Spell Cat by Tara Lain Page 0,61
sure. He wanted Killian back. But could he accept him the way he was, believing he was a witch? No fair trying to change him. Shit, I’m not sure. Plus there was no guarantee Killian wanted him back. He hadn’t accepted the ring. And after the things Blaine had said….
He got up. He’d never find out hiding here in the apartment. He had a class to teach and a witch to find.
“Don’t be nervous, Mr. Jones. Just tell me what you learned.” Why had he hired such an idiot? But the man was loyal to a fault. Loyalty was valuable.
The little detective shifted from foot to foot. “Yes, sir, Mr. Karonoff, I followed the cat man when he went to that guy’s hotel. Nosed around and found out the name was”—he pulled out his notebook—“Moran Inglesby. From Europe, I heard. Good-looking guy. He did a lot of stuff with the cat man. They seemed real chummy. Dinners, some clubs. Real chummy.”
Ah, so Killian’s story seemed to agree with the facts. Yes, he’d heard of this Inglesby. Wouldn’t have thought the Witch Master would have such tastes, but what could one expect from a degenerate? “Thank you, Mr. Jones.”
“Haven’t seen him around much lately, though.”
“What?”
“Yeah, they were real hot and heavy there for a week or so, but now the guy has vanished. Poof. Must have gone back to Europe.”
Perhaps Killian intended to join the man in Europe. He’d see about that. Karonoff’s influence was even stronger in the old country than here. “Well, maybe Mr. Barth intends to join his friend somewhere else. Let me give you your check….” He reached for the desk drawer.
“Suppose so. But that physics professor might have something to say about it.”
“Excuse me?”
“That physics professor. Now there’s a good-looking guy. I mean, not that I look at guys like that, you understand, but it’s easy to see why cat man would like him best. Do you think these guys are gay or just good friends? Not that I have anything against them. I mean, different teams and stuff.”
“Mr. Jones!”
“Yes, sir.”
“Are you saying that Mr. Barth has another companion?”
“Doctor.”
“Excuse me?”
“Dr. Barth.”
Murder. He might have this little idiot murdered. He took a deep breath. “Does Doctor Barth have another companion?”
“Yeah. I think so. They seem to really like each other. And they’ve spent a night or two together, as far as I can tell. I mean, one could have sneaked out, but I watched really carefully and—”
He gripped the edge of the desk. “Thank you, Mr. Jones. And this is the human, uh, the physics professor you mentioned in your notes. You said you thought they were no longer friends.”
“Yep, but they must have made it up, because they’ve been together quite a bit.”
“I see.” He took a deep breath. Who was lying? Killian or Lavender or both? “Thank you for your help, Mr. Jones.” He wrote out a check and handed it to the idiot. “I put in a little extra for your hard work.”
“Thanks, Mr. Karonoff. That’s great.”
“You know how to find the door.”
“Sure. I’m a detective.” The man laughed at his own ridiculous joke all the way down the hall.
So was Killian back with Inglesby? Or was that story a cover-up for his real agenda? He would find out, but first he needed a little leverage against the Witch Master.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jimmy paced the floor of his apartment. “Shit, I don’t want to blow this for you guys. I don’t really know what I’m doing.”
Lavender looked up from her notepad. “Don’t worry, darling. We don’t know what we’re doing either.”
Jimmy collapsed in the beanbag chair. “Why doesn’t that make me feel better?”
Killian turned in the rickety desk chair. Aloysius purred from his spot around Killian’s neck. “We don’t know what we’ll find when we get to the meeting. They’re expecting us at three o’clock, so we’ll arrive at two. We’ve planted the idea that I’m calling them together to say I’m not marrying Lavender; I’m marrying a male witch. That will give us a small advantage of surprise. From then on, we have to improvise.” He stood and paced to the window. “I think I’ve figured something out. Another piece of the puzzle.”
Killian was impressive. So damned smart. Jimmy felt so lucky to have found him.
Killian turned and faced them. “We know that witch/human marriages are not responsible for the depletion of witchery. So what is?”
Jimmy laughed. “Meanness?”
Killian smiled. “There’s a thought.”
Lavender looked up. “I’ve had some ideas.”
Killian nodded. “Me too. Share.”
“Your mother says I’m