Mariam got up and opened the door. I took the opportunity to take the seat behind her desk. When interviewing witnesses and suspects, always take the position of power.

Mariam disappeared and her assistant walked in, raising her eyebrow when she saw me behind the desk.

“Adelina?”

“Yes.” Her face was blank but her eyes radiated dislike. I’d met her once before with Vas. She’d attempted to block me from seeing Mariam, and I’d pulled out the big guns, threatening her with the demons. I wouldn’t like me either.

“Take me back to the day the belt went missing,” I said. “Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”

She sat down, stretching her legs out in front of her. She wore a pale pink suit and a set of pearls. Her eyelashes were so long they gave me the willies.

Adelina cooperated, taking me through every minute of her day. Occasionally, she flipped through her daily planner or took out her phone to check a detail.

No, she hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, and all the people who’d had a meeting with her boss that day had been trusted to the fae.

I let her go and leaned back in Mariam’s chair. With the way the fae were determined to keep their business to themselves, this was likely to be a long, complicated investigation. An investigation without the few resources I’d had with the Mage Council.

My hands fisted. Fuck those guys. I was going to solve this, get my money, and be set for at least the next few years if I lived frugally.

Mariam opened her door, her eyes narrowing as she took in my position in her seat. She walked toward me, handed me a check and hovered, clearly waiting for me to get out of her chair.

I stood. “I need to take a look around your office tomorrow. Is that going to be a problem?”

“No. I will tell everyone to cooperate.”

“Okay. I also need Aubrey’s information, along with anything you can tell me about where the amulet was last seen before it disappeared.”

“I will email the information through to you.”

“Thank you.”

I got in my car and drove home, where I had a nightmare that Odin was trying to kill me.

9

Danica

I messaged my sister as soon as I opened my eyes the next morning. Evie said Cil and Zip were doing okay. They were quiet, but their new friend and the toys and games at Samael’s had them sufficiently distracted.

I called the hospital. Still no change in Gary’s condition. I hung up, fed Lia, showered, and drove to Mariam’s office.