Page 70 of The Water Witch (Fairwick Chronicles 2)

TWENTY-SIX

Without looking to his left or right, Frank Delmarco entered the room. He walked to the chair set at the end of the table, slouched in his seat and glared at the Grove members. When his eyes met mine, he started to smile, then scowled, straightened his suit jacket, and pulled at the cuffs of his shirt. I’d never seen Frank in a suit jacket before. He looked like he was wearing a medieval torture device.

“Please state your full name,” Adelaide said.

“Frances Dante Delmarco,” Frank said with a look that dared anyone in the room to crack a smile at his middle name. Which wasn’t likely. I could feel Liz’s shock as she struggled to absorb the fact that brusque, gruff, but kind and decent Frank Delmarco had been a spy. At least Soheila would be spared seeing the man she secretly loved betray Fairwick—but then I recalled the video monitors.Damn.

“And please state your affiliations.”

“I’m a full professor of American studies at Fairwick College,” Frank said, looking straight at Liz. “I received tenure five years ago.”

“I’ll be damned if that’ll keep me from firing you,” Liz muttered under her breath.

“And …?” Adelaide prompted.

“I also work for the Internal Affairs Division of the Institute of Magical Professionals. They—specifically, Dr. Greeley here—asked me to report on any suspicious or unusual supernatural occurrences at the college.”

“And have you foundany suspicious or unusual supernatural occurrenceshere at Fairwick?”

I held my breath. Last winter when I’d found out that he was an operative for IMPIA he’d gone on a rant about the unorthodox and dangerous activities on campus—ranging from unauthorized tampering with the weather to harassment of civilians by supernatural creatures. And that had been before he’d had to save me from a winged, life-sucking liderc.

Frank sighed. “I compiled my report for IMPIA, not the Grove. I was never told that the information I was gathering would be used in a witch hunt.”

Loomis Pagan and Eleanor Belknap gasped.

“We are hardly likely to instigate a witch hunt,” Adelaide said, enunciating each word, “since we ourselves are witches, Dr. Delmarco.”

“I was using the term figuratively. I’m a witch myself, although I prefer the term wizard. Hunting down creatures because of their supernatural identities is just as intolerant as persecuting witches for their practices.”

“So you think it’s acceptable for supernatural creatures to prey on human beings?”

“Of course not,” Frank snapped.

“But you did document a case in which…” Adelaide turned to a bookmarked page of the report. “…in which anincubus invaded the home of a Fairwick professor and sexually molested her, did you not?”

Frank’s eyes flicked to mine for a brief instant, but long enough, I was sure, for him to have seen the pain in my eyes. I shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d reported on my relationship with Liam, but it hurt that he’d expressed it in those terms.

“Yes, but I also reported that the professor in question was able to banish the incubus with help from her colleagues, including some otherworldly colleagues. They got the job done. And I’d say the same about Fairwick College: the people here may not always play by the book, but they get the job done. They’re good people, by and large, whether human or otherwise.”

Eleanor Belknap grunted assent and Loomis Pagan nodded her head in agreement. A little bit of my anger against Frank was dispelled.

“But then you don’t always know which you’re dealing with, do you, Dr. Delmarco? Are you acquainted with one Soheila Lilly?”

“Yes, I know Dr. Lilly. She teaches Middle Eastern studies here.”

“And what is your relationship with Dr. Lilly?”

“We’re colleagues—and friends,” Frank answered warily, looking questioningly at me. Frank had told me once that he didn’t exactly know what Soheila was. I hadn’t volunteered the information that she was a succubus.

“So you’ve had ample opportunity to observe her. Do you know if she’s human?”

“I know that she’s a kind, intelligent, generous woman, an excellent teacher, and an outstanding scholar. She’s never hurt a soul. That’s good enough for me.”

“Hm, but if you don’t know what she is, how do you know that your judgment of her hasn’t been compromised?”

Before Frank could answer—an answer I believe would have included a rich array of expletives—Adelaide raised her voice. “The Grove calls Soheila Lilly.”

The door opened and Soheila appeared, escorted by Jen Davies. She and Soheila, arms linked, looked as if they might have been girlfriends out shopping together. She escorted Soheila to the end of the table opposite where Frank sat and, giving Soheila a small apologetic smile, left her. Soheila glanced first at Liz, then at the Grove members—then she saw Frank. A spontaneous smile of surprise and pleasure spread across her face and I realized she must have been sequestered somewhere and couldn’t watch the proceedings. She didn’t know yet that Frank was an Internal Affairs agent—or that he’d just been asked if he knew what sort of creature she was.

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