A Frightening Fangs-giving

this world. Of course, losing her mother at an early age only made her father throw more cash and prizes her way. She was raised by an army of nannies.”
“That sounds like a very lavish yet sheltered life.”
Macy huffs, “There’s a reason I called her the bubble-wrapped princess.”
I make wild eyes at my loose-lipped sister. Obviously, Hunter had feelings for Ember once. I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear people disparaging her now that she’s gone.
Hunter’s chest bounces with a dry laugh. More like bubble-wrapped brat.
On second thought…
“Hunter, can I ask what happened between the two of you?”
His lips knot up as he looks straight ahead. “Sure. I was working my second year as a licensed pharmacist about the time Ember and I hit it pretty hot and heavy. We met at a fundraiser for a drug company her father owns. And well, let’s just say I couldn’t bend over backward enough for her. Actually, I would liken it to twisting myself into a pretzel. Eventually, I couldn’t do it anymore.” I couldn’t breathe. I wanted out, and she snapped. She stole the med keys, ransacked the pharmacy, and mixed up enough prescriptions to ensure my license was as good as toilet paper. I’ll never be able to undo the damage she’s done to me. Years of education gone down the drain, and yet the college loans live on. Thankfully, Ember isn’t here anymore to take the wrecking ball to my life. If she knew how I felt about Macy, she’d cut off my head, and most likely other parts of my body as well.
“Oh wow,” I mutter as he nods my way. “I’m sorry about all the twisting.” And the fact he lost everything because of that woman.
“It’s over now.” She’s dead as a doornail. I saw to that myself.
My eyes flash his way.
He saw to it himself?
“Hunter?” A dam of words begs to burst from me—all of them accusatory. “Who do you think did this to Ember?” If I’ve ever tried to hone my telesensual powers before on a single mind, it’s now. If Hunter Knox indeed killed Ember, I’m going to use every weapon in my arsenal to pull that information from him.
He takes a quick breath. “I think the obvious answer is your sister.” He gives a little wink her way, and Macy giggles like a schoolgirl at the thought. “But in all seriousness, I think they should look into Flint Butler, the guy she was seeing. I mean, sure, he’s your standard-issue politician, cheesy smile, loads of promises he can’t keep, but the guy’s got a dark side.”
I nod. “He was there the day of the murder.”
“Yes, he was. I saw him myself.” He glowers just past me as if he were seeing Flint in the distance. “I tried to warn him about her. Out of the goodness of my heart, I told the guy to run.”
Macy leans in. “And what did he say?”
Hunter shrugs. “Not much. Actually, I take that back. He said a lot. He said Ember had the capability to ruin him if he so much as hinted he wasn’t happy. He didn’t have the cookies to leave her—not in the conventional way. He said he had an alternate plan.”
Georgie gasps. “An alternate plan? The butler did it!”
All three cats belt out a meow of agreement, and it sounds like an adorable choir.
Macy motions for him to continue. “What was the alternate plan?” I’m not dating a killer, am I?
I frown over at her. For all she knows, she could be dating two potential killers.
Hunter blows out a breath. “I don’t know. I showed up that day to tell Ember to loosen her claws off my life. We hadn’t been together in months, and she was still causing problems for me with the board. Flint tried to keep me away from her. He said he didn’t want to upset her. Can’t blame him. I’m sure he bore the brunt of her wrath.”
The tractor takes a turn as we head back in the direction we started, and a tiny bout of panic infiltrates me.
Flint Butler is definitely on my list of people to speak with, but I’ve got Hunter here now and I can’t waste a single second.
“I guess Willow is closing the shop,” I say, hoping to bait him. “She says it was never her dream.”
He furrows his brows. “Not a surprise. I don’t know Willow that well. She seems nice enough. But as soon as I saw Ember and that poor girl looking like carbon copies of one another, I knew something was up. There was a new toy in town.”
Macy cocks her head his way. “Meaning?”
“Meaning she probably had something over her to make her jump through hoops. Ember didn’t have any real friends. She either bought the people in her life or she threatened them to stay put.”
That conversation I had with Marigold comes to mind. Willow was running from the law and Ember knew it. And from the looks of it, Ember didn’t hesitate turning her into a toy just like Hunter suggested.
Hunter settles the sleeping kittens on his lap while slinging an arm around my sister’s shoulders.
“I’m not sure who’s mourning Ember,” he says. “And that alone makes me feel bad for her. She may have swept through my life like a hurricane, but I’m sure it didn’t feel all that great being her either. And again, she didn’t have a mother.”
Macy sniffs back her emotions. “I never thought of it that way. I’m sure Ember was looking to fill a void in her life her father couldn’t give her. I don’t know how I would have turned out without my mother.”
Georgie sways toward my sister. “You’d be a killer in that scenario—a serial killer. In fact, you might just have been the first female serial killer in all of Maine.”
“Oh, come on, Georgie.” Macy lifts a shoulder. “You think too highly of me. Besides, I’m pretty sure our great state has already achieved that status. And