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“What? No. I didn’t do anything wrong!” I shouted.
Dash pushed me into the side of my car. Hard.
Pain shot through my shoulder, burning even worse as she grabbed my wrists and slapped a pair of handcuffs on them.
“I didn’t do anything,” I sobbed. “Please let me go.”
“Stop whining and turn to face me!”
When I turned, a giant Cheshire smile filled the policewoman’s face. She was loving every moment of this.
“I don’t understand,” I mumbled. “Did you find new evidence?”
Instead of answering, Officer Dash place a hand on my shoulder and forced me to meet her gaze. I watched in silent horror as her eyes changed color and shape, shifting from unassuming gray to a bright and robust green.
She blinked once… Twice…
21
I crashed into the earth, unable to catch myself, thanks to my wrists being cuffed behind my back. I kicked out with my legs and twisted my torso, struggling to bring myself into a sitting position. At last I rammed into a thick tree trunk and was able to wiggle myself upward.
Once I had a moment to take in my surroundings, I recognized the small garden cottage almost instantly. We’d come to Luna’s, and I was pressed against the same Magnolia tree I’d clutched onto after my very first teleportation.
The front door of the quaint brick house flew open, and Virginia ran outside in bare feet. Her toenails were painted in a shiny lavender I wouldn’t have expected from her.
“Oh, goody!” she cried, racing into the yard. “Is it time at last?”
“It is.” Officer Dash spoke from behind me. I twisted in an effort to see her, but the thick magnolia tree blocked her from view.
“What do you want with me?” I shouted to whoever was willing to answer.
“I’ve got this one,” Virginia announced, sauntering forward with a soft expression that belied the vitriol of her words. “You should’ve been in jail by now, but your bond to that stupid cat formed too fast, which means Plan B became necessary.”
“I didn’t kill Harold,” I told her as I struggled to slip my wrists from the handcuffs. The task seemed impossible, but that didn’t mean I’d stop trying. Especially since this seemed to be shaping into a try-or-die type of situation.
“Of course you didn’t,” Virginia said with an almost-pleasant smile. “I did.”
“You?” I asked, my voice now shaking with fear. I hadn’t even considered her. Luna, yes. But her powerless familiar? Never.
Virginia simpered at me. “Don’t you remember asking me to leave the coffeehouse that day? I was sitting right there. I thought for sure you’d put it together when you showed up at my house yesterday, but no. Turns out you’re not that smart, after all.”
“You were the customer!” I shouted as the final pieces clicked into place. No wonder Virginia had seemed so familiar. She’d been sitting in plain sight that day. Amateur sleuth or not, how had I missed something so major in my investigation?
Virginia’s smile widened. I had the sudden urge to slap it right off her face, in part for Harold and in part for me. “See, Dash. She does catch on eventually.”
Officer Dash didn’t respond, so I took the opportunity to ask a very important question. “Are you going to kill me, too?”
Finally, Virginia’s tight smile disappeared. “Unfortunately, no. You’ve made things quite difficult for us, I’ll have you know. You were supposed to take the fall for that old miser’s death so the authorities could shut you up and throw away the key before your bond with Merlin had a chance to solidify. It was our best chance of getting rid of him, but you ruined that for us.”
“What?” I snapped as I scowled up at her. “Do you want me to apologize?”
“Uh! No manners.” Virginia let out a few slow breaths before continuing. “Any murders that happen within the magical community are instantly traced. If I would have killed you outright, then I’d find myself locked up. But since your former coffee boss knows nothing of the magical world, his death wouldn’t have registered.”
“Do we really need to do the whole villain monologue thing right now?” Dash growled from somewhere I still couldn’t see. “We’ve caught her. Now we need to dispose of her.”
“So you are going to kill me?” I shouted with triumph. I had been right, but I wish I hadn’t.
“Worse,” Virginia revealed with wide, bright eyes. She enjoyed this, the villain.
