“Amelie LeBec, sir?”
The inspector’s mouth snapped shut and he pouted, momentarily looking like a disappointed child. Then his lip curled and he marched up to Peter, glaring up into his face. “Amelie LeBec. She says an officer with a dog and a street urchin for partners showed up at her home and harassed her!”
I huffed. “Street urchin?” Eh. On second thought… I shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.”
Peter, the inspector, and the two officers turned slowly to face me.
Oh. Somebody was suddenly the center of attention. I wiggled my fingers and gave a tight-lipped smile.
Bon’s expression darkened and he turned on Peter, growling. “Who is that?”
I raised my hand. “Said street urchin.”
Peter looked like he was fighting back a smile, but kept his tone level and professional. “This is Jolene. She’s a consultant I hired to help with the case, sir. Jolene, Inspector Bon.”
The inspector glared at me, and I smirked back. Someone’s panties were in a twist.
“What’s she do?” He balled his hands into tight, blotchy fists.
“She’s a, uh—” Peter cleared his throat. “Pet psychic, sir. We had a parakeet witness we needed interrogated.”
I sucked on my lips as a lengthy silence stretched on, broken only by the sound of Daisy panting.
I let out a quiet whine. Mouth breather.
Daisy whipped her head around to face me, ears pricked. Before she could say anything, the inspector broke out in a wheezing, barking laugh.
He paced around the small kitchen, hands on hips, shaking his head. “Oh, oh this is too good!” He forced out another laugh.
Peter and I exchanged wide-eyed looks, while the same officer again whispered, “Does he want us to join him?”
“This is rich, Flint.” The inspector came to a stop in front of Peter. “Real, rich. You whip up a sandstorm with one of the police force’s most loyal donors and then waste precinct funds on a—” He threw a hand at me. “A pet psychic.”
He abruptly stopped laughing. “Tell me Amelie LeBec isn’t your only suspect.”
Peter shook his head. “Actually, we were just discussing a new theory.”
Bon lifted his brows and shot Peter an aggressive “I’m waiting” face.
I stepped to the side, revealing Zo, who’d up till then been hidden behind me. “In light of recent events….” I swept my arms at the dead woman.
Bon and the other two officers jumped. The inspector curled his lip, eyes wide in horror. “Sea snakes!”
“We’re thinking the botanist did it.” I gave a little shrug.
Bon swung his gaze to Peter, who nodded. “The botanist, Martin Shaw, lives across the street from the first crime scene, where we found his muddy footprints.” Peter ticked off the evidence stacking up against ol’ Martin on his fingers. “He had a motive to target employees at Darkmoon Outlet, Inc. because their neon sign has been damaging his plants.”
I raised a finger. “The guy’s a little too into plants.”
Bon scowled at me.
Cool. Cool cool cool.
Peter continued. “He has no alibi, and now we’ve found Zozanna, the secretary, murdered with what I’m positive will turn out to be poisoned tea. The same kind Martin grows at his dangerous plants store.”
Bon lifted his palms. “So arrest the guy. Case closed.”
Peter’s brows drew together. “Right, but we’ll need to establish the cause of death first, and make sure this is indeed the same tea Mr. Shaw grows in his—”
Bon scoffed. “We’ve got enough circumstantial evidence to arrest the guy now. We’ll sort the details later.” He turned toward the door. “Take him in—now. I need to be able to assure Lady LeBec that this will not be an ongoing issue for her.”
He sniffed, adjusted his cap, and marched out. “Where’s this guy live?”
Peter shot a surprised glance at me, then frowned at Bon’s back. “You’re coming, sir?”
“Yes, I’m coming.” Bon turned and scowled at Peter. “Since you’ve royally screwed this up, I’ve got to personally ensure the rest of this case is handled with delicacy.”
I snorted, but raised a fist to my mouth and pretended it’d been a cough when Bon shot me a blazing look.
Yeah, I was sure delicacy was the guy’s strong point.
30
THE ARREST
It didn’t take the officers and me long to reach Martin Shaw’s rare plants shop. We stood outside the door, waiting for him to answer. Bon banged on the door again with his fist.
“Open up, Mr. Shaw!”
I glanced to my left. The door to my apartment/business was just a couple of shops over, my own Pet Psychic sign dark and off.
I raised my brows. I could get used to not doing the whole psychic thing. As much as I hated to admit it, I’d gotten kind of caught up in the thrill of solving the case. Not that I’d ever let Peter or Daisy in on that.
I preferred to preserve my aloof, cool girl reputation. I sniffed at myself. Right—’cause that’s how people saw me.
The door opened a crack, and a single, wary eye peered out at us from behind a pair of spectacles. “Who is it?”
Inspector Bon tapped the gold badge on his chest. “The police. We need to have a look around.”
Martin Shaw spluttered. “B-but I already sp-spoke with another officer and—”
Bon raised his brows. “Can we come in or do we need to do this the hard way?”
I rolled my eyes. The hard way just required getting a warrant and was only the “hard” way for the police because it was a hassle. I folded my arms over my chest. I’d had plenty of defendants who’d been intimidated by the cops simply because they didn’t understand their rights.
Then again, I wasn’t about to stick up for Mr. Shaw at the moment. I was too eager to see this dude arrested—and get the rest of my pay as soon as the case was closed. I ignored the little tinge in my chest that reminded me that once this was over, I’d have to turn my sign back on and go back to my down in
