Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) (28 page)

Another exasperated sigh. “I already told you, it’s for a client. A client who’s as tired of waiting for it as I am.”

I’d play along for a second. “What’s your client going to do with it?”

“I don’t know, I don’t care, and I didn’t ask.” She wriggled her fingers. “Hand it over.”

“You’re lying. There’s no client, is there?”

She paled slightly, then regained her composure and bared her teeth at me. “Give me my property
now
.”

“Greyson.”

“Right back.” He did the disappearing and reappearing thing again, this time returning with the crate in his hands. He set it on the table in front of the money.

I canted my head toward it. “The foam in this shipping crate exactly matches the size and shape of the imp’s box. But the mailing address belongs to your husband. I have a pretty good idea what you were planning to do.”

She swallowed and took a step back. “I was mailing the imp on behalf of my client. You can’t prove anything else.”

“Weird that your client would want the imp mailed to your ex-husband, don’t you think?” I shrugged, trying to disguise the frustration building inside me. I’d thought this was going to be a lot easier. That she’d gloat about her own cleverness and let slip everything we needed that way. Clearly, I’d been wrong. “If you tell us the truth, I’ll tell you the imp’s name. Wouldn’t that add a nice layer of mischief to whatever it is you want the imp to do?”

Her eyes rounded. That had hit the mark. “I was mailing the imp for my client, who happens to be an old friend of my ex-husband’s.” She lifted her hand to her throat and clenched her fist as she drew out the words slowly. Like I was an idiot who needed to be spoon-fed.

“I don’t believe you. And you’re not getting the imp until you tell me your end game. It’s that simple.”

She smiled. It was a creepy look on her. “You could have had the cash and your life. Now you’ll have neither.” She yanked her hand away from her throat, flinging something to the ground. The thing, a vial maybe, shattered, and a thin, red vapor wafted up from the shards.

I threw my hand out and built a shield of ice, but the vapor was everywhere. And unlike Greyson, I had to breathe. I could already feel it working on me, whatever it was. “Greyson,” I called out, but he was already on it.

He grabbed her and pinned her arms to her sides as he gave her a shake. “What the hell was that?”

“Ancient Egyptian magic,” she snarled. “Which will be paralyzing you too, at any moment. I’d rather get rid of you both than have that stupid thing’s name anyway.”

So that’s what was happening to me. I could feel myself growing numb, and my body had begun to ignore my brain’s commands to move. I lurched forward with the mobility I had left.

“I don’t think so, Francine,” Greyson growled. Her wriggling was no match for his strength, but she didn’t give up. “I don’t need air to survive.”

She roared something back at him, but I was more concerned with trying to put the shopping bag down safely before I dropped it and the lid popped off again. Even with the hair ties on it, I didn’t want to take a chance.

My legs gave out just as I made it to a kitchen chair. Panic swept through me. Was this the end? All the chocolates I had yet to eat flashed before my eyes. I hoped Greyson and Cooper didn’t fight at my funeral. Although, maybe a little fighting would be okay.

I slumped forward, putting the bag down then laying my head on the table. It was all I could do. At this angle, I couldn’t see Greyson or Francine, but her snarls and struggling were loud and clear. A few soft thumps reached my ears, too. Maybe she’d hit him?

I wasn’t sure. And the light in the room was dimming.

Actually, it was going out altogether.

Snowballs
.

When I opened my eyes again, I wasn’t immediately sure where I was. I blinked a few times. I was lying down. I sat up, and my head spun as if I was coming off a Saint Nick Slide. “Ugh.” I put my hands on my temples.

“Hey, you’re awake. You okay?”

I glanced up, happy to hear Greyson’s voice. “I guess. What happened? Are we still at Francine’s?” I didn’t recognize the old plaid couch I was on. Or anything else.

“Yes.” He crouched down in front of me. “She used some kind of paralytic on you to immobilize and knock you out. Didn’t work on me, obviously, but then she wasn’t counting on me being here.”

“Good thing you were.”

“I’ll say. I tried to find the antidote, because she obviously took something to protect herself, but all I came up with was a valise of unlabeled vials in her bedroom, and I wasn’t about to try one of those on you without knowing what they were.”

“Much appreciated.”

He brushed his hand down my cheek, a sudden sadness in his eyes. “I’m not sure what I would have done if that magic had a more drastic effect on you. I think the shield you created saved you from being under longer. Or maybe the stuff she used just doesn’t affect elves the way she hoped.” He smiled. “What did the ancient Egyptians know about winter elves, anyway?”

“Not much, I’d guess. How long have I been passed out?”

“Not long. About forty-five minutes.”

“Long enough.” I looked around. Besides the couch, the space was empty except for two metal shelving units against the far wall of exposed cinder block. Up high on that wall, tatty curtains blocked a trio of narrow windows. “Where are we? A basement, right?”

He nodded. “Francine’s basement. I figured being down here would help dampen any sound.”

Which was when I heard some muffled noises behind me. I turned around. Francine was zip-tied to one of the chairs from the kitchen. And gagged with a kitchen towel. She was glaring at me with the most murderous gaze I’d ever seen.

My brows shot up. Things had just taken a very different direction.

I grabbed Greyson’s arm and hauled him upstairs. The basement steps led us back into the kitchen. “What on earth are we supposed to do with her?”

“Interrogate her, just like we planned.”

My mouth came open. “Um, I think things have gone a little past that.”

He took hold of my shoulders. “Jayne, she tried to kill you. She would have killed both of us.”

“But she didn’t. And now you have her tied up to a chair with a kitchen towel stuffed in her mouth. Also, I can’t believe you brought zip-ties.”

He dropped his hands and shrugged. “I had to gag her. She’s a screamer. As for the zip-ties, I like to be prepared. A couple of centuries of life experience teaches you a lot.”

“Greyson, you seem to be missing what I’m saying. We can’t keep her like this forever. At some point, she’s going to tell people what we did.”

“Not if we stay on plan.”

“What plan?” I shook my hands at him. “This isn’t part of any plan.”

“Lass, you might be freaking out a little.”

I took a few breaths and paced. “Yeah, okay, maybe. But we still need to figure out what we’re going to do with her.”

“We need her to confess, just like we planned from the beginning. If we get her on video saying she planned to take revenge on her husband, then this is over and done with. No one’s going to think twice about us restraining her. Especially not after she tried to do you in. Which I also have on video.”

“That’s probably our only way out of this unscathed now.” I stopped pacing. “But she wasn’t exactly forthcoming before she used that magic on me. What makes you think she’s going to get chatty now?”

“The time tied to a chair may have softened her up a bit.” His gaze took on the glow of his kind. “Or I could give it a try. I was too busy watching over you to question her about anything but an antidote while you were unconscious.”

I shook my head. “No, I’ll talk to her. Let her know what her options are at this point.”

I looked around. The shopping bag with the imp’s box was still on the table. I picked it up. “Especially if she gets a reminder of what this is all about.”

“You think she’s still going to believe you plan on returning the imp to her?”

I looped the handles over my shoulder. “I think she’ll believe whatever I can convince her to believe.”

“All right. Let’s try it.”

We marched back into the basement, the slight mustiness filling my nose and making me want to sneeze.

I went straight to Francine and took the towel out of her mouth. She was smart enough not to say anything. “Look, Francine, I’m going to level with you. You screwed up. Big-time. All I wanted was a few questions answered, then you tried to kill me. Do you see how that changed things?”

She nodded meekly. Like she was giving the whole situation serious thought. Maybe Greyson was right. Maybe being bound and gagged had broken her. I turned around and shot him a
how about that?
look.

Then she started to laugh. It was low and throaty at first, then went directly into head-back, full-on maniacal, cuckoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs territory. She finally stopped to catch her breath, shaking her head and grinning. “You’re going away for a long time for this. Both of you. You have to know that. Supernatural against human? That’s not just frowned upon, that’s punished to the full extent of the law.”

A chill ran down my spine. We were never going to get her to confess. Not like this anyway. And without a confession, there was really only one way this could end up. With Greyson and me in serious trouble. I’d gotten him into this. I had to get him out.

I shifted my eyes to the shopping bag. I was out of options. Except for one.

I got very close to Greyson and lowered my voice until I was sure only his vampire senses could pick up what I was saying. “Trust me.”

His gaze narrowed. “What are you about to do?”

“You’ll see. Just go with it. Please. I can handle this.”

“Jayne—”

“And make sure you’re recording this, because I don’t think we’re going to get a second shot.”

I walked away and picked up the shopping bag, reaching in for the box and pulling it free.

“
Jayne
.”

Uncertainty and concern edged his voice, but I was determined and confident, and nothing was going to stop me at this point. I knew what I was about to do was risky, but I saw no other way. And I wasn’t about to let this woman get away with her evil business and harm us in return. She didn’t care who she hurt, that much was plain, so we certainly wouldn’t be the last.

I held the box in my hands as I approached her. “This imp is very powerful. And very dangerous. I could open this box and tell it to destroy you. Tell it to remove every trace of you from this town.”

Fear played in her eyes, and her mouth went slack, erasing her smile. “You wouldn’t do that.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t.” I walked to the first narrow window, raised one hand and sealed it shut with a blast of ice. “Because I’m not that kind of woman.” I walked to the next two windows and did the same. There could be no way out of the room for the next few minutes. “But you? You were going to do just that to your ex-husband, weren’t you?”

Her eyes were wide and focused on the ice I’d just created. “No, I-I would never do that.”

“I’m not sure I believe you.” I came back to stand in front of her, then lifted my hand toward the door and sealed it with ice as well. I did a quick check of the basement, icing over a few more spots that looked like potential escape routes. With the final crackle of the hard freeze, I faced Francine again. “But I know a way to find out for sure.”

I pulled the hair ties off the box and opened it. The imp zipped out, wings buzzing so fast they were a blur of green. He bared his teeth at me and began a stream of high-pitched, unintelligible words that I can only assume were imp curses. The little dude did not look happy.

Then he started flying around the room, looking for a way out, still chattering up an angry storm.

“I have wishes, imp.” He glanced at me, marginally interested, but I wasn’t sure the words Imari had mentioned were going to be enough. I flipped the lid over, bent my head and breathed on it. His name appeared. At least, I hoped that was his name. I gave it a try. “Hello, Blueberry.”

The tirade ceased, and he flew over to me again.

“Hi,” he squeaked back.

So far so good. “I’m sorry about trapping you in the box, but you were sort of wrecking my town.”