Page 14 of Bitter Spirits

He came to a stop, careful to keep a few feet between them, and didn’t offer his hand or try to touch her in any way. “Kelly, right?”

“Ye—” Kelly cleared her throat, and her voice strengthened. “Yes.”

“I know you’ve had a long night, and I appreciate you hanging around. I just have a couple of questions about what happened.” He half turned, motioning toward one of the booths. “Why don’t we sit over here, okay?”

Kelly shot a look at Isa, who nodded and let her go so she could lead the younger woman to the booth. Isa scooted in first, leaving Kelly the seat on the open end. When Kelly stood there, stiff and tense, Locke took a seat on the other side. Kelly jerked and turned as Des dragged a nearby chair over, its legs scraping across the floor. She turned back and sat down, trapping Isa in the middle seat. Des set the chair at the table, between Locke and Kelly. Spine ramrod straight, Kelly kept her gaze on the tabletop as she worried her lower lip, her hands balled up in her lap. Isa wanted to reach out but knew she had to let the younger woman face Locke on her own.

Once everyone was situated, Locke spoke, his tone curiously gentle. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Kelly’s nervous gaze came up and bounced from Isa to Locke to Des then back to Locke. Isa was close enough to catch the way her expression wavered between scared and calm. The girl’s nerves were getting the better of her.

Isa kept her voice low, her warning subtle. “Kelly, Locke works with the Cordova Family, and it seems they have—had—some questions for Leo.”

“The Cordovas?” At Isa’s nod, Kelly’s already pale face lost what little color remained, but the strange shimmer disappeared as she reined in her magic. No one wanted to tangle with an Arcane Family, especially one like the Cordovas. Her gaze darted to Locke. “But Leo’s a muni.” She winced. “Sorry, I know how that sounds. It’s just…” She took a deep breath and started again. “Leo was a Traditionalist.”

“We’re aware,” Locke said. “Leo is connected to someone else we’re looking for. I was hoping to ask him some questions tonight, but…”

“But he’s dead.” Kelly’s voice hitched.

“He is, so as the last person to see him, you might be able to share something that will help me out, but I won’t know until you tell me.”

“Right.” Kelly’s voice was shaky, her gaze skittering to Isa.

Isa gave her a tiny nod of encouragement.

Kelly sucked in a bracing breath, blew it out, and faced Locke. “Right,” she said, her voice stronger this time. “Where do you want me to start?”

A charming smile curved Locke’s mouth. “Was tonight special or just a regular thing?”

“It was a going-away thing because I’m leaving town soon. A way to get the squad together one last time.”

“Who all is part of the squad?” Locke asked.

“Well, me, Em, Olie, and Leo.” She stumbled over Leo’s name but then continued gamely. “We met up at the Obsidian Club around ten.”

Isa listened to Kelly retell the story she’d shared earlier, this time without jumping from scene to scene. The younger woman took Isa’s suggestion to heart, keeping it simple. The friends had met up and had a good time, then Leo started acting out of character. Em and Olie took off for the Alchemist in Tempe, leaving Kelly with an obviously impaired Leo. Kelly had taken him to his apartment, and Leo had attacked her.

“Things happened so fast, and I…” She shook her head. “That’s not normal for Leo. He’s not like that.” Tears welled but didn’t fall. “Everything kind of blurs, but there was this moment when he had me pinned in the kitchen. I just wanted to get out, but he wouldn’t let me go. He got weird. His eyes…” She shivered and huddled in her seat. “There was something really wrong in his eyes. I was so scared, and I needed something to make him move so I could get out. He kept backing me up between the sink and fridge. There wasn’t much to use, but there were dishes in the sink and on the counter. I remember grabbing a bowl and throwing it at him, but it didn’t do much other than piss him off. He just kept coming. So I was tossing whatever I could find, hoping something would get him to move. He had me pinned near the sink.” Her hand brushed her throat, where fingermarks marred her skin, and her voice grew quieter. “I just wanted him to let me go. I… I must have grabbed a knife because he finally did.” She dropped her hand to her lap, her shoulders straightening slowly as she lifted her head. “I was running for the door when something hit me. It felt like I was on fire, and I couldn’t get my body to move. I was curled up on the floor, and he was standing there, magic pouring out of him.” She swallowed and met Locke’s gaze. “I know that makes zero sense because Leo doesn’t have magic, but he must have gotten his hands on some kind of spell, because he was definitely flinging around serious magic.”

Locke didn’t appear surprised. A grim look lurked behind his composed expression. “How did you get away?”

Kelly’s shoulders rose and fell in a jerky motion. “I tried to charm him into letting me go. For a moment, I thought it would work, but then he tried to zap me again, and whatever magic he had just kind of sputtered out. He was so pissed it was like he barely knew where he was, and while he was raging, I managed to get to my feet.” Tremors erupted from her as she relived the moment. “It was like he was possessed or something. He was bleeding, but it was like he didn’t feel it. The magic was, like, curling around him. I think it was starting to burn him, but he was pulling at his hair and screaming. I ran for the door and got out.” Her breathing picked up.

“You’re okay, Kelly.” Isa reached out, covered her trembling hands, and gave them a careful squeeze. “You’re good. Just take a breath.” She waited until Kelly had sucked in air. “Now hold it… just like that. And let it out.”

Once Kelly was calm, Locke returned to his questioning. “You said he started acting weird?”

“Yeah. I mean, I thought he was hammered, you know, because he’d been drinking pretty steadily.” She scratched a nail across the table’s surface.

“Is that normal for him?”

She thought about it. “No. I mean he drinks—we all do, you know—but he doesn’t get lit on the regular, but…” She rolled her shoulders.

“But…?” Locke prompted.

Kelly’s eyes darted to Isa in a silent question. Isa dipped her chin.

“But tonight hit different, and it made me wonder if he took one of those pills he said he was holding for someone.”