38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Significantly cleaner, dressed in nondescript jeans and T-shirts, we thanked Maxwell and left Rosie's for home. ‘What are we going to do about Geneve?' I asked as Greg drove. ‘Accusing her of the theft is presumably out of the question.'

Greg nodded. ‘We can't accuse her of the theft because we have no real evidence she was involved. Even if it was one of her Hunter family that stole it, we have no proof that she ordered the acquisition.'

‘Theft,' I interrupted. ‘Call it what it is.'

He ignored my input. ‘And besides, even after everything she has done to him and even though Emory is head over heels about Jinx, Geneve still has a place in his heart. He wouldn't let us go after her, he'd want to wade in and investigate first. He'd need to be certain of her culpability.'

I snorted. ‘ With respect, this has nothing to do with Emory, not any more. He's not even the Prime.'

Greg winced. ‘Ouch. Kick a man while he's down.'

‘I just mean this isn't really Emory's business.'

‘No, but he could have been a resource we could have used. You're right, it's nothing to do with him but we can't let him or Jinx know what we suspect. Emory's honour is a millstone around his neck and he'd want to deal with it. And if we tell Jinx, she'll tell him and we'll end up with the same problem.'

‘She wouldn't tell if I asked her not to – but I wouldn't ask her to do that.'

‘Okay, so we're agreed. Until this is done, we can't mention our suspicions of Geneve to either of them.'

‘Agreed.' I paused. ‘So, what can we do?'

He slid me a sidelong glance. ‘Firstly, we need to verify that Geneve still has the orb.'

‘And how do we do that?'

He grinned. ‘The Hunters have always loved their drink. Perhaps it's time for me to make a social call.'

‘You think they'll spill it when they're drunk?'

‘I know they will. A brethren's favourite drinking game is "my dragon's hoard is bigger than your dragon's hoard".'

I raised my eyebrows. ‘That doesn't seem particularly discreet.'

‘We only play it with brethren,' he assured me. ‘It's not a drinking game we'd play in a pub.'

‘So how are you going to get yourself invited to a private drinking session with one of the Hunter family?'

He licked his lips and his hands tightened on the steering wheel. ‘You're not going to like this bit.'

Uh-oh. ‘Tell me.'

‘You remember I had a … friend called Mindy?'

Bloody Mindy. How could I forget? Half the reason I'd been in hot water with Mark Oates' death was because of Greg sneaking out to see Mindy. Consequently, I'd had no alibi and neither did he. At the time it had burned thinking of them together, and the jealousy still raged.

Do you trust him? Esme asked quietly.

Of course I do!

Then there is nothing to be jealous about. What is done is in the yesterdays. He would not harm us now by mating with her.

Oh to see the world so black and white. I forced a smile. ‘You're going to go drinking with Mindy and you're going to see if you can get her to admit she's seen an orb in Geneve's treasure trove? Is that right?'

‘In a nutshell. If a brethren relative of Geneve's stole it, Mindy will know. We all tell stories about our contributions to the hoards. She'll know,' he repeated confidently.

Being a Queen sucked; I hated having to choose duty over my sanity. ‘Fine,' I huffed. ‘Call her.'

‘I'll call her when we're home.'

I nodded but fell silent and looked out of the window. I was feeling uncomfortably amped up; I was emotionally and physically tired but my magic was full to bursting and almost buzzing beneath my skin. A recharge in Common was like a trickle charge, but a recharge in Third was like hooking yourself directly into the grid. I was full of power and it was spilling out of me.

We need to run some of it off or you won't be able to sleep, Esme warned .

You're right , I agreed. Plus a run always cleared my head in the best way.

When Greg pulled up in front of the manor, I slid out without saying goodbye. Maybe that would make it easier for him to schmooze with Mindy . I knew that I was being a ridiculous twat, and yet I still couldn't quite stop myself.

I stalked into my office and jumped when I saw Jacob, Debbie and Tristan talking in there, looking dour.

‘My Queen!' Debbie greeted me, dropping instantly to one knee. How could I not have immediately spotted the relationship between him and Langston? Same build, same jaw line. I needed to find out how much Debbie knew about my jaunt to the past – and to make sure he understood the need for discretion. If the Connection got wind of my frolic through time, it wouldn't be just me who would suffer; Maxwell would too, and I couldn't have that.

‘Tristan, Jacob – out for a moment, please.' They left immediately and I looked at the gargantuan man who was still on his knees in front of me. ‘Debbie, does the name Langston Denby mean anything to you?'

His eyes lit up. ‘You've been back! Finally! Langston is my great-great-grandfather. Your name has been recorded in our family lore for centuries. The Denby family owes you a great debt and I am honoured to be the one to repay it.' Then he grimaced. ‘Well, kind of. I have bad news, my Queen.'

Of course he did. ‘Hit me.'

‘Kearns is dead.'

I dropped my head into my hands and blew out slowly through my fingers. Son of a gun. ‘How?'

He shook his head. ‘That we do not know. He was laying on the bed, locked in darkness and being exposed to white noise. He was still for a long time. It was only when Finley complained that the prisoner hadn't eaten any of his meals that we checked on him. He was dead, stone cold. His meals had been posted through a slot on the door, so he might well have been dead for most of the time he was in the dungeon.'

‘What a bloody mess.' I dropped my head into my hands.

Nose up, Lucy, Esme said sympathetically.

What? A laugh bubbled up as I caught her meaning. Chin up!

Nose, chins, whatever facial protuberance you want to pick. It's all the same. You humans are very angular.

No more than a muzzle! I shot back.

The better to eat our enemies with, she sniffed. Your pathetic teeth struggle with toffee popcorn.

Hey! Shall we focus here? I lifted my head and looked at Debbie. ‘Do we have CCTV cameras in the dungeon?'

‘We do, yes, but because of the…' he cleared his throat ‘…delicate purpose of the room, the security footage records in a loop and is never preserved for more than twenty-four hours. There is no Cloud back-up because we don't want incriminating evidence out there where it can be hacked.'

‘So what you're saying is that someone sneaked in and killed Kearns and our CCTV recorded over the incident, so we have no idea who killed him or when.'

Debbie licked his lips. ‘Not quite, Your Majesty. Jacob, Tristan and I have checked the mansion's footage for the last two days. There haven't been any intrusions by any third parties, not a single one since Kearns was seized.'

‘Spell it out for me,' I said tightly. Even though I knew what he was driving at, I needed to hear it.

‘The killer didn't come onto the lands to kill Kearns because they were already here. The killer is someone from your pack, Your Majesty. Someone who could get access to the CCTV and the dungeons without raising an eyebrow.'

The conclusion seemed unavoidable: I had another Domini spy in the mansion. I'd thought it was Kearns, but while he may have been one spy in my midst he clearly wasn't the only one. I had another Domini agent in my home and they'd killed Kearns. I needed to find the prick and teach him or her some basic hosting etiquette. Killing your guests was a huge no-no.

For fuck's sake, what a mess.