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“A Mage’s weapons are his hands, so I don’t see how a Chitah could’ve strangled him without getting blasted to hell.

A Chitah’s first and only instinct is to pin their opponent’s wrists.

” Milly took off her glasses and used her shirt to clean the lenses.

“Even if the killer strangled the victim unconscious, that’s not how a Mage dies.

They’re damn hard to kill, especially without any Chitah venom.

Is it possible a Chitah and a Mage were both involved?

You bet. But in my professional opinion, this guy was killed by a Mage. ”

“Is that enough to free our suspect?”

She shook her head. “Like I said before, I’m not an expert with bite marks.

It’s possible they could belong to your suspect and the struggle caused the inconsistent pattern, but that’s not my opinion.

” She put her glasses back on. “I don’t do DNA testing.

Even so, that wouldn’t rule out your suspect since he was found lying on top of the body with his face in the man’s neck.

It doesn’t get more damning than that.” She flicked the sheet over the body, covering the Mage’s face.

“That’s all I’ve got. Did you hire a Vampire to question the Chitah to see if he was with anyone? ”

“I’m afraid that’s confidential. We can’t discuss all the details of the case, especially without a final ruling.”

She shrugged. “Is someone going to scoop this guy out of here before he stinks up my whole house?”

Montana cleared his throat and attempted to stifle a grin. “I’ll take care of that. Miss Thompson, do you need the body for anything else? I can haul it down to the crematorium.”

I shook my head. “We have everything we need. Just make sure to save his ashes in case his Creator wants them back.”

Cremations were standard practice in our world since we couldn’t build our own cemeteries without humans noticing. Older cities did for the wealthy, but most people preferred cremation.

“Thank you again, Milly. I’ll have our messenger send payment as soon as possible to your banker.”

“No problem,” she sang while washing her hands. “Next time, try not to bring them in with freezer burn.”

Montana walked me out. “What do you think? Is that enough evidence to free Lucian?”

“I’ll have to discuss it with my partners, but I don’t think so. It still doesn’t rule out his involvement as an accomplice. Do you know if he lacks venom? Is that something we can test for? Maybe you can ask his brothers.”

“I never asked him. And I won’t reach out to his brothers without his permission.”

I could see why Lucian wouldn’t want his family here. He already felt like a black sheep, and this wouldn’t help.

Montana sighed. “It’s a hell of a situation.

I know your hands are tied without hard evidence, but tell the Mageri what Milly said.

Maybe his Creator won’t be as hard on him if they have lingering doubts.

” When we reached the elevator, he leaned his shoulder against the wall and crossed his sun-kissed arms. “Is there anything else I can do?”

“Actually, yes.” I handed him the keys from my purse. “Would you mind going to my house and checking in on my father? I know it’s a crazy request?—”

“I got you.” He took the keys and gave me a tight grin. “Anything I should know before I leave?”

“He sleeps in the basement. It’s a long story.

The elevator’s in the kitchen hall, and I’ll send him a message that you’re coming so he doesn’t knock you over the head with something.

I want to go to the Rabbit Lounge and wrap things up with Calvin, and I’m not sure how long that’ll take.

Maybe have a look around the crime scene.

Possibly buy dinner and take some home for my father.

He needs oxygen, so if you could make sure he’s got plenty left in his tank, I’d appreciate it.

If not, he’ll tell you how to hook up a new one. He loves giving people instructions.”

“Tell you what—I’ll cook your dad something while you finish what you need to do. Take your time. I’m not completely useless in the kitchen.”

“You would do that?”

“Think nothing of it.” He pushed the elevator button, and when the doors opened, we stepped inside.

“I just need to put the body in the truck first. After I check on your dad, I’ll drop off the remains.

Are there any loose ends with Lucian’s security system?

You don’t have any open windows waiting for glass installation, do you? ”

“Nothing like that. He was working on the cameras when all this happened.” I rubbed my forehead as utter exhaustion consumed me after a full day of work and worrying about Lucian.

I’d lied to Montana about why I was going to be late.

Yes, I planned to stop by the Rabbit Lounge and talk to Calvin, but I hadn’t seen Lucian in two days and wanted to speak to him.

Concerned that my working relationship with Lucian might cause favoritism, Connor didn’t want me visiting him more than I would anyone else.

While I didn’t like being separated, it was better that way.

If we eventually freed Lucian, I wouldn’t want anyone in town doubting the reason why.

The longer we remained separated, the more I wanted to break him out of there. While Lucian wouldn’t have committed this crime, I wasn’t certain about his inner animal. Chitahs had no control over their primal side.

After my conversation with Milly, nothing about this felt good.

If her theory was right about a Stealer killing Marcus, how could we prove it?

Although every Mage’s gifts were documented in the Mageri’s record books, they were confidential.

We weren’t at liberty to question every Mage in town about their gifts, which were considered private.

What good would it do if the killer wasn’t even local?

Dragonfly’s was attracting a lot of out-of-towners lately.

Small towns had drawbacks. We didn’t have the same resources as Councils in big cities, no specialists we could call to investigate a crime scene.

We didn’t have enough murders out here to warrant having our own cleaners, so usually they had to be called in.

Because the crime looked open and shut, Connor hadn’t bothered calling them.

We also didn’t have a place to store dead bodies, so that meant temporarily placing Marcus in the deep freezer out back. Thank God I wasn’t there to see the look on Montana’s face when he collected the body, especially when Peter described the position he was frozen in.

After Montana and I parted ways, I made my way to the Rabbit Lounge. The sun hung low in the sky, and the air was uncomfortably still.

When I entered the bar, two familiar figures were brawling in the center of the room. Otis and Big John had a long-standing dispute over property lines, so they were always at it. Otis smashed a chair over Big John while Calvin cursed up a storm behind the bar.

Big John, who was short and wide, staggered to his feet and punched Otis, who spun around comically. When John’s gaze landed on me, he stumbled to the back of the bar and sat down as if his mother had scolded him.

“Ha!” Otis shouted at him. “I guess that settles who the tough guy is. Next time—” He turned his head, and when his eyes fixed on me, he silently grabbed a glass of beer from a table and made a beeline for the pool tables.

Calvin rounded the bar and headed toward me, his long grey hair floating behind his shoulders. He offered me a glass of white wine. “The sight of you is the only thing that puts these dumbasses in their seats.”

“I’m still on the clock,” I said, waving away the drink. “But thanks anyhow. It’s lively in here tonight.”

“You’re telling me.” He gulped down the wine and then wiped his goatee. Calvin was lean but could take care of himself from what I’d seen. His leather vest and biker attitude just lacked a motorcycle.

“These peons have been at it all day,” he went on. “Ever since that murder, they think they can lose their damn minds in my bar.”

The music died down, and then a roaring electric guitar blasted through the jukebox speakers. People were rowdier than usual tonight, and Mercy was swatting a man over the head with a notepad.

“I haven’t heard anything new,” he said. “Everyone’s talking about it, but it’s the same old chatter. You can ask Mercy, but she told me the same thing.”

“Thanks for keeping your eyes and ears open.”

I wanted to cringe for saying that when I remembered Calvin only had one ear. Avoiding eye contact, I glanced over his shoulder and spotted Henry Hightower emerging from the back hall with a male companion. When he saw me, he flashed a megawatt smile and waved.

Perfect.

“What’s been your experience with Lucian Cross?” I asked.

Calvin sniffed hard and gripped his leather vest. “He’s a moody fellow. Kind of a smart-ass, but he’s not a troublemaker. Keeps to himself, usually sticks close to his packmates. Mercy’s tore up about it.”

A group bustled in, and someone accidentally knocked me into Calvin, who caught me before I fell.

Calvin scowled. “Jesus Christ! Watch where you’re going, jackass.”

Calvin wasn’t a man who minced his words.

“Sorry, ma’am.” A young gentleman with shaggy hair and soft features blushed fiercely when he realized who he had bumped into.

Poor thing.

“It’s okay. I’m fine,” I assured him.

He didn’t look older than nineteen and quickly rejoined his crowd.

“That’s Rowdy,” Calvin said. “Looks like he’s living up to his name. Local coyote Shifter.”

“Go easy on him, Calvin.” I touched his shoulder. “He’s just a kid.”

“Is there anything else I can do with the case? I’ve given you all the information I have.”

“What’s your experience been with Marcus?”

Calvin rolled his eyes. “Big asshole with a big mouth. Sore loser at pool and started a few fights in here. He was an instigator, so I’m not surprised he wound up dead in a parking lot. That was a long time coming with all the people he pissed off around here.”