“Sorry, I’m just used to Spellbound where nobody knows what that is.” I steered the conversation back to Louisa. “It must make you angry that someone without your talent is making money, basically stealing customers that should be rightfully yours.”

  “I have complained to the management more than once, but they toss me aside like stale bread.”

  “Why don’t they care?”

  “Because they get a cut of the profits and Louisa was making them money.” She poured a cup of tea for herself and drank. “I understand the desire to make money, but not at the expense of my honor. Louisa Loomis dishonors the profession.” She spat on the ground.

  “I guess it’s good for you that she’s been arrested for the murder,” I said. “You’re getting all her business now.”

  She permitted herself a small smile. “Yes, I admit that the miserable woman’s death has been a boon for me.”

  “Did you know Claire?”

  “We have interacted over the years. We’re often at the same markets. Her husband and I sometimes knitted together.”

  “Knitted?” I repeated. “Like scarves?”

  “A calming pastime,” she said. “He needs one being married to her.” She drank again. “Well, not anymore I suppose.”

  “Where were you the morning Claire died?”

  “I was getting ready in my room. I don’t need to be here as early as others to set up. My stall is much simpler.”

  “Alone or do you have a roommate?”

  “I have a roommate, Bertha. She’s a wereotter and she wanted to shift and go down to the lake before the market began.”

  “Oh, Swan Lake is really nice,” I said. “Did she like it? That’s where we held my wedding.”

  “It was a pleasant spot. Not enough trees, though.”

  “That’s because the forest is on the other side of town,” I said. “So you went with her?”

  Myrtle nodded. “I arrived as the sheriff closed off the area. Bertha and I were shocked to hear the news. She had bought more than a few items from the Cronks’ stall over the years.”

  I’d intended to accuse her of framing Louisa so that she could get rid of her once and for all, but I had a feeling her alibi would check out. It would be easy enough to verify before I even left the market.

  “You mentioned that you thought a new fairy might be responsible for Claire’s death,” I said. “Who did you mean?”

  Myrtle flicked a finger in the direction of the next aisle. “She sells cosmetics.” The fortune teller grimaced. “I can’t imagine a more inane profession.”

  “And you thought she killed Claire at first?”

  “Only because I’d seen a confrontation between them the day before.”

  Yikes. Another one. Claire seemed to spend the bulk of her time aggravating others. What a life.

  “Do you remember what happened?”

  “Something to do with a product that Claire wanted to return. Of course, she made a scene. The fairy is new to the market. When I heard about the murder, I thought perhaps she took her revenge a little too far.”

  “Do you know her name?”

  “No, but her stall is in the middle aisle, halfway down. You can’t miss her with all the sparkles.” Myrtle blew a raspberry. “I don’t know how some paranormals look in the mirror every day.”

  Apparently, Myrtle and Katerina had different standards when it came to appearances, not that it should surprise me. I already knew that beauty was in the eye of the beholder, but it was nice to be reminded every now and again.

  I paid Myrtle and added a tip. “I really like your headscarf, by the way. The color looks nice with your complexion.”

  Myrtle straightened her hunched shoulders. “Thank you, my pet. It belonged to my mother, so it’s very special to me. I wear it with pride.”

  A lump formed in my throat. “As you should, Myrtle. As you should.”

  After confirming Myrtle’s alibi with Bertha, I decided to rest my feet at the office before tracking down the fairy. It would be a good opportunity to check in with Althea and Josie.

  No sooner had I put my bare feet on the desk when Josie stormed into the office, her beady eyes ablaze with anger and indignation. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  I glanced at my feet. “I’m supposed to keep them elevated as often as possible.”

  Her nostrils flared. “I’m not talking about your feet, although I would recommend wiping down the desk with antibacterial cleaner when you’re done.”

  “Then what are you talking about?”

  “You and your unorthodox methods,” Josie said. “I’m supposed to be shadowing you so I can learn how to do your job, but you keep running around town and interrogating paranormals like some one-woman crime fighter. That’s not the job.”

  “It is the way I do it,” I replied.

  “No, the way you do it is Sheriff Astrid’s job.” Josie crossed her arms. “Don’t you think it’s insulting to the sheriff and deputy to take it upon yourself to investigate? You’re the lawyer.”

  “Basically, you’re telling me to stay in my box.”

  Josie drew a calming breath. “I’m just saying that I find it difficult to learn from you when you seem to be doing an entirely different job to the one I’m trained for.”

  I stretched my legs in order to stave off another cramp. “Do you know how many of my clients might have been wrongly convicted if I’d chosen a more relaxed approach to my job?”

  “You have to trust the system, Emma,” Josie said. “It’s there for a reason.”

  “Our system was corrupt when I arrived here,” I shot back. “Mayor Knightsbridge was a sniper with a smile. Sheriff Hugo was plain awful and in cahoots with some questionable characters. I acted out of necessity.”

  “And what about now?” Josie demanded. “Mayor Lucy and Sheriff Astrid are your good friends. Are they corrupt, too? Is that why you feel the need to do things your way?”

  I understood Josie’s point. I definitely took my role too far sometimes. By the same token, it was more important for me to protect the innocent. Everything else was background noise.

  “Josie, while I’m on maternity leave, feel free to do the job the way you see fit. You’re not me and I don’t expect you to act like me.”

  “Good. I’m glad we can agree on that.”

  I opened a container of yogurt. “That being said, let’s get one thing straight. Right now, I’m still in charge and I will continue to do my job the way I see fit. My priority is my client, not your comfort level. Got it?”

  Josie’s jaw tightened. “Got it.” She sat on the edge of the chair, as though her bottom wasn’t willing to fully commit to the seat. “So where do we stand with Louisa? What’s the latest?”

  “I have another lead,” I said. “The fortune teller I interviewed mentioned an issue Claire had with one of the cosmetics stallholders.”

  “So you’re going to question her?”

  “That’s the plan. Right after I finish my snack.” I licked the spoon and noticed Josie’s lip curl in response, so, of course, I licked it more.

  “I want to go with you,” Josie said. “Watch how you do it.”

  “I thought you weren’t going to go out on any limbs.”

  “No, but I still think it will be a good learning experience, if only to show me what not to do.”

  I clamped down on my acid tongue. Josie was young and brash with a touch of arrogance. Nothing I said would change that right now.

  “How about I meet you in front of the town square in fifteen minutes?” I asked.

  “You’ve inhaled your yogurt,” Josie said. “Do you have another snack to eat first?”

  “No, but I’ll need two bathroom breaks between now and then.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Remind me never to get pregnant.”

  “I don’t think the weak bladder is supposed to last.” I hoped.

  “A weak bladder isn’t the only reason,” Josie said. She turned to leave. “I’ll be waiting for you with my fully caffeinated latte.”

  Ooh. That was mean.

  Althea opened the adjoining door and peered at me. “Is she gone?”

  “Who?” I asked innocently.

  “You know who,” she said pointedly.

  “Why don’t you like her?” I asked.

  Althea’s brow lifted. “Like you do? Oh, that’s right. You like everyone. It’s in your nature, Polly Sunshine.”

  “Did something happen?” I asked. I didn’t want to poison the well. It was more important that Althea and Josie get along in my absence.

  “Yeah, she walked through the door, eager to replace you.”

  “She’s supposed to replace me,” I said. “That’s the whole point of having her shadow me.”

  “She’s meant to be a temporary replacement, but my snakes smell ambition all over her. Mark my words, she’s a usurper.”

  My brow lifted. “A usurper? This is an office chair, Althea, not a throne.”

  “You can make jokes to your heart’s content, but I’m warning you now. That one is not to be trusted.”

  “Is that why your snakes hiss every time they see her?” I’d noticed but assumed it was because Josie was new and in their territory.

  “You know I always listen to my snakes,” Althea said. “They’re my barometer.”

  I patted my own head. “I need snakes for hair. They’re probably easier to braid. My hair’s too soft.”

  Althea’s hand popped to her hip. “Are you mocking me?”

  I dropped my hand to my side. “No,” I said quietly.

  “Do you have to give birth?” Althea asked. “Can’t the incubation period last a while longer…like until Josie gets fed up and leaves town?”

  The mere mention of a longer pregnancy made me feel nauseous. “Althea, everything will be fine. You know what to do and I’m only a short distance away.”

  “I don’t think she’ll let me study as much as you do. She’ll probably quote some policy about the personal use of company time.”

  “It’s not totally personal,” I said. “It’s for the town’s benefit, too.”

  Althea glanced over my head. “At least your plant has a chance at life while you’re gone.” She crossed the office to fuss over the plant on the windowsill. I could tell she was still unsettled by the upcoming transition.

  “Althea, when Gareth died and I was appointed to replace him, how did you feel?”

  “Terrified. Devastated. Annoyed.”

  “Annoyed?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not proud of it, but I was annoyed that he died. It felt mighty inconvenient.”

  “You weren’t sure about me, were you?”

  “How could I be? You weren’t even sure about you.”

  That much was true. I’d never worked in criminal defense and here I was in a paranormal town for the first time, trying to practice a new kind of law with basically only a book and a Gorgon to help me. And Gareth’s ghost, of course.

  “Are you sure about me now?” I asked.

  She finished watering the plant and turned to face me. “You know I am.” She groaned. “I take your point, but I don’t get the same vibe from Josie that I got from you. She’s slippery like a were-eel.”

  I tossed my yogurt container into the bin. “I’m sorry. Did you just say were-eels? They’re real?”

  “Unfortunately. Don’t worry, though. They’re not generally found in this region.”

  “How does that even work?” I held up a hand. “Never mind. My stomach is too delicate these days.” I grabbed my purse and lumbered to my feet. “I need to go to the market. I’m meeting Josie there to question someone.”

  “Would you like me to drive you over?” Althea asked. “Maybe we can borrow one of the carts from the country club.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but walking is good for me.”

  “I’m worried about how swollen you are,” Althea said. “You’re starting to resemble a troll with those lumpy legs.”

  “It’s water. It’ll dissipate after the baby is born.”

  “If you say so.”

  I ambled toward the door. “Do I really look like a troll?”

  “Your skin is a little too pale, so I don’t think there will be any mix-ups.”

  “So basically you’re saying I look like some strange vampire-troll hybrid.”

  “Who ate an exercise ball,” she added.

  “Not even a basketball?” I queried.

  “Girl, you passed basketball about two months ago.”

  “Great,” I muttered, and left the office.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “There you are,” Josie said. She stood in front of my statue, tapping her foot. “I was beginning to worry that you’d gone into labor the moment I left the office.”

  “No such luck,” I said.

  Josie inclined her head toward the market. “Where are we going?”

  “Middle aisle. A cosmetics stall owned by a fairy called Minnie Cupples.”

  “The name is too adorable. She has to be innocent.”

  “Yes, because that’s how crime works.” I started toward the market and Josie fell in step aside me. It wasn’t hard. I walked so slowly at this point that I was in danger of going backward.

  “I haven’t really taken the time to enjoy the market,” Josie said. She scanned the various stalls. “I went to one a few years ago in my hometown. It was like the circus coming to town. The bars were always full at night and there were more arrests for drunk and disorderly than any other time of year, even All Hallow’s Eve.”

  “We don’t seem to be experiencing that issue.”

  “No,” she said. “Just a murder. No big deal.”

  I glared at her as we strolled down the aisle toward Minnie’s stall. As we got closer, I slowed my pace and approached the cosmetics stall with caution. Makeup counters in general made me uneasy and I had vivid memories of avoiding department stores in the mall, so that I didn’t have to walk through the army of women waving perfume and moisturizer samples. The fairy behind the counter spotted me before I had a chance to open my mouth. With her lemon-yellow hair and orange wings, she was impossible to miss. She zipped over with a palette of colors already in hand.

  “Look at those eyes,” she enthused. “Like two storm clouds. What I could do with those babies.” She studied the options in front of her. “I would totally go with the lavender as a base. Add a little sparkle. What do you think?”

  “I think a little sparkle is the least of my concerns at this stage in my life,” I replied.

  The fairy appeared crestfallen. “Don’t let a baby be the end of glamour. Your husband will notice if you stop making an effort.”

  “My husband wouldn’t notice if I wrote the word angel in permanent marker across my forehead,” I said.

  The fairy offered a sympathetic look. “I’m so sorry. Is he blind?”

  “No, he’s just not hung up on my physical appearance. He loves me for me. I could swap bodies with a terrifying harpy and he’d still want to be with me.” Okay, that last part was probably unnecessary.

  The fairy clasped her hands. “That sounds divine.”

  “You have no idea,” I said. Beside me, Josie made a gagging noise.

  Minnie turned her attention to Josie, still keen on making a sale. “Your skin could use a little moisture. I see fine lines starting to appear around your mouth and along your brow.”

  “Too many judgmental frowns,” I mumbled.

  “I use moisturizer in the morning and at night,” Josie said. “Well, except for the nights I shift, but those are less frequent.”

  Minnie examined her face. “A rat?”

  “That’s right,” Josie said.

  “Yes, I see it in your eyes. Your skin is typical of your kind,” Minnie said. “Shifting sucks a lot of moisture from the body. You need to replenish more than most. I suspect you need a thicker moisturizer that can penetrate your pores.”

  “That makes sense,” Josie said. “Which brand do you recommend?”

  “That all sounds…” I wanted to say ‘like minotaur shit,’ but I refrained. If Josie decided she needed a thicker moisturizer, then who was I to say otherwise? “Pretty scientific,” I finished weakly.

  Minnie showed the wererat several types of moisturizer and I feigned interest when really I wanted to learn how to nap while standing up in a crowded marketplace. Pregnancy fatigue was definitely setting in.

  Josie selected a sparkling purple moisturizer that looked as though it had been designed for a toddler. I really hoped it absorbed into the skin quickly. Otherwise, Josie risked looking like she’d dipped into the clown makeup.

  “Now that Josie has finished shopping,” I began, “I’d like to ask you a few questions about Claire Cronk.”

  The fairy almost dropped the shopping bag onto the counter. Her orange wings fluttered more quickly, a sure sign of nervousness. “Oh, yes. Claire. I was sorry to hear about her death. Positively tragic.”

  “Was it? Because it’s my understanding that the two of you had an issue.”

  “Didn’t everyone have an issue with Claire?” Minnie replied. “I think my experience with her was fairly typical.”

  “And what was your experience?” I pressed.

  “To be fair, I didn’t really know her,” Minnie said. “This is the first market we’ve done together. I’d been warned to steer clear of her, though. That she had a nasty side.”

  “Who warned you?” Josie asked, and I gave her a thumbs up. That would have been my next question.

  Minnie glanced around the market. “Hard to remember. It would come up in conversation. Owners checked the map at the beginning of the week to make sure they weren’t too close to her.”

  “Her reputation was that bad?” I asked.

  Minnie nodded and sparkles drifted from her yellow hair. “I didn’t have to worry because my stall was far enough away, but Louisa was definitely unhappy about her placement.”

  “You spoke to her about it?” I asked.

  “Only in passing. I don’t really know her either.”

  “You apparently had a run-in with Claire on the first day,” I said. “What was that about?”

  Minnie tensed. “Why are you asking me questions? The sheriff already arrested Louisa. I don’t know why she thought telling Claire her actual fortune would be some sort of alibi. Seems pretty stupid to me.”