“You can trust him.” It was strange, but when I said the words, I believed them wholeheartedly. “Tell me what you know, and we’ll protect your name.”
Liam came within a few feet of me and lowered his voice. “The prince’s alibi is fake. Regardless of what anyone told you, at the time of the murder, the prince wasn’t in the ballroom.”
Shock made me silent for a few seconds while I processed his words. “How do you know?”
“Shortly before midnight, he traded masks with me. He’s done it before at masquerade balls. I was the one who danced with Ella. She whispered something to me. She wanted me to meet her alone in the courtyard.”
“Did you?”
“Of course not. I stayed in the ballroom, that’s why everyone thinks he has an alibi. He returned through a side door after midnight. We traded back. Minutes later, they found her body.”
The prince was lying. Where had he gone during the narrow window of Ella’s murder? And if he had killed her, what was the motive? Not to mention, the motive for the other two women, one of whom had worked in a tavern and had likely never crossed paths with a prince in her life.
“I have to go. They’ll question me if I’m gone too long. I don’t know anything else, but I couldn’t keep quiet after what happened to that poor girl.”
“Thank you for coming forward.”
He nodded and backed away, leaving me alone in the alley. I had to tell Derrick. This changed the course of our investigation.
The prince might be our killer.
Chapter 16
“I’ll let him know you’re here.” Estelle gave me a sympathetic smile as her gaze shifted between me and the newspaper sitting on her desk. After hearing Liam’s witness account, I’d almost forgotten about the baseless article. Her look didn’t bode well for Derrick’s mood. It might be a veiled warning to turn around and high-tail it out of the kingdom. You couldn’t kill a witch you couldn’t find.
What a mess. First, the cozy picture and headline in the Gazette, and then, my encounter with Liam. I didn’t know what to address first. Maybe the new lead would soothe Derrick’s ire. It certainly cast the case in a new light—a dangerous one if the prince was somehow involved.
Estelle returned to her desk and gave me a serene smile. It seemed practiced, the kind you give someone who’s about to enter a lion’s den and you’re trying not to make them panic.
“Detective Chambers will see you in his office.”
I chewed on my lip, unease making my feet leaden. “How is he?”
She glanced around the waiting room discreetly, then leaned forward. “Between you and me, dear? Run.”
Her words took a second to arrange in my head. Oh, boy. It was worse than I thought. My nerves doubled, but there was also a prick of disappointment. Was it really so bad? I had qualities. Lots of them! Derrick would be lucky to end up with a woman like me. I mean, lucky was pushing it—I did have a mountain of debt, a rundown shop, and my spells were dismal. But beyond all that, I was a total catch. He just needed time to come to that conclusion on his own.
I backed away from the desk. “Tell him I left the kettle on.” We could talk later.
“Good one, dear.”
Halfway through my escape, his clipped voice echoed through the waiting room. Even the criminals ceased their grumbling.
“Miss Daniels, my office is this way.”
Damn. The exit was so close.Should I make a run for it?Maybe Estelle had the right idea.
Turning, I tried one of her serene smiles, but it wobbled in the face of his grim features. Couldn’t he smile a little at his fake paramour? Love could move mountains but apparently not the corners of his lips.
“Detective, you didn’t need to come and get me. I know the way to your office.”
He lifted a brow. “Apparently not. Follow me.” Derrick propelled me into the hallway that was suspiciously empty considering the time of day. He lowered his voice. “I knew you’d chicken out.”
“I didn’t chicken anything. I left the kettle on at the magic shop. If the place burns down, it’s on your head. I’ll expect reparations.”
His throaty laugh surprised me. Wasn’t he furious? I found myself grinning in response.
“You’re something else, Tessa.”
