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“Right,” I said with a laugh. “That’s why they’re connecting plumbing and power that just happened to be running out by the woods.”
“Uh, it was put in earlier this morning?” he offered with a sheepish grin as he climbed out of the car. “I planned on putting an RV there and had the pipes and lines installed a month ago. I bought the mobile home yesterday, then scrambled people this morning for the installation. They still have a few more hours work, but I knew she’d be happier if it was in progress when she got here.” He paused. “Happi-er,” he emphasized, “not necessarily happy.”
“No,” I agreed. “But she’ll be okay. She knows the deal now, and if nothing else she’ll do it for the bean.”
“If that body had to be dumped, I’m not complaining about the location.”
“That’s the spirit!”
He snorted. “I’m going to go make sure everything’s in order, then I have to get to work.”
“Fun times.” I looked over at the mobile home and the deck being assembled in front of it. “Looks like a nice one. You did good, Zack.”
“With a little help from my friends.” He gave me a wink and a smile, then strolled off to prepare the nest for his sweetie.
Chapter 25
I left Zack to show off the mobile home to Jill, and headed into the house with breakfast on my mind, drawn by the delicious smell of something Jekki had cooking. I caught a glimpse of Bryce in the utility room as I entered the kitchen, ducked into the doorway and saw him gazing at the panel of our conventional security system. “Everything okay?”
Bryce winced as though he’d been caught overstepping guest prerogative and glanced over at me. “Should have asked before coming in here. Sorry.”
“It’s cool. I know you’re okay.” I peered at the panel I had yet to learn how to operate. “You know about this stuff from your work with StarFire? Anything wrong with how it’s configured?”
“Nope. Looks solid,” he said. “And Zack said there are also magic, er, arcane protections.”
“Around the whole perimeter and on the house.”
He nodded. “Only thing I’d like would be visuals on the fence.”
“We definitely want a surveillance system but haven’t had time to make a solid plan.” I tilted my head. “You interested in pulling together a concept for us?”
A broad smile lit his face, nicely breaking the tough-guy façade. “Sure! You have a budget?”
“How about you propose the best plan to adequately cover the property, and we’ll work from there.”
His brow creased. “You sure you’re okay with me working on this?”
“If you meant us any harm at all, I’d know by now,” I reassured him. “It’s cool.”
“Yeah,” he said, smiling wryly. “Can’t keep secrets around here, not with the lord.”
I glanced out the window to where Mzatal ceaselessly traced sigils and worked the flows of the mini-nexus in his search for Idris. “Not a chance,” I said with a low snort. “This will be a big help to us. Thanks. We need this place secure as possible.”
Bryce cleared his throat, took a breath as if to say something, then didn’t.
I frowned. “Something on your mind?”
“Yeah,” he said. “There is. You have a minute?”
“Sure. How about we leave the luxury of the utility room and go out on the back porch.” I headed for the door. “I have chairs there, plus I can keep an eye on Jill’s new place in case she or the workers need anything.” I could also intercept anyone who headed toward Mzatal, though I suspected he had aversion wards set. To those without the ability to see arcane flows, Mzatal would appear to be engaged in graceful movement akin to T’ai Chi.
Bryce followed me out, and we settled in the rocking chairs Ryan and Zack had assembled in my absence—after three years of the chairs’ remaining boxed and untouched in my shed. The heat and humidity were already rising, but for now it was still bearable enough to be outside.
When I looked over at him, he seemed distant, troubled. “Hey, you okay?”
“Nope,” he said, his face a grim mask. “Paul tracked what happened this morning. Did the body you find have prominent ligature marks on all limbs and neck, or only deep ones on wrists?”
I frowned. “Wrists only.”
