Page 64 of Deadly Lineage
“Christ.” Franklin ran his hand over his close-cropped hair. “I’m glad she decided that and not—”
“To dump a shit ton of pizza on my head?”
Franklin choked on a laugh. “God, I can’t believe that really happened.”
“I can’t believe the way it happened, but that she killed him… Oh yeah, I can believe that. I forget it, but that doesn’t mean the past hasn’t happened or that she might not do it again. Especially since her current master has given her a very, very long leash.” I didn’t think regaling Peaches with stories regarding one of Aurelia’s victims would change his mind. Otherwise, I’d already be on the phone.
Franklin tapped the table with a finger. “It wasn’t there when I picked you up this morning.”
It wasn’t really a question, but I answered anyway. “No.”
“That means someone wrote this shit while we were out today.”
I nodded. “That’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Franklin’s jaw worked, and for a moment he reminded me of a cow chewing its cud. “Mrs. Hart?”
“I’m assuming you’re asking if she saw anything, not if she did it.”
“Of course.” Franklin sounded one part amused and two parts exasperated.
“Just making certain. I didn’t ask her. She would have flagged me down when I got home if she saw anything. Besides, given the time of day, she and Miss Pattycakes were most likely asleep in the living room, TV blasting.”
Franklin mulled that disappointing news over before he asked, “And your father’s wards?”
“They don’t extend past the property line. The sidewalk is public space and difficult to ward properly. The wards he set onthe house are programmed to go off if anyone trying to enter has any ill will toward me. Legally, the sidewalk is for anyone’s use. Fairy law won’t allow him to extend the wards there. Besides, people are free to have their own opinions. They can stand out on the sidewalk all they want and aim shitty-ass thoughts my way.”
“While that might be true, this qualifies as defacing public property. That’s under human jurisdiction.”
I shrugged. While that was true, I doubted the human cops would be very interested. They had a lot more to worry about than some bigoted graffiti.
Franklin’s finger tapping persisted while he remained verbally silent. Finally, he asked, “Neighbors?”
I shrugged again. “Probably. If not them, then who?”
“How about the guys we chased after yesterday?”
My skin tingled with cold. “I hadn’t considered that. You think they’d come back this quickly?”
“I have no idea. It would be a good way to spook you. Maybe they’re trying to get under your skin. We’d have to know exactly why they were trying to break into your house to know the answer.”
My eyes roamed the kitchen, as if it would suddenly reveal the reason someone wanted to break in. “I don’t have anything? I mean, I’ve got Pops’s charms in a safe. I carry most of them around with me. They’ve got street value, but I can’t imagine someone being stupid enough to risk Nikodemus Holland’s wrath for a bunch of charms they can get elsewhere.”
“My thoughts exactly. So, if it’s not something of material value, that leaves one possibility. What’s the most valuable asset within these four walls?”
I blinked and answered again, “I don’t have anything, nothing that would be worth—”
“You, Erasmus. You’re what they were after. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
My heart dropped like lead, sitting heavily in my belly. “Shit.”
“Shit, indeed.”
Chapter
Twenty
Franklin
