Macon was the youngest Pritchard sibling and still in his all girls have cooties phase.
“As long as Boaz produces an heir, yes.” A soft laugh shook her shoulders. “You’d think he’d have sired fifty by now, but he’s been careful.”
Boaz in all his promiscuous glory was never going to be my favorite topic of conversation. I could laugh about some of the highlights, sure. But the reality of his past was often a tough pill for me to swallow. I choked down my jealousy, I always did, but reliving his escapades still hurt.
“I should get to work.” I stood and hauled Amelie to stand. “Toilets don’t scrub themselves.”
She groaned as she settled back on her swollen feet. “Hey, you want to hear something weird?”
“Hit me.”
She cocked her arm and punched me in the shoulder then shrugged. “What? You had to see that coming.”
“Fine, Little Miss Literal.” Rubbing the tender spot, I scowled. “Tell me.”
“You know that flickering lamppost on Whitaker Street we always hint is a ghost trying to communicate with us from the great beyond?”
“Yeah.” There was a benign disturbance in the area, but it was too weak to do more than interfere with that lone bulb. “Victims love whipping out their EMF meters for readings there.”
The small devices measured electromagnetic fields, and ghost hunters used them to determine hotspots.
“No longer.” Her sigh carried. “I walked past there twice tonight, and there was nary a wink in sight.”
“That really is weird.” The city had rewired that lamppost, replaced the bulbs, killed the power to it on more than one occasion, all to no avail. Or so we told the tourists. The truth was probably that the neighbors complained about the light and nothing was ever done about it, allowing us to embellish how we liked. It was a dependable stop while on that route, and it had the bonus of being authentic. “Did you see that story in the paper about the B&B?”
“I overheard Mom and Dad talking about it. In loud voices. She’s not thrilled with the newspaper coverage, but he doesn’t seem to think anything will come of it.” She swished her way toward the door. “So, are we on for Mallow after work?”
“Yes, please.” A hot chocolate would rinse the bleach taste from my mouth quite nicely. “Go forth and scintillate.”
“Oh, I shall.” She bobbed in a practiced curtsey that had nothing to do with her job and everything to do with being Society born and bred. “Don’t have too much fun without me.”
“I make you no promises.”
Once Amelie left, I set about tidying the chaotic parlor. I had an armful of accessories bound for the closet when a knock on the doorframe made me turn. A gaunt woman dressed in a navy pantsuit appraised me from across the threshold. Her slate-gray eyes narrowed on my face, and I got a bad feeling about the nature of this visit.
“Hello.” I scanned the hall behind her, but she was alone. “Can I help you?”
“Are you Grier Woolworth?” The question came out flat. She already knew the answer.
“Yes.”
“I’m Detective Caitlin Russo with the Savannah Police Department.” She stepped into the room. “I hear you disappeared for a few weeks then came back to work sporting a shiner.” Her gaze slid over me. “Ms. Meacham says it’s not the first time this has happened. You vanishing without a trace.”
Involving human law enforcement in Society business was a huge no-no. Cricket, despite her good intentions, could have done me less harm if she’d pulled the pin on a grenade then lobbed it at me.
Three
“I’m not an abuse case if that’s what has you worried.” The smile I turned on her pulled the scab on my lip taut, and she caught my wince. “I live alone. I don’t have a boyfriend—”
“Ms. Meacham seems to believe otherwise.” Detective Russo consulted a small notepad on her palm. “She says you’re dating the brother of one of her other employees, one Amelie Pritchard. The brother’s name is…” she skimmed her information, “…Boaz.”
“Boaz is my friend, not my boyfriend.” I kept tidying the room to hide the tremble in my hands. “He and Amelie are my neighbors. We all grew up together.”
“Is there any tension between you two?” She held a pen poised above the paper. “Has he made any unwanted advances?”
I snorted out a laugh. “Um, no.”
Her expression remained severe. “Why is that funny?”
“He’s always been like an older brother to me.” Minus the whole platonic-love thing siblings had going on. The love I’d had for him had not been so innocent. “He wouldn’t hurt a hair on my head, and he would take exception with anyone who tried.”
Except for, you know, the woman he recruited to use me as a grappling dummy.
Maybe I ought to leave out that part.
“All right.” She removed a card from her back pocket. “If you say you’re okay, I have no recourse at this time but to accept your word.”
Meaning she didn’t believe me for a hot minute.
“I’m fine.” I palmed her card and tucked it away while she watched. “Really.”
“If you say so.” She turned to leave, pausing to glance over her shoulder. “Keep that. You might need it one day.”
Giving up on convincing her otherwise, I patted my pocket. “I’ll do that.”
No sooner had I gotten her out of my hair and slumped on the couch than Neely barreled through the door. He gasped at the sight of me and clutched his chest with both manicured hands. I brushed my fingertips over my lips. “It’s not that bad.”
“You vanish for a month and come back looking like this?” He crossed the room and sank down beside me. “Amelie mentioned a family emergency, but I saw those men lurking outside the building the night I covered your shift. They were looking for someone. Dare I say someone Grier-shaped? That’s why Boaz got involved, wasn’t it?” He gathered my hands in his. “You were dating Danill Volkov, and you edited out that tidbit of information with the detective.” He hushed me when I protested the part where he’d been eavesdropping on official police business. “What happened?”
Turns out Danill was just as crazy as you thought. He kidnapped me and held me prisoner for a month on a country estate. The men you noticed were his vampire lackeys, and Boaz was holding them off to give me a chance to run home to my haunted house to safety.
“I did have a family emergency.” Keet had been kidnapped, so that lie had some meat on its bones. “My face is a separate matter altogether.” I debated how much to tell him then stuck as close to the truth as possible. “You called it. Volkov was way too possessive. He didn’t take me leaving town well, so we broke up, and I enrolled in self-defense classes in case he ever comes around again.”
“Oh, Grier.” Neely squeezed my hands. “I’m so sorry.” He noticed me in street clothes well past tour departure time and frowned. “Why aren’t you dressed?”
“I lost my job. Again.” And Cricket was well within her rights to fire an employee who tended to vanish like fog on the river without so much as a note. “I came in to beg for it back, but she axed that idea. She’s letting me fill in for Dom tonight, but I don’t know about tomorrow.”
“All is not lost.” His eyes sparkled in a wicked flash of inspiration. “Have you heard about the Cora Ann?”
“Amelie was just telling me I might get my spot back when Cricket starts hiring girls to fill her roster.”
“That’s a possibility, but the launch is weeks away. We need work for you now.” He whipped out his phone and fired off a text. “The owner is a client of mine. I’m going to put in a good word for you with him, see if you can get hired on there. You’ll still be paid by Cricket, and the familiarity with the boat might help you land one of those hostess spots.”
Grateful tears made my vision swim, but I blinked them back on the sobering reminder he was sticking his neck out for me because he thought I would starve without a paycheck. But if I explained I had an insta-fortune, he would ask questions. He already knew too much as it was thanks to his run-in with Volkov and his goons. I wouldn’t endanger him further.