Page 112 of Power of the Mind

“Fair enough. Although Miss Scarlett would probably need a client to request that consultation, right?”

“Tallus, for fuck’s sake. What the hell are we talking about?”

“Let’s give Miss Scarlett a rest for a minute. Moving on. Mrs. Peacock says that it’s Hilty or Rowena giving theirvulnerableandsuggestableclients something, and that maybe they’re buying whatever it is from Janek. Maybe it’s many things. Maybe Janek is simply an unwitting supplier. You don’t need a prescription to buy herbal drugs, D. Even if she does consult with customers and offer suggestions based on their medical history, who’s to say the medical history is accurate or that the person buying the supplies is the one taking them?

“We have eleven dead people who are connected to a known scam artist and her ex-husband who lied to us. You cannot deny they are up to something, and at its core, there is a strong possibility it’s drug-related. Unless you want to revisit the whole mind-control thing, but that theory, let’s call him Col. Mustard, died in the conservatory a long time ago.”

I yanked open a desk drawer and rooted through the contents in search of gum, candy, or something to alleviate the burgeoning craving searing me from the inside out. When I came up empty, I slammed the drawer and scrubbed my face and head before resting my elbows on the desk and pinning Tallus with a hard glare.

A fucking game. That’s what this was, and I’d set aside a week of my life because I couldn’t say no to Tallus. I’d given him my figurative detective hat and let him navigate the murky waters of a noncase.

“What do we do from here?” I asked, regulating my temper. I needed to be alone so I could think through the trajectory of my life. So I could smoke a few cigarettes. I didn’t know if I was coming or going anymore. Tallus had thrown so many curveballs I was getting hit from every angle.

“Since I work tomorrow, can you go chat with Janek?”

“Chat with Janek.”

“Yes.”

“Me.”

“Yes. I have faith in you. Your conversation skills are getting better by the day.”

“And what exactly are Janek and I chatting about? Am I supposed to ask if she sold Hilty an excess of herbal bullshit potent enough to kill a man?”

“No. Play it smooth.”

“Smooth.”

“Yes.”

“Define smooth.”

“Feel her out. Get an idea of her relationship with the neighboring hypnotist. Are they friends? Enemies? Does she see him in a positive light or as a flake of a doctor not worth his salt? See if they work together, share patients, or offer referrals. Maybe she can give you information about the toxic effects ofthe drugs she sells. I don’t know, Diem. Play it by ear. Read the room. I’d go with you, but I can’t afford to take the whole day off, and I’m already going to see if Kitty can stay late so I can leave early and intercept Memphis before his appointment with Madame Rowena.”

My gaze turned caustic. “Why?”

Unaffected, Tallus smirked, “Because I’m going to take his appointment and get my ass inside that woman’s freaky voodoo establishment to see what I can learn. If she’s up to something, I’ll figure it out.”

He looked so damn proud of himself. So confident in his goals. So self-assured. Even when the whole fucking case was based on nothing more than an intricately woven fictitious story he’d come up with one night when he couldn’t sleep, he glowed. Was he so desperate to be a detective that he had to create cases out of thin air?

A thought dawned on me. Was he doing this so we could spend time together? Was it because I’d spent months stalking him and showing up at his door unexpectedly for a quick fuck? Was it because I couldn’t take it further, and he was giving us a nudge?

Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter. I was overthinking.

I wasn’t in a position to contradict Tallus. I didn’t have theories because I couldn’t see past the ludicrousness of what we were investigating. True, I saw something in the details, but I hadn’t devised a better game plan. Fuck it. I either played by Tallus’s rules, or I forfeited.

And even though I couldn’t give him the date or relationship he wanted so badly, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Something told me we could never go back to where we’d once been. If I ended this nonsense case, there would be no more stalking. No more drunken fucks in the middle of the night.

No more hope.

No more Tallus.

“All right.”

Tallus’s face brightened like he’d expected me to shut the whole shitshow down. “Really?”

“Col. Mustard is rightfully dead, but Mrs. Peacock holds more water than Miss Scarlett. I’ll talk to the naturopath tomorrow, but don’t hold your breath.” The likelihood of me finding any groundbreaking evidence was slim to none.

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