Bobby Sparks Witch Detective: Pet Shop Puzzle ( A Paranormal Cozy Mystery)

by Stacey Fields

  “Of course, sir,” she said smiling up at him pleasantly. She shot Sheriff Silverback another accusing look before adding, “I’m sure Sheriff Silverback and I will make a great team and get to the bottom of all of this very quickly.”

  “Good,” Mr. Spellman said with a quick nod. “I will leave you two for now, then. Sheriff Silverback has a few things he would like to discuss with you before your trip.”

  They both waited until Mr. Spellman disappeared into his office before turning to face each other again. Bobby attempted to hold her air of offense as best as she could. But, the embarrassed, humbled look on Sheriff Silverback’s face made it somewhat difficult.

  “I feel like we got off on the wrong foot,” he said nervously.

  “That’s neither here nor there,” Bobby said. “We have a job to do, let’s focus on the matter at hand, Sheriff Silverback, was it?”

  “Don,” he said politely, “you can call me Don.”

  "All right, Don," she said with a smile, "you can call me Bobby if that's not too strange for you."

  “I apologize again,” he said in a hushed, meek tone.

  Bobby let out a soft laugh and shrugged. “I’m just giving you a hard time. I’m sure we’ll be able to put all of that behind us soon.” She didn’t pause to let him respond. His clear state of awkward and uncomfortable was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable herself. “What was it that you needed to tell me before we head to Pinecreek?” she asked.

  “A couple of things,” he began, clearly thankful for the change in topic. “First, magic there works differently, so I just wanted you to be aware of that.”

  “And you’re certain of this?” she asked bluntly.

  "Of course, I am. Why do you ask?" Now it was he that crossed his arms over his chest and eyed her with an air of accusation.

  “You’re a shifter, am I correct? A werewolf, if I were to guess.”

  “I am,” he said with a nod. “That’s impressive. How did you know?”

  For most people, identifying a shifter could be difficult. While in their human form, they look identical to a witch, warlock, or even a mortal. Bobby, however, was not most people. She picked up on the subtle, little things.

  “You have the trademark faint burst of yellow surrounding your pupils,” she explained.

  "I guess I do." He kept his arms crossed over his chest and continued to look at her. "Is there anything else you would like to say on the topic?"

  She knew what he was referring to. He wasn’t the only one surprised at learning the identity of his new colleague. Within the magical realm, only witches and warlocks were employed as police officers and private investigators. It wasn’t out of any form of superiority—by any means. It was merely the fact that the Witch Council was the ruling, governing body and as such, were responsible for keeping the peace across the realms. Shifters, ghosts, vampires—they all depended on the police force staffed and run by said governing body.

  Bobby’s surprise that the police officer assigned to work with her was a shifter wasn’t based on anything more than the fact that it was out of the norm. She didn’t doubt his ability to do his job. She had simply never seen a shifter in that position.

  “No,” she said with a quick shake of her head. “Nothing.”

  Don let out a hearty chuckle. "Pinecreek is a very different place, Bobby. Our police force is privately run by the citizens of our city. Yes, we answer to the Witch Council, ultimately. But the beauty of living in Pinecreek is that there is much more, let's say, leeway when it comes to certain things."

  She had always known that Pinecreek was a special place, but she had a feeling that she was going to discover that it was much more than that.

  "So on the force, you're all—," she started.

  “No,” he cut her off. “We’re not all shifters. Yes, there are a fair amount of us that are, but there are also witches, elves, a few others as well.”

  “Wow.”

  “It’s a very interesting mix. And, I might add, there are a lot of advantages to that.”

  “Really?”

  “For one, we don’t need a K-9 unit,” he said, smiling widely at his own joke.

  Bobby laughed at his joke, more to be polite than anything, although she had to admit it was quite witty.

  “You were telling me about magic in this world of yours,” she said, bringing the topic back around.

  “Yes,” he said, remembering what he was saying. “Not just your individual magic, either. All of ours. All of our abilities go through a sort of adjustment period.”

  “Adjustment period?” she repeated.

  “For example, when I first arrived, I wasn’t able to shift for the first few months. Some are able to adjust quicker, some don’t even notice the change, while others have been there for a significant amount of time and are still struggling to bring their abilities back up to what they used to be.”

  “I don’t see that being a problem,” she said.

  She was confident in her magic. She had spent her entire life training for the force. If anyone was comfortable and familiar with their ability, it was her.

  “I just felt that I should warn you. You may find that you struggle a little at first. But, depending on how long you spend with us—.”

  “I appreciate your concern,” she cut him off.

  She wasn’t planning on spending any extensive period of time in Pinecreek, so there was no need for him to finish his statement.

  “Is there anything else you’d like to tell me before we go?” she asked.

  “Just that Pinecreek is a small community. The individuals that live there are very close. They have formed, what they consider to be, the ideal living environment. So, do not be discouraged if they are slow when it comes to opening up to a newcomer.”

  “I will keep that in mind.”

  “Well, then, I guess all that’s left is getting you settled in,” he said reaching out to take her bag for her. “Shall we?”

  Chapter 3: Welcome to Pinecreek

  Stepping into the vortex that would take her to Pinecreek, Bobby felt a rush of different emotions. She was excited and nervous. She felt a lot of pressure to do her job well. This was her first official case, and if she messed it up, chances were it would also be her last.

  She watched as Don shot her a smile over his shoulder before stepping out into the mass of swirling colors and flashing lights. He was immediately sucked forward, disappearing right before her eyes.

  She took a deep breath and clenched her eyes shut. Stepping forward, she felt as if there were a slight tug, or maybe it was a push. She wasn’t sure. What she did know, however, was that whatever she felt was not what she was expecting.

  It was painless and quick. It was like being trapped in a swirling drain, but just for a split second. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in the middle of what she assumed to be the Pinecreek Police Station.

  “Welcome,” Don said slowly. “How do you feel?”

  He was already seated at a desk on the far end of the room. The station was empty. There was no one in sight.

  “Fine,” she said crossing the space and standing at the desk in front of him.

  The truth was, she did feel slightly different. She felt heavier—that was the only way she could think to describe it. It was as if the force that had either pulled or pushed her through the vortex was now sitting on her shoulders.

  “This is where the main portal from your world opens up into ours. Transport back goes through one of the other portals located near the woods surrounding the town,” Don explained.

  “Where is everyone?” she asked, looking around.

  The room was relatively large. There were about a dozen desks, all positioned in different places along the brightly colored, yellow walls. There were large windows running down one side of the room, letting in the last rays of the sun as it set in the distance.

  Overall, it appeared to be a normal room—nothing overly special about it. For some reason, she
had expected something different. She was expecting something unique, something dripping with mystery, something exotic even.

  “I gave them the rest of the night off,” Don explained, motioning for her to take a seat across from him. “You’ll meet everyone in the morning.”

  She pulled out the chair and sat, taking note of the large corkboard display behind Don's desk. "Is that the case?" she asked.

  “Yes,” he said glancing over his shoulder. “I wanted to take this opportunity to catch you up on all the information we have at the moment.”

  “Wonderful.”

  “This,” he said pushing himself up and walking over to the board. He pointed to the picture of a young, attractive woman in her early thirties and explained, “this was Holly Lightbender. She’s our victim. She was found, dead, in her pet shop early this morning.”

  “And the Witch Council suspects foul play?” Bobby asked.

  “I guess,” Don said with a shrug.

  “You don’t seem convinced.”

  “Things like murder don’t happen in Pinecreek. As I said, this is a very tight-knit community.”

  “What do you believe to be the cause of death?”

  "On the surface, it appears to be a heart attack."

  “A heart attack?” Bobby asked, surprised. “But, she’s so young.”

  “That’s what we were thinking as well.”

  “So, you do suspect foul play?” she asked, trying to get a better understanding of her new partner’s thought process.

  “I’m not sure,” Don said, resting his chin in his hand and staring at the board. “I’m simply keeping an open mind as I go forward with this.”

  “We,” she said quickly.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “As ‘we’ go forward with this,” she corrected him.

  “Right,” he said. “I’m still adjusting to the thought of having a partner, I suppose.”

  She wasn't sure how to take his comment but decided it best to ignore it and give her entire focus to the case, pinned up neatly on the board in front of them. She pushed herself up out of her chair and walked over to stand next to Don.

  “What else do you have?”

  Don took the time to explain the other pictures he had pinned up. Many of them were portraits of the victim’s family—her husband, her parents, and her closest friends.

  “And you’ve spoken to all of them?” she asked

  “Of course,” Don said.

  “I would like to speak to them as well,” she said studying the images in front of her.

  “I assumed as much.”

  “And have you spoken to the neighbors? Or the business owners who have shops near hers?”

  “We have begun that process, yes. But, as I said, this is still a new case. We haven’t had much time to do much investigating.”

  “And you sent your team home for the night?” she asked, in a slightly accusatory tone.

  “The town is in a state of shock,” Don replied dropping his hand at his side and turning to face her. “Everyone needs a little time to process all of this.”

  “Or time to begin corroborating stories,” she muttered.

  “You’re not a very trusting person, are you, Bobby?”

  “It’s not that,” she replied, “it’s just that I know the possibility of catching a criminal decreases significantly after 48-hours. They could flee, destroy evidence—the more time they have, the more chances they’ll find to cover their steps.”

  “If anyone tries to flee Pinecreek, we’ll know about it. I think you’ve forgotten one very important piece of information.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Here, everyone knows everyone. If someone were to suddenly go missing, everyone would know about it.”

  “I’ll trust your judgment, then,” Bobby replied. She tried to sound convinced, but she wasn’t sure if she did.

  It was clear that between the two of them there was still a little bit of mistrust. They definitely didn’t get off to a good start, but she would try her hardest to get past both of their quick judgments about the other—his reaction to the fact that she was a woman and her surprise that he was a shifter.

  “I appreciate that,” he said. “I am the Sheriff around here. I’ve been working for this department for something like 10 years now.”

  “That’s an awfully quick advancement,” Bobby noted.

  “I’m that good,” Don replied with a cocky smile.

  “Shouldn’t you have your own office or something like that, then?”

  "I've considered having a few walls put up, yes," Don said thoughtfully, "but I like my men and women to know that they can come to me at any time. I'm always accessible to them. I don't want to build any barriers that might make them doubt that."

  “That’s quite noble,” Bobby said.

  “I like to think so,” Don replied.

  “It’s clear, though, that noble and talented as you may be, you do lack a certain air of humility,” she said almost sharply.

  “I’m sure you’ll make up for all of the humility that I lack, Ms. Sparks,” Don replied, in the same, sharp manner.

  Yes, it was very clear that the uncomfortable vibe passing between them wasn’t going to be going anywhere anytime soon. Bobby wanted to spit back another comment, but she bit her tongue and turned her attention back to the board.

  “I’ll need to see the scene of the crime,” she said.

  “I can take you over there first thing in the morning.”

  “I would much rather go tonight,” she replied. “Better not waste any time.”

  “You really are as gung-ho as Mr. Spellman said you’d be, aren’t you?”

  “I suppose I am,” she said, walking over to the desk and collecting up her things in her arms. “So, are we going?”

  “We’re going to your hotel. There, we will check you in, and then we’ll go grab something to eat, but, we will not be going to the pet shop tonight.”

  “But,” Bobby tried to interject, but it was clear that there was no changing Don’s mind.

  "Tonight I want to focus on getting you settled into Pinecreek. It's a very special place, Ms. Sparks. If you hope to be successful in this investigation, you need to understand that."

  “I know this place is different,” Bobby said, annoyed. “And I also know that I’m here to do a job.”

  “And in order to do that job, you need to know the place and the people.” Don stepped forward and grabbed her bag. His heavy steps put a point of finality on what he had said. “Are you ready?” he asked, looking over his shoulder.

  “You make it sound like it’s something I should be preparing myself for,” she noted.

  “Believe me, Bobby—it is.”

  Chapter 4: Everything isn’t What It Seems

  At first, Bobby didn’t understand what Don meant when he warned her to prepare herself for her first encounter with Pinecreek. The area right outside of the police department looked like any average space—a few other buildings to the right and left of the station. She saw a post office, a grocery store, even a small diner. The road they were on led up to what appeared to be a square of some sort, with a large, government looking building in the center of it. Everything seemed to be exactly what she would expect from any small town.

  But, as they dove deeper into Pinecreek, she began to notice a few things that did take her by surprise. He led her from the center of town down one of the residential streets. The first thing she saw that shocked her was a group of children, no older than seven or eight, playing roughly in front of one of the pristine looking homes that lined the street they were walking down.

  It wasn’t just the fact that the children were out, running about with no sign of a parent or guardian anywhere in sight, but the way they were playing that made Bobby stop dead in her tracks.

  There were three children—two boys and one girl. She watched as one of the boys leaned forward and pushed the other back, forcefully. The second boy didn't seem affected, th
ough. He simply let his body fall back onto the ground, a small puff of smoke appearing around him. When it cleared, she saw that in the place where the boy had laid was a small little bear cub.

  The little girl let out a squeal and clapped her hands together excitedly as the first boy seemed to vanish into thin air, disappearing just as the bear cub went lunging towards him.

  Bobby let out a concerned gasp as she watched the scene unfold. Don noted her concern and stopped walking, turned around and made his way back to where she was standing.

  “They’re just playing,” he said with a chuckle.

  “It seems a little violent, doesn’t it?”

  “Not for shifters,” he noted. “That’s how we play. That’s how we refine our ability as well.”

  It was a commonly held misconception that shifters only changed during specific days or periods of time—the full moon for the werewolves, for example. Bobby knew, though, that they could shift whenever they wanted. Times like the full moon simply meant that shifting was more likely to happen, it didn’t guarantee it, though.

  "But only one of them is a shifter. The other is—what? A ghost? And the girl?"

  “She’s a witch, and yes, the other boy is a ghost. And believe me, they’re just playing and they’ll be fine.”

  “I’ve never seen different beings from our world interact like that,” Bobby said, turning to continue following Don. “I mean, I knew that Pinecreek was a place where everyone coexisted, I guess I just never tried to imagine how that would work.”

  “It works really well,” Don said, smiling and waving quickly at a one-eyed cyclops that walked past them going the opposite direction.

  Bobby was, again, surprised by the mere size of the creature that meandered past them. Cyclops were tall, bulky creatures, known for their strength and general lack of wit and intelligence. She had read about them many times in her books, but had never journeyed to their realm or met one in person.

  They continued down the street. As they went, Bobby noticed the pleasant feeling that seemed to hang in the air. All of the houses they passed appeared identical in shape but unique in color. Some were one, solid color—usually something bright like yellow or pink. Others had designs painted on the sides of them, and others still seemed to be covered in a rainbow of different shapes and colors.