For Sale On Display

by Hollie Hutchins

  The man put his gloved hands into the pocket of his nice, knee length wool coat and shrugged. “It was nothing really.”

  “Nothing!” Anna scoffed. “You came out of nowhere, you got rid of two full grown men… you… how did you know I was in trouble? Were you nearby?”

  He moved his head side to side. “Not exactly.”

  Anna went to ask another question but the man cut her off.

  “Listen, is there any way we can continue this conversation in the car? I’m starting to get really cold out here.”

  “Right, yes, of course.” Anna’s gut was talking loud and clear now. She could trust this man. “Let’s go, if your offer to drive me home still stands, I would gladly take you up on it.”

  “It sure does!”

  Anna grabbed the scrap of paper with the directions to Stella’s house from the cup holder of her car, rolled up the window really quick. She went around and opened the trunk. She hadn’t brought much stuff with her, only two duffle bags full of clothes and few sentimental personal items. She left all of those and grabbed one of the duffels, the one she was pretty sure had all her underwear and socks in it.

  “I guess I’ll have to come back with a tow-truck tomorrow.” Noah took her bag and put it in the backseat for her as she climbed into the front seat of the black SUV.

  “It’s a woman named Edna who runs the chop shop and drives the tow truck in town,” said the man. “She’s a good friend of mine. I’ll give her a call for you if you’d like, get you the friends and family discount.”

  “That would be amazing,” she said. “I’m Anna by the way.”

  “I’m Noah.”

  He put the car in reverse and backed out until he was out of the way of the truck and then pulled back onto the road. They drove in silence for a bit, then, without warning, Anna asked, point blank, the question that had been on her mind since she realized this was the man who saved her.

  “So, what are you?”

  “Excuse me?” said Noah.

  “I mean, what are you? And what is Sam?”

  Noah stared ahead at the road for a minute, not saying anything.

  “I know you aren’t completely human,” Anna continued. “You turned into something, that much I could see.”

  “I’m a werewolf.”

  “Oh.”

  Anna put the cellphone on top of the middle console and interlocked her fingers and laid her hands to rest in her lap as she process this information. She had heard stories about werewolves, and other types of human-animal hybrids, and she knew a kid in high school who claimed to be able to turn into a bear, although nobody ever saw him do it. She’d never met an actual hybrid in real life, and now that she was driving in the car with one, her head was reeling with questions, all of which seemed really rude and inappropriate to ask at the moment.

  Noah coughed a few times, breaking up the awkward silence that had filled the car after his revelation. “What, uh, what brings you to Idle Waters?” he asked. “You said you just moved here.”

  “Yes,” said Anna. “I came here for a job.”

  Noah gave her a strange, side-eyed glance. “A job? You came up North for a job? What job, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  Anna laughed. “I mean, I just asked you a very personal question, so don’t sweat it. I’m the new deputy under Sheriff Wells.”

  “Wow!” said Noah. “That’s impressive. You must be one of the youngest deputy in Idle Waters history.”

  Anna shrugged. “Not sure. All I know is that I needed to leave my other job, and Sheriff Wells was looking to hire the best, considering the recent murders that have plagued your town.”

  “So you’re saying you’re the best?” asked Noah.

  “I’m pretty good.”

  Noah was quiet again for a moment.

  “Not to sound weird, or anything,” he began. “But the reason I think I found you, before, when you were in trouble, was because you have a very… distinct scent.”

  “I’m not really sure how to take that.”

  “Not in a bad way!” Noah quickly added. “It’s just that… well, you don’t smell like most humans do. You smell almost like a wolf. Except, not like a wolf at all.”

  “So I don’t smell human, but I do smell like a wolf, but also I don’t smell like a wolf.” Anna nodded. “Yeah, okay. That makes perfect sense.”

  “What I’m trying to say is that you smell like you are more than human.”

  Anna twiddled her thumbs but said nothing.

  “Is that what makes you so good at your job? The magic?”

  Anna didn’t like when people used the word “magic”. It sounded so silly and it made her feel like she was a kid playing some sort of make-believe game. Instead, she preferred to talk about her abilities as if they were not really all that special. Sure, her intuition was so good it might as well have been magic, but like she told the Sheriff, everyone has an intuition. It’s nothing that special. Hers is just incredibly strong.

  “I’m an Intuit,” she said, wanting to give him a replacement for the m-word. “If you know what that is.”

  “I think so,” said Noah. “I’m pretty sure I’ve read something about your kind. You can see the future right?”

  “If I could, do you really think I would have followed Sam and Pauly tonight?” She shook her head. “No. I can’t see the future. It’s subtler than that.”

  “I see,” said Noah.

  Anna reached for the phone again. “I better try the Sheriff, see if by chance he is still up.” She flipped the phone open and then realized she didn’t have Wells’ home phone memorized or written down anywhere. “Shoot, I guess I’ll have to dial 411 first and get someone to look up his number.”

  “I have his number saved,” said Noah. “Under Wells.”

  Anna gave her a surprised look then went searching through Noah’s contacts. She found the Sheriff’s number and pressed the green call button. It rang four times, and then a groggy sounding Sheriff Wells picked up, even though it was only a little after nine.

  “Hello?”

  “Sheriff, it’s Anna. Sorry to wake you.”

  “That’s okay, I was just out for a second. Started to snooze watching an old Western on five. What’s up? Is there a problem over at Stella’s?”

  “No, actually, I’m just driving to her place now,” she said. “Something uh, happened, Sheriff. I’m calling to report an attempted assault and abduction.”

  “What?!” All the sleepiness fled from the Sheriff’s voice. “What happened?”

  “Well, sir, it started when I ran into that ‘harmless, never-hurt-a-soul’ Sam Cottons you were so quick to defend.” She tried to mask some of the bitterness she was feeling, but she knew she wasn’t doing a very good job.

  “Sam Cottons tried to hurt you?”

  “Yes sir,” said Anna. She paused for a second before going on. “Could you excuse me for just a moment.” She put her hand to the bottom part of the phone and spoke to Noah, ignoring the Sheriff’s objections as he yelled for her to not put him on hold.

  “In order to tell him all that happened, I’ll have to let the Sheriff know you came and saved me,” she said. “He might ask some questions as to how—”

  “Sheriff Wells knows I’m a wolf,” Noah said flatly.

  “Oh. Okay.” Anna waited for him to offer more in the way of explanation, but he didn’t say anything else, so she returned to the phone call. “Right, Sheriff, I’m back. So, anyway, I went to the diner after we finished up at the station…”

  When Anna completed her first account of the night’s events, the Sheriff demanded that she go over everything again, so that he could write it all down. As she did so, she handed Noah the piece of paper with the address and he drove the rest of the way to Stella’s house. Parked outside her bungalow, Anna was finally able to get the Sheriff off the phone, after she agreed to come in early the next morning to go over a plan of action with him.

  “Thank you so much,” she said handing
Noah back his phone. “For everything.”

  He smiled. “No problem.”

  “Did you want to come inside?” Anna offered. “There’s a light on, so Stella is still probably awake. I could make us something to eat?” She didn’t really want Noah to accept her offer. She was really tired and she was looking forward to shoveling some food into her mouth and hitting the hay, but she felt the invitation was the least she could do after all Noah did for her.

  “That’s alright,” he said. “I should be getting back. I’ve got an early morning as well.”

  “Okay,” said Anna. “I guess I’ll see you around then.”

  “I’m sure you will,” he said. “It’s a small town.”

  “So I’ve been told.” She reached around her seat and awkwardly pulled her duffle through the opening between the two front seats and onto her lap. “Well, goodnight.”

  “Goodnight, Deputy.”

  She got out of the car and glanced at Noah a final time before shutting the door and heading for the house. She had to trudge through what was now a few inches of snow on her way up the entryway. At the door, she looked over her shoulder and saw that Noah was waiting to make sure she got inside safely. She went to knock, unsure whether or not she was allowed to just walk inside.

  The door swung open the second her knuckles made contact with the wood.

  “Oh thank god you’re okay!” Stella’s hair was in curlers and she was wearing some sort of mint-green face cream. She threw her arms around Anna’s neck. “I just got off the phone with Sheriff Wells! He told me everything. Come inside, come inside.” She ushered Anna in and took her bag from her.

  “Geez, news really does travel fast. I just hung up with him not two minutes ago.”

  “Sit down!” Stella said, leading Anna down the main hallway of her house and into the kitchen. “I’ll make you something to eat.”

  “Stella, you really don’t have to do that.”

  “Are you kidding me? After what you’ve been through!” She pointed to a chair, sitting at the small dining table in the middle of the 1970s style kitchen. “I’ve got pasta, or I have some chicken I could heat up. Oh! I could do soup if you’re cold.”

  “Seriously, whatever is easiest. I will eat anything at this point.”

  Stella went to the cabinet and fished around for a few things. “I have the stuff for chicken noodle, how does that sound?”

  “Great,” said Anna. She laid her head down on the table, resting on her arms. “If you don’t mind,” she said through a yawn. “I’m just going to close my eyes for a second while you cook. I just need to take a teeny, tiny little cat nap.”

  “Oh sure, honey, you go right ahead. I’ll wake you when it’s ready.”

  Anna closed her eyes and let her body relax into the chair. She felt the warmth of Stella’s house wrap around her like a cozy blanket. She breathed in the smell of the chicken broth on the stovetop and fell asleep to the sound of Stella humming softly as she stirred the pot.

  Deputy For A Day

  The next morning Anna awoke before her alarm went off. It was early, still dark out. Probably sometime before six. She crawled out of bed, pulling herself from the warmth of flannel sheets and fluffy down comforter, and headed for the bathroom.

  She turned the shower on before getting undressed, hoping the steam would help warm up the room a little bit. She’d slept in a few layers, a tank top and long sleep. As she pulled the top layer off, she spotted a fairly sizable bruise forming in the middle of her back. It must’ve been from when Sam shoved her to the ground.

  She stared at the purple and gray swirl and thought about how good it would feel to get revenge. She hadn’t made her mind up, whether or not to press charges, but she knew regardless she would find a way to make him pay, either in or out of court. First things first, she needed to talk to Sheriff about what Sam and his friend talked about the night before, how they mentioned bringing her to someone. She was starting to think Sam must be involved with the murders, and that however it was he was going to take her to last night was involved as well.

  Later that morning, down at the station, Anna was surprised as she pulled into a parking spot out front, to see Noah’s black SUV next to her.

  He was inside, talking to the Sheriff when Anna came in.

  “Hi,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

  “I had some business with the Sheriff,” said Noah. “I knew you two were meeting up early, overheard you on the phone last night, and I figured I’d drop in in time to say good morning.”

  “Mr. Parker here brought donuts!” said Sheriff Wells. He was holding up a half-eaten powdered donut and there were white flecks around his lips.

  “That’s very nice of him,” said Anna. “What is this business you needed to discuss, exactly?”

  “Noah here runs a private bodyguard and investigation firm. He’s been hired by one of the wealthiest families in Idle Waters—”

  “The Olivers,” said Anna.

  “How’d you know?” asked Noah.

  “They are in my case file,” said Anna. “The daughter is one of the victims and on her file there is a note saying the police have been ordered to step back from investigating her death. I take it that’s because they’ve hired you?”

  “My company,” said Noah. “I no longer do any investigating work myself, but I did put my best men on the job.” He smiled. “My best men and women I should say.”

  “I see.” Anna went to the coffee pot which sat on a little table in the back corner of the room and poured herself a cup. “So you don’t live in Idle Waters, you’re just here on a job?”

  “I moved here a couple months back for a different gig,” Noah explained. “My company was hired to provide security for one of the Olivers many estates. I was only supposed to be here a short while, get my team organized and then go back to headquarters, but I found I really liked it here and decided it was time for a change. Then, when the Olivers lost Michelle, they hired my guys for the investigation.”

  “What is it you needed to talk to the Sheriff about this morning?” Anna asked. “Have you had a break in the case?”

  “Unfortunately, no,” said Noah. “I wanted to talk to him about the latest murder that occurred yesterday, and I guess I hoped I would run into you. Ever since I learned you were the new deputy, I’ve been thinking we should talk.”

  “About?”

  Noah looked over at the Sheriff awkwardly and then back at Anna with a smile. “Just about the case. Look, I don’t want to waste anymore of your guys time. I’d better get back to the Oliver mansion anyway, but I’ll be in touch if I learn anything new.”

  “Thank you kindly,” said the Sheriff. “And double thanks for the donuts!”

  “Anytime.”

  Anna gave a curt nod as a goodbye and watched Noah as he walked out the door and into his car. What was his game? He was clearly trying to butter up the Sheriff with the donuts, and he even admitted he came at this time just to see Anna. What did he want with her?

  “Did you run a background check on him?” Anna asked the Sheriff, ignoring her intuition which was blatantly telling her the same thing it did last night, that Noah was a good guy. “Seems to me he rolled into town right around the same time the murders started to occur. You think that’s a coincidence?”

  “Sheriff Urwin did some digging on him, it’s in another file I have,” said Wells. “Let me see if I can find it.”

  “I’ll be at my desk,” said Anna, pointing to the sad excuse for a workspace in the corner. “Can you bring me that file and anything you have on Sam Cottons?”

  “Yes,” said the Sheriff, finishing off the last bite of his donut. “But I thought we were going to go over what happened last night. I still need to get your signed statement and then we can bring Cottons in—”

  “I don’t want to press charges.”

  “What?”

  Anna walked over to her desk and started to take off her many layers of winter clothes. “I have a
really strong feeling, and may I remind you, you hired me specifically for my strong feelings, that Sam Cottons has something to do with the murders in town. You, and probably a lot of people in town, underestimate him apparently.”

  The Sheriff looked down at his feet, likely ashamed that he had been boasting about the kid just a few hours before Sam assaulted Anna. “I hadn’t talked to him in years,” Sam admitted. “I just remember him as a kid. He was always real quiet. When I gave a talk at his high school, I remember he came up to me afterward to try and tell me that he wanted to be a cop when he grew up, but he was so damn shy, he could barely get the words out.”

  Anna, unsure of where this story was going and not exactly enjoying the Sheriff’s painting of Sam in a positive light, cleared her throat and talked over him.

  “I’m sure Sam was a darling when he was younger, but I’m telling you, he’s not anymore. I don’t know if he was always a little nefarious or if he just fell in with the wrong crowd, but I’m telling you Sheriff, that kid is up to something.”

  “I believe you,” said the Sheriff.

  It needed to be said. Both Anna and the Sheriff knew what type of sticky situation it was she had walked into. She’d been in town not twenty-four hours and she’d already managed to make an enemy out of the once Idle Waters golden boy. She needed to know that the Sheriff was on her side, and that he wouldn’t let his small-town optimism hinder his judgement.

  “Good,” she said. “But really I need you to trust me. I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring

  Sam in right now. He’s working for someone else, someone who I think is a lot meaner and has a lot more sway than he does. If that person, whoever it is, finds out that Sam got picked up by the police, do you really think they will stand by as he is questioned and his house searched?”

  The Sheriff didn’t say anything, so Anna answered for him.

  “No,” she said. “They aren’t. They are going to take matters into their own hands and get rid of Sam and all evidence that links him to anything before we can properly even book the kid.”