by Mac Flynn
The police cars with their police radios were a handy way to get a hold of backup. Orion seated himself in the open door to one of the vehicles, and clutched the speaker for the radio in one hand.
He flipped a switch on the box and cleared his throat. "Attention all cars, be on the lookout for a suspect driving a fast fridge." He paused and grinned at us. "I've always wanted to say that."
I slapped my hand over my face and dragged it down. "Seriously?"
A crackling noise warned us of an impending reply. "Who the hell is this?"
Orion's humor slipped from his face. "This is Orion. I need you guys to get up here and arrest the mayor and a couple of your buddies."
"Orion? What the hell are you doing with one of our radios?" the operator questioned him.
Orion glanced over the car and brushed his hand over the dashboard. "I've got the rest of the car here, too, but you guys have to get up here and take it."
The operator growled. "You've gone too far this time, Orion. Get one of our men on the radio ASAP."
Orion smiled and shook his head. "No-can-do. Just get up here before your buddies decide to wake up."
"Orion, what the-" Orion flipped the switch and replaced the speaker in its rightful place.
Orion stood and shut the door. "Now we wait."
A few minutes later the sounds of sirens filled the air. Four police cars, the entire rest of the squad, arrived on the scene. The passenger side of the front car opened, and out stepped Chief Orso. He held a cane in one hand and limped over to us.
His stern eyes swept over each of us and stopped on Orion. "So you know?"
Orion pursed his lips and nodded. "Yeah."
"How much?"
Orion studied his old friend. "Everything except how much you knew."
The chief's face fell. "More than I should have for as little as I did, but first, where are they?"
Orion jerked his head toward the corner of the house. "Back there."
Orso glanced over his shoulder at his men. "Go to the back and put everyone you find in the cars. All of them." They nodded and hurried around back. He returned his attention to us and pursed his lips. "The mayor told me she wanted to keep this hushed up to prevent a panic, but I suspected there was something deeper than that, so I dug deeper." He grasped the cane in both hands and sighed. "Turns out the guy that was infected was her brother."
Our little group started back. "Her brother?" I repeated.
Orso nodded. "Yeah, her big brother. He caught the Sickness in some city in the east and instinct brought him this way to find his sister. That's why the mayor was the first one to catch it."
"And the mayor found out you knew," Orion guessed.
Orso pursed his lips. "Yeah. I met her in the woods near where Barrett likes to go hunting. I told her what I knew. The conversation got pretty heated. Then her brother came out of the woods and attacked me." He ran a hand through his hair. "Probably thought I was attacking her or something."
"What about the wolf's bane on your hand when you shook hands with Orion?" I spoke up.
The chief dropped his hand and shook his head. "That wasn't there for Orion. I put it on my hands to ward off the Sickness. I've been fooling with the stuff for so long I guess I worked up an immunity stronger than Orion's."
Orion smiled. "I guess I'll have to work on getting better at that stuff."
The chief sighed and hung his head. "Anyway, that probably makes you caught up with everything I know."
Orion nodded. "Yeah, and it puts you in the middle of a big mess."
A small smile slid onto the chief's lips. "It's something I deserve, and I'll let the Council decide what to do with me."
At that moment the officers came around the corner. Between them were their mostly-naked human coworkers and the mayor. They pulled them into the cars and shut the door.
One of the deputies came up to the chief. "What do we charge them with?"
The chief's eyes flickered to Orion. "The same thing you have to charge me with. Public endangerment, tampering with evidence, and conspiracy."
The deputy tilted his head to one side and furrowed his brow. "Chief?"
Orso held out his hands with his wrists pressed close together. "You heard me, deputy. Cuff me and I'll give you my testimony at the station."
His deputy frowned, but placed handcuffs on the chief. He led Orso toward the car. Orion stepped forward. "Orso." Orso paused in front of one of the doors to a police car and glanced over his shoulder. Orion smiled. "Remember all those times I got you into trouble?"
A crooked smile slipped onto Orso's lips and he nodded. "Yeah, and I got you out."
"We'll switch places this time," Orion told him. "So that means don't get comfortable in that cell."
Orso chuckled. "Damn. I hear those beds are pretty nice, too." He turned away and slipped into the car.
The officer closed the door and turned to us. "Looks like you'll need a lift. Where to?"
Jasmine looked from Orion to me. "My dad-" Orion smiled and patted her shoulder.
"We'll go take him to the hospital now," he assured her.
We borrowed one of the unused police vehicles and drove back to the junkyard. Jerry still lay where Darnell had dropped him.
"Dad!" Jasmine yelled as she leapt out of the car and rushed over to him. She knelt by his side and shook him. "Dad, wake up!"
A soft groan escaped his lips and his eyes flickered open. "Jasmine, please do not be so loud. You will never find a husband if you are so noisy."
She laughed and hugged him. Orion and I walked up behind them. My mate knelt beside her. "He's got some bad bruises. Let's get him up and to the hospital."
Orion helped Jerry to the car and we drove to the hospital. We were met by the same doctor who tried to keep us quarantined.
I glared at him. "Don't try it again. I know were-fu now."
He shook his head.. "I've just been informed that the mayor's orders have been revoked."
"Could you help my dad?" Jasmine spoke up. "He caught the Sickness."
The doctor smiled at her and nodded. "It looks like someone administered the antidote to him, but I'd be glad to help." The doctor led father and daughter away.
I glanced at Orion as we left the hospital. "So are you going to tell me?"
He arched an eyebrow. "About what?"
"About that crazy old woman at the cabin," I reminded him. "She said something about casting a spell, and Jazz made it sound like serious stuff."
We paused on either side of the car. Orion set his arms on the top and grinned at me. "Do you really want to know?"
I mimicked his movements. "Am I a reporter?"
He chuckled. "You must be. I don't know of anyone else who can get into this much trouble this fast." He ducked into the car and I followed. We shut the doors and he turned to me. "Did you ever believe in any paranormal stuff before you came here?"
I snorted. "Not anything I wasn't willing to attach my byline to." Orion stared ahead at the hospital and furrowed his brow. I leaned forward to catch his attention. "There's not just were-people here, is there?"
He shook his head. "No. We've got quite a few different-um, people here."
"Namely witches?" I guessed.
He nodded. "Yeah, and a lot of them."
I arched an eyebrow. "So why are they here?"
He smiled and glanced at me. "The same reason you are. The tree."
I leaned back into my seat and folded my arms. "That's one strange tree."
He chuckled and started the car. "You have no idea."
I sighed and slid down my seat. "Witches. Were-people. Politics. What next? A mole-man running for mayor?"
Orion smiled as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Don't tempt them."
I shook my head. "For once I don't want to know." I glanced out the window at the dark world of god-awful-early morning. "So now what?"
He ra
n a hand through his hair and shook his head. "I don't know, but I could really go for a midnight snack."
I glanced at my watch. "I don't think anybody's going to be open at one in the morning."
He grinned. "You'd be surprised."
CHAPTER 23
