They didn’t have to go far. Brandon was in the lobby of the Lodge, sitting on a couch with a drink in his hand. When they approached, he waved over a waiter. “Please bring my guests a drink too.”
Mia and Trent ordered, then sat down. “You’ve been expecting us?”
“I figured I might as well come to you so you didn’t have to drive to my house.” He looked toward the windows. “I hear a storm’s coming. I have a room here. I’ve got to talk to a few more people tonight.”
“Like Nathan Boyle?” Mia guessed.
Brandon smiled and nodded. “Like Nathan Boyle. I’m afraid your renovations aren’t going to be completed as quickly as he promised because he’s going to jail after our conversation.”
Mia blinked several times, processing what he hadn’t said. “You’re the office holder.”
Brandon waited for their drinks to be delivered. A glass of wine for Mia, a beer for Trent. He told the waiter to put it on his bill and the guy left. “I am tonight. Now that my cover is blown—thanks, Mia—I’m going to have to pass the office to someone else, which will be a relief. I’m pretty sure Sabrina’s ready to break up with me. And I already bought her the ring.”
Mia didn’t want to get involved in his relationships. “I wouldn’t tell anyone, well, outside the academy society. You didn’t kill Suzanne Parker, did you?”
He shook his head. “But all signs pointed to me. I was supposed to be the fall guy. When I realized that, I knew it wasn’t you or any of your ‘society.’ You didn’t even know about the office holder until Thomas andAbigail let it slip. I told you that there were some coven secrets I couldn’t tell you.”
“Someone was framing you for her murder. Leaking the affair. Tying you to the mess that forced the retesting. Even getting Sonja to do a training at Trent’s house, keeping him away from me. They couldn’t blame me because I had too many people watching me, so you were the next patsy.”
Brandon leaned back in his chair to explain. “They didn’t expect you to see through the visions they were sending. You didn’t react the way you were supposed to react, and you had a solid alibi all along. I was the next logical choice, and the frame would have worked, except for one, maybe two main hiccups. I’m the office holder. Magically, I’m bound to not do anything illegal or immoral during my term of office. I physically can’t. The magic of the oath I took stops me. It’s a good way to keep the foxes out of the chicken house.”
“What was the other hiccup?” Trent asked as he sipped his beer.
“Suzanne Parker wasn’t my lover. She was my mother. After all those years, she slipped and had a baby with Carl Hagen. He didn’t know about the baby, but he remembered the love he’d felt for Suzanne all those years ago. That’s why he was so willing to come and talk to you about your test. In the hundreds of years he has been in that position, I don’t think he’s ever talked to a test taker. Ever. Until you.”
“The person who sent me the visions didn’t know about the relationships I had with people. That’s why I kept thinking it had to be someone outside of MagicSprings. Someone who didn’t know how close I was to Mark Baldwin or Sarah. Or that I trusted my friends. Or that you had a mother.” Mia reached over and squeezed Brandon’s hand. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” He glanced at his watch. “So, to pull it together, because I know you’ll be chatting with your magical society later tonight, Nathan wanted me out of leadership. He first went for you, because your level was too high for a kitchen witch. He thought you were aiming for a spot on the coven board.”
“He was wrong there,” Trent snorted.
Brandon agreed and added, “When someone wants power, they don’t understand someone who, like Mia, doesn’t want to wield it. After he met you and realized you didn’t even want to be part of the coven, he changed his plans and focused on me. If he was in coven leadership, he’d be able to control the land deals in the area and make some money. A lot of money. Starting with Suzanne’s house. He found it on the tax rolls and thought it was an empty lot.”
“Hold on a second; did he plant the false memories in my head? He wanted me to leave Magic Springs.” Mia thought about all the work she’d done to the academy since she’d moved to the area. “He was in the school when I was ‘hiding.’ He probably caught me before and after the testing.”
“I think so. The academy is prime redevelopment land. I believe Nathan and his father tried to buy it before you won the contract. With you and Suzanne gone, he would have been able to start his Magic Springs development plan. That was probably more Adam than Nathan. The guy loves controlling real estate development. He’s the one who started building high-end houses in Eagle years ago.” Brandon looked at Trent and Mia, noticing their confusion. “Sorry, I get in the weeds when I get excited. Basically Nathan and his dad wanted to control Magic Springs.”
“Nathan seemed so nice.” Mia squeezed Trent’s hand. “And yet all he wanted was for me to walk away from you and Magic Springs so he could take over the coven. I guess this level five comes with a bit of fear factor for other witches. I mean, they fear me.”
“Between you and Mark Baldwin, you’ve become a strong investigative team,” Brandon acknowledged. “You made my life as the office holder easy.”
“You’re welcome. But I like working with my catering business and the Lodge more than making myself a target for crazy killers.” Mia took in a deep breath. It was over. Cleo’s words echoed in her head.You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.
“We’ve got a few minutes before I need to leave to collect some people, but I wanted to say one more thing. I believe Nathan was part of a collective of witches who were trying to bring down the coven. I talked to Carl before he left, and several people have been removed from office lately for wanting to start enforcing the magic-to-one-child rule. I think by figuring this out, we’ve stopped an upcoming fight for power.”
Mia took a long breath. If Brandon was right, there would be no war. At least not today. The Goddess had intervened, and they were all safe. “Thank you for telling us that. I’m sorry you’re going to have to vacate your office holder position.”
“Don’t be. I’m sure someone will step up, someone younger and more willing to hide part of his life from everyone he knows and loves. I’m not that man anymore. Or I won’t be, once I propose to Sabrina. Maybe we’ll even have kids. My mom said I was the best thing she’d ever done. That’s hard to live up to.” He stared at the door. “My security force is telling me that Nathan is in the parking lot, valeting his car. Poser. I have work to do.”
Mia and Trent thanked him for his time and stood to leave. Nathan walked in just as they were walking out, and Mia felt the man’s eyes on her. The mystery was over and a killer was on his way to being caught.
“Let’s go have dinner. I want cake.” Mia leaned over and kissed Trent. “It’s time to celebrate life, not just solve murders.”
“Who are you and where is Mia Malone?” Trent joked as they walked to his truck.
CHAPTER23
The gym at the academy had been transformed into a magical woodland scene. Even though it was still cold and snowy outside, the area where the wedding guests sat appeared to be a sunny meadow on a perfect early summer day. White chairs with sprays of flowers were lined up on a patch of grass so green it looked fake but felt real, if a guest were to reach down to touch it. Jeani had gone all out on the decorations. The budget had been blown, but no one minded. It was a special day.