"Who did it?"

  Alex leaned forward, elbows on knees. "We don't know. That's why we're here. We're hoping you could shed some light on the situation. Why was he down here?"

  "He wanted to find out more about the guy his little sister was keepin' time with," he said.

  "And what did he find out?" I asked.

  "Darrell didn't like him, but that was mostly on principle. He didn't know much about him other than that he'd been in a couple scrapes with the law and that he met his sister at some hooey inspirational conference. He said he was meetin' him that night to get a better feel for him."

  "I wouldn't think a cabin in the woods would make for much of a meetin' place though," Alex said. "That doesn't make any sense at all."

  Andre shook his head. "No, he said he was meetin' the guy at his place, then goin' for a run. He planned to come see you the next day, Sheriff. Wanted to meet informally and talk about your silly idea to screw up a system that's worked for hundreds of years. He was all for it, and that's what we were arguin' about."

  I pulled in a deep breath and counted to five to keep myself on track.

  "It's not my idea, but I support it. The system did work, until modern communication and travel made the world a much smaller place. That's not why I'm here, though. I'm trying to find out who killed Darrell. You want that too, right?"

  Andre looked like he'd aged ten years in five minutes, but there was a fire in his eyes I didn't like. "You bet I do. I told his pappy I'd look after him."

  The way he said it had a bit of an eye-for-an-eye feel to it. "Leave it to me, Andre. I'll handle it."

  "See that you do," he said, stuffing a wad of tobacco in his cheek. "Otherwise ...."

  It was my turn to narrow my eyes, and I put a little bit of bass, and alpha, in my voice, though it was a gamble since I wasn't his alpha. "I said leave it."

  He looked me dead in the eye, but didn't say anything. The only thing he'd heard was my voice, not my directive, though I had no doubt he knew what I'd tried to do, and it likely pissed him off. Suddenly, I was exhausted.

  The last thing I needed was this guy taking justice into his own hands, especially if Benjamin Stevens was innocent. Then I'd have two murders on my hands and one mourning, misguided old man I'd have to lock up. At least until his death sentence was carried out.

  One more reason why I had to find this killer, and fast.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  "WHAT DO YOU THINK?" Alex asked after we were back in the Jeep and far enough away that we were out of hearing range.

  "I think we need to go see Benjamin Stevens. But first, I'd like to run a background check on him. And I need to check in with Sam. He had his annual physical this morning, then was going to pick through Colleen's findings if she has them ready." My stomach rumbled. It had been hours since the brunch at Sean's, and between the magic session and my natural wolfy metabolism, I needed food.

  Alex heard it and grinned at me. "What say we stop at Zach's and grab a sandwich?"

  "I say it sounds like a grand plan. We can see how he's doing, plus I want you to see what he's done with the place."

  We drove in silence for a few minutes.

  "Am I the only one worried Andre is going to take things into his own hands?" he asked.

  I shook my head. "Nope. That man had fire in his belly. He loved Darrell and if he's dead set that Benjamin Stevens killed him, that shotgun's gonna be used for more than scaring people."

  He sighed. "I got the same feeling. I think we should have Barnabe give him a call. I saw what you tried to do, and I also saw that it didn't work."

  "I know," I said. "And I don't like it. Call him if would."

  While he called Barnabe, I mulled over what we'd learned. I was missing something, because no matter what scenario played out in my head, it didn't end up with him dead at that cabin. The sister was out of town, so had she come to stop him? Maybe it turned ugly. Still, that wouldn't have happened in the cabin.

  My stomach rumbled again and I tried to quiet my brain. I wasn't going to accomplish anything until I'd eaten something. Maybe my brain would work a little better once I had some calories in me.

  Alex hung up the phone. "He said he'd call Andre and tell him to let us handle it. I asked if the sister was back in town yet, too. He said she's not answering his calls, which is unusual."

  I glanced at the clock on the dash. It was almost four, so Selena wouldn't be in town for another four hours. That gave me plenty of time to grab something to eat and track down Benjamin Stevens. I called Ms. Ellen and asked for his information, but she said she had to call me back. Apparently there was a squabble in the lobby. Something about Halloween decorations and naked people. The joys of small town living.

  Zach's was busy when we pulled into the lot. I was glad to see he was doing so well. Before he'd been sucked into a life he never deserved—and that we'd deleted from his memory—he'd always wanted to own a restaurant. The sandwich shop was the perfect solution. It was small enough that it was easy to manage, but popular enough that he made plenty of money. Plus, he still got to indulge his love of sports.

  His face lit up when he saw me and a little flash of guilt snapped me before I could block it out. A lifetime ago, we'd been two teenagers in love, with the world by the tail. My mother had separated us because he wasn't a werewolf, and she was a firm believer in not mixing with humans. Her views on that had softened some with age, but I couldn't help but agree with her just a little. After all, it would take a special person to accept all of a werewolf's idiosyncrasies.

  The result, though, was that he still had feelings for me, but I couldn't return them. Not knowing that his reality was altered.

  "Hey guys," he said. "Alex, long time, no see. How've you been?"

  Alex grinned as he looked at all the TVs and sports memorabilia on the walls. "Not as good as you, it seems. This place looks amazing!" He stepped closer to a hockey stick mounted on the wall. Is that a signed Kings stick?"

  Zach beamed with pride. "Sure is. From the '93 finals! My dad had a friend who took us. Made a whole vacation out of it."

  "Yeah, but that measurement call ..."

  "I know," Zach said. "I thought there was gonna be a riot."

  Since I had no clue what they were talking about, but was happy they were happy, I helped myself to a sweet tea and got one for Alex, too. I took the lid off the soup of the day and was ecstatic to find it was loaded baked potato—my favorite soup ever. And I'm not speaking generally. I mean Zach's in particular. He loads it up with bacon and cheese, and some special blend of spices that makes it to die for.

  Since they were still talking hockey and my stomach was convinced my throat had been cut, I helped myself to a bowl and took it to my table. Zach and I were close, mostly because I cared about him, but also partly because I worried about him. That meant I was there at least three or four times a week and was used to just helping myself.

  Both men turned to me after I took the first bite and groaned as the flavors burst in my mouth. Zach was smiling, but Alex raised a brow, a smirk on his face. "You need some alone time with that?"

  I grinned but didn't stop eating. "Nah, it's not gonna be around that long. And don't judge me before you taste this." He wasn't much of a soup guy; instead, he always went for a hot roast beef sub, triple meat and extra mayo.

  "Fine," he said, sliding in beside me. "You've finally worn me down. Give me a bite."

  I glowered at him and put my arm in a protective curve around my bowl. "No! Get your own."

  Zach laughed. "Better watch it, Alex. She's like a she-wolf when it comes to that stuff. She'll take your arm off if you get too close."

  I grinned at the unintended accuracy, showing Alex my teeth, a gesture well understood in the wolf world.

  Zach made our sandwiches while they caught up, then did a round to make sure all his other customers were set and joined us. We chatted for a few minutes until the bell above the door chimed, announcing a new customer. A tall, blonde woman walked through the door, looking around as she did so.

  Zach stood to greet her and she froze, an awkward smile on her face. "Zach?"

  He tilted his head to the side and examined her, his face open and friendly, but without a hint of recognition.

  "I'm sorry, but have we met?" he asked.

  Hurt crossed her face. "I know it's been a long time, but I didn't think you'd forget me. Dianna—we met when you were in Columbus on business a couple years ago."

  "Columbus?" His brow was creased in confusion. "I've never been to Columbus on business."

  Oh crap on a cracker. A couple years ago, Zach had been a werewolf hunter, and if he was in Columbus on business, there's a good chance that's what he'd been doing. Which meant he had no memory whatsoever of any of it, including this woman.

  I needed to call Sean, and fast.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  FORTUNATELY, VAMPIRES are fast, and I hoped Sean was available. I had him on speed dial, and it took me all of three seconds to explain the situation after he answered. Meanwhile, Alex did the one thing he could think of to distract him—he knocked my soup bowl to the floor. It shattered into about a million pieces, wasting half of that luscious manna of the gods along with it. It did the trick though.

  Zach held up a finger to Dianna. "Excuse me just one minute, okay?"

  She nodded, but the hurt look didn't go away. Unless I missed my guess, there must have been a spark between these two back when they'd met. He ran behind the counter and grabbed a handful of towels along with a bus tub.

  "I'm so sorry, man," Alex said, leaning down to help him clean it up. Or at least he was pretending to. What he was really doing was swirling it around and making it worse.

  "Don't worry about it," Zach said, then glanced up at me. "Lucky for you, it wasn't the last bowl."

  "Yeah, because then I would've had to kill him, and that would have been way too much paperwork."

  Just as they put the final towel full of gunk into the bin, Sean strolled in.

  "Hey, Sean. I'll be right with you. I just need to mop this real quick."

  "Take your time," he said, then stepped up to Dianna and touched her lightly on the shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am, but where did you get that wonderful bag? My girlfriend would just love it."

  I wasn't sure what he was doing, but I trusted he did. The woman's eyes went a little out of focus for a minute or so, and Sean stared at her intently. He released her, and she gave her head a little shake. "I'm sorry, what?"

  Sean smiled and stepped back. "I was just complimenting you on your bag."

  "Oh," she said. "Thanks. It was a gift from my parents, so I'm afraid I don't know where they got it."

  "Excuse me just one minute," he said, then disappeared into the back in the direction Zach had headed.

  Not wanting to leave the poor woman standing there, I went behind the counter and asked her what she wanted. I already knew there was plenty of soup for me to have another bowl and share with others, so I recommended it to her.

  "That sounds wonderful," she said, and her voice was cultured but friendly and definitely southern. "I'll take a cup of that and a chicken salad sandwich to go with it. And a Diet Coke, please"

  I got her soda, then started making her sandwich—nothing there was ever pre-made. I was just about finished and was starting to get worried about Zach. I plated her sandwich and grabbed a cup for her soup when they came back out.

  Zach stepped behind the counter when Alex took the mop from him.

  "I'm so sorry, Dianna," he said. "You look so different from when we met in Columbus. Your hair is much longer, and lighter too. It took me a minute to recognize you."

  Breathing a sigh of relief, I handed him the cup of soup so he could give it to her, then went back to the table, where Sean and Alex were talking.

  "How did you do that?" I leaned over and whispered.

  "Luckily, she was already thinking about their encounter, and I already knew his brain inside out, so I pulled her memory, then filled in the gaps in his. She had no idea what he was in town for, and now he thinks he was there for a get-rich-quick house-flipping conference event."

  I raised a brow and blinked. "A house-flipping conference? Really?"

  "Even I can only think so fast," he snapped. "Besides, those things are a dime a dozen so it was easy to make the details fuzzy. Anyway, now he remembers her."

  "That was too close," I said. "What if something like this happens again?"

  "Then we'll deal with it," Sean said. "This was a fluke, though. He still has most of him memories; I just altered them a bit to cut out the werewolf-hunting stuff. I don't know why he didn't remember her. It honestly could be that she just wasn't that memorable to him."

  I watched as they chatted, and if he didn't remember the first time they'd met, he'd definitely remember the second. I do know that Zach had been so uber focused on killing every werewolf on the planet that he had serious tunnel vision, so maybe she was just another rose that he hadn't stopped to smell.

  She took her lunch to a table and he followed her, carrying her drink for her. A little sizzle of jealousy shot through me, though I knew it wasn't rational. However, Zach had been my first love. The sight of him chatting with a pretty woman he was obviously attracted to was a little awkward for me, probably because it was the first time I'd seen it. Now I knew how he may have felt when he watched me with Alex.

  I gave myself a shake and pushed away such silliness. Zach was my past, and Alex was my present, and possibly my future. I gut-checked myself and found that to be an absolute truth, then hoped Zach found the same happiness I had.

  Since Sean was already there, I filled him in on the visit with Andre.

  "Don't you find it just a little suspicious that the sister is incommunicado?" Sean asked.

  That had been bothering me. "I do, but I'm not sure what to do about it."

  "I don't think there's much we can do about it, at least for now," Alex said. It's only been a day. It's not like she couldn't be busy with business, or maybe in an area that has bad reception."

  He was right, but it wasn't like there was really anywhere in the civilized world where somebody couldn't check voicemail or texts. It was an anomaly, and I didn't like it.

  "Do you remember what kind of relationship they had?" I asked Alex.

  "Ah," Sean said, raising a finger. "I did some checking of my own as I said I would, and it turns out Darrell and his sister have some serious daddy issues."

  "Daddy issues?" Alex and I said together.

  "Yes," Sean said, a world-weary look on his face. "The only kind of daddy issues that really matter at a time like this. Daddy left most of the money and the house to Darrell. It seems Dahlia—that's the sister's name—wasn't so good with money, so he put her share in a trust fund to be released only after she has her first child after marriage. She's allotted a monthly stipend for living expenses. A generous one, by most standards, but chicken feed to what she was used to spending. She can access more money, but it has to be approved by the trustee."

  I ran a hand through my hair, then held it back from my face. "Lemme guess—Darrell was the trustee of her fund."

  Seeing as how I was neither an accountant or a millionaire, I only had a vague idea of how such things worked. "So what happens to the main estate if Darrell dies?"

  "Funny you should ask," Sean said, droll. "All but a small marital trust goes to Dahlia."

  Well hello, motive for murder.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  SEAN HAD TO GET BACK to his house to prepare for the Halloween festivities he had planned for the weekend, and mentioned his grand idea again. My concern escalated when he said he'd invited potential investors to his party.

  "So this isn't just a social gathering you're hosting this weekend, then." I said.

  "There's no reason I can't mix a little bit of business with pleasure," he replied. "Besides, what better time to announce an exclusive paranormal vacation spot than on Halloween? I've invited some people that you'd refer to as high rollers, and I have no doubt there will be interest."

  "Sean, I beg of you ... think this through before you go with any big reveals." I was surprised and disappointed that he was being so reckless. It wasn't like him.

  "Look, Cori. We have no place we can go and just be ourselves unless we want to go to the beach. And you know that even with the enchantments, vampires and sunshine aren't an ideal combination. We want something in a cooler climate that offers plenty of shade and shelter. This is the perfect location. I'll beef up security out of profits so you don't have to worry about that."

  Doubt still sat heavily on my shoulders, but he owned the land and could technically do with it as he pleased.

  "The resort will be self-contained. All that will really change is the shops in Castle's Bluff will see more business. Is that really a bad thing?"

  When he put it like that, I could hardly argue, but I couldn't shake the feeling of unease.

  "Just promise me you'll look at this from every angle before you set anything in stone, okay?"

  He waved me off. "You know I never make a business decision without doing that. My accountants and lawyers are examining it as we speak."

  "I'd rather you think it through, looking at the situation as a whole rather than just from the paranormal side," I said.

  He patted my hand, which would drive me nuts if anybody other than Sean did it. I had enough respect for him that I let it pass.

  "You know I want what's best for this town," he said, looking me in the eye. "I'll make sure Castle's Bluff is the first and foremost consideration before I finalize anything."

  That was the best I was gonna get, so I nodded. I had a murder to solve, and I could deal with the rest of the crazy once that was done.

  Alex and I were meeting up with Sam to review anything fresh from the case. We'd arranged to get together at Sully's so we could see if he'd learned anything, and it was about time to head there.

 

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