by Lily Webb
“I have no idea, but I’m definitely going to see what I can find. I’m always looking for an excuse to spend time in the library,” Mallory said as she pushed her glasses up her nose.
“You can’t say anything to anyone,” I said.
“Of course not. I’m not trying to get put on trial myself,” Mallory said.
“Good. I can’t wait to see what you find,” I said.
“Oh, I’ll find something, you can count on it,” Mallory said.
I didn’t doubt that in the slightest.
Chapter Seven
I’d just sat down to start work the next morning when my desk phone rang. It wasn’t a number I recognized, so I considered ignoring it but decided against it — because no one called me unless they really wanted me to know something.
“Hello, this is Zoe,” I answered.
“This Zoe Clarke?” a gruff voice said on the other end of the line.
“It is. Who’s calling?” I asked.
“Chief Mueller.” My heart skipped a beat. Of all people, Moon Grove’s chief of police was the last one I wanted to call me at work — or ever.
“Good morning, Chief. What can I do for you?” I asked though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.
“Sorry to bother you, especially at work, but there are a couple questions I need to ask you,” Mueller said.
“Well, it’s not like I can say no, right?”
“You can say no, sure, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get out of it,” Mueller said. “Do you have time to swing by the station today?”
“I’m sure if I told Mitch you wanted to talk to me he wouldn’t say no,” I said, though it might give him a heart attack. “When do you want me there?”
“ASAP,” Mueller said. “It’s important.”
“I have a feeling this has everything to do with Delia Frost,” I said.
“We can talk about that when you get here. Don’t keep me waiting forever, Zoe,” he said and hung up the phone. There were many things I could call Mueller, but tactful definitely wasn’t one of them.
Sighing, I pushed back from my desk and trudged over to Mitch’s office door to knock on it. I could only imagine what he’d say when I told him Mueller wanted to talk to me — especially after Mitch said he didn’t ever want to hear from Mueller about me again — but there was nothing I could do about it.
Mitch flung open the door, his brows wrinkled.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Okay, before I tell you, you have to promise not to gnash your teeth. There’s no full moon coming anytime soon, right?” I asked. Mitch looked at me like I’d spoken another language.
“No, it’s not for another two weeks or so, why?” he asked.
“Well, I’ve heard that werewolves can be unpredictable around the full moon, and—”
“What’s your point, Zoe? If it isn’t serious, I don’t have time for this,” Mitch said.
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to step on your paws or anything. Anyway, it’s Chief Mueller. He wants me to come down to the station to answer a few questions.”
The patches of skin that peeked through Mitch’s beard turned beet red.
“Why would he want to ask you any questions at all?” Mitch asked.
“I’m sure it has something to do with Delia and Veilside,” I said.
“Zoe, I told you I didn’t want any more trouble with the police,” Mitch said.
“I know, and I don’t think this is going to be a big deal. I just think they heard I’d seen some stuff and wants to ask me about it. It won’t be long, I promise,” I said.
“Fine,” Mitch sighed. “Just be careful. Try not to get yourself into trouble.”
“Message heard, loud and clear,” I said.
“And I want a full report when you get back,” Mitch said.
“You got it,” I said and closed the door as I sneaked away.
Without stopping at my desk, I stepped out the office doors. The sun was high in the sky, and the air was pleasantly cold on my face. It was hard to tell, especially given that I hadn’t been in town for very long, but it seemed like summer was already starting to break in favor of fall.
Directly across Luna Street, the Moon Grove Police Department loomed. I swallowed hard as I approached the front door, which was a solid sheet of glass, not at all sure what to expect.
Inside, Chief Mueller stood with his arms crossed while he spoke with a witch who had her back to me. A scowl marked Mueller’s face, but I wasn’t sure if that was because he was upset or if that was just his default expression — he wasn’t the most agreeable werewolf in Moon Grove.
When I pushed the door open, Mueller’s eyes locked on me.
“You got here faster than I thought you would, Zoe,” Mueller said. The witch he’d been talking to turned around and I almost squealed when I realized it was Raina. Given that the Headmistress was present, it was a safe bet that whatever Mueller wanted to talk to me about, it wasn’t going to be fun.
“I can come back later if now isn’t a good time,” I said.
“Not a bad time at all. I was actually just talking with Headmistress Woods about you,” Mueller said.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” I said. Raina smiled at me and shook her head.
“It’s okay, Zoe. You aren’t in any trouble,” Raina said.
“That’s what they all say,” I said.
“She’s telling the truth, Zoe. All I need to ask you about is what you saw at the Academy a couple nights ago,” Mueller said.
“That’s what I was afraid of,” I groaned.
“Come with me, have a seat,” Mueller said, waving me further into the police station toward his desk. Realizing I had no choice, I followed after him and Raina. We sat down across from him, and I tried to keep my heart under control — which was easier in theory than in practice. It wasn’t every day I got interrogated by the police, and even though I had nothing to worry about, it still racked my nerves.
“Well, here we are. What do you want to know?” I asked.
“Tell me what you saw. I want the exact chronology of events, don’t leave anything out,” Mueller said as he reached for a pad of paper and a pen resting on his desk.
“Okay. I was in Delia’s class, Kinesis 105, and an argument broke out between her and another student, Seth Highmore,” I said.
“The Head Warlock’s grandson?” Mueller asked.
“Yeah.”
“Interesting,” Mueller said, scribbling on his pad. “What kind of argument?”
“It was silly. Delia asked Seth if he could refresh the class on what they’d talked about the last time they met, and when Seth didn’t know the answer, Delia gave him a little grief about it. He snapped and called her a bloodsucker,” I said.
Mueller never looked up at me as he scribbled down everything I told him.
“We were all horrified when it happened, but Delia seemed to handle it well. She kicked him out of class and used magic to warp him to her office,” I continued.
“And then what?” Mueller asked. Raina turned in her chair to look at me, and as nervous as I already was, her gaze made it worse.
“Class went on as normal. The other students practiced their wand waving techniques, and I observed since I don’t have a wand of my own yet, and after class was over, I went to my next class with my new friend Mallory,” I said.
“There weren’t any other disturbances? Nothing that would make you raise an eyebrow?” Mueller asked.
“No, nothing. I mean, there were plenty of things that would make me want to raise an eyebrow, but they weren’t related to what happened with Delia,” I said.
“Okay, so you got to your next class, then what happened?” Mueller asked.
“We had a substitute for Professor Grimm’s Transmutation 101 class, and as the sub was taking roll, this horrible scream tore through the whole school,” I said. Mueller looked at me, his eyebrows raised.
“What kind of scream?”
&nbs
p; “The kind that makes your blood turn cold. I knew as soon as I heard it it wasn’t someone screaming from a prank or a spell gone wrong. The kind of scream I heard was unmistakable,” I said. Chills ran down my spine as I remembered the sound. I’d never heard anything like it, and I didn’t think I’d ever forget it.
“And what did you do after you heard it?” Mueller asked.
“I had this feeling in my gut. I can’t explain how or why but I knew Delia was involved in whatever happened. I knew Seth was waiting for her in her office and based on their confrontation in class, I just had a feeling he had something to do with it,” I said.
“So you went to Delia’s office?” Raina asked. I turned to her and nodded.
“Yeah, Mallory and I both did since she knew where Delia’s office was and I didn’t,” I said.
“What did you see when you got there? Don’t leave anything out,” Mueller said.
“At first, I didn’t see anything. Delia’s office door was slightly open, but not enough to be suspicious. When I went to open it all the way, Phoebe burst out and tackled me to the ground,” I said.
“So she was inside the office already?” Mueller asked.
“I can only assume. How else would she have been on the other side of that door?” I asked.
“Point taken. Then what happened?” Mueller asked.
“Well, after I got Phoebe off me, I went into Delia’s office,” I started, my tongue catching in my mouth. The black book I’d lifted from the crime scene appeared in my mind's eye, and it took every ounce of will I had not to mention it. Chief Mueller and I had gone toe to toe before, and though I wanted to trust him, I wasn’t sure I could.
Besides, the book could very well have been the key to everything, and if I told Mueller about it, he would almost certainly confiscate it. What the werewolf didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
“What did you see inside?” Raina asked.
“Nothing, it was the weirdest thing,” I said. “At least, not at first. Once I got further into the office, I found a pile of something I didn’t recognize. When I got close enough to realize what it was, that was when Raina came in the room.”
Raina stared at me like she knew I was leaving something out — and I wasn’t surprised. Of all the witches I knew in Moon Grove, Raina was one of the most perceptive I’d met. More than anyone else in town, in some ways she knew me better than I knew myself.
“And what did you think it was?” Mueller asked.
“I saw a pile of ash on top of the robes I’d last seen Delia wearing, so what else could it have been?” I asked.
“Fair enough,” Mueller said, closing his pad of paper. “Is there anything else you’d like us to know? Anything else you might have seen before, during, or after?”
“No, that’s everything,” I said, trying my best to keep a straight face. After working in journalism for as long as I had, I should’ve developed a better poker face by now — maybe there was a spell for that.
“Okay, I guess that’s all I need,” Mueller said. “But by chance, have you talked to anyone else, student, staff, or otherwise about what happened?”
“Yeah, of course, but nothing substantial,” I said.
“Oh, come on, do you really think I’m gonna buy that?” Mueller asked, glaring at me. He leaned over his desk, his hands clasped together, and stared me right in the eye.
“Sorry, Chief, but I can’t tell you anything. You know, gotta protect my sources and all that,” I said.
“We’ve been through this once already, Zoe, and though I’m sure I don’t need to remind you, I’ll do it anyway: withholding information relevant to a police investigation could land you in legal trouble,” Mueller said.
I met Mueller’s eyes, determined not to let him intimidate me into saying or doing something I’d regret.
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” I said.
“Does that mean we’re running competing investigations again?” Mueller asked.
“Maybe, maybe not,” I said, shrugging.
“Fine, have it your way. If at any point you come across anything you think we should know, you know where to find us,” Mueller said.
“That’s it? I can go?” I asked. I couldn’t believe Mueller hadn’t given me more trouble. Maybe having a reputation as a hero around town wasn’t all bad.
“That’s it. Thanks for filling in some of the blanks for us, Zoe,” Raina said.
“What about you? I know you swept the school after the murder with the other heads, did you find anything?” I asked, knowing full well neither Raina nor Mueller would tell me anything, even if they had info. Still, it was worth a shot.
“I’m afraid not,” Raina said. “That’s why we asked you to come.”
“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have some phone calls I need to make,” Mueller said as he stood from his desk and nodded at the two of us. It didn’t bother me, I was glad to be alone with Raina. For better or worse, I felt like I needed to tell her about the book I’d found. I owed her that much for all the hospitality she’d shown me, and for securing my place at Veilside Academy.
“You poor thing, you must be overwhelmed,” Raina said when Mueller was gone.
“It’s not your fault. You had no idea any of this was going to happen,” I said. Raina smiled at me somberly.
“Your optimism continues to serve you well, I see,” Raina said.
“Optimism is hard to come by in the news, especially these days, but I try,” I said. “Anyway, do you have a few minutes? There’s some stuff I’d like to talk to you about.”
Raina looked at me with her eyes narrowed.
“Of course,” she said and stood. We walked to the police station entrance together, and I waved at Mueller on our way out — he grunted and nodded. It wasn’t much, but it was something.
Raina held the door for me, and we walked without saying anything for a few blocks down Crescent Street.
“Zoe, dear, you’re leaving me behind,” Raina laughed. I hadn’t realized I’d gotten so far ahead of her, but that was my usual mode of walking — if I wasn't in a hurry, I was missing out on a story.
“Sorry,” I said and stopped to wait for her.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear there was something you’re avoiding telling me,” Raina said. I sighed and scratched my head.
“That’s because there is,” I said. Raina smiled at me, her eyes twinkling.
“As I suspected,” she said. “What is it?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way. I wasn’t trying to hide things from you of all people, but I didn’t want Mueller to know. He and I have had, well, a complicated relationship,” I said.
“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me. Not many people find it easy to get along with him,” Raina said.
“Yeah, you’re telling me. Anyway, there was something else I saw in Delia’s office that I didn’t tell Mueller,” I said.
“What was it?”
“A book. A new, black leather one,” I said. Raina seemed confused by that.
“Delia was an avid reader and writer, so it’s not a surprise she’d have some sort of journal in her office,” Raina said.
“Okay, but I think it was Seth’s,” I said. Raina’s eyes widened.
“Why would Delia have anything of his?” she asked.
“Before her murder, Delia told me Seth was just angry at her because she’d confiscated a book of his.”
“Do you think Seth had something to do with her murder?” Raina asked.
“Well, I did at first, but now I’m not so sure,” I said.
“I take it that means you’ve already talked to Seth?” Raina asked.
“Hey, what can I say, I’m a reporter. Talking to people is what I do,” I said, shrugging. “But that’s not the only thing I didn’t tell Mueller… I kept the book.”
Raina froze in her tracks and grabbed my wrist.
“What? Zoe, dear, why would you do something as foolish as that?”
“I�
�m sure the book is connected to Delia’s murder somehow, and if I told Mueller, he’d take it for evidence,” I said.
“Rightfully so. Zoe, this is critical information, you have to hand the book over at once,” Raina said.
“Why? He wouldn’t be able to make any sense out of it anyway. I bet that job would fall into your lap,” I said.
“Most likely,” Raina sighed and fiddled with the cuffs of her robes.
“Seth told me Professor Grimm gave him the book,” I said, watching Raina’s face for a reaction. “He made it sound like it was some sort of reward.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Raina said.
“Well, it’s got me wondering… Did Professor Grimm really resign because he was sick?” I asked.
“Yes,” Raina said, but the uncomfortable look on her face said otherwise.
“I might not be the world’s greatest witch, but I know when I’m being lied to, Raina,” I said, keeping my eyes locked on hers. She cleared her throat and shifted from one foot to the other.
“Look, I know you’re not obligated to tell me anything, and you might not even be allowed to, but I think I can help. I came clean with you about the book when I didn’t have to,” I said.
After she debated herself mentally for what felt like forever, Raina sighed and nodded.
“Truthfully, Nolan’s illness was only part of the reason for his resignation,” Raina said. “But that information must stay with you and you alone, is that understood?”
“Absolutely. In case you missed it, I just stonewalled the chief of police, so I think I can handle keeping a secret,” I said. Raina smiled at me. “So what was the other part of Nolan’s resignation?”
“It came to my attention that Nolan was sharing dark magic techniques with some of his students,” Raina said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
Whoa. Did that mean the group Seth was in was more than just a warlocks’ fraternity and had Seth lied to me about it? And what did that say about the book I’d found?
“What kind of dark magic?”
“The kind that can gravely harm the user and the victim,” Raina said. “That’s all I’ll say.”
“Yikes. So rather than fire Nolan, you gave him a choice to walk away? Why?”