Dead and Dusted by Lily Webb (most recommended books .TXT) 📗

same thing. Obviously, the first batch of dust went missing before I got here to examine it, but I saw clearly the batch in Ms. Chamberlain’s room, and though at first glance it seemed like it’d come from a fairy, it was subtly different.”

“How so?”

Flora massaged her chin. “Hm. It’s not something I can really describe because it’s more of a feeling. Fairy dust is magical, so it has an aura to it, like all other magic does. We fairies are sensitive to those auras; we can literally feel the magic coming from the people and objects around us. It’s part of what gives us our ability to detect lies.”

I shot her a quizzical look. “So, are you saying that the aura you felt from the dust in Zadie’s room was different?”

“Yes, basically.”

“Then if it didn’t come from fairies, where did it come from? Are the creatures in the mountains some distant relatives of fairies or something?”

“I don’t know, honestly, but that’s as good a theory as any,” she said, and smiled at my frustrated expression. “Something else on your mind?”

“Yeah. I’m stuck on Jorah’s story about Zadie coming downstairs to the restroom to ‘pay her respects’ to Leland and then allegedly walking out the front door. She couldn’t have done that if she was dead in her room.”

“I agree, that is strange.”

“Do you think Jorah was hallucinating or something?”

“No, I believe the broad strokes of what he described, but I’m not sure it was really Ms. Chamberlain that he saw.”

“I dunno, he seemed pretty adamant that it was, and I mean, Zadie’s beautiful, so it would be hard to mistake her for someone else.”

“He could’ve been under a spell, like he’d said.”

“Hm, yeah, maybe,” I said as we reached the ground floor. Agent Gemwood — er, Flora — hadn’t been able to help me sort through everything, but I felt better knowing that I was at least asking some of the same questions she was, even if we didn’t have all the answers. There was still so much we didn’t know or understand, but I couldn’t help feeling like we were finally closing in on the truth.

Hopefully, Mayor Nash could fill in some blanks for us. Despite the acrimony I’d observed between him, Zadie, and Leland, I didn’t really think the mayor was behind his colleague’s deaths, or at least not directly. Even so, he was obviously hiding the fact he knew about the existence of the creatures in the mountains, and possibly for a good reason. But whatever that reason might be, it’d gotten two people killed already, so the time for secrets was over.

Flora and I stepped out of the elevator, and the smell of something delicious drifted into my nostrils from the kitchens, which meant Emile was already hard at work cooking another amazing breakfast. Even if Mayor Nash wasn’t already in the kitchen, I doubted he’d be able to stay away for long once he got a whiff of the food — and given how strong the smell was, it would reach his room, eventually.

I led Flora into the kitchen and couldn’t help beaming when we rounded the corner to find the mayor already seated at the huge dining table that ran through most of the room. Evie sat directly across from him, intensely focused on the stack of blueberry-laden pancakes on her plate. Blair and the rest of the staff were there too, along with Brady and a few of Leland’s other guards. At first, it seemed odd to me that Brady wouldn’t have sent most of them home now that they didn’t have anyone to guard, but when I remembered what’d happened here in the last couple of days, I understood why.

Thorn’s eyes caught mine first, and I saw on his face that he desperately wanted to check in on me, but when he noticed us making a beeline for the mayor, he seemed to think better of it. Flora’s presence probably helped.

As we approached the mayor’s back, Evie’s eyes widened at the sight of my fairy friend and she cleared her throat when the mayor failed to notice us standing there. He turned with a mouthful of Emile’s decadent blueberry pancakes and held up a finger to us while he struggled to swallow. “Sorry about that!” he said when he had. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Mayor Nash,” Agent Gemwood greeted him, and I watched his eyes rake over her. A beat later, comprehension spread across his face like the morning sun’s rays. “You’re with the FBI, aren’t you?” he asked with dread threaded through his voice.

She nodded. “I’m Agent Flora Gemwood.”

The mayor’s normally friendly, composed face fell. “I-I didn’t realize anyone had called for the bureau’s help,” he said and twisted around in his seat to glare at Brady, who pretended not to notice.

“They didn’t, officially,” Flora said. “This one is a bit of freelance work.”

“Oh, I see. Is there, uh, something you need from me?”

“I just have a few questions I’d like to ask you about your relationships with Ms. Chamberlain and Mr. Marth. It shouldn’t take long,” Flora said, sounding exactly like a cop. Until then, I’d had difficulty picturing her as a hard-nosed investigator, but as she stared unblinkingly at Mayor Nash and waited for an answer, I saw it perfectly.

“I’d be happy to, but can I finish my breakfast while it’s still warm?”

“I promise you, we won’t be long,” Flora said, not taking no for an answer.

“Well, all right then,” the mayor said and stood from the table.

“Thank you. Selena, may we use the front office?” Flora asked me, expertly including me without cluing the mayor into what she was doing.

“Sure, this way,” I said and led the two of them out of the kitchen and back to the foyer’s office. I made a show of opening it for them, despite it already being unlocked, and let them pass before I closed us all inside. Mayor Nash stared at me like he didn’t understand what I was doing there.

“Take a