Chapter 20

When we pulled up to the Nomo's car park, April was waiting anxiously. ‘What kept you?' she asked. ‘Sidnee texted a while ago to say you were en route. I got worried.'

‘Potholes,' Connor said blandly. ‘And trouble with a tree.'

April's eyes swept over both of us, missing nothing. She grinned. ‘Trees can be real pesky.'

I blushed a little. I distracted myself from the warmth in my face by picking up my sleepy feline. I carted Shadow inside. ‘I'm sure Sidnee mentioned, but we're back and we found the plant,' I said quickly.

‘That's great! Is everyone alive?'

‘Yup!' I confirmed. ‘All present and correct. How did it go here? Any trouble?'

She picked up several pink Post-it notes. ‘Nothing pressing enough to require an officer immediately,' she reassured me, handing them over. She looked at her notepad. ‘Liv called. She said that she interviewed everyone and no one knew anything.'

I frowned. Liv wasn't going to let us anywhere near the damned market; all we could do was hope that Jeff could somehow direct us to the curser so we could track them down and kick their asses for daring to harm Sigrid. Ahem: I meant arrest them and process them properly within the confines of the due process of the law.

Now that we had the ingredients for a possible cure, I could concentrate on finding the curser but Liv was standing securely in my way. There was nothing I could do that night, but maybe I could ferret the information out of Calliope the next day. For now, I was the only one here; April had put in ten plus hours and it was time to let her go home to her family.

‘Thanks, April. I appreciate all your hard work today. I'm on shift now, so you get yourself home.'

Connor settled Shadow on his bed where my kitten promptly curled up for a sleep. I was eager to get him home and fed, but I'd deal with the calls first.

‘Thanks, Bunny.' April shot me a grateful look. ‘Mads made dinner today and apparently there was more carbon than meal.'

I snorted. ‘Takeout?'

‘You read my mind!'

So that she wouldn't think I was rushing her out while she packed up, Connor and I went into Gunnar's office. I disappeared gratefully into the oversized chair, grabbed the lever and lowered it until my feet hit the ground. I huffed: now the desk was too tall.

Connor laughed. ‘Gunnar's a giant. That chair is never gonna fit you, doe.'

‘I know, but I need a spot to work.' I fanned the collection of pink slips. ‘These aren't going to answer themselves.' I made a show of examining them. ‘Hey, look! Half of these have your name on them!' I held them out and he groaned.

I pulled back my arm. ‘I'm kidding! You probably have your own work to catch up on, and I need to check on Mum.'

He nodded but made no move to leave. If he was staying, I might as well pick his brains a little. ‘Apparently Liv is sponsoring the black market. Have you heard anything about it? I'm trying to find it – I need to find the curser and I have no leads until the cursed people are conscious again.'

Connor looked startled. ‘Liv? Yeah, I've heard murmurings that the black market was passing through, but nothing about where. People are guarded around me. Knowing Liv, she's in this for profit. She won't risk losing money, so you won't get anything out of her.'

‘Calliope knows about it, too.'

He frowned and stood up. ‘Okay; now I feel left out. How about I go check in on your mother? Save you some time?'

I hesitated. If Mum got him alone, she'd fawn all over him now that she knew who he was. I couldn't let him go into the lion's den by himself. ‘You know what would save me the most time?'

He lifted his eyebrows. ‘Hit me.'

‘If you spoke to Calliope about the market, I think she'd be more open.'

‘Apparently not,' he muttered, arms folded. ‘I'll definitely try and speak to her though – for you.'

‘Thank you. How about I deal with these calls, run Shadow home, check on Fluffy, then we reconvene back at mine while I check on Mum?'

‘Sounds like a plan.'

‘Will you be okay getting around from here?'

‘Margrave will pick me up.'

‘Okay, see you later.' I picked up my phone to start working my way through the pink slips hoping to hell that no one answered my calls. I was crashing from the adrenaline rush and I really needed an easy shift.