Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

"I guess your plan to save the business from ruin is in the toilet now, huh?" Charlotte said as she stared at her computer and shook her head.

"Why do you say that?" I asked as I placed my purse in one of my drawers. I'd just walked in and found her already at her desk.

"An anonymous post is making the rounds today on all the Premonition Pointe social media spaces, claiming that Kai is the main suspect in the disappearance of Lacey Riley. People are calling for him and the pack to be run out of town."

"What?" I hurried over to her desk and looked over her shoulder. There was comment after comment from people claiming that Kai and his pack gave them "bad vibes." Another one demanded that the wolves be rounded up and given their own lands far away from society. That one had over a hundred likes already. Groaning, I sat heavily on the edge of her desk and buried my face in my hands. When I lifted my head, I muttered, "This is a disaster."

"People have definitely lost their minds," she agreed. "But I'm sure we can find someone else for Autumn to date so we don't get canceled again."

"Huh?" It took a moment to process what my sister was saying. Then I shook my head. "No. Kai and Autumn are a perfect match. You saw their auras together."

"I did, but?—"

"No, Charlotte. I'm not going to change my matches just so it looks good to the public. We'll find another way to turn things around."

"Okay, if you say so," she said with a shrug.

"I do. Now let's try to find out who really abducted Lacey Riley. If we get that solved, we can clear Kai and the pack and move on."

"I'm down. What do you want me to do?" She sat at attention waiting for orders.

"Do a social media check online. See what you can find out about Lacey Riley and her ex, John Vincent. Pay attention to anything that might help us with her whereabouts in the past week or two."

She nodded once and got to work.

I took a moment to once again marvel at the change in my sister. When she'd first arrived in Premonition Pointe, she was entitled and petulant. We hadn't gotten off to a great start at all. But over the last months, she'd become someone I enjoyed working with and having around on a regular basis.

"Stop looking at me like that," she said without looking up.

"I'm not looking at you," I lied as I strode to my desk and picked up the phone.

"Sure you weren't."

I ignored her remark and dialed Sebastian Knight. He was an attorney who also had contacts that provided the most thorough background checks one could hope for. He was also the partner of my coven mate Gigi Martin. It was nice to have connections.

Once Sebastian confirmed he'd get the results to me as soon as possible, I hung up and called Brix. He was the Magical Task Force agent who Charlotte and I worked for when he needed us on a case. After we'd discovered that when we combined our magic together we were more powerful than even the highest-ranking MTF agents, Brix talked us into working for the agency. I'd agreed, but only if we were working for him. My experiences with law enforcement had left me with far too many trust issues. Too many of them were corrupt. But Brix was different. He was one of the good guys.

"Marion Matched," Brix said when he answered. "Tell me this is a social call and you're not cursed by black magic that's going to turn you into a demon by sundown."

"That was… specific," I said, shaking my head in amusement. "Tell me you aren't in the middle of saving someone from demonism."

He laughed. "It's not that dire. If it were, I'd have called you."

"You know what? I don't think you're joking," I said, trying to ignore the mental images of someone slowly turning into a demon.

"I'm not. What's up, Marion? Do you need backup on something?"

I loved that Brix trusted me and would send reinforcements with no questions asked. He trusted that Charlotte and I weren't out there using our power to cause trouble. He knew we'd only tap into that kind of power if we absolutely needed to.

"Not backup exactly," I said. "But we do seem to have a discrimination problem here in Premonition Pointe. And it all started with the PPPD."

"Discrimination? Against who?"

"Wolf shifters," I said, my skin heating with anger all over again. I quickly filled Brix in on the abduction and how Premonition Pointe's finest seemed laser-focused on Kai instead of looking for actual leads.

"Damn," he muttered. "As you know, I don't have any official jurisdiction over the town police department, but I can file a complaint that will open an investigation. Does this have anything to do with Jax?"

"They did question him, but so far, they've backed off. Kai is the one in their crosshairs. I was thinking about going down there to talk to the chief to find out if it's a problem within the entire department, or just the two officers that questioned us and Kai."

"Hmm, let me check on the police chief. If it's the entire department, we don't need them coming for you, too. I'll get back to you as soon as I know anything," he said. "Meanwhile, keep me updated on what you learn about the case, okay?"

Goddess, I adored that man. He was always coming through when I needed him. My lips twitched with amusement as I asked, "You just assumed I'd be investigating?"

"Aren't you?"

"Yes."

He chuckled. "That's what I thought. Take care of yourself, Marion. I'll be in touch."

As soon as I ended the call, Charlotte poked her head out from behind her computer monitor and said, "Come here. I think I've found something."

I prayed it was something good. Or at least something that would give us a starting point. When I was perched over her shoulder, she pointed at her screen.

"Look at this."

I squinted and reached for my reading glasses that were on the top of my head. Once I could actually see the screen, I noted that she was on Lacey's Facebook page. There was a post of her in overalls and holding up a pair of boots. The caption said, "On my way to lock this job down! Wish me luck." It was tagged #farmerlife #manifesting #sendgoodvibes.

"So she went to a job interview a couple of days ago? And she went missing yesterday, right?" I asked.

"This post is from day before yesterday," Charlotte confirmed. "A few days before that, she mentioned looking for a job, any job, and she asked people to respond if they knew anyone hiring." Charlotte scrolled up. "See here? One of her friends asked what she's looking for, and she said anything with a decent wage, but she really wanted a job at a nursery or somewhere that she could be outside and work with nature. This person listed a few places, and Lacey liked the comment."

"Write those down," I said as I went to my own computer and started looking at job notices that were posted on the town website. I didn't see any specifically for nurseries, but there were a few for some of the downtown stores, including Sky's the Limit, a designer clothing boutique owned by Skyler Cole. Carson, Ty's half brother, worked there as a junior designer. I made my own list and then stood, grabbing my purse. "These places give us a starting point. Ready to go knock on some doors?"

"Where are you headed?" Celia asked just before she popped into the office.

"To find out if anyone knows anything about Lacey or saw her before her disappearance," I said a little impatiently. "What are you up to?"

"Absolutely nothing," Celia said with a dramatic sigh before she slowly blinked her big Kewpie doll eyes. "I have been hanging out at that winery since last night, and you know what I found out?"

"What?" Charlotte asked as she put her sweater on. It was still pretty foggy on the coast, so I grabbed mine as well.

"Kai Gray is the most boring wolf I've ever had the displeasure of spying on." She made a sour face and added, "If it wasn't for that eight pack of abs he's sporting, I'd have plucked my eyes out last night just for something to do."

"Boring? You mean there's really nothing to report?" I asked her, relieved that my instincts had been on point.

"Not unless you want to know that he watches Star Trek before bed, takes about twenty minutes to brush his teeth, and has his vitamins all organized in a daily pill container. Man, I swear he's more like a ninety-year-old man rather than a sexy fifty-ish shifter. Those fiction books just can't be trusted. I was expecting him to see me hovering over him and then ravage me all night. Instead, I got soft snoring and a foot twitch that made me think he was dreaming of chasing rabbits."

I cackled at her description. "Did you really think he was going to ravage a ghost?"

"I don't know. It's what would happen if there was any justice in this world," she insisted. "He's too effing hot for his boring-old-man routine."

"What about Danny?" Charlotte asked. "Are you two on the outs?"

"No," she said, looking perplexed. "Why would you ask that?"

"Never mind." Charlotte shook her head and then tied her long red hair up into a ponytail.

"You can lay off spying on the Alpha, Celia," I told the ghost. "It's invasive, and we don't have any reason to suspect him of anything. Why don't you go down to Abs, Buns, and Guns and see what kind of trouble you can get into?"

"You know, I think I just might. If Danny is there, I'll give him a little show. Toodles!" She waved her fingers and disappeared again.

"Toodles." Charlotte chuckled softly. "She's always good for some fresh entertainment."

"No doubt," I agreed and then led the way out the door.