Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

"What's for dinner?" Charlotte asked as she swept into the kitchen. Her red curls were piled on her head in a messy but stylish bun, and there were tendrils framing her face.

"Why? Are you planning on a snack before you go out?" I asked, eyeing her slim pencil skirt and lowcut, black wraparound blouse.

"I'm not going out." She went over to the small wine rack I'd installed on the wall and chose one of my favorite reds. "Will this go with what's cooking, or do I need to consider a white?"

I glanced down at the pan of manicotti I was building and said, "The red is perfect. Does this mean you're joining us?" Ty and Kennedy were coming for dinner, so I'd made enough for a small army. One never knew how much food a young twenty-something could put away.

"Denver and I are trying to save up for a tropical vacation this winter, so we're pinching pennies. If it's okay with you, we'd love to join you guys."

It was on the tip of my tongue to make a snarky remark about who actually bought all the food and wine she'd be indulging in, but I swallowed it. My relationship with my younger half sister was better than it had ever been. And I didn't want to mess that up by being petty. "Sure, we'd love to have you join us. Just add two more place settings on the table."

"I'm on it." Charlotte beamed at me, and I had to take a second to appreciate the moment. My sister and I hadn't always gotten along. In fact, when she showed up on my doorstep just a few months after I'd moved to Premonition Pointe, I'd reluctantly agreed to letting her stay. She'd been spoiled and petulant while I'd been resentful. But somehow, after all these months, we'd finally worked past most of our issues. And for the first time in my life, I had a healthy relationship with my sister. Whoever said you can't teach an old dog new tricks had no idea what they were talking about. Because this perimenopausal woman had indeed learned to get over the past, and now I loved that my sister lived with me. Though, I wouldn't mind if she kicked in a little more for groceries every now and then.

"Wine now?" Charlotte asked, holding up the bottle.

"Yes, please," I said as I put the finishing touches on the manicotti. After I put the dish into the oven, I took a long swig of the wine and gave my sister a grateful smile. "I don't know why I didn't open that an hour ago."

She chuckled. "Thank the goddess you didn't, otherwise who knows what you would've put in the oven? You're not exactly known for holding your own when you're drinking wine."

"You've got a point," I conceded. "Vodka? I can drink that all night and still function just fine. But get more than two glasses of wine in me, and suddenly I need a keeper."

"Good thing I'm here then," Jax said as he walked up behind me and circled my waist with his arms.

"Hey, when did you get here?" I asked, turning and giving him a quick kiss. It was Sunday, and he'd taken his foreman out to lunch before they spent the afternoon going over the schedule and the books for his business.

"Just now. Dinner smells delicious," he said as he nodded hello to Charlotte.

"Wine?" she asked him.

"Absolutely." He grabbed a glass and handed it to her. While she was pouring, he washed his hands and then said, "Put me to work."

I handed him the French bread, the garlic butter, and a knife. "How was your meeting?"

"Good. We cleared some time to get Kai's barn built, so Sawyer and I went over there to check it out. We're sending a crew next week to get started."

"That's fantastic. Did Kai say if they'd had any more trouble with Fiona or the water line investigation?"

"No more trouble," Jax confirmed. "Though Kai did say that they never got back to him about the camera footage. He called and they finally, reluctantly admitted that it appeared no one from the winery had anything to do with Fiona's water line."

"Do they know who did?" I asked, leaning against the counter.

"Nope. Apparently Fiona has security cameras, too, but she wouldn't give them access. She said something about maintaining her privacy and that she wasn't going to be subjected to surveillance."

"Seriously?" Charlotte asked, her expression incredulous. "She's the one who wanted an investigation, right?"

I'd filled my sister in on what had gone down at Fiona's a few days ago. She was just as outraged as I'd been. And I loved her for it.

"Yes," Jax said with a humorless chuckle. "But since she won't cooperate, they've stopped looking into it."

I rolled my eyes. "Fiona is her own worst enemy."

"It sure seems like it," Jax agreed.

"Hello!" Ty called from the living room, followed by the unmistakable bark of their Yorkie, Paris Francine. Minx answered with a bark of her own, and the two dogs could be heard running through the house, no doubt chasing each other.

I poked my head out of the kitchen and spotted Ty, Kennedy, and Denver all trudging into the house. "Welcome. Charlotte will get you drinks while I finish up dinner."

"No rush," Kennedy said as he walked over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I smiled at Ty's boyfriend and once again found myself feeling grateful that he and Ty had found each other.

Denver leaned in and gave me a hug before he greeted Charlotte with a kiss.

I stood there, watching as most of the people I loved gathered around my table. My father Memphis and my aunt Lucy hadn't been able to make it. They, along with their partners, had signed up for some card game tournament at a beachside bar, Hallucinations, in downtown Premonition Pointe. The ones who had made it were happily chatting and laughing and filling the house with joy. My gaze met Jax's, and I knew in that moment that life had never been more perfect.

Dinner was filled with good conversation, lots of laughs, and too much wine. I was just getting up to serve the tiramisu I'd gotten from the Bird's Eye Bakery when someone rang my doorbell.

I glanced around the room. "Is anyone expecting company?"

Everyone shook their heads and I let out a sigh as I went to the front door. If it was any of the coven members, they'd have called or texted first. That meant it was either a door-to-door marketer or—I cut off my thoughts when I spotted the bubble lights of a police car through the window.

Trouble had just arrived.

"What the hell?" Jax asked as he stepped beside me.

"No idea. There's only one way to find out, though." I reached for the front door and pulled it open.

Officer Stone stood on the front porch with a hardened expression on his face. "Is Jax Williams here?"

I glanced over at Jax and said, "Yes. Why?"

"The PPPD has questions for both of you. May we come in?" Stone asked, his voice all business.

"Is this about Fiona's water line?" I demanded. "Because neither of us know who cut it. We've told you that already."

"It's not about that." Stone didn't wait for me to extend the invitation. He just pushed past me and walked right in. Wallis followed, looking somber.

"What's happened?" I asked, suddenly concerned. These two cops had lost their sneers and sarcasm. Something serious must have gone down.

"Lacey Riley has gone missing," Stone said, producing a picture of the woman Kai had saved from her abusive partner at the beach a couple of days ago.

"What?" I cried. "When? How?"

"Where were you earlier today at around 1:00 p.m.?" Wallis asked.

"Me?" I gasped out. "I was here, cleaning my house before our company came over."

"Can anyone corroborate your story?" Wallis asked.

I glanced down at Minx. "I'm guessing you can't take the word of a Chihuahua?"

He didn't respond. Not even a tiny flinch.

"Nobody else was home, but it's possible a neighbor saw me watering my plants." I narrowed my eyes at him. "But why would I be a suspect? I don't even know her. The other day at the beach was the first time I'd ever met her."

"Just covering our bases, ma'am." Stone looked at Jax. "And you?"

"Today at one?" He frowned. "I was with Sawyer Davies. He's the foreman for my construction business. I'd guess we were on our way to lunch at Pointe of View Café."

"You guess? You don't know?" The cop's tone was full of skepticism.

"It's not like I was keeping a log of the time today. I left here at about twelve thirty, met him at the office, and then we went to lunch."

"And after lunch?"

"We went over to the Gray Wolf Winery to discuss a job Kai has hired us to do." Stone stiffened and looked up from his notes with ice in his gaze. "You were with Kai Gray? What time?"

A pit formed in my stomach. I just knew that if there was a way for the Premonition Pointe police department to pin this on Kai, and possibly Jax, they would.

Jax shrugged. "About two or three o'clock maybe? Again, I wasn't logging the time."

"How was Mr. Gray when you saw him?" Wallis asked.

"What do you mean exactly?" Jax asked.

Stone had leaned against my couch, making himself comfortable. Then he leaned forward and asked, "Did he seem agitated? Nervous? Unusual in any way?"

Wallis seemed to vibrate with anticipation. It disgusted me that these two officers were salivating for any hint of incriminating evidence that Kai might be involved in the disappearance of Lacey.

"No." Jax crossed his arms over his chest and glared at them. "I discussed building a barn at the winery with Mr. Gray, and that's all I have to say about it."

"Just a few more question, Mr. Williams," Stone said, ignoring Jax's obvious dismissal. "How would you describe Mr. Gray's character when he's in wolf form?"

"I'm not answering any more questions." Jax stepped over to the door and yanked it open. "You can leave now."

Stone and Wallis both glared at him but made no move toward my door.

"I'm sure you don't want to make enemies of us, Mr. Williams," Stone said evenly.

"It kind of looks like I might already have," Jax said, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the edge of the door. "So unless you have some grounds to arrest me, I suggest you leave now. You're on private property, Officer Stone. I'm sure you're aware of that."

"Jax is right," I agreed. "And you interrupted our family dinner, so I'd appreciate it if you'd go now. We don't know anything about this case, so you're wasting your time anyway." I felt rather than saw Charlotte and Ty move to stand behind me. And although the last thing I wanted was an altercation with two of Premonition Pointe's police officers, I appreciated the support.

After a long moment, Stone finally stood. He walked to the door, but just before he and Wallis left, he stared me right in the eye. "If I were you, Ms. Matched, I'd be a lot more careful about who I chose to spend my time with."

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him but didn't respond.

Finally, the two walked out and Jax slammed the door behind them.

Everyone started to talk at once while I walked over to the couch and sank into the cushions. Jax stood behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders, rubbing gently.

"Don't worry, Marion," he whispered in my ear. "There are plenty of witnesses that will confirm Sawyer and I were at lunch during the time Lacey went missing."

I glanced back at him. "Yeah, I know. But we both have to face the fact that those two are going to do everything they can to pin this on you, Kai, or one of his pack, and it's all because you're shifters. Not because there's any actual evidence that any of you would do something like this."

He kneaded my muscles, pressing harder than usual, and I had to place my hands over his to get him to ease up. "Sorry. You're right, but I don't know what we can do about that."

"I do," Charlotte interjected.

All of us turned our attention to her. I scoffed. "What's that? Cast some sort of spell to eliminate their bigotry?"

That made her chuckle. "I wish. If there was a spell that did that, I'd open a business pronto and get to work ridding the world of such hatred."

"You'd be mega rich," Denver said as he reached down and picked up Minx, who'd just started yapping her approval of Charlotte's plan.

"That'd just be a nice perk," Charlotte said wistfully. Then she sighed and looked at me. "No, I'm not proposing a spell. We just need to find out what happened to Lacey and prove that Jax, Kai, and the pack had nothing to do with it."

"You're suggesting we get involved in the investigation?" I asked.

Charlotte rolled her eyes at me. "Of course. We've done it before. Why not now?"

She had a point. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I wondered why I hadn't come up with that solution first. "You know what, Charlotte? I think I'm rubbing off on you."

My sister scoffed. "No way. If anything, it's me who's having an effect on you." She scanned my body, and when she got to my shoes, she smirked. "Look at how stylish those heels are. When I arrived, you were wearing those hippy sandals… with socks."

Everyone started to laugh.

I placed my hands on my hips and shook my head. "No, I wasn't. I don't even own any of those sandals."

"Only because you ‘lost' them after I threw them out," she insisted.

I couldn't help the laughter escaping from my lips. While she was flat out lying, which we both knew, it was true that since she'd come to town, I'd upped my fashion game a little. I'd also been booking regular appointments at the spa to keep my hair dyed and my upper lip waxed… at least before Jax disappeared on me.

When everyone was quiet again, I held my sister's gaze and said, "I like your plan. Should we start tomorrow?"

"I'm in," she said.

"Marion—" Jax started, worry in his tone.

I held my hand up, stopping him. "I know you'd rather I stay out of this, but I'm not taking any chances. You're working with Kai now and you're part of their circle. If something goes down and you get caught up in it, I don't know what I'll do. Besides, someone needs to be on the pack's side. If the police are this hostile to them, what will happen when the rest of the town learns Kai and the pack are their main ‘suspects'? It will make their lives hell, and they don't deserve that."

Ty, who'd been silent the entire time, finally spoke up. "Marion, how well do you know Kai? Are you sure he didn't have anything to do with this?"

"Not you, too?" I asked, astonished that Ty would buy into the cop's narrative.

"It's not that—" He flopped down on the couch next to me and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Listen. I'm not saying that Kai or the pack had anything to do with this, and the bigotry is disgusting. I just want to make sure you're not putting your neck on the line for someone we don't even know that well."

"You mean like you did for Carson?" I asked with one raised eyebrow.

"That's… different," he stammered. "He's my brother."

"One you didn't even know."

Ty didn't answer.

I studied him, frowning. "Why does it matter if we don't know him that well? Isn't standing up for those who are being discriminated against just the right thing to do?"

"Arg!" Ty let out a cry of frustration. "Of course it is. But why does it always have to be you?" He kept his gaze on the floor when he said, "I already lost one mother. I don't want to lose another one."

Even though he hadn't technically lost Trish, I knew what he meant. While what I planned to do wasn't even remotely close to being the same stunt she'd pulled, I could see why he'd be concerned. In the past when I'd repeatedly put myself on the line to help others, usually they were people close to me, the ones I loved most. Not someone I'd just met. "You're not going to lose me, Ty. Not ever. Charlotte and I are just going to do what we can to see who else might be a suspect. Give the police another angle so they'll stop harassing Jax and Kai."

He gave me a skeptical look.

I just shrugged. What could I say? It wasn't like I'd never gotten into a pickle a time or two before.

Kennedy came and sat next to Ty, holding his hand. "If Marion didn't help where she could, she wouldn't be Marion."

Ty looked at him, let out another sigh, and said, "You're right of course." Then he looked at me again. "Just be careful, okay, Mama Marion?"

I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a sideways hug. "I absolutely will be careful. I promise."

"Famous last words," Charlotte muttered.

"You're not helping," I said.

She just beamed at me. "Where do we start?"