Spellbound Murder Complete Trilogy (Spellbound Murder Box Set Book 1) Read online

  Mira felt the tables had been flipped and now Ian was on her good side. "I'll talk with him about it. Have you seen Della?"

  "There were a few sorcerers in the ballroom," Cara said with a dismissive shrug. "Maybe she's with them."

  "Great, we'll check it out," Mira said, doubting she would find Della with the other sorcerers.

  Older generations of supernaturals tended to stick to small groups—witches with witches, shifters with shifters and so on. Robin melded along those lines as well. Mira and a good deal of the supernaturals under thirty had never seen the point.

  "I'm also looking for Barney," Mira said.

  "There are a few humans in there as well," Cara said dismissively.

  "Great. I'll see you around," Mira said.

  Ian stuck to Mira like glue as they entered the ballroom.

  "Do you see Della anywhere? Or Barney?" Mira asked.

  "Not yet. Hey," Ian dropped his voice to a hiss, "is that Judge Wilt—"

  "Stop," Mira said. "Here, she's just one of us."

  "Right, of course." Ian's cheeks colored slightly. "I just didn't expect to recognize anyone."

  "Ms. Owens," snapped a stern voice from behind them.

  Mira stifled a groan and forced her face into a smile before turning around. "Mr. Contrey, it's good to see you. Ian, this is—"

  "I would have expected you to take him into the meeting room." Mr. Contrey's face was contorted making it resemble a prune. "He doesn't need to parade around here."

  "We're looking for someone before he gets started," Mira said, forcing herself to speak in lighter tones than the old man. "Besides, we need to know who's here to know who to interview."

  "We'll send people up as appropriate," Mr. Contrey snapped. "Having a human here is bad enough, but to have him—"

  "There should be no issue with Detective Burke being here." Emmit's smooth voice sounded over Mira's shoulder. "He is an invited guest. One that is doing great service for our community."

  Despite the fact that Mira was aggravated with Emmit's weeklong absence from her life, the corners of her mouth turned up at the sound of his voice. She could feel the warmth he generated standing so closely behind her.

  Mr. Contrey scowled and opened his mouth, then closed it again. He repeated the gesture before clearing his throat. "I'm sure Detective Burke understands the importance of discretion."

  "Oh, he does," Emmit said. "Even if he didn't, however, the spell holds."

  "We expect him upstairs in five minutes," the old man said with less vigor in the face of Emmit. "There are a lot of people here and he needs to get to work."

  He didn't wait for a response, and instead turned and disappeared down the hallway.

  Mira tried to remove the smile before she turned, but it didn't work. "Thank you," she said, staring up at Emmit. "I appreciate that."

  His gaze softened for a moment when looking at her, but then he took a small step back, inviting Ian into the conversation. Emmit began to scan the room.

  "You were looking for Della I take it?" Emmit asked.

  "Um, yes," Ian said, stammering slightly. "I—that is, we—thought it might be good for her to sit in on the conversations. Making sure that everyone has someone nearby that knows them."

  Emmit grinned knowingly. "Won't Mira be there?"

  "Actually, since Mira's been working with us, I wasn't sure how comfortable everyone would be with her in the room," Ian said. "Della hasn't been on the case. I thought people might be more relaxed with her in the room."

  "That is very considerate of you," Emmit said.

  "I do need to speak with her one more time before we start, though," Ian said.

  "She is by the door to the sun room," Emmit said.

  Ian peered around, but didn't spot the location until Emmit gestured in the right direction.

  "Thanks," Ian said. He took a step towards Della and wavered, taking in the people between the two of them.

  Mira took pity on him. "This way." Without thinking, she linked her arm with Emmit's to ensure that he came along.

  Emmit stiffened slightly at the unexpected gesture, but when he relaxed, he pulled her closer in a gesture that made Mira's heart beat faster.

  There were fewer werewolves in this room to notice the difference in Ian so they managed to go through the crowd with only a few glances.

  Della smiled and smoothed out the side of her shirt when she saw them approach—a nervous gesture that Mira hadn't seen in quite a long time. By the time they were within talking distance, though, Della took on her usual self-assured posture.

  "Hi," she said when they approached. "You all are causing quite the stir tonight."

  "Are we?" Ian asked.

  "You are," Della said. "Everyone's wondering what's in store for them this evening."

  "That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about," Ian said.

  Della gave him a quizzical look.

  "We'll need to talk in private, if you don't mind," Ian said. "Um, the three of us, that is."

  "Of course," Della said.

  "We're meeting everyone upstairs," Mira said. "There's a study up there that Lance is letting us use. More walls between us and everyone else. Not that it will stop some people from overhearing if they really want to, though."

  Mira and Emmit led the way.

  "That was some shake up today," Della said. "Did that keep you busy?"

  "For a while," Ian said. "It was surprising how little damage it did, though. The power outage was really the worst of it."

  "It wasn't what we expected either," Della said. "We didn't even lose power at the office. Traffic was a disaster, however."

  "It seems strange that no buildings collapsed or anything—though I'm glad they didn't," Ian rushed to add. "Unfortunately, the hospitals are still full."

  "There were that many injuries?" Mira asked as they walked up the stairs.

  "You shouldn't be surprised," Ian said. "You were almost one of them." He turned to Della, becoming a bit more animated. "A bookcase started to fall on Mira, but my partner's reflexes are amazing. He ended up taking the brunt of it."

  Mira felt her cheeks color.

  "Gabriel is exceptional in that area," Emmit said, patting Mira's hand.

  Mira couldn't help but feel stilted when Emmit didn't appear the least bit concerned.

  "Wow, Mira, are you okay?" Della asked.

  "Uh, I ended up with a few bruises," Mira said, "but that's all."

  Emmit seemed surprised and gazed at her up and down as though he would be able to see the blotchy marks.

  "But like Ian said, the bookcase really fell on Gabriel."

  "I tried to get him to go to the hospital to have his leg checked out," Ian said, "but he said it would be a waste of time."

  Mira was relieved when they reached the study door. Emmit appeared unexpectedly troubled and she gave him a worried look. He gently squeezed her arm before letting go.

  "Is there anything I can do to assist?" Emmit asked as they filed in.

  "Actually, there is," Ian said. "Um, people seem to... well... defer to you."

  Emmit said nothing.

  "We put together a list of names," Ian continued, pulling a piece of paper from a file. "We know the people on the list are familiar with some of the victims. We're looking for more people who knew them. Especially if they knew all of those attacked."

  Emmit took the list and read it over. "I think I'll get Lance to help with this. He does know everyone much better than I do."

  "Thanks," Ian said.

  Ian waited until Emmit was out of sight before turning to Della. "Would you mind sitting in on the interviews today? I think it would make everyone a little more comfortable to know you're here."

  "Of course," Della said.

  "There may be times, however, that I ask you to leave the room. Both of you, that is, if someone is uncomfortable with you being here."

  "Has there been any indication so far that John wasn't working alone?" Della asked.
<
br />   "Nothing concrete," Ian said. "I need to follow up everywhere I can. Now, how should we get started? Is it okay for me just to call people in?"

  "It might be better to go through one of elders," Della said.

  Mira nodded in agreement.

  "I'll trust your judgment," Ian said. "Also, I do have a few questions for Della before we get started. Mira, would you find one of the elders and give them the list?"

  Mira took the list, and with her back to Ian, she waggled her eyebrows at Della. While Ian shifted some files, Della winked at Mira with a confidence that Mira never felt, especially with a guy she liked. That was her friend in a nutshell, though. She was going to make a great prosecuting attorney one day.

  She left the others alone and made her way downstairs again. Mrs. Vears was the first elder she saw, which worked out well. She was on the list since she could connect two of the victims in a way that couldn’t be exposed before Ian was bound.

  "Mrs. Vears," Mira said when she approached.

  "Miss Owens, it's good to see you."

  Mira couldn't help but smile. Mrs. Vears was in her late sixties or early seventies, but she had a vitality to her that could make a person forget that she was an elder.

  "It's good to see you, too," Mira said. "We have a favor to ask you."

  "Is it my turn to be interrogated?"

  "Um... I..." Mira stuttered, unsure what to say.

  Mrs. Vears, on the other hand, laughed.

  "Ian... uh, Detective Burke, that is, wanted to speak with you," Mira said, catching her stride. "But that's not the favor."

  "Anything for the detective," Mrs. Vears said. "If I was thirty years younger... well, I'd still be too old for him, but we certainly could have loads of fun."

  Mira grinned. "We have a list of people that we're starting with. After he's done talking with you, we were hoping you could kind of help things move along and get the next person."

  "That's a smart idea." She took the list and reviewed the names. "I can see this is going to be a long night if you’re going to fit all these people in. Is he ready for me now?"

  "Yeah."

  "Good, I'll tell Marvin to start moving that way. He's old and not going to last long tonight. Might as well get him started in that direction or you’ll miss him."

  "That's a good idea," Mira said.

  "This isn't my first stroll through the park," Mrs. Vears said.

  Mira wondered what she meant by that, but decided not to ask.

  "I'll keep things running smoothly. Does Detective Burke need you?"

  "Not really. Della is going to be sitting in tonight."

  "Oh good. Mr. Contrey was looking for you. I think I saw him go into the dining room."

  Chapter 6

  Mira knew that when the conclave met at Lance's house the elders always convened in the dining room.

  "We met earlier," Mrs. Vears said. "We were very sorry to hear about what happened to you, but it is a relief to start getting some answers. I just couldn't believe John was involved."

  Being reminded of having a loaded shotgun pointed at her didn't do anything good for Mira's nerves. "I'll go find Mr. Contrey. Let me know if you need anything."

  It wasn't a smooth escape when Mira hurried away, but no one could know that John had been sucked into the Ether. It felt as though the others could glance at her and jump to the conclusion. Any mention of the Ether would drive the witches into a fervor. If any of the supernaturals found out she had been in the Ether, her own mother would probably disown her.

  Mira wondered if her betrayal would kick off a witch burning just for her. Flames danced in her imagination, which distracted her enough to bump into William.

  A witch hunter. Would witches use a witch hunter?

  She pulled herself back to reality when she realized William had said something. "I'm sorry, my mind was somewhere else."

  "No problem," William said, glancing around the room. "I wanted to run into you. Not literally, of course, but it works just as well."

  Mira gave a halfhearted laugh.

  "I was wondering if you've seen Barney."

  "Yeah, I stopped by earlier today. Is he around? I wanted to ask him something."

  "That's the problem," William said. "When I went to pick him up, he didn't answer the door."

  A wash of guilt fell on her. "Barney was having a rough time, I think. With Tyler gone, he ran out of anything spelled to help lessen the visions. That's why I went to see him."

  "I didn't think about that. Is he set now? Sucks that he gets overwhelmed like that."

  "Yeah, we'll make sure you’re able to keep him stocked up."

  William looked troubled. "Is there any news on Tyler?"

  "No, I went by his house today with the detectives, but I have no clue where he might have gone."

  "You don't think he—" William caught the look on Mira's face. "I'm sure he's fine," he said, the words jumping out. "Tyler's always prepared for anything."

  "Yeah." Mira's heart weighed her down, so she tried to bring some levity to the conversation. "He may not be ready for the mess his house is in when he comes home though. We were there for the earthquake and it looks like someone locked a raging minotaur inside."

  William grinned. "We can help him out when he gets back."

  "You bet." Mira sniffed and stared around the room, trying to hide her misery. "I need to go find Mr. Contrey. I'll see you around."

  "Yeah," he said as she whirled away, "see you later."

  Weaving in and out of the small crowd of people wasn't hard. For some reason, people seemed to step out of the way and avoided her gaze when they saw her coming. At the double doors to the dining room, she stopped for a moment and squeezed her eyes shut so tears wouldn't have a place to build up.

  When she entered, she saw that others were with Mr. Contrey. Five of the twelve elders—thirteen, if you counted Emmit—were present. She never thought of Emmit as an elder. They didn't have to be old, but they were usually the oldest of their race in the area. As a Harker, Emmit was the only one of his race around, but even a race of one got a seat on the council.

  "Shut the door behind you," Mr. Contrey snapped.

  Off to a great start, Mira thought as she closed the door.

  Lance's dining room was large enough to hold thirty people at the table, but the council members present were bunched up together at one end—much unlike the actual council meetings where they spread out, each race trying to distance themselves from the others.

  Not for the first time, Mira wished that the older generations got along better. Although, these five appeared to be cozy.

  "You wanted to see me?" Mira asked.

  "Tell us what is going on with the case," Mr. Contrey said.

  Mira glanced at the others, feeling uncomfortable with the abruptness, but they seemed content to let Mr. Contrey take the lead.

  "You know everything I do," Mira said. "We went to Tyler's today, but didn't find anything."

  "And the rest of the week?"

  "Ian—I mean, Detectives Burke and Flint worked on the case. They took all the evidence from my apartment." She tried not to think about the fact that most of that evidence had been falsified to keep the truth hidden. As far as everyone except her, Gabriel, and Emmit knew, John was alive, but on the run.

  "Detective Flint is working with Detective Burke?"

  "Yeah, they're partners."

  "Why isn't he here tonight?"

  "I'm not sure he would come. He doesn't... I mean, he hasn't been spelled." Mira knew Gabriel would keep the secret, but they didn't.

  "You haven't bound him?"

  "No. We discussed this at the last conclave. I'm working with Detective Burke."

  Mr. Contrey's face, already pinched, contorted and his voice grew louder. "That was more than a week ago. You need to move this forward."

  Mira didn't know what to say to the scandalous nature of the request, so she stuck with what they had discussed at the last conclave. "A witch can't
go around binding people on the spur of the moment. There are consequences. I thought you knew that." In fact, she was positive they knew. Mr. Singer had mentioned the implications, and they all knew how karma worked when dealing with anything supernatural.

  "We don't care about that—"

  Mr. Bartels put a cautioning arm out, and Mr. Contrey broke off and changed tactics.

  "We want John caught." Mr. Contrey's harsh tone didn't change. "Tyler is missing, and now no one has heard from the Hendersons. Whatever you did with one detective is working. Now bind the other. More, if necessary!"

  "The Hendersons?" Mira asked. This was the first she had heard of anything new happening.

  "Yes! They—"

  The door popped open and Mira’s relief took place of the confusion and embarrassment Mr. Contrey caused, when Mr. Singer and Noah entered. Mr. Singer glowed with fury, and Noah took his aggravation out on the door by slamming it shut.

  "What are you doing?" Mr. Singer asked, glaring at the council members.

  Mira had expected him to yell, but he held back.

  "I'm not sure I know what you mean?" Mr. Contrey said, his voice losing all hints of malice, although his face was crimson.

  "Noah has just informed me about what is going on," Mr. Singer hissed. “You’re in here bullying one of our witches into something more dangerous than she’s already done."

  Mr. Contrey slapped his hand on the table. "Listening in on council meetings is prohibited. Anyone caught—"

  "You dare threaten to throw me out!" Noah yelled.

  No one wanted to be near a pissed-off werewolf. Not if they were sane.

  "This isn't a council meeting!" Noah continued. "If it was, we would be in here!"

  Mr. Contrey's nose wrinkled. "I would have thought you of all people would want this over with. Helen was one of yours."

  "One of ours, you mean," Mr. Singer spat.

  "And we do want this over with," Noah exclaimed, "but not at the cost of someone else!"

  "That's ridiculous!" Mr. Contrey's face turned redder until he was flushed all the way down his neck. "Another binding or two isn't going to make a difference. Besides, it's..." He waved a hand at Mira in disgust.