"We don't want her in the crosshairs. If Zoth did kill Professor Luna, he'll be ready to kill again. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she got hurt because we went after him. Fire and brimstone, he might hurt her even if he isn't the killer just because we suspect him!"
“If he’s the killer, we have to find out, for her sake. Even if he isn’t, if he would hurt her for us suspecting him, she’s already in danger.”
I swallow hard. “Maybe I’ve been looking at this from the wrong angle,” I say slowly.
“What angle?”
“For her sake, I believed Bay. I thought she would never be with a killer, so I wanted to prove Zoth was innocent. So many blame Damon, and I want to prove him innocent too. But…”
“Rosemary, I know you don’t want to hear it, but everyone is on the table until we find the motive and can rule people out.”
“How was she killed? Where? What time?” I blurt out. “Can’t we rule out people based on the timing of the murder?”
“We don’t know when exactly she was killed. As for how and where…” Cosmo grimaces. “We haven’t released those details to the public.”
“I won’t tell…” I can’t finish.
Cosmo shakes his head. “I can’t tell you that.”
My heart sinks, and I swallow hard. “Does that mean I’m a suspect?”
“Everyone is on the table,” he repeats softly.
My heart skips a beat, and my chest physically hurts.
“After all, as near of a window as we have, you were missing,” he adds.
Chapter 25
“I can explain that!” I blurt out.
“Not right now. You have class.” Cosmo starts to fly off.
But I stay put. “I want you to know what I was doing.”
He flies back and grabs my arm gently by the elbow and guides me back to flying. “You need to get to class.”
“I know, but—”
“You aren’t really on the suspect list.”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t think I did it. I want everyone to know I didn’t do it.”
“You don’t—”
“Whoever in the department does telepathy can do it on me,” I blurt out.
He lifts his eyebrows. “You don’t have to.”
“I know, but I want to.”
Cosmo chuckles. “You’re a bit forceful when you want to be. No wonder Damon likes you so much.”
“You know Damon?”
“We’ve talked a few times. He thinks a lot of you.”
“I know,” I murmur.
“If you won’t take a turn in the hay with me, do it with him at least once.”
“My sex life is not on the table for the telepathy.”
“For the last time, we aren’t going to use telepathy on you.”
“Why not?” I ask.
“Just because we can’t rule anyone out doesn’t mean we don’t have lists for who we’re more strongly considering.”
“Still. Just hear me out, please? I went to the human realm.”
Cosmo stops us. “Why?”
“I was hurting. I got into fights with everyone I cared about most and then Zoth too, and I had to get away. The worst part of all was that I tried to help save a kid from drowning, but he died anyhow.”
“You didn’t reveal yourself, did you?”
“I didn’t, but I wish I did. If I had, he would still be alive. Cosmo, he was so young, so little, his body so tiny, and I got him out of the water, but it was for nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Rosemary, it wasn’t for nothing. You got him out of the water. His mother could hug him, hold him, bury him. She could do all of that only because of you. Yes, magic might have been able to save him, but if you weren’t there, the water might’ve carried his body so far that he couldn’t be recovered from the waves. Or maybe an animal would’ve gotten to him.”
I wince, flinching hard enough that his grasp on my elbow is released.
“You did make a difference, Rosemary. And that’s why I wanted to become a guard here. I know Bracken sees this post as a means to an end, but I want to stay here. I want to keep the academy safe, and that’s because of you finding Thistle. You helped to ensure my would-be murderer ended up in prison, and that made an impact on me. Thank you.”
Tears fill my eyes. “But I wanted to save him,” I murmur.
“Not everyone can be saved.”
We’re silent for the rest of the flight over. He’s given me so much to think about, both good and bad.
After classes, I call up the boys for a three-way conversation. Texting gets old.
“Do you guys have any ideas about the motive for the murder?” I ask.
“There are too many questions,” Sage says.
“Maybe someone from her past,” Damon suggests. “A past student, maybe? An old flame?”
“Is she married?” I ask.
“Was she,” Sage corrects gently.
“I keep doing that.” I grimace.
“Me too,” Damon says.
“We need to look into her past,” I say. “Learn about her family, her friends. Her coworkers. Any romantic partners. All of that.”
“We can do that,” Damon says.
“We might as well. We aren’t getting anywhere with the guards,” Sage admits.
“They are keeping close-lipped about where and how. Do you think there’s a reason for their secrecy?” I ask.
“Maybe they’re afraid that there will be a copycat murder,” Damon says.
“A copycat murder?” I ask, confused.
Damon laughs. "For once, I know something the great detective doesn't. Sometimes, a crime can inspire someone else to commit a similar crime."
“Oh. Yeah, that’s the last thing we need.” I shudder.
“At least there’s only been one murder this time around,” Sage points out.
“Yes, but I do know that some serial killers will have a quiet period between kills, and sometimes, that quiet period can last for years before they’ll strike again.” I nod slowly. “Okay, you research her past. I’ll go talk to someone in the front office. Maybe I’ll be able to get something out of her since the guards
