Page 2 of April's Fool
“There’s no talking to you sometimes.” I hung up the call to Parker’s barking laugh. He honestly sounded like a fucking hyena, not a bird shifter.
He was good at his job, though, and had my back, so I didn’t completely dismiss his idea of higher assistance for this job. Maybe his goddess was throwing me a bone so I could get laid. It had been a while.
Getting into Cody’s apartment was too easy. Far too easy. Anyone, even those without a jot of skill, could pick his locks. It didn’t match the home of someone with something to hide.
Inside, the place was spotlessly clean. Everything, or what little he owned, had a place. Parker’s deep dive into Cody’s life revealed that Cody had a trust fund, but he had made a promise to donate it to charities after his death. Cody would gift his apartment to his coven if he died without a mate or partner. So a financial motive for his death was unlikely. I checked if there was a way to see if anyone close to Cody had taken out a life insurance on him.
Looking in every conceivable place I could check, I worked my way through the small apartment and found nothing worth notice. His sex toy drawer was probably the most interesting thing about the place. Clearly, Cody had been single for a while.
His wardrobe was where the real travesty laid. His suits were just... blah. I’d seen him. He was cute, had a great body, but these were just poorly fitting monstrosities. The fabric alone gave me hives.
If I had to kill him, then I’d ensure that he had a decent suit to be buried or cremated in. He couldn’t go into the afterlife in one of these. It was the least I could do.
I left the apartment exactly as I found it. Luckily, I’d learned to have a fantastic memory for detail, otherwise I would have neglected to notice that the wardrobe had been thirty degrees ajar and not fifty. Just that small amount would spark awareness of something being off in most people.
Thumbing through my phone to have an excuse to keep my head down around the security cameras, I noted blind spots for my return visit.
Once clear of the building, I called Parker again. A video call this time. “Yeah?” he answered around a mouthful of food.
“Charming. Look, there’s nothing in that place,” I said, running a hand through my hair, carefulnot to dislodge the wig. Normal gestures like that were necessary for making it look natural. Everything about me was designed to blend in from my hair color, the clothes I wore, even my average height. Standing at five-nine, I got lost in a crowd. “This contract is a dud. Any sign of who made it?”
On the other side of the screen, Parker choked. I watched him, alarmed, as he tried to speak, then tried to type it. He went through the motions of trying to mouth the words.
“Fuck!” My curse drew some attention, so I moved further down the block. “Give it a rest, Parker. Don’t hurt yourself! You’ve been put under a geas.” A restriction spell.
Parker frowned, but also relaxed. “Fucking witches,” he rasped finally.
“Yeah, so that makes me more suspicious about the coven.”
“Might not be them. Could be a lone witch,” Parker pointed out.
“Also true. The only way to figure this out is to speak to Cody.” Parker rolled his eyes. I ignored him. “I’ll get a truth spell.”
“Really? More witches?”
“It’s not like I can make one myself and I’m not bringing you in on this any more than I need to.”
“Fair point.” He paused. “Both of us are getting a weird feeling about this. Not being able to tell you who—“ his words cut off. “Fuck my life!” Parker tried again. “There was a proxy!” he practically yelled.
I processed his words while Parker sucked in some air. The geas that prevented him from speaking had punished him briefly by cutting that off.
Someone had made the contract on Cody, someone who, despite our digging, we had nothing on. They’d been smart enough to use someone else to do the contract. Either both had magic, or there was just one witch. Even so, this was a reason for caution.
“Parks, I’m getting that spell and speaking to Cody. Tonight. If he’s as innocent as I think he is, then we need to end the contract, and get the maker blacklisted so no one else comes for him.”
“You know, most of them don’t care about principles. Just as long as they get paid.”
“I know. Maybe you’re rubbing off on me, but this has me on guard.”
Cursed Silence
Damon
Thumping my foot againstthe door, I made the knock that signaled that I was outside, my hands too full of takeout.
Parker opened the door and relieved me of my burden. He headed off to the kitchen while I scoped out the desk he’d been working at, checking for any clues he might have missed. I wasn’t sure that he would leave anything out for me to happen upon, since Parker was usually meticulous about his work environment. Another reason I didn’t take him on jobs often, he hated the mess they inevitably made.
At the corner of the desk was a piece of paper, the writing too faint for me to make out. I reached for it, curious why Parker would leave this out. When I picked it up, the paper zapped me with some heavy magicks. The name entered my head, but it got trapped. I could feel it pulling at me, the information trying to shield itself from my consciousness.
