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“Why didn’t you tell Calvin that?” I asked. True, the girl in question didn’t seem like anyone who would be capable of violent murder, but I knew Calvin would still want to talk to her. “You probably wouldn’t be a suspect anymore. I mean, if Violet and Lucien were alone together by the river….” The words trailed off, but I knew she must have gotten my meaning.
She shook her head. “I suppose I wanted to protect her. She’s so young, and she’s gotten herself caught up in something she really doesn’t understand.”
“But if she’s guilty — ” Hazel began.
“I can’t believe that,” Athene said, before adding with a bitter little smile, “Not because I believe in the fundamental goodness of human nature or anything so simple, but because Violet simply isn’t strong enough to have overcome a man like Lucien. A girl who’s barely five foot three and maybe weighs a hundred pounds wringing wet would be no match for a man in the prime of life.”
On the surface, maybe not. But if Violet had been driven into a jealous rage because Lucien had come to Globe to fetch me….
That scenario didn’t seem terribly plausible. For one thing, they’d participated in ritual sex that very night, so Violet should have been able to tell Lucien still desired her. Or had she flown into a passion after realizing he’d only used her sexual energy to work his magic, and he didn’t care anything about her?
Since I didn’t know the girl, I had a hard time answering either of those questions.
“And she wasn’t all that strong magically, either,” Athene said. “The simplest of Lucien’s spells could have snapped her in two, if that had been his intention.”
“‘Magically’?” Hazel repeated, her expression now torn between amusement and skepticism. “I mean, I know you’re a witch, Selena, but — ”
“Yes,magic,” Athene said, her tone now brisk, as if she was glad of the chance to school her temporary landlady. “I’m not saying you need to believe in it, because it’s real whether you believe in it or not, but we’re all practitioners. Some stronger than others” — she gave me the faintest of nods, as if acknowledging that I wasn’t exactly a hack — “but we all have access to it, in one degree or another. Violet has just begun her training, and while she might have some skill in time, she is certainly no match for Lucien.”
“Have you seen her?” I asked.
“No. She never came back to the Airbnb. That is, she never came inside the house. Her car was gone, so I assume she must have come back to get it, but I never saw her. When I woke up the next morning, I was a little surprised to see neither of them were there, although I thought they must have stayed out all night.” Something that wasn’t quite a sigh escaped her pale lips. “It wouldn’t have been the first time.”
I probably didn’t want to know what had kept Lucien out all those other nights. “What kind of car was she driving?”
“A red BMW convertible.” Another of those humorless smiles. “Her parents have money.”
Of course they did. Lucien just loved to lure rich acolytes to him so he could charge them for classes and seminars and retreats, books and amulets and whatever else he could use to get his hands on their money. I found the whole thing distasteful — practice of the craft should never be tied to how much cash you have on hand — but then again, they were all individuals with free will. They could have seen how morally bankrupt his practices were and moved on to something more personally and karmicly rewarding.
“Well, a red BMW should stand out in Globe,” Hazel said.
I couldn’t argue with her remark, not when my own much more modest metallic blue Beetle had gotten its share of lifted eyebrows as I drove around town. “That’s for sure. I think we’d better let Calvin know to keep an eye out for it — if Violet is even still in the area.”
My comment made Athene shoot me a knowing glance, as if she’d already guessed why I was on a first-name basis with the chief of the San Ramon tribal police department. “Probably should give him a description, too — Violet is nineteen, long blonde hair, blue eyes, short and slender. She was wearing a black dress the last time I saw her, but she might have changed since then.”
Nineteen. I wanted to shudder at the thought of a girl so young hooking up with someone who was literally twice her age — actually a bit more, come to think of it. And I also wondered what the hell her parents were thinking, to let her run in that kind of company.
But, as Athene had said, Violet was a legal adult. I had a feeling her parents didn’t pay nearly as much attention to her as they probably should, and that was why she’d gotten mixed up with Lucien and GLANG in the first place.
“And let Chief Lewis know, too,” Hazel put in. “I know Calvin’s working the case because the murder happened on tribal land, but there’s probably a greater chance Violet’s somewhere in Globe — if she’s still around at all.”
Right. I was so focused on Calvin Standingbear, I tended to forget that Globe had its own chief of police, Henry Lewis. Our paths had only crossed once, and he seemed just about the opposite of Calvin, a buzz-cut ex-Marine who clearly had little use for a woman who’d moved into his town and brought her crazy L.A. woo-woo with her.
“I guess so,” I said, the lack of enthusiasm in my tone so obvious, Hazel actually chuckled.
“Yeah, I know. And actually, if you tell Calvin, then he’ll probably get in contact with Chief Lewis, and then you don’t have to worry about talking to him.”
That sounded like a much better plan. Even if Violet wasn’t a suspect — and I still thought she might be, no matter what Athene had to say on the matter — she was probably the last person who’d seen Lucien Dumond alive, and therefore she’d have information to provide that no one else would.
“Don’t tell him you found me,” Athene said next, her tone almost pleading.
“He’s going to find out sooner or later,” I told her. “You’re innocent, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”
The look she gave me after I delivered that remark was almost pitying, as if she couldn’t believe anyone could live almost three decades on this planet and still be so naïve. And all right, I had to admit that I generally tried to believe the best about people until they proved me horribly wrong, but still, I could tell Athene hadn’t killed Lucien, and so it seemed plausible enough to think that Calvin Standingbear would see that truth as well.
“Besides,” I hurried on, “once he hears about Violet, he’s going to want to talk to her, and you’ll be off the hook for a bit.”
“That might be true,” Athene said. “But I can’t cool my heels here indefinitely. With Lucien gone” — she stopped there and pulled in a breath, a suspicious glint entering her dark eyes — “there’s a lot that needs to be done. I was his business partner, so it falls to me to handle the practical side of things. I need to be cleared of suspicion so I can manage the execution of his estate, assure everyone in GLANG that the organization will continue, and take care of any other legal or practical matters that need to be addressed.”
