Owl or Nothing

by Willow Mason

  “What is it you’ve planning?” I asked, tripping over a tree root in the darkness. The thin beam from Zelda’s torch wasn’t enough to light the path for us all.

  “I’m planning on you lot turning up tomorrow as carrion,” Zelda said with a snigger. “That’s what you lot like, isn’t it? Disgusting meat eaters that you are.”

  “I’m a vegan, actually,” Caleb said, with enough personal affront to convince her he was genuine.

  “Pity you mixed with the wrong crowd, then, isn’t it?” she retorted. “At least you’ll be nice and healthy when this lot claws you dead.”

  “We’re not going to rip each other apart just because it suits your purpose,” I said to Zelda, not bothering to hide the scorn in my voice. “You’re the only one who’s a killer here. We wouldn’t do your dirty work, even if it was in our nature.”

  “Quiet, shifter.” Zelda’s lip curled. “My dad is right about you lot. Beechdale would be much safer if we’d never offered your diseased kind sanctuary.”

  “You’re the one with the shotgun, love,” Caleb said in a low growl.

  “And don’t you forget it.”

  “If you just want to punish us for being infected,” I said, “then let Caleb go. He’s human, through and through.”

  “He’s a sympathiser and our town doesn’t need more of those than we have already. Now how about you zip your trap shut and pick up your feet?”

  “One thing I’m curious about,” I said, ignoring Zelda’s commands, “is whether you killed Gabby because it would help your father. It’s obvious to me, this resentment of the shifter community has been building for quite some time. Did he nudge you in this direction?”

  “How sweet,” Silvana chimed in. “Helping your daddy. I hope he doubles your pocket money for the effort.”

  “My father had nothing to do with it.”

  “Course, he did.” I turned and walked backwards so I could look Zelda straight in the eye. A hard ask with the torchlight pointing in my direction. “All these machinations about restricting shifter movement and putting the curfew in place didn’t originate with the police. It takes time to sort out those decisions.”

  “I killed Gabby because I hated her. She didn’t deserve any of the good things in life that came her way. The ungrateful sod didn’t even appreciate what was right in front of her face.”

  Silvana chuckled. “I do love it when rich white girls call each other out for being privileged.”

  “Quiet!”

  “No, your father must’ve been nudging you in this direction for a long time.” I nodded my head and turned back to face forward before I walked straight into a tree. “I bet he got on your last nerve, reminding you of how she’d taken Marshall away.”

  “He only mentioned it for my own good. Daddy said if I didn’t learn to recognise a no-good home-wrecker when I saw one, then next time I might lose a lot more than a fiancé and an engagement ring.”

  I glanced over my shoulder, this time seeking Silvana’s face in the darkness. They glowed faintly yellow, enough for me to recognise her easily. She nodded and waggled Marshall’s phone, which she still held in her hand.

  She’d pressed record back in the kitchen and I felt sure we had enough. Even the most corrupt police department would buckle if we spilled this evidence.

  But to do that, we needed to keep Caleb alive.

  “How far is it to this ledge of death and destruction?” I asked, falling back so Caleb led our line of hikers. Zelda ignored my question.

  If Silvana and I transformed now, we could easily slip our bonds and overpower Zelda. The only problem was the one remaining shell in her shotgun. One shot would probably go astray if she tried to shoot a fleeing owl or wolf. Caleb didn’t have that option.

  One shot would tear his torso apart.

  “You might’ve been able to kill Gabby,” Caleb said, his voice remarkably mellow. “I understand you were upset with her and the attack occurred in the heat of the moment.”

  Bringing food and beverages laced with what amounted to poison to the property didn’t sound heated to me, but I held my tongue.

  “It’ll be a different story with the three of us,” he continued. “Everybody will understand if you want to put a stop to this now. To stare an innocent person in the eye while you pull the trigger…? It’s a different story.”

  The trees on either side of the path grew sparser. As we continued walking, the undergrowth became lusher, the larger trunks spaced far enough apart to allow them access to sunlight.

  “Anybody got a plan?” Silvana called out. “Because I can see the clearing from here.”

  My only plan exposed Caleb to far too much danger. Each heartbeat came quicker than the last as I understood we were almost out of time.

  “Hey, guys,” Dee called out from ahead of us. “What took you so long?”

  I stopped short, my panicked brain trying to work out how she could have gotten ahead of us. Silvana glanced over to me, her expression visible now the dense foliage had fallen away behind us.

  Dee yelled out, “Don’t you think it’s time for a change?”

  I transformed, not knowing what was about to happen but obeying my friend out of instinct. Silvana’s wolf form streaked off to one side, blending into the forest and disappearing. Caleb stood, staring open-mouthed as we escaped our human bonds.

  As the shotgun turned its remorseless mouth toward Caleb, a hawk dove out of the sky and landed on the barrel, forcing it down. A fox slunk out of the shadows, positioning itself behind Zelda’s legs while a mountain lion tore away from the rocks it had blended with. It headed straight for her torso and when she tried to step back, she fell.

  In an instant, shifters came from every corner of the woods—predator and prey alike. They landed on Zelda, paws batting aside the gun while the heftier animals pinned her to the forest floor, harmless.

  I changed back to human, running to Caleb’s side and freeing him from the restraints. The phone Silvana had dropped in her transformation lay on the path and I picked it up, giving a yell of triumph when I saw the recorded message had been sent.

  “Is everybody safe?” Dee called out, her voice skyrocketing up octaves in concern.

  “We’re fine,” I said, crouching down so she could run up my arms to perch on my shoulder. For organising this mob, she deserved a ringside seat.

  Zelda squirmed and shouted, trying to kick out, punch, bite.

  “I thought rich girls were raised better,” Silvana said, leaning over to mock the young woman directly to her face. “You should be ashamed.”

  “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  I laughed in astonishment at her statement. “You’ve murdered someone in cold blood then conspired to frame others for the crime.”

  “It was an accident.”

  I used the same ties Zelda had bound our wrists with to return the favour. When I was certain she couldn’t escape, I held up my hand and motioned the shifters away.

  One by one, they changed back into the people of the town of Beechdale. Most I recognised, some I knew well, others I couldn’t place.

  My people. Coming to my rescue. I’d never felt so proud to be a shifter.

  Not diseased. Not infected. Something bigger and better than I’d been born.

  “You can plead your case to a jury, as can your father.” I helped Zelda to her feet, then handed her care over to a pair of large men who gladly took up the task.

  I held the mobile phone up, turning in a circle until I found good enough reception to make a call.

  “PC Bryant?” I said when the call connected. “We’ve made a citizen’s arrest of Zelda Tomkins for the murder of Gabby Mulligan. You should have an officer meet us at Kissing Point and pick up her father on the way.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  I tapped Silvana on the shoulder, while Dee jumped aboard and tugged at her ear. “Ow. What’s going on?”

  “Gabby wants to know where you got your dress,” Dee said, rummaging around in
Silvana’s neckline to find the tag.

  “Off the discount rack,” Silvana grumbled, trying to chase down the mouse without hurting her. “What’s it matter to Gabby, anyway? Remind the girl, she’s dead.”

  “How long is she planning on staying around?” I asked Dee, picking her up before she caught the wrong end of Silvana’s fumbling. “If you want to go back to the witches and see if they can get rid of her, just say the word.”

  “She’s all right in small doses.” Dee stretched to her full height on my shoulder, grabbing a handful of my hair for balance. “But I think she just wants to hear an apology.”

  “From the mayor? She’d be lucky. The courts might’ve bailed him out until the trial, but I heard they’re preparing a nice comfy cell for him in a white-collar prison.”

  Silvana half-turned, arching an eyebrow. “And Zelda’s not leaving jail before or after her court date. Not until she’s finished whatever sentence they end up giving her. Somebody should’ve told that girl a smidgeon of remorse goes a long way.”

  I snorted. “With her father? I’m sure that’s a lesson he never learned himself.”

  “She wants an apology from the police,” Dee corrected us. “And the nice pathologist who screwed her over with his ‘forensic’ evidence.”

  Air quotes from a mouse carried far more scorn than standard usage.

  “Hey, you,” a deep voice said from behind me. I turned, expecting to see Caleb and was pleasantly surprised to see PC Bryant instead.

  “Shouldn’t you be prepping to go onstage?” I asked, giving him a nudge in his shoulder. I’d spent a lot of time in the man’s company since our final encounter with Zelda Tomkins and grew fonder of him every day.

  “Detective Marshall is up first.” Bryant checked out surrounds quickly, then lowered his voice, leaning in close. “I don’t think he’s happy with the news he has to announce but the police federation insisted he deliver it personally.”

  “Hm.” I pressed my lips together. From what I’d seen at the station, a lot of Mayor Tomkins’ interference wouldn’t have been possible without help from the lead investigator. My spirits were buoyed by the disapproval on Bryant’s face.

  “Here he comes now,” Dee said, clambering all the way on top of my head for a better view.

  PC Bryant excused himself and faded into the crowd. As Detective Mallard stood at the podium, the crush of people around me grew in weight. I hoped the speeches wouldn’t take long. Although I wanted to hear everything, I wished it could be done from the safety of my couch.

  “I have an apology to make to the people of Beechdale. As a representative of the police, I’m expected to hold myself to a greater standard than those around me…”

  My eyes glazed over as Mallard droned on. Perhaps he was trying to layer his guilt behind so much waffle, nobody would be listening by the time he got to the important bits.

  “… and that’s why I’m stepping down.”

  A gasp from the crowd brought my attention back into focus. What? I’d thought a fumbled, “I’m sorry,” would be the worst outcome. The detective stood, hands gripping the lectern so hard the muscles along his inner arm bulged. He gave one of his hard blinks, then stepped away.

  PC Bryant hurried to fill the gap, moving with more confidence than I’d seen from him before. “Ah, thanks to my colleague for his news. Our department will recruit for a new detective just as soon as we can. The district commander unfortunately couldn’t be here this morning to fill in the details, but applications and job descriptions will be on the police website soon.”

  “Is this like an open invitation to the neighbourhood to commit a crime?” Silvana asked with a laugh. “I’m not sure the local police should go to such pains to point out they’re understaffed.”

  “Please tell me you’re joking,” I said, staring at her expression closely. “The last thing we need—”

  “Shh. I want to hear,” Silvana said, tipping me a wink before turning her attention back to the stage.

  “We’ve also formally discontinued our register of the shifter community in Beechdale,” PC Bryant continued. “Anyone who had provided their details prior to this change can rest assured this information has been deleted from our database. If you have any concerns, a form requesting official confirmation of the deletion can be made online.”

  I hadn’t seen shifters lining up at the roadside stations so was surprised to see so many heads nodding in the crowd. Maybe the defiant members of the shifter community who’d congregated at our house had been all the dissenters there were. Then I saw Russel nod and accepted our people might have been too scared to dissent at all.

  “What about the mayor?” someone called out near the front. “Who’s taking over?”

  “There’ll be an election run as soon as it’s feasible. In the meantime, some other council members have taken over the duties as caretakers.”

  The crowd parted for a second, enough for me to see Caleb jotting down the answers in his notebook. I hadn’t seen him much in the past week, not since he moved out of Dee’s room, announcing he was well enough to take care of himself.

  “I’m going to try to get closer,” I announced to the mouse who promptly grabbed my hair hard enough to set my eyes watering.

  “Can’t you hear?” Silvana asked, then followed my line of sight. “Oh, I see.” She smiled.

  “Before we finish up, I’d like to invite Harold Mulligan to the stage to say a few words.”

  Dee gave a squeal, close enough to my ear for me to fear a rupture. “Gabby’s so excited to see him again.”

  “I thought she couldn’t wait to get out of town and out from under this thumb?”

  “Yeah, well. You know. Fathers and daughters.”

  Harold had aged immeasurably in the past few weeks, but he strode to the podium with purpose. “For those of you who don’t know, I’m Gabby Mulligan’s father. Her loss was a shock to me I doubt I’ll ever recover from.”

  “I’m waving to him on her behalf,” Dee called out. “I wonder if this was actually what she needed to see.”

  For a second, I wished I could see Gabby’s ghost the same way Dee could. When dealing with her lackadaisical attitude to work, it had sometimes been easy to forget her bright smile and kindness. I sniffed hard enough to reverse the tears that were threatening.

  Crying was for sissies.

  “My thanks goes out to PC Bryant for his hard work on this case. More than that, I want to thank Liv Hammon, Caleb Williams, Silvana Weston, and Dee Barren for their tireless efforts tracking down the killer of my daughter. Three of these hardworking and selfless individuals are shifters and helped to solve the crime despite active persecution in our community.”

  “I wouldn’t say persecution,” Bryant called out from the side of the stage.

  “But since I’m in charge of the microphone, I’ll pick my own words.” Harold stepped back for a second, pressing his wrist to his forehead and swallowing rapidly. “Without their help and personal sacrifice, Zelda Tomkins might never have been uncovered as Gabby’s murderer. Thanks to her father’s cover-up, the police were looking in the other direction.”

  Given Bryant’s facial expression at that moment, I almost felt sorry for him.

  “As a token of my thanks to the shifter community of Beechdale, I’ve set up a fund to increase their involvement and participation in our society. This includes grants and scholarships to pursue higher education and loans for those wishing to launch small businesses.”

  Dee pulled on my hair. “You really can buy the Barnyard now. Just wait a few more weeks and Barry will be desperate to sell.”

  My forecast of his business’s future had come true with startling speed. If I wasn’t still harbouring a boatload of anger, I might’ve felt sorry for him too.

  “This fund will be administered by a volunteer board with me as overseer. Every penny donated into the Gabrielle Mulligan Trust will go towards the shifter community in Beechdale.”

  A cheer went up
as Harold nodded and walked off the stage. Detective Mallard reached for his arm, but Mr Mulligan threw him off with one furious glare.

  “Well, how about that?” Silvana said, pushing her way against the crowd to join us. “We’ll be fully employed and useful members of society before we know it.”

  Judging from her expression, she wasn’t wedded to the idea.

  “I wonder how soon we can access the funds,” Dee said, her voice so excited it was as though she was rolling in money already. “There’s a load of things I’d like to study.”

  Silvana pulled her tail. “You should become a psychologist. Every piece of advice you hand out is always useful.”

  The small mouse glowed with the praise.

  “Are you going to apply for anything?” I asked Silvana as we leaned against the stage, watching the crowds disperse. “I don’t even know what you used to do.”

  “Computer engineer.” Silvana pulled her mouth down at the corners. “And before you ask, no thanks. I think I’d like to become a fitness instructor or a physio. Becoming a wolf has connected me to the wonders of the physical body in a way I never knew before.”

  Without thinking, I nodded along. The thrill of flight, whistling through the heavens, was something I still had to adjust to, but wouldn’t give up for the world. The thought of all those hours I’d spent, concentrating on thwarting my body’s new urges, filled me with sadness. Sure, I’d gained control, but I’d passed over the chance to discover my new form and what it could do.

  Still, there was always tomorrow, or even tonight, to practice.

  “What about you?” Silvana slung a hand around my waist and pulled me away from the stage. “Is bar owner still something you want to pursue?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” Although I’d still be happy to see Barry turfed out and a new owner in his place, I couldn’t fool myself into thinking I’d be happy running a bar. If it hadn’t been the first place I found a job after the infection, I never would have sought it out as an occupation.

  Something else mentioned in the speeches interested me. The vacancy opened up by Nigel Tomkins.