The woman glared back at him. “I’m the head potion maker at Potent Potions and…” She gulped. “And the deceased’s sister.”
OPAL
Now that I knew they were sisters, I could see the resemblance. Though Opal’s long hair was a stark black, it looked harsh against her pale skin and most likely had been spelled that way. She’d probably been naturally blond, like the now dead Pearl. They looked around the same age, too, probably in their midfifties.
Opal seemed to share her sister’s love of all things bling. She nibbled her painted red thumbnail, every finger glittering with rings, and glanced down every few moments to watch the cops moving around her sister’s body. I raised a brow. A little protective much? My stomach twisted. Then again, I didn’t have siblings, so who was I to talk? I didn’t know what it’d be like to lose one.
McCray slapped Peter on the back. “Officer Flint, let’s see the dream team work their magic, eh?”
He straightened his shoulders, steadfastly avoided looking at me, and murmured a quiet, “Come on, girl,” to Daisy. Bon huffed and retreated to go stand beside McCray.
I squeezed my eyes shut tight to avoid rolling them. If we were working together now, Peter wouldn’t be able to keep pretending like I didn’t exist for long. Or at least I’d make it hard for him to.
I stepped forward with him and Daisy and approached Opal. She sniffled and looked up at us.
“I’m Office Flint, this is my canine partner, Daisy.” He leveled Opal a serious look, his tone flat, like he’d said all this a thousand times and was too weary to put inflection into it. “I must warn you, she’s enchanted to smell lies, so please be truthful with us.”
Opal paled. I stifled a grin—someone was hiding something.
Peter heaved a sigh that sounded like it came from the depths of his soul. “And this is Jol—Miss Hartgrave, police consultant.”
Opal’s blue eyes landed on each of us in turn, then glanced down at her sister’s body again. A cop turned her head, carefully picking through her blond locks. Opal sucked in a breath. “Careful with her!”
The cop glanced up at her, then went back to work.
Peter’s throat bobbed. “Ms. Whitaker—”
“Miss,” she interrupted, looking Peter up and down. “It’s Miss Whitaker.”
Okay, I couldn’t fight rolling my eyes that time. I leaned into one hip and leveled her a flat look. Did somebody say cougar?
Peter’s cheeks flushed pink. “Miss Whitaker, I assure you our officers will show your sister’s remains the utmost respect, but you need to allow them to do their jobs so we can bring her killer to justice.”
Her throat bobbed, but she dragged her gaze from her sister to Peter’s face and nodded. “Understood. I just—” She glanced down at Daisy. “I just feel very protective over her.”
Peter nodded. “That’s a natural reaction.”
She batted her lashes.
Was flirting with much younger men over your sister’s corpse natural, too?
Peter’s quill and scroll magically appeared beside his head, poised to take notes. “Miss Whitaker, you mentioned you’re the head potions maker?”
She nodded, her red lips slightly puckered.
“How did you come to work for your sister? Is she older… younger…?”
Opal flipped her dark hair. “I’m more experienced by a couple of years.”
I shot her a “get real” look. “By experienced you mean older?”
Her eyes blazed at me, but after a moment she ground out, “Yes.”
I glanced at Peter out of habit to share a smile, but found his expression stony and fixed on the woman. My shoulders slumped.
Opal squared her shoulders and addressed Peter. “As to your other question, I’m a talented potion maker in my own right.” She lifted her nose. “I apprenticed under a very prestigious potion master in the Earth Kingdom before joining forces with my sister—I didn’t work for her.”
I raised a brow. “Pearl and her husband Ralph were introduced as the founders of the company.” I shrugged. “I didn’t see you on stage. And I mean… even the pig made the cut before you.”
She scowled before wrangling her features into a simpering smile. “They’re the faces of the company.” She beamed at Peter. “I’m the talent.”
“Which potion master?”
She blinked at Peter, her eyes widening. “Sorry?”
“The name of the potion master you apprenticed under? Just being thorough.”
She glanced down at Daisy, who’d never taken her eyes off the woman, then cleared her throat. “Uh, his name was Mr. Archimedes.” She flipped a hand covered in glittering rings. “You know, in certain circles he’s very well-known, but to the layman I’m sure that means nothing, not worth looking into.”
“We’ll determine what’s worth looking into.”
I frowned up at Peter, surprised by his direct, one might argue rude tone, but his expression never changed from that flat, lifeless look of his. Snakes. What was going on with him? No wonder Daisy was concerned.
The enchanted quill scratched away at the scroll of parchment beside Peter’s head. He glanced at his notes, then turned back to Opal. “And what do your duties as head potion maker entail here?”
She adjusted her glasses, the rhinestones in the corners glinting as they reflected the blinding overhead lights. “I develop all the unique formulas for the various potions which we then send out to the manufacturer to produce.”
I pulled my lips to the side. “So if you’re really the one coming up with all the potions, why is your sister the face of the company and not you?”
She glared at me, though she forced her lips into a smile. “It was Pearl’s idea to take potions to the masses and directly sell them. She saw the value of taking such a boutique, niche skill and making it widely available.” She shrugged. “Besides, like I said, we founded the company together. I only stepped down a few months ago when Pearl and Ralph bought out my shares.”
“Why did they buy you out?” The space between Peter’s thick brows creased.
Opal’s eyes flitted to Daisy, then back up at Peter. “I, uh—I didn’t want the responsibility of running the
