Page 59 of Bright Dark Curses

“Normal post. Address looked fine.” Ethan sat up. “I looked it up when things got weird. It’s a random restaurant in Montel.”

“And you’re sure you didn’t keep anything from the packages? Maybe the packing material? If we could get fingerprints, we might be able to give them to Officer Br?—”

“Please don’t involve the police,” he begged. “I’m really sorry about the mess. I’ll help you fix this any way I can.”

Fluffy yipped in concern, clearly moved by the sight of Ethan’s stricken expression at the thought of calling anyone titled Officer. I glanced at Key, but she also had a similar please not the police puppy-eyed thing going.

Shane made a face when I met his gaze. Clearly he wasn’t exactly camp forget Officer Brooks, but he also wasn’t going to go against Key’s wishes.

“You promised one day,” Key said.

“That I did.” Plus, it wasn’t like we had any actual evidence to show her. Turning my attention to Ethan, I asked, “You used the forum messages with the witch?”

“Yes.”

“Show us.”

He brought out his phone, then scrolled for a bit. A crease formed between his brows. “The messages are gone.”

I made grabby hands, and he handed over the phone. The contact—PancakeKingWiz86—was there, but the message history was blank. Could Ethan have logged onto a secondary account to fake the conversation? Ask us for help in the hopes we’d look for a suspect elsewhere while he resumed his reign of terror? I passed the phone to Key, who also studied it closely.

“So,” Shane said after taking a look himself, “you have no way of proving you’re not making this all up.”

“I swear I’m not,” Ethan said, desperate now. “I’ll give you access to the set. I have alibis for when your friend was hurt.”

“You’ll give us a list of everyone working on the movie?” I asked.

“Sure. Anything.”

“Great,” I said with approval.

Fluffy let out a sharp yip and I let her down again. She trotted back to Rufus and rubbed against his flank. He appeared impervious to it, but I caught the gleam of contentment in his black doggy eyes. He couldn’t fool me, and neither could Ethan.

Something in his behavior and actions was too trustingly naive to be part of some elaborate game of smoke and mirrors.

“What should we do now?” I asked Key.

Shane gave her a toothy grin. “Yes, boss, what’s next?”

Her mouth twitched, and her cheek gained some color, but she took the question seriously. “We need to investigate our subjects.”

“Sanders, Curtis, and Lee,” I elaborated for Ethan’s sake. The cinematographer, the producer, and the actress. “What are your thoughts on them?”

He thought about it for a few moments. “Not sure about Sanders, but the other two, I could see it. Especially Lee.”

“Did you guys come up with any other suspects yesterday?”

Key and Shane shook their heads.

“No one obvious,” Key said.

“Following Sanders and Curtis around was a bust,” Shane added.

“I think…” Key scanned our surroundings to confirm we were still alone on the terrace and leaned in. “We need to check the trailers for the actors and crew. See if anyone has potions or ingredients for potions, especially dark magic.”

“Whoever is doing this must’ve come with their own supplies,” I agreed. “They wouldn’t chance buying locally and it getting back to them.”

We all glanced at Ethan.

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