Page 54 of Lizzy's Story

“You didn’t ask him to be your bodyguard,” I said, “and you're not the one who killed him.” My words brought back something Steven had said.

The perfect job for someone like him.

“Why did he say Easton was desperate for a job?” I asked Charles.

He pulled his gaze from Jane to meet mine. “From what I heard, he needed money for him and his little sister. He told me once they had the same sickness, though he never mentioned what it was, and I didn’t ask. He always did his best on the job, and that was enough for me.”

My breath caught as I remembered Sable’s cryptic remarks and how adamant her mother had been that she not talk to reporters—like she’d had something to hide. Even though the mom should’ve been desperate to share what she knew to help find her son’s killer, she’d been scared. It was almost like she’d been protecting Sable, but from what?

“What’s going on, Lizzy?” Jane asked.

“Just a minute.” I held up a hand and pulled out my notebook, reading through my notes from the conversation with Sable once more, along with the information I’djotted down about Easton. She’d said he rescued her when she was little. I’d assumed it was an exaggeration, a little sister admiring her big brother, but what if it had been more than that? The words “New Hope” scrawled on the side of my page caught my eye, and Riley’s comment about his article came back. That’s why it had stood out to me when he mentioned he had to interview people from New Hope. It was where the werewolf attack happened and was also where Easton was from.

I sucked in a breath.

Sable said he got sick because of what happened, but what if she hadn’t meant sick… what if she’d meant infected? If Easton had saved Sable from a werewolf attack, maybe they’d both been bitten. That would explain his need to find a job that was perfect for someone like him.

“I think Easton was a werewolf.” The words escaped as a whisper. Even though he was dead, I was still incriminating his younger sister, but I couldn’tnottell Darcy and Charles when that one fact might be tied to his death.

Jane sucked in a breath, putting things together at the same time as me. “When was the last full moon?”

I pulled my phone out to check the calendar. “Eight days ago.”

“That’s the day Easton was murdered,” Charles said slowly.

“No.” I shook my head, my gaze meeting Jane’s once more. She gave me a small nod of encouragement, so I sucked in a breath. “It’s the day Easton died.”

“What are you talking about?” Darcy said.

“You’re positive that Easton drank a love potion, right?” Now wasn’t the time to make mistakes like before. I needed to go carefully.

“Yes.” In the darkness, Darcy’s nod was as sharp as his jawline. “But like I said, there wasn’t any poison or anything in it. It’s why the police finally let your mother go.”

“Because there was no poison,” I said. “Easton wasn’t murdered, and there was nothing wrong with that love potion.” I pushed my doubts away and met Darcy’s gaze. “He drank the love potion on the night of the full moon.”

“Why does that matter?” Charles asked. Both men stared at us intently. We had them spellbound with our announcement.

“If he drank the love potion the same night as the wolfsbane potion, that would’ve killed him,” I said. “Essentially, he overdosed.”

“That’s another reason we don’t sell wolfsbane potions.” Jane twisted her fingers into her bedspread. “The ingredients in a love potion don’t mix well with the ingredients for wolfsbane.”

Darcy inhaled sharply. “So you’re saying no one was trying to kill Easton… or me?”

“As far as I can tell, no,” I said. “I think it was a normal love potion.”

“Then what about the attempts on your life?” Darcy’s voice was a delicious low rumble.

“We thought I was being targeted because I was looking into the case, but that doesn’t make sense. After all, I’ve been looking into Easton’s murder since day one, but no one tried to hurt me until—”

“Until you were bound to me,” Darcy said softly.

I nodded and kept talking through it, making sure I wasn’t overlooking anything. “It wasn’t until Darcy and I started hanging out in town together, holding hands and acting like a couple, that someone tried to hurt me. Whichwould explain why Jane was targeted for looking like me.” I gripped her hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Nonsense, Lizzy.” She gave me a small smile that wasn’t as reassuring as she intended, considering how pale she still was. “You don’t have to apologize for the actions of others.”

“But how do we know it was the same person?” Charles asked. “Maybe they were attempts from two different people. The methods were so different.”

“But don’t you see, that’s exactly it. No one was supposed to die that first night, just fall in love. If the potion was meant for Darcy and Easton took it instead, that could explain the accidental death. But after seeing me with Darcy, the killer tried to take me out and make the lightning and gargoyle look like freak accidents.”