“Down, boy,” I say as I give him a quick pat. “It’s almost showtime,” I say to Camila. “Feel free to ask questions, and no matter what this ludicrous secret society of theirs entails, we’re going to agree with whatever the terms are. We need to stay close until we can figure out who the killer is.” I texted her and let her know everything I found out about the naughty professor. Camila said she wasn’t surprised. Apparently, Blair had a thing for men that were taken. And because of that, it became all too clear what they had in common.
“Sounds good.” She glances past me. “You’re not having those two loons join us tonight, are you?”
“Georgie and Juni?” I shake my head. “No way. I need this to run smoothly with as little distraction as possible.”
Her expression sours as she glares at something over my shoulder.
“Let the games begin!” a familiar squawk emits from behind, and my eyes widen as I see not just Georgie, but that pint-sized poltergeist, and Juni heading this way—and right on their heels are Sabrina Ames, Tabitha Carter, and Raven Marsh.
Sabrina has on a sleek leather jacket and matching pants, her eyes glow in this light—they’re almost as silver as Jasper’s—and I wonder if that’s what our daughter’s would look like if we had one.
Tabitha has her hair pulled back and looks a little more dressed up than I’ve seen her before, with a long dark coat and frilly yellow blouse on underneath. Her face is made up with heavy swaths of cosmetics, lots of mascara giving her that spider lash look and red lipstick, thick as icing.
Raven is bundled in a black Sherpa fur coat, and her long rhinestone earrings glitter in this dull light like stars.
Georgie does an odd little dance as she heads this way, rattling Annabeth in our direction as if she were a maraca.
“Cha-cha, cha-cha cha, cha!” She gives a little hop, and her bright orange kaftan gleams under the twinkle lights like a well-lit pumpkin. “I see you eyeing it.” She gives her dress a quick pluck. “It’s wool. And believe me when I say, it was tough to find this sort of craftsmanship, but don’t you worry. I can read your mind, Bizzy Baker. I’ll make sure there’s one waiting for you under the tree this Christmas.”
Camila chortles. “Now that sounds like a threat.”
Juni grunts, “Tell me about it. I’ve received one every year ever since I was three.”
Georgie waves her off. “And you were a better kid because of it. Now, where do we sit?”
“Sit?” I look wide-eyed as Tabitha laughs at the thought.
“Sit anywhere you want,” she practically sings out the words, and I’m starting to wonder if Georgie and Juni crashed our party on purpose—as in, they were invited.
Sabrina, Tabitha, and Raven all give a friendly hello, and I snag a chair from a neighboring table and soon the seven of us are seated.
Emmie comes over and quickly furnishes each of us with a beverage, and we order several trays of appetizers before putting in our requests for our meals. Typically, the café isn’t a full-service sit-down restaurant, but since this is a special event, we’re going the extra service mile.
Raven looks my way. “Bizzy, any word on who could have done this to Blair? I feel like so much time has passed. I’m shocked they haven’t made an arrest by now.” Not that I think they’ll be arresting anyone anytime soon.
My mouth opens as I try to digest her odd thought.
“No,” I say. “Not that I know of.”
Tabitha tips her head my way. “Are they close? I mean, Raven is right. Time is passing us by. If they don’t solve this soon, this is going to be a cold case.” That’s what I’m hoping for. Just because Blair is gone, doesn’t mean the Maidens need to suffer. God forbid someone starts digging in this direction. It could ruin everything. I need the Maidens. I sure as heck didn’t need Blair.
She didn’t need Blair? Is that a confession?
Sabrina shrugs. “I’m confident they’ll find whoever did this. I mean, Camila, you brought up Bizzy’s lucky streak when it comes to tracking down killers.”
“Lucky nothing,” Georgie grouses. “She’s an evil genius when it comes to evil geniuses. If anyone can winnow out the killer, Bizzy can.”
Tabitha raises a brow. “Well then, we’d better speed things along so we can get you back out there. After we have our dessert, maybe you can give the killer their just desserts.”
A soft round of laughter circles the table.
Tabitha shares a knowing glance to Sabrina. It’s time. I really hope I don’t botch this up. And boy, am I ever glad Blair isn’t here to witness it. At least I’ve got two women. And Raven had to get two as well. But that’s not such a bad thing. Blair always did say we need a few spares. Just because you have a warm body in front of you, doesn’t mean they’re going to say yes.
Sabrina averts her eyes. Oh, come on already. It’s painful watching Tabitha crash and burn like this. If Blair had one rule, it was never let there be any dead airtime. And it really ticks me off. If she doesn’t pull it together fast, I’ll be losing money, too.
Raven clears her throat. “Welcome, everybody.” She raises her glass a moment. “To good times and new friends.” Good gracious, someone had to do it.
We all raise our glasses as well, and both Georgie and Juni howl as if they’ve morphed into a couple of werewolves.
Emmie comes out with another tray of appetizers and Georgie motions to her.
“Can I get a highchair for the kid?” Georgie hikes Annabeth up a notch. “She steals from my plate if I let her lap
