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Of course, he wouldn’t have known about her. It wasn’t as if Lucien probably had anything on his person that connected him to the woman who helped with the day-to-day business of GLANG. In fact, Calvin probably didn’t know about the Airbnb, either. The gossip mill in Globe was pretty efficient, but I assumed even it had its limits…especially since the town’s biggest rumor-monger — i.e., Josie Woodrow — had probably been distracted by my store opening.
“She’s Lucien’s business partner,” I said. “He told me they’d come to town together.”
“Were they close?”
I had a feeling he’d asked that question because he wanted to know if there might have been some component of jealousy involved in Lucien’s murder. Maybe there was. Athene had seemed cool and in control the few times I’d met her, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Sometimes a cool exterior hid a raging volcano.
“Do you mean, were they romantically involved?”
He nodded. “Some might say there was sufficient motive if they had a relationship and he’d brought her with him to coax another woman back to Los Angeles.”
When you put it that way….
“I suppose so,” I allowed. “But honestly, I don’t know for sure. Lucien always had a lot of women around him.”
“Romantic partners?”
“I think using the term ‘romantic’ isn’t exactly accurate.” I paused then, wondering how much I should tell Calvin Standingbear. Then again, the more information I supplied that could point the finger of suspicion away from me, the better. Hands planted on my hips to give me some reassurance, I went on, “I guess a lot depends on how much you’re willing to believe.”
The straight, dark bars of his brows lifted slightly. “Believe about what?”
“About Lucien’s powers.”
“‘Powers,’” Calvin repeated.
I nodded, then waited. No point in me trying to convince him of something he didn’t want to accept as real. Some people were willing to have an open mind, and some weren’t.
After a brief pause, he said, “Let’s just say I’ve seen enough in this world to convince me there are some things that can’t be explained.”
If I’d been holding my breath, I would’ve let out in a relieved gust right then. As it was, I could only thank the universe that Calvin wasn’t close-minded the way so many other people were. And honestly, I got it. I’d had enough evidence early on to support the belief that the ordinary, day-to-day world most people lived was overlaid by a world of esoteric powers and forces, of entities that had nothing to do with our mundane lives.
Some people never pierced that veil, though, and so it was almost impossible to convince them of anything that wasn’t right in front of their eyes.
I uttered a silent thank-you to the universe that apparently Calvin Standingbear wasn’t one of them.
“Well, then,” I said. “I don’t know exactly how he did it, because I don’t mess around with those sorts of dark spells, but from what I could tell, he had the ability to draw energy from the people around him. Whatever gifts they possessed — and he always made sure to find people who had some form of psychic ability, even if it wasn’t very strong — he drew it out of them to power his enchantments. And one of the most efficient ways of drawing that power from them was through sex magic.”
Those two words fell like a thud in the middle of the conversation. For a long moment, Calvin just stared at me, dark eyes speculative. Was he wondering if I’d practiced that sort of magic? I hadn’t, because I had my own ways of focusing my energies, but just the idea that he might be imagining me engaged in that kind of ritual made hot blood rush to my cheeks.
“So, that’s what he practiced?” Calvin asked next.
Once again, I had to thank the universe that this time he hadn’t asked for any sort of elaboration on what that kind of magic actually entailed.
I nodded. “Among other things. But anyway, that’s why Lucien always had a lot of women around him. I only saw him with Athene a couple of times, and I didn’t see anything in their interactions that hinted they were intimate, but I can’t say for sure.”
“Do you know where I can find this Athene?”
“Athene Kappas,” I said, figuring he should have her full name. “Lucien told me they’d rented an Airbnb somewhere around here, but he didn’t give me any details.”
“That’s all right,” Calvin replied. “There are only a couple here in Globe. I’ll contact each of the owners and see if Athene is staying there.”
Although I’d never warmed up to Athene — her chilly personality and utter devotion to Lucien precluded any kind of friendly connection between us — I couldn’t quite hold back the burst of pity I felt at the thought of her sitting alone in that Airbnb, waiting for Lucien to return. I assumed he must have told her that he was meeting me for breakfast, and so, even though it was now past one o’clock in the afternoon, maybe she still hadn’t begun to suspect anything. Maybe she was sitting there, looking at the time on her phone and worrying that her partner’s extended absence had to mean he’d been successful, and he and I had gone off together somewhere. It was just the sort of maneuver Lucien would pull…if he was still alive, of course.
Or she could have packed her bags and headed out of town once she’d made sure he was dead. Either possibility seemed equally plausible.
“Did you find his car key?” I asked.
“Mercedes?” he responded, and I nodded. “The fob was in his pocket, along with his wallet. Like I said, robbery didn’t seem to be the motivation.”
