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

Madeline and headed back out into the chilly night. Peter paced in the dark alleyway between warehouses.

I clicked my tongue. “So maybe Peyton was a little angrier than she let on the other night if she was talking with Madeline and helping take down the company through this exposé she’s writing.”

Peter nodded, his thinking crease between his brows. “If Peyton knew that talking to Madeline would take down the company, then her excuse is bogus.”

I lifted a brow and toed an empty bottle. “How so?”

Peter splayed his hands, his footsteps scuffing off the cobblestones. “Peyton told us she was losing money, but that she wouldn’t have killed Pearl because that would hurt the company and she needed the company to succeed for her to recoup her losses.”

I smirked. “Good point. That doesn’t stand, if she herself was actively working to undermine Potent Potions by speaking with Madeline L’Orange.” I shrugged. “She had motive—she was angry and is losing everything, including her house. She already knew the company was going down—what did she have to lose by killing Pearl?”

Peter gave me a tight grin. “I’ll call the station and get Peyton’s address.”

27

New Evidence

“Okay, yeah, I spilled the sand about the company!” Peyton threw her hands up and leapt to her feet. She paced behind her couch as she dragged both hands through her red hair.

Peter and I, sitting on opposite sides of the coffee table, exchanged looks. Well, that had been easy—all we’d had to do was ask if she knew Madeline L’Orange.

She whirled on us, eyes wild. “But no one can know!” She shook her head, eyes weary. “They’d all turn against me, and I have thousands of merkles’ of merch I still need to sell.” She gripped the back of the couch, face pinched. “I need to stay in the company. If they find out I was talking to that reporter….” She pressed a hand to her stomach and looked like she was going to be sick.

I frowned. “So even though you’re working to take Potent Potions down, you want to stay working for them?”

“Yes! Urg!” She paced again, zigzagging between stacked moving boxes and crates. It looked like she was indeed getting ready to move. I looked around at the comfortable home, situated on a middle tier of the island. It was a nice place—she must have been upset about losing it.

“They’re horrible! This is what they do to you. Once you’re in, it’s so hard to get out!”

I thought of Will and Heidi, and my stomach clenched. Snakes! I hoped they wouldn’t lose it all when Madeline’s piece came out in The Conch.

Peter lifted a brow. “But that’s all you did? Speak with Madeline? You didn’t kill Pearl?”

“No!” Peyton looked aghast, and Daisy wagged her tail.

Truth.

“Any idea who tipped Madeline off about you?” I raised a brow.

Peyton pressed her lips together and looked off, thinking. “I have no idea. It was no secret to my downline that lots of sellers were leaving, and I confided to a few friends how I was feeling, but I doubt any of them would’ve gone to the press.” She shrugged. “Besides that, the only higher-up at Potent Potions that I spoke with was Pearl herself.”

I frowned. And I doubted a dead woman had alerted the press. Of course, she could have let Madeline know before her death, but why would she want to take down her own company?

Peter startled and pressed a finger to the communication device in his ear. “What?” His bloodshot eyes widened. “Okay.” He nodded. “We’re on it.”

He shot to his feet. “Thank you, Ms. Thornsbury, for your time.” He flashed his eyes at me and jerked his head toward the door.

“You’re leaving?” Peyton followed us, then stood in the doorway frowning after us.

I waved goodbye to her and jogged to keep up with Peter as he strode up the street toward the upper tiers. “What’s going on?”

He glanced back over his shoulder, and once out of hearing distance from Peyton, lowered his voice. “That was the station. I’d asked Russo to keep an eye on some of our suspects’ finances. We just got news that a massive life insurance policy was recently paid out on Pearl Litt.”

I gasped. “No way! To who?” Madeline was right—this situation just kept getting juicier.

A little bit of the twinkle was back in Peter’s eye as he raised a brow at me. “Her sister—Opal Whitaker.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you serious? Opal?”

Peter nodded as we hustled uphill, Daisy leading the way. “So Opal recently sold all her shares in the company….”

I nodded. “That’s right….”

“She was first on the body and insisted on no autopsy. She’s a potion master and admitted to likely having made the potion that killed Pearl.”

I scoffed. “It was Opal. She was sick and tired of being overshadowed by her talentless sister and not only killed her, earning a huge life insurance pay out in the process, but cashed out her shares before the company crashed.”

Peter and I whirled to face each other at the same moment.

“I bet she was the one who sent all those anonymous letters!”

I nodded my agreement. “It wasn’t enough to kill her sister. She also hinted that she thought Ralph had murdered Pearl—she framed him and took down the company as well by tipping off the protesters and Madeline L’Orange.” I pressed my lips together. “Wow. Someone had a grudge.”

Peter nodded. “On top of it, I had Russo look into the potion master Opal claimed she studied under.”

I smirked. “Claimed?”

He nodded. “She was kicked out of the program for selling illicit potions on the black market and never completed her training.”

“No!” I smacked his arm before remembering we weren’t really friends anymore. I let my hand hang at my side, suddenly self-conscious. Our footsteps clacked up the cobblestones, Daisy’s breath puffing in little clouds of mist as she bounded ahead.

I swallowed and racked my brain for something to say to break the awkward silence. “So I guess that means you’ll be releasing Ralph