Magic Steals (Kate Daniels #6.5)(11)

“Fifty?” Komang opened her eyes wide.

“Yes,” Jim said.

“A swarm of this size would have to steal a person every week,” I said. “There is no way fifty people vanished in Eyang Ida’s neighborhood and nobody noticed. Not only that, but because jenglot magic is so toxic, it poisons the area around their nest. It is difficult to purge. The purification in Eyang Ida’s house took very little effort.”

“What are you trying to say?” Iluh asked.

“Someone summoned the jenglot swarm. I think someone deliberately targeted your grandmother.”

The two women looked at each other.

“But why?” Komang asked.

“Eyang Ida has no enemies,” Iluh said.

“No personal grudges?” I asked. “No irate neighbors? Nobody jealous or mad at her? Any frenemies?”

Komang glanced at Iluh. “Frenemy?”

“A fake person who pretends to be nice but secretly hates you,” Iluh said. “I don’t think so.”

Komang shook her head. “No, she would’ve told me.”

“It doesn’t have to be someone with a grudge.” Jim leaned back in his chair. “Most homicides are committed for three reasons: sex, revenge, or profit.”

“We can rule out sex,” Komang said. “My mother was happily married for over fifty years. My father died two years ago and she isn’t looking for romance.”

“Revenge is probably not a factor either,” I said. “Your mother was universally loved and respected.”

“That leaves us with profit,” Jim said.

“She had a life insurance policy,” Iluh said.

Komang drew herself back. “Are you suggesting . . .”

Uh-oh. “It’s not connected to the life insurance,” I said quickly. “You need a body for the life insurance, and if everything had gone as planned, Eyang Ida would’ve become a jenglot. She would be declared missing and the family would have to wait years before she would be officially listed as deceased.”

“What other things of value did she have?” Jim asked.

“Well, there is the house,” Komang said. “You’ve seen it. It’s not something I would expect anyone to kill her over. People don’t murder each other for thirty-year-old three bedroom, two baths. Her car is safe and runs well, but it’s not expensive.”

“Any artifacts?” I asked. “Cultural items? Sometimes people don’t realize they own things that hold valuable magic.”

Komang sighed. “She collects My Little Pony toys.”

Iluh nodded. “You should’ve gone to the bedroom. She has shelves of those. She thinks they are pretty. She sculpts them out of modeling clay and paints them.”

That’s something I would’ve never guessed.

Iluh bit her lip.

Jim focused on her. “You thought of something.”

She exhaled. “It’s probably nothing. Eyang Ida owns part of the building where her salon is located. A few months ago a law firm contacted her asking if she would sell it.”

“I remember that,” Komang said. “We’ve looked over the proposal. She owned that place for years, so she turned them down.”

Jim turned alert, like a shark sensing a drop of blood in the water. “Did they say on whose behalf?”

“No.” Komang frowned. “I think the client remained anonymous.”

“Do you remember which law firm?” I asked.

“Abbot and something,” Komang said.

“Abbot, Sadlowski, and Shirley!” Iluh said, her face lighting up. “I remember because if you put all the capitals together you get—”

I giggled. Iluh giggled back.

Komang gave Iluh a disappointed mother look.

“They should’ve rearranged their names,” Iluh said.

“It’s a place to start,” Jim said.

? ? ?

I drove through the quiet streets to Eyang Ida’s salon. It was the best place to start. We could go after the law firm, but no lawyer worth his or her salt would divulge the name of their client if the client wished to remain anonymous. Right now, with the attempt on Eyang Ida’s life having failed, was the best time to snoop around and see if anyone was unsettled by it.

Jim sat in the seat next to me. It was the strangest thing. His face was relaxed, his pose lazy. Jim had only two modes: menacing and waiting to menace. He usually worked so hard on being scary, he intimidated people while he was asleep.

I slowed down, just to keep him languid a little longer. The way he sat now, draped over the seat, made me think of him lying on a blanket on the grass under the peach trees. Just lying there, quietly napping, with the sun on his face. I could lie next to him, read a book, and bring us some iced tea when we got thirsty . . . In another universe.

“What was the plan, telling Komang that we’re dating?” I demanded.

“Just keeping the record straight,” Jim said.

“You just told my mother’s BFF that I have a boyfriend. I’m going to get a call from her.”

“You can handle one phone call,” he said.

“And then the phone calls from my uncle and my aunt, and my cousin and my other cousin, and my once-removed cousin’s second daughter, and my roommate from college whom I haven’t seen in four years . . .”