Page 25

By the time we returned to Sylvan Serenity, I thought the building inspector would be gone, but Bolin was leaning against his SUV with his arms folded across his chest. A van with a removable sign stuck on the door that read H&C Inspections was parked next to him in my spot.

“Presumptuous bastard,” I said.

Was that sign even legitimate? The guy had probably made it at a print shop on the way here.

Duncan looked over at me.

“The supposed inspector is in my spot.” I pointed.

There were only two reserved places for staff, and Bolin had the other one.

“Will you have him towed?”

Oh, hell, wouldn’t that be magnificent? I smiled with wicked glee at the thought.

“Is that the expression you wear whenever you contemplate having my vehicle towed?” Duncan asked.

“Absolutely.” I parked a few spots away. At least it was the middle of the day so most of the lot was open. “I’m going to go pound on this guy if he’s anywhere near my apartment. Will you stay here and guard the artifacts?”

“You don’t want help with the pounding?”

“Not unless Radomir and Abrams are here with him. Then we’ll enact our plan.”

“Of me fainting on them as a distraction?” His mouth twisted with distaste. After a lifetime of being fit and virile, he had to hate losing his strength.

“Yup.” I opened the door. “You can practice while I’m gone.”

“How does one practice fainting?”

“I believe it involves naps.”

“This is a dreadful situation.”

“I could bring you a pillow.”

Duncan scowled at me as I slid out.

“What’s he doing now?” I asked Bolin when I joined him, pausing to peek in the van’s window.

“He’s supposedly inspecting the roof,” Bolin said, “but he’s got equipment for scoping drains with him. He said it was for the gutters, but he’s up there poking things into the vents.”

A jacket and a couple of toolboxes were all I could see in the van. Tinted back windows hid the rest of its contents.

“Let me guess,” I said. “He’s on the roof above my apartment.”

“He is indeed.” Bolin slanted me a long look. “He’s been here all morning. I haven’t seen him inspect any of the other buildings. I’ve been tempted to call my parents, but the real estate agents did connect and arrange this appointment. As far as they know, it’s legitimate.”

“Did you look this guy up? Is he a real inspector? Or someone Radomir personally picked out and had a sign and card made for?”

“He does have a business license, yes, and a website and reviews on Yelp.” Bolin shrugged.

“He can be legitimate but also taking a special, questionable side gig. I’m suspicious of his inspection methodology.

Earlier, he looked like he might have been contemplating forcing his way into your apartment, but I’ve been watching him all morning.

Every time he’s spotted me, he’s started whistling and doing something else. He is not a professional snoop.”

“I appreciate you keeping an eye on him. Fortunately, there’s nothing but espresso and chocolate in my apartment for him to find. Not that I want his grubby mitts on my caffeine supply.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“Have you seen Radomir or Abrams?” Maybe I shouldn’t have fantasized about neck-wringing, but the easiest way to find a solution to Duncan’s curse would be the direct way.

Abrams was the one I really needed. Radomir probably didn’t know anything about how the link Abrams had long ago established between Duncan and the device worked.

“No. The buyers’ real estate agent arranged this.”

“I’m sure the real estate agent doesn’t know anything about what Radomir and Abrams are really up to.”

Bolin looked at me. “Do you ?”

“This, I think.” I waved at the inspector—he’d come into view, climbing over the apex of the roof.

He looked in our direction, then dropped to his hands and knees and crawled back out of view on the far side.

“Finding ways to search for the artifacts they think I have. Radomir has to be grumpy that Duncan located the one they had him looking for, only to escape with it around his neck.”

“This is… an elaborate ruse only to steal something.”

“Well, they don’t know where the artifacts are. This gives them a way to have the premises searched.”

“Do you have them with you? Or did you stash them out in the woods somewhere? I noticed someone who wasn’t Duncan out there with a metal detector this morning.”

“Was it a metal detector or a magic detector?”

“I… am not well versed enough in paranormal equipment to be certain. He was too far away for me to tell if it… had a vibe.”

“A vibe? Like an aura?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe you should chat up our ghost-hunting tenants to learn how to identify paranormal devices by more than vibes.”

“I attempted to chat up one of them when they first arrived. We discovered we had few common interests.”

I took that to mean they’d ignored his attempts to flirt. After making sure the inspector couldn’t see us, I grabbed the case out of my truck.

Duncan had taken my advice and had his eyes closed. Napping, I assumed. Not fainting.

“How’s Jasmine doing?” Bolin asked when I returned. “She didn’t mention if she found the networking event fruitful. I was hoping she would call.”

And that they could chat for hours about their common interests? I gave him a sympathetic smile.

“She did speak with me for a while during the event,” he continued.

“Before you, uhm, before all those fight sounds came from MacGregor’s bedroom.

She said her mocktail was a little weird and gave me a sip.

I agreed. I should have suggested an espresso martini, though I don’t know how one without alcohol might be made.

Was she not drinking because she was the driver or because she prefers not to? ”

“I’m not sure. Touch this, will you?”

Bolin reached out a finger. Judging by the bracing grimace he wore, he expected it to zap him. But when he touched the case, he didn’t immediately pull back.

“Oh, it’s not trying to electrocute people anymore?”

“It is if you’re a werewolf.”

“Before, it gave me a zinger every time I moved it without insulation.”

“And it’s not now?” I arched my eyebrows.

“Nope. What changed? The fact that you’ve used the artifact inside a couple of times?”

“I don’t know. Nothing has changed about its relationship with me.”

Bolin poked the case on a couple of different sides. “It doesn’t seem to mind me anymore.”

“Maybe you’ve changed. The case was made by druids, right? Maybe you’re getting more druidly.”

He started to snort but paused, raising a finger. “I have been practicing spells and more frequently making magical items.”

“The bath bombs.” I nodded.

“The Orbs of Entanglement.” Bolin scowled at me.

“When Jasmine and I charged into the back of that cabin, I threw one, bumped my elbow, and it rolled uselessly under a sofa. But then I thought about it expanding its reach and tried to will my power to make it do so. Surprisingly, it did. It swept out from under the couch, and one of the thugs got stuck in it.” He shrugged.

“It was a small use of power, but it seemed… like it meant something. Like if I kept practicing, maybe I could actually be a decent druid.”

“Of course you could. I’m surprised Jasmine hasn’t been more wowed by your powerful aura.” I smiled, only partially sarcastic. He wasn’t the stuff of most women’s fantasies, but he was a good guy.

“By then, she was already a wolf. I’m not sure she saw me applying my power.

Also, I tripped over a boot warmer as we charged in.

It wasn’t my fault—I was really startled when Jasmine turned into a wolf right in front of me.

I’d known she could, but I’d never seen someone do that.

Anyway, I almost landed face-first on the floor.

” Bolin sighed. “I’d been hoping that we would bond through fighting together, but…

I almost stepped on her tail as I was flailing for balance. ”

“Maybe you need another battle to better show off your abilities and find your teamwork groove.”

“I’m more of a lover than a fighter.”

“Don’t forget violinist.”

“Oh, I haven’t. I have many non-martial skills.” Bolin tapped his chin. “I bet I could find a recipe and make her a non-alcoholic espresso martini.”

“Of course you could. That’s a lot easier than mastering a violin piece. I’m sure of it.”

Bolin looked encouraged.

The inspector walked back into view on the roof, and I tucked the case behind my back. When he headed for the ladder, I jogged it back to my truck, returning it to the glove compartment. Duncan raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask for an explanation. Maybe he’d seen Bolin’s experimental pokes.

The inspector headed toward the parking lot, bringing his ladder and a toolbox with him.

“I’ll be curious to see his report,” Bolin said, “if the real estate agent sends a copy to us.”

“Is that likely?” Despite years as a property manager, I hadn’t been involved in the sale of any real estate. Not yet anyway. “One day,” I vowed under my breath.

“I don’t think they have to, but if they want my parents to pay for any repairs, they should send it along as proof that they’re needed.”

“How far will Abrams and Radomir take this charade?” I gazed out to the street, still hoping they would turn up in the area.

Duncan had left my truck and was strolling along the edge of the property. Had he spotted someone? He was looking about, maybe also hoping to find Abrams or Radomir lurking.

The inspector had almost reached us, and Bolin didn’t answer my question.

When I not only saw but sensed the guy’s approach, I twitched in surprise.

Radomir and Abrams had found a building inspector with paranormal blood.

I couldn’t tell if he had the tendencies of a wizard or just a clairvoyant, but, either way, if he’d gotten close to any of the artifacts, he would have sensed them.