Chapter 25

TWENTY-FIVE

I was still on Ian’s lap when I spied Shane striding up to the house. I tried to move to my seat, but Ian’s arms tightened around me.

“ But they’re going to know ,” I whispered, blushing furiously and squirming in his arms.

“ They’re not dumb, Hope .”

If I protested again, he’d let me go. But then I wouldn’t be on his lap and he was totally right—they’d still totally know something had happened. It wasn’t as if I could keep the silly grin off my face.

“ Fine ,” I said with a huff.

Shane opened the kitchen door, raised his eyebrows at the scene, then approached the coffee maker to pour himself a cup.

“ Want me to make you some grilled ham and cheese sandwiches?” I asked.

“ He’s got this,” Ian answered.

Shane’s mouth twitched. “ I got this.” He poured some cereal from a box in a cupboard into a big bowl, filled it with milk, and brought it to the table.

Rufus ambled into the kitchen and nudged Ian , then Shane .

“ Key said we had an urgent meeting?” he asked as he wolfed down his cereal.

Renewed excitement thrummed through me. “ Yes ! We found a new suspect.”

“ What’s wrong with the three we had?”

“ Sanders and Curtis were nowhere near the trailer or the other incidents, and Lee is dead.”

“ She could still be guilty.”

“ I don’t like to act based only on assumptions.”

Shane glanced at Ian , seemed to read something there, then smiled and focused on his cereal.

I turned my head to study Ian , but he had his patented granite expression going on, if slightly more relaxed than his usual. Hmph .

“ What about Officer Brooks ?” Shane asked.

“ I haven’t called her yet.” Veva had texted me Brooks’s personal number overnight, with a warning to make sure I only used it for important matters. “ Ian thought it would be best to wait and see what we decide about our new suspect,” I said with pride.

It bore repeating: for once, I wasn’t the adult who didn’t want to call the police.

“ Sounds good.”

Ian grunted.

A few minutes later, Alex came into the house. “ Good morning, bosses.”

“ Hi , Alex , want me to make you a grilled ham and cheese sandwich?” I asked. Why was I suddenly worrying so much about feeding the strays?

“ Nah , I’m good. Key said she’d grab breakfast for us on the way.”

Shane immediately shoved a few spoonfuls of cereal into his mouth, stood, emptied the rest into the sink, and sat back down like his breakfast had never existed.

I pressed my lips tightly to stop myself from laughing.

Alex winked at me, then got his own cup of coffee. He was giving Rufus some pets when Key ran into the house, cheeks flushed and obviously winded.

“ Sorry I’m late,” she exclaimed. “ There was a line at the bagel place.”

I perked up. Sure , grilled ham and cheese sandwiches were the best, but a good bagel came a close second.

Fluffy trotted into the kitchen, yipping her good mornings, and we all took a turn scratching her favorite spot. Content with her reception, Fluffy lay on Rufus’s bed, much to his annoyance.

Key put the bag of bagels on the table while Shane got her some coffee.

“ Plain , cream cheese, and blueberry. I think I got enough for everyone.”

By the looks of it, she’d gotten enough for the whole city. But then again, we did have three shifters in attendance.

The outside fence doorbell chimed.

“ That must be Dru ,” I said, moving to stand.

“ I’ll get it,” Alex said, and darted out of the kitchen and down the slope.

A couple of minutes later, Dru sat at the table with a fancy coffee concoction. She took one look at me and Ian and said, “ About time.”

“ He wasn’t here!”

Dru sipped her coffee. Alex and Key tried not to laugh. Shane grinned broadly, then took a plain bagel.

My cheeks heated, but I ignored their knowing smirks. “ Is Ethan coming?”

“ He’s busy, so he asked we call him in,” Key said.

“ You think he skipped town?” Shane asked.

“ Probably on the way to another country,” Alex said.

High chance he was right. “ We can call him, but first, do you guys recognize this man?” I showed them a picture of McKee , which I’d found on the internet while waiting for them to show up.

They leaned in to study the screen.

Shane frowned. “ I’ve seen him at the set. Likes chocolate Danishes .”

“ You’re right,” Key said. “ I can’t remember what department he’s in, though.”

Shane rubbed the back of his neck. “ He never mentioned being local. I thought his accent was, but I didn’t ask.”

Key nodded.

“ What did the list say he works on?” I asked.

“ Oh , the list is just names.” Key brought out her phone. “ Let’s call Ethan . He probably knows.”

Shane also took out his phone. “ We should call Brett too.”

“ Good idea,” I said with approval, going for a blueberry bagel.

Ian shifted me on his lap while they called Ethan and Brett and took another sip of his coffee.

“ Brett’s on,” Shane said, putting his phone on the table.

“ Hi , Brett ,” I called out. “ How are you feeling?”

“ I’m good, thanks.”

“ What did they say about your stomach issues? Poison ?”

“ They’re waiting for tests, but they think it might’ve been any number of natural poisons.”

“ Then the magic on the cup was there to lure you into grabbing that specific drink.” As we’d guessed.

Key put her phone down next. “ Okay , Ethan’s here too.”

“’ Sup dude,” Alex said. “ Nice to meet you.”

“ Who’s that?” came Ethan’s strident, panicked voice.

“ A friend,” I said. “ He’s trustworthy.”

“ That’s right,” Alex said in his usual upbeat tone.

“ Did you call the police yet?” Ethan demanded. “ What are they doing? Are they interviewing suspects? Did you tell them about me?”

Dru rolled her eyes and stood to get more coffee.

“ Haven’t called yet. I wanted to run something by you first.”

“ Sure , okay.” Ethan sounded wary but much less panicked.

“ Either of you know Charles McKee ?”

“ Yeah , I’ve seen him around the set,” Brett said.

“ You have?” Key asked.

“ You know what,” Ethan said. “ I think he was there the day with the mug incident. I remember it was weird because I thought the grips were supposed to be still setting up.”

“ And he definitely was there the day the lights started acting weird,” Brett added. “ I remember because he was the only one who didn’t seem too worried about them malfunctioning.”

“ Why didn’t you guys mention him before?” I asked, a little peeved. We could’ve added him to our suspect list long ago!

“ It didn’t occur to me until now,” Brett said defensively. “ It wasn’t exactly suspicious, just odd.”

“ Yeah ,” Ethan said. “ I had forgotten about him too.”

Key covered her phone. “ Ethan could be lying to shift the blame onto someone else.”

It was a distinct possibility. “ Let’s assume he’s telling the truth.”

“ Assume , huh?” Ian murmured.

“ Let’s act like he’s telling the truth.” I gave him a cheeky grin. “ Better ?”

He grinned back, and for a few moments, I was lost in his eyes again.

Dru snapped her fingers by my ear. “ Earth to Hope .”

I turned back to them and cleared my throat. “ Sorry .”

“ Maybe you should sit in your own chair, eh, boss?” Alex suggested with a smirk.

“ Or get a room.” Shane murmured.

“ I’m okay,” I said. But they were probably right. Reluctantly , I abandoned Ian’s lap and took my bagel and diet soda to a free chair. Way too far from him, but it was for the best. For now, anyway.

Ian regarded my movements with amusement as he finished his coffee.

“ You think McKee is the witch?” Ethan asked in a much more cheerful voice than before.

“ He has motive.” I told them about how McKee had gotten into a fight over being denied filming rights in Olmeda .

“ Do you guys remember where he was yesterday?” Key asked.

Shane and Dru shook their heads.

“ Ethan ?”

“ I don’t remember seeing him,” he said.

“ Which could mean he was at the trailers,” I pointed out.

“ Or anywhere else,” Ian said with his overrated logic.

Key opened her mouth to speak, but Rufus began barking toward the outside.

We all turned to the door.

Hutton was standing outside Ian’s kitchen.