Page 97 of Real Fake Hauntings

Sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. What good was having a witchy tea shop open for Halloween if I wasn’t there to enjoy it?

My next call was to Hutton.

“Witch!”

“Are you still at the shop?” I asked, swerving to avoid a group of partying frat boys.

“No,” he exclaimed. “I have better things to do!”

“Awesome. I need your help.”

“No.”

“A witch killed Desmond Crane in my shop and is leaving bits of him around Olmeda. We need to find the bits and the witch before they do something awful.”

A long pause ensued.

“Say that again?” he said cautiously.

“You heard right. Ian is going to check Bosko’s and Janet’s places. Can you check the pentagram on your wall?”

“Who killed Crane?”

“The witch who’s leaving bits of him around,” I answered patiently. As Grandma used to say, it never hurts to be kind even in times of murder and distress.

Paraphrasing.

“You think whoever drew the pentagrams killed Crane? And is now, what, doing some kind of spell with his body parts?”

“Yes and yes.” I looked down at Fluffy. “See? A bit of kindness makes the brain go brr-brr.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Can you check for me? I don’t want anyone else to learn about Crane’s death, so if you can’t go, I’ll do it myself.”

He paused again, maybe pondering the cons and pros and where the trick lay. “Yeah, okay. I’ll check it out. You’re going to the Cabinet?”

“Yes. If I find nothing there, we’ll need to check other creepy spots in Olmeda.” Maybe go to the coven house again. Just because the witch hadn’t used it before I’d checked it out, it didn’t mean I hadn’t just missed them.

“You’ll owe me for this.”

“I’ll tell Sonia you were very helpful in investigating the pentagram prankster.”

He snorted. “One favor, no time limit.”

Oh, we were playing that game, huh? “What about I keep making your alpha potion and don’t tell your pack you’re lying to them?”

“What about I tell the Council you practice dark magic?”

“Allegedly!”

“The dark web marketplace says otherwise.”

“May I remind you it was my idea to bring Ian to the challenge, and without him, you might not even be alive?”

“Yeah, bet he was happy about that.”

“More than you think. Fine. A small favor.”

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