, I know. I shouldn’t have let them see the pictures, but you don’t have much room to talk.” It’s a little bit of a low blow, but it’s also the truth.
“Go on,” he encourages, dropping the fact that both of us messed up.
“There’s a break in the blood pattern, like something might have been moved after the incident. I wanted to check it out and see if we can figure out what’s been moved. It might be a clue, or maybe we’ll get really lucky and it will give us a motive.”
“Lead the way.” Dad lifts his arm after giving me a nod. I know he wants this solved even more than I do, especially since his girlfriend might be in the middle of it.
I survey the scene, wishing I’d grabbed my bag from the car. I’m not in top form. Being around the guys has definitely scrambled my brain cellsandreminded me how much I miss sex. Who am I kidding? I only miss sex with them. It’s not like I haven’t had the opportunity with others, but I always find a reason to walk away before it gets to that point.
“Where was it, Frankie?” Dad asks, and I realize I’ve just been standing in the same spot daydreaming for several long seconds.
“Sorry, I’m trying to think. I left the photo in the car,” I hedge, even though I know it’s not the truth. “Over this way, right near the edge of the splatter.” I make my way across the room, watching the floor. I’ll know the spot when I see it. Sure enough, the clean right angle shows up not too far from where I expected it to be.
