“We’re allowed near it,” Parker said. “We just can’t cross the boundary. Lexy and I like to race each other through Will o’ the Wisp Field which isn’t far from there. We were jogging there when we saw Baxter.”
“And you’re certain it was Baxter Jones that you saw?” Rochester asked.
“Definitely,” Parker said. “Lexy spotted him first because she’s taller than me, but it was him, running like he was a scarecrow on fire. I’d bet my life on it.”
“Thank you, Miss Humphries. No further questions.”
“Your witness, Ms. Hart,” the judge said.
I rose to my feet, thankful that the judge had referred to me by name. Otherwise, I feared having to elbow Josie out of the way.
“Have you ever hunted, Miss Humphries?” I asked.
She seemed surprised by the question. “No. I prefer my food served to me on a plate.”
Across the room, Lexy smirked.
“Do you know anything about hunting?” I asked.
She shifted in her chair, appearing uncomfortable. “I guess.”
“Would you expect a wereferret to hunt in his human form?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Even if he were hunting in his human form, would you expect him to run upright at top speed? Unless maybe he was hunting gazelle.” I turned toward Baxter. “Do we have any gazelle in Spellbound?”
Calix offered an appreciative laugh from the back of the room. The judge seemed less amused.
“How should I know what he was doing there?” Parker asked. “The bottom line is that Lexy and I saw him.”
Time to go for the jugular. “You said that everybody knew to avoid Mr. Falmouth’s property. That you learn early on in the pack which places to avoid. Is that correct?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
“But the defendant isn’t in the pack, is he?”
She shrugged. “That’s not my fault that he doesn’t have anyone looking out for him.”
“The defendant beat you last year in a running competition that you’d been desperate to win. Is that true?” I asked.
Parker appeared genuinely perplexed. “I mean, I guess so?”
“So is it possible that you decided to use this opportunity to seek revenge on your nemesis?”
She burst into laughter. “No, it isn’t.”
“Is it possible that you saw someone else on Mr. Falmouth’s land and decided to report the intruder was Baxter?”
“No, it was definitely Baxter.”
“Miss Humphries, you do realize that false accusations carry their own penalty?” I said.
The young werewolf bristled. “I’m not lying.”
“What made you decide to report it?” I asked.
“Pardon?” Parker asked.
“The fact that he trespassed. What made you decide to report it?” I asked. “You could’ve just let it go. It’s not your land and you have no obvious connection to Mr. Falmouth.”
She twisted her fingers in her lap. “I’m a concerned citizen.”
“Were you a concerned citizen when your friend Martine stole a clarinet from Wish Market?” I asked. “You were with her, but according to the report, it was someone else who reported the incident. You fled the scene.”
Parker flinched. “How do you know about that?”
Rochester shot to his feet. “Your Honor, that case isn’t part of the record.”
“It is now,” I said. “Exhibit A, Your Honor.” Josie had unsuccessfully defended Martine while I was on maternity leave, but Althea had remembered Parker’s name from the file. “Your Honor, I’m merely trying to establish Parker’s motivation. Why would she be a concerned citizen when it came to a victimless crime like the defendant’s, yet turn a blind eye to outright theft? It calls into question the veracity of her testimony.”
“Because Martine is my friend,” Parker blurted. “She’s part of the pack.”
There it was again, that pack mentality. It could be both a blessing and a curse.
“So you ignored your friend’s crime,” I said. “And even worse, when you were interviewed by the sheriff, you claimed no knowledge of the event.”
Parker seemed uncertain how to respond. “I…”
“You lied,” I said. “And if you lied then, how can we be so sure you’re not lying now?”
Tears clouded her eyes and I felt a pang of guilt for upsetting the teenager. Then again, she’d get over it, whereas Baxter would pay with years of his life if I didn’t provide a strong enough defense.
“I’m not a liar,” Parker said, her voice strained. “Maybe I should’ve let this go, but Lexy convinced me…” She sucked in a breath and straightened her shoulders. “No. I’m not blaming anyone else.” She produced a tissue and blew her nose. “You don’t know what the pressure’s like. I wanted to tell on Martine because what she did was wrong, but I was too scared of what might happen to me. I know that sounds selfish…”
I was already imagining how to handle my client’s testimony when it was his turn to take the stand. I’d be sure to emphasize his two prior offenses and that he was in his ferret form until he left the property, which was when he was caught—that Baxter wouldn’t risk prison by running clear across the property in his human form.
“Stop,” Baxter squeaked from behind me.
I swiveled to face him. “Baxter?” He looked about ready for that magic bucket. “What’s wrong?”
He buried his face in his hands. “You’re upsetting her.”
I leaned closer so as not to be overheard. “I’m doing my job so that you don’t go to prison.”
He peeked at me between his fingers. “There are worse things than prison.”
I stared at the wereferret, wondering what he meant. Surely he didn’t mean that upsetting his accuser for five minutes on the stand was worse than a prison sentence.
I shifted back to the judge. “A minute to consult with my client, Your Honor?”
He nodded. “Use my chambers.”
I hustled Baxter past the dais to the door that led to a small office. Josie was hot on my heels, but I managed to shut it and lock it before she stuck a foot across the threshold.
I whipped toward my client. “Talk to me,” I demanded.
The wereferret paced the floor so quickly, I worried that he’d leave skid marks on the hardwood. “You were being too hard on her. I get what she was saying up there. I feel the same way.”
“The same way? Baxter, if she’s lying and you go to prison…”
He stopped moving and looked at me. It was the most still I’d ever seen him. “She’s not lying.”
I gaped at him in disbelief. “I don’t understand.”
“She and Lexy saw me on Falmouth’s property, but it isn’t what you think.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “Well, it is and it isn’t.”
“You’re scared,” I said. “I get it, Baxter. Prison is a frightening prospect, but…”
“I’m not scared of prison.” He paused again. “Well, I am, but, like I said, there are worse things.”
The realization smacked me in the face and I felt like an idiot for not putting the pieces together before. “Stars and stones, Baxter. You know who killed Lorenzo, don’t you?”
Baxter began twitching like he was about to break into convulsions. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“That’s why you were sprinting across the property, even though you knew the risks if you were caught. You were running for your life.”
“It was a shortcut,” he said, his face draining of the remaining color it had. “I’d been hunting in the woods. I’d started doing it in that area ever since my agreement with Mr. Falmouth. I saw someone with the body. He was moving it.”
“How?”
“First he carried it, then he dragged it on the ground until he found the place he wanted. I’d just shifted back into human form and was hidden by a cluster of trees. He didn’t see me, so I started to creep away, but I stepped on a twig and it cr
acked. It felt like the whole forest was looking at me. I didn’t wait to see if he spotted me. I just ran.”
The killer couldn’t have easily chased after Baxter, not if he wanted to set up a crime scene without leaving a trace of evidence. At least that confirmed we’d been right about the murder happening elsewhere.
“That’s why you were so insistent that you weren’t anywhere in the vicinity. You were worried that if the killer found out you’d been there, he’d know you were the one who saw him.”
“I wouldn’t be safe in prison,” he said. “If they bully me in school, you can imagine what they’d do to me in prison.”
“Who’s they, Baxter?” I asked.
And suddenly I knew.
Chapter Seventeen
Sheriff Astrid pulled into the driveway of a modest one-story house with an expansive front yard. There was a stone wolf on either side of the front step and I caught sight of a high striker on the side of the house, where someone in my old neighborhood might have kept a basketball hoop. Before I had a chance to escape the back seat, Britta accidentally shut the passenger-side door.
“Hello?” I called.
The deputy ambled back to the car and opened the door with a sheepish grin. “Oops. Forgot you were there. Not used to having anyone in the back except criminals.”
I hurried to catch up to Astrid, who had already knocked on the door. A middle-aged werewolf answered with a look of surprise. “Good day to you, Sheriff. How can I help you?”
“Would you mind if we came in for a moment?” the sheriff asked. “We’d like to speak to you privately.”
I was so relieved that the sheriff could speak for herself again so that I didn’t have to do the heavy lifting on this one.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the awful news about Lorenzo Mancini,” the sheriff continued, once we were inside.
“Of course,” the werewolf replied. “He’s…was my alpha. I was out of town at a quilting craft fair, so I missed the whole thing.”
“You were away the evening Lorenzo was killed?” I asked for clarification.
“I left that afternoon,” she said. “Between you and me, I’m glad. It would’ve been too difficult.” She fanned herself, as though the waving of her hand would stop her from getting overwrought.
I smelled the faint scent of bleach. “Have you been cleaning?”
The werewolf looked to the floor where a bottle of cleaning liquid and a pile of cloths awaited her. I noticed that the white cloths were stained with red splotches. “My husband managed to hurt himself while I was gone. I only noticed the marks this morning and gave him hell for not doing a better job with the scrubbing.” She rolled her eyes. “Men.”
“Where’s your husband now?” Sheriff Astrid asked.
“I know. He should be here helping, right?” She shook her head. “He had a pack meeting. It’s always something.”
“Why aren’t you at the meeting?” I asked.
“This meeting’s only for the education committee. They meet with the school-aged wolves once a month to fill in any gaps that the school system isn’t providing to our species.”
“Where’s the meeting held?” I asked
“Depends on the topic,” the werewolf said. “Pretty sure today is a training exercise with the young ones so they’re probably in the hills somewhere running riot. I sure do miss those days.” She reached down to pick up the dirty cloths, but the sheriff shot out a hand.
“Leave those, please. Deputy Britta will take them.”
The werewolf gave her a quizzical look. “You want my soiled laundry?”
“It’s evidence, ma’am,” Sheriff Astrid said. “Deputy, please secure the area.”
The werewolf’s mouth opened and closed as she tried to process the sheriff’s statement. “I don’t understand.”
Sheriff Astrid’s look of sympathy pierced my heart. “You will soon enough,” the Valkyrie said.
The sheriff and I left the house together while Britta stayed behind to handle the crime scene. Once in the driveway, I looked at Astrid. “I hate to say this, but I think we should split up.”
The Valkyrie rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately, I agree with you, but you know what will happen.”
She was right. It was Murphy’s Law that I’d be the one to find him first. I always did.
“Let’s drive out toward Curse Cliff and then we’ll search the area on foot,” I said.
“We should get moving now. We need to get to him before he hears that we’re onto him. There’s no telling what he might do.” Her gaze dropped to my waist. “You brought your wand, right?”
I patted my back pocket. “I came prepared.” I glanced skyward. “I can also call for backup.”
“I suppose he can peck someone’s eyes out in a pinch.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Sedgwick preferred to keep a snarky distance from any danger.
The sheriff drove to the foothills and parked on the side of the road, where we split up on foot. We agreed that I would take the North and East area and she would take South and West.
I started with the section of forest nearby. If they were performing training exercises, then this was a good place to start. Sedgwick’s familiar hoot was like a reassuring hug, even though I couldn’t see him thanks to the overgrown treetops. I tripped on a root that had split the ground. Luckily, I caught myself before I went sprawling across the forest floor. As I regained my balance, the sound of rustling leaves told me that I wasn’t alone. I froze, trying to ward off the involuntary shiver. A twig snapped and I whipped toward the sound. I caught a whiff of evergreen and mint that I only associated with one werewolf. I inadvertently gasped as a large wolf stepped out of the shadows. It took me a moment, but I registered the familiar coat of Alex. I hoped.
“Alex?” I asked hesitantly. I breathed a sigh of relief when the wolf lowered his head in a submissive gesture. “I’m looking for Travis Brent and it’s important. Can you help?”
I watched from a safe distance as the wolf began to shift back into his human form. I turned away at the first sound of cracking bones. Although I’d witnessed their transformation before, it was never easy to watch. The change was brutal on their bodies. It was no wonder they were so tough—they had to be just to be true to their natures.
“You can look now,” he said.
I turned to face Alex and found him standing strategically behind a bush to cover his private parts. Basically, his twigs and berries were camouflaged by twigs and berries.
“We need to find Travis now,” I said. “He’s the one who murdered Lorenzo. Sheriff Astrid is looking for him too.”
Alex paled. “Travis?”
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you.”
He shook his head. “No, I’d rather it be you. It’s just that…Travis is one of us. I thought for sure it would be an outsider.”
“His wife said he’s out here for a training exercise.”
Alex raked a distracted hand through his thick head of hair. Oh, to be a werewolf. Gareth would never criticize my hair again.
“He’s doing shifting exercises with one of the high school kids.” Alex looked around the forest helplessly. “So was I, for that matter. I’ll have to find her later.”
“Can you track Travis’s scent for me?”
“I can do better than that,” he said. “I already know where he is. Follow me.”
“Wait one second.” I produced my wand, focused my will, and said, “Whichever way the wind blows/give naked Alex appropriate clothes.” I’d seen enough of bare men’s bums for one day.
Alex didn’t even bother to inspect the resulting outfit. He bolted through the forest and I ran after him. If I chased down a suspect every day, I might actually lose the baby weight. Maybe I’d simply pretend to chase down a suspect every day. Yes, that would definitely be preferable to a daily murder.
I emerged from the forest and saw Sedgwick circling overhead. I sent him a mental message to send Astrid our way.
Alex raced ahead of me on a dirt path and I struggled to keep him in sight. I knew he had to be raging inside. Travis’s actions were the ultimate betrayal and Alex likely suspected that he was the root cause. As I continued to run, panting and with a stitch in my side, I realized we were headed to Curse Cliff. I suddenly wished I’d brought my broomstick. As much as I hated to ride it, if it was the difference between life and death, I’d deal with the vomit.
The cliff came into view and I saw Travis with a young werewolf. I immediately recognized Parker Humphries, the werewolf from Baxter’s trial. Alex must’ve launched right into a tirade because I watched in horror as Travis grabbed Parker in a chokehold position. I winced and wished Alex had held off on saying anything until the sheriff arrived, not that I was one to talk.
“Stay back or she dies,” Travis said.
Fear radiated off the young werewolf and she clawed at Travis’s arm.
Ugh, the irony. Poor Parker didn’t know to stay away from Travis. She’d gone straight from the trial to her training session with no knowledge as to why Baxter had been sprinting across the Falmouth’s property.
“Don’t you dare hurt her,” Alex said, followed by a growl that made the hair on my arms stand on end.
Travis observed us with defiance in his eyes. I didn’t dare blast him with a blowback spell because I worried that they would both go sailing over the edge of the cliff.
“As your alpha, I command you to—Let. Her. Go.” Alex swaggered forward with an angry gleam in his eye. I’d never seen him look so fierce in all the time I'd known him.
Travis tightened his hold on Parker. “One step closer and she’s going over the side.”
Parker’s eyes bulged as his words settled in her mind.
“Let her go and we can talk,” I said. “I’m the defense attorney in Spellbound. I can help you. Ask Parker. She just watched me in action.”
Parker tried to nod, but her head only moved slightly due to his viselike grip.
“I bet you didn’t mean to kill Lorenzo,” I continued. “If it was an accident, then the judge might be lenient.”
“You think I’m worried about some judge?” Travis scoffed. “There’s nothing a judge can do to me that would scare me more than what the pack is capable of.”
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