“I took a little dip in a lake on my journey back. I think I washed most of it off.” A serious expression passed over his face. “You saved my life tonight. And the lives of the other werewolves, and the town.”
“You came up with the scent thing. It wasn’t me.”
“But if you hadn’t brought the possession potion and if you hadn’t talked me down from turning myself in… I was ready to give up, but you never gave up on me.”
“I’ll never give up on you. Besides”—I flashed him a sly smile—“the town bake-off is coming up. My mom would’ve been heartbroken if I’d let werewolves ruin it.”
He raised an eyebrow. “My aunt loves selling her fragrances at the event. Your mom wouldn’t be the only person devastated.”
I sighed. “We still haven’t discovered the actual killer.”
He pulled me closer. “How about we rest,” he murmured tiredly against my hair.
The killer’s identity and Frank’s connection to the murder remained mysteries. If I were to ever feel at rest, the culprit would need to be found. But for now, I allowed Frank’s warmth to envelop me and pull me back into slumber for a short time.
Chapter 15
Thenextmorning,Isat on the bench in the cemetery. Isabella lounged on the ground next to her gravestone, wiggling her fingers over Duchess’s head and letting the feline reach for them. With a little shriek, Isabella recoiled as the cat leapt higher than expected and nearly swiped her hand. I bit my lip to keep from smiling as she tossed her head and laughed at the near miss.
I’d come to the cemetery, going over Isabella’s journal entry by entry with her, to no avail. “Are you sure you can’t remember anything from that day? Is there anything prior to that day that could be useful?”
Isabella sat up, pulling Duchess into her lap. “Yes, I’ve been sitting on a vital piece of information that will come out any minute.” She rolled her eyes. “I can’t rememberanything.”
I flipped through the diary. “There has to be something,” I insisted.
Some avenue I hadn’t explored. Some explanation why someone might want to possess Frank and end Isabella’s life.
Her gaze turned suspicious. Duchess squirmed in her hands and clawed her way out of Isabella’s grasp, twisting until she climbed up and perched on Isabella’s shoulder, like a parrot. “Why are we doing this? What aren’t you telling me?”
I ignored Duchess’s adorable antics and took a deep breath. “It was Frank that bit you.”
Her eyes widened to the size of the cat next to her. “Frank? Come now, he doesn’t hate me that much,” she said jokingly. “Besides, I created his potion, and you said that Lydia delivered it.”
“Whatever potion Lydia delivered, it wasn’t wolfsbane. He was possessed by someone.”
“Lydia switched the potions?” Her brows drew together. “Why would she do that? And Frank, who could be despicable enough to use him like that?”
“I’m sorry.” I shifted on the bench. “That must be hard to hear, considering your feelings for him.”
Her head reared back so suddenly Duchess arched and leapt off her shoulder, disappearing behind a headstone. “My feelings? For Frank?”
I nodded. “I saw the line in your diary about your infatuation with him.”
“What line?”
I opened the journal and flipped to the passage and held it up so she could see. “This.”
She leaned close to take in the words I’d first read in Isabella’s room during her vigil. “And you think C refers to Frank?” She broke into a fit of giggles.
“Well, you made potions for him and his last name starts with C,” I said defensively. It was uncanny how conversations with Isabella often reminded me of talking to one of my sisters.
She shook her head, wiping a tear from her eye, and sighed. “I suppose I’m dead, so it’s of little consequenceif I tell you.” A small final chuckle escaped her. “Mr. C stood for Charles Bingley.”
“Charles?”
“Yes. We’d dated a few years ago in college. But we broke up. Upon his arrival at Austen Heights, I resolved to win him back. I provided him with remedies. This served as my pretext for meeting. I’d managed to talk him into joining me for dinner. I was determined to turn it into something more.”
My mind reeled as I stared at her. “Was Lydia aware of this?”
