Page 46 of Dragon Charmed

“We’ll have to be careful asking around about her,” Marcus said. “Another clan could try to claim her if they know about her powers.”

“It makes sense that she is from another clan though, right? I mean, you would know about anyone who had died in your clan. Especially someone who left behind a little girl? Plus when John talked to us about the legend, he made it sound as if one oracle is born to each clan. I can’t imagine that your clan would hit the magical oracle lottery on that.” Although Tessa didn’t want someone trying to take advantage of Lily, so she agreed they needed to be cautious.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” Eric said.

Tessa knew how he felt. “Well, I didn’t tell her about Bella, and I don’t know how she would have known about her unless it was part of her oracle powers. There were no toys or things for a baby in the entry hall. Maybe she can sense her? Everything else she has told us through her drawings.”

Megan had her hands clasped together. “Do you think as an oracle Bella won’t be able to talk?”

Tessa put an arm around her. “Megs, Bella might not be saying actual words yet, but she is talking. We don’t know what Lily went through before Mia brought her to Evelyn. It could be physical, or it could be emotional.”

Eric leaned forward. “I was going to suggest having Dr. Murphy come check her over, but I think that should be sooner rather than later.”

“Agreed,” Marcus said. “Give me a minute to call him to see when he’s available.” Marcus called him quickly and relayed that Dr. Murphy agreed to be over in a couple hours.

“You didn’t tell him much,” Tessa said.

“He doesn’t need to know anything until he gets here. I want to talk to him about keeping this confidential.”

“He’s the clan doctor. He’s under a doctor/dragon confidentiality agreement, right?” Tessa smiled.

Eric smirked at her. “That’s not a thing. But you’re right. We don’t need to worry about Ian. What about the PI you were working with? Do we need to worry about him?”

“No,” Tessa said. “He dropped us off at my apartment so that we could come here. He got called by another client and had to go see them about something. I’m going to call him later to see when he can start searching for Mia again.”

“So what does he think of all this? And what did you tell him?” Eric asked.

She sat up a little straighter. “I didn’t tell him about dragons if that’s what you’re asking me. But I couldn’t deny Lily’s power since he saw it firsthand.”

“And he didn’t freak out about it?” Megan asked.

“Oh, I think he was struggling with believing it, but it doesn’t take long to fall under Lily’s spell. She took a real liking to Ben.”

“What’s his full name, and what else can you tell us about him? I’ll have Jonas do some digging,” Marcus said.

She sighed. “Good luck with that. I checked him out myself. He has no social media presence. Said in his line of business he sees firsthand how that can be used against him. His name is Ben Wells. And he doesn’t have a PI license. I already checked.”

Marcus crossed his arms. “What the hell?”

She plowed on. “He moved here from Mississippi, and they don’t have PI licenses there. He’s in the process of getting his license, but he has to take a test.”

Marcus frowned. “Do you know where he lives?”

“Has to be Nashville, but I don’t know his exact address. I can text him and grill him for you if you want.”

“Give me the number, and I’ll have Jonas do some digging.”

“Or we can ask John about him,” Eric said.

Tessa shook her head. “If we tell him I’ve been working with Ben, he might tell Ben to stop me from helping with the investigation, especially when he finds out I lied to him.”

“I think Eric is right,” Megan said. “We can ask John questions about the investigation without telling him that you have been helping. Get some more information on Ben.”

“I’m surprised Ben hasn’t told him about you already if he’s been reporting in regularly,” Marcus said.

“Maybe he has since he dropped us off. I guess we won’t know until we talk to John,” Tessa agreed even though her stomach was rolling.

Megan walked over to the desk and dialed John’s number on the office phone.