Chapter 10

Archer was questioned first.

When the officers found out that Grace was on a date with the warlock, they wanted to question her last, knowing it would take longer. Grace and Archer knew they weren't in any trouble and were treated properly as the victims. The questioning was a formality. They could have had information that could help the city's fight against this particular brand of evil.

Grace gave them all the information she could think of. They were extremely interested in how she and Dimitri met, and she provided the app name and gave them a copy of their chat history. He never revealed where he lived or anything too personal, but she brought up his brief mention of his dad. Whether he was lying about that or not, it was on them to investigate.

Grace's questioning took just under two hours. They had her go over the entire date several times, trying to spark any forgotten details, then sent her away with a contact to call if she thought of anything else later.

When she was released and stepped away from the police's mobile office, she was met by Scarlett, who ran at her and threw her arms around her.

"A re you okay? I'm so sorry this happened to you," she said, too loudly in Grace's ear.

Grace moved her head away from her friend's and released Scarlett's arms from around her neck.

"I'm fine, really. You didn't have to wait."

"Oh I know, I wasn't worried about you, but Mr. Kennedy insisted we wait for you," Scarlett clarified.

Grace looked over Scarlett's shoulder and found her boss standing a few feet away. His stance was casual, with his hands in his pocket, as he watched Grace and Scarlett. When he noticed their attention on him, he walked over.

"Everything settled? Were they able to give you any information?" Archer asked.

"No, not yet. They said they'll call in a few days if there's anything I need to know," she shrugged. "I have a contact. I'll call Monday."

"They gave me a card too," he said.

"So picture this, I'm just finishing my way over-priced chicken cordon bleu, when Mr. Kennedy here jumps out of his chair. It goes flying behind him because he moved so fast, then he leaps over to you and hits the glass right out of your hand and onto your date," Scarlett recounted.

"I don't need to picture it, I was there," Grace sarcastically reminded her. She took note that Scarlett was still referring to Archer by his last name but decided that might not mean anything.

"I was so confused and at first I thought I lost Mr. Kennedy to a fit of jealousy. He grabbed you and held on so tight, not letting you go as he escorted you out. But then I looked over at Dimitri and realized what was happening. His eyes started to glow before he screamed and ran after you. Actually, he tried, but first, he tripped on Mr. Kennedy's chair. It was terrifying, but also hilarious. Anyway, dessert was served, so I sat back down. I assumed Mr. Kennedy would have handed you over to a cop and wo uld be back soon after. Plus I ordered the ‘Gold Creme Brule Experience' which I saw in a magazine once, so there was no way I was going to miss out on that. It was really expensive, so I didn't want it to go to waste." Scarlett turned to Archer. "They charged your card on file, by the way. I hope that's okay."

"Uh, yeah, sure," Archer replied.

"That dessert was so good. What did you order Grace?"

Grace stared at her blankly. She was speechless by Scarlett's inappropriately timed rant.

"Listen to me, getting sidetracked about food, when you were sleeping with a freakin' warlock!"

"I wasn't sleeping with him, I just met him tonight," Grace interjected. She looked at Archer wide-eyed, hoping he believed her.

"So after I finished eating, and had another drink," Scarlett continued, ignoring Grace's objection. "I waited for a little while longer, and when Mr. Kennedy didn't come back, I went searching. You two weren't hard to find, I just followed the flashing lights and easily found Mr. Kennedy who had just finished talking to the cops and was waiting for you.

"I told him if anyone could take care of themselves, it was you. He said that he didn't doubt that, but also reminded me that you shared an entire meal with a warlock and didn't even notice, which was a really good point—which we need to talk about later—so we stayed," Scarlett explained.

"I just wanted to make sure everything was in order," Archer said. "I told Ms. Grant that she didn't need to stay."

"Like I'd miss any of this," Scarlett declared. "And I wanted to be here for you Grace, of course."

"Of course," Grace replied.

Grace and Archer briefly shared a knowing look.

"But if everything is okay…" Archer started.

"Yes," Grace answered quickly. "You two should go, continue your evening. Please, don 't let me hold you back. You can still salvage your night."

"Oh…we aren't…" Archer looked at Scarlett, who had grabbed his arm and looked up at him, smiling sweetly. "I should make sure you get home safely at least," he offered Grace.

"I live close. A ten-minute walk, tops."

"Plus she has an impressive bag of tricks. She has more protection than the police," Scarlett chimed in.

"But you should walk Scarlett home," Grace said.

"Sure, but…" he said hesitantly.

"She'll be fine," Scarlett said confidently to Archer. "She can text me when she gets home, that way we'll know she's safe."

We'll know she's safe, replayed in Grace's mind. It bothered her, and she didn't like that it did.

"Yeah, I'll text you. No big deal. Get out of here, you crazy kids, enjoy your night," Grace said awkwardly. She spun around and started walking away before anyone could reply or protest.

Grace

Hey

Made it home. Have fun ??

Scarlett

Glad to hear

Wish me luck ??????????

Grace rolled her eyes and shoved her phone back into her bag.

She lied. She wasn't home yet, but at the corner store a few doors down from her house, contemplating which flavour of chips she was going to shove into her face that night.

Sour cream and onion.

She felt annoyed and needed a treat. Annoyed that she probably had multiple blisters on each foot. Annoyed that another date not only didn't work out, but ended up dead. Again. Although this time she wasn't that upset about the dead part. She was also annoyed with Scarlett. Her flirtatious, easy-going, easy personality had never bothered her like this before, and she was confused why it would now. Scarlett slept with the last boss (thankfully not during a full moon) and Grace didn't care, so why did this feel different?

I didn't have to partner a campaign with my last boss , she thought.

As she considered a bag of cookies to eat alongside a bag of chips, it suddenly dawned on her.

Of course, that's it , she realized. You're worried if things go south, it would be awkward and possibly ruin the working dynamic further. Obviously, that's it.

Feeling better with her annoyed state after her sudden epiphany, she paid for her chips and limped the rest of the way home.