Part 25 (1/2)

”It's ... er ...” Pixie stopped, looking nonplussed. ”I'll get back to you on that.”

”I hardly knew Spider. I had no conceivable reason to want him dead, but even if I had, I couldn't have killed him. I was with people the whole time.”

”Not the whole time,” my father said, pausing for a moment to strike a dramatic pose. ”Dischordia went upstairs for a few minutes, which is when she saw Karma. And I had to use the downstairs John. Adam was off smooching up his girlfriend, which means, my dear, you were alone for a short time.”

”Oh!” Savannah gasped, outraged. ”How cruel of you to imply that I used the one or two minutes I was alone to creep downstairs and kill someone! Even if I wanted to, I couldn't! Unlike your daughter, I am not a violent person.”

”Hey, now,” I protested. ”That is thirty-odd years in the past.”

”Just playing devil's advocate,” my father told Savannah before resuming his parade around the room.

I smiled and forgave the lesser of his sins.

”Well, in this case, it's not necessary. I did not have the time, know-how, or desire to kill Spider.”

My eyes narrowed at her. I could feel the sudden interest in the air as both my father and Adam picked up on the lie Savannah had just told. ”What was that? You said you didn't have the time to murder him?”

”Of course not. I was only alone for a few minutes.” The look she shot me was scathing, but I didn't get a sense that she was lying.

”Then you meant you didn't have a motive to murder him?” my father asked, stopping in front of her.

”I just said that, didn't I?”

I glanced at Adam. He nodded slightly. For some reason, Savannah was lying about not having the ability to kill Spider. Why on earth would she hide that fact when it was the least d.a.m.ning?

”But you could have killed him, if you'd really wanted to,” Adam said slowly, taking a step toward her.

Her eyes widened slightly, as if she scented danger. ”No, of course not!”

Lie.

”We don't even know what killed him!”

”True, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have killed him, either by poison or some other method that wouldn't leave obvious marks on the body,”

I said, leaning forward toward her. The faint buzzing noise that ebbed and flowed rose briefly.

One hand fidgeted with the amulet bag; the other crumpled her skirt. ”I didn't kill him. I've told you that over and over again. And since you have no proof to the contrary, I will thank you to just move the h.e.l.l on!”

I narrowed my gaze on the amulet bag, which hung from a silken cord.

”What sort of an amulet do you carry?”

”What on earth does that have to do with anything?”

”I like amulets. What one do you use?”

She shot an indignant look at Adam. ”This really is going well over the line of what's reasonable, and into persecution. I am not guilty of the murder, and no matter how much-”

”Would you answer Karma's question, please?” Adam interrupted.

”I ... You people...G.o.ddess! Very well, since you're all clearly bent on finding me guilty of something...” She opened the bag and took out a pretty purple heart-shaped stone. ”It's an amethyst. A very old one, charged by a local Wiccan. Are you happy now?”

Her tone still spoke of a lie.

”It's very pretty. May I?” I held out my hand.

”If you think I won't remember this treatment when this whole thing is over, you're quite wrong,” she answered, sharing a glare with Adam, my father, and me as she dropped the amethyst onto my outstretched palm.

The second the stone hit my hand, I felt as if I were holding on to a live wire. It was so strong a sensation, it knocked me backward off the couch. I yelped, getting to my knees to examine my hand before turning my attention to Savannah. ”Good G.o.d, what was that?”

”Honey, are you all right?” Adam squatted next to the fallen stone, reaching out as if to pick it up.

”No!” I yelled at the same time that Tony and Jules demanded that Adam leave it be.

”You don't know where it's been,” Jules added.

”That is the most insulting thing I've ever heard!” Savannah declared.

”You haven't been here long yet,” Tony told her.

”What is it?” Adam asked me, ignoring the byplay behind him.

I shook my head and allowed my father and Pixie to help me to my feet.

My arm still tingled from the sensation of the stone. ”I don't know, but whatever it is, it's very powerful.”

We all turned to look at Savannah.

”What is the amulet you carry?” Adam asked.

”I told you! It's an amethyst, charged by a Wiccan.”

”Charged with what?”

”Hope. Strength. Clarity of mind. Nothing negative, I a.s.sure you.”

I pursed my lips, eyeing her, and rubbed my palm. She wasn't lying, but the stone contained a ma.s.sive amount of something.

”Karma?”

I couldn't answer Adam's unasked question. I shook my head. ”I don't know. It didn't seem evil. It was just very, very strong...” An idea occurred to me, something I felt like whacking myself on the head about. ”What else do you have in the amulet bag?”

”Oh, this is too much!” she snapped, leaping off the couch and backing away, her hands held out before her. ”I have been as tolerant as I know how due to the circ.u.mstances. I have answered your endless and very personal questions. I have tried time and time again to contact Spider in order to find the killer. I have given and given and given, and not said a single word about the abuse that's been heaped upon my head.”

”She's good,” Tony said sotto voce to Jules. ”I particularly like the little throb in her voice.”