“Please get it for me.”
Yes, Marie had said “please,” but there was no missing the note of command in her voice. Caitlin got up from the love seat and hurried down the hallway toward the guest room. After she was gone, Marie fixed Alex with the sort of piercing gaze that made him think she must have noticed a stain on his shirt, or maybe a piece of ham sandwich stuck between his teeth.
“And what is your clan doing about all this?” she asked.
“Doing?”
“This…crime…happened on your territory. Surely your prima must be taking some action of her own.”
Irritated by the note of cool accusation in her voice, he responded, “Besides having you come down here?”
“That was not something offered by Maya, or your own mother, who seems to be acting as her deputy these days.” Something flashed in Marie’s dark eyes. Anger? “This was something Connor and Angela requested, which is why I am here. But I want to know what your own people are doing. In the end, the responsibility for what happens to those two girls will fall on the de la Paz clan.”
Was that a threat? It sure sounded like a threat. Although at first he’d been glad that his mother hadn’t chosen to attend this meeting, had appeared to think Alex could handle things on his own, now he wasn’t so certain. Inter-clan diplomacy wasn’t exactly his forte. He’d seen something of how Maya ran things, just because she was his grandmother and so he’d been around her far more than your average member of the clan. Still, it wasn’t enough exposure to give him the sort of experience he needed for this kind of situation.
“We’re looking into it,” he said, which was basically a non-answer, but better than telling Marie to go to hell. “And of course having Caitlin here is a big help, since we don’t have a seer of our own.”
The Wilcox witch’s lips thinned at that remark. Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut; that Caitlin had turned out to be a seer at all was probably a sore subject with Marie Begonie.
But then Caitlin returned, holding a bracelet of woven leather and turquoise beads. If she noticed the tension in the room, she didn’t give any indication. Or possibly she’d decided the best thing to do was ignore it.
“Here’s the bracelet,” she said, handing it to Marie.
She took it, turning it over in her hand, letting a finger slide over the surface of a smoothly polished bead. “When did she loan this to you?”
“Right before we left. I said it would be cute with one of the tops I was packing, and she told me to go ahead and take it, since she wasn’t planning on wearing it.”
“Good. Then she’s handled it recently.”
Caitlin nodded and resumed her place on the love seat. As she settled herself, she looked up at Alex, her glance clearly questioning, but he knew he couldn’t say anything in front of Andre and Marie. Alex knew he’d never been the best at concealing his emotions, so God only knew what was on his face right then. Irritation…worry? About all he could do was hope that Marie would think his expression stemmed from being troubled over the current situation and not anything she might have said.
They were all silent as Marie turned the bracelet over and over in her hand. Then she shook her head. “I’m not getting anything. Is there someplace where I can go to sit quietly?”
The house had three bedrooms, but Caitlin’s stuff was in the guest room, and the other bedroom held his home office. Well, what he called his office. It was really more of a man cave, what with the big TV mounted on one wall and a console that held his various gaming equipment. Yes, it had a desk, which was where his laptop usually hung out, but it still didn’t feel like the sort of place Marie was asking about.
“On the patio?” he suggested. “It’s usually pretty quiet out there, and if you think it’s too warm, I can turn on the ceiling fans.”
“I’m sure it will be fine,” she said, rising from the couch. Andre made a movement, as if to get up as well, but she made a quelling gesture with one hand and he subsided, not looking all that comfortable.
Alex decided to ignore that exchange and instead pointed toward the French doors that opened from the living room onto the patio. “Right through there. They’re unlocked.”
She nodded and went outside, letting in a waft of warm air. The day was clear, the sun bright. He had to hope she could either figure out the ceiling fans or would take off the sweater she wore over her T-shirt and denim skirt. That sweater had probably been necessary up in Flagstaff, but it sure wasn’t needed here.
Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw her pull out one of the chairs at the patio table and sit down, taking the exact spot where Caitlin had sat the night before. But since Marie obviously didn’t want an audience, he made himself turn back toward Andre.