“Cookie has never exactly been forthcoming with information. Not unless you want to know about a specific wine, or be yelled at,” I said.
Neither of the supernaturals argued with me. They both knew this information to be true.
“Very well. I don’t have time to stand here talking about it. The howling was a werewolf. Did you find him?” Erika said.
“He sorta found us. Then he ran off,” I said.
“Count yourself as one of the lucky ones. They are sometimes known to attack, though it’s usually only when they know you’re hostile,” she said.
I tried to ask another question, but Erika shut me down. “Look. We didn’t come here to discuss this. We came to remind you that you have duties overseeing Down Below. Ask your family about werewolves. I’m sure there’s a whole section in that fancy library of yours.”
With that she turned on her heel and walked away. Jezebel wasn’t far behind.
I stared after them, still in shock, until Lark and Pep arrived. Pep was trying to find ChapStick in her handbag, while Lark was putting her hair up.
Neither of them noticed my dumbfounded expression at first. They walked right past me as if they expected me to go along with them to the car. It wasn’t until they reached the car that they noticed that I wasn’t with them and turned around to see me still rooted to the spot.
“Aren’t you coming?” Pep asked.
“Sure,” I said. “On my way.”
When I still didn’t move, even Lark looked up, threw her hair into an easy ponytail, and braced her hands on her hips. “Why are you standing there and not moving? We have a lot to do today. You know our mothers won’t be happy if we don’t get home early.”
I walked to the car. Lark and Pep looked relieved and climbed in.
Once we were on our way, Lark said, “Why were you just standing there?”
“Because Erika told me that the howling was a werewolf,” I said.
“No way. She was definitely pulling your leg,” said Lark.
“She’s combative, but I’ve never known her to lie. She didn’t even want to talk about it. Why would she go to the trouble of pulling my leg like that?” I asked.
“Maybe to get you back for skipping out last night,” said Lark.
It was only then that we realized how quiet Pep was being. We both glanced in her direction and found her looking lost in thought.
“Don’t you agree?” Lark asked, pointedly aiming the question at her sister.
Pep snapped to attention. “I agree that it could be a werewolf. In fact, it makes a lot of sense. I should have thought of that to begin with. It howls at every full moon. Seems obvious. It’s just that werewolves don’t usually come around people. They try to stay out of sight.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say this werewolf came around people. More like it plowed through us,” I said. “And only after we went looking for it.”
“It attacked us and we nearly died,” said Lark.
“It did not attack us. If it had, I’m sure we’d all be werewolves by now. Or something. Did either of you know that one lived in the area? They’re exceedingly rare,” Pep said.
“I had no idea one lived here. Of course, seems like I should have if it was so obvious that what was barking at the sky was a werewolf,” grumbled Lark.
“I can’t believe Cookie didn’t tell us,” I muttered. “She knew perfectly well what that barking was.”
“She’s a sly one and always has been,” said Lark. “We can’t rely on her for information at all.”
We had reached downtown Shimmerfield, and I pulled the car over and we got out. The winter farmer’s market was in the meeting room of the town hall. There were only about ten stalls selling goods every week, but that was enough to include cheese, bread, and as Audrey put it, “Anything else we might want.”
Usually the market was busy, which was what I was hoping for this time. As we headed into the town hall I glanced at the Old Bucket House, and a chill ran down my spine.
The house was quiet. The street was quiet. Where was everyone?
We found them inside the meeting room. Wallis Franklin, John, and Mrs. Gray were all there. Many of the other townsfolk we knew were there too.
The three of us split up and milled around the stalls and tables, each gathering our own supplies to take back to the mansion. Once I had a sticky bun in hand I went to chat with Wallis, who was whispering to one of her garden club friends. When she saw me coming she hurriedly said something to her companion and then turned to greet me. Her companion faded into the background.
“Afternoon,” I said cheerfully.
“Jane, is it? There are so many of you Garbos I’m never sure,” she said, smiling.
Wallis had known me for twenty years. She knew perfectly well who I was.
“Yes, I was with Cookie the other day,” I said.
“It’s quite the business. I really would have thought they’d have arrested someone for Elton’s murder by now. Poor man,” she said.
“Did you have your car fixed by him?” I asked.
Her eyes widened. “Of course I did! He was the only mechanic in town. He was very good at the work he did. At first I thought it was strange to have my car fixed by an individual I never saw, but over time I came around to it. The other bridge club ladies all used him as well, so I knew it would be fine,” she explained.
“You never saw him?” I asked.
“Over the years I saw him a handful of times. Always bright and early in the morning. For a long time I thought that was the reason he was never around town. He just had a different sleeping schedule than the rest of us,” she explained.
“That does seem possible,” I agreed.
“I did finally learn better. You know, now that I’m thinking about it, there was one time when I stopped and talked to him.” She was musing now, her eyes looking distant. Clearly this was a memory she hadn’t expected. “Yes, it was definitely him. He was very good-looking when he was younger. I remember thinking the same about his friend.”
My ears perked up. She was talking about a male friend, not a female. She couldn’t have seen Elton with Evangeline all those years ago.
“Who did you see him with?” I asked.
“No idea. Definitely not someone from around town. Good-looking, like something I wouldn’t forget easily. I was driving past and they were out for a job. I remembered thinking it was odd because they were both running in overalls.”
“That doesn’t seem comfortable. Then again, running isn’t exactly comfortable anyhow,” I said.
As we chatted, I saw Lark and Pep finish up their shopping. They were both glancing in my direction, but they didn’t want to interrupt. They knew that if they did, Wallis might stop talking, and we didn’t want that.
“I was younger then,” she went on. “Back in the days when I thought I needed a man. It was soon after that when I realized I could hire a carpenter and achieve the same results. Still don’t like having to deal with the spiders on my own, I suppose. Anyway, I pulled over to say hello. You should have seen the looks on their faces. They were desperately upset with me, and I was utterly confused as to why. I was just saying hi as any neighbor would have done. They acted like I had a contagious disease. Needless to say, Elton didn’t introduce me to his friend, and I didn’t stay long. If they’re going to behave so poorly, why should I bother, I ask you?”
I was nodding my head, but my mind was working. I needed to find out who that other man had been, and I knew exactly where I needed to go too. Unfortunately, it might make Mom get all annoyed again.
“Thanks so much for chatting,” I said to Wallis. “I’m sorry they were rude to you all those years ago, but I’m glad you found comfort in employing a carpenter. I’m sure I’ll see you soon.” I hurried away as Wallis waved her hand in farewell.
“What was that all about?” Pep asked as we left the market.
I shook my head. “She was telling me something fascinating. I’ll fill you in on
our way home.”
We were halfway across the green when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. My head spun around to stare at the Old Bucket House.
“Did either of you see that?” I demanded.
“See what?” Neither Lark nor Pep had been paying attention.
“That movement in the window of the Bucket House!” I pulled them along to the same row of houses we had hidden behind the last time we’d crept up on the place.
“Don’t start this again. We need to tell our mothers about this. We can’t be investigating the Bucket House on our own! Besides, it’s probably just abandoned,” Pep complained.
“You need to make up your mind if you think we need to tell someone or if you think it’s abandoned,” Lark pointed out. “It can’t be both.”
The three of us were so focused on keeping an eye on the house that none of us noticed the shadow coming toward us.
Not until it was too late.
Chapter Nineteen
“What are you three doing out here?” Grant asked. He was with his deputy Jason. By their casual appearance, I thought they might have been having lunch.
“We came to the winter farmer’s market,” I said, shading my eyes from the sun so that I could look right at Grant.
“Is that where Audrey gets all her delicious food?” he asked.
“Some of it,” said Pep. “Thanks for coming to dinner, it was fun.”
“Thanks for having me. Your family is something else. The stuff Cookie knows about the supernatural world is incredible,” Grant said.
Jason coughed delicately. “Did you hear that another one of the Brewer sisters is getting married?”
“Which one?” all three of us chorused.
“I’m not sure. There were two who were still single, right? I wonder if they’ll come back and have the wedding at Haunted Bluff,” said Lark.
“They hated Haunted Bluff. I can’t imagine them coming back,” scoffed Pep.
“One of them thinks the place isn’t so bad,” I said. Muddy had been cool and philosophical about her ridiculous sisters.
“That’s where I plan on having my wedding, too. At a place I don’t think is so bad,” said Lark dryly.
When I noticed the guys watching this exchange with amusement, I stopped arguing with my cousin. There was no point. I might as well just go home and ask Mom if she had heard anything about the Brewers recently.
“What brings you into town?” Pep asked.
“We’re looking for more permanent headquarters,” said Grant. “We’ve been renting space, but that can’t continue.”
“You want a space that’s this much in the middle of things?” Lark asked in surprise.
“It’s important to be in the middle of the action, but no, that wasn’t our goal. It’s just that this is where the buildings are. I think I’m going to drive out to Edmund’s and see if he can suggest anything,”
“That’s a good idea. He knows a lot about what’s going on around here,” said Lark.
As Lark said it, I sensed that Jason was paying her a particular amount of attention. He kept sort of looking at her, squinting, and smiling. I didn’t think anybody else noticed, and I decided not to say anything. Whenever I mentioned her own potential love and happiness, she got combative. My keeping quiet would probably improve Jason’s chances from a number of points of view.
“We should be getting going. I guess Jane is the only one who can say see you later,” said Lark.
I instantly felt my face go hot. If we had been sitting at a table, I would have kicked Lark underneath it. Since we weren’t, I just bit the inside of my cheek, hard.
“I’ll say it for her. See you later,” said Grant. He wasn’t smiling; instead he looked quite serious. Jason also didn’t react. Both of them, in fact, looked quite stone-faced as they walked away.
“Why do you suppose he didn’t look happy?” I asked as we stood by the car.
“Probably because he’s working,” said Pep.
After the investigators strode off, I stood by the car.
“What is it?” Pep asked.
“I think we need to talk to Paul,” I said, biting my lip. Was there time this afternoon?
“Look, I can’t wait to hear the explanation about why, but I think we should head home. You can explain what Wallis told you, and we can eat lunch,” said Pep.
“Let’s go home and do our work for the day, and we can go see Paul tomorrow. We can fly there,” suggested Lark.
I didn’t like the idea of waiting, but Lark was right. There was just no way we’d find Elton’s house again by trying to walk through the woods without Cookie.
Once we were home, I ate lunch and got to work. My office in Telegraph Hall was a sanctuary. My mother had been amazing to give it to me.
For about an hour I sifted through paperwork and stroked Rose, who had gone to sleep on my lap. I knew that my peace and quiet was about to come to an end when I heard the rhythmic stumping of a cane.
The next instant Cookie appeared around the doorway. She did not look happy.
“Do you have a minute?” she asked, sitting down.
“Since you’re already here, sure,” I said.
“I heard that the three of you went into town today. The winter farmers market, I assume?” she asked.
“Yes, we went there. On the way out we ran into Grant and Jason. Jason says one of the Brewer sisters is getting married. He can’t remember which one, though,” I said.
“I didn’t know they still did arranged marriages,” said Cookie.
I looked at her in surprise. “What makes you say that?” I asked.
“I just didn’t think anyone would marry one of those girls after having met them,” she explained.
“One of them was nice,” I said.
“Anyway,” she said, ignoring me, “that’s not what I came here to discuss with you. What I came to discuss with you was the fact that you are investigating this case, even after I expressly told you not to.” Her foot tapped impatiently on the floor, and she looked displeased.
“Circumstances have changed since you told me that. I think you knew perfectly well that Elton was a werewolf,” I said.
“What does that have to do with anything?” my grandmother scoffed.
I glared back at her. “It makes it a supernatural mystery. I don’t know if you noticed, but I investigate supernatural mysteries.”
“I didn’t want you investigating this one,” said my grandmother.
I shrugged and shook my head. “It’s too late for that. This is a supernatural mystery and there was a werewolf secretly living in this town. You must know why Elton was killed?”
“I have a decent idea why he was killed. That doesn’t mean I know who did it,” said Cookie.
“What about the papers you took from his house?” I asked.
“They are none of your concern. Go back to worrying about the Brewer wedding,” she said.
I groaned. “I don’t understand why you won’t trust me with any of this. Why are you keeping it all secret?”
“Elton was hiding here for years. Not only had he done something wrong in his previous life, but he was a werewolf. He couldn’t very well let anybody see him. He wouldn’t want anyone to know even now that he’s gone. I am simply trying to respect that,” Cookie said.
“How does Paul fit into all of it?” I asked, wanting to keep her talking.
“I think it’s pretty simple. Paul was one of those friend things some foolish people have,” she explained.
I nearly laughed at her dismissive and confused tone.
“Still, I think you should leave this case to the professionals. They know what they’re doing. They have access to information that you do not,” she said.
Something she was saying slid into place in my mind in a way it hadn’t before. “Are you saying that Grant is working on this case? Are you telling him the information I’m asking for?”
“Of course I am, dear. You can’t refuse blue
eyes like those, now, can you?” she said.
I nearly jumped out of my chair in annoyance. Even my own family was giving cases to Grant over me. How was I ever supposed to become a real investigator if they never thought I could handle the investigating?
“I’m going to look into the matter of Elton’s murder whether you help me or not. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date to get ready for,” I said.
This whole time, Rose had been sitting quietly on my lap watching the exchange with my grandmother. Now I gently handed Cookie the cat. Cookie looked surprised, but she didn’t have time to refuse. Rose normally would have argued, but she loved annoying people even more than I did, and especially Cookie.
Chapter Twenty
That night at dinner I was a nervous wreck. We ate quite early so we’d have time to set up the haunted house afterwards, but I had told my mom that I needed the night off. She’d been so busy dealing with three ghosts squabbling over a toothpick that she hadn’t asked what I needed it for.
Now I was just hoping to get through dinner, then head upstairs to get ready without any problems and without anyone asking me what I was doing later. Luckily, Lizzie was too self-involved to ask other people questions about themselves, and everyone else was busy eating.
We were nearly finished with the meal and I was nearly home free when Cookie spoke.
“Jane, do you want to have a family board game night?” Cookie asked me slyly.
I glared at her over my turkey meatballs.
“We’re working tonight,” said Pep quickly, trying to save me.
Cookie was evil. She knew perfectly well that I had plans for the evening, and they didn’t involve family anything.
Cookie smirked down into her plate.
Once the meal was finished, I helped clear the dishes. Then I nearly flew upstairs.
Thank goodness I had already picked out my outfit. If I hadn’t, I’m not sure what would have happened.
So overwhelmed was I about the whole notion of a third date with His Majesty of Magic that at this point I would have had a lot of difficulty choosing anything at all.
This third date was different from the others. The last date hadn’t felt anything like this. Before now I could still tell myself that it wasn’t real. Date two was just seeing where things were going. Now we knew where things were going. We both saw that this had the chance to be something epic and wonderful.
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