He winced. But he controlled it quickly.
Rowan said quietly, "Look at what was in the goat's mouth."
Ash picked up the black flower gingerly. "An Iris. So?"
'Been to your club recently?" Kestrel asked.
Ash gave her a weary look. "If I had done this, why would I sign it with an iris?"
"Maybe to tell us who did it."
"I don't have to kill goats to say things, you know. I can talk."
Kestrel looked unimpressed. "Maybe this way the message has a little more impact."
"Do I looklike the kind of person who wastes time turning goats into pincushions?"
"No. No, I don't think you did this," Rowan said inher quiet way. "But somebodydid-probably whoever killed Aunt Opal. We've been trying to figure outwho."
"Well, who have we got for suspects?"
Everyone looked at Mary-Lynnette. She looked away.
"There's one who's pretty prime," Mark said. "Hisname's Jeremy Lovett. He's a real-"
"Quiet guy," Mary-Lynnette interrupted. If anyonewas going to describe Jeremy, it was going to be her.
"I've known him since elementary school, and I would never,ever have believed he could hurt any body-especially an old lady and ananimal."
"But his uncle was crazy," Mark said. "And I'veheard things about hisfamily-"
"Nobodyknows anything about his family," Mary-Lynnette said. She felt as if she were struggling to keep her head above water, with barbells tied to herwrists and ankles. What was dragging her downwasn't Mark's suspicion - It was her own. The littlevoice in her head that was saying, "But he seemed like such a nice guy"--and which meant, of course, that he wasn't.
Ash was watching her with a brooding, intent expression. "What does this Jeremy look like?"
Something about the way he said it irritated MaryLynnette beyond belief. "What do you care?"
Ash blinked and shifted his gaze. He shrugged minimallyand said with forced blandness, "Just curious."
"He'svery handsome," Mary-Lynnette said.Gooda way to let out her anger and frustration.
"And the thing is that he looks very intelligent andsensitive-it's not empty good looks. He's got hair that's sort of the color of Ponderosa pinecones andthe most wonderful brown eyes.... He's thin andtan and a little bit taller than me, because I'm normally looking at his mouth...."
Ash didn't look pleased. "I saw somebody vaguelylike that at the gas station -in town." He turned to Rowan. "You think he's some kind of outlawvampire?"
"Obviously not a made vampire because MaryLynnette has watched him grow up," Rowan said.
"I was thinking more that he might be renegade lamia.But there's not much use in trying to figure it out from here. Tomorrow we can go and see him, and then we'll know more. Right?"
Mark nodded. Jade nodded. Mary-Lynnette took adeep breath and nodded.
Ash nodded and said, "All right, I see why you can't go home until this is solved. So, we'll figureout who killed Aunt Opal, and then we'll take the appropriate action, and then we'll go home. Got it?"
His sisters exchanged glances. They didn't answer.
As she and mark walked back to their house,Mary-Lynnette noticed that Sirius had lifted abovethe eastern horizon. It hung like a jewel, brighterthan she had ever seen it before-much brighter. Itseemed almost like a miniature sun, flashing with blue and gold and violet rays.
She thought the effect must be psychological,,until she remembered that she'd exchanged blood with three vampires.
Chapter 13
Jade sat in the wing chair, holding Tiggy upsidedown on her lap, petting his stomach. He was purring but mad. She stared down into indignant, glowing green eyes.
"The other goat," Kestrel announced from the doorway, saying the word as if it were something not mentioned in polite society, "is just fine. So you can let the cat out."
Jade didn't think so. There was somebody crazy inBriar Creek, and she planned to keep Tiggy safe where she could see him.
"We're not going to have to feed on the goat, are we?" Kestrel asked Rowan dangerously.
"Of course not. Aunt Opal did because she was tooold to hunt." Rowan looked preoccupied as she answered.
"I like hunting," Jade said. "It's even better thanI thought it would be." But Rowan wasn't listening she was biting her lip and staring into the distance. "Rowan, what?"
"I was thinking about the situation we're in. You and Mark, for one thing. I think we need to talk about that."
Jade felt reflexive alarm. Rowan was in one of herorganizing moods-which meant you could blink and find that she'd rearranged all your bedroom furnitureor that you were moving to Oregon. "Talk about what?" she said warily.
"About what you two are going todo. Is he going to stay human?"
"It's illegal to change him," Kestrel put in pointedly.
"Everything we've done this week is illegal,"Rowan said. "And if they exchange blood again well, it's only going to take a couple of times. Do you want him a vampire?" she asked Jade.
Jade hadn't thought about it. She thought Mark was nice the way he was. But maybehe would wantto be one. "What are you going to do with yours?" she asked Ash, who was coming slowly downstairs.
"My what?" He looked sleepy and irritable.
"Your soulmate. Is Mary-Lynnette going to stayhuman?"
"That's the other thing I've been worrying about," Rowan said. "Have you thought at all, Ash?"
"I can't think at this hour in the morning. I don'thave a brain yet."
"It's almost noon," Kestrel said scornfully.