Peter shot me a surprised look but turned quickly back to watch Quincy’s reaction.
His cheeks flushed bright pink and he opened and closed his mouth several times as if gasping for air. He looked, wide-eyed, at Daisy, then his throat bobbed and he looked at me. “I—I’ll have you know I’ve never fired that net-tangled blow gun.” He huffed. “Frankly—frankly, I wouldn’t even know how to use it.”
Daisy whined. True.
I frowned. Not what I’d been expecting. The man had a good motive—his wealthy wife was about to leave him penniless. Even if he hadn’t known she was definitely making moves to initiate divorce, he knew she was considering it.
Quincy lifted his face. “And besides, I have witnesses that place me out in public the whole night!” He shook a finger at Peter. “I—I didn’t even have time for a bathroom break, I’ll have you know.” He shook his head. “I never even went into the sanctuary all night until after we pulled back the curtains and found Malorie sprawled on the ground like that.” His voice broke again, and he covered his mouth with a trembling hand.
I raised a brow as Daisy whined. True.
I shook my head at Peter, and he moved away from Quincy to stand close to me.
I shrugged. “Dead end, I guess.” I fought a grin. “No pun intended.”
Peter’s lips twitched, and his eyes danced. “So inappropriate.”
I had to put a hand over my mouth to hide my smirk. Yeah, flirting at a crime scene was probably not the most professional… but it was fun.
A middle-aged man in servants’ livery approached, the wooden plank pathway swaying under his feet. He approached Quincy, bent down, and murmured something in his ear, then bowed. Quincy stood. “If you’ll please excuse me, I have that appointment I mentioned earlier.”
Peter and I exchanged glances, and I shrugged. I couldn’t think of any other questions for him at the moment. Peter nodded, then addressed Quincy. “We’re done with you for now, but I’d like a few words with your employee here?”
Quincy paled but nodded, then hurried off, leaving the servant behind. I watched him go for a moment, wondering what this meeting was about.
Peter’s scroll and quill magically appeared beside his head. “What’s your name, sir, and how long have you worked for the Rutherfords?”
I rose up on tiptoe and whispered in his ear. “I’m going to snoop around a bit—interrogate some lemurs. Cool?”
He grinned at me and nodded, then turned back to the servant, who stood wringing his hands. I left them and Daisy behind on the platform and wandered among the dense plants, soon feeling like I was alone in the jungle.
I knew magical barriers kept the animals inside their enclosures, but as I passed plaques with “lion, saber-clawed jungle wolf, and spider monster” on them, I shuddered, wishing there was a more visible fence between me and them. I definitely didn’t want to talk to these guys.
I passed by the lemur enclosure—they’d been no help—and finally, I found the plaque marked “monkeys” and stopped in the middle of a rope bridge. The phoenix’s cage was directly behind me. I looked around, and finding myself alone, cleared my throat and let out some loud hoots and shrieks. Hey, monkeys! Anyone want to chat?
I waited a few moments. The hair on the back of my neck pricked at the sound of rustling branches. I held still, listening to the crickets, distant hoots, and rustling leaves. Was it getting closer?
“Gah!” I jumped back, clutching at my pounding heart as a light brown monkey flew onto the branch right in front of me, its narrow, pale eyes boring into me.
The branches bobbed and swayed with its weight, its long tail curled up and over its head. I blew out a heavy breath, then stepped forward and gripped the rope railing.
I let out some shrieks. Did you see two women come through here last night? I raised my brows. Maybe they looked like they were arguing or fighting?
It cocked its head, blinked, then scratched one of its pointed ears. It bared its teeth and shrieked at me. One woman. Going to there. It pointed to my right in the direction of the phoenix’s cage, toward the entrance to the second-story viewing platform. Dead.
I frowned and edged closer. Do you mean you only saw one woman? Or you saw one woman die?
The monkey’s eyes grew wide. You talks?
I bit my lip, frustration tightening my jaw. What was up with this? The lemurs and now the monkey? Did none of the animals in here talk to each other? Maybe Zane Perez had been right and there was some sort of mistreatment happening that was damaging their ability to speak? Or could my powers be misfiring? I frowned—I was having no trouble speaking with Daisy, though I wouldn’t mind some of her snark going over my head.
Angry voices startled me from my thoughts. The monkey spun around to look behind it, then sprang from the branch and disappeared into the vine-covered trees. I held still, listening. It sounded a little far off, but two men were arguing—and the voices sounded familiar. Unfortunately, they appeared to be coming from among the trees.
21
THE JUNGLE
I crossed my arms and tapped my fingers on my elbow. If I had magic, I could just use a spell to amplify the sound of the voices, but I was unfortunately cursed. Wah wah. Magic kept the animals enclosed, but would it keep people out? Only one way to find out.
I tied my jacket around my waist, crouched down, and lowered myself over the edge of the bridge so that I hung from the planks, my toes dangling over the soft, dark earth below. The rope bridge swung gently, and I let go, dropping onto the ground with a soft thud. I took a deep breath and headed toward the trees.
The other night at the party, Quincy
