by Mac Flynn
“These will keep your pancakes fresh even in the car,” she told us.
Orion grinned and took the boxes. “Thanks, Mab, you’re a life-saver.”
She chuckled. “I aim to please.”
13
Orion led me outside with our boxes in our hands. The gray sky hinted at snowfall and a blustery wind blew past us.
I cringed and wrapped my free arm around me. “I don’t think we’re going to find anything at the highway. Not after this long.”
He turned to me and tapped the side of his nose. “Don’t underestimate the power of the nose. I’m not the local hunter for nothing.”
“You told me you helped people find things,” I commented as we walked down the street in the direction of the motel. “Is it people?”
“Among other things,” he told me.
“What about paths leading out of the area?” I wondered.
He paused and turned to me with a frown. “Mab told you to stop having those thoughts.”
I shrugged. “A girl’s gotta have a goal in life.”
“And that goal is to leave here?” he guessed.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Listen, I didn’t ask for this trouble.”
He slipped his hand into his box and pulled out a bit of lemon. “Nobody asks for lemons in life, but what they can do is make the most of it.”
My eyes fell on the lemon and flickered up to Orion’s face. “You’re not seriously making lemonade out of that stuff, are you?”
He shrugged and slipped the lemon back into his box. “Maybe I’ll make some martinis. That is-” his eyes flickered to me, “-if someone’s still around to enjoy them with me.”
I pursed my lips and turned away. My eyes swept over the small, snow white town. A few people walked along the sidewalk, and the kids were back at the sledding hill. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Those martinis better have the little umbrellas.”
He grinned and offered me his arm. “Do you prefer blue or pink?”
I smiled and accepted his arm. “Definitely blue.”
We walked arm-in-arm to the motel. My car was parked in the same spot. Orion searched his pocket and pulled out my keys. He held them out to me and jingled them. “Care to do the honors?”
I swiped the keys from him and nodded. “Of course. No self-respecting reporter would let her side-kick do the driving.”
He chuckled as I unlocked the doors. “So I’m a side-kick now?”
I looked over the top of the car as he stood by the passenger door. “Would you rather be the comedy relief?”
He shrugged. “I thought I could at least be the dashing hero.”
I shook my head. “Nope. You’re all wrong for the part.” I ducked down to hide my snort as his face contorted with disbelief.
“Hey! Wait a sec!” He slipped into the passenger seat as I started the car. “What do you mean I’m all wrong for the part?”
I had a hard time suppressing my grin. “A hero can’t have a nickname like ‘Sour,’ can he?”
His face fell. “You too now?”
I shrugged as I pulled out of the parking lot. “I’m just saying it’d be pretty hard to take a guy seriously with that kind of nickname.”
“What if we say my real nickname is ‘Orion,’ and go with that?” he suggested.
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “Nah. Nobody would ever believe it.”
Orion threw up his arms and nearly tossed his box of pancakes. He juggled the box and slapped it back into his lap. The mighty hunter sheepishly grinned at me. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, but I couldn’t hide my smile.
We drove through the town and out to the highway. The deserted road was plowed, and I wondered if the pass was open. Unfortunately, our destination didn’t take us as far as the road block. I stopped the car a quarter of a mile past the town turnoff and gestured at the road.
“That’s about where I saw whoever it was.”
“And you’re sure it was a werewolf?” he asked me.
I tilted my face towards him. “It wasn’t the Easter Bunny.”
“Was it male or female?”
I swept my eyes over him. “It looked like you did last night.”
He pursed his lips and looked out over the road. “Male, then.”
Orion stepped outside and walked down the road. I followed behind him and watched as he knelt on the ground and brushed his hand over the paved road.
“Damn. . .”
“Your spider senses aren’t tingling?” I asked him.
He stood and shook his head. “Not when a snowplow’s been by here. But fortunately the scent isn’t entirely gone.”
Orion walked over to the steep snowbank and plunged into its deep depths. He was buried up to his waist in the white fluffy stuff, but he pushed his way through the pile to the untouched wilderness beyond the ditch. He paused beside a half-covered bush and plucked something off the bare leaves.
“I don’t think now is a time to harass the local plant life,” I teased him.
Orion turned around and studied something pinched between his fingers. He trudged back to me and held out the item. “If this is plant life then we have bigger problems than the Sickness.”
I leaned forward and squinted. Between his fingers was a small tuft of hair. I reached up and rubbed the fur between my fingers. “What’s it belong to?”
“Wolf, and there aren’t any natural wolves around here,” he told me. Orion looked past me in the direction of the car and frowned. “And the plot thins.”
The crunch of wheels on the snow caught my attention. I turned around and watched one of the local police vehicles drive toward us.
I glanced at Orion and jerked my head towards the cop car. “Did we break a rule or two by coming out here?”
He pursed his lips and shook his head. “Only if it’s unwritten and was passed unanimously last night.”
The cop car pulled up to us and Chief Orso stepped out. He slammed the door shut and strode over to us. “I was informed you two went in this direction. Mind telling me what brought you out here?”
Orion held up the tuft of fur that was pinched between his fingers. “This.”
Chief Orso took the fur and turned it over. “Wolf fur. You can get it off half the town.”
Orion shook his head. “Not that fur. I don’t recognize that scent.”
The chief lifted his head and arched an eyebrow. “So you’re saying this is from a stray?”
Orion nodded. “Yes. I’d stake my hunter reputation on it.”
Orso pursed his lips. “All right. I’m going to need you two to come down to the station and make a statement.” He pulled out a plastic bag and dropped the fur into the bag. “There’s also last night’s trouble you haven’t already put in a report for that.”
Orion set his hand on the small of my back and smiled at the officer. A strange smell came to my nostrils, but I blew it away. “No, but we’ll do that right now.”
Orso kept his attention on Orion but nodded at me. “And I’d be glad if you kept her in town, at least for the present. She wasn’t none too pleased with the mayor’s decision last night, and the last thing we need around here is more trouble.”
Orion nodded. “I’ll be sure to do that.”
I glared at both of them. “‘She’ doesn’t need watched by hmphph-” Orion had placed his hand over my mouth.
My sidekick nodded at the road. “Won’t you lead the way, Chief?”
Chief Orso turned and walked back to his patrol car. I pulled Orion’s hand off my mouth and gasped for air before I snapped my head in his direction. “What the hell was that for?” I growled.
He held up his hands in front of him and gave me a teasing smile. “Just trying to help. We don’t need to get on the bad side of the chief and his men, at least not this early in the morning.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re going to regret saying that.”
He walked around me and toward the car. “Maybe, but let’s go before
the chief cites us for loitering.”
14
We followed the police chief back to town and to the police station. The exterior of the imposing building was made of granite and the interior was accessed via a flight of long, wide steps up to the two front doors. We parked out front and the chief led us up the stairs and into the lobby. There was a front counter with an officer on duty, and behind him was an open room with a few desk. The left wall had a few doors, one of which was marked ‘Chief.’
It was to that office we were led. There was enough room for a desk, tall filing cabinet, and three chairs, one of which was behind the desk. The front wall that looked out on the open area had a large window. The chief lowered the blinds as we entered, then took a seat behind the desk. Orion and I took a chair in front of the desk. I swept my eyes over the room. A picture on the desk caught my eye. It was of two boys with their arms across one another’s shoulders. Both wore street clothes and were soaking wet.
I nodded at the picture. “Did you try to fish with your hands?”
Orso’s eyes flickered to Orion. “No, it was just some punk who nearly drowned me one summer, but we’re not here to reminisce.” The chief pulled out the plastic bag and tossed it on the desk. “Tell me everything you can about this fur. How’d you find it? Where exactly did you find it?”
Orion told him everything up to the point where the chief found us. Orso leaned back in his creaky chair and pursed his lips. “That’s a mighty interesting story.”
“It’s more than just a story. It might be the reason for the Sickness,” Orion pointed out. He scooted closer to the front of the desk. “What I figure is-” The chief held up his hand and nodded.
“I know, I know. The Sickness is coming from this unknown werewolf, right?”
Orion nodded. “Exactly.”
The chief leaned forward and pulled out a drawer. He pulled out four slips of paper. “These are the statement forms I need you two to fill out, both for today and last night. Sign on the dotted lines when you’re done and I’ll get my men on this.” He stood and left the room.
I glanced from the closed door to Orion, and jerked my head at where Orso had gone. “Is he always this calm when he learns about trouble?”
Orion furrowed his brow. “Often, but this is a little much.” He sighed and slid two of the papers in front of me. “But I guess we’ll fill these things out and get going. We still have your stuff to pick up at the motel, remember?”
I grudgingly filled out my statement forms, but this left a bad taste in my reporter mouth. We finished our paperwork and stepped out into the open area. The chief met us at his door. “All done?”
Orion nodded. “Yep.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch with you if anything comes up,” Orso promised. He shook hands with Orion and we passed him to leave, but his voice called us back. “Orion.” Orion and I paused and half-turned to him. He opened his mouth, but snapped his jaws shut and turned away from us. His shoulders slumped as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair and shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
Orion nodded and led me outside. My eyes flickered up to his tense face. “Please tell me you’re not falling for any of this.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Falling for what?”
I snorted and stopped beside my car to face him. “Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious that they haven’t found evidence of this unknown werewolf before?”
He shrugged. “The valley’s a big place, and the Sickness didn’t really start until after the snow came.”
I crossed my arms and frowned. “But you were able to sniff it out in a day just with my general directions, and they’ve got a whole building of sniffers.” I gestured to the doors at the top of the stairs. “And what was that back there? The chief acted like he wanted to tell us something, but couldn’t.”
Orion sighed and set a hand on my shoulder. “You’ve lived in a lot of big cities. That makes you suspicious-” I frowned and shrugged off his arm.
“I know what I’m talking about when I say something’s going on here,” I argued.
He smiled and held up my keys. “Like a theft?”
My eyebrows crashed down. “Give those back!” I grabbed for them, but he held them up out of my reach.
“I’m supposed to be your babysitter, remember?” he teased.
I frowned. “I remember that was a self-appointed position, and I protest the filled vacancy.”
He chuckled and opened the driver’s door. “We’ll bring it up at the next meeting. Right now let’s go get your stuff.”
Orion drove my car back to the Moonlight Motel. We parked in front of the office and stepped out of the car. Orion paused and grabbed the top of the car. He shook his head and blinked.
I raised an eyebrow. “You okay?”
He straightened and smiled at me. “Yeah, just a little tired. Must have been last night.”
I frowned and met him at the front of the car. “Is that going to happen every night?”
He grinned as he grabbed the door handle and opened it for me. “You’ll just have to see.”
I rolled my eyes as we walked inside. Troy sat behind the counter as I found him the first night I came. I wondered he didn’t produce cobwebs.
He looked up from his copy of The Daily Brew and smiled at us. “Good morning.”
Orion leaned his elbows on the counter and nodded at the row of keys behind Troy. “Good morning, Troy. We were wondering if we could-”
“Have the key to Miss Lyal’s room?” Troy finished for him.
Orion grinned. “Yeah.”
Troy turned around in his seat and nodded at the corner to his left. “There’s no need. All her things are right there.” A box sat in the corner, and my overnight bag stuck out the top.
Orion smiled and shook his head as he pushed off from the counter. “Why did I even bother asking?”
Troy chuckled. “Habit is hard to break.”
Orion walked over to the box and hefted it into his arms. He winced and shifted its weight. “Did you forget to pack the kitchen sink? Because I feel only the bathroom tub.”
“It must be the fridge. That food always shifts around,” I quipped.
Orion walked past the counter and we reached the door when Troy called to us. “Mind you two be careful.”
Orion paused and half-turned back to him with a frown. “Be careful? Why?”
Troy chuckled. “Just a hunch.”
I cringed. The last time he had a hunch I had a date with apple destiny.
Orion pursed his lips, but nodded. “We’ll be careful.”
“See that you are,” Troy replied as he went back to his paper.
Orion led me outside and plopped the box into my trunk. He shut the back and looked at the front of the office. I sidled up to him and glanced from his tense face to the office and back. “Do I want to know?”
He shook his head. “I doubt either of us want to know, but we’ll find out soon enough.”
“So what now?” I asked him as we slid into our seats.
He started the car and rubbed his red hands together. “Now we go home and warm up. Even a werewolf needs a warm fire every now and again.”
“We should be investigating what’s going on,” I persisted.
Orion backed out and drove onto the main street. “What we should be doing is keeping each other warm in bed.”
I rolled my eyes. “Come on, Sidekick, where’s your sense of adventure?”
He flashed me a grin. “It can get pretty adventurous in bed.”
I growled and slumped down in my seat. “Werewolves. . .” I paused and looked down at myself. “Speaking of that, I don’t really feel any different. Aren’t I supposed to have super strength and stuff now?”
He chuckled. “Right now you’re just a pup. It’ll take a lot of training to get you to top werewolf shape.”
I sighed and cradled my temple in my fingers. “Great. And I thought I was done with school.”
Orion d
rove us back to his home. He took my box from the trunk. I passed the rear seat window and noticed the take-out boxes from Mab. I grabbed those and we both walked up the path to the porch. The snow slid off the roof in streams of water, and the path was mostly clear.
I paused on the steps and frowned. A sudden tugging in my mind told me to turn around. I half-turned to face the street. Nobody was there, not even a passing car. I shook myself and followed Orion inside. He set the box on the counter in the kitchen to the right and rear of the house. I paused in the doorway and glanced around. It was my first time this far back in the house.
“Your hunter job must pay pretty well,” I commented.
He walked over to the stove and started the burner for some warm water. “Decently. You like cocoa?”
“Decently,” I quipped. He pulled out two mugs from a cupboard as I plopped our boxes onto the counter. “I still think we shouldn’t leave that fur to the police.”
Orion paused mid-scooping with the cocoa powder and sighed. “Then what do you think we should do?”
I shrugged. “Investigate that scent ourselves. Or at least try to figure out what the police know before we become victims of this douche-bag disease.”
He chuckled. “So play sleuth?”
“You can play reporter, and I’ll be a real one,” I retorted.
Orion poured the steaming water into the mugs. “How about this: if you think up a genius idea to help them, we’ll do it.” He turned to me with the mugs in hand. “Deal?”
I took my mug and nodded. “Deal.” I glanced at the to-go boxes on the counter beside me. “What do you want to do with our leftover breakfast from Mab’s place? Eat it or save the indigestion for later?”
His eyes widened. He set his mug on the counter and snapped his fingers. “That’s it!”
I blinked at him. “What’s-hey!” He grabbed me about the waist and spun me around. Cocoa splattered around the room.
He pecked me on the cheek and laughed. “Trixie, you’re a genius!”
I clutched his arms and grimaced. “And this genius is really aware of gravity, so could you put me down?”