Page 42 of Home Is Where the Witch Is
“Absolutely,” Rosie said with a tired smile. “The babies are in the nursery, and Ben is looking after Maggie while Gabe and Matthew hang out at our place.”
“Okay, we’ll keep it short and sweet,” Hella advised, with a glance at Emperia. Rosie got the impression that if it had been up to Hella, this conversation would have waited for the light of day. “We went to check on all the alibis today.”
“Find out anything helpful?” Declan asked. He was squashed into the chair next to Rosie’s bedside table, leaning forward so the arms of the chair didn’t press into his beefy frame.
“Yes, actually,” Hella replied urbanely. “Adrienne confirmed Alain was telling the truth. Hewasin his room during the time of the murder.”
“So it’s not him,” Rosie mused.
Ivy shook her head. “Nope. Which is surprising, given Aata’s reaction to him. But there you have it.”
Declan lifted a hand to scratch absently at his stubble. “One down, two to go.”
“Indeed. This is where it gets tricky.” Chaoxiang glanced at Emperia.
Rosie frowned, looking between the pair of them. “Why?”
“I’m pretty sure that Medea’s advisor is lying about her being with him,” Emperia confessed.
“Shocker,” Hella said, rolling her eyes.
“The good news is that he ‘advised’ her to allow us to do the Calling spell—now that it’s too late for it to be useful.” Emperia’s words were saturated with cynicism.
Rosie resisted the urge to sigh. “We kinda saw that one coming, as frustrating as it is.”
“Yep,” Emperia agreed.
“What about Tya’s brother?” Declan asked, turning to Chaoxiang who in turn stole a telling glance at Ivy.
“What’s wrong?” Rosie asked, her instincts kicking in.
“We can’t find him anywhere,” Ivy admitted, pressing her lips together in a grim line.
Rosie’s stomach did a backflip. “Crap on a cracker.” If it turned out Tya had been the one who killed Aata, they’d have to go back to the drawing board with the Australian election.
“My sentiments exactly.”
The room was quiet for a moment as everyone seemed to gather their thoughts. A short while later, it was Rosie who broke the silence.
“Okay, so it’s either Medea or Tya. Tya’s spells showed that she hadn’t done any magic that could be connected to the murder, right?”
“Right,” Chaoxiang confirmed. “We’ll never know about Medea’s. And seeing as her advisor says she was with him, that technically clears her.”
Declan shrugged. “Then we'll have to take Tya back into custody.”
“Hear me out,” Rosie said, sitting up a little in her bed. “Why don’t we takebothof them back into custody?”
“Reason being?” Emperia asked. “Sorry to play Devil’s Advocate, but if we clear Alain andnotMedea, isn’t it going to look as though we’re playing favorites?”
But Ivy had caught onto Rosie’s line of thinking. Her hazel eyes brightened with the spark of an idea, and she shook her head. “No. BecauseAlainwasn’t seen arguing with the victim shortly before the murder.”
“True.” Emperia looked around at the other Council members before nodding. “Let’s do it.”
“Yep,” Rosie agreed. “Only let’s hold them for a couple of days. Let them sweat. It gives you time to keep trying to track down Tya’s brother, and us time to get these kids home and settled in.”
“Good plan,” Chaoxiang agreed.
Rosie had never been happierto hear a door close behind her in all her life. The familiar sights, sounds, and sensations of home enveloped her, welcoming her back with open arms. She wished she could say that’s all it was, but since Ivy had mentioned it, she was now acutely aware of Carol-Ann’s presence too. Sending out a vibe of love for her family’s loving guardian, Rosie carried her newborn daughter into the house.
