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“I have Kinsley’s address,” Indigo said as she scrolled through her phone. “It’s on file from when she applied at the shop.”

“I don’t need it,” Niko said as he sped down the highway.

“You don’t?” she asked, giving him a curious look. “What, did you memorize it from a background check or something?”

“Not quite,” he said with a chuckle. “I haven’t had a chance to run a background check just yet. I was going to do it tonight, but things have taken a turn.”

Indigo was silent as she raised a questioning eyebrow.

“I gave her a ride home that night we took the broom ride when her sister couldn’t make it to pick her up,” Niko explained.

“Oh.” The word came out flat, full of judgment as Indigo turned to stare out the window.

Niko couldn’t help it. He laughed. “You’re not jealous, are you?”

“No,” she muttered.

“If you say so.” He swallowed the chuckle that was bubbling up in his throat. “Listen, I was just trying to be nice. I gave her a ride because it was pouring rain and she was stranded after we went riding over the bay, but it was so awful that we cut the night short, and that was the end of that. I do not and never did have a thing for Kinsley.”

She turned to eye him and scowled. “You don’t have to look so amused.”

He instantly schooled his features but knew the smile was creeping back in. “Sorry.”

Indigo huffed out a laugh. “No you aren’t. You’re really enjoying this.”

“It’s sort of amusing.” He reached over and took her hand in his. “You should know by now that I’m all in on this. You and me.”

“I know,” she said, her demeanor softening. “I just don’t like thinking of you with… her. Or anyone else really.”

He winked. “Right back at ya, Indigo Easton.”

Ten minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of Kinsley’s apartment building. After checking the unit number, they climbed the stairs to the third floor unit and knocked.

There was no answer.

Niko knocked again, but this time he peered into the window as his knuckles hit the metal door.

“It doesn’t look like anyone is home,” Indigo said.

“I’d say you’re probably right.” Niko took in the flyers on the Welcome mat and the cobweb that had formed over the right corner of the doorframe. “Looks like she hasn’t been home for at least a few days.”

“A few days? I just saw her yesterday and today. Do you think she’s staying at a boyfriend’s house or something?” Indigo asked.

“I didn’t get the impression that she had a boyfriend,” Niko said. “Not when she was hitting on me, anyway.”

Indigo scowled but then shook her head as if scolding herself for showing she was bothered.

Niko laughed.

“Shut up.” She chuckled softly. But when she sobered, she said, “You’re right. After you rejected her, she moved on to Mateo. I doubt she has a boyfriend.”

A young woman walked out of the adjoining apartment and glanced over at them. “Are you looking for the Coats sisters?”

“Sisters?” Indigo asked. “They live here together?”

“Yeah,” the petite brunette said. “Kinsley and Kimber. Twins. But I haven’t seen either of them in over a week.”

“A week?” Indigo repeated.

The neighbor nodded and waved as she descended the stairs.

“Now what?” Indigo asked.

“We go in and check it out,” Niko said as he pulled out his dagger. “Two college-aged women are missing and haven’t been seen by their neighbor in over a week? And one might be connected to a compulsion case? Seems like a wellness check is in order.”

“We’re breaking in?” Indigo asked, looking surprised.

“Sort of. Just to make sure everything is okay.” He gave her the tiniest of winks before he pressed the dagger to the lock. There was a soft click, and then Niko turned the knob and pushed the door open. “Stay out here until we know for sure there’s no one home.”

He walked in and called, “Hello? Kinsley? Kimber?”

There was no answer, and the apartment was dark in the twilight. He quickly searched the two bedroom rental, and when he was certain they were alone, he waved Indigo in.

“What are we looking for?” Indigo asked.

“Clues on where we might find Kinsley,” he said as he scanned the apartment. “If there’s any mail lying around, look through that.”

“That’s a federal crime,” she said from her spot near the door.

He smirked. “It’s not if you don’t open it or steal it. We’re just browsing.”

“Oh.” She moved to the kitchen and said, “Found a pile.”

He nodded and continued to study the contents of the apartment. A framed picture on one of the end tables caught his eye. He picked it up to study it. Right in the middle were Kinsley and her twin. They were surrounded by five other people. All of them were wearing matching T-shirts with the same logo and the words The Purple Cauldron . There was a shelf of alcohol behind them, and he decided The Purple Cauldron was likely a bar. He snapped a photo of the picture before turning around to find Indigo still going through the mail. “Find anything interesting?”

“Yes,” she said, looking up, her eyes haunted. “There’s mail here for Polly Smart.”

“What?” He crossed the room in two strides and looked at the mail in Indigo’s hands. “What did you find?”

“It’s just catalogs and advertisements, but she was clearly using this address even if she didn’t live here,” Indigo said. Then she pointed at a box on the kitchen bar. “And deliveries. Look.”

Niko scanned the name on the small cardboard box. Sure enough, it was addressed to Polly Smart. “Look everywhere for anything else related to Polly.”

“On it.”

The two of them scoured the apartment but came up empty. It wasn’t until they were about to leave when Indigo spotted another picture. “Look, Niko.”

There was a small, framed photo of just the twins and Polly Smart. They were hugging with their cheeks pressed together, and it looked as if all of them had just been laughing.

“So Polly is a friend who was sending her orders here?” Indigo speculated.

“It’s possible she was staying here, I suppose,” Niko said. “But it’s more likely she’s just a friend who spent a lot of time here.” He wanted to find the twins now more than ever. His gut was telling him that they had the answers he was looking for.

“Now what?” Indigo asked.

He glanced at the time on his phone. “Are you interested in getting a drink?”

“Like at a bar?”

“Yes. The Purple Cauldron to be exact,” he said, showing her the picture of the twins. He knew he shouldn’t take Indigo with him on his impromptu stakeout, but he wanted to see if either twin still worked at the bar, and he didn’t want to wait another night to find out.

Indigo grinned. “Let’s go.”

The parking lot was nearly full when Niko pulled his truck into the gravel lot. They parked and followed a young crowd of twenty-somethings into the local college bar.

Niko wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her into his side. “Look like you’re here for a good time,” he whispered.

“I am here for a good time,” she whispered back.

Gods, he loved spending time with her, even if he was investigating a case. Indigo was just fun.

They got a couple of curious glances as they navigated their way through the crowd to get to the bar, but most of the patrons were too invested in their drinks and their dates to care about two thirty-somethings who looked like they were dressed for a night in while streaming a movie instead of checking out a trendy bar with the younger crowd.

There was only one open seat at the bar, and Niko led Indigo toward it. He sat and patted for her to sit on his knee. Then with his arm wrapped around her waist, he signaled to the bartender. The bartender nodded that he saw them as he mixed a bunch of drinks for the customer in front of him.

“Kinsley isn’t here,” Indigo said.

“Neither is her sister, but we’ll ask the bartender when he saw them last.”

It wasn’t long before the tall, dark-haired man who was covered in tattoos appeared in front of them. “What can I get you tonight?”

Indigo inquired about which beers were on tap and went with the local amber.

“I’ll have the same,” Niko said.

“Coming right up.”

A few moments later, Niko was pulling out his cash as the bartender placed their beers in front of them. But before he handed it over, he asked, “Do you know Kinsley and Kimber Coats?”

“The twins? Sure. Everyone around here does,” he said with a grin. “Why?”

“Kinsley Coats is a friend. We haven’t been able to get ahold of her or her sister. So we’re just trying to connect with either of them while we’re in town,” Niko said smoothly, making his tone nonchalant. “Do you know where to find them?”

The smile fell from the bartender’s lips as he considered the question. “Kimber quit a few weeks ago. But Kinsley? She’s supposed to work tomorrow. That’s probably your best bet to catch her. Her shift starts at five o’clock, which should be just about perfect for you. The seniors appreciate the happy hour here.”

Niko snorted an amused laugh, while Indigo glared at the bartender as he walked away.

“Did he just call us seniors?” Indigo asked.

“It seems like it.” Niko held his beer up to hers. “To going to bed at nine and getting discounts at the movie theater.”

She giggled.

For the next thirty minutes, they sipped their beers and took in the scene at the bar. Niko didn’t see anything particularly interesting. It was just like every other college bar he’d ever seen, except for the large cauldron that was in the middle of the place and advertised a special witches brew. From what he could tell, the brew was just a large vat of mai tais that had been treated with dry ice, but the college students seemed to enjoy the novelty of it.

Once he was done with his beer, he said, “Ready to go?”

Indigo nodded and stood. She placed her empty glass on the bar and held Niko’s hand as he led her outside.

Just as they were getting into his truck, he spotted an older man with white, wiry hair poking out from under a fedora walk up to the back door. Niko felt a tingle of recognition wash over him, and he just knew the man was someone he should recognize. He hadn’t seen his face, but the energy, no matter how faint, was familiar. The man pressed his hand right in the middle, causing the door to automatically swing open. A second later, the man walked in and the door closed swiftly behind him.

“Was that the dean?” Niko asked.

“Dean Rollins?” Indigo threw her head back and laughed. “At The Purple Cauldron? I think you need to get your eyes checked. Have you met the man? He’d no sooner go to a college bar than dance naked in the quad.”

Niko nodded. “You’re probably right. He just had an air about him that made me think he looked like the dean.”

“You mean musty self-righteousness?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Niko told her, completely amused.

“It’s the only way of putting it. Now, are we done investigating tonight? I’m pretty sure I was promised a homecooked meal.”

“You definitely were,” Niko assured her. And then he put his truck in gear and took Indigo home. The sleuthing would have to wait until morning. He had dinner to cook.