Now if I didn’t help them, which I wasn’t going to, my life would still be pretty up in the air. No matter what happened, I’d be living in the backyard of a murderer—Melony.
That would be bad.Hmmm.
I ran through my options a couple more times while racing back to the guest cottage I called home. Despite everything, at least my running shoes were finally living up to their name.
By the time I reached the front door, I’d made up my mind all over again. It was time to check the real estate listings online and move myself as far from this crazy place as I could. Honestly, the sooner the better. I’d just fire up my laptop and…
And nothing, at least not yet.
It seemed I had a guest.
“I heard trouble is brewing,” Mr. Fluffikins announced from his perch on the back of my sofa, one paw crossed daintily over the other.
I eyed him suspiciously.“Yeah, it just started like five minutes ago. How did you get here so fast? Did you teleport or something?”
He hung his head and laughed.“Of course not.I flew.”
“Oh, yes, because that makes more sense.”
The black cat remained seated, watching me closely.
I sighed, knowing if I didn’t say something soon, he’d start making all sorts of demands. I still didn’t want this stupid temp job, and I wasn’t exactly up to playing the kindly hostess, either.
“Why are you here?” I said with a scowl. “You don’t need me anymore.”
Fluffikins stood and stretched, arching his back high like a cat on Halloween or a seriously talented yogi, or both.“Actually, we need you more than ever. Come with me.”
“I’m sorry, this is all a little much for me. I’d really rather not die today. Or any day, really. But especially not today. Thanks.”
“Then it’s imperative you stay under my protection, and I can’t look after you if you’re running away. Now can I?”
Crud.He had a point.
I rolled my shoulders, but the nervous tension remained.“Why am I a part of this? Why do you need me at all?”
“You might want to be sitting for this,” Fluffikins said slowly, almost compassionately.
I sunk down onto the sofa, and Fluffikins came over to situate himself on my lap.
“Now pet me,” he ordered, locking me in his glowing golden gaze. I knew petting an animal was supposed to be good for your blood pressure, but I needed a lot more than that to calm me down.
So I refused.“I’m good, thanks.”
“Pet me!” he commanded in a way that brooked no argument.
He didn’t force me with his powers, but I still complied, finding it easier to get through whatever he wanted so I could carry on with my normal life—boring but happy, just what I needed.
The moment my fingers made contact with his silky black hair, a new vision flooded my brain. It was like what I’d experienced with the hat, but even more vivid, possibly because it was being projected by a living being instead of an inanimate object.
Fluffikins purred softly but otherwise didn’t interrupt as I explored his memories.
With a hitched breath, I yanked my hand back, cutting the vision short. I’d already seen more than enough. Much to my surprise, Fluffikins had revealed an answer I didn’t expect but also couldn’t contest after having witnessed it so clearly.
“You did it,” I choked out, sliding him off my lap and hopping back to my feet. “You ordered the hit on Mrs. Haberdash.”
But why was he telling me now? And why hadn’t he told me before? Was this some kind of Bond villain moment where he revealed the beauty of his plan before offing the victim?
And where did I actually fit into all of this?
Was it just dumb luck, or was something greater at play here?
I didn’t want to know, but I needed to find out.
Knowledge was power, and it might have been the only thing that could save me now.
17
I pointed a shaky finger at Fluffikins, who was still seated on the sofa in front of me.“You killed my landlady. She was your… your colleague, if not your friend. Why should I listen to anything you have to say? And why should I help you?”
“I didn’t kill her,” the cat said in that strange breathless way of his, not so much as lifting paw as he regarded me calmly.
I, however, continued to shout.“But you hired the killer. That makes you just as good as.”
He stood and stretched.“I don’t have time to debate this with you, Tawny, so I’ll cut straight to the point. Do you want more people to die or not?”
Honestly, I just wanted this to all go away, but despite all the magic involved in this horrible situation, that didn’t seem to be an option. “I still don’t know why I’m a part of this. Can’t you just go away and leave me alone?”
“We never meant to involve anyone outside of the board,” he admitted with a sad shake of his head. “But when you stumbled upon Lila’s body, we had no choice but to bring you in.”
“You knew I didn’t kill her. This whole time, you knew!” I sputtered. “And since you’re the one who ordered the hit, I’m willing to bet you know who the real killer is, too. So, why make me a temp? Why give me magic at all?”
“We took you in for your protection. The rest of it was a ruse, to misdirect anyone who showed up to sniff around Lila’s murder with the hopes of gaining her magic. And, look, that’s precisely what happened. You would have been a target, no matter what, having shown up yesterday morning.”
“You made me a target!” This was the one point I just couldn’t get past. Even though I’d accidentally walked onto the scene, there had to be countless other ways to keep me safe. Giving me magic seemed mighty extreme, especially since they hadn’t done much to teach me to use it. What was the whole point?
“You were already a target,” Fluffikins shouted back, losing his calm for the first time since the conversation had started. “Playing into it bought us all time, but now that time has run out. We can’t stand here arguing. We need to act while we still have time!”
“I don’t understand. If Melony isn’t coming for you or for me, then who is she after?”
“She’s going after the actual killer, the person who absorbed the town magic. She wants it for herself by any means possible. We need to get to him before Melony does.”
“To who?” I demanded, stomping my foot. The more Fluffikins explained, the less I understood. “Who are we rushing off to save now?”
“The person who killed Lila Haberdash. Barnes.”
My mind kind of exploded then. Fluffikins had ordered Parker to kill Mrs. Haberdash? I really wanted to know the why, but I also believed Fluffikins when he said our time was running out.
I still had to ask.“Parker killed her? Why? Why would he do that?” My voice trembled as I tested these words aloud.
“Because it’s what Lila wanted,” he admitted. His chest heaved with the weight of this revelation, making the little white patch bob within the mass of black fur.
I raised an eyebrow at him. I believed what he was telling me, but that didn’t mean I understood. A part of me doubted I’d ever fully understand, no matter how many questions I asked. “She wanted someone to murder her?”
“Yes, and she trusted us to get it done right.” He hopped off the couch and landed by my feet.
“None of this makes any sense!”
Fluffikins stared up at me with bright golden eyes that seemed to see right through me.“Can you please just trust me on this? We’ve lost too much time already. Do you want to save Barnes or not?”
I’d seen the look in Melony’s eyes as she first questioned Greta and me and then charged out of the house with that enchanted hat. She was out for blood.Parker’s blood.