cold coffee. "Not much we can do but wait, then. Ive got a couple of sources trying to turn up more, but I wouldnt bet anything on them. Ill let you know."
I nodded. "Even if we find her, it might not help with the faerie stuff."
"Right," she said. "Mind if I ask you a few questions? Maybe Ill see something you dont."
"Okay."
"This dreadlock chick. Maeve, you said her name was?"
"Yeah."
"How sure are you in your instinct about her? That she couldnt have done the murder, I mean."
"Pretty close to certain."
"But not completely."
I frowned thoughtfully. "No. Faeries are tricky that way. Not completely."
Murphy nodded. "What about Mab?"
I rubbed at my chin, feeling the beginnings of stubble. "She never out and out denied responsibility for Reuels death, but I dont think shes the killer."
"What makes you say that?"
"I dont know."
"I do. She could have picked anyone she wanted to represent her interests, and she chose you. If she wanted to cover her tracks, it would make more sense for her to choose someone less capable and with less experience. She wouldnt have picked someone as stupidly stubborn as you."
I scowled. "Not stupidly," I said. "I just dont like to leave things undone."
Murphy snorted. "You dont know the meaning of give up, dolt. You see my point."
"Yeah. I guess its reasonable."
"So what about this Summer girl?"
I blew out a breath. "It doesnt seem to hang on her very well. She was kinder than any faerie I ever met. She could have been pretty darned unpleasant to me, but she wasnt."
"How about the other mortal, then? The Winter Knight."
"Hes a violent, vicious heroin addict. I could see him tossing Reuel down those stairs, sure. But Im not sure hes savvy enough to have worked enough magic to steal the mantle. He was more of a plunder-now-and-think-later sort of guy." I shook my head. "Ive got three more faeries to talk to, though."
"Summer Queen and both Mothers," Murphy nodded. "When will you see them?"
"As soon as I can work out how. The Ladies are the closest to the mortal world. They arent hard to find. The Queens and the Mothers, though, will live in Faerie proper. Ill have to go there to find a guide."
Murphy lifted her eyebrows. "A guide?"
I grimaced. "Yeah. I dont want to, but its looking like Im going to have to pay my godmother a visit."
Murphy quirked an eyebrow. "Seriously? You have a faerie godmother?"
"Long story," I said. "Okay, I want to get moving. If you could"
The store lights went out, all at once.
My heart all but stopped. A second later, battery-powered emergency lights came up and revealed a roiling cloud of silver-grey mist spreading into the store from the doors. The mist rolled over a startled cashier, and the woman slumped, her mouth slightly open and her eyes unfocused, staring.
"Good Lord," Murphy said softly. "Harry, whats happening?"
I had already gotten out of the booth and grabbed the salt shaker from our table, and the one next to it. "Trouble. Come with me."
Chapter Nineteen
At first I tried to circle around to the exit doors, but the mist proved to be flowing in through them as well. "Curse it! We cant get out that way."
Murphys face went more pale as a young man flung himself at the exit doors. The moment he hit the mist, his running steps faltered. He came to a halt, a puzzled expression on his face, and stared around him blankly, as his shoulders slumped.
"Dear God," she whispered. "Harry, what is that?"
"Come on, to the back of the store," I said, and started running that way. "I think its a mind fog."
"You think ?"
I scowled over my shoulder at Murphy. "Ive never seen one before, just heard about them. They shut down your head, flatline your ability to remember things, scramble your thoughts. Theyre illegal."
"Illegal?" Murphy yelled. "Says who?"
"Says the Laws of Magic," I muttered.
"You didnt say anything about any Laws of Magic," Murphy said.
"If we get out of here alive, Ill explain it to you sometime." We ran down a long aisle toward the back of the store, passing housewares, then seasonal goods on our left, while grocery aisles stretched out on our right. Murphy stopped abruptly, broke open the covering over a fire alarm, and jerked it down.
I looked around hopefully, but nothing happened.
"Damn," Murphy muttered.
"Worth a try. Look, the people in the fog should be all right once its gone, and whoever this is, they wont have any reason to hurt them once were not