Page 24 of Dancing with My Elf
“Do you have any experience in solving crimes?” She drummed her fingers on the table.
“No, that’s where you’re the expert. I’m the ah,” I motioned around the room as I searched for the right word. “Subject matter expert.”
“How so?”
“I have insider knowledge.”
“Back up.” She sat down and faced me. “What do you know?”
When I pictured the text I received from my boss, Frank, this morning, I scowled. He’d noted that Tony was dead. I’d called him right away. He grumbled that the police crawling the area this morning was bad for business.
I summarized this to Zoe and added, “Frank said it appeared to be a heart attack but was reluctant to say anything else. He doesn’t want it connected to the club because it can hurt business.”
Zoe watched me keenly. “I’m going to investigate the area where they found Tony.”
“You think it’s murder?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I can’t say for sure, but the facts don’t look good so far.”
“Meaning?” I prodded her.
“Dark magic was found. Demons could be involved.”
“Ah hell.” I leaned forward. “That’s exactly why I came down here.”
Zoe raised her brows. “You suspected a demon killed Tony?”
“No,” I clarified. “But after what happened to Margaret and other witches last fall—and the reason behind it being demons, I came down to see if I could help.”
“And that’s why you volunteered to help me investigate?”
I shrugged. “Yeah.”
Zoe drummed her fingers on her desk. “I don’t know about this, Lucas. Something seems odd.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The whole progression of events lately—all which are happening at a club where you work.”
I pointed to myself. “You’re not saying you think I’m involved, are you?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t say that.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I’m trying to sort through the facts.” She rubbed her chin. “I met you and Tony on the same night. He is now dead and under mysterious circumstances.”
“The reason you met us at the club is because you came there.”
She stared at me and said nothing for several seconds. She brought her fingertips together. “And now you’re offering your time on this case.” She narrowed her gaze. “If you were involved, it would be a perfect cover for you.”
I blinked at her. “What?”
“You’d learn what info we had. You may even be able to sabotage the investigation or at least lead us on the wrong track.”
I couldn’t believe this was her reaction to me coming to the Network. Our eyes locked, as if trying to read the other, until I finally glanced away. “Are you always this suspicious of people?”
She fixed a steady gaze on me. “I’m a detective. Anyone’s a suspect until they’re ruled out.”
