“Hi,” I said with a smile, making my way towards her. “I was wondering if this shifter happened to be a guest of yours sometime in the past week.”
I passed her my phone and she took it, squinting hard at the photo. “I’m afraid I don’t recognize him. You should ask Elvira. She’s got practically a photographic memory. She just arrived a few minutes ago. Hold on, let me get her.”
The fairy flew off, her feet dangling about a foot off the ground as she hovered to a door leading to a back office, returning a moment later with a vampire dressed in a smart business suit. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, her makeup pristine, and she smiled kindly at me, the warmth reaching her eyes.
“Hello there, Lyra tells me you’re looking for information on a guest?”
“Potential guest,” I answered. “Honestly, I doubt if he’d have stayed here, but I need to check.”
I handed her the phone, and Elvira looked at the picture closely, frowning for a moment before handing it back to me. “He’s not a guest here, no. You’re right about that. But I can’t help but feel as though I’ve seen him before.”
“You may have seen him around town,” I explained. “He’s certainly been in Mt. Rheanier. I’m just trying to find out where he’s been staying. It’s… important.”
“That’s a mug shot,” Elvira said. “Is he a suspect in a crime? Oh my, is he the one who killed Rudoldir? You’re Ali Everwood, aren’t you? The witch Rudoldir hired to find the paranormal who eventually killed him.”
“Right, and you know that because you’re married to Fjordir,” I said, everything clicking.
“Exactly. He told me all about it. It’s just awful what happened to Rudoldir.”
“It really is.”
“But what could this shifter have to do with the crime? He’s not from here, is he? I don’t recognize him, and I know a lot of the shifters in town since many of them do the maintenance work on the hotel.”
“No, he’s someone Rudoldir knew from his past life as a judge at Spellcatraz,” I replied. “Do you know who might have killed Rudoldir?”
Elvira looked up to the ceiling as she considered the question, then shook her head.
“No, I’m afraid I don’t really know. There was a vampire they were having trouble with, that new one, Andrei. I don’t want to speak ill against my own kind, but he’s not been welcomed into the community, let’s put it that way.”
“So I’ve heard,” I said, nodding.
“It’s just so disappointing. Fjordir was good friends with Rudoldir. He’s absolutely crushed by this news.”
“Is he going to be the one to take over Rudoldir’s job?”
“He should be. He won’t talk about it, of course. But Fjordir has always been very humble that way. He never asks for anything extra at work. I’m always having to push him to ask for a raise and to get the credit that he deserves for the work that he does, but you know, some elves are just content living their lives day-to-day without any extra recognition.”
She smiled good-naturedly, and I returned it as she continued. “Whoever killed Rudoldir, I hope they’re brought to justice. He was a very nice elf, although he could be a bit strange. We would invite him over to dinner, and he’d refuse almost constantly, but I don’t believe he ever meant to be rude about it. I think he just genuinely didn’t like to interact with other paranormals. To each their own. Just because he didn’t come over for dinner didn’t make him a bad elf. I still liked him, and I hope you find the killer.”
“Thanks, me too,” I replied.
“Could I text myself that picture?” Elvira asked, and I nodded, handing her the phone.
“Sure.”
“Great. I’ll pass it around, since I know the other hotel owners here in town. That’ll get you an answer faster than you going door-to-door. If any of them recognize this shifter as one of their guests, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” I said, grateful for the offer to save me a little bit of time.
Saying goodbye to Elvira, I headed back out into the street when I got a text. It was from Willow.
Well, I just had a heck of a day. Want to meet up for dinner?
Sure, just tell me when and where, I replied. I was always up for dinner with my best friend, and besides, I enjoyed running everything by her. Willow was whip-smart, and her insights into my cases were always welcome.
We organized to meet at my place two hours from now, with Willow promising she would bring Chinese food. That worked for me, and I headed home, going into my mom’s house instead of back to the shed. I had some news for Grandma Rosie, after all.
“Hello?” I called out when I stepped inside, not seeing anyone, and my mom came out of the bedroom a moment later.
“Oh, hello, dear,” she said. “I was just sorting out some clothes. How are you? Not getting into any trouble, I hope?” Mom hadn’t quite caught on to the fact that being a private investigator meant that I was going to find myself in the odd dangerous situation.
“Always, Mom. I’m investigating Rudoldir’s murder.”
“That poor elf? I heard about that at the bakery this morning. Anita said she heard from Pyxis that you were the one who found the body, but I told her that wasn’t possible.”
“It’s not true,” I replied. “I didn’t find the body; a couple vampires did. I did see the body though; Jack called me.”
“Oh, he was always such a nice young wizard,” Mom said. “I’m glad the two of you are on speaking terms again.”
“Well, he’s happy to speak to me. The other way around, not so much. Is Grandma Rosie around?”
“She’s in the yard. I think she’s trying to teach Vinnie to eat the weeds so she doesn’t have to use magic to get rid of them.”
“Cool, thanks.”
Chapter 14
I was halfway out the door when
