together. I mean, what are the odds, you know?"
I sat up straight. Murphy had put her finger on it. "Stars and stones, you're right. How could I have missed that?"
"You've been a little busy?" Murphy guessed.
I felt my heart speed up. It beat with a dull pressure on my hand. It wasn't pain yet, but it was coming. "Okay, let's think, here. Arturo didn't announce that he was getting married again. I mean, I only found out because someone who knows him made a sharp guess. And I doubt the ex-wives knew about it firsthand. In fact, I'd be willing to bet they were informed of the fact by a third party."
"Why?" Murphy asked.
"Because if you want to work magic on someone, you've got to believe in it. You've got to want it. Otherwise it just fizzles. That means that they want someone dead. Genuinely want it."
"Because when they found out it was a nasty surprise," Murphy said. "Maybe whoever told them tilted things even further before the ex-wives found out. Made it hit them really hard, made them really mad. I don't know, Harry. You'd need a fourth party to want Arturo's new squeeze nixed for that to hold water."
"Yeah," I agreed. Then I felt my eyes widen. "Unless that wasn't what they wanted at all. Murph, I don't think this is about money."
"I don't understand."
"Genosa's in love," I said. I felt myself rise to my feet. "Son of a bitch, it was right there in front of me the whole time."
Murphy frowned and rose with me, putting her hand on my good arm. "Harry, you need to sit back down. All right? You're hurt. You need to sit down until Ebenezar gets back."
"What?"
"Ebenezar. He thinks he can do something for your hand, but he had to pick up something first."
"Oh," I said. My head spun a little. She tugged at my arm and I sat back down. "But that's it."
"What's it?"
"Trixie and the other stregas are just weapons for someone else. Genosa is in love. That's why he didn't react to Lara like everyone else. They can't touch him. That's what this is all about."
Murphy frowned. "What do you mean? Who is using them as weapons?"
"The White Court," I said. "Lord Raith and the White Court. It's no coincidence that he and his second-in-command are in Chicago this weekend."
"What does Genosa's being in love have to do with anything?"
"The White Court can control people. I mean, they seduce them, get close, and before long they can sink in the psychic hooks. They can make slaves of the people they feed on, and make them like it to boot. That's the source of their power."
Murphy arched an eyebrow. "But not if someone is in love?"
I laughed weakly. "Yeah. They just said it out loud. It was an internal matter. Hell, it was practically the first thing she said about him. That Arturo was always falling in love."
"What who said?"
"Joan," I said. "Plain old practical, flannel-wearing, doughnut-scarfing Joan. And Lara the wonder slut. Not in that order. I'm sure of it."
Murphy scowled. "Egad, Holmes. You've got to provide me with some context if you want me to understand."
"Okay, okay," I said. "Here's the setup, all right? Raith is the leader of the White Court, but over the past several years he's been losing face. His personal power base is slowly eroding."
"Why?"
"Thomas, mainly," I said. "Raith apparently murders his sons before they start getting ideas of knocking him off and taking over the family business. He sent Thomas to get killed at the vampire masquerade ball, but Thomas hooked up with Michael and me and came out of it alive. Then Raith set Thomas up again last year, at the duel with Ortega, but Thomas got through that one, too. And from what I've deduced, Papa Raith isn't putting the fear of himself into his own children very well anymore."
"What's that got to do with Genosa?" she asked.
"Genosa publicly defied Raith's authority," I said. "Arturo told me that someone had been slowly buying up the adult-movie companies, manipulating things from behind the scenes. Trace the money trail back and I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts that you'll find that it's Raith and that he owns Silverlight. By leaving Silverlight Studios and going off to break stereotypes by doing his own movies, Genosa was defying Raith's authority in a very public way."
"So you're saying that the White Court controls the erotica industry?"
"Or at least a bunch of it," I confirmed. "Think about