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

for him to finish. She shot her arm out and offered him her hand, wrist limp. “Enchante! I’m Rachel Whitmore.” She winked. “But you probably knew that already.”

She kept one arm extended and stroked the mink stole around her shoulders with the other. I frowned—a real fur, quite the bold choice. They’d fallen out of fashion, but as a shifter, they probably creeped me out more than most folks.

Peter’s throat bobbed as he stared down at her hand, as though he didn’t quite know what to do with it. She wiggled her fingers and he reached out, wrapped his hand around her fingers, and gave a little shake, then let his arm fall to his side.

“How are you connected to the family?” Peter’s quill and scroll magically appeared next to his head, hovering and ready to take notes.

Rachel batted her lashes and took another puff of the cigarette. “Chaz and I grew up together. Our families are close.”

“How close?”

She leveled Peter a saucy look. “Very.”

I looked around. Was there something in the air tonight? Was it the full moon?

She let out a wistful sigh. “Our families summered together.”

Peter frowned. “What does… summering involve?”

She waved a gloved hand. “Oh, you know, the usual—going to the country club, yachting, visiting our summer homes in the other kingdoms.” She shrugged. “Normal kid stuff.” She giggled. “We used to come back here and smoke together when we were eight.”

Peter choked, and I could only gawk. Eight? And I thought I’d grown up fast.

Peter recovered first. “Sounds like you knew Chaz well. Were you surprised by his choice to marry Letty Jones?”

“Surprised?” She scoffed and looked around before turning back to Peter, a humorless smirk on her lips. “Try shocked. Everyone was.”

She crossed one arm under her chest and took another drag of the cigarette. “It’s no secret that Chaz and I were intended for each other. Nothing official, but our families expected it—everyone expected it.”

Her nostrils flared, and she tossed her long strawberry blond locks over her shoulder. “It’s fine. Chaz saw the shifting social climate and, on advice from that little advisor of his, I’m assuming, went and married mousy Letty to garner more of the ‘poor’ vote.” She took another drag and her hand trembled slightly.

Woo boy. Somebody was upset about Chaz choosing Letty.

“Wow. So you spent your whole life planning a future with Chaz and then he goes off and chooses a waitress from the Darkmoon District over you?” I grinned in spite of myself. “That must’ve stung.”

She pinched her lips together and shot me a murderous look.

Yikes.

“It’s whatever.” She stared me down for another moment, then looked off into the distance. “If you ask me, ever since he got that new campaign manager, Cybil Whatsherface, Chaz has been acting so differently. It’s like, who are you?” She stroked the fur around her shoulders.

Peter shifted on his feet. “Do you have any idea why Letty ran from the altar after she and Chaz were pronounced married?”

She shrugged, though a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “She was weird and private. Who knows?”

I looked down at Daisy, partly out of habit, partly in case her sense of smell had recovered. She sniffed the air, her wet, black nose twitching, then raised a paw and scratched at her eyes and snout. She groaned. So itchy!

Guess not.

Peter nodded. “Well… if you think of anything else.”

She raised a brow, and we left her to smoke alone. As we walked back toward the white tent and the gathered guests and cops, Peter cleared his throat. “That was… interesting.”

I scoffed. “The girl was clearly furious that Chaz chose Letty.” I raised my brows. “Somebody’s got motive.”

He nodded. “But she’s not the only one—Chaz’s parents and Letty’s old sweetheart, Joe, all seemed to disapprove of the wedding too.”

I bit my lip. “Fair point. And both Chaz and his campaign manager, Cybil, seemed to be hiding something.”

Peter sighed. “And we don’t know why Chaz and his mother were fighting before the wedding or how a plate full of strawberries ended up in the bridal suite and why Letty would have eaten one, or why she didn’t have her anti-allergy potion on her.”

I pressed my lips together. “Quite the mystery.”

He gave me a tight smile. “I’ve got some work to finish up around here, but how about we meet up again tomorrow night? I should have the coroner’s report back by then. We’ll know for sure what killed Letty.”

I nodded. “Sounds good.” I gave Daisy a little salute, and she just growled back. Don’t mock me.

I smirked, and after a quick glance around, whined back. Oh, Daisy. You’ll know when I’m mocking you.

She glared at me.

I gave Peter a last wave and headed back toward the front of the house.

“Jolene?”

I paused and turned around.

Peter shot me a weary grin. “Thanks again for working this case with me.” He glanced down at Daisy, brow pinched. “I can use all the help I can get.”

I nodded, though my stomach twisted with battling emotions. He wanted me around… but was it only for professional reasons?

9

Will and Heidi

I tipped the wide bowl to my mouth and slurped up noodles and broth, using my chopsticks to scoop more into my mouth. When I lowered the bowl and looked up, both Will and Heidi stared at me, motionless, from behind their face masks.

Heidi’s dark eyes widened, while Will just glared at me.

“What?” I wiped my mouth on the back of my sleeve.

Will blinked, shook his head, then bent over his patient again. After I’d left the crime scene/wedding, I’d picked up food for the three of us, but found Will and Heidi in the vet clinic’s back room performing emergency surgery on a cat familiar who’d swallowed a sock. My enormous bear shifter friend had to bend low over the metal table.

“Scalpel.” He held out his huge, gloved hand, and Heidi jumped, then rummaged around on a tray and handed it to him.

I grinned. Once a surgeon, always a surgeon.

Will