“Well, a red BMW should stand out in Globe,” Hazel said.
I couldn’t argue with her remark, not when my own much more modest metallic blue Beetle had gotten its share of lifted eyebrows as I drove around town. “That’s for sure. I think we’d better let Calvin know to keep an eye out for it — if Violet is even still in the area.”
My comment made Athene shoot me a knowing glance, as if she’d already guessed why I was on a first-name basis with the chief of the San Ramon tribal police department. “Probably should give him a description, too — Violet is nineteen, long blonde hair, blue eyes, short and slender. She was wearing a black dress the last time I saw her, but she might have changed since then.”
Nineteen. I wanted to shudder at the thought of a girl so young hooking up with someone who was literally twice her age — actually a bit more, come to think of it. And I also wondered what the hell her parents were thinking, to let her run in that kind of company.
But, as Athene had said, Violet was a legal adult. I had a feeling her parents didn’t pay nearly as much attention to her as they probably should, and that was why she’d gotten mixed up with Lucien and GLANG in the first place.
“And let Chief Lewis know, too,” Hazel put in. “I know Calvin’s working the case because the murder happened on tribal land, but there’s probably a greater chance Violet’s somewhere in Globe — if she’s still around at all.”
Right. I was so focused on Calvin Standingbear, I tended to forget that Globe had its own chief of police, Henry Lewis. Our paths had only crossed once, and he seemed just about the opposite of Calvin, a buzz-cut ex-Marine who clearly had little use for a woman who’d moved into his town and brought her crazy L.A. woo-woo with her.
“I guess so,” I said, the lack of enthusiasm in my tone so obvious, Hazel actually chuckled.
“Yeah, I know. And actually, if you tell Calvin, then he’ll probably get in contact with Chief Lewis, and then you don’t have to worry about talking to him.”
That sounded like a much better plan. Even if Violet wasn’t a suspect — and I still thought she might be, no matter what Athene had to say on the matter — she was probably the last person who’d seen Lucien Dumond alive, and therefore she’d have information to provide that no one else would.
“Don’t tell him you found me,” Athene said next, her tone almost pleading.
“He’s going to find out sooner or later,” I told her. “You’re innocent, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”
The look she gave me after I delivered that remark was almost pitying, as if she couldn’t believe anyone could live almost three decades on this planet and still be so naïve. And all right, I had to admit that I generally tried to believe the best about people until they proved me horribly wrong, but still, I could tell Athene hadn’t killed Lucien, and so it seemed plausible enough to think that Calvin Standingbear would see that truth as well.
“Besides,” I hurried on, “once he hears about Violet, he’s going to want to talk to her, and you’ll be off the hook for a bit.”
“That might be true,” Athene said. “But I can’t cool my heels here indefinitely. With Lucien gone” — she stopped there and pulled in a breath, a suspicious glint entering her dark eyes — “there’s a lot that needs to be done. I was his business partner, so it falls to me to handle the practical side of things. I need to be cleared of suspicion so I can manage the execution of his estate, assure everyone in GLANG that the organization will continue, and take care of any other legal or practical matters that need to be addressed.”
Her tone had grown crisper during that speech, as if thinking about all the things that had to be done had helped to smooth some of the rough edges of her grief. Actually, since Athene was such a pragmatic, take-charge sort of person, I had a feeling that’s exactly what was going on. I couldn’t even blame her; it always helped to have something to distract you from your grief.
“All the more reason to let Calvin know about Violet,” I said. “And honestly, he can’t be that angry about you relocating from the Airbnb to here. Like you said, you needed some space to think, but it’s not as if you left Globe. You were still doing what he told you to do.”
An unwilling smile pulled at her mouth. “Have you always been this good at rationalization?”
“Libra ascendant,” I told her cheerfully. “I excel at it.”
And I pulled out my phone.
When he appeared at Hazel’s house, Calvin didn’t look too thrilled that I’d managed to locate his runaway murder suspect. His dark eyes met mine and held for a moment, as if telling me that we’d discuss this later.
Which was fine by me, if it meant we’d have a chance to be alone together and talk.
But after that brief, unspoken exchange, he was all business. He declined Hazel’s offer of a glass of iced tea and took a seat in the living room’s only unoccupied chair, a small hard-backed thing that creaked uncomfortably under his weight, while his lanky frame made it look as though he was sitting in a child’s chair rather than one made for normal-sized human beings.
“Do you have a license plate number for Ms. Clarke’s car?” he asked after Athene had given him a description of the girl and a brief timeline of the events of the night in question.
“No. I know it was one of those retro-looking black and gold ones…some kind of vanity thing, I think.” She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and the garnets in the multiple ear studs she wore glittered in the sunlight coming through the window.
He smiled — the sort of friendly, encouraging smile that would have made my knees a little weak but didn’t seem to have much effect on her. “That’s helpful. Now, what time did Violet show up?”
“A little after nine-thirty, I think. I know it couldn’t have been much earlier than that, because Lucien had already gotten back from speaking to Selena.”
At those words, Calvin’s gaze flickered back toward me for just a moment. He didn’t comment, though, only said, “Was Lucien angry that she’d followed him to Globe?”
“A little, I think.” She shrugged. “But then Violet begged him not to be upset with her and said that she’d only come here because she didn’t want to be away from him. After that, he seemed to accept the situation. He told her she could actually help him out, because he needed her assistance with a ritual.”
“What kind of ritual?”
For the first time, a faint flush appeared on Athene’s high cheekbones. “A protection ritual. He wanted it in place before he slept.”
I wondered why Lucien would have needed a protection ritual in a place as sleepy and out of the way as Globe. Just a precaution, or was I missing a piece of the puzzle?
“Could you have helped with this ritual?”
Her eyes wouldn’t meet his. “Lucien liked to practice sex magic. He said it powered his spells better than anything else. We didn’t have that kind of a relationship.”
“Ah.” Calvin didn’t have the kind of complexion that would easily reveal a blush, but I had a feeling he was embarrassed by the direction the conversation had taken. “So, he performed this ritual with Violet.”