Magic Misled (Lizzie Grace #7) - Keri Arthur Page 0,37

the rules and thereby allowing this reservation to become a target.”

“They’ve discovered that the hard way.” I picked up the card and noticed he’d scrawled a second number on the back. I raised an eyebrow. “Your personal number?”

“Just in case.” He shrugged. “It never hurts to show one’s interest, even if the timing is utterly wrong. And before you ask, I couldn’t give a fig about your connections.”

“Of course, I only have your word on that.”

“I wouldn’t be head investigator for the council if my word wasn’t worth anything. Trust is key up there.”

“Here I was thinking power was key.”

“There are all kinds of power, Liz. Not all of them are obvious.”

“True.” And if his family was my father’s first choice when it came to a possible alliance, they were obviously major players in Canberra. I tucked the card into my pocket. “Don’t expect a response anytime soon—not in either regard.”

He smiled, finished his drink, and then rose. “If I have any further questions, I’ll contact you.”

I collected the plates and cups, then stood. “When are you heading home?”

“Tomorrow afternoon. Tonight I’m interviewing the trucker who made a delivery half an hour before the blast, and I’m talking to the council tomorrow morning.” His expression was speculative. “Why?”

I hesitated. Instinct was stirring, and while it was sluggish and undefined, I wasn’t about to ignore it. “Can I suggest you don’t go out alone tonight?”

“Other than the interview, I wasn’t intending to. Again, why?”

“This isn’t local news, so don’t repeat it, but we’ve had a couple of murders, and we’re not sure whether the perpetrator is human or supernatural.”

“And you think I’m in danger?”

“The psi radar is twitching. Which may mean absolutely nothing, but still …”

His green eyes gleamed. “Thanks for the warning. It does bode well for future possibilities.”

My eyebrows shot up. “And how do you come to that conclusion?”

“I’m a stranger and yet here you are, already getting prophetic dreams about me.”

I laughed. “Hate to tell you this, but I get prophetic dreams about strangers all the time.”

“I’m saddened to hear that.”

I laughed again. He smiled, gave me a nod, and then left.

My mood remained decidedly upbeat for the rest of the afternoon. There was nothing quite like the interest of a good-looking man to make the day brighter, even if that interest was never destined to lead anywhere.

Belle leaned back in her chair and studied me over the rim of her glass of red wine. “You’ve a lovely buzz around you this evening.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Implying I usually don’t?”

“This buzz is different.” She glanced at her mom. “Isn’t it?”

“Indeed.” Ava smiled. “I would in fact suggest it’s the result of meeting with an eminently sexy witch this afternoon.”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s Dad approved. It ain’t ever going to happen.”

Belle straightened. “He was checking you out as a prospective bride? I didn’t get that impression when I skimmed his thoughts.”

“Then you didn’t skim hard enough.” I told them everything he’d said. “Which means, of course, my father has no fear that the consequences of the Society’s case will in any way affect him.”

“No doubt because historically men of his caliber very rarely get more than a slap on the wrist,” Ava said. “This might be a little different, given the mood up in Canberra at the moment—and it may also explain why he’s sent a Kang your way.”

I frowned. “That’s what I don’t understand—why a Kang? They’re generally spiritualists, and father doesn’t have the time or patience for that sort of stuff.”

“Technically,” Ava said, “they’re mystics rather than spiritualists. They believe all living things have an energy and a soul and that by connecting to that energy they can attain insight to both ultimate and hidden truths.”

I blinked. “Which is a roundabout way of saying they talk to trees.”

Ava laughed. “It’s far more than that, and you well know it. Why do you think so many Kangs work as investigators for witch councils the world over?”

“I’ve never really thought about it.”

“It’s because they can tap into the power of the world around them and ‘see’ the events of both the past and the present.”

“That ability won’t help them when it comes to situations that involve internal rather than external locations, though.”

“Except some Kangs—and Samuel’s line is one of them—can connect to the resonance that remains in inanimate objects such as chairs. It might not give them as clear a picture, but if they take enough snapshots, they can certainly form an overall opinion on the truth of