Trust company? "What are they going to do with it?"

"Ordinarily, I'd say rehab it and sell it for a bigger profit."

A spark of foolish hope ignited in me once again. Maybe I could save up . . .

Then I laughed at myself. I'd have to save a lifetime to buy this place. Maybe two lifetimes.

"But in this case, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a treasure hunter's company with plans to take the place apart board by board looking for those diamonds." She shook her head and glanced at the house. "But if a treasure hunter wants to pay a small fortune to look for them, my fat commission and I aren't going to stop them. Finn and I have student loans to pay off, and this sale goes a long way to erasing that debt."

Very pragmatic of her.

I wondered if Noelle had more than one client offering on the house, because yesterday she'd said that her client with a cash offer hadn't been interested in the diamonds. . . .

"I know Cherise will be disappointed with the outcome of this sale," Calliope said, "but if she's interested, I'd be happy to show her the Maypole Lane house again-or any others she might be looking at. Just tell her to call me."

"I'll tell her." Yesterday, Calliope called this job a bird in hand, but today there was a fire in her eyes that told me otherwise. "Do you think you'll stay in real estate?"

Fidgeting, she said, "I'm not sure. I can see why it's so addicting. Kent's made it clear that he'd like me to stay on." Glancing at her watch, she added, "Actually, I'm supposed to be meeting him soon to discuss a proposal."

Hmm. I wondered if Calliope was the recipient of all those babys and sweethearts Archie overheard. It should be pretty easy for Nick to get a copy of his phone records to find out for sure. Although I'd had her cell phone at the time, she still had a landline. . . .

I said, "Kent mentioned that you were planning Raina's funeral. Any details yet? I'd like to attend. . . ."

"Not yet," she said softly. "We haven't heard when she will be released from the medical examiner's office."

It was a blunt reminder that Raina hadn't died a natural death. "Right," I murmured. "Well, let me know."

"I will. I'll see you later," she said, waving as she set off toward the Magickal Realty office.

As I watched her go, I thought of my phone call with Harper yesterday and the possible motives she'd ticked off for Calliope murdering Raina.

An affair with Kent.

Wanting Raina's job.

Mentally unstable.

At this point, it was looking like she'd been right about two out of three, and that third was still up in the air.

I hoped I could choke down all the crow I was going to have to eat.

Chapter Seventeen.

"You wouldn't do well in prison," Cherise was saying to Ve as I stood at the top of the stairs, eavesdropping.

"And I'd hate to have to arrest you," Nick said. "I don't think Darcy would forgive me."

"It could be cool, though," Harper said. "A look at the big house from the inside."

There was a stretch of silence, and I imagined them all staring at her.

"Orange is not your color, Velma," Godfrey finally said.

"Fine, fine!" Ve said begrudgingly. "I won't kill her."

Fresh from a shower, I rubbed my wet hair with a towel as I listened to the conversation in the kitchen.

Family.

Tilda glanced up at me and flicked an ear. I bent and scratched her chin, and she pressed her face against my hand and purred the barest of purrs.

She had her moments.

"Can I just hurt her a little?" Ve asked timidly. "A slap? Maybe two?"

"Assault," Nick said simply. "If she presses charges, I'd still have to arrest you."

"You'll still have the issue with the orange, even in the local lockup," Godfrey said.

"Yeah," Harper added, "and the local jail is way less interesting than the state pen."

Another stretch of silence.

Cherise said, "I've already placed a rush order for more signs. They'll be ready by noon. This is but a blip," she said. "Don't give Dorothy the satisfaction of knowing she got under your skin."

I thought it a little late for that, considering the show Ve put on for the village this morning.

"I suppose," Ve grumbled, "that I should be grateful she didn't try to burn down the house. Again."

True. Very true.

I quickly dressed, blow-dried my hair, and headed downstairs. Godfrey had gone, but Nick and Harper sat at the breakfast bar while Cherise made pancakes and bacon. The combo might be better than a serenity spell for Ve. It was her favorite breakfast.

"I think we've talked Ve off the ledge," Cherise said, glancing over her shoulder at me.

Ve poured me a cup of coffee and handed it over. "Do not be fooled. I'm still tottering. If Dorothy knows what's best, she'll keep her distance today." She jabbed her hands like she was boxing.

I thanked Ve for the coffee and asked Cherise if she needed any help.

"Got it covered. Have a seat," she said.

I kissed Nick's cheek and sat next to him. "How was Mimi this morning?"

"Fine," he said, sipping coffee. "Back to her usual self."

For how long? I wondered. Until the next time she ran into Glinda?

"Ve told me what happened," Cherise said. "I think time is the best option."

Nick lifted his eyebrows at me but didn't actually voice an "I told you so."

Ve set out plates. "I agree."

I wished I did.

"She's finding her way," Cherise went on. "Each time she sees Glinda, it will get easier to walk away."

"I hope you're right," Nick said.

Cherise laughed. "I'm always right."

Harper leaned forward and said to me, "While you were upstairs Nick told us that Andreus was bonded out of jail."

"What was his excuse for breaking in?" I asked. "Did he have one?"

"Said he had a little too much to drink and accidentally went into the wrong house," Nick said, smirking. "The lock on the back door had been picked."

"Did he really think you'd buy that excuse?" Cherise asked.

"No"-Nick sipped from his mug of coffee-"but he couldn't exactly say why he'd really been in there, could he?"

"He's just going to do it again," Harper said. "Until he finds those diamonds."

He did have a history of breaking into homes looking for gems-he'd done it while looking for the amulet that granted wishes.

I set my coffee cup down. "Well, he now has serious competition." I told them all about the conversation I'd had with Calliope and her theory that a treasure hunter had bought the house. I also told them how she'd had a meeting with Kent this morning.

"What kind of proposal does Kent want to talk to her about?" Harper asked.

I said, "Calliope made it sound like a business proposal."

"Right." Harper snorted.

"So that's that," Cherise said, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "The house is sold."

I felt her pain. "Calliope did mention that she'd be happy to show you the Maypole house again."

"We'll see," she said dejectedly. "I'd had my heart set on that house."

Ve glanced at me and winked. "Don't dwell, Cherise. Something good will come along soon. Perhaps an even better location."

I smiled behind my cup. Like Terry's house.

Nick's phone rang and he excused himself to take it outside. Harper took the opportunity to steal his seat. "Here," she said, sliding a folder over to me.

"What's this?"

"Consider it an early Christmas gift."

The mention of Christmas made me think of the drawing I was working on. Suddenly, butterflies filled my stomach. I hoped she liked it. No. I hope she loved it.

I opened the folder and gasped. "How did you get these?"

She beamed. "Dating a Lawcrafter comes in handy sometimes. He's got this really cool database . . . Bing, bang, boom he faxed them to me."

"What is it?" Ve asked, craning her neck.

"Vital records," I said, quickly riffling through the pile. Certificates of every kind. "Andreus's birth certificate. His mother's. His father's. Andreus's marriage certificate, his parents'. Death certificates for Sebastian and Zara."

Ve said, "Have mercy! So she has passed on?"

I glanced at the date. "A few years ago. Sixty-nine years old. Manner of death was natural causes."

"So young," Cherise said, setting pancakes on a plate.

"I wish I knew if she'd been that tipster," I said, knowing fully well no one here could actually grant the request. Unfortunately.

"Who else would it be?" Harper asked. "She seems the likely suspect."

"I agree, but I'm struggling with how she would have even known about the heist. She'd been gone from the village for a while at that point."

"Perhaps she heard something through Andreus," Ve said. "It wouldn't surprise me if he knew what his father had planned."

It was an interesting theory. "Did Zara remarry?" I asked Harper as I skimmed the records. "Did you find a marriage certificate for that?"

"I looked. I didn't find one."

Her death certificate listed an address in Plymouth. Maybe I could go talk to her old neighbors . . .

And say what? I asked myself. It wasn't likely they'd know anything about the heist-if Zara had even lived at that address back then.

A dead end.

I shivered.

"Since we know Zara is dead," I said, "maybe Andreus did inherit her belongings, including the Myrian charm. It's the only explanation of why Raina had it-he sold it to her."

"Or," Harper theorized, "it was in exchange for something to do with the Tavistock house. Perhaps, she leaked confidential info to him. Like how high the highest bid was . . . If so, that plan was an epic failure."

If she'd been eager to have a child, then I wouldn't put anything past her. And it would explain why Andreus had been careless enough to break into the house. He was getting desperate, worried that he wouldn't be able to buy the house now that his inside source was gone.