Heart of Malice (Alice Worth Book 1) by Lisa Edmonds

Author:Lisa Edmonds [Edmonds, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: City Owl Press
Published: 2017-06-27T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

I backed away from Elise and her dogs. I didn’t have to fake looking tragic; my last lead had gone nowhere. “Well, if anybody sees our dog, please call us. My number is on his tag.”

Tracee assured me she’d call. Elise didn’t say anything; she was too busy trying to keep her little dogs from biting Tracee.

I headed back to the car, Sean beside me. “So?” he asked as we walked.

“It’s not her.”

Sean frowned. “How is that possible? You said it has to be one of them.”

I rubbed my forehead. “It wasn’t Peter, Kathy, Deborah, or Elise. All of them have weak or no magical ability. I would have sworn it was one of Betty’s children. When I touched Peter, Kathy, and Deborah, I can sense that their magic is almost identical to the signature in the wards. It has to be one of them, but it isn’t!” We got into Sean’s car. I pulled off my hat and wig and tossed them into the duffel bag on the floor. “I don’t understand this at all.”

“Could the mage be one of Natalie’s cousins?” Sean started the car.

I shook my head. “The magic was almost identical to Betty’s. I’d have bet any amount of money the mage was one of her children. I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong here. It makes no sense. Maybe Natalie found something in Betty’s papers.” I pulled my phone out and called my client.

“Hey, Alice,” she said with far too much cheer, considering how my morning was going.

“Are the wards finished and tested?” I asked. “Have you had a chance to start looking through Betty’s files?”

“Malcolm is working on the library wards, so I haven’t gone in there yet. We still need to test the containment spell. How are you doing?”

“I struck out,” I confessed. “I’ve contacted your uncle and all of your aunts, and none of them are the mage who was in your library.”

A pause. “I thought you said it had to be one of them.”

“I thought it did.”

Natalie hummed a bit. “What about my grandmother’s sister and brother?”

“It’s possible,” I mused. “You said they live nearby?”

“Yes. Should I text you their addresses?”

“That would be great. We can check them out this afternoon.”

“Give me a few minutes to find the information—it’s probably in my grandmother’s address book.”

“Thanks, Natalie.”

“No problem!”

We disconnected. I picked up my empty coffee cup and looked at it wistfully.

Sean chuckled and pulled away from the curb. “Where are we going?” I asked.

“I saw a coffee shop a couple of blocks from here. Might as well take a little break while we wait.”

It was almost fifteen minutes before Natalie texted me the addresses of her great-aunt Helen and great-uncle Robert. In the meantime, since it was nearing lunchtime, I bought us some much-needed caffeine and sandwiches at the coffee shop. Sean tried to pay, arguing that since he was buying three sandwiches that it should be his treat, but I was insistent. It seemed only fair, since he’d bought breakfast and he’d been doing most of the driving.

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