The Sleeper's Harp (The Arcane Artifacts, #1)

Chapter 9 - Shocking Surprise

"I take it you knew him."

"He...he was this...he was just a little old man! How...what...someone did this? How do they know it has anything to do with my apartment? Wait, do they think it was me since I was his neighbor? I was with you all night. You can vouch for that."

"Elle, relax." It was the first time he'd said my name and it made me freeze. "There aren't a lot of details yet, from the sound of it. WBI got called because the scorch marks around the body look similar to the ones they found on..." He trailed off, then his brow furrowed. "Well, it would seem that this absolves you. If both bodies were killed the same way, and you were with me, then it's doubtful you killed Professor Miller."

I screeched in fury, then punched him in the arm, hard. He flinched, glancing at me. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" I demanded. "I told you I didn't kill her."

He shrugged. "I don't rule out a suspect unless I have evidence that proves otherwise."

"I fucking hate you. I hope you know that," I seethed. That he could even still doubt me after our conversation last night and this morning. Ugh! A punch to the arm was too nice. I wanted to punch him again, this time in the fucking balls. "You know, it's times like these I really wish I was one of those lambs you mentioned, so I could fucking rip your face off right now."

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"It's not funny!" I roared.

"All right. All right. Calm down, Sugar. Let's just go see what we need to see, and we'll go from there."

I wasn't going to tell him how angry those words made me. The worst thing he could do right now was tell me to calm down, like I was somehow blowing this out of proportion, when I wasn't. Peter Gains...dead. I thought about all the cookies I'd baked him. Thought about his cute cat I'd borrowed on several occasions when I needed something to cuddle. Oh, shit. I needed to call Vivi.

I picked up my phone. A hand shot out and wrapped around mine, around my phone. "I wouldn't do that right now. This is a federal investigation. You should refrain from contacting anyone, especially on this phone. If it's tracked, and even if it isn't..."

His words slid right out of my mind. I looked down at his hand, covering mine. Gaped at it like an idiot.

He sighed, then squeezed. When he pulled away, my lips parted.

"Just hang tight, Sugar. We'll figure things out." His voice was softer this time. Maybe he could see the tears that started filling my eyes. Or sense my growing distress.

"What did they do to my apartment?" I whispered. He didn't answer.

***

My breaths were shaky as I climbed out of Bastian's truck. The entire street had been closed off. He'd flashed some sort of identification that got us through. I shut the door behind me and gaped at the swarm of uniformed people going in and out of Glanneg Building, my six-story apartment flat in the heart of Lower East. Two blocks down, if I squinted, I could make out the sign for Awake Coffee.

"Here, put this on." Bastian wrapped a leather jacket around my shoulders, probably summoned from thin air. It smelled like him, the cologne he wore, with hints of citrus. I pulled it around me and clenched it tight, using it as an anchor.

"Candy?" A voice to my right had me spinning. In a huddle of wide-eyed watchers, Candice was watching me. We'd always joked about how similar our names were.

The others nearby heard my name and turned. I was acquainted with about half the people in my apartment building. We did mixers on the roof sometimes, that sort of shit. "Thank God you're okay," she said, rushing over. She threw her arms around me and pulled me tight.