by M. J. Caan
In the distance, sirens whined. Seconds later the inside of the house was illuminated by flashing red and blue strobe lights as the sheriff and his deputies surveyed and secured the scene.
“So, you’re telling me that all of this—” he looked around at the destroyed living area— “was done by that little girl right there?” He glanced at the body that lay crumpled on the floor.
“Yes,’ said Torie. “She showed up, crazed out of her mind…probably drunk off one of her own potions, and demanded we turn over whatever evidence we had that could have implicated her in the killings of the shifters. She was pretty spry for a hedge witch.” She hesitated before continuing. “Also, we’re pretty sure she wasn't acting alone. Someone, or something, else was calling the shots.”
The sheriff huffed, giving her a side-eyed look as he walked around the space. He wrinkled his nose and sniffed the air. Torie stiffened, but Jasmin reached out and took her hand. The sheriff was a supernatural, but he didn’t have the physical senses of a shifter, and as far as Jasmin knew, none of his deputies were shifters.
“What is that smell?” he said, looking around.
Torie tensed up, but Jasmine stepped forward and spoke reassuringly to him. “That’s whatever nasty little potion she brewed to take out the shifters before she carved them up. No idea why she did that, but if I were you, I wouldn’t try breathing in too much of that. No idea what it would do to a dwarf.”
Instantly the sheriff put a hand to his mouth and stepped back.
“Mother Nature, I’ve about had enough of this crazy town,” he whispered. He sighed, speaking up to the two women. “So I’ll need you to come by the station and make a formal statement.”
“And you’ll let Max go?” asked Torie.
“Yes. He’s locked up tight so no way he had anything to do with this. It just seems like we are missing something. But if you’re convinced this is the killer, then I’m happy to declare this case closed.”
“This is definitely our killer,” Torie said. “Who knows why killers do the things they do. Especially in this case.”
He nodded and headed back to supervise the loading of the body into the M.E’s van.
“Thank you,” Torie said to Jasmin.
“No, thank you. We couldn’t have done this without you. Welcome to the club. You’re going to be one powerful witch.” She hesitated, looking at her friend. “So, were you really going to take her fingers?”
Torie smiled. “Absolutely. She’d have mixed her last batch of poison, that’s for sure.”
They both laughed and watched as the sheriff and his team left. Once they were gone, Elric and Fionna came out of the back room, and Alva shimmered into view.
Fionna had her arm around Arnold.
“You should have let them take me,” said Arnold.
“Nonsense,” replied Torie. “The real killer is still out there. We may have foiled him or her for now…but I'm willing to bet we haven't heard the last of them. You’ve suffered enough at their hands. We all have.” She looked at Fionna. “I think it’s time this community began to heal again.”
She reached over and gave his arm a squeeze.
25
The inside of Jim’s Best was bustling. The heaviness of the past couple of weeks had finally evaporated and the bakery was filled with the sounds of laughter and the smell of freshly baked goods and gourmet coffee.
The ladies sat in their usual chairs, a small plate of assorted mini-scones and two French presses sat on the coffee table in front of them.
“It finally feels right in here again,” said Fionna, reaching for one of the tiny blueberry scones. “Well, almost.”
No one needed to ask what she meant. They all missed Taylor and the carefree light and attitude she always brought with her wherever she went.
“So, Elric,” said Jasmin, “how’s Max settling in to his new position?”
Elric sat next to Torie, sipping on a cup of coffee.
“He’s doing surprisingly well,” he said. “I think being a sheriff is his calling.”
They weren’t surprised. Dwayne had turned in his badge shortly after wrapping up the case. As it turned out, he wasn't cut out for the type of work that involved shifter killers and angry witches. He had returned to his previous life in the woods where he was happy, and his skill with stonework was already in demand by the townspeople. The women had seen him a couple of times since he retired. He would drive around town hauling lumber or rock to various sites and home restoration projects. He’d nod and wave; always with a smile on his face.
“Yeah, Dwayne never seemed cut out for that job,” said Jasmin. “I’m just surprised that none of his deputies wanted the position.”
“Oh, I’m sure they did,” said Fionna. “But none of them were ready to stand up to an alpha wolf to take it.”
“Speaking of alphas,” said Torie, turning to Elric.
He blushed. “Max released me. He has a whole new pack now. Granted, they’re human and don’t quite understand why they can’t say no to him, but he saw that the two of us are in different, and better, places now.”
Torie smiled. That made her happy. She hadn’t been looking forward to trying to devise a spell that would break a bond between an alpha and beta. She looked at the wolf sitting next to her and felt a wave of happiness that she hadn’t expected to ever find again at this point in her life. It was still new of course. They were taking baby steps—no, that wasn’t right. What came before baby steps? Crawling? Yes, that was what they were doing; they were baby crawling together.
She was learning what it was like to have a man that wanted to listen to her, no matter what she wanted to talk about. It was nice. But she didn’t feel the need to rush anything this time. This was her second act, and so far, it was blowing act one to smithereens. He sensed her watching him and looked up, smiling and giving her a slight nod. Impulsively, she reached over and took his hand.
Jasmin noticed and gave them both a smile. Not that Torie needed affirmation, but it was nice knowing that her fledging relationship, although she was loath to give it a name, had been blessed.
She watched the new friends she had made; warmth spreading through her making her feel positively radiant. How had she been so lucky? At a time when she thought, or rather knew, she had lost everything, was when she came alive. She felt like she had spent forty years sleep-walking and someone had just thrown a bucket of cold water on her. Every part of her being was alive and tingling with possibility.
She thought about the new friends she had made, some she had already lost in such a short time, and her resolve to make this place and its community her new home. She felt the sting of tears threaten to run down her face as she realized just how much she loved Singing Falls.
Not that it was perfect of course; no place was. But it was close enough.
“What about your mother?” said Fionna. “I don’t know anything about ghosts. Is it like in the movies; when their murder is solved they fade away and go into the afterlife?”
“It hasn’t happened like that yet,” said Torie. “She’s still around, coming and going when I need to talk to her…or sometimes when she needs to talk to me. She can’t leave the house though, so I suppose there is something to being tethered to the place you passed in. But it’s good. We’re in a good place, as strange as that sounds.”
“Doesn’t sound strange at all,” said Jasmin. “Strange lives in this town, and you’re a part of that now.”
“Speaking of strange,” said Fionna, “has anyone checked on Eddie lately?”
The shifter had finally healed completely and had resumed working in the towns artisanal pizza shop. Torie had to admit that he made a mean fig and prosciutto pizza.
“He’s been hanging around with Arnold lately,” said Jasmin quietly. At the mention of the vampire’s name, Fionna tensed up, and Torie reached over to place a comforting hand on her knee.
“I’m not so certain there isn’t something brewing between the two of them,�
�� continued Jasmin. “Of course, they have issues to work out as well, but they’re trying.”
Torie nodded. Once he was healed, Eddie told them that he remembered going over to Arnold’s house the night he was attacked. The two had just started to date and were trying to keep everything quiet. He said that Arnold hadn’t seemed himself that night and at one point had told Eddie that he really needed to leave. Eddie assumed he was having second thoughts about their budding relationship, but then, in the snap of a finger, Arnold had changed.
He attacked Eddie, and the shifter knew he was trying to kill him. He had escaped, but only just, shifting and fleeing just as Arnold had thrown some kind of powder at him that made him dizzy. Because he was shifting at the same time, he didn’t get the full dose of the potion, but it was still enough to slow him down, until he eventually collapsed. He tried shifting back to his human form, and that helped him stumble far enough that he could make it to the road. That was where Torie had met him.
Thinking back on it, she realized that Eddie had probably given them a clue as to who their assailant was when the wolves had found him unconscious the morning her mother was killed. They had found him passed out on a cleared ledge; in the only area of open sunlight. He had sought to escape Arnold yet again and took refuge in the one place the vampire couldn’t reach him.
“So, how is Arnold doing with the whole, you know…?” asked Torie, motioning to her mouth.
“He’s coping,” said Jasmin. “Vampires are like sharks; they lose a tooth and another grows back in its place. It’s slow, and painful, but it’s also a reminder of what he became. It’s his way of paying penance.”
“Torie, what are your plans now?” asked Fionna. “You’re definitely staying in town?”
She smiled. “Yes. My mother was right. There is something about this town, quirks and all, that calls to me.”
She was ready to put her old life to rest. Everything she owned back in New York had been sold to pay into a fund meant for the families that had been harmed by her ex-husband’s predatory business. As luck would have it, the money her mother had left her could not be touched, and it was more than enough for her to continue paying for Shawn’s education. She could easily afford to buy a new house in town but had chosen to invest in renovations on her mother’s house; much to ghost Alva’s dismay.
“Oh, how’s the book coming?” asked Jasmin.
Torie groaned. “Slow. But I’m getting there.”
As part of her path along the hexing arts, Jasmin had suggested that Torie create her own grimoire. A book of custom spells and potions she was creating. It was taxing and amusing at the same time. But she was excited to learn to harness her magic in ways she had never thought possible. Her natural telepathic abilities with shifters was still her strongest ability, but with Jasmin and Alva’s help, she was learning.
“Well, I don’t know about you all, but I am looking forward to some down time,” said Fionna. “It will be nice to enjoy Singing Falls in peace and quiet for a while.”
The chime of a bell rang through the space as the front door to the bakery opened.
A woman, wearing a long white dress with intricate embroidery, flowed into the room. Her hair was nearly as white as her dress and dotted with small gemstones and flower petals. Part of Torie’s learning had been recognizing the various supernaturals that lived in and about Singing Falls. This lady was a faerie, through and through. She looked around, barely able to contain her anxiety. Finally, her eyes settled on them.
She hurried over and gave them a rather clumsy half-bow.
“Forgive me,” she said, her voice sounding almost musical to their ears, “but are you the ladies that recently dealt with—” she looked around and then lowered her voice, “the situation with the individual that was harming the shifters?”
Torie stood and approached her. “Yes, that would be us. Are you okay? You look nervous.”
“Forgive my intrusion,” the fae said, “but I was wondering if you might help me.” She fished around in a small, blue bag that she carried with her and removed a photo. “This is my daughter. She disappeared a couple of months ago. We spoke almost every day and then, out of the blue, she stopped calling me. No text, no letter, no emails. It is like she just disappeared from the face of the earth. We share a connection, she and I…and try as I might, I can no longer ‘feel’ her.” The woman stopped, steadying herself before she could continue. “The last I heard she was working at starting her own business far away from Singing Falls. She always said this town was too sleepy for her. She had also started to date someone, but she wouldn't tell me who. Then she broke off contact, and never came back home. I told her many times the world of man is no place for one such as she, but she was obsessed with it. Can you help me find her? I can pay you whatever you want.”
Torie smiled, trying to comfort the distraught woman. She took the photograph from her and felt the blood drain from her face when she looked at the picture.
“Torie,” said Fionna. “What is it? Are you okay?”
Torie dropped into the seat, her eyes focused on something far away as she handed the photograph over to Fionna.
“The woman in this picture,” she whispered, “her name is Wednesday; she’s the business partner my husband left me for.”
No one said a word. Torie felt the indescribable pain of old wounds tearing open. She looked at Fionna. Life in Singing Falls was about to become anything but peaceful and quiet.
Book Two is available at: That Good Hex
THE END
If you enjoyed this book, feel free to try these other works by M.J. Caan, including the complete Trinity Cove trilogy, and sign up for MJ’s mailing list for news about book 2 in this ongoing series:
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Trinity Cove Shifter Wars Trilogy
The Girl With The Good Magic: The Shifter Wars Book One
Enter The Wolf: The Shifter Wars Book Two
The Return Of The Witch
Also By M.J. Caan
The Trinity Cove Trilogy
The Girl With The Good Magic: The Shifter Wars Book One
Enter The Wolf: The Shifter Wars Book Two
The Return Of The Witch
RH Gargoyle Series
Bound
About the Author
M.J. Caan is a science fiction and fantasy author living in North Carolina. When not convening with the spirit world via keyboard to create fantastical new worlds, M.J. can be found cuddling with a very energetic Australian Shepherd that is too spoiled for her own good.
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