“You’re going to want to get down here. Rudoldir was just found dead.”
“Crap.” I was instantly awake, sitting up in the bed like I’d just been jolted awake from a nightmare. If only this was a nightmare. “What happened?”
“He was found floating in the middle of the lake. Some vampires went out for a romantic boat ride under the stars and found him and called it in. It looks like he was stabbed and then the body dumped.”
“Where are you?”
“Lakeside Park.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“What’s going on?” Vinnie muttered sleepily.
“Just some work stuff. I’ll be back in a while.”
“Bring back pears,” he muttered before drifting back off to sleep. I smiled to myself, gave him a quick pat on the head, then threw on some clothes from the floor, threw my hair into a quick ponytail so I didn’t have to scramble around looking for a brush, and headed outside. Grabbing my broom from the side of the house, I jumped on it and headed in the direction of the lake.
Lakeside Park was one of the more popular spots on Lake Cyrene. It was about halfway around the Lakeside Trail – which was how it got its name – and gave a superb view of both the town and of Mt. Rheanier. Tonight, the new moon kept the sky dark and the stars that glimmered brightly in the sky reflected in the lake, moving gently along with the water.
Magical lights had been set up at Lakeside Park, allowing the Enforcement officials who were there to see what they were doing. I flew down towards the site and landed in the park, immediately propping up my broom against a tree and walking towards the water where the lights were.
Our Chief Enforcer, Lea Loeb, immediately spotted me and came towards me, shaking her head.
“No, absolutely not. I don’t know why you’re here, but you’re not welcome. You’re a private investigator, not an Enforcer. I don’t know what you think you’re going to find, but your next client isn’t here.”
“My next client might not be, but my current client is,” I replied, looking over her shoulder to where sheeting was floating through the air to hide the body from view.
Chief Enforcer Loeb narrowed her eyes at me, and I continued. “You can ask Jack. I spoke to him about it this afternoon. Rudoldir hired me yesterday to find the paranormal who wanted to kill him.”
Jack came over just then, and Chief Enforcer Loeb turned to him. “Is it true? Did Rudoldir actually hire Althea?”
“Yes,” Jack replied. “I spoke to him last night and confirmed it.”
“What, my word wasn’t good enough for you?” I asked, and Jack just gave me a look in reply.
“Good for you for confirming it,” Chief Enforcer Loeb said with a curt nod. “Alright, Althea, you can come and see what we have, but you’re under oath not to repeat this to anyone else.”
“Sure,” I said. “Thanks. He might be dead, but he still hired me to do a job.”
“You’re also not to interfere with our investigation,” Chief Enforcer Loeb continued. “Remember, we’re the Enforcement officials here in town. Whatever you find, you report to Enforcer Stone here. If I find out that you withheld anything from us in the course of your investigation, I’ll make sure you spend the next ten years of your life in Spellcatraz.”
“Do I look like the kind of person that would keep relevant information from you?” I asked with a grin and received a deadpan look in reply. “Fine, fine. I get it. Tell Jack everything. I might tell Andy though, instead. I like him more.”
“I don’t care which Enforcer you tell, as long as it’s someone,” Chief Enforcer Loeb said. “And remember, confidentiality is important. I don’t want the whole town knowing what the body looks like. That’s not fair to Rudoldir’s memory.”
“Hey, I might be a bit of a screw-up, but I’m not cruel,” I replied. “No one will find out about that stuff from me.”
Chief Enforcer Loeb nodded, and motioned for me to come towards the body. Jack followed as Loeb led me around the sheeting held up by magic where a couple of wolf shifters were standing around. On the ground, lying on a tarp, was Rudoldir’s body.
Chapter 5
I inhaled sharply when I saw him. I had known he was dead, obviously, but it was one thing to be told over the phone and another entirely to actually see the corpse with your own eyes.
His pale skin was now practically translucent. His face was peaceful, with his eyes closed, like he was just having a nap. I hoped that meant his end wasn’t too painful or grotesque. His arms were at his side, and the only thing that indicated that he hadn’t simply gone to sleep was the small red wound in his chest where he had been stabbed.
I leaned in towards it to get a look at what had killed him. “Do you know what did it?” I asked Jack.
“Not yet. We called the hospital to have a Healer come over and take a look at the body, so they should be here soon. We’re minimizing how much we touch the body until then to make sure as much evidence as possible is preserved.”
I nodded and looked out at the lake. “Where was he found?”
“About three hundred feet offshore from here,” Jack replied. “It doesn’t look like he’s been in the water long. Maybe a few hours. Again, the Healer will tell us, but my bet is he was killed sometime yesterday evening.”
His words hung in the air, and I knew what we were both thinking. Rudoldir had hired me in the afternoon and was killed just a few hours later. I had failed him. I had completely and totally failed the man who had hired me to keep him safe.
Was this my fault? What if I had gotten started immediately?
