just beyond the privacy bubble. “The winter court?” I asked it in a whisper, despite my confidence in my charm. “You want me to investigate bodies in the winter court?”
His nod was sharp, quick, but definite.
“And do you know who the bodies are, er, were? Members of your court?”
He leaned forward, closer toward me, but as I was still standing, that made for an awkward angle. He obviously came to the same conclusion because a moment later he stood in one effortless movement. That put us too close together, the space between the chairs narrow so that we were nearly touching.
“How far does the spell extend?” he asked, looking as uncomfortable as I felt.
“Not far. Let’s just both sit.”
He nodded, looking relieved once we both dropped back into our chairs. At least I wasn’t the only one that seemed unnerved. He might consider himself my betrothed, but we were virtual strangers.
“The bodies?” I prompted.
“We are uncertain. We believe we know one identity. He was a goblin named Kordon. But we are under the impression there are two bodies. As we have not been able to visit the scene directly—for obvious reasons—we are not certain of the affiliation of the second deceased.”
Two bodies. Maybe. In the winter court. I started to shake my head but caught the motion, not wanting Dugan to think I was dismissing the case out of hand. “So, was your court member an intruder or victim?”
His lips twitched, the movement subtle and quickly erased, his expression returning to a guarded neutral so fast I wasn’t sure I actually saw it. Surprise? Anger? Annoyance? I wasn’t sure, and when he answered his voice held no inflection. “We did not send him to winter.”
Which didn’t answer the question. Just because he wasn’t sent didn’t mean he hadn’t been there for nefarious reasons. Of course, it also didn’t exclude that he might have been kidnapped and held in winter before his death. Those were pretty important differences. It did explain why Dugan was interested in me documenting anything I could at the scene, though, as obviously his people were unlikely to gain access. Not that I had access. What was I supposed to do, walk up to the Winter Queen and say, Hey, I heard you have some bodies in your halls. I’d like to remove them and have a chat with their shades. Yeah, that would not go over well.
Movement outside our bubble of privacy caught my attention. Falin pulled his cell phone from his pocket and glanced at the display before answering. He never took his eyes off us as he listened to the person on the other side of the line.
“Do you have a suspect?” I asked, focusing on Dugan again.
The lip twitch made it all the way to a frown before he caught it this time. “Possibly.”
“And that would be . . . ?”
He frowned at me, not answering. So much for trust.
“I’m not going to agree to take a case you can’t give me a straight answer about. You want the shades raised and questioned and you can get them to the mortal realm, then sure, I’m your girl. We can sign a contract right now and set a time for the ritual. But you’re talking about investigating deaths in the winter court—which it doesn’t sound like you are in any position to even clear a path for me to investigate. That’s not the type of case I work. If there is nothing else . . .” I pushed to my feet again.
He studied me. “I’m not going to insult you by telling you we would pay very well for your time—though we will. But perhaps I can appeal to your compassion—” he started, but he didn’t get the chance to finish.
I saw Falin pocket his phone from the corner of my eye, and though we couldn’t hear what had been said—the privacy bubble went both ways—something must have alerted Dugan because he fell silent. There was a sudden explosion of movement from both men. Dugan jumped to his feet, knocking me back into my chair in the process. The sword that had been hidden under his glamour was in his hands before he finished turning.
My back, just at my shoulder blades, slammed in the back of the chair, and then the entire chair rocked back, sending me crashing to the ground. I yelped as the air escaped my lungs, but the room had gone still again. Falin stood with his gun pointed at Dugan’s