“A couple of young vampires who went out for a nighttime row under the stars,” Jack replied. “They aren’t suspects. I sent them home, as they were quite shaken up.”
“Those poor youngsters,” Lomnordir muttered, shaking his head sadly. “No one should have to come across a scene like that. Well, if that’s everything I can do for you, I wish you luck. I do hope you find Rudoldir’s killer. He led a good, long life, but it should not have been cut short.”
“We will do our best,” Jack said. Lomnordir nodded and then walked off.
“What do you think?” I asked Jack. “Check out criminals whose appeals he denied and see if any of them have been released from Spellcatraz recently?”
“Absolutely,” Jack replied, his face hard.
Chapter 6
After a few more minutes, I headed back home. There wasn’t much else to do and not much more evidence to gather, either. I went back to bed and tried to get a few more hours of sleep, but it wouldn’t come. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see Rudoldir’s body just lying there once more, motionless and pale, with the wound from a blade in his chest.
It wasn’t fair, and no matter what Jack said, I couldn’t help but put at least some of the blame on myself. If I’d been with Rudoldir last night, maybe he would still be alive.
But I hadn’t been, and now, I was going to do my best to find the killer and bring them to justice. Of course, my best meant being well rested, but that just wasn’t in the cards.
Eventually, around eight-thirty, I dragged myself out of bed, let out a huge yawn, and resigned myself that today was going to be powered by caffeine and energy-boosting potions.
“What happened last night?” Vinnie asked. “You left, didn’t you?”
I nodded. “That new client of mine was murdered.”
“No way!” Vinnie replied. “Really? Did he deserve it?”
“I don’t think he did. He was a nice elf. A little bit strange, but kind. I liked him. Besides, I had promised him I would find the person who wanted to kill him, and I failed.”
“Well, you can still find the killer.”
“Exactly. No matter what, I’m bringing them to justice.”
“Good. You know what helps with justice?”
“A healthy breakfast of pears?” I offered with a smile.
“Exactly.” Vinnie hopped up and down on all four legs at once as I made my way towards the kitchen and the bowl of pears sitting on the tiny dining table.
“Fine, but you have to go outside to do your business,” I said. I wiggled a pear at him and threw it outside.
“That’s not fair; you know I don’t like the cold!”
“And I don’t like cleaning up goat poop from inside the house,” I replied. “There’s your pear. If you want it, you have to earn it.”
Vinnie grumbled past me, but sure enough, he made it all the way to his pear and gobbled it up then did his business and came back inside, hopping up onto the couch. “If you’re going to leave, could you be so kind as to place a blanket on me?” he asked. “I’m absolutely freezing now.”
“You’re a huge drama queen,” I replied, grabbing his favorite blanket – a blue Sherpa one – from one of the dining chairs and placing it carefully on top of him. I curled it around his body, and I had to admit, he looked amazingly comfortable. I could have totally joined him, spending the day curled up in a blanket on the couch, but I had a murder to solve. “I’ll be back later.”
With that, I headed out the door and towards the town hall where Rudoldir had worked up until yesterday.
I figured that was still the best place to start. Jack was going to take care of checking the records of Rudoldir’s time as a judge at Spellcatraz and would call me later with that information.
The mood at town hall was subdued, as I expected. The shifter at the front, watching the door, directed me to the office from which Rudoldir worked.
Mt. Rheanier zoning and licensing was written on a metal plaque on the door, and I knew I was in the right place. I walked in to find a fairy at reception wiping away tears from her big, round brown eyes. Her silver wings fluttered slowly, sadly as she sat in her chair, and she looked up at me, her huge eyes trimmed with red.
“Hi there, how can I help you?” she asked, her voice cracking once in the middle of the sentence.
“I’m so sorry about your boss,” I replied, and she nodded.
“So you’ve heard. Does everyone know? We were just told when we came in this morning.”
“I’m not sure,” I replied. “Rudoldir hired me yesterday. I’m Ali Everwood. What’s your name?”
“Bellatrix,” the fairy answered. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”
“Do you think you would be able to answer a few questions that could help me find your boss’s killer?” I asked, and Bellatrix nodded.
“Yes. I want whoever did this brought to justice. I liked Rudoldir. He was a bit strange, and he kept to himself, but he was kind. He was a good boss. He didn’t accept any slacking off, but whenever anyone came in and started yelling at me for something that wasn’t my fault, he would always come out and take the brunt of it.”
“Did that happen a lot? People coming in and yelling, I mean.”
“Oh, sometimes. You know, people want their liquor licenses for their restaurants, and property developers want their land zoned a certain way so they can build what they want on it, and they don’t always follow the rules to do it. But it wasn’t an everyday thing, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Who was the most recent person to put up a stink?”
“Andrei something,” Bellatrix replied. “A vampire.”
“Ok, I know who he is,” I said, nodding. “Is
