“Thanks. Um… you’re going to spend that much money?”
“Yep. Don’t worry. I can afford it, and if it ties into the case, the PIB will reimburse me.” I should’ve known he had it all figured out.
Magic I didn’t recognise feathered my scalp. Beren and I looked at each other before gazing around the shop. No one was glowing. I turned back to B. “Must be in the workshop. Come to think of it, Mum and Angelica are still in there.” I narrowed my eyes. “You don’t think they’re investigating, do you?”
“I wondered why Angelica picked this particular factory.”
A young lady approached the register. “Can I help you?”
Beren handed her the sparrow. “I’d like to buy this, please.” While she rang up the sale, I watched the door to the glass-blowing area. After a few seconds, Mum and Angelica walked through. What had they been up to? Angelica’s poker face gave nothing away, and my mother’s face was relaxed, as if she were on holiday. Looked like she was poker-facing in a different way. They were all such professionals. Me, on the other hand….
Angelica smiled at me. “What’s wrong, dear?” Exhibit A for crap poker face.
“Ah, nothing. Just wondering what happened to you two.”
Angelica’s serene face bugged me. I would bet she was hiding something. Oh, hang on… I did bet, but because of her poker face and secrecy, I was going to lose. I only had myself to blame. No one forced me to bet. Let’s hope I learned my lesson. “I’ve always been fascinated about the art, and Francesco was only too happy to tell us more about it.”
“You haven’t taken over the case, have you?” I checked the time on my phone. I had about thirty minutes left before I lost. Could I get her to admit she was leading the investigation?
“Of course not. I’m enjoying my holiday. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to peruse the wares.” Angelica wandered off, but my mother stayed.
“That was fascinating, wasn’t it?”
I smiled. “It sure was. Totally worth the wait. Are you going to buy anything?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe not here. I might look around when we get back to the main island.” She turned her head to the left and right, surveying the room.
“What’s wrong?”
She gave me a fake smile. I’d had so many years without her, but I still remembered what that looked like. “Nothing, sweetie. I’m fine. Let’s look around.” She linked her arm through mine and pulled me towards the displays.
She wasn’t fooling me that easily. “We’re safe here. Dana and her dad are both dead.”
Mum didn’t look at me, but she nodded. “Oh, look. Isn’t this a gorgeous fish?”
Changing the subject. I guessed she didn’t want to talk about it, and that was okay. She’d pushed through her fears and probably PTSD and come on holiday with us. The least I could do was accept that she was going to be jumpy and overly cautious. Even I couldn’t avoid looking around and behind me constantly when I was in Westerham. “Yes, it’s lovely.”
We’d heal eventually—it was just going to take time. And, thankfully, we finally had plenty of that.
Chapter 4
I breathed in through my nose and shut my eyes. Oh my God, it was so good. The garlic aroma sent my tastebuds into overdrive, and they drenched my mouth. We’d ordered our food at a pizza place near our hotel, and waiting was torture. We sat around the table in the noisy restaurant. It was hard to talk to anyone who wasn’t right next to you, which meant I could only chat to Will and Imani. My mum sat across from me, in between Angelica and Liv. Beren sat next to Liv, and Sarah and Lavender sat on each table end, Sarah closest to her brother and Lav on the end near Imani. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, laughing and talking, even my mum. Suck it, Piranha. I got my mother back, and you’re dead, so there. I was going to have to stop thinking about the evil witch eventually, but I figured I was allowed to have a few months of gloating quietly.
Imani leaned close to me. “How does it feel to lose?”
My twelve hours had come and gone, and if we couldn’t prove Angelica was heading up the investigation in the next few hours, Will would lose too. “Whatever. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d actually won. If Angelica doesn’t give herself up, how will we ever know?”
“Are you saying we were stupid for betting on it?”
“Possibly. So, has she been telling you anything about the case? Did you get the results on those magic signatures?” I wasn’t that worried about solving the crime because I didn’t think it was a serial-killer sort of thing. The guy had probably been targeted because he’d upset someone.
“Two of them aren’t in the system, but one was. A man with links to the mafia. He’s done time, but he’s been out of trouble for the past seven years.”
“He wouldn’t happen to work at the glass-blowing factory we visited today.”
Imani pressed her lips together. “I don’t know. I wasn’t given that information.”
“I bet he does, otherwise, why did we visit that particular one? Plus, Angelica and my mother stayed back in the demonstration room for quite a while after we came out.”
Angelica’s magic feathered my scalp, and she stared at me. “What did I do?” She used a small amount of magic to project her voice to Imani and me. Of course she’d heard me even though I’d been speaking as quietly as possible close to Imani’s ear.
“Just wondering why we went to that particular glass-blowing factory. Does one of the suspects work there?” There was no point pretending I didn’t say anything. She always knew what was going on.
“Yes, he does. But he had an alibi that checks out. Now, no
