Danes snorted. “Yes, I guess you were. All right. I’ll meet you all at Carly Preston’s house. Is that all right with you, Ms. Lansing?”
Joy nodded, knowing Carly wouldn’t let the police get away with any shenanigans. And likely her lawyer, Sebastian, was already on his way.
Joy had been answering questions for over an hour in Carly’s study when Sebastian Knight walked in. He took a seat next to her in a matching leather chair and crossed his ankle over his knee. He winked at Joy and then turned his attention to Detective Danes.
“Hello.” He held his hand out and introduced himself. “I’m the counsel for Joy Lansing, Gigi Martin, Hope Anderson, Grace Valentine, and of course Harlow Preston. From now on, no questions will be answered unless I’m present. Do we have an understanding?”
Danes nodded and then smirked. “None of your clients are under investigation, Mr. Knight.”
“I was already aware of that, but given the treatment of Ms. Lansing in the past, we’re covering all bases.”
“Noted.” Detective Danes went back to asking detailed questions about Joy’s stay in the motel and everything she’d talked about with Quinn. By the time another hour had passed, Joy was so tired and in so much pain, she was ready to cry.
“I think that’s enough for the evening,” Sebastian said, making Joy wonder if the man was also ‘cursed’ with telepathy as Hope would call it. “My client has been through enough for one day. If you want to talk to her again, call my office and we’ll arrange a meeting.”
Danes nodded and stood. “You seem like a caring and competent lawyer, Mr. Knight. I commend you.”
“Thank you,” he said simply and then watched her walk out of the room. He turned to Joy. “You did well. I think the information you gave her will be a tremendous help for their case.”
“I hope so. But do they even need it? I mean, Harlow—”
He put a hand up, stopping her. “Harlow doesn’t remember anything about her abduction. It’s lucky you have that vision to go on record. She was drugged and then never saw Quinton where she was being held. Without you, the case could’ve very well fallen apart.”
“Whoa. I had no idea,” Joy said, cupping her sore cheek.
“That’s already bruising. You should ask Clarity—I mean Gigi—for a salve. I’m sure she has something that will clear it right up.” He gave her a kind smile and stood, offering her his hand.
“How well do you know Gigi?” she asked curiously. Joy had been asked so many questions that night, it seemed only fitting that she ask a few of her own, even if they weren’t any of her business.
“We used to be friends a long time ago,” he said simply. “People don’t tend to change that much.”
She mulled that over and then nodded. “You know, I think you’re right.”
They found her coven and Carly in the main living area. Carly was busy gushing over them and giving them superhero names. It made Joy smile and then wince at the ache in her jaw.
“Joy,” Carly said softly when she spotted her. “How are you feeling?”
“Honestly? Every square inch of me is in pain. Do you have a painkiller potion around here?”
“I do. Follow me.” She rose gracefully from the couch, and Joy followed her into a room that could only be called an apothecary. The place was filled with herbs, potions in a chilled cooler, and every kind of ingredient anyone would be looking for when trying to cast a spell.
“This room is fantastic,” Joy said, her eyes wide with awe. “Do you spend a lot of time here?”
She nodded. “Mixing potions and herbal remedies relaxes me. It’s what I do to unwind.”
“This must’ve been a huge time investment for a place you’re renting for a short period of time.”
“It would be,” Carly said with a nod. “But I decided a while ago that I’d like to stay here for a while. So I have a long-term lease. I’m kind of hoping the owner will sell to me, but so far I haven’t convinced him.”
“That’s… wow. It’s really good, Carly. I can see you here.”
Carly reached into a cooler and handed her a glass bottle. “This should do the trick. It will also accelerate healing.”
“I wish I’d known about this when Prissy was punking me with her hexing spells. I would’ve asked you for something that would knock some sense into her or send her to live on another planet.”
“That sounds really wonderful,” Carly said. “I bet she’d thrive on Venus. It’s a good place for bitchy people.” She grinned and added, “But in the meantime, I might have slipped something I could’ve sworn was just a mood stabilizer into her coffee. But as it turned out, that didn’t work so well for her. It did give us a little time off from her BS though.”
Joy let out a bark of laughter. “Oh, my. If I didn’t love you before, I do now. That’s priceless.”
Carly’s eyes twinkled for the first time since Harlow was abducted, and it made Joy swell with happiness. The woman was just infectious. It was no wonder she was a megastar. People couldn’t help but be drawn in. “She deserved it.”
They both laughed, and then silence fell between them.
Finally, Joy cleared her throat. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“What’s the deal with Baldy? I mean, Gary. Quinn said he was your cousin. But Hope heard him talking about selling Harlow’s story, and I’m not really sure why he still works for you. I mean, I’ve heard of some crazy stuff family has tried to do to each other for money. Is he blackmailing you or something? Because if he is, let’s just take him out with the trash like we’ve done with Quinn. I’m serious. We’ll deal with him right now.”
Carly threw her head back and laughed so hard she started to gasp for air.
“Uh, Carly? I think you need to breathe.”
By the time the actress finally got herself under control, she had to wipe the tears off her cheeks. “Oh, my. That felt good. Thank you, Joy.”
“You’re welcome?” Joy said, making it sound like a question. “What exactly was so funny?”
“Gary is my cousin. He’s definitely not blackmailing me. Nor would he ever. He’s just about the only person I trust who has our backs when things go crazy in this business. That day when Hope heard him thinking about selling a story to the press, that was just his frustration rearing its ugly head. We actually suspected that Quinn was party to the abduction, but no amount of investigating him revealed anything useful. As we know now, he wasn’t actually the one who took her or held her, but he was the mastermind behind it. Anyway, Gary thought if he sold a couple of stories about Quinn’s prior drug use, more would come out and we could get a lead there. But I said it was too risky because he’d dated Harlow for long enough that she’d be thrown into the lion’s den. She didn’t deserve that. I was protecting her.”
“But you told him you were the only reason he wasn’t arrested. Why would he be arrested?” Joy asked.
Carly’s lips twitched into a smirk. “You don’t miss much, do you?”