Page 16 of Mystic Justice
‘We’re not bonded … he just stays with me.’
‘Stay with Pigdog!’ Loki agreed, making Amber smile. ‘Much ham. Light on.’
‘Indeed,’ she murmured.
I turned to Peter, who’d been hovering quietly nearby. ‘I need to speak to Rowan Dewlin.’
He blinked. ‘Dewy? Why?’ He blanched. ‘He knows the dryad who was killed,’ he breathed.
‘I believe so. I need to question him.’
‘Of course. I’ll take you to him. If you think he’s got anything to do with this, though, you’re wrong. That kid literally can’t kill a spider.’ He thrust his hands into his pockets and I followed him deeper into his den.
Dewy would either help us or he’d become a suspect. I hoped for his sake that he had an alibi … but I hoped for mine that he did not.
Chapter Eight
Rowan Dewlin was a blond dryad covered in mud up to his elbows. When he looked up and saw Peter, he threw him a joyous smile. ‘I got the yareta to grow! I got an air elemental to help create a bubble of special high-altitude air around it.’ He pointed excitedly to a bright-green, moss-like plant that was contained in its own glass box.
Peter’s answering smile was reserved. ‘Great work, my boy, great work.’ He cleared his throat. ‘The Connection are here to speak to you about a delicate matter.’
The infectious delight in Rowan’s young eyes faded. ‘Is everything okay?’ he asked, standing up. He absentmindedly rubbed the mud off his palms onto his trousers.
‘I’m Inspector Wise, this is Detective Channing and this is Robbie,’ I said carefully. Having the High King of the Ogres listen in on your interview might be nerve-wracking even for the most innocent of souls, so it was better that Krieg remained incognito.
Loki took to the air again, circling before he rested on some exotic fauna. I hoped he knew which plants to avoid and whichones were safe because everything in the Other could be deadly, including the plant life.
I went straight to the point. ‘I’m sorry to say that Moss Hollings has been found dead.’
‘Dead?’ Dewy breathed, his eyes wide. ‘Oh no! No, no, no!’ He sat heavily on the edge of the nearest ceramic plant pot and the resident fauna vibrated at his distress. ‘She can’t be – I saw her last week. She was missing, but I thought … I just thought she was finally shooting her shot, you know? Going to a recording studio. She’d been saving for so long. I was mad she’d ducked out without saying anything but I… ’
He trailed off as his eyes filled. ‘Sun and rain,’ he whispered. ‘She wasdeadand I was mad at her.’ He looked away, jaw clenched. We gave him a moment; there was silence, bar a few stifled sobs while he struggled to assimilate the news of Moss’s death into his own life.
We waited as his sobs echoed around the large chamber. Finally he turned back to us. ‘What happened? What happened to our lovely Moss?’ He wiped his face, leaving mud smeared across his face in lieu of tears.
‘She drowned.’ Channing’s tone was sympathetic.
Dewy surged to his feet. ‘No way! She was terrified of water – we used to joke that she wouldn’t even take a bath! No way was that an accident. You have to believe me!’
‘They do,’ Krieg said with surprising softness.
‘She was bound,’ I admitted grimly. ‘It wasn’t an accident.’
‘Bound?’ Dewy shook his head again, visibly upset and also bewildered. He sank back down onto the edge of the giant plant pot. ‘Who the hell would hurt Moss? She’s the best. She’s so kind, and she’s fun. She’s… Everyone loves Moss. I don’t understand. Who did this to her?’
‘That’s what we’re here to find out,’ I said, letting a little ‘bad cop’ creep into my voice.
He shot to his feet again, his muddy hand pointing to his chest. ‘Whoa! Me? You suspectme? I wouldneverhave hurt Moss. Never!’
‘You dated,’ I said flatly. ‘It didn’t work out.’
‘Yeah, but it wasn’t like that! Mostly we just fooled around some. We’re friends … we learned together, you know, sex and stuff, but we didn’tloveeach other. Not like that. We were just friends with benefits.’
‘Her parents thought you were dating.’
‘Well, sure.’ He made a face. ‘Moss wasn’t going to tell her parents we were banging buddies!’
‘What made you end your arrangement?’ Channing asked.
