One Bad Witch Page 5

  I sighed as I sank down into one of the navy-colored armchairs opposite Nick. “I wasn’t actually trying to break the glass,” I started. “I guess my emotions got ahead of me and gave the spell a little too much oomph.”

  Nick raised an eyebrow.

  “I swear! Nick, come on, give me some credit here. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

  “All right,” he relented. “In the spirit of not lying, why were you at McNally’s last night?”

  Bat wings.

  “I couldn’t sleep,” I said, which, to be fair was true. He didn’t need to know that the reason I couldn’t sleep was because I was worried about his new gal-pal going on a wolf hunting mission.

  He considered my answer, then inclined his head. “So, when you saw me there, why didn’t you come over and say hello? You’re not usually one to skulk around in the shadows.”

  Double bat wings.

  “Er—well, you looked busy, so I just—”

  He smiled and gave his head a bemused shake. “You really think I’m going to buy that? You’re up to something.”

  “Remind me why I became friends with a private investigator?” I asked.

  “I think it was my charming personality that won you over,” he replied, his grin spreading.

  “Yes, that must have been it.” I slouched in the chair and took a long sip from my own coffee cup, considering Nick over the lid.

  In reality, there were few people more qualified to help me with the task Agent Bramble had assigned to me. Nick was a private investigator with a fine-tuned sense of people—possible interest in Narissa aside—and he was also fully immersed in the supernatural world, most intimately, the wolf pack the SPA was interested in. I knew Agent Bramble didn’t want me to tell anyone about my assignment, but she didn’t know Nick the way I did. If I asked her, she’d probably be on board with bringing him into the loop. CIA agents did it all the time, at least in spy movies. What did they call them? Assets! That’s right. Nick could be my asset.

  Only problem? Getting Agent Bramble to agree to it.

  When unicorns could fly.

  I shifted in my seat. “Did Narissa mention that she’s the manor’s newest resident?”

  “Of course she did!” he exclaimed. “How else would I have known she was one of us?”

  “Good point.” I exhaled. “All right, well, as you know, the people—and I use that term lightly in some cases—that come to live at the manor are usually placed there by the SPA.”

  “So?” he said.

  “Well, take me for example. I moved to the manor right after getting thrown in jail, and the manor was my last shot. Now, obviously not everyone that moves in is some kind of rehabilitation case or someone who has a record, but a lot of the time they have something of a troubled past.”

  Nick frowned. “Holly, look, I know you have a complicated relationship with the SPA, but you’ve sorted that all out now. Besides, you told me that all the charges they had against you were made-up because your ex-boyfriend was an anarchist scum bag.”

  I smiled. “That does sum Gabriel up in a nutshell.”

  “So, what about Adam? Lacey? Evangeline? Are you telling me they’re all ex-cons or in hiding?”

  “Lacey was using the manor as a safe house,” I told him. “She had to go back to the East Coast, and last I heard, things have worked out for her, but yeah, she was at the manor to hide out from her father. As for Adam and Evangeline, both of them are there by choice. They found the manor in some kind of housing listing during times when Posy was having trouble filling the rooms.”

  “All right, so what makes you think Narissa is in trouble or that she’s trouble?” Nick asked.

  “That’s the thing, Nick. I don’t know. None of us do. She just moved in yesterday and the first meeting with her wasn’t exactly a tell-all interview.”

  “So, as far as you know, she could be a totally normal woman with no skeletons or boogeymen lurking in her closet.”

  I tensed. “Yes. It’s possible. But, it’s equally possible that she has a past and is bad news.”

  Nick cocked his head, still frowning at me. “Didn’t you tell me the SPA runs some kind of supernatural background check on these people anyway?”

  “Supposedly, although, if you’ve been paying even a tiny amount of attention these last few months, you’d know it’s not a perfect system. I mean, we’ve had a smuggler, a would-be arsonist, and at least two shifters who wouldn’t know what a loofah was if it smacked them in the face!”

  Nick’s lips twitched. “I don’t think bad personal hygiene is really in the same league as stealing, Holly.”

  “We can agree to disagree,” I said.

  He chuckled and placed his coffee cup to the side of his keyboard. “As far as Narissa, I don’t suspect she’s a pyromaniac and she smells quite nice, like coconuts maybe.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  Nick laughed again. “Before you showered us with glass, we were having a good conversation. She told me she moved up here from the Bay Area and that she’s writing a book about estranged families and ways to help heal relationships. She told me she chose the Beechwood Manor for its history and rustic setting. She saw the pictures in some listing and thought it looked like the perfect place to write.”

  I crossed my arms. “So what was with the game of twenty questions about the pack? That doesn’t really seem like first date conversation, does it?”

  Nick squinted at me. “How was it you could hear all of that, anyway? You were all the way across the room.”

  I cringed. “Spidey senses?”

  He pursed his lips. “Try again.”

  “Fine, fine. I’ve been working on some new spells and I have one that can temporarily turn an ordinary object into a listening device.”

  His eyes widened. “Like a bug?”

  “Mhmm. Exactly. I used a button from an old coat last night.”

  “Seriously?”

  “It’s pretty cool.”

  Nick scrubbed a hand over his face. “Holly…”

  “I’m sorry, Nick. I was just trying to look out for you, okay? I know I’m overprotective and I drive you crazy, but it’s for your own good. You’re just going to have to trust me on that one.”

  “I’m starting to think I’m the wrong breed of supernatural. All I can do is turn into a half-crazed beast once a month, and it’s not even voluntary. Meanwhile, you’re running around with enchanted listening devices and lightbulb exploding capabilities.”

  I smiled sadly. “Your talents are wasted, being a wolf. You would have made a pretty amazing wizard.”

  “Maybe in another life,” he muttered. “This one seems to be set.”

  There wasn’t anything to say in response. At least, nothing I hadn’t already said a hundred times before.

  Nick took another long drink. “Thanks for the coffee, Holls.”

  “Does that mean I’m forgiven?”

  “I’ll think about it, right after I get home from my make-up dinner with Narissa later tonight.”

  I tried to smile, but something held me back.

  “Don’t worry,” Nick continued, seeing my hesitation. “I’ll make sure to keep a lid on the whole Ben thing. You were right about that part. There’s no need to drag all of that up anyway.”

  My phone buzzed and I dug it out of my pocket. I suspected it would be Adam, having seen my note about going out, he was likely calling with a bakery order. Instead, Agent Bramble’s number showed at the top. “Do you mind?” I asked Nick. “It’s Agent Bramble.”

  He waved a hand and then reached for the bag of cookies. “Go ahead.”

  Before he could take his first bite, his business line started to ring.

  “Hello?” we both said in unison.

  Agent Bramble responded, sounding out of breath, “Holly, I’m glad I caught you. I know it’s early.”

  “That’s okay. What’s going on?”

  “I’m afraid it’s bad news. One of the werewolves in the Pelican Beach Wolf
Pack was just found in the parking lot of a local grocery store. Dead.”

  I felt my eyes go wide as they snapped up to look at Nick.

  His mouth tensed and my stomach dropped. He’d just got the same news. A member of his pack was dead.

  Chapter 6

  Nick drove us to the grocery store where the wolf had been found. It wasn’t in Beechwood Harbor, but rather a few towns over. On the Washington coastline, there were several small towns that all kind of ran together as you drove up the 101. Within twenty minutes, we pulled into the lot of the store and parked a good distance from the cluster of police cars. A large rectangle had been cordoned off with police tape, and I saw Chief Lincoln standing with several uniformed officers. Jeffery Lincoln was Beechwood Harbor’s chief of police, but was also the highest ranked officer in a large radius, and therefore found himself pulled into bigger cases, even if they technically fell out of his jurisdiction. He also happened to be Cassie’s soon-to-be-husband, so we had to play nice, despite bumping heads in the past.

  I pointed out the front windshield to a dark SVU parked on the street a dozen yards from the taped off section of the lot. “That’s SPA. I’d bet a hundred bucks on it.”

  “Did Agent Bramble say they’d be sending someone?” Nick asked, staring at the vehicle.

  I nodded. “I’m not really sure how it all works, but they have a small team that goes around and work as liaisons in situations like this one. The human police can’t know what the victim—”

  “Breanne,” Nick interjected. “Her name was Breanne.”

  The pack alpha, Bruno, had been the one on the other end of Nick’s phone call. He’d informed Nick of Breanne’s death at the same time Agent Bramble was filling me in. In his short tenure as a wolf, Nick had moved up the ranks fairly quick and found himself as fourth in the pack’s command. He didn’t have the right personality to ever be an alpha, or even the second to the alpha, but I gathered he felt pride at being seen as a trusted member of the pack, especially in grim times like present circumstances.

  “Does Bruno suspect another wolf?” I asked him, still watching the SUV.

  “If he does, he didn’t say so. I imagine at this point, he’s keeping everything close to chest. He called me because he knows I’m friends with the chief and thought maybe I could get over here and see what was going on.”

  I frowned. “He doesn’t trust the SPA?”

  “Not exactly. He prefers to keep things in the pack.”

  “I see.”

  The driver’s side door of the SUV opened, and a tall man with broad shoulders and dark skin stepped out. He put on a pair of sunglasses and I swear I heard the CSI: Miami theme play in the back of my head.

  “What does he think this is? Palm Beach?” Nick quipped, clearly not impressed with the suspected agent. “It’s overcast today.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” I said with a chuckle. “Should we go over and see what we can find out?”

  Nick didn’t answer as his eyes tracked the tall man crossing the parking lot. When he reached the police tape, he produced a badge that must have been legit, because half a second later, one of the uniformed officers lifted the tape and ushered him into the crime scene.

  “Nick?”

  He turned toward me, his torso angled away from the steering wheel. A stack of lines appeared on his brow as his eyes narrowed. “Why did Agent Bramble call you about this?”

  “I’ve been working for the SPA. You knew that.”

  “In the potion department,” he said. “Why would she send you here? Do they suspect it was a potion that killed Breanne? Because, if not, it doesn’t make any sense for you to be here.” He gestured out the windshield. “On top of that, if Agent Bramble sent you, what’s he doing here?”

  “Nick … I can’t say.”

  “Can’t? Or won’t?”

  “Can’t,” I confirmed. “If I could tell you, I would. Please, just trust me on this one, okay? I don’t want to cross Agent Bramble. I’ve learned so much in just a few months’ time. I can’t jeopardize the opportunity.”

  “This is my pack, Holly,” he said, turning to face me. “If something’s going on, we need to know.”

  My chest tightened at the searching look in Nick’s eyes.

  Someone tapped on the driver’s side window and we both jumped. Nick peered out the window and then hurried to roll it down. “Holly, this is Bruno, the Pelican Beach Pack alpha. Bruno, this is Holly Boldt. She’s a witch.”

  “I know who she is,” Bruno said, his tone clipped. “What is she doing here? I told you to be discreet. I didn’t realize I needed to be more specific than that.”

  Geez, what’d I ever do to him?

  Nick glanced at me and I gave a slight shake of my head, silently pleading with him to keep my involvement a secret. He looked back at Bruno. “She consults for the BHPD. It’s all unofficial, but she’s helped Chief Lincoln on a few cases and he asked her to come out.”

  “That so?” Bruno said, leaning down to stare at me. “I’m guessing he doesn’t know what you are, or he’d probably think twice about having you around.”

  “What’s your problem?” I snapped, my pulse quickening. The disdain in Bruno’s voice cut right to the quick. “Did my cat turn your rosebuds into a litter box or something?”

  Nick blanched.

  Bruno’s lip curled back, revealing one sharp canine tooth. If I’d seen him on the street with those teeth, I might have wrongly assumed he was a vampire. He must have had a dentist shave his canines into sharper points. It couldn’t be natural. Which begged the question, what kind of person would purposefully file their teeth to look like a monster?

  I shivered, not sure I wanted to find out, but also knowing I probably wasn’t going to have much of a choice.

  “I’m sorry about Breanne,” Nick said, trying out a segue before he had to decide which side to take in a battle—whether of words or otherwise—between his pack leader and one of his best friends. I knew he’d pick my side, but I didn’t want to put him in that position.

  “I’m sorry as well,” I added, softening my tone. “Nick told me Breanna was your second.”

  Bruno glanced away and I thought I saw a glossy sheen form over his dark eyes. “She was more than that.”

  I looked at Nick, he raised his brows.

  “She was my mate,” Bruno said.

  Nick’s brows lifted another half an inch.

  Bruno blinked and looked back at us, his eyes clear once again. “I was waiting until the next moon to announce it to the pack. I was going to make it formal.”

  His words were like a punch to the stomach and I regretted my barbed comments. He’d lost much more than just a member of the pack. Which was a tragedy on its own that some packs never fully recovered from.

  “We’re going to find who did this to her,” Nick told him, a determined set to his jaw. “We will see them brought to justice.”

  “Justice?” Bruno scoffed. A gold ring appeared in his eyes, magnifying the honey-tones in his dark eyes. “No. We’ll handle this as a pack, and there’s only one way to deal with whoever who did this to her.”

  Nick opened his mouth and I placed a hand on his arm. He looked at me and I gave a slight shake of my head.

  “They’re not letting me close enough to get any information. All I know is she was supposed to be home last night after her shift at the bar. But, instead, she’s out here. A cashier found her, dumped in a shopping cart.” Bruno bit off the words and balled up his fists. “I need you to get in there and see what’s going on.”

  “I’m on it,” Nick said.

  Bruno stepped back from the car and Nick swung the door open. I climbed out of the passenger seat and went to stand at the front bumper.

  “I’ll call you as soon as I know anything,” Nick told Bruno.

  Bruno nodded and then looked past Nick’s shoulder to where I stood. “Keep an eye on her, too.”

  Before Nick could agree or object, Bruno turned away and wa
lked across the lot, in the opposite direction of the crime scene.

  My phone rang and I scrambled to free it from the small purse I had slung across my body. I cringed when I saw Adam’s name on the screen. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk to him, but at the moment, any questions he had would have to be answered with evasive statements or half-truths. Which, really, were half-lies.

  “Hey, Adam,” I answered.

  Nick gestured toward the scene and I waved him ahead. He pocketed his hands and strode across the lot, his shoulders slumped, his eyes on the ground.

  “Good morning, gorgeous,” Adam said, drawing my attention back to the call. “Where are you at? I saw your note you were at Siren’s Song, but I’m here and you’re not.”

  “You’re at Siren’s Song?”

  “Yeah. I thought I’d join you, maybe talk you into a beach walk before you get busy with work.”

  My heart squeezed. “That’s sweet. I—uh—actually got a call from Agent Bramble. She needed me to check something out. I’m not really sure when I’ll be back at the manor.”

  “I see. Want to plan on lunch, then? I’d really like to talk more about those rental properties.”

  Ugh. What was I supposed to say to that? It hadn’t been covered in the SPA handbook. I probably should have stayed in the potion lab. There were structured hours and none of this cloak-and-dagger nonsense to cover up.

  “Let’s say one o’clock?” I replied. “That should give me enough time to wrap up here.”

  “All right. McNally’s?”

  “Um, sure. See you then.”

  “Stay outta of trouble,” Adam said before hanging up.

  Not likely.

  I slipped the phone back into my purse and then hurried to catch up with Nick. He was already in conversation with Chief Lincoln, going over some of the more gruesome details of the case. As Bruno stated, an employee of the grocery store was on her way into the store when she saw the abandoned cart. Thinking it was a straggler from the night before, she went to retrieve it, only to get the shock of her life at stumbling across Breanne’s lifeless body.