Charmed Offensive by Annabel Chase

Author:Annabel Chase [Chase, Annabel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Palm Press LLC
Published: 2019-04-12T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

An hour nap and a healthy meal was all I needed to get back to work. It was time to check in with Xavier Kaminsky and find out more about his argument with Mr. Geary.

From the outside, Xavier’s house looked like a quintessential English cottage, complete with a wild garden. There were roses, lilacs, azaleas, and fifty other species I couldn’t name. As chaotic as the garden appeared, there seemed to be a method to madness. Despite the different colors, shapes, and smells, they all worked together to create a floral tapestry. The competing scents could’ve resulted in an assault on the senses. Instead, they produced an olfactory symphony.

Xavier didn’t socialize with the other vampires I knew. Although I’d asked Gareth about him during my brief stop at home, the most information I could extract was that Xavier mainly kept to himself and enjoyed a close relationship with his wife, Finian. Apparently, Xavier golfed with Gareth, Demetrius, and the others before he was married, but his interests changed over time. Based on the bursting garden around me, it was easy to see where he invested his time now.

I didn’t need to wait long for someone to answer the door. A slender woman with strawberry blond, shoulder-length hair appeared in the doorway. Although I could tell she was a vampire, her cheeks sported a rosy hue that I chalked up to clever makeup. She looked surprised to see me.

“Oh, hello,” the woman said. “I thought you were my husband. Sometimes he forgets his key.”

“I’m Emma Hart,” I said. “Are you Finian Kaminsky?”

Her fingers rubbed the black pearls of her necklace. “I am.”

“I was hoping to ask your husband some questions about his friend, Albert Geary.”

I noticed her gaze dart to my round stomach and back to my face. “Terrible news about Al. Such a lovely elf. Xavier has been quite concerned.”

“I understand they’re in a gardening group together,” I said.

Finian put a finger to her lips. “Nobody talks about gardening club. They like it to be their little secret.”

I gestured to the cottage garden. “So I've been told, but I figured it would be a difficult secret to keep from you, given that you share a home and garden with him.” I also wanted to gauge exactly how close Xavier was with his wife. If she hadn’t known about the garden, I would have wondered what other secrets he kept from her.

“Why don't you come in? Xavier should be back soon. He ran out to the garden center for more soil. With the competition coming up, he’s entering full obsession mode.”

That was an interesting choice of words. Was he obsessed enough to eliminate the competition by turning him to stone?

I trailed behind Finian as she made her way to the kitchen. The cottage was as charming on the inside as it was on the outside. The rooms were small and lovingly kept with an assortment of knickknacks and other tasteful decorations. In another house, it might have seemed cramped and overwhelming, but their cottage managed to maintain a welcoming feel.

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