The Fairyland Murders by J.A. Kazimer Page B

“Seven fairies are dead. Murdered. And I will be next. Do you not wonder why?”
    â€œNot really.” I shrugged. “But I bet you’re going to tell me anyway.” Sometimes it was best to beat information out of a fairy. At least it was far more satisfying. And then at other times, like this one, I learned more by sitting back and waiting for the snitch to spill his guts. Kind of like dating; appear too eager and you end up alone and stuck with the check.
    Or a face full of mace.
    â€œHer. They were murdered by her.”
    I snorted. No way in hell was Jack the Tooth Ripper my five-foot, pink-winged half fairy. For one thing, she was with me when Barry was killed. “Right, and I was voted PI magazine’s Sexiest Bachelor.”
    The bush behind me shook with laughter.
    Henrick puffed his tiny chest forward, kind of hard to do when wearing a bathrobe and purple wings, but he managed somehow and then stomped his foot. “I am the rightful Tooth Fairy, damn it. She will never rule! Not as long as there is fairy dust in my body. . . .”
    Since Izzy didn’t appear to want to rule anyone except for me, I didn’t see what had his wings in a bunch. “You have my blessing.” A rock smacked into my back, thrown by the evergreen bush. Then again, maybe she did? I tried not to wince as I returned my attention to Henrick. “Now what do you know about the twins?”
    He hiked his bathrobe up. “Clayton called me the night before he disappeared. Said Isabella was trouble and that we must guard against her.”
    That explained why Izzy didn’t want me to bring her to Clayton, not if the twins considered her a threat to whatever devious plan they’d roped me into. But then why did they send me to find Izzy in the first place? Unless they were the ones behind the drive-by all along? I shook my head. That didn’t seem like the twins’ style. Not only was the attack too organized for that brain trust but neither of them could reach the gas pedal and fire out the window at the same time. I rubbed my hands together. “Are you sure it was Clayton who called you?”
    â€œI think so,” he said, scratching his hairless chin. “The connection was pretty bad.”
    â€œBlue, they’re coming,” the bush behind me said. “We must go. Now.”
    I didn’t need to turn around to know it wasn’t the bush talking but Izzy, who’d been following me since I’d left my apartment. Tension filled her tone, growing thicker, like the dark, dense fog suddenly rolling in.
    She stepped from behind the evergreen, her head held high and without an ounce of remorse for disobeying me on her too pretty face. My body burned with annoyance but not enough to cause electrical sparks. Not yet at least. What part of “stay inside and safe” had she not understood? Before I could berate her in a manner unbecoming of such an upstanding citizen as myself, Henrick interrupted. “You!” He stabbed his finger in Izzy’s direction like a weapon, his wings flapping a mile a minute. “You are here to kill me like you killed all the others. Help! Someone help!”
    â€œQuiet.” I grabbed his offending finger, pulling the fairy off his feet. He responded by pulling off my glove, leaving skin against fairy flesh. Sparks shot from my hand, shocking the purple-winged fairy.
    Now anyone else would’ve stumbled to the ground, contrite, but not him. In full flutter, he rose an inch off the dirt, spraying Izzy and me with fairy dust and spittle. I held my breath to avoid a nasty dose of the dusty stuff.
    Izzy took a menacing step toward Henrick, her eyes blazing with fury. He spat a juicy glob of goo at her. She sidestepped like a pro. “You will never be the Tooth Fairy,” he screeched. “I will see you in fey hell first.” He added, for my benefit I assumed, “You and your little Blue