Chapter 7 #2
I take a left and pass the diner, its neon lights flashing within a teal sign that looks like something straight out of the 1950s.
I make a mental note to stop by and thank the chef, Victor, again, along with Lizzy, the waitress who served us last night.
It was as though she could read our very emotions and knew exactly what we needed.
A few moments later, I pull up in front of the old police station, marked by a round brass sign that says Pumpkin Hollow Police Station. I park between two classic police cars out front, each with a rack of red and blue lights on its roof.
The bell above the door chimes when I push it open, and a neatly dressed young blonde looks up from the reception desk. Her eyes flash gold before returning to chocolate brown as she assesses me.
“May I help you?” she asks in a sweet Southern accent, the scent of wolf distinctly emanating from her as she stands to greet me.
Interesting. A wolf shifter from the South, all the way up in the northeastern part of the country.
“Yes, I’m Detective Liam Ironwood. I’m looking for Chief Montgomery.” I give her a slight nod.
“Ironwood?”
A deep male voice booms as a man with a portly stomach straining against the front of his police uniform steps from his office, cloven hooves clacking on the black-and-white tiles.
Jason Montgomery looks older than the last time I saw him, with grey peppering his temples below his short brown horns, but he comes over and greets me with a hearty hug, slapping me on the back.
“Well, if it isn’t Liam Ironwood!” He holds me at arm’s length before patting me on the shoulder and stepping back. “You’re a sight for my sore faun eyes, my friend. How are they treating you down South?”
“I’m not that far south.” I chuckle and shake my head. “But city life is definitely different from small-town life, that’s for sure. Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.”
“For an old college friend, anything. Here, come into my office. Let me clear you a seat. Would you like a coffee? Of course you’ll have some coffee.”
He pauses before entering his office and turns to the front desk.
“Sarah, why don’t you take a break and grab some coffee for the office and a box of pastries from the bakery?” He glances back at me, fishing out his wallet. “Do you still take your coffee black as night?”
“Yes, sir, but really, you don’t need to go through the trouble. I can just take drip.”
“Nonsense. It’s time for a break anyway. It’s slow around here, and we all deserve a little treat. After all, it’s Pumpkin Festival week.”
He hands her a wad of bills before barking down the hallway, “Anthony, man the front!”
“Only two employees and yourself in the office? You’re running a little short-staffed there, Chief,” I say as a young man with slicked-back, jet-black hair, who appears to be a witch, emerges from the back. He high-fives Sarah and gives her a thumbs-up before dropping into her seat.
“Well, small town, small problems.” Jason shrugs and turns toward his office.
“Plus, I’ve got two out on patrol. It’s rare that we need all hands on deck, even with all the travelers coming in from out of state.
But I’ve got a good crew. They all play nice, take turns, and being in a town full of magical folks means I’ve got plenty of people who don’t complain about working the night shift. ”
“Sounds like you’ve got the dream team.”
I take a seat in his office, staring at the pristine desk, save for a picture of him and his wife standing together on a beach.
We’ve kept in touch through the years, even after college, when he joined the police force and moved upstate.
While he and Mary married, they were never able to have children of their own.
“How’s Mary?” I nod toward the photo.
“Oh, she’s doing just fine. Trying to perfect the best pumpkin pie to win this year’s contest.” He pats his round belly as he takes a seat, then raises an eyebrow at my bare left hand. “Not that you see me complaining. Still haven’t found a young Mrs. Ironwood?”
“You know me. Married to the job.” I shrug and lean back in the chair, steepling my fingers.
“As I hear it, you’re staying at Brews and Broomsticks Bed-and-Breakfast and had a particularly cozy dinner with the owner at Frank’s Diner last night.” His lips pull into a wide grin. “I may be getting old, but you can’t fool me.”
I laugh, putting my hands in the air.
“Alright, old man, but need I remind you that you’re only a year older than me?”
“Eh, you shifters age slower. Running this place keeps me young, though.” He gestures around his office before leaning against the desk, a knowing grin spreading across his face. “Word spreads fast in a small town. So what brings you to town, and how did you meet the young Miss Hawthorne?”
“Well, I’m working on a case involving stolen historical objects, and based on the evidence, I believe Miss Hawthorne is in possession of the final artifact the thief is after.”
The bell above the front door chimes, and I turn reflexively to see Anthony opening it and taking the drink carrier laden with cups from Sarah’s arms. Together, they bring in the coffee and pastries, handing each of us a steaming cup and our choice of pastry before heading back to the front desk, already debating who they think will win the broomstick race on Sunday.
“That was fast.” I pop the lid off my cup, the Enchantresso logo stamped on the side, and blow across the dark liquid, instantly taken back to that first breakfast with Evie.
“Enchantresso has the best coffee in town. But stop changing the subject.” Jason takes a bite of his pastry, little crumbs sticking to his peppered handlebar mustache.
“I met Evie the night I arrived at the B&B on Norman’s suggestion. I explained what I was looking for, and he mentioned seeing it one year at a party hosted there. I suspect it’s the Hawthorne family wand.”
“Oh, yes.” Jason dabs at his face with a napkin before taking a long draw of his coffee. “I didn’t realize you and Norman knew each other.”
“We met several years ago at a gala.” I polish off my pastry. “But I’ve seen it, sitting on the mantel. Evie swears it’s just an old heirloom of no value beyond the sentimental, but there’s something odd about it.”
“You’re in a town of supernaturals, Liam. Everything around here is odd.” He sets his cup down and leans across the desk. “So you’re here undercover, I presume, trying to catch the thief. What makes you think they’ll try to take it now?”
“All the other thefts happened the night before a full moon. Each one a month apart.”
“The next full moon is Saturday, the main night of the Pumpkin Festival weekend.”
“Yes, but I have a suspicion the thief has already tried to scope out the house.”
I quickly explain how Evie and I came home from the diner last night and heard glass breaking around the back of the house. We found a pane in the back door shattered, but by the time I made it around the corner, the intruder was already fleeing on a broom.
“Do you think it would be safer locked in the vault here at the station or in a safe-deposit box at the bank?”
“Evie was adamant about not moving it. She doesn’t believe someone is after the family wand, but there’s also some family legend that it isn’t supposed to leave the B&B.
She doesn’t seem like one to believe in such foolish nonsense, but moving the artifact was one thing she turned down immediately. ”
I look up to find his lips pressed into a thin line beneath his mustache.
“Liam, you’re not in Kansas anymore. This is Pumpkin Hollow.
If there’s a family legend that the wand must not be moved, then it simply shouldn’t be moved.
” Jason pushes to his hooves, and I follow suit, tossing my empty cup in the trash before following him into the main lobby and toward the front door.
“I’ll see what I can find out about the wand or any suspicious strangers in town, but it’s the Pumpkin Festival.
We draw monsters, witches, and other paranormals from all over the country for the weekend. ”