Page 101 of It All Started with a Bite

“Could they have avoided the cameras?” Gavin asked after the playbacks ended.

“Possibly.” Nigel adjusted his glasses nervously. “The hotel’s security system is state-of-the-art, but there are blind spots.”

Didi frowned. “Was that everything you had for us?”

“From Château Montmartre?” Nigel said. “Yes.” His eyes gleamed in the gloom. “It’s a good idea I decided to keep monitoring Bloody Good Coffee.”

“Oh,” Bo huffed. “I smell a clue!”

The boogeyman typed on his keyboard. “I just went over the latest recording. This is from two p.m. today.”

Footage from the coffee shop’s security camera filled the screen.

Gavin paled. Didi drew a sharp breath.

I grew deathly still.

Marcus Holt sat drinking coffee at a table near the window, a stack of books beside him. A blonde woman in an expensive coat entered the shop and headed straight for him.

I leaned forward sharply, startling Nigel. “That’s the woman I chased in the Crossroads!”

“Keep watching,” the boogeyman said once he’d dimmed his glow. “It gets more interesting.”

Marcus looked up as the woman approached. His face lit up with recognition.

“He knows Wheeler,” Didi breathed.

Bo wagged his tail. “That’s what you call a smoking gun in crime jargon.”

The footage showed Wheeler sitting down. The two talked for several minutes before Wheeler passed Marcus a black bag.

“Can you enhance that?” I said tensely.

Nigel hit a key. The image zoomed in. We stared at the grainy shot.

“Someone please tell me that bag isn’t bulging in a way that suggests it contains a crystal skull?” Didi asked leadenly.

A ripple shook Bo’s fur. “Yeesh. I feel like someone just walked over my grave.”

I knew what he meant. The hairs were lifting on the back of my neck.

“We need to talk to Marcus.” I turned to Gavin. “You’re the best person for the job. He trusts you.”

The dragon newt’s horns and tail popped out. He hesitated before dipping his head, visibly upset.

Didi lowered her brows. “I think we should watch him first to be on the safe side.” She glanced at me. “There’s no point exposing ourselves to danger.”

I heard the witch’s unspoken warning. The crystal skull was a powerful artifact. If Marcus had it on him when we intercepted him, there was a chance he could use it against us.

Nigel promised to get us more information so we could plan our next surveillance operation.

“I still can’t believe Marcus is involved in this,” Gavin muttered as we left the boogeyman’s closet.

“People change, Gavin,” Didi said in a hard voice.

Gavin’s shoulders slumped.

Despite the evidence I had just seen, I couldn’t help but feel we were missing something. Something that would explain why Marcus had met with Wheeler.

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