Shear Magic, page 2
part #5 of Silver Hollow Series
Gray still felt oddly detached, as if all this was happening to someone else. There was a dead person. Behind his shop. Where he made his living. Not only was that bad luck, it was very bad karma. He’d have to hit Raine up for some sage so he could conduct a ritual cleansing of the area, banish the dark energy, remove the bad vibes. But first he needed to tell the police what he knew, which was precious little at this point.
“What’s this about a dead body?” Owen asked, walking up to Gray. As usual, he’d shunned his normal uniform in favor of a garish Hawaiian shirt and khaki pants. This one was varying shades of pinks and yellows in a sunset motif, with beach umbrellas and palm trees scattered through it. With his shaggy blond hair and flip-flops, the guy looked more like a surfer than local law enforcement. Owen leaned past Gray to peer into the shop. “Where’s it at?”
“Not in there,” Gray said, rapidly losing patience and composure. “Out back in the alley.”
Issy rushed up to the group — apparently she’d ignored Gray’s signal — and they all headed through the salon and out the back exit. Gray’s legs felt shaky, and he kept having to mentally check himself to make sure he wasn’t acting as strangely as he felt. He was a big guy, six foot plus, and wasn’t prone to passing out, but the shock of finding the body and his lack of food and caffeine this morning were getting to him.
Cosmo was going nuts on his perch, flapping and squawking, prancing back and forth and bobbing his plumed head. DeeDee stopped to scratch his head on her way through and gave Gray a concerned glance. She was paranormal too, a werewolf shifter, and usually did her best to steer the all-human Owen away from any evidence that might incriminate their kind. They preferred to handle paranormal trouble within their own community. Gray was used to assisting on those investigations, not being the center of one himself. He definitely liked being on the other side of things better. He stepped out the back door and stopped next to DeeDee. They’d been good friends for years, and he was glad to have her support.
In the alleyway, Owen walked carefully around the body, then crouched to examine it. After pulling on a pair of latex gloves, he gingerly turned the corpse over to identify the victim.
Issy gasped.
DeeDee hissed.
Gray felt a jolt of surprise run through him. He hadn’t recognized the victim before because he didn’t know him very well, but now that he could see his face, he realized it was Eric Naill, a local wizard and private detective. But why would he have been at Gray’s shop, snooping in the alley?
“Interesting …” Owen pressed his lips together and glanced up at Gray. “It’s Eric Naill. I wonder what he was doing out here.”
“I have no idea.” Gray turned away, his broad shoulders slumping. Whatever Eric had been doing back here, this was not good at all. Normal deaths were bad enough in this town. A wizard death was very serious business among the paranormals living in Silver Hollow, and finding a dead one in back of Gray’s salon, with his golden scissors protruding from it, didn’t bode well for him, his business, or the Quinn clan.
Chapter 2
For the next hour or so, Owen and DeeDee, along with several new deputies they’d recently hired to help around the station, continued to process the crime scene. Owen had no idea about the magical part of his community. The Quinns and especially DeeDee did their best to keep him from finding out about their kind. In fact, DeeDee was tossing out any scenario she could come up with that didn’t involve witches and spells and curses to try to throw Owen off the track.
“Maybe it was some cult thing. You know how they like to congregate in the mountains around these parts.” DeeDee straightened and narrowed her gaze on the body. “Maybe even some rock band or something, with that long hair. Drugs, perhaps. Professional rivalry.”
“Naill was a private detective. Worked with him on a couple of cases this past year,” Owen said, staring down at the body. He didn’t seem inclined to buy any of DeeDee’s wild theories today. Just Gray’s luck. “Nice enough guy, bit secretive though, for my tastes. Guess you’d have to be in his line of work, though. Always sneaking around, trying to get evidence, trying to catch people doing things they shouldn’t.”
DeeDee gave Gray a wary glance. Owen had no idea the victim was also a wizard.
“What about these fancy scissors?” Owen asked, glancing up at Gray. “They belong to you, Graeme?”
Uh oh. He was using Gray’s full name now, never a good sign.
“Yes.” Gray swallowed hard, doing his best not to stare at his magical shears sticking out of the man’s back. They’d be useless now.
He’d have to order another pair from the wizard in Switzerland, if they’d even allow him to have another pair. Craftsmen like that wizard took their implements seriously and expected others to do so. Gray had had to undergo a stringent background check when he’d ordered a pair.
This time he wasn’t sure he’d pass muster, given that the first pair had ended up embedded in someone’s spinal cord. Of course, he’d had nothing to do with that and no idea how they’d gotten out here, but still. He’d need answers, and good ones, if he hoped to ever get another pair of magical golden scissors. He exhaled slowly and did his best to keep his voice steady. “I noticed them missing this morning when I was working on Mrs. Newcastle. That’s what brought me out here, and I found him.”
“Huh.” Owen gave DeeDee a look, his expression considering. “You just noticed they were gone this morning. Was there any sign of a break-in when you arrived today? Locks tampered with? A broken window maybe?”
“No, I don’t think so. I was in kind of a rush because Mrs. Newcastle showed up unexpectedly. She wasn’t on my regular schedule today, but I was doing her a favor by working her in. As far as I remember, the front door was closed and locked as usual, and there was nothing missing or out of place in the storeroom. No broken windows either.”
Owen walked past Gray to inspect the rear door of the salon. “Well, there’s no evidence of tampering with the lock here either or signs of a break-in. How do you imagine the killer got your scissors, Gray? Not like most people would think to use some fancy cutting scissors from a hair salon to kill someone, right? You got any enemies, people who’d like to see you taken down a peg or two?”
“No idea.” Sure, he’d had minor disagreements with people over the years, but nothing major and certainly nothing that would warrant murder. He barely knew Eric Naill and had no reason to want to harm him. And as for who would take his scissors, he had no clue. The Quinns were generally well liked in the community except by those who were up to no good. He ran through the list of people he’d helped Issy investigate — the Vonners, the Pettywoods, DeeDee’s new husband, Caine Hunter — but none of them seemed likely suspects. Christian Vonner was imprisoned. Enid Pettywood and her niece were back on solid footing with the magical community. And Caine and DeeDee were blissfully happy together, and he was deep into production on his next horror movie, Revenge of the Living Bloodsuckers 4.
Caine had come to Silver Hollow to produce vampire, werewolf, and monster movies. What better place to do that than in a town of paranormals? It worked out quite well, because the residents thought nothing of seeing fur, fangs, and dark cloaks around town.
Ursula Lavoie, the medical examiner, glanced up and met Gray’s gaze from beneath her enormous gray hoodie. She was a real vampire, not the foolish, imaginary kind in Caine’s campy horror flicks, and part of the paranormal community here in Silver Hollow. From the victim’s identity and the trace magic still pulsing off those golden shears, she’d know this was a paranormal killing. Her attention darted from Gray to DeeDee and then back again before she stood and ordered her assistants to pack up the body. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything, Owen.”
“And I can take witness statements, boss,” DeeDee chimed in, volunteering in hopes of keeping the paranormal aspect of this hush-hush from the humans, Gray was sure. He appreciated her efforts, even if he wouldn’t have much to tell her. “See if anyone saw anything. I’ll walk back to headquarters when I’m done. Nice enough day for it.”
“Fine.” Owen raked a hand through his tousled blond hair, giving an aggrieved sigh. “I need to get back to the station for a meeting. More paperwork and regulations. Call me after you talk to people, Deputy.”
“Will do.” DeeDee waited until Owen was gone before turning back to Gray with a frown. “This doesn’t look good for you, buddy. Eric was found behind your shop with your scissors sticking out of his back. Now, I know you didn’t do this and you know you didn’t do this. But Owen? Not so much. Best tell me exactly what you can about all this so I’ve got something to go on.”
That was the problem, though. He knew squat about what had happened here. And yes, he and DeeDee had been good friends for years. They had a special bond, but he knew that friendship would go only so far.
“I would if I could,” Gray said, shaking his head. “But I swear I have no idea how this happened or why. You know what I know. I came in earlier this morning to get some paperwork and things done around the shop, but when I arrived, Mrs. Newcastle was waiting by the front door, just like I told Owen. She said she’d forgotten to book an appointment before her granddaughter’s wedding this weekend and begged me to work her in. You know I’m a sucker for old ladies in distress, so I didn’t refuse.”
DeeDee rolled her eyes and snorted, jotting his statement in her trusty notebook. Mrs. Newcastle’s memory wasn’t the greatest these days. She’d called the police a week or so ago, from what DeeDee had told Gray, to report her best china missing, only to later find it in her pantry, right where it belonged.
“I was rushing then, to get her done before my regular clients started showing up, so I never had a chance to check the back room like I usually do. I just got started working on her. Then Brimstone showed up while I was fumbling for my scissors in the drawer, and he told me to check out back. That’s when I found Eric’s body.”
Cosmo swooped through the still-open back door to sit on Gray’s shoulder and nuzzle his neck with his head and beak, offering what comfort and support he could. Gray appreciated it more than he could say. Witches’ familiars were more than magical helpers. They were close confidants and friends, members of the family.
“Don’t try to blame this on me. I was just reporting what I saw.” Brimstone paced around where the body had been, sniffing. “I smell a paranormal’s scent.”
Issy crouched near the area then turned to squint at the lock on the back door and sniffed. “Smells like wax. I’d bet good money someone tried to use magic to pick the lock.”
They all stood and stared down at the chalk outline where Eric Naill’s corpse had been. Gray sighed. “Why would Eric break into my salon? He was a wizard, so if he wanted a lock open, he’d open it. No ‘try’ about it. If he’d come here to get inside my shop, then someone must have stopped him before he could finish. But who?”
“Good question,” Issy said. “Maybe someone else was breaking into your shop and Eric surprised him.”
“And that person killed him,” DeeDee said, finishing her notes before closing her notebook and shoving it into the pocket of her navy-blue uniform pants. “But the question still remains: What was the killer looking for, and did he or she find it here at Gray’s shop?”
Chapter 3
With his salon now a crime scene, Gray had no choice but to close up shop for the day. Just the thought of all the lost revenue and damage to his business reputation nearly gutted him. He’d worked hard over the years to make Shear Magic the salon to visit in Silver Hollow. Now, with one fell swoop, it was all gone.
Could that have been a motive? Did someone hate him enough to want to ruin his business? But who? And why? Thinking about it gave him a headache. He generally tried to get along with everyone and had precious little time to walk on the wild side or anywhere else in his free hours. Most of the time, when he wasn’t working, he was at home working on his cabin or with his cousins.
Not exactly a rip-roaring, excitement-filled life, but it was good enough for him.
Reluctantly, he called all his clients for the next few days and rearranged their appointments, then gathered Cosmo from his perch, locked the place, and then walked a few blocks to meet Issy and his other cousins at the Main Squeeze juice bar. It had opened a year ago during the whole natural-food craze sweeping the country. Karen Dixon, the owner, did a brisk business year round.
The walk did him good. He needed some fresh air to clear his head after the horror of finding Eric’s body. Plus he was glad to get away from the shop for a bit. He hoped to talk to Luigi Romano. Luigi, a wizard in their paranormal community, ran the pizza shop attached to the juice bar. Maybe he’d heard something about who might want to kill Eric Naill with Gray’s shears. The wizards in Silver Hollow were a tight bunch and held regular meetings. Surely somebody in their group would know something.
When he arrived, the gang was all there. His cousin Ember looked fresh as a spring daisy in her sunny yellow sundress, her long, dark auburn hair spilling down her back. She ran the local candy shop, Divine Cravings, and was as sweet as the confections she sold. Raine, his other cousin, sat slumped in her chair across the table from him. She still appeared to be a bit depressed after her run-in with a demon last year. They’d been trying to help solve a murder case, and she’d been inadvertently possessed. It could take a while for the lingering effects to wear off. Thankfully, her greenhouse business, Green Goddess Landscaping and Florist, kept her busy. She wore her usual work uniform of green overalls over a white T-shirt, and her stick-straight copper hair was plaited into braids on either side of her head. She had a blue bandana tied around her forehead, and dirt streaked her forearms. She often claimed she could read plant minds, though she kept that pretty quiet because most people didn’t believe that plants had minds.
The place was packed, despite the nip of chill still in the air. They’d been lucky to get a table on the patio. Birds chirped, and the scent of freshly mown grass filled the air. At least the sun beaming down kept it from being too cold. Gray took a seat at the round wrought iron table and leaned back so Cosmo could step off onto the back of his chair.
“I’m so sorry to hear about what happened this morning, Gray,” Ember said, reaching into the basket at her feet to pull out Bellatrix and Endora, her two kitten familiars. The fuzzy balls of black and white fur never seemed to get any older or bigger. “How terrible that must have been to walk out and find that behind your shop.”
Cosmo squawked from near Gray’s shoulder.
“Got that right, buddy,” he said, scratching the cockatoo’s head. “No. It wasn’t a pleasant way to start the day, that’s for sure.” Gray sighed and sank further into his seat. “I can’t figure out why he’s dead or who would do it. And why they choose my place as the scene of the crime. The best I can figure is that the murder must have had something to do with one of Eric’s cases.”
“Maybe someone had a vendetta against him?” Issy suggested, setting her Pomeranian familiar, Bella, on her lap. The fluffy little marmalade-colored dog turned in a circle three times before settling right where she’d started. “We scented magic and a paranormal at the scene, but I suppose it could have been a human, perhaps in cahoots with someone in our community. Did you know someone who’d hired him for a case, Gray? Or had he come around to question you recently?”
“No. That’s the thing. I had literally no contact with the guy at all prior to —”
Luigi waved to Gray from the window of his pizza shop and gestured for them to come over, severing Gray’s response. Their group walked inside the small restaurant, the delicious smells of baked cheese and garlic wafting around them, and took a seat at the table Luigi indicated.
“I heard about Eric’s murder,” Luigi said once they’d been seated away from the other customers. He was a big guy, tall and stout, with frizzy shoulder-length brown hair and a long, scruffy dark beard down to his mid-chest. He wore a duster as if he’d just walked off some sci-fi western film. Not exactly a man who avoided attention.
Luigi had been sent to Silver Hollow a while back by “the committee” — the regional group of witches and wizards that oversaw the various communities and made sure the paranormals didn’t get too out of hand. It wouldn’t do to have “normals” figure out that there were beings with special gifts living among them. He also made sure no one used dark magic — magic that might harm another.
Because it was Luigi’s job to keep an eye on the local paranormal community, the magical folk were still a bit wary of him. Gray was warming to him, though. He thought the guy was more interested in making pizza than giving names to the committee for punishment, and he seemed likable enough. Plus, he’d never turned anyone in even though he’d had plenty of chances.
“What did the cops find out? Anything yet?” Luigi asked.
“Not yet,” Gray said, shaking his head. “And I need some answers soon before my business reputation is permanently marred by this. We’re thinking maybe the death had something to do with one of the cases Eric was working on. Do you know what he was investigating?”
“Hmm, let me think.” Luigi took the open seat at their table, his expression pensive as he toyed with his beard. “Last time I talked to him, he mentioned doing something for Timothy Stevens.”
“Oh, like what?” Issy asked. “Tim is such a nice guy, I can’t imagine why he’d need a PI.”
“I don’t know the details, but there was some kind of scandal surrounding Tim’s father a long time ago,” Luigi said.
“Scandal?” Issy asked. “I thought his father died.”
Luigi nodded solemnly. “You Quinns probably wouldn’t remember because it happened when you were just kids. Tim’s father was apparently involved in something about thirty years ago, right before he died. You know that was by his own hand, right? Yeah, nasty business that. Anyway, rumors were that it had something to do with the South Side witches. That was during a time when rules about Northies and Southies hanging together were a bit more lax, but anything too serious like a relationship or business deal was frowned upon.” Luigi shook his head and shrugged. “Don’t know why Tim would hire Eric now, after all these years. I wouldn’t think he’d want anything about his father dug up.”
