“And why are you doing that?” Dimitri asked, eyes suddenly white. My finger hovered over the call button.

  “Because if you aren’t going to admit the truth to me, she has ways to ensure you do.” I hit dial.

  “Okay. Okay, yes, I took it.” He looked at the phone and then at me. “Will you just hang up and... we can talk about it?”

  I ended the call and watched as Dimitri mopped at his face with the little square of cloth tucked into the breast pocket of his suit.

  Step one down. “Why’d you take it? You can’t even use it to take over the family, you said so yourself.”

  Dimitri darted a look around. His tongue flicked over his lips. It looked like a nervous gesture to me.

  “I don’t care about taking over the family,” he said and twisted to look over his shoulder, but even the bartender was doing his best not to pay attention to us. “Like I’d want to be in charge of this pit of vipers.”

  Yeah, that was fair. “Why’d you take it, then?”

  He mopped his forehead with his handkerchief. “Because my mother doesn’t give a crap about anything in this world but being head of the clan.”

  “I’m sure that’s not true.” Although it wouldn’t have surprised me if it were.

  Dimitri nodded. “It is true. She cares about me least of all. Just as long as I don’t ‘embarrass’ her.” He laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. “Well, the idol’s gone. No one can be head of the clan now so too bad for her.”

  I wanted to bop him one in the nose so bad that my hand curled into a fist at my side. “Do you even understand what you’ve done? This could rip your whole family apart!”

  “I don’t care.” He stuffed his handkerchief back into its pocket with harsh, jerky motions. “Good riddance. The money I got for the stupid thing will help me get out of town and away from all of them.”

  “You sold it? To whom?”

  “You won’t find it,” he answered, shaking his head. “It’s long gone by now.”

  “Who did you sell it to?” I demanded again.

  Dimitri cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes. “I first want to know who your witness was because as far as I knew, no one was in the room with me.”

  Right. Hmm. That was a good point.

  “You don’t have a witness do you?” he asked with a laugh.

  “I do,” I insisted.

  “Then who the hell is the witness?”

  “I’m not going to tell you that.”

  He chuckled. “Because you don’t have one.”

  Yes, I could have told him it was a ghost who was the witness to his crime, but I didn’t think that was going to go over too well. Especially if this family couldn’t see ghosts, apparently. No, better to keep that card close to my chest.

  “I’ve already said enough,” Dimitri started, shaking his head. “And now that I know you’ve got absolutely zilch to go on... I’m not saying anything more.”

  Ah, applesauce. How the heck was I ever going to find the darn thing now? I gave the kid a look.

  You should take this to Taliyah now, Cain said in my head. You’ve got a witness, and that’s enough. She could get the little brat to talk.

  But I didn’t want to take it to Taliyah. I wanted to solve the mystery and get the idol back to Sophia.

  Dimitri chuckled, appearing completely unconcerned. “So... what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to find the idol.”

  Darla, go to Taliyah, dammit!

  Dimitri chuckled. “Good luck with that.”

  Oh, I’d show him luck, alright.

  If you aren’t going to go to Taliyah, you should tell Sophia the truth, Cain continued. That her idiot son took the idol.

  Thing was, I wasn’t sure the kid was wrong about it simply being my word against his. Sophia already didn’t think much of me. If I started pointing fingers at her little boy, no matter how much of a screw-up she might think he was, she might take it like I was trying to shift blame. Especially since I had no proof, other than hearsay from a ghost. And I was fairly sure Dimitri wasn’t going to admit anything if put in the hot seat. To either Taliyah or his mother. So, truly, I had nothing.

  We have no proof, I said to Cain. It’s the word of a ghost.

  Taliyah could get him to confess, Cain argued. It’s what she does.

  Yet, we still don’t know where the idol is, and that’s the most important part of all of this.

  The truth was that I wanted to solve this mystery myself. I wanted to be able to hunt down the idol and return it to Sophia. Mainly so I could prove to Mr. Howard that I was worth it—that he hadn’t made a mistake in hiring me. I wanted to prove... myself.

  Darla, you’re making this personal.

  You’re right, I answered.

  I poked my finger into Dimitri’s chest, hard enough to make him flinch.

  “You better hope I find it, buster.”

  Then I turned around and stormed away.

  I had an idol to find.

  Chapter Seven

  I stalked my way through the Erepto reception room, feeling like I had no idea what to do next.

  There was so much blood in my head that I had to have turned a red so bright I would have matched my favorite lipstick.

  I couldn’t believe this, this applesauce! I was going to lose my job because some rich kid brat had issues with his mommy. Not to mention who knew what would happen to all the people in there if it came down to a fight about who was taking over. It was enough to have me ready to pop off like a firecracker.

  Any ideas on how we find this thing, I thought really hard at Cain as I made my way towards the front hall.

  Yeah, you call Taliyah.

  I don’t want to call Taliyah, I answered. I want us to do this ourselves.

  People were still streaming in, and I was fighting the crowd and feeling a bit like a salmon trying to swim up river. It was making it really difficult to storm off in a huff.

  I couldn’t see him, on account of us sharing a body, but I got the idea that Cain was shaking his head.

  He made a little frustrated grumble. Everyone shut me out in Haven Hollow, trying to cover up their little conspiracy. It made it almost impossible to do my job properly. So I’m not sure where you could go next.

  I’d never really thought about it, but keeping the spooky side of town under wraps, it was kind of a conspiracy. That must have driven Cain up the walls when he was Chief of Police.

  Cain mulled it over for a minute, and I caught the occasional murmur, and a word that sounded like ‘cult’, but I didn’t think he was talking to me, so I left him alone to think.

  When in doubt, go to an expert, was what he finally came out with.

  What do you mean?

  Well, think about it—the idol is some form of antiquity, most likely, right?

  I mean, I guess so. It seems to be old.

  So who would have been interested in buying it?

  I don’t know—a pawn shop?

  Maybe. But if the kid has any intelligence at all, he would have tried to sell it to the highest bidder and that wouldn’t be a pawn shop.

  Oh.

  It’s still worth checking the local pawn shops for it, but I’d wager he sold it to someone who might know more about it.

  Okay. That makes sense.

  Right—so who deals with antiquities around here?

  Um.

  Find out, Darla. You need someone who knows the local art and antiquities scene. Even if they aren’t getting their stuff from less than reputable sources, they almost certainly know someone who is. Ask some questions, shake some trees, see what falls out.

  I frowned, rolling it over in my head. Didn’t that new gallery just open up outside of town? Fifi was talking about it, the last time the Black Cat Cocktail Club met. She kept putting ‘em back, and laugh crying about ‘the vibes being off’.

  Fifi’s client had been a muse, an actual muse, and apparently, she’d been a bit of an exacting sale. But Fifi had managed it, in the end, even if the building wasn’t inside Haven Hollow proper.

  It’s worth a shot, Cain said, almost grudgingly. It’s not much of a lead, but I’ve solved cases with less. I still think it’s worth going back to the kid and seeing if you can get the name of the pawnshop out of him.

  I think Dimitri has said all he’s going to say.

  Remember, Taliyah is in your back pocket.

  I was pretty sure Taliyah could get the kid to open up and tell her whatever she wanted to know. But that would mean she was taking over the case and that would also mean I wouldn’t get credit for it. And I knew that sounded silly and maybe even illegal, but it didn’t change the fact that I needed this one. I needed a feather in my cap so I could prove myself to Mr. Howard. I just needed one little badge—one little thing I could hang my hat on. One little thing to prove I wasn’t such a screwup. And this could be that one little thing.

  Let’s start by visiting any and all pawn shops in the area, Cain said. And see what you find there.

  The crowd had finally thinned enough that I didn’t feel like I was walking backward, and we’d just about made it back to the foyer when the door we were passing cracked open, and someone grabbed my arm.

  I was too surprised to do anything more than squeak, as whoever it was yanked me into the room, slamming the door behind me.

  Shock had my head stuttering, like my thoughts had missed a step. That was enough for Cain to surge forward and take control. I felt a bit like he’d shoved me behind him, but we were still sharing a single body.

  Cain moved my arm in a smooth roll, breaking the grip on my bicep. He rounded, planting my back foot and bringing my arms up in a defensive posture. It probably wasn’t as impressive as it should have been, since Cain had been over six feet and packed with muscle in life, even if age had him softening a little around the middle.

  I was neither of those things, though I was tall for a woman. My little age spurt had given me a little more padding around the hips and bust, so I didn’t look like a teenage boy anymore at least, but I didn’t look like no heavy weight, that was for sure.

  The light flicked on in the room. All I could see was a couch and two chairs. A parlor, maybe. The man who’d dragged me in here turned away from the switch, and I recognized the older guy who Cain had caught watching me earlier.

  He flicked a look from my face down my body, eyes lingering on my raised fists, and a little smile flicked around the corners of his mouth.

  I had a pretty good idea of who he had to be, but just to be sure, I pulled control back from Cain enough to get my mouth to move. “Manos Erepto, I’m guessing?”

  Manos inclined his head to me. “As you say.”

  When Manos didn’t reach for me again, Cain relaxed a little, falling back and letting me lower my arms.

  “What’s the big idea?” I glared at him, still thinking of popping him one. I didn’t like being grabbed and hauled around none. “If you wanted to talk, you coulda just said so.”

  “I wanted to speak privately,” he said breezily, and not like he was sorry at all for startling me. Manos looked me over again and chuckled. “You’re a little spitfire, aren’t you, sweetheart?”

  “I ain’t your sweetheart so don’t call me that.” I hadn’t much liked the guy to start with, but now I just wanted to be away from him.

  “Apologies.”

  “You wanted to talk, talk.” Preferably fast. I wanted out of that room.

  Manos sighed, adjusting his cufflinks. “Very well. I know that Sophia has hired you to find the idol.”

  “She told you?”

  “No,” he shook his head. “But I’m no fool.”

  That didn’t explain anything, but I didn’t pry.

  “I don’t want you to find the idol for her,” he continued.

  “You don’t say.” I frowned.

  He chuckled. “I’m what’s best for the family.”

  “I’ll just bet you are.” At least, in his own mind.

  “Sophia means well, of course she does, but the head of the clan needs more power, more presence than Sophia can manage.”

  I stared at him. Were we talking about the same woman? Her gaze felt like a punch, and her presence almost smothered me when she was angry. While this guy wasn’t a weakling by any stretch, I was definitely more afraid of her than I was of him.

  “Now, you look like a smart girl.” Manos grinned like a shark. “I’m willing to make a deal. You tell me what you’ve found out, and bring me the idol instead of Sophia, and I’ll pay you twice whatever she offered.”

  Even if I didn’t still want to bop him in the nose, no way was I taking that deal. Sophia was my client, not this bozo, and I wasn’t a rat, so my lips were sealed.

  I tipped my chin up. “Nothing doing, pal. I got nothing to tell you.”

  A strange light flickered to life in Manos Erepto’s eyes as his face darkened. He didn’t strike me as a man who got told ‘no’ a lot in his life. Well, tough for him. Darla Rowe wasn’t no stool pigeon. And as far as getting turned to stone was concerned, I was fairly sure it was only the women who could pull a stunt like that. Usually, where the magically inclined were concerned, it was the women who got the gifts, not the men.

  Regardless, I wanted out of that room, so I started forward. For a second there, I thought Manos might refuse to move out of my way. But he just smiled, and the expression had a few too many teeth in it to be a friendly like look.

  “Be smart about this, sweetheart. You’re making a mistake.”

  “Worry about your own mistakes,” I snapped. “Now out of my way, buster.”

  Cain tensed at the back of my head, ready to flow forward if it became a physical fight. I could hold my own okay. People used to think flappers were up for anything back in our day, and sometimes a ‘no’ had to be backed up with a fist to the nose. Still, Cain had training that I didn’t, so I was okay with him taking the lead.

  My stomach pulled tighter for every second Manos hesitated. My heart was thudding in my chest, the beat almost fast enough to dance to.

  But then he smiled, a tight, nasty look. And stepped aside.

  I got out of there. Fast.

  But I could feel Manos Erepto’s glare on my back all the way back to my car.

  Cain didn’t relax until we pulled onto the highway.

  ***

  All four of the pawn shops in a hundred-mile radius of Erepto Manor were dead ends.

  Not only did I not find the idol at any of them, but the owners said no one matching Dimitri’s description (or the idol’s, for that matter) had come in.

  So, now it was focusing on the antiquities scene.

  The gallery, Nouveaux, that I’d mentioned with regard to Fifi, was located past the outskirts of Haven Hollow in what used to be some kind of processing plant. I’d seen enough of such places to recognize the bones; a squat, gray box of a building in the middle of nowhere. If someone had told me this was where a muse would decide to set up her business, I’d have asked them if they’d been drinking the giggle water.

  I wasn’t thinking that anymore, standing in the parking lot of the place.

  The building was still a two-story block, but someone had taken whitewash and paint to the building, and turned it into a gorgeous mural. There were parts of the wall that were painted like a shallow, turquoise sea, where white horses galloped out of the tide’s foam. Another scene included gray and violet mountains stretching up to the sky, circled by enormous birds with bronze wings. On every inch of the wall, there was a new treasure to be discovered.

  Someone had added a covered walkway around the building, supported by gleaming white Corinthian columns, and flowering bushes and small trees had been planted to break up the silhouette of the imposing building, making me feel like I’d stepped right into late spring.

  “Geez Louise,” was all I could say, staring up at the place. Even Cain seemed to have lost his words.

  Living in a place like Haven Hollow, you got used to things being a little on the spooky side, even if everyone was making an effort to play nice. But looking up at this gallery now really felt like magic, like the air was crisper, the colors brighter, and everything was just a little more possible than it maybe should have been.

  There weren’t a lot of cars in the parking lot, which made sense since it was a Wednesday afternoon. I didn’t know a whole lot about the art scene, but it felt a little like the Hollywood parties I was used to, and those were a strictly evening kind of thing. I figured the place was probably jumping at night and on the weekends, people drinking wine and looking at paintings.

  Come to think of it, I didn’t really know what people did in galleries.

  It didn’t occur to me until I was halfway across the parking lot that the place might not even be open. Lucky for me, though, the door opened easily under my hand when I tugged on it.

  Maybe I was a dizzy dame, but I was glad I’d stopped in at Cain’s house to change after Magda’s wake. Showing up at Nouveaux in all black would have felt a bit like sacrilege. The dress I was wearing now was one of my favorites: buttercup yellow, and it hung just past my knees. Normally, I probably would have wanted something red, or maybe purple, but I loved the way the dress swung around me like a dance partner.

  The inside of the gallery wasn’t dark, not by any stretch. With all those windows letting the light pour in, sliding like honey across the polished wood floors, and the lamps and pot lights set up to showcase every piece like it was the star of the whole joint, there was no way the building could ever be dim.

  But somehow, and don’t ask me how they did it, the place felt shadowy. Private. Like walking into a grotto, where everything is cool and green, and the trees spread their branches and block out the sky, letting only bits of dappled sun through.

  The big open space of the building had been broken up with false walls, making more space to hang pictures on. The whole place was open, right up to the ceiling, with the industrial walkway having been set up for some bigger pieces, sculptures, and something that looked like a jukebox cut in half.

  Maybe I just didn’t understand art.

  I’d only got a couple steps into the joint before a gorgeous dame with a mass of glossy dark curls tumbling down her back, appeared out of nowhere. She was wearing a diaphanous and light blue dress that seemed to move around her like the wind.