“Are you ready, Lily?” my sister-in-law, Millicent, asked.
I wiped my sweaty palms on my jean-clad thighs and swallowed. “Yes. I think so.”
Will gave me an encouraging smile. “You’ve got this, Lily. It’s not that hard.”
I glared at him—he was annoyingly handsome in a tightish-fitting long-sleeved black T-shirt and blue jeans. “Easy for you to say. You got this a week ago. Some of us aren’t as quick on the uptake.” Okay, so frustration was not a good look on me.
“Meow.”
I looked down at Abby, who sat on the floor. The long-haired dark-brown-and-white kitty had been part of our family for two weeks, and I still hadn’t managed to communicate with her mind to mind. She was so adorable, though, and I couldn’t help but smile at what I assumed was her encouragement. My smile fell. Hmm, maybe she was chastising me for being cranky at Will for no good reason. But I wouldn’t know because I couldn’t read her thoughts. Dammit.
Millicent chuckled. “Lily, stop overthinking it. And Abby was encouraging you…. Don’t look at me like that—I didn’t read your mind; Abby did.”
My forehead tightened. “Don’t mind shields work against animals?”
“Only partly. When we think, we project emotions too. Complex thoughts are blocked by mind shields, but our emotions aren’t. Half of an animal’s understanding, once they can decipher our language, is via picking up on emotions. She’s told me you’re frustrated—not that I didn’t already know. You have no poker face to speak of.” I rolled my eyes. She laughed. “Exhibit A.”
“You were meant to see that. I was making a statement.” I knew I was being ridiculous, but I couldn’t help myself. Feeling left out was horrible. What if I could never communicate with Abby and our new dog, Ted? I shut my eyes. Non-witches had totally fulfilling lives with their pets without being able to fully understand them. And these animals had had witch intervention, so they could communicate rather well nonverbally. And if I spoke, they understood me. I opened my eyes. “Okay. I’m fine. Sorry for being cranky. Even if I can’t get this stuff, it’s not the end of the world. I can still understand them enough to know when they’re hungry, happy, or sick, and I can still love them.” Abby jumped into my lap and booped her head against my hand. I patted her. See, Lily. It’s not that hard to understand them. Ted, the previously scruffy dog who had now been groomed into a handsome version of his former self, stood from his spot on the floor next to Will’s feet and came over to me, tail wagging. I gave him a firm pat too.
Will smiled. “They love you, and that’s all we really need, isn’t it?”
I met his warm gaze and smiled back. “Yep. You’re right.” He smirked. “Well, you have to be right one time out of ten, or it wouldn’t be fair.” My serene expression was all innocence. He raised a brow.
“Now, now, children.” Millicent grinned. “Let’s get back to what we were doing. We’ll try this one more time, Lily. If you don’t get it, don’t worry—it will likely come when you least expect it. You’re trying too hard. You have to let it happen.”
Gah, why was this so confusing? “That’s pretty much the opposite of other magic.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Yes and no. When you perform normal magic, if it’s your talent or something you’ve done time and time again, you only think about what you want, don’t you? It’s not a difficult thought process but a simple request. Even with complicated spells, you’re concentrating on getting the steps and words right rather than pushing hard with the power itself. You’re projecting and straining too much.”
“Well, that’s so much clearer. Thanks.” I shook my head. I didn’t think I was straining any harder than I normally did when trying to perfect something I wasn’t familiar with. I sighed. Arguing was getting me nowhere. “Okay, one more try, and then I’m done for now.”
“Take a deep breath and open your mind up to the room.” Millicent’s soothing tone was ruined by what she said. I knew just opening my mind wasn’t easy, but I’d try, nonetheless.
I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.
I opened my mind.
I waited.
The only things I could sense were my breathing and darkness.
Nothing.
I took a few more breaths. Nope. Not happening. Swallowing the salty rush of defeat, I opened my eyes and pretended I wasn’t devastated. “Well, that was a bust.” I smiled my fakest of smiles. “Maybe tomorrow.”
Millicent’s and Will’s hopeful faces fell in unison. They weren’t buying the snake oil I was selling, but in true kindred fashion, they pretended everything was fine. Millicent shrugged. “Can’t win ’em all. But you’re right—tomorrow could be the day.” She smiled gently, and Abby nudged my hand for another pat. Her soft fur took the sting out of my failure. At least I still had their love.
This time, my smile was genuine—maybe a touch sad, but, hey, I was only human. “It’s fine. I’m sure it will happen eventually.” Abby purred, and Ted barked once. “At least you guys are making it easy for me.” I laughed.
“Squeak, squeak.”
I looked at Millicent. Bagel was perched on one shoulder and Cinnamon the other. They twitched their noses at me. A grin spread across my face. “Okay, okay, you’re all awesome. Thank you.”
Millicent translated their next squeaks. “They said you’re welcome, and you shouldn’t give up, but even if you never get it, they still love you, flawed human that you are.”
My eyes widened, but then I laughed. “You guys are so honest.” At least you got the real deal when you were chatting to animals. From what I could tell from Will’s translations at home, Abby tended to put a kinder spin on things when it was all going wrong, and Ted tended to say not much, but they never said anything that wasn’t true, and with the rats… well, they were pretty blunt, but I could handle it.
Will stood. “I think we’re done here for today. We’ll keep working on it at home, Mill.”
A baby’s cry came from the monitor. “My niece is awake! Can I have a quick cuddle before we go?”
“Of course you can. Why don’t you go get her?”
I placed Abby on the couch next to me and jumped up. “Thanks, Mill.” I soon returned with a bundle of smiling cuteness. After Will and I both cooed over her and smothered her with kisses, I handed my niece to Millicent.
She took her. “Time for you to have a feed and nappy change.” Millicent looked at me, then Will. “Don’t forget our meeting tonight at eight.”
Will and I shared a serious look. Tonight was all about planning our trip into Dana Piranha’s dad’s factory. This was going to be dangerous. There was a chance we could get arrested, or worse. And when I say “we,” I had no idea who was going in. Chances were that James and Will would make me wait it out since I wasn’t an agent. As much as that frustrated me, I understood where they were coming from. Although that didn’t mean I was going to let them leave me behind without a fight.
My gut told me that we’d find a huge clue in there, a clue about what had happened to my parents, or at least why they’d been connected to Dana’s dad. I refused to believe that my mother was part of the snake group. If she had been, there would’ve been no reason for them to have killed her and my father. Her seeming friendliness towards them must have been an act.
“Lily?” Will looked at me, his lips twitching up at the corners. “Off with the squirrels again?”
“I can think of worse places to be.” I grinned.
“Let’s go. Can you take Abby? I’ll take Ted.” We didn’t want them walking through our doorways themselves, just in case they didn’t grasp the seriousness of what touching the edges would do.
“Can do.” I closed my hands around her soft belly and lifted her to sit against my chest. “You’re so warm and squishy.”
“Meow.”
Millicent laughed. “She said, so are you.”
I giggled. “I’ve been called worse. I’ll take that as a win. See you tonight.” I smiled at Millicent, then the rats, who’d moved to the couch.
Will and I made our doorways and stepped through to Angelica’s. I placed Abby on the floor, opened the reception-room door to a quiet house, and shivered. I furrowed my brow. The quiet wasn’t unusual, but there was something empty about it. Will came through the door, and I turned to him. “Does it feel weird in here?”
His brows drew down. He looked around, then back down at me, concern on his face. “It’s as if something’s missing.”
“Yes!” I threw up my return to sender. “You don’t think someone’s breached the protections?” We had several spells protecting the house because being a government agent was never safe, and they’d beefed things up when we’d found out that Regula Pythonissam was after me.
He shook his head. “No, I don’t think that’s it.” He pursed his lips. “When was the last time you saw Angelica?”
“Um…. Four days ago, at dinner. When was the last time you saw her?”
“I saw her that night, then the next day at work. We had a brief meeting on a case Beren and I are working on. I haven’t seen her since then.” Ted barked. Will looked down at him. “That would be great. Thank you.”
“What did he say?” Gah, I hated being in the dark.
“He’s offered to help us figure it out. He’s going to sniff out her room and tell us when she was last there.”
I smiled down at Ted. “Wow, that’s impressive!” Ted wagged his tail and looked at me. Just enough of his teeth showed that it looked like he was smiling. “Good boy!”
“Lead the way.” Will waited for Ted to start up the stairs, then followed. Abby and I were right behind. Ted sniffed his way to her closed door. Will knocked, and we waited a moment. Getting no answer, he opened it.
While Ted sniffed around her room, and Abby checked things out, Will and I stood in the middle of the space. Nothing seemed out of place—her bed was made, her bedside tables were tidy, window closed, floor vacuumed. It was neatness in a nutshell—typical for Angelica.
“Are you going to check her wardrobe?” I asked. I didn’t want to invade her privacy. What if she wasn’t gone or missing, and we’d rifled through her things? She would not appreciate it. She was probably on a case somewhere. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything earlier? My radar could be off because I’d failed at talking to the animals. Could disappointment temporarily affect someone’s gut instinct?
“I’ll wait to see what Ted says. If she was here this morning, there’s no reason to.”
“So, you don’t want to risk invading her privacy either?” I smirked.
“Nope. I don’t have a death wish.” He winked.
Ted took his time. When he was done, he sat at Will’s feet. Will crouched to have a chat. “So, Teddy boy, when was she last here?” Will stared at the dog for a moment, but Ted made no sound. I supposed it was because they spoke to us in visuals and feelings. Whatever Ted was conveying would be directly to Will’s brain. I bit my fingernail while I waited for the translation. Will’s brow furrowed. Finally, he stood and looked at me. “He’s not super clear on the concept of time, but from what he’s conveyed, she was last here the morning after the dinner you last saw her. So that would be the day I saw her at work.”
“Is she on assignment somewhere?”
“I don’t know. I’m not on the list of people who need to know things. I’m going to give your brother a call to meet me. I don’t want to do this over the phone.” His meaningful look said so much. Could this have something to do with that PIB director wanting her out of the way?
I swallowed the bug of fear scratching my throat. “Um, okay. Let me know what he thinks, will you? I’m worried.”
He pulled me into his arms. “It’ll be fine. She’s a capable witch, Lily. You don’t rise to her position in the PIB if you’re not. I have to believe she’s okay, and until we have proof that she’s not, I won’t entertain the idea. And I don’t want you to either. You’ve got enough on your plate, and we can’t afford distractions.” He kissed the top of my head.
“But it’s Angelica.”
“I know, but she can look after herself. I’ve worked with her for years, and I’ve seen how she handles things.” He loosened his hold and looked down into my eyes. “Trust me on this. Please?”
I sighed. “Okay, but you know I won’t forget about it until we know what’s going on. It’s just how I am.”
He gave me a small smile. “I know, but I have to at least try. But, honestly, if I thought she was in huge trouble right now, I’d be doing everything I could to find her. Let’s just see what happens. Okay?”
I blew out a forceful breath. “Okay.” A squishy weight pressed against my leg. I looked down. Abby rubbed her body against my leg and looked up. “You’re such a cutie, and I can’t resist.” I bent and picked her up, then cuddled her to my chest, her front paws resting on my shoulder. “Such a gorgeous kitty.”
Will stroked her head, then scratched under her chin, eliciting a purr. Then his phone rang, ruining our family moment. And, yes, fur kids were family. They’d only been in our lives for a couple of weeks, but I didn’t know how we’d lived without them for so long.
“Hey, James…. Yes, coming in now. Yep…. Ah, good. See you soon.” He hung up.
“So?”
“James needs to see me about a case he’s been working on, so I’ll talk to him then. I might not be home for dinner tonight. I’ll probably just meet you at James’s at eight.”
I pouted, all the disappointment going straight to my lips. Was it weird that it did that? With Angelica MIA, it would only be me… eating alone. Abby meowed, and Ted barked. I shook my head and laughed. “You’re both right—I won’t be alone. I’ve got you guys.” Abby licked my cheek. It was like having my face sanded, but it was still cute. “Keep me updated, please.”
“I probably won’t be able to tell you anything till I see you later. You never know who’s listening in.” He gave me a quick kiss on the lips before his work uniform replaced his normal clothes. “See you tonight.”
“Bye.”
He made his doorway and left. I hugged Abby tighter. Looked like these guys had arrived just in time to save me from myself. “Why don’t we go have some lunch and watch TV?” Abby wriggled in my arms, indicating she wanted to get down, so I placed her on the floor, and they both followed me to the kitchen.
I magicked myself a cheese-and-tomato toastie and grabbed a bit of cooked chicken for my little companions. I placed their food in their respective bowls—Abby’s was a ceramic bowl that said Boss Lady, and Ted’s said Top Dog. Abby didn’t mind the top-dog thing. She’d said—according to Will’s translation—that since she wasn’t a dog, it was fine.
I settled myself on the couch in the TV room. Phone next to me and plate on my lap, I used the remote to turn the TV on. Ah, the news. I wasn’t quite sure if that’s what I felt like watching. Before I could change the channel, Ted ran in, followed by Abby, who looked to be chasing him. Ted stopped abruptly and turned to face Abby, his front legs stretched out in front, bum in the air, tail straight up—a common display I’d seen before, which I thought meant play with me more. Abby sat and booped Ted gently on the nose. The whole thing was so adorable that I had to pick up my phone and take a picture.
I snapped off a few because they were still playing, but then I noticed something and stopped. Huh? I stared at the TV, then compared that to what was on my phone camera. The reporter on the news was in a street in Westerham, in the daylight, talking about someone who was suing council over an uneven footpath, which they tripped on and broke their arm. That wasn’t the important part though. In my photo, lying on the ground on the front steps of a church behind the reporter was a woman. Standing over her was a tall man, his back to me. It was night, but a porch light on the church lit the scene enough for me to tell what it was. When I looked at the TV, they weren’t there, and it was day again. The segment finished, and we were back with the news presenter in the studio.
Well, that had never happened before. Just when I thought my magic couldn’t surprise me, it shows me a crime via the television. I stared down at the photo on my phone and made it bigger, focussing on the woman on the ground. Her eyes were closed, her body limp. Was she dead or just unconscious? Goosebumps slithered along my arms, and I shuddered. Surely she was dead? My magic didn’t normally step in for no reason. I sighed, my sandwich no longer the temptation it was two minutes ago. There was nothing like a potentially dead body to quieten the hunger pangs. And who was that man? Had he stopped to check on her, or had he killed her?
I called James.
“Hey, Lily. I’m just busy at the moment. Can it wait?”
“Um, I was hoping I could come in and talk to you. It might be able to wait, but I’m not sure.” Who knew? Maybe this crime—provided it was one—had happened two years ago. There was no way for me to tell. It wasn’t like my talent gave me a time and date neatly stamped in the corner of the photo. “I can’t really explain over the phone.”
“Okay. I get it. I’ll have about ten minutes in an hour. Come by the office then.”
“Thanks. See you later.”
I did some googling about female murders in the area in the last two years, and I found nothing about a woman’s body being found on the front porch of a church. There were four articles on missing women. Unfortunately, the photo I’d taken was too far away and grainy for any facial particulars to stand out enough that I could match any of those pictures to her. What had the news person said? Hosey Hill. There couldn’t be too many churches on that street. Although it was the UK—there were churches all over the place, so maybe we’d have a few to choose from. If worst came to worst, I was sure we could find a copy of that news report and watch it.
After practically counting the minutes till I could leave, an hour had passed. I bade farewell to the fur babies and made a doorway to PIB headquarters. Surprisingly, Gus didn’t answer the door. I was almost disappointed—that is to say, I would’ve been disappointed, except the guy who answered the door was drop-dead gorgeous. And, don’t worry—I hadn’t forgotten Will, but, as they say, I wasn’t blind. To be honest, he reminded me a little of Will. He had the same thick, dark hair, but where Will’s eyes were stormy grey-blue, this guy’s were brilliant blue, and he had thick, dark lashes women would pay for—pay for the lashes, that is, not the man.
“State your name and reason for your visit.” His demeanour was all businesslike, but there was a slight twinkle in his eyes. Or was that my imagination?
“Lily Bianchi. I’m here to see Agent Bianchi.”
“Are you his wife?”
“No. Sister.”
A small smile turned his lips up. “Have you got ID?”
“Um, no. I don’t normally need it.” That was stupid on my part… and what else was new? I had ID at home. “I can go get it.”
“You do that.”
Okay, then. He was a stickler for the rules. I sighed as he shut the door. Then I magicked my ID to me. I mean, I could’ve done that with the door open, but since unapproved people couldn’t magic things to themselves in the building, he probably thought I’d have to go home. I buzzed the door again. He opened it. “Back so soon?”
I waved my ID in front of me. “I have clearance to magic things.” I used my second sight. He was a witch, too, which made him more dangerous than Gus, who was a non-witch. Were they beefing up security, or was I just being paranoid?
This time, he grinned. “Well, come in, then. Sorry to make you go through that, but we can’t be too careful. Do you need an escort?”
I smiled. “No thanks. I know my way around.”
“Well, if you need anything… anything at all, let me know.” His cute grin showed off straight, white teeth. He really was the whole package. I stifled a giggle because there probably were people who had that on their list of partner must-haves. As long as someone had teeth, well, I’d be happy with that.
“Thanks. I’ll be sure to let you know.” I gave him a small wave and hurried to James’s office. He didn’t have much time to speak to me, and New Guy had just wasted two minutes of it. And as for asking him for help with anything—I had Will. I grinned. Ah, Will. Yeah, I still hadn’t stopped sighing over him. He made me feel like the luckiest woman ever.
When I reached James’s door, I knocked but went straight in, not bothering to wait for an answer. He had a receptionist today. I stopped dead, my mouth hanging open. I might have even blinked several times. “Gus? What are you doing here?”
He winked. “I’m learning the ropes. Agent Bianchi needs a full-time assistant, and I’m not getting any younger, so I thought I’d go for it. I’ve been doing some online typing classes. Liv’s been teaching me the ins and outs of the computer system, and I’ve even practiced my phone manner.” He lifted an imaginary phone to his ear. “Good morning, Agent Bianchi’s office. How may I help you?”
I chuckled. “That’s awesome! Well, congrats on the job change. I was wondering why there was a new guy at the reception room.”
“Ah, Tommy. He started a few days ago. They’ve been moving him around, getting him familiar with everything.”
James appeared at his office door. “Lily? Why are you yammering here? I haven’t got much time left.” His annoyed-brother face was not my most favourite.
“Oops, sorry. Chat later, Gus.” I followed James in. He didn’t bother sitting—he stood next to his table with his arms folded. I made a bubble of silence, then handed him my phone, one of the pictures from this morning on the screen. “Check that out.”
He grabbed my phone and looked. His brow wrinkled as he squinted and enlarged the picture. “Is that what I think it is?”
“If you’re talking about the woman lying on the porch and the guy standing over her, then, yes, it is. I can’t tell if she’s dead or unconscious, but whatever it is, it wasn’t on TV. It only came through when I was taking a picture of Ted and Abby playing.”
“This isn’t much to go on, Lily. I think your next step is to go out there and actually take some photos. We’ll need a clearer picture of her face, and maybe you can get his face too? Then we can at least try and match hers to missing persons. If she turns up, we’ll have a lead.” He handed my phone back.
“It’s in Westerham, so I’ll probably drive, but with RP out there, I’ll need someone to go with me. Even two someones would be good.”
“Will and Imani?”
“Sounds good to me. When can you spare them?”
“Not today, I’m afraid.” He rubbed his chin. “I don’t want to leave it too long, though. What if it is a crime and it’s recent? Then we’ll be slow starting the investigation, and evidence could be lost.” He looked at the ceiling and huffed out a breath. “Tomorrow morning, early. I’ll send Imani over at seven. Who knows, you might even get the jump on RP if they’re napping in their van.”
“Yeah, ha ha. They haven’t been that obvious for a while. I hope they’re freezing cold hiding behind a bush somewhere. That would serve them right.”
James laughed. “Nice. That would be part of an apt punishment.” He slipped his phone out of his pocket and checked it. “I have to get going. Sorry. Busy day.”
I removed the bubble of silence. “It’s fine. I understand.” Story of my life, understanding. But I couldn’t complain. I had the best friends and family. It would be greedy of me to ask for more. “Stay safe. Oh, and nice secretary.” I chuckled. “Gus is awesome. Just don’t ask him about his dog.”
Gus appeared at the door. “Did I hear my name mentioned?”
“Yes. I was just telling James that you have a habit of talking about your dog.”
His brow furrowed. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Well, nothing, really, if you leave out the stories with poo and vomit.” Okay, so I’d finally said it. It was time someone did.
“Oh, do those topics bother you, Miss Lily?” His face was slack with worry.
“If I’m honest? Yes. Sorry. I didn’t know how to tell you.”
Gus smiled. “Not a problem. I’ll make sure to leave those things out. As long as I can still talk about my gorgeous boy, I’m happy.”
“Excellent.” I gave him a huge smile. “And now James has to leave, so I’m going to get going too. See you both later.” Feeling slightly guilty about my admission, but not guilty enough that I wanted to take it back, I made my doorway and left. Hopefully now my conversations with Gus would always be pleasant.
What wasn’t pleasant was the meeting tonight and the fact that Angelica was potentially missing. Both things were important and scary, and I had no idea how we’d deal with either of them. We’d been fairly lucky up till now, getting to the bottom of different things and surviving. But I had a horrible feeling our luck was about to run out.
