The Book Of Ill Deeds_A Paranormal Cozy Mystery

by Phaedra Weldon

  I heard a whine, like that of a dog in pain. I was inside the water drop and looked around the concave world. And there, to the left was a large wolf. It was the biggest wolf I’d ever seen. Grey and white fur. It rested on its side and there was blood. A lot of blood.

  It whined again.

  “D-David?” I heard myself say and its head came up. But when it didn’t see me, it tilted its head back and howled.

  I jumped back and landed on my ass. Mama D was kneeling beside me and Max was practically in my lap. “What did you see?” he was demanding.

  “I think I found him,” I grabbed Mama D’s arm. “He’s shifted, Mama D. I think I found him. I have to hurry! I think he’s dying! And—and he’s in the exact spot Evie said the crystal pointed to my—” I froze.

  “Your true love?” Mama D looked up at me. “Let’s get busy. We got a vamp to find.”

  FOURTEEN

  Mama D called the Sheriff and pretty much told him to meet us at that location or she’d curse his closed-case rate. And apparently that worked because she said he was on his way.

  I grabbed lavender, passion flower, and vervain from the menagerie of plants now growing in the shop. I didn’t remember any of these things being planted unless that’s what was already there and now it was all…alive. I wasn’t sure if this was my power, the whole Hedge Witch thing Mama D mentioned. I just knew that when I walked into the shop lately I felt…at home, I guess. But then I’d always surrounded myself with living things, especially plants.

  As I grabbed a mortar and pestle from beneath the counter, I spotted a familiar plant growing out of the side of the potted vine beside Burt’s parrot perch. I left everything on the counter before walking back around and kneeling down beside the shiny black berry.

  What was deadly nightshade doing in this shop? I was pretty sure Mama D had never planted it. Children and animals came in and out of here and this stuff would be way too dangerous for them.

  Mama D shuffled over to where I was kneeling. Her gasp told me she didn’t plant it. “What is that doing there?”

  “That’s what I was wondering,” held up my finger and gave the plant a small zap of electricity. It wilted immediately, and I dug around at the base and pulled it up by its now burnt roots. “I have no idea who planted it here.” I stood and dropped the dead thing into an empty copper pot by the door and set the plant on fire. It burned fast and disappeared.

  When I turned, Mama D had her purse in one hand, her cane in the other. “Hey,” I snapped my fingers at her. “You okay?”

  “Yes. Just thinking. Quick, grab your stuff and mix in the car. I’ll drive.”

  “Mama D—”

  “No arguments. Let’s go.” Max and Burt sailed out the door when she opened it.

  The sun was nearly below the tree-line when we arrived at the fifth marker. The cruiser was parked on the side of the road and Danvers came out of the woods on the opposite side as Mama D parked her car.

  “There’s a wolf just past those trees. Perrin says it’s not a…normal wolf.”

  That was smart bringing Perrin. “Is he still alive?”

  “Yeah, but Ginger,” he put his hand on my arm. “A wounded wolf is still a dangerous one.”

  “I’ll be okay.” I went back to the Mercedes and scooped up the mixture of lavender and passion flower out of the mortar and rubbed it over my hands, arms, my neck, on my clothing and on my cheeks.

  “What in the Sam Hell—” Danvers said as he watched me with a slack jaw.

  “She’s making sure she can calm him down,” Mama D said. “Ginger, you get the vervain?”

  “Yeah, it’s in this bag,” I handed her a bag of purple flowers.

  “What—” Danvers started to say, but he stopped when Mama D gave him a sour look.

  He led us to where the wolf had crawled into a hollow at the base of a tree. Perrin was there—or rather—Perrin’s animal form. In my head, I thought that all shifters were supposed to be wolves. You know, that whole werewolf fantasy thing. Alpha males, sexy men, tough animals.

  Perrin blew that out of the water when I saw a ginormous leopard sitting close by. He glanced back at me with golden eyes and huffed once before looking back at the wolf.

  “He shifted to protect me,” Danvers said. “He said David was unpredictable right now.”

  “I wonder why he’s a wolf,” I said as I started my crawl toward him. I couldn’t see him that well. He looked just like the mass of grey and white fur I’d seen in my vision as a water drop. I was pretty sure he’d been in human form when he was shot. Did all shifters revert to their animal forms when wounded? Was one easier to treat than the other?

  A low growl came from the bundle of fur. I stopped and cleared my throat. “David…it’s Ginger. Listen to my voice, okay? I’m coming close to you. I need you to come to me. Can you do that? I want to help you…”

  The fur moved and a huge, magnificent wolf’s head emerged. He was definitely the biggest wolf I’d ever seen—given most of my experience with them had been at a distance while camping and hiking. And here at the falls. They frequented this area often since we kept it protected from poachers.

  He focused his golden eyes at me (did all shifted animals have gold eyes?) and blinked slowly. I moved a few inches at a time to get to him, talking to him the entire time. I wanted him to feel comfortable with me. I knew his human half liked me, but I wasn’t going to assume the animal half did.

  Come on…take a sniff.

  I could have cheered out loud when I saw his nose lift in the air and he took in several deep breaths. He’d picked up on the scent. Lavender and passion flower together would act as a sort of pacifier. I wanted him comfortable and relaxed with me.

  I was nearly beside him when he untangled and struggled to stand on his four paws. I froze. His nose was inches from my own at the same level. We stared into each other’s eyes and that’s when I saw him.

  I saw David! He was looking back at me in there.

  And then he did the unthinkable.

  He licked my face.

  Eww. Wolf slobber.

  And he kept licking it as I pulled myself up into a sitting position. He moved in close and then fell into my arms. It was like hugging a massive dog. And he was hugging me. He licked at my arms, my clothing, my hands, any place I smeared the herb. It was working. I felt the tension leave him and he finally put his head in my lap.

  “I don’t think I would have believed it,” said a different voice as I looked up to see a very naked Deputy Perrin standing there. “If I didn’t see it. What is that smell?”

  I blushed. I mean…he was naked. I kept my focus on the wolf’s head in my lap and stroked his fur back from his snout. “I uh…it’s uh…lavender…”

  “That stuff is so nice. I’ll have to try it when I go to bed.”

  “It’s ah…it’s good for that. Sleep. Relaxation.”

  “Perrin!” Sheriff Danvers hissed. “Were you born in a barn—don’t answer that. Just get dressed!”

  “Oh!” Perrin looked at me and then he blushed. “Sorry, Ginger! I always forget the clothes. Be right back,” and he ran off into the woods.

  “That kid,” Danvers said as Mama D crossed in front of him and used her cane to settle on the dirt beside me David the wolf was sleeping now, whining softly.

  Mama D set the cane to the side and dug into the bag of vervain. “It would be easier to help him if there wasn’t so much fur—oh!”

  I felt the shift in my lap and looked down.

  David was his human form again…and he wasn’t naked. He was fully clothed!

  It was embarrassing enough to see Perrin naked. I mean, we went to high school together. But to see this man, this gorgeous vampire doctor helpless and naked in my lap would probably have sent me into a swoon. I didn’t hide my disappointment very well though.

  “Thought he was gonna be naked too?” Danvers asked.

  I gave him the stink-eye. He backed away.

  “Get over yourselve
s and help me get to his wound. When vampires shift, it’s a magical transformation. It incorporated his clothing as well as his flesh. I’d say it’s a lot easier than the shifters have it. Now help me turn him this way…yes. There it is.”

  Danvers produced a flashlight and shined it on David’s right side. There were two holes. The skin around the one closest to me was black and festering. “Silver poisoning?”

  “Yes.” Mama D smashed the Vervain flowers over the wound.

  David groaned as I held onto him and moved my wrist close to his nose so he could inhale the lavender again. Perrin returned, fully clothed in his uniform.

  “Billy, I need you and Perrin to hold David down. The vervain is going to help weaken him, but I need to get that bullet out now.”

  “Can’t we do this at the hospital?” Perrin asked as he grabbed David’s legs and Danvers straddled David’s hips.

  “It has to come out before the poison travels to his heart. If it does, he’ll fall into Sleep.”

  Sleep? I didn’t watch as Mama D pulled it out because David had his mouth on my wrist! I felt his teeth pierce the skin and I squeaked as David made a noise and bit harder.

  “He’s biting Ginger!” Perrin said.

  “I know….I got the bullet!” Mama D said, and I heard a bag rattle.

  David let go of my wrist and held it tight with his hand. His eyes were open and were no longer blue, but gold as he stared up at me. “You…you came.”

  I just smiled down at him. “You bit me.”

  “Sorry. You saved me.”

  I beamed down at him like an idiot. “Not sorry.”

  “I had something to do with it too, you know,” Mama D said as she lightly popped his cheek. Danvers helped her stand as she handed him a bag. “I’m betting you’ll find that bullet will match the ones you found at Melody’s store.”

  Perrin stood up and moved back as well. “The wound’s already gone.”

  “It does that,” David said as he pulled his shirt down and untangled himself from me. “You smell incredible.”

  “It’s lavender,” Mama D said. “You need more blood?”

  “I’m fine. Ginger’s blood…helped.” He stood and wasn’t very sure on his feet. Perrin jumped in and held him up. Knowing one was a wolf and the other a leopard made their closeness seem a bit weird. Cute. But weird.

  Then Perrin stepped in and helped me up and I thought—I thought—I heard David growl low in his throat. I’m guessing Perrin did too because he backed away and apologized.

  Danvers held the bag in one hand, his flashlight in the other. The light was nearly gone and being under the canopy of trees made it even darker. But my eyes had adjusted. I sensed Burt and Max were nearby as well, but keeping their distance. “You okay, David?”

  “Yeah. Thanks, Sheriff.” He looked around. “Thank you, all of you. I didn’t know if I’d make it.”

  “Do you remember anything about what happened to you?” Danvers asked.

  “Not a lot. I was in Melody’s shop. I found one of her business cards in Willmington’s things. So I figured he must have visited her. We know Hardin did and I’m assuming she did a reading for him.”

  “The reading you two said freaked Melody out,” Danvers confirmed with Mama D and me.

  We nodded.

  David said, “I felt something upstairs, but because it’s a private residence, I couldn’t get to it. So I called Ginger and didn’t get an answer. Called Mama D and asked her to come there. But when I hung up the phone I heard something downstairs. That’s when I heard a human heartbeat and came back down the steps.”

  “And?” I prompted.

  “That’s it. I heard the shots. I reacted a bit too late, and I was shot.”

  “I thought vampires were faster than that,” Perrin said, then held up his hands. “In reaction time.”

  “We are,” David said and gave him a smirk. “But I’m a bit out of practice and I hadn’t fed in some time. Blood sharpens our senses and our powers.”

  That was something to know.

  “But I did figure out they didn’t know what I was. They buried me in a shallow grave just past those large oaks. I wasn’t beheaded—thank the moon—and I wasn’t burned.”

  “But they used silver bullets,” Perrin said.

  Danvers dismissed that with a wave of his flashlight. “Given the population of Castle Falls, Perrin, I’m pretty sure any resident in this town uses silver bullets.”

  “Oh. Great.”

  David put his hand on my arm. “I thought of you. Tried to get your attention.”

  “You did,” I smiled at him.

  Mama D laughed. “She used magic to find you. She and Evie did a pretty fine job.”

  “Okay,” Sheriff Danvers said. “Everyone get out of here. I need to station some people out here so we can go over the area in the daylight.” He pointed at us. “Stay out of the falls area. David, soon as you can, I need you to come in and make a statement.”

  “Sure thing.”

  The Sheriff’s phone rang at that moment and he stepped aside to answer it.

  “I’ll see everyone later,” Perrin offered his hand to David. “Nice to meet the other you, doc.”

  They shook hands and David replied the same. After Perrin left, David looked at me. “I’m starving. And I need to change clothes. Can I get a ride from one of you so I can pick up my car?”

  “Where is your car?” I asked.

  “It’s at Melody’s store.”

  Mama D and I looked at each other. “No, it’s not.”

  Mama D shook her head.

  David cussed a river under his breath. “That ass stole my car too?”

  “He probably ditched it somewhere to throw off the fact you’d been in the store,” I said. “I’m sure it will turn up. Do you have a LoJack on it?”

  “No.” He put his hands on his hips. “How about a ride back to my place then?”

  Mama D waved her cane. “I’ll drive.”

  Danvers disconnected and caught up with us. “That was my guy at the state crime lab. They traced the email address and the phone numbers on Willmington’s phone.”

  “That was fast,” I said

  “I’ve learned since I got this job that anything from Castle Falls has priority. Don’t ask me why. I don’t push the cart if it’s rolling.”

  “Where did they come from?” David asked.

  “You’re gonna love this,” he said as we came in sight of our cars. “Castle Falls Public Library.”

  FIFTEEN

  We followed Danvers to the library. Perrin was already there with two other officers. It was dark now and my stomach growled as we walked up the front steps. David still looked pale, and I thought he was standing at an odd angle. But he insisted he was fine, and he wanted to be with me.

  The library was officially closed. Several people met Danvers at the door and then questioned our arrival. He cleared us through so Mama D, me and David moved to the side. Both of the front desk people were still there but not at their center desk. The police were there dismantling the computers and packing them in boxes.

  Tad joined us immediately. “Hello again, Miss Blackstone. Mrs. Donahue. And…” He gave David an odd double-take before he stuck out his hand. “Wow. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Tad Bishop.”

  David shook the young man’s hand. “I’m Dr. Flanagan and we have met. You filled out my card a few weeks ago.” David put his hands on his hips.

  That’s when I noticed David didn’t have a speck of dirt on him. Was that a vampire thing? Instant clean? I mean, the man had been buried. Shouldn’t he at least have a smudge on his cheek?

  Tad offered me his hand as well. His grip was strong even though his hand was a bit clammy. I stopped myself from wiping my palm on my pants leg.

  “Do you know what’s going on?”

  “Nobody told you?” I asked.

  “No.” Tad sighed and faced the police as they worked. “They came in, told everyone to get up and back awa
y from their computers. All the patrons were told to leave and we’re not allowed to touch our personal things. One of the deputies—” he frowned. “Can’t remember his name, took Miss Walker into her office.”

  I watched the police as Tad spoke. Danvers said every email to Willmington originated from the library, and of the three most recent calls he’d received on his business phone, two had been library numbers. Now, it wasn’t odd for a bookseller to have library numbers on their phone. I mean, come on, they dealt in books. Libraries were a part of the trade. So I was a little skeptical about this whole event I was witnessing.

  “You okay?” David leaned into me.

  “This just seems like overkill to me.”

  “How so?” Tad asked. “I’m just worried I’m not going to have a job tomorrow. I mean, did someone steal something? Money laundering?”

  I snickered. “You’ve got an imagination.”

  He shrugged. “So I’ve been told. Really, do you know what’s happening?”

  “Not much,” David said.

  “Does this have anything to do with all those deaths?” Tad looked at David and me, wide-eyed. He looked at Mama D. “That guy in your shop, then the guy outside of your shop.” He looked around. “And something at the antique store?”

  “Wow,” I looked at him. “How do you know about that? That just happened this afternoon. Is it in the papers? Or online somewhere?” I mean, they just found the guy outside the house this morning and Carmine’s body in Melody’s store this afternoon, and this kid already knew about it?

  Tad looked a little sheepish. “I work in a library, in a small town. It’s like a beauty parlor in here. Everyone comes up to the front counter and gossips. I hear more than I want to hear.”

  Och. I could see that happening. “I’ll just say they’ve all got a common thread that leads back to the library.”