Some Kind of Magic (2 page)

attacked you and smashed the place up.”

“The place?” Nasreen was suddenly all fluttering wings,

sharp
alarm/worry
floating from her. “Audrey….”

Ray
had
to respond to that scent, the mix of fear and

devotion. He cleared his throat.

“She"s fine. Please trust us. We really are here to help.”

“We need to know what you remember,” Penn added.

“Remember?” Nasreen pursed her lips and then waved

her hands. “I was working. I just melted down a pot of su—

oh no! The pans! I"ll have to….” Penn must have raised her

eyebrows, because Nasreen hurried on. “Right. Anyway, I

came out into the main room because I heard a sound. A

bell. The… the register is this clunky thing, like they used

when I was young. Old-fashioned.” She looked up, smiling

with sudden brightness at the thought of a cash register.

“Audrey"s like that….”

Or not. The
love
Ray was picking up wasn"t for the

register at all. “It requires so much care, but she cares for it

the way Audrey cares for everything in her store….” It was in

the way she said the name, even if it hadn"t been glowing in

her expression or wafting over to Ray in clouds of warm

want.

“It seemed like a nice place.” It still amazed Ray how soft

Penn could be. “A little out of our price range—and

neighborhood.” She gave a rueful laugh that made Nasreen"s

wings flicker then settle against her back. But she sat back

down and glanced at Ray, who understood, and made an

effort to smile.

“I know someone who would love it there,” he offered. It

was true. Lots of expensive shops had lined the decorative,

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9

cobblestoned boulevard where Zucchero was located, but

this one had been all glass and dark, oak-paneled cases

filled with lollipops and a rainbow of classic candies. Not to

mention the varieties of fudge and chocolates or the specialty

items.

Of course, when he and Penn had seen the store earlier

that night, most of the glass in the cases had been shattered

and on the floor, along with fallen stacks of boxes and some

of Nasreen"s blood. There had also been a marzipan and

spun sugar likeness of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence

in the display window that could not have been made by

human hands. It had been destroyed, stepped on and

smashed, leaving just imprints of a man"s shoes. Clear

enough for the forensics team at least, and the more

forensics the better. Ray could never have enough evidence.

Audrey Conti, with tears in her eyes, had showed them

pictures of what the sugary marvel had been.

“I"ve been there just over three years. I like to create

recipes, some for specific customers but also for the store in

general. I have an, uh, natural taste for all things sweet.”

“I bet,” Ray remarked, dryly but not unkindly. Nasreen

gave him a perplexed look, then moved on.

“But the big creations, like for the window, they were for

Audrey.” Nasreen was gulping and streaming words at the

same time. “It"s all for Audrey.”

“Like Florence,” Ray whispered, but Nasreen actually

beamed up at him, then blinked and self-consciously bit her

lip. It was the oddest gesture he had ever seen from a fairy.

They didn"t do shy, and they definitely didn"t do self-

conscious, not that he"d ever seen. He wondered if she was

getting tired and briefly wished he"d stopped by that vending

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10

machine and brought some candy with him. She worked

with it all day, but he"d never seen a fairy turn down sweets.

“So you heard the register?” Penn prodded after a

moment. Nasreen"s wings stirred up a significant breeze.

“I saw his shape in—well there were streetlights and

lights from the kitchen—and I thought he was robbing

Audrey, so I yelled. „Hey, Asshole!"” Nasreen abruptly

stopped. “Hey, Asshole,” she repeated, twitching and clearly

stunned at her own behavior. “I
yelled
at him! And then he

ran over and hit me with something. It didn"t hurt.

Everything just went black.” She seemed surprised. “It hurt

later when I woke up. But it doesn"t now… so I should go

check on her. I tried calling, but—”

“Hey, asshole?” Ray echoed in disbelief. “You confronted

him?” From anyone, that was remarkable. From a fairy, it

was startling. Fairies sought out pleasure—they didn"t

charge into danger. She probably hadn"t even grabbed a

weapon or called the police first. “What did he hit you with?”

They"d found a bloodied doorstop at the scene, blue and

black and indigo hair on one side, bits of skin, but they had

to know if she remembered.

Nasreen angled her head to consider, then shook her

head. “I don"t know, but he grabbed it in the dark and came

toward me so fast…. Then I could hear him doing things in

the display window, and when I tried to move, you know, get

up off the floor, he came back and he said….” She scrunched

her nose, “He said, „I saw that", and „You"re not supposed to

be here!", and then he hit me again.”

“Because you—” Ray cut himself off. He wasn"t

supposed to be scolding her. Penn was going to have

something to say about that.

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11

“He"d seen me.” Nasreen shrugged, apparently no longer

concerned with her near death experience. Of course not.

She could have died, winked out like a candle, but she had

other things to think about now. Fairies. Nothing affected

them for long. “And he was robbing her. I couldn"t let him do

that.” Despite her tone, her wings slowly flapped, open and

then closed. Ray imagined her on that floor, imagined the

blood, and for a moment, saw another set of wings,

iridescent, colored like peacock feathers.

“Yes, but….” Ray swallowed, shook it off. “Did you see

him? His face?”

“I… sort of… yes.” Her hands slid over her arms. The

scent of fear was very real now and made Ray straighten.

“We"ll catch him,” he assured her, only to get a coal-

black eye roll.

“If
I
don"t first, that jerk. How could he? Who would see

that thing of beauty and want to destroy it?”

Ray agreed, though
jerk
was putting it mildly. But that

she"d want revenge at all kept Ray still for another moment.

She was gesturing, petite and delicate stabbing motions that

would have been disturbingly eager coming from anyone but

were alarming coming from someone who had likely never

considered violence in her entire life, until that moment. “I

know how to carve things. You should see me in the

kitchen….”

“Miss al-Nihar.” Penn glanced up at Ray, her eyebrows

ever so slightly raised over her aquamarine eyes, but then

the door opened. They all turned, and Ray had to shut his

eyes at the burst of light, like the fluorescent lights were

shorting out above them, except brighter, as Nasreen"s fairy

cloud of glitter abruptly returned to shimmer around her.

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12

She glowed as she leapt to her feet and moved toward

the cause, pinning Audrey Conti to the wall and hugging her

tightly. The big, frothy waves of
joy/relief/love
actually made

Ray"s face heat, and he fought the urge to politely look away.

Miss Conti was blushing too, not touching Nasreen in

return but trying to look her over without dislodging her.

Nasreen was mumbling apologies, of all things, her face to

the other woman"s shoulder, but stopped when Miss Conti

finally put a hand on her back.

“Don"t be silly. I"m just glad you"re okay. I was so

worried when I got the call.” There was need in her voice.

Ray didn"t have to smell it. But it made his throat tighten

when Miss Conti got Nasreen to stand on her own to look her

over again. She had to push her away to do it.

Nasreen"s hands opened, then closed, but she didn"t

protest being removed, only continued to stare with open

adoration that Miss Conti pretended not to see as she fussed

over Nasreen"s wings, her hair, and then finally her scalp,

which was all healed. Penn looked significantly at Ray again.

He ignored her.

Fairies, everyone knew, were naturally open, free with

their bodies and affections and sometimes forgetful that

humans were not the same, and even if they were, almost

never in public. But Miss Conti gave a shiver, then seemed

to force herself to address Ray, yanking her hands away and

turning to look at him.

She was older, late thirties, with dark brown hair with a

few grays in it, and a little plump, as you would be if a fairy

kept creating treats just for you. Doubtless Nasreen even fed

them to her, popping tidbits into her mouth, and letting her

fingertips linger on her lips. Ray had experienced that

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13

particular fairy trick more than once: hot, curious fingertips

against his mouth, the taste mingling with his food, his

senses in overdrive….

He coughed, refocused. Overall, there was nothing

overtly special about Miss Conti, nothing obvious that would

attract a fairy"s attention, which made Ray glance back at

Nasreen for a moment to try and figure it out. Of course, he

never figured out much when it came to their kind, and he

turned back to see Miss Conti look up into his eyes and

address him directly.

“Detective, I came to check on her, take her home, if

that"s all right.” Her tone said she was taking Nasreen home

whether Ray liked it or not, but she said it politely.

Behind her, glitter flared again, like hope, or so much

soft desire.

“It"s fine.” Penn"s tone was a mix of annoyance and

impatience. But then, it was late—early—and unlike Ray,

Penn didn"t enjoy being out all night. Or ignored, for that

matter. Leads were best followed when they were fresh,

though there wasn"t going to be much they could do this late

anyway. “We"ll come by tomorrow.”

With a final nod, she stepped out, Ray moving after her.

Nasreen plopped back onto the bed, suddenly no longer

uncertain about what had happened and talking a mile a

minute while staring with wide eyes into Miss Conti"s quietly

amused face.

Miss Conti kept her distance, despite how Nasreen"s

body language was screaming for someone to hold her. But

Miss Conti"s hands, which were actually quite lovely,

graceful, and shaped by hard work, were clutched tightly to

her chest.

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14

Ray nodded, almost to himself.

The human"s expression was fond, among other things,

and Ray closed the door as he left, turning to find he"d

scared a Brownie who somehow hadn"t seen Ray coming

despite his size. He must have been part of the hospital"s

night cleaning crew. Ray ignored him too, moving to the

elevator with Penn at his side.

She didn"t bother to hide her yawn behind her hand,

but her thoughts were sharp.

“There was no money in the till. Miss Conti, aka,

Nasreen"s beloved Audrey…” Penn smiled, just a bit, to

sweeten that, but went on, “…told us earlier that the register

was always left empty at closing, with the drawer open, so

that anyone looking in at night would see there was nothing

worth taking, but that she hid a hundred-dollar bill under

that old clunker as a charm to attract more money.”

Old world magic. Ray snorted.

“She also said that hundred was gone.”

“So.” He considered. “The alarm wasn"t on, because

Nasreen was there. But the front entrance has a different

lock than the back door, a different key. Unless the attacker

used a teleportation spell, but honestly, the amount of work

involved in that for a take of a hundred dollars….” It was

damn unlikely. Even a skilled wizard knew the risks of that

spell, namely parts of you ending up in separate places and

you ending up very dead. And Ray had smelled booze in the

shop. Not the brandies and liquor used in some of the

candies, but wine, and not expensive wine despite the

neighborhood. If the attacker had been drunk, there was no