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

by Stacey Fields

  “Does that make you nervous, Sheriff?” Bobby asked cockily as she turned away from him, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

  "No," Don said quickly, although the tone of his voice didn't match the sentiment.

  Bobby tried to read his emotions again but was unable to. Unfortunately, it would appear that her ability was still adjusting to the new realm.

  "Don't worry," she muttered, feeling the need, to be honest, "it's still not working completely."

  “What else can you do?” Don asked, following closely behind her.

  “Besides that, just the typical things—move things, levitate—the usual.”

  “What about potions and spells?” he asked.

  “All witches and warlocks are able to use those things,” Bobby replied, “but some are more gifted in that area than others.”

  “How do you know what other people’s gifts are?”

  “You don’t, really. Unless they tell you, or do something obvious like open up a shop in the middle of a town.”

  “So, you just have to—ask?”

  Bobby stopped and laughed, waiting for Don to reach her side. “You don’t know anything about my world, do you?”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You don’t ask what someone’s gift is! That’s like asking a woman her age—it’s just something you don’t do. What type of training did you go through when you became Sheriff here anyways?”

  “Defensive and investigative,” Don replied offended.

  “Well, clearly you should brush up on your cultural studies, especially since you’re working in a place filled with such a variety of individuals.”

  “Fair enough,” he agreed.

  Bobby wasn’t able to hide her surprise at his passive admittance that she had a point. She beamed up at him. He rolled his eyes then pushed past her, almost marching down the street as he made his way towards the police station.

  “Anyways,” Bobby said as she skipped forward. “I don’t know why you’re so upset about our meeting with the girls.”

  “How can you not? It was a waste of time!”

  “It was not. For starters, we got confirmation on something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Well, two people so far, Mrs. O’Leary and Ms. Enchanting, have mentioned that Holly has been somewhat on edge the last few months—her friends just confirmed that.”

  “That doesn’t really help us much,” Don replied.

  “Maybe not, but, the girls said that she was back to her normal self on the night before she died, two nights after she got the money from Zip.”

  “So you think it can still be related to money issues?” Don asked.

  “It would make sense, right? She’s stressed about money; she gets money; she’s not stressed anymore.”

  “But how does that link to her death?”

  “Why was she worried about money?” Bobby offered. “Why did she need to borrow the money? I think that if we figure that out, we’ll figure out a motive, at least.”

  “I don’t know,” Don countered, “I think that if the money issues were so important, her parents or husband would have mentioned it.”

  “They’re mourning,” Bobby reminded him, “they’re probably not thinking clearly about everything. You yourself said that before. They might have just forgotten, or not realized how important it was.”

  “Well, we won’t get an answer about that until Archer has the chance to speak with them,” Don said. The hint of impatience was very clear in his tone. “What do we do until then?”

  “I’m kind of hungry,” Bobby offered. “Why don’t we grab a bite to eat, and look over the notes we have on the case so far?”

  He agreed although she could tell that he didn't necessarily want to. This case was starting to get to him. It was obvious. Bobby wanted to ask why, but part of her already knew.

  He was upset that the image he had of his town was falling apart. He was frustrated that they didn’t seem to be making any real progress, even though she disagreed.

  Walking into Daisy’s Diner, Don barely spoke to the hostess as he pushed his way to the booth where they always sat. Bobby nearly tripped over an ogre’s foot that was protruding from under one of the tables as she hurried to keep up with him.

  Daisy hurried over to take their orders. Bobby ordered a traditional BLT, still unsure of most of the menu items, and Don just ordered a drink.

  Just before turning to put in their order, Daisy turned back and asked, “how’s the case coming along?”

  “Fine,” Don replied gruffly.

  “Someone seems a little pissy today,” Daisy noted, half under her breath.

  “It’s been a long few days,” Bobby replied, trying to defend her partner.

  “Maybe I’ll just go to the station to give my statement, then,” Daisy said, turning away.

  “Wait!” Bobby yelled out, a little too loudly. Everyone in the diner turned to look at her, and her cheeks flushed red. She let out a nervous laugh, waving her hand to those around her before turning back to Daisy. “What statement?”

  Daisy gracefully turned around and walked slowly back towards their table. “I heard that you’ve asked everyone to come down to the station to report anything suspicious they may have seen.”

  Bobby looked at Don who shrugged. “You can just go speak to someone at the station later,” he said dismissively.

  "As I said, it's been a very frustrating few days for us, Daisy. But, regardless of that, I would like to hear what you have to say. Unfortunately, I don't have the official forms here, so you will still need to go down to the station later to make a formal statement," Bobby said, putting on her sweetest voice and kindest smile. She needed to compensate for Don's obvious ill-tempered mood and dismissive tone.

  Daisy shot Don a rather aggressive look before turning her back to him, resting her hand on the table and leaning in to give Bobby her full attention.

  She spoke quietly as if she was trying to keep Don or anyone else from hearing what she was about to say. "I was just remembering," she started, "that a few months back, Holly started showing up here late—well, late for your kind anyways."

  “You’re certain?” Bobby asked, writing down what she said in her notebook.

  “Definitely.”

  “How often did this happen?”

  “I can’t be sure,” Daisy said, tilting her head to the side as she thought. “At least three or four times.”

  “Did she come with anyone else? Did she meet someone here?”

  “That I don’t know,” Daisy said with a firm nod. “She always came in right when I was getting off. Just because vampires don’t sleep doesn’t mean that we want to spend our entire lives working.”

  “Of course, not,” Bobby replied. “Around what time was that?”

  “Three in the morning, on the dot. I’m sure of that because that’s the exact moment I leave—everyday. Not a moment sooner, not a moment later.”

  “Do you know anyone who might be able to give us more information about what she did while she was here?”

  “My night manager,” Daisy replied. “Tammy.”

  “Do you know how I can reach Tammy?”

  "She'll be in later tonight if you can wait until then. If not, I'll bring you over her phone number when I bring out your order."

  “This really is a great lead, Daisy,” Bobby said, smiling up at the woman.

  Daisy beamed with pride and satisfaction at Bobby’s remark. She flicked her hair over her shoulder, scowled at Don, then walked off to put their orders in.

  “You have to admit,” Bobby said, setting the notebook in her hand down on the table and crossing her arms in front of her, “that was a really good statement.”

  Don sighed and nodded his head, indignantly. "Yeah," he agreed. "It was a good start to a lead. But, with our luck, it will just lead to another dead end."

  “Why are you being so negative all of the sudden?” Bobby snapped at him. Her voice sounded like that
of a mother’s scolding a stubborn child.

  “It’s been a long day for me, Bobby. I don’t expect you to understand.”

  “Try me,” she said.

  “You heard what everyone’s been saying, haven’t you? All of the hidden little secrets that are suddenly finding their way to the surface.”

  “You always said that that sort of thing happens around here,” she pointed out.

  “Yes, and that’s what I thought. I thought that whatever secrets we discovered would be the same, typical secrets that you always hear. I figured that that was all there was to be found. In a place like this, secrets that big don’t tend to stay secrets for very long.”

  “Well, they’re not secrets anymore,” Bobby pointed out.

  He looked at her and rolled his eyes simultaneously running his fingers through his hair.

  “I know what you mean, though,” she said, trying to put herself in his position. “You assumed that, in a small town like Pinecreek, all the dirt to be found was already dug up somewhere. It was already exposed to some degree. But, it appears that those mounds of dirt are really just sitting on top of piles of crap that keep getting bigger and bigger.”

  “And to make it worse, I’m not just some person watching all of this from the sidelines. I’m the Sheriff, Bobby. I’m the one who’s supposed to know all of this before it becomes an issue. I’m supposed to prevent all of these things from happening. It’s humiliating, almost, to find out how little I actually know. It makes me realize how little I actually do around here.”

  Bobby felt a sudden ping of empathetic pain and sadness spread through her chest. Of all the people she had met, she never once doubted how much Don loved his town. He would do anything to protect it and the people in it. But now, he felt betrayed by it and by its members.

  “How can you say that?” she asked, feeling genuine concern for him.

  “How can you deny it? What good have I really done around here when elections are still rigged and young women are murdered in their shops?”

  “Considering all the dirt we’ve been digging up so far, I’d say pretty good.”

  Don scoffed, clearly not believing or following what she was saying.

  “Think about it, Don,” she said reaching across the table and resting her hand on his. “Given the fact that it seems like there is so much going on behind the scenes and under the surface, the mere fact that more crime isn’t running rampant is a clear indication that you have been doing well.”

  He looked down at the place where their hands touch and sighed. “I just thought this place was different.”

  “It is, Don. Really. Just because people have secrets doesn’t make this place any less special. We are what we are—we cheat, lie, and manipulate. Elves, ogres, shifters, witches—it doesn’t matter. We’re all still the same in that regard. You’ve done a great job at creating a space in which all of those people can come together and create lives side-by-side. Of course, there are going to be problems. But, as the Sheriff of Pinecreek, you can’t give up. You have to believe in this place.”

  She pulled her hand back slightly, but he nudged his closer to hers as she did. “Do you really believe that?”

  “I do,” she said, wrapping her fingers around his clenched fist and giving it a soft squeeze. “I think that you’ve done a great job. And, I think—no, I know—that you are more than capable of dealing with whatever this investigation digs up. You’ll make it right; I know you will. And your town will be even stronger for it.”

  “We’re probably going to discover a lot more,” he said softly.

  “And that’s a good thing. Because that means that you’ll be able to address and fix all those things. You’ll be aware of them, at the very least. And, if anyone can right the wrongs of Pinecreek, it’s you.”

  Chapter 16: The Money Question

  It seemed like Bobby’s pep talked worked on Don because when Daisy returned with their order and Tammy’s phone number, he promptly excused himself to make the call.

  He returned to the table shortly after, stealing a fry off Bobby’s plate as he plopped himself down.

  “Hey,” she objected, trying to snatch the fry back from him. “You didn’t order anything—that’s your problem.”

  “It seems like it’s your problem now, too,” he replied with a smug smile as he popped the stolen treat into his mouth.

  Bobby rolled her eyes and pulled her plate closer to her. “What did she say?”

  “She’s going to come down to the station in about an hour to meet with us.”

  “Did she say she remembered seeing Holly at any point?”

  “She said that she did see her a few times, but she didn’t remember much else.”

  “Why is she still coming in, then?”

  “Because I asked her to.”

  Bobby let out a long sigh. “And why did you ask her to, Don?”

  “I think she’ll remember something if we push her to,” he said before taking a long sip from his pop.

  He quickly reached across the table to grab a handful of her fries. She tried to stop him, but her hands were full with her sandwich and she wasn’t able to strike fast enough.

  He smiled at her contently as he munched on her food. “She’s hiding something,” he said.

  “How do you know?”

  “Just a feeling, I suppose. I know she knows more than she’s saying. There was something in her voice—she sounded distracted, flustered.”

  Bobby shrugged. "Any lead is worth looking into," she said. "It's obvious that something more was going on with Holly than people want to say. Daisy said that she started coming around a few months ago. That lines up with the timeline we've been looking into. Clearly, something happened in that time that changed her routine, habits, and even personality."

  “So, what do we have so far?” Don asked, eyeing the notebook Bobby had set on the table.

  She began flipping through it, spotting him make another move for the few remaining fries on her plate.

  “Oh, just take them,” she said, pushing the plate at him.

  He smiled as he greedily pulled the plate the rest of the way towards himself. Bobby continued looking through her notes and running through the information in her mind.

  “We know she was killed via magic, although which form of magic we’re still waiting to find out,” she said thoughtfully. “That could change a lot, actually.”

  “How so?”

  "Well, if it's a spell, we know that it has to be a witch, warlock, or other magic possessing being who did the deed. But, if it were a potion, there's a chance that someone—anyone—purchased that potion to use against her."

  “Can you do that?” Don asked between bites.

  "Buy a potion? Of course. It's not legal, per-se. But, it happens more than you'd think."

  “Is that so?”

  Don had finished the fries and was now picking the stray pieces of sandwich off her plate. She wasn't sure she had his full attention since he seemed to be locked in a love affair with her leftovers, but she continued either way.

  “It is,” she said. “There’s an entire black market in the witch realm where potions are sold to people from non-magic possessing worlds. It’s actually a rather dangerous thing, though. Some potions are extremely powerful and dangerous, and if not handled in the right way, can cause long-term, harmful side effects.”

  Don nodded slowly as he picked up the last stray scrap of bacon and tossed it into his mouth. “We’re hoping to get those results back from the lab soon. We put a rush on the tests. They said they might not be able to tell us the original spell or potion that caused the death, but they’ll be able to at least tell us which one within the next day or two.”

  “Good,” Bobby said.

  “In the meantime, let’s focus in on what we do know so far.”

  “The most feasible thing I can think of is that she was experiencing money problems.”

  “But her friends said…”

  “I know
—she never mentioned it to them. But, maybe she was embarrassed about it. It makes sense, though. She was stressed, moody, and unable to sleep. Money problems can cause those symptoms in even the most level-headed individual. But then, she borrowed the money from her supposed high-school admirer, and boom! Problem solved.”

  “Let’s say, though, that it wasn’t money problems,” Don said thoughtfully, “what else could it be?”

  “The fact that she borrowed money from Zip makes it seem like it couldn’t be anything else,” Bobby replied.

  “Let’s forget that part, then.”

  “We can’t just forget a valuable piece of information.”

  “But, we can consider the possibility that we’re interpreting it wrong. So, since it’s the only piece of information that’s drawing us to a conclusion that we’ve been told isn’t true, let’s just set it aside—just for the moment—and consider what else we know.”

  “Well, we know that she was fighting with her employee Ms. Enchanting over their ideas about the animals. And, we know that her parents were never fans of her being with her husband. They went as far as to rig an election to attempt to pull them apart.”

  “That’s an issue I plan on addressing the moment we close this case.”

  “Her friends, her neighbors, her former employee—everyone seems to be focusing on the fact that she changed in the months leading up to her death. If we can figure out what caused that change, we can figure out who killed her, and why,” Bobby said firmly.

  They discussed the information they had for a little longer, not making a whole lot of headway before Don ordered a side of fries to-go and they made their way back to the police station. There was still a small crowd of people gathered out front. Don munched on his fries as he shouldered his way through them.

  Several individuals tried to yell out questions, but Don simply continued moving forward. Bobby considered stopping to try to answer them, but she realized she didn’t have any answers to give. So, she simply lowered her head and followed her partner through the front door.

  The air in the station was filled with nervous tension—she noted it immediately. There were still a few people sitting across from officers at their desks, giving their statements.