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"Who do you think it could be?" I couldn't help asking Sssusssan. "I know now that our thief's also a cold-blooded killer, but I can't even say I understand his or her motives."
Sssuch truths do not reveal itself right away.
"I guess." I thought about the other kind of truth then. The things that we could deduce right here and now, and I heard myself ask, "How did the thief get into Hadrian's manor in the first place?"
That is your boyfriend's mistake.
I frowned, feeling both offended and defensive. "Hey now—-"
Hades believes his sssubjects would know better than to challenge him. He fails to understand there will always be idiots who do not know better.
"So are you saying anyone can just come and go inside the manor?"
That is what I sssaid. Ssstupid.
SINCE THE ONLY CENTAURS I knew were from Hercules and Harry Potter, meeting one in real life was an understandable shock, especially since I now realized how both series had glossed over certain parts.
In real life, however...
Boy oh boy.
It was just hard finding somewhere else to look except those parts, and at first I hadn't even known how to react, the moment I realized eye level for me was nut level for centaurs.
"I am sorry to meet you under such circumstances, milady."
The gruff sympathy of Cheiron's tone was the exact thing I needed to hear. I forgot all about the awkwardness of having a pair of hairy, horsey balls swinging in front of me and instead I found myself swallowing past a sudden lump in my throat before I could speak. "I'm sorry, too. But also...thankful, that you've come to our aid."
The skeletons had by now finished unwrapping the white sheet that covered the priestess' body and bowed in our direction before leaving. A cranking sound followed, and I turned to see Cheiron working on a rotating lever that had the dissection table slowly extending upwards until the body was comfortably within the centaur's reach.
"Were you the first one to discover her body?"
The centaur was sniffing over the priestess' body as he spoke, and I tried to keep an open mind about this.
"Not exactly. But I was in the room when Sssusssan found it—-"
"You speak of the Gorgon."
"You know her then?"
"We all know of her, milady," he answered dryly, "and I would be careful about trusting the Gorgon."
Hadrian used to say that, too, I couldn't help thinking.
"Especially since..."
I shook my head, deciding enough was enough. "I appreciate your concern," I said politely, "but my boyfriend trusts her—-"
The centaur's head lifted sharply. "He does, does he?"
"Well, he might not have said the exact words, but—-"
"Then he didn't say it," Cheiron dismissed.
"All I'm saying is that I'd rather keep an open mind about Sssusssan—-"
"Even if I tell you that the killer's scent is on the priestess' body..."
Shit. I hated this. Really hated it when I already knew what someone had to say—-
"And it smells distinctly like a Gorgon to me."
—-and it was not what I wanted to hear.
Shit, I thought again.
"Where is the Gorgon now, milady?"
"She said she had something to do first," I said reluctantly.
"And does that not speak of guilt?" Cheiron demanded. "You must not trust her—-"
"If you tell me that the scent you detected works like DNA—-"
The centaur let out a neigh of annoyance. "If you're asking if this scent is something I can directly and accurately attribute to Sssusssan alone and not any other Gorgon—-"
"I'm asking exactly that."
"Then no." The centaur's tone was grudging. "But..." Cheiron frowned disapprovingly at how visibly relieved I was. "It does not rule her out as the murderer either. Remember that, milady. You must not trust too easily, or you might pay for it with your life."
Chapter Eleven
Zeus is starting to stir. Hadrian's text message arrived at my inbox as I stepped out of Cheiron's front door, and the words made me momentarily squeeze my eyes shut.
Murders to solve, I was almost used to.
But having the fate of the world potentially resting on my shoulders as I raced against time while hunting down a thief?
It was a whole new stomach ache, and already I could feel the Big M rearing up its ugly she-devil horns.
Sssshit.
I mean, shit.
A ball of unease had started to form in the pit of my belly, and if allowed to keep growing, I knew it could soon explode into a full-fledged panic attack.
It could, but it would not.
Because I'm not going to let that happen, I convinced myself.
I opened my eyes and started walking.
Queens did not have panic attacks, and so I mustn't have them either.
Mustn't.
But by the time I spied the Gorgon waiting for me at our meeting place, I was way past panic attacks and just a scream away from having a total mental breakdown.
What happened?
I took a deep breath, knowing I had to be careful about my next words. It was one thing to defend Sssussan against Cheiron's accusations, but it was another thing to act like there wasn't the slightest possibility she hadn't killed the priestess, and she was just tagging along for the ride the way the most deranged killers couldn't ever seem to help spending time with their next victim.
