Total Eclipse of The Hunt

by Mandy M. Roth

  Jake cleared his throat. “I came here about a theft. I should probably get the details on it.”

  Kelsey looked in the direction of the door to Wilber’s place. “Wil would be better to talk to about it. I’ve worked here for about two hours. Penelope hired me on the spot and had me start at once.”

  Jake nodded. “Sounds like her. She’s full of energy and life.”

  “And then some. I don’t know much about the ring that went missing other than it was silver with a triple crescent moon on it, and it had a purple gemstone in the center of it.”

  For not knowing much about it, she’d given a reasonably detailed description of the item. He took out his notepad and wrote down what she’d said before settling back into detective mode. Something he felt secure in. Unlike asking Kelsey out on a date. “Do you happen to know where the ring was seen last?”

  She nodded. “The counter. Wil mentioned leaving it sitting up there while he went to his house to get a cup of tea. It was the only ring missing from the set when he got back. I looked around to be sure it didn’t just fall off the counter, but I couldn’t find it.”

  “Was anyone else in the store at the time?” asked Jake, gaining his natural confidence back little by little as he worked.

  “Yes,” she said before narrowing her gaze on him. “And before you ask, no, I didn’t take it.”

  The edge of Jake’s mouth curved upward at her sass. He made a point to write what she said down on the pad before showing it to her. “Didn’t take it. Got it.”

  That won him a huge smile. She touched her chin. “Hmm, your notes are missing something.”

  “What would that be?” he asked, easing closer to her while inhaling her scent. He’d never wanted to kiss a woman more in his life than now.

  “May I?” she asked, putting her hand out for his pad and pen.

  Jake handed them over, and the minute her finger skimmed his hand, fire shot through him. Need pulsed over him, and he feared he really would look like a bull in a china shop if he didn’t get it together.

  Kelsey jerked her hand back, taking the pad and pen with her, worry slashing over her face. “Sorry.”

  “Sorry?” he asked.

  She took a small step toward him, her body nearly touching his. It was her turn to take in a deep breath. “What cologne are you wearing?”

  “None,” he breathed, looking down at her.

  Her eyes widened. “You smell like this naturally?”

  He winced. Had he forgotten deodorant? “Y-yes?”

  “Wow,” she said, nudging him playfully with her shoulder. “Seriously, what are you wearing? It smells great.”

  He was serious. He didn’t have on any cologne. As a shifter, it tended to bother his senses, so he avoided it. The fact that she found his natural scent appealing made what felt like butterflies fill his stomach.

  His throat went dry.

  He wasn’t really living up to his alpha status. So far, he’d nearly killed a gumball machine, accused the prettiest woman he’d ever seen of stealing something, and then suffered from a case of butterflies.

  Oh no, I’m turning into Buster. Tomorrow I’ll wake up in a bow tie with a nose twitch.

  TWELVE

  JAKE COULDN’T TEAR his gaze from the woman. She was simply flawless. Everything about her appealed to him on a base level. It was as if all of him craved all of her.

  “Um, honest truth. No cologne,” he said, his arm brushing hers. The heat returned.

  “Cool,” she said, lifting his pad and writing on it. “Here. This is me leaving my comfort zone of never doing anything or making friends. Do me a favor and don’t leave me hanging.”

  When he glanced at the paper, he saw that she’d written her number on it. Reaching into his breast pocket, he grabbed one of his cards and flipped it over, writing his personal number on the back. Jake handed it to Kelsey. “Is tonight too soon for dinner or drinks?”

  “I have plans with Petey. Do you know him?”

  Jake laughed. “Oh yeah. I know Petey. Don’t tell me I have to fight him for your attention.”

  She laughed. “He’s sweet. He also already informed me I’m not his type.”

  That was something Jake could see Petey saying. The man had his heart set on one woman and one woman alone.

  Polly.

  Jake minded his own business on that front.

  Unlike most of Everlasting.

  “I’m pretty sure we’re going to be busy unloading firewood,” she said, still smiling and staying near him. “I want to live on the edge and have dinner with you, but I have plans for tonight, so please don’t think I’m blowing you off.”

  Jake laughed. “Going out with me is living on the edge in your book?”

  She nodded. “And then some. I’m sort of coming out of my social shell so to speak while here.”

  “You know, I can stack firewood with the best of them,” offered Jake, meaning every word of it. He enjoyed manual labor and wanted to spend time with her. He’d stack wood for weeks if it meant he’d be around Kelsey.

  Petey, not so much.

  She pursed her lips. “Then it’s a date.”

  It was impossible to mask his enthusiasm, and Jake wondered if he looked as giddy as he felt. He hoped not. He didn’t want her to change her mind.

  Wilber came back into the shop, minus a cup of tea. He looked Jake over and grinned before going to the register. “March, you never told me how you knew a ring went missing.”

  Jake stayed close to Kelsey. “Buster.”

  Wilber’s lips twitched. “How did he know? Never mind. Trudy was in here. She found out. That means all of Everlasting has heard by now.”

  If there were Olympic medals awarded for gossip, Trudy Mays would have too many gold ones to count.

  “Buster also said a black gemstone is missing from the witch exhibit at the general store.” Jake shook his head. “And I still don’t understand why we’d display something like that.”

  He stressed the words, hoping Wilber would get his drift.

  Kelsey touched his arm. “I saw that display when I was in there. It has a stone in it with a sign that claims it was used to drown a witch. And a chunk of charred wood they claim was a stake once used to burn witches here. Weird town.”

  Jake stared at her, disliking where his mind was going. She’d been at the scene of both crimes. The detective in him screamed guilt. His gut said otherwise. And a sinking feeling came over him. If she didn’t do it, but was present for both crimes, she might have seen who was responsible. And if she saw them, they could have seen her as well. “You were at the general store today too?”

  She nodded, and then stepped back from him, a stern expression covering her face instantly. “No. I didn’t take the gemstone.”

  “But you were there and then here, where something else went missing?” he asked, a gnawing in his gut making him worried for her. Sure, the crimes seemed petty, but Everlasting had a way of making molehills into mountains. And he didn’t want Kelsey caught up in it all.

  She’s a stranger. Treat her like any other person of interest.

  Her jaw set, and she grabbed his notepad, tearing the page with her number on it and crinkling it into a ball.

  Jake caught her hand lightly and eased the paper from it. “Take it easy. I wasn’t accusing you. I was going to ask if you noticed anyone in both places that maybe looked out of place or suspicious.”

  “Oh,” she said, her cheeks flushing. “Right.”

  She bit her lower lip again, and the action drove Jake nuts. It made him think about kissing her, and that wasn’t helping anything.

  “The creepy guy in the army coat who was walking into town the other day—he was here, but I don’t remember seeing him in the store. He could have been. I didn’t walk up and down every aisle.”

  Jake glanced at Wilber.

  Wilber continued to sort receipts. “There was a questionable character in here right before the ring went missing.”

  �
�Do you think he took it?” asked Jake.

  Wilber shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  Jake sighed. He’d come to know Wilber well over the course of the last month or so. He knew the man’s tells. Something bigger than a ring vanishing was at work. Wilber wasn’t the oversharing type. He’d been born into a line of work that left him solving his own problems. “Let me guess, you’re not filing a report, are you?”

  “Nope,” said Wilber, placing a stack of receipts in a folder.

  Jake leveled a hard gaze at the man. “Do not take the law into your own hands—again.”

  “I would never,” Wilber said with a large smile. “I’ve changed my ways.”

  “Uh-huh, sure. What’s the saying about a leopard and its spots?”

  Wilber paused. “Wait a minute. What gemstone, exactly, is missing from the display?”

  Jake thought about what Buster had said. “A black one. Some stone-of-truth thing. Had Buster all up in arms over it. That and his bike. Long story there.”

  Wilber paled. That was never a good sign. The man was something of a keeper of paranormal and dangerous artifacts, and if he was worried, Jake was too. It took a lot to rattle Wilber’s cage.

  “The black obsidian gemstone from the display is missing?” asked the retired hunter. He pushed the remaining receipts aside as though they no longer held any importance to him and put his palms on the counter. “Were there obvious signs of a break-in?”

  Jake winced. He’d not really seen that as a pressing matter, so he’d brushed Buster off and saved going to the general store for later. “From what Buster says, no.”

  Wilber offered a look that reminded him of Mrs. Mays and the disapproving stares she always cast at Hugh. “Have we taken to deputizing citizens now that Bull is on vacation? And if so, could we perhaps pick more competent citizens than Buster Goodman? Anyone else will do. Even Templeton, and we all know he’s a few wrenches short of a full set.”

  “I get it, okay,” shot Jake. “I’m headed to the store next. I’m sorry. I didn’t think a gemstone with nearly no monetary value ranked higher than a ring going missing.”

  Kelsey stepped even closer to him, as if in a show of solidarity. “I understand I’m brand new here, so my opinion doesn’t count for much, not to mention I’m pretty sure I’m a suspect. But I wanted to say that I don’t know much about gemstones, though I’d have thought the ring was more pressing as well.”

  Wilber’s gaze softened at the sound of her confession. “Of course, sorry. While the stone isn’t expensive when it’s any old obsidian, the one in question is special.”

  “Because it belonged to a line of—” Jake stopped himself, remembering Kelsey was new to town and more than likely didn’t know the truth about Everlasting. Humans weren’t to know of it, and it was rare to have one wander in who did. “Uh, an important older family that used to be a vital part of the town’s history, but have since vanished?”

  Surprise shone on Wilber’s face. “Yes. Exactly.”

  Jake stiffened as his mind began to race with all the bad that could happen if that gemstone had any real juice behind it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer to his next question. “Let me guess, the ring and the gemstone have ties, don’t they?”

  Wilber let out a long, slow breath, looking incredibly tired. “The ring also belonged to the family who owned the gemstone.”

  “Together, they don’t happen to activate a portal to hell or anything, do they?” asked Jake, only partially joking.

  Kelsey gasped and then glanced at the men. “For real?”

  “Nothing quite so extreme,” said Wilber, giving him a knowing look. “But it’s safe to say that together, and in the wrong hands, there would be cause for concern. I guess we should be happy they don’t have the other two pieces to complete the necessary collection.”

  Kelsey perked. “Is one of them a pendant?”

  Did she know the truth about the town?

  Jake inhaled again, trying to detect any traces of supernatural on her. All he could smell were orange blossoms and water lilies. And his body continued to react in a way that left him feeling like a teenager, rather than a man of nearly five hundred.

  “Yes.” A pensive expression fell over Wilber’s face, and it was easy to tell he was debating whether to reveal much more on the matter. After a long, pregnant pause, he spoke. “There is a pendant, and it would be one of the pieces of the collection one would…desire. Without that, the other items don’t have a lot of value to anyone in particular.”

  Worry slashed over Kelsey’s face. “I knew it was too coincidental.”

  “What was?” asked Jake.

  Wilber eyed her. “Kelsey, how did you know one of the other pieces is a pendant? I’m quite sure that isn’t common knowledge.”

  Her shoulders slumped, and she lowered her head. “I’m brave. I’m brave. I’ve come this far for answers, I can’t wimp out now,” she whispered, so softly that a human wouldn’t have heard it. But Jake and Wilber were anything but human.

  “Kelsey,” Wilber soothed. “You can tell us anything. We won’t judge you no matter how far-fetched or strange it seems. Right, Jake?”

  “Right,” agreed Jake, wanting desperately to wrap his arms around Kelsey and tell her everything would be all right. That she didn’t have to be brave. That he’d be brave for her. He held back.

  “I’m scared to show you, for fear you’ll think I took the other things. I didn’t,” she said quickly.

  “I know. You’ve said as much. And I believe you,” Jake said.

  She lifted her hands slightly. “Please know I didn’t plan any of this. And I’m not crazy. I didn’t come in here knowing that something in the shop had ties to my pendant. I just needed a job! I didn’t orchestrate any of this. In fact, it’s kind of scaring me.”

  “You don’t have to explain that to me. I’m an outstanding judge of character,” said Wilber before grunting. “Still think my grandson-in-law is a heathen, so that proves as much.”

  Jake snorted.

  Poor Hugh.

  Wilber would never ease up on him.

  Not that Hugh would give Wilber any reason to. Hugh gave as good as he got. And Jake strongly suspected the men wouldn’t have it any other way.

  THIRTEEN

  JAKE WATCHED as Kelsey moved quickly around the counter and Wilber before bending and leaving Jake’s line of sight. When she came back up, it was with a small red velvet bag. She looked cautiously at the two men before opening the bag with care and easing out a necklace. She held it up, showing off a pendant with a triple crescent moon and a purple gemstone in the center of it.

  Jake stepped closer to the counter, noticing the slight hum of power coming from the pendant. “Does that pendant match the ring?”

  Kelsey nodded. “Yes. I noticed right away when Wil pulled the ring out of its packaging. I wanted to ask him about it but the creepy guy was in here, and he gives me the willies. Then I had to find Artemis. I didn’t find her. She’s very sneaky.”

  Jake soaked in everything she was saying. “Wait, Artemis? Isn’t that the town stray that’s been missing for a while now? I’ve never seen her, but I’ve heard her mentioned in conversation once or twice. I was starting to think people made her up.”

  “Yes, Artemis is the town stray,” said Wilber. “She came in along with that man.”

  “You mean men,” corrected Kelsey.

  Wilber glanced at her. “No. Just one man came in around the time the cat was here.”

  “No. There were two other people here while Artemis was.” Kelsey shook her head. “I ran into Mr. Reyes upstairs. I first met him on the bus I came in on the other day. He told me the bus broke down, and that while they were getting it serviced, he was walking around to stretch his legs.”

  Wilber caught Jake’s attention, and the man’s expression said it all. Something was happening that wouldn’t end well.

  “Can you describe this Mr. Reyes for me?” asked Jake.

&nb
sp; She nodded. “In his sixties or seventies. White hair. Has this big brown leather bag that he carries around with him. And this probably won’t help you identify him, but he likes to knit.”

  Jake went to the window of the shop to look out at the bench across the street. It was occupied, but by two women who had to-go cups of coffee and who were busy chatting away. There was no sign of Irwin or Ellswerth.

  “What is it?” asked Wilber.

  “I think I met Mr. Reyes before I came in. He was with a bus driver. They seemed tight.”

  “Ellswerth,” said Kelsey. “Yes. They’re friends. I got the impression that Mr. Reyes often travels by way of the bus. He’s very sweet and kind. I don’t think he’d take anything from anyone. The other man who was in here, in the old army jacket, he’s a different matter. I don’t know him, and he may be a stand-up guy, but something about him made me very leery.”

  Jake sighed. “Made Ellswerth and Mr. Reyes take notice too.”

  Wilber tapped the counter, gaining Jake’s attention. “You remember what I did for a living before I retired to focus fully on the shop?”

  “Yes.”

  Who could possibly forget that Wilber had been a legendary hunter? A man who policed supernaturals and whose very title struck fear in most.

  “Fairly sure the man Kelsey is speaking of is in the same line of work,” said Wilber evenly, as if that wasn’t earth-shattering news. Another hunter in town? That could lead to nothing good. It should have been something Mrs. Mays was told, so as to alert the entire town.

  But Wilber wouldn’t see another hunter in Everlasting as vital information to be shared.

  “Way to bury the lede there, Messing,” said Jake.

  “Didn’t know he was in town until he showed up here in my shop today. Wasn’t sure it had much bearing until now. Hunters pass through all the time and then head out on their way once they verify things are fine and well. I’m sure the incidents from October sent up red flags through the underground community.” Wilber went around to the door and flipped the sign to closed. “Kelsey, tell Jake and me everything you can about the pendant.”