Jen was anxious to see Nick the next day. She wasn't sure what all had happened when Dane Majors had been released. She did not know how he had handled all that and what he'd done in the meantime. But she knew she had to see him. Had to be with him, had to find a way to move forward. Together.

She flew invisibly to Nick's house. She had not bothered to fashion human clothes for herself, hoping that they could just stay together in his house where she could wear what she wanted. If need be, she could figure out some sort of human attire. Hopefully she wouldn't have to. The pale green dress she wore was very comfortable and made her feel like herself. It reminded her very much of the enormous flower stalks of the fairy realm with its vertical pleats and elegant, flowing drapes. It left her arms free and unhindered, and the slit up the side allowed her legs free movement. It felt wonderful when she flew, though no one would see her flying now. That was for the best, of course.

She landed on Nick's porch and rang the doorbell before carefully looking around to make sure no one was watching. When she was sure no one was, she blinked herself back to visibility with only her wings hidden.

Nick answered the door quickly, and his face immediately lit up when he saw her there. He wasn't an effusive man. She'd learned that about him already. Not excitable or too energetic in his demeanor. But she saw the quirk of his lips—still bruised from Bruce Dalton—quirk up into a smile. And his lovely dark green eyes filled with a sparkle that Jen recognized as joy.

"Hi," he greeted softly.

Jen smiled back at him. "Hi."

Nick moved aside to invite her inside and closed the door behind her. At that point, Jen let her wings become visible again. Nick's smile grew at that. She was not entirely sure why he seemed so enamored with her wings, but she found it incredibly endearing that he was.

He moved toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Jen wrapped hers around his neck. Gently, Nick leaned in and kissed her slowly and softly.

When he pulled back, he whispered, "Hi."

"You said that already," Jen murmured back quietly.

"I'm just really glad to see you."

"Me too. I hope not too much happened while I was gone."

Nick stepped back from Jennifer and took her hand. "Let's go sit down and talk about it. Things have happened. And I want to know what the queen said about everything, too."

Jen followed him into the living room. It was a bit chaotic in there. The case file for Tahnee Majors was spread out everywhere. There was a board set up on an easel beside the television with photos pinned up and Nick's notes scribbled underneath. It was all a little overwhelming. "Goodness," she said in slight awe.

He let out a puff of air from his nose in amusement, leading her to the sofa for them to sit down. She furled the skirt of her dress out around her and curled her legs up under her. Nick took his place beside her. They were sitting close together, facing one another so they could talk. But Nick's large, warm hand immediately rested on the fold of her knee. Jen had to resist resting her head on his chest. Later, she would. But first they needed to talk.

"So," she began. "You've been busy."

A small little smile appeared on his face. "I had a rotten night and morning. Watched Dane get released from prison. Felt awful. But then I remembered that someone told me it was like me to be defeated."

Jen's lips curled into their own wry smile to match his as she remembered the words she'd spoken to him at dinner when they'd talked about all this before. "You're better than that," she reminded him.

He nodded. "So I've been told. And after I wallowed for a little while, I got to work. Homicide is reviewing the whole case fresh. I'm trying to do the same. It could be Dane, just helped along the first time with the bad evidence. It could be someone else. Someone we didn't consider the first time around because everything just fit with Dane. But it's been ten years, and things change. Someone might have slipped up since then. Could be something else."

"What have you figured out so far?" she asked.

Nick pointed to the easel. "I came up with a list of possibilities yesterday and then called Duncan and ran things through with him. The squad had most of the same ideas. But they can investigate where I can't. I thought about some of Dane and Tahnee's friends. Callum and Narelle O'Brien. She was Tahnee's best friend from high school, Callum was on the team with Dane. The four of them were always close. And Callum gave evidence against Dane at trial. Duncan said they'd gone to Dane's house and Narelle had been there. Turns out she's got a violent streak in her. And she and Callum divorced because they disagreed about supporting Dane after his conviction."

"Did that lead anywhere?" Jen asked with interest.

"Well, Narelle's in love with Dane and Callum was in love with Tahnee," Nick explained.

"God, that's not a love triangle, it's a love square!" she quipped.

Nick hummed in agreement and continued, "And Callum admitted in interview that he went to talk to Tahnee that night after Dane hit her, and he kissed her. He said it was clear she didn't love him like he loved her, so he left. He thought she'd told Dane and he'd killed her for what Callum did."

Jen's eyes went wide. "So is that what happened?"

"Doesn't look like it."

"How about Narelle? You said she had a violent streak? And if she was in love with Dane…"

He shrugged. "Probably wasn't her. There's no evidence suggesting she was anywhere near the house the night Tahnee died. We know Dane and Callum were both there and both left at some point. Dane came home and found Tahnee dead on the floor by the stairs." Nick pointed to the easel again, this time to the photo of the crime scene.

Jen hadn't been to the Majors house, of course, but the pictures did a pretty good job of showing it in all its opulent glory. Perhaps it was because she knew it was a murder scene and the home of the monster Dane Majors, but it looked quite cold to Jennifer. All that stone everywhere. Shiny and beautiful, perhaps, but hard and unforgiving and cold. But maybe she was just biased; everything in the fairy realm was made of the trees and flowers, full of light and life. There was just none of that in the Majors house.

Nick interrupted her thoughts by asking, "What happened on your end?"

She explained all that she'd discussed with Terry and Bernice, how they wanted her to keep aware of the situation but not watch and follow Dane. "Bernice pointed out that he spent twenty years after Josh's death out in the world without bothering us, so there's no reason for us to assume that he's got any designs on the realm."

He nodded in agreement. "But best to keep your eye out just in case."

"Exactly."

For not the first time, Jen was impressed by how easily Nick seemed to understand the fairy realm. He'd been there, though still hadn't had much experience. But he took it all in stride. He asked questions and he wanted to understand. He never fought against it. He didn't seem troubled by the idea of fairies and magic the way other humans might have. Nick Buchanan had an open and understanding sort of way about him. It was that calm way about him. If Jen didn't know he was a human, she might think he had a bit of magic of his own. Maybe he did. Not fairy magic, but a special sort of Nick magic. It had to be something like that, to find a human man so gentle and kind and brilliant the way Nick was.

Jen shifted herself to lean in against his chest. His arms immediately encircled her. She felt him press a sweet kiss on the top of her head as she snuggled into his embrace. She sighed happily. For right now, at least, they could have this quiet moment. There would be more work to do and much more worrying. But they could set that aside for just a moment.

Her eyes moved back to the easel without her meaning to. She and Nick were cuddled up on the sofa and yet she there was something in those photographs that would not leave her alone. Something in the back of her mind. A thought…an idea…

And then she had it. Her heart skipped a beat at the realization. "Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"What if she fell down the stairs?"