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

I gaped. Snakes. With in-laws like that, who needs enemies?

4

Sneezy

Peter shook his head. “Wait. Can you go back? What happened that night, exactly? When Letty had an allergic reaction?”

Mr. Harrington stepped in. “Her throat swelled. It was hard for her to swallow.”

“And then what?”

He lifted a palm. “Thank the goddess, the girl had an anti-allergy potion on her.”

Mrs. Harrington folded her arms. “Chaz told us afterward that she always carries it.” She looked skyward. “She even insisted on wearing a wedding dress with pockets to have it handy during the wedding.” She sniffed. “Can you imagine? How uncouth.”

Peter and I exchanged confused looks. “Wait—she had an anti-allergy potion on her?” Peter looked between the two of them. “Then why didn’t she take it?”

The blond, with her chiseled cheekbones, shot Peter a cool look. “Who knows? Maybe she forgot it.”

Peter turned toward me and dipped his lips close to my ear. I tried to ignore the happy shiver that ran down my spine. “Maybe that’s why she rushed back to the bridal suite, to look for her potion.”

I nodded, eyes narrowed. “But why didn’t she have the potion on her, when she got her wedding dress expressly for that reason?” I pulled my lips to the side. “And why didn’t anyone help her? Why did she lock herself in that room, alone?”

The crease between Peter’s brow deepened. “No potion was found on her body or in the room.”

I shrugged. “Yet. Maybe it’ll turn up.”

He nodded and turned back to the Harringtons. “That night of the family dinner, when you first met Letty—after she took the potion, what happened?”

Mrs. Harrington rolled a slender wrist. “She lay down on the chaise, and twenty minutes later she was good as new.” She sniffed and examined her nails. “And we were finally able to serve dessert.”

I ran my tongue over my teeth as I shot daggers at this woman with my eyes. “Wow, so caring. So I take it you two weren’t big fans of Letty’s?”

Mr. Harrington stretched his neck and rolled his shoulders. “Let’s just say… she wasn’t what I expected Chaz to choose.” He raised his pointed brows.

His wife let out a humorless laugh. “That’s an understatement. She was a nice enough girl, but when he’s surrounded by plenty of eligible, wealthy, lovely girls—” She made a face. “—why choose the wallflower from the night market?”

I mean, on one hand, I agreed with them. I had a hard time seeing a rich politician choosing a girl like Letty purely out of love, but weirder things had happened, right? Still—her jab at the Darkmoon was one insult too many. I huffed, annoyed to my breaking point.

“Did you kill Letty?”

Peter shot me a look, but I held my ground, staring them down.

The blond pressed her hand to her chest. “Goodness, no!”

Her husband shook his head. “No, indeed.”

Peter and I looked at Daisy.

The German shepherd, who stood on Peter’s other side, bared her teeth and growled. Liar!

I turned to Mrs. Harrington, a triumphant smile on my face. Gotcha!

The dog’s snarl cut off abruptly as she sneezed, then again and again. I flashed my eyes at her—get it together, Daisy!

She finally stopped and blinked her red, watery eyes. She sniffled, then her black, wet nose twitched, and she whined. Or… truth? She sneezed again, and her ears flattened. I don’t know.

I turned to Peter with wide eyes, and he gave a solemn nod. Okay. I saw what he meant now by out of commission. I frowned down at the dog, a mix of amusement and pity battling within me.

I crouched down and let out a quiet whimper. I’d say karma is a dish best served cold, but with the sniffles, you probably wouldn’t be able to taste much of it anyway.

She swiveled her head my way and narrowed her dark eyes. She bared her teeth and snarled. I don’t have to taste to still bite!

I smirked but stood back up. There’d be plenty of time for relentless teasing later. The important thing for now was that Peter and I were flying blind on this case. I could see why he’d called me in—my ability to speak to animals would be the only extra advantage we’d have on this one.

“Do you know anyone who might have had a motive to kill Letty?” Peter’s quill scribbled away on the roll of parchment.

Mr. Harrington shook his head, but his wife rolled a wrist. “I can’t think of anyone specific, but I can’t imagine she was a popular girl.”

I shook my head. Real vote of confidence from the mother-in-law.

“Thanks for your time.” Peter gave a polite nod. “We’ll be in touch if we have any further questions.”

They nodded back, and Peter, Daisy, and I headed away from them and the castle, back across the moonlit lawn.

“What’s next?”

Peter jerked his chin toward a young man in a tux sitting alone at a table with a cop standing just beside him. “Let’s go have a word with the groom.”

I nodded. “Do we suspect Chaz Harrington’s political rivals?”

He shook his head. “Not at present. Russo checked into it—they’re both traveling in other kingdoms at the moment, and it’s unclear why they would have targeted Chaz Harrington’s bride, versus the candidate himself, if they wanted to take out an opponent.”

I nodded. “So we’re thinking someone attending the wedding did it?”

Peter nodded. “Exactly. Either that, or the bride triggered her own allergic reaction.”

With thousands of guests in attendance, suicide an option, and Daisy’s abilities on the fritz, I doubted this would be an easy case.

5

Chaz

“Mind if we ask Mr. Harrington a few words?”

The cop guarding the redhead nodded at Peter, then moved off among the crowd of murmuring wedding guests.

I pulled out the white chair beside Chaz and plopped down, while Peter and Daisy stood just to my left.

The groom winced, his green eyes dull, shoulders slumped. He’d certainly lost a lot of the overeager smarm that he oozed in the campaign posters plastered all around the city.

“Chaz, if you don’t