I nodded as Parker steered the car off the highway. “Right there, that’s the street. Turn there.”
We pulled into the Crystal Ball parking lot and jumped out of the car, pausing in front of the scarf-covered front door.
“Ready for this?” I asked Parker.
“If you are,” he said, his hand on the knob.
We walked in, a tinkling of bells signaling our entrance into the incense-filled shop.
Long counters and shelves were lined with all manner of trinkets—magical and non—plus miniature statues of stern-faced gargoyles and trolls interspersed with baskets full of crystals and rocks.
“Would you get a load of this?” Parker said, picking up a troll statue. “Remind you of anyone?” He grinned, and I took the troll doll—which did, in fact, bear a striking resemblance to Steve—and put it back on the shelf.
“Stop playing around, Parker. We’re here for a reason.”
“Yeah, but is anyone else?”
Parker was right—the store was deserted. No customers except for the two of us; no shopkeeper or employees standing behind the counter. “Hello?” I called out. “Is there anyone here?”
A young woman—younger than me, at least—pushed out from behind a curtain. “Sorry,” she said, chewing, and putting down a Chinese takeout box with chopsticks sticking out the top. “I didn’t hear you come in.” She wiped her hands on her skirt. “What can I do for you?”
I blinked when the woman smiled a dazzling, welcoming smile that made her hazel eyes crinkle attractively. She nodded to me and then focused on Parker, her grin growing broader. “Wow, we haven’t had one of you in here before.”
The woman pushed her long, corn silk hair over one shoulder, and I glanced at her beaded name tag: KISHI. She remained focused on Parker, and he was quiet, his eyes intense, entranced.
“Parker,” I whispered, shaking his arm.
“Oh, sorry.” He blinked, then grinned. “My partner”—he chucked me on the shoulder, locker-room style—“and I are looking for something in particular.”
“Oh yeah,” Kishi said, her eyes never leaving Parker. “What would that be?”
“A sword,” I interjected, stepping in front of Parker. “A jeweled sword that can be charmed. It’s called the—”
“Sword of Bethesda,” Kishi supplied, “and I don’t have one. Not anymore, at least.”
“Not anymore? Did someone buy it?”
“Yeah, just a few days ago, actually.”
My heartbeat sped up. “Who bought it? Can you tell us?”
Kishi cocked her head. “No, I really can’t. The patrons of the Crystal Ball expect a certain degree of anonymity.”
“But this is serious. It’s detective work. Parker, show her your badge.”
Parker tore his eyes from Kishi and dug out his wallet, flashing his badge.
Kishi half smiled. “And you’re a cop, too.” She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the counter, her chin in her hands. She pressed her breasts together seductively, and I noticed Parker’s eyes skim over them. “How does that work?”
“What is she talking about?” Parker whispered to me. I held up a silencing hand.
“Please, Kishi, lives could be at stake here. We could come back with a search warrant, but by then it might be too late, and you could have a portal to hell opened and a lot of innocent blood on your hands—human and demon.” I steeled my eyes. “You wouldn’t want that, would you, Kishi?”
Kishi blew out a long sigh and looked past me at Parker. She slid a crystal bowl full of pomegranate seeds toward him. “Fruit?”
I slapped Parker’s hand away and held on to it, staring Kishi down. “Who bought the sword?”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Give me a second.” She backed away, disappearing behind the curtains.
“Wow, she’s really something, isn’t she?” Parker said with a grin.
I slapped his chest. “And so are you. She’s a demon, Parker, a very, very bad one, and she’s entrancing you.”
“Kishi? Nah,” Parker said, reaching for the pomegranate seeds.
“Don’t!” I grabbed his hand, slapping a spray of pomegranate onto the floor. “If you eat food from a Kishi, you can’t get away. She looks beautiful, but she’s two-faced. Literally.” I leaned closer and lowered my voice to a barely audible whisper. “She will eat you.”
“Okay,” Kishi said, slipping back through the curtain with a receipt in her hand. “Whoever bought the sword paid cash. I sold it myself.”
I laid my palms on the counter. “Do you remember anything about the buyer?”
Kishi shrugged her shoulders. “Not much. It was a woman. Youngish, I guess. Black hair.”
I frowned. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.” Kishi looked around me at Parker and held up the crystal bowl again. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like something to eat, angel?”