Page 90 of The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee

‘That’d be great.’

I wrinkled my nose. ‘It won’t be great, but it’ll be food.’

‘Food will do nicely.’

He sat in my kitchen whilst I bustled around feeding Shadow, Fluffy and then us. ‘So, another case under your belt,’ he said.

‘Yup. It sucked and I’m glad it’s over – now it’s your problem. Yours and the council’s.’

He laughed. ‘Yeah, but now we can both let it go. It’s tomorrow’s problem.’

‘I like that idea. I want a bath, a cuppa and you. In no particular order.’

‘The bath should be top of the list. Your mud problem is now mine.’ He grinned.

I looked at him; sure enough, he was covered in mud where I’d touched him. Fluffy was also mud covered. I sighed, then winced. ‘Your poor car.’

‘I’ll get it detailed.’

‘Well, before we can relax in that tub together, I’d better wash Fluffy and lock up and…’

He stopped my mouth with a kiss. What felt like a lifetime later, he let me up for air. ‘We will wash Fluffy and lock up. It’s you and me now, Bunny. You don’t have to be alone anymore.’ He paused. ‘To be clear, you can be alone any time you want. Any time you say, I’ll go…’ He looked uncertain.

‘For the love of God, stay.’ I pulled him down for a long kiss. ‘Stay, stay, stay.’

‘Well, you’ve twisted my arm,’ he mumbled against my lips.

I’d have taken him mud and all at that point, but he was as good as his word. He helped me scrub the dog and then the bathroom. He noticed the holes in my jeans and spent half an hour picking birdshot out of my butt so it could heal properly; no wonder it had still been hurting. He made me drink more blood to allow me to heal completely, then made a cuppa to my taste.

My phone rang. Since it was Gunnar, I answered. ‘Everything okay?’

‘You bet. I thought you’d want to know how Nora’s nail got under Aoife’s body.’

I sat up. That had been bothering me. ‘Hit me.’

‘Elsa was trying to frame her and she went through Nora’s bins to find some evidence to plant. She was hoping for a hairball from a brush or some old clothes that had been thrown out, but instead she found some torn-off acrylic nails. She grabbed one, but then a neighbour came out and she had to run away before she was spotted.’

I sighed as the last mystery was solved. ‘Not a keelut, then.’

‘Not a keelut,’ he agreed. ‘Elsa has confessed to Aoife’s murder. Like you suspected, she was planning on stealing a gem from Connor and using Aoife’s banshee spirit to make a new cursed gem. With the confession on the record, it’s just a matter of sentencing.’

‘And the council will factor in the possession?’

‘As I said, that’s the council’s mess to deal with. I just wanted to lay that mystery to rest for you.’

‘Thanks, I appreciate it. Night, boss. Love to Sig.’

‘She sends it back. Sleep well, Bunny.’ He rang off.

Connor had run me a deep, hot bath. I stripped off my clothes and climbed in, and he kindly let me soak for a few minutes before he joined me. Sharing a bath wasn’t the most practical thing in the world for tall people, and we were all knees and elbows. ‘I need a bigger bathtub.’

He kissed my shoulder. ‘Mine is huge. With jets.’

‘Next time, we bathe at yours.’

‘Deal.’

We scrubbed ourselves clean then we went next door to the bedroom where we got very, very dirty.

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