Pet Psychic Mysteries Boxset Books 5-8 (Magic Market Mysteries Book 2) by Erin Johnson (reading diary .TXT) 📗

lady was in a bad situation. I found it ironic that their top seller was barely making enough to get by, yet everyone here acted like they were on the road to riches. I chewed the inside of my cheek. I’d need to have a serious word with Heidi about what she’d gotten involved in—I didn’t want to see my friend lose it all too.

Peter scratched at the stubble on his chin. “I understand that you were upset—enough to kill Pearl over it?”

Peyton snorted. “What would that get me? I need the business to pick back up again. With Pearl dead and the company in turmoil, who’s going to want to sign up under me to sell potions now? And my downline is where I make all the money!”

Daisy whined. Truth.

Guess Peyton wasn’t our killer, but this meant there were plenty of consultants who were likely hemorrhaging money and might have killed out of anger.

She pressed her eyes shut for a moment before opening them and looking around. “I need a drink.”

“One more question.” Peter licked his lips. “Do you know anyone else who’d want to hurt Pearl?”

Peyton let out a humorless laugh. “Look around you—there’s a couple thousand right here. The policy change rubbed a lot of people's scales the wrong way.”

I crossed my arms. “Then how come yours is the only name we were given?”

She shrugged. “I was the only one brave enough to speak up to Pearl.” She seemed to deflate. “Or stupid enough. Lots of women are afraid to come forward or challenge leadership.”

Peter edged closer. “Why would they be afraid?”

Peyton grew grim. “This community? It’s tough. You’re either in or you’re out. And when it’s your whole life—your job, your family, your best friends—getting ostracized is like losing everything.”

13

Peter and Jolene

Peter, Daisy, and I jogged down the steps away from the hotel toward the winding path that led through the lush landscaping. Finally. It felt good to get out of the stuffy lobby and back in the cool night, with the sea breeze rustling the leaves.

We stopped at the bottom of the steps and stood in silence. I waited for him to speak, but as the moment stretched on, I darted a quick look at Peter. As he looked up at me, I looked away, toward the hotel, not quite able to meet his gaze.

It was quiet now outside. I jerked my chin toward the hotel. “Protestors are gone.”

“Hm?”

I turned toward Peter and waved a hand. “There were a bunch of ladies protesting Potent Potions before—former consultants, I think, from some of their signs. Hotel security must have escorted them from the premises.”

I frowned, and our eyes locked as we no doubt had the same thought—a disgruntled former consultant would definitely have had a motive for murder. We both turned away.

“I’ll have our people look into it.” Peter’s voice came out flat.

I nodded as I kicked a smooth rock away.

“You can go home for the night. I’ll stick around and help get statements.”

I nodded and swallowed against the lump in my throat. The tension between us pained me. I’d felt so close to Peter before—now we seemed an ocean apart.

“Okay.” I spun to go. “‘Night.”

“Jolene.”

I froze, took a deep breath—my heart hammering in my chest—and slowly turned to face Peter. Daisy sat beside him, her long nose pointed to the sky, looking up at her partner.

Peter shoved his hands in his blue trousers and shrugged. “I’m not going to tell anyone your secret.”

I gritted my jaw and held very still. So he hadn’t told everyone at the station. I guess I’d already figured that, since the new chief had wanted me on the job and Bon hadn’t protested much. But I had been wondering if Peter would take action to get me kicked off the case.

I nodded, my tone wry as I said, “Thanks.”

His eyes grew hard. “As long as it doesn’t interfere with how you do your job.” He shifted on his feet and squared his shoulders. “I’ll have Daisy to alert me, you know.”

Hot anger flared to life in my chest, and I balled my hands into fists. I really, really didn’t want to fight with Peter. I needed this job to pay the bills, and from a practical standpoint, it’d be easier to just suck it up and do my job.

But on a personal level, I couldn’t believe he was treating me like this. Hadn’t I proven, on our last case, that I was willing to break “shifter code” to do what was right? I’d risked a lot, too.

I was still waiting for some retaliation from Ludolf Caterwaul. Shell, the mob boss of the shifters had almost killed me the last time I saw him. Peter had no idea what I’d risked to be honest with him.

I gave a jerky nod, my whole body a tight bundle of buzzing anger. “Oh. So it’s like that, huh?”

He shook his head, eyes heavy. “You should have told me soon—”

“Oh!” I barked out a mirthless laugh. “So you could react like this?”

Anger flashed behind his eyes. “You know, you’re acting like—”

A loud murmur of voices sounded, and we both glanced up toward the hotel. Bon and the new chief strode out the double doors of the hotel entrance, the noise from the lobby briefly filtering out into the otherwise quiet night.

Chief McCray waved an arm in greeting, and she and Bon headed toward the white marble steps.

I leveled Peter with a weary look. “I’m going home. See you tomorrow.”

Peter nodded, then turned to greet his superiors. I was too angry and wrung out on tough emotions to handle the exuberant McCray or grumpy Bon at the moment. I booked it into the tree-lined path out of there and wound my way down the island mountain of Bijou Mer back to my little neighborhood in the Darkmoon Nightmarket.

14

The Clinic

“Oh, hey, Jolene.” Heidi held the nondescript door to Will’s vet clinic open for me, and I stepped out of the dark alley into