Page 98 of Real Fake Hauntings

“Good enough. I’ll text if I find anything.”

“And you’ll check somewhere else if you don’t?”

“Where?”

I went through Olmeda’s creepy highlights in my head. “Check the creepy Cinderella house.”

He acknowledged this by ending the call.

“You are such a much better furry butt than Hutton,” I told Fluffy. I had to say it loudly since we had arrived at the more popular streets and some of the restaurants were blaring music through their open doors, earning me a few stares.

Fluffy barked, which earned us more attention and a request to take a photo with the witch and her cute bee familiar.

Fluffy was so excited by the extra attention, I didn’t have the heart to deny it, even if I was tapping my feet with impatience on the inside.

Patience. Take the ham and cheese sandwich out of the pan too fast, and the butter won’t be browned enough and the cheese not melty enough.

After the photo was taken, I hurried on just to run smack right into Olmeda’s Halloween parade.

Metal barricades did a decent job of keeping the street clear for the performers, and the crowd was so dense, I had to hold Fluffy and elbow my way. It was no use. Even if I made it past the thick rim of onlookers, I’d have to wait for a good moment to run across, then fight my way on the other side. Mounted police officers were monitoring the parade, and the last thing I wanted was to call attention to myself.

Nothing said Halloween fun like spending a night in a police station being grilled by Officer Brooks about why I was carrying Desmond Crane’s finger around in my dog walking bag.

I changed directions and tried remembering an alternate route to the Cabinet. Although I’d been in this part of Old Olmeda plenty of times, I hadn’t exactly had the time to memorize the smaller streets. Running a witchy tea shop was a lot more draining than you’d imagine.

My phone vibrated inside my pocket as Fluffy and I took a narrower street that ran parallel to the parade. Ian.

“Did you find anything?” I asked right away.

“Nothing weird at Bosko’s. On my way to Janet’s.”

“Good.” Although, was it? Finding nothing meant fewer hints at who the witch was, where they were, or what Bagley’s current haunting situation was. “I’m still on the way to the Cabinet.”

“An earth mage just got into the Crawler.”

I whirled around. Fluffy whined at the abrupt change of direction. “An earth mage?”

“Yes. I asked Mark to give me a call if any came around.” The Crawler’s entrance ward was a spell the likes of which I’d never thought possible to put down—it activated when a paranormal stood on it and turned different colors according to type. I’d meant to ask the owner who had put it down for them, but since the bar didn’t admit witches, the occasion hadn’t materialized yet.

“Are they still there?” I asked.

“Wait for me,” Ian ordered, and I imagined his budding scowl as he pondered the possibilities of me listening.

“It’s a race!”

I hurried my steps, energized now that I had a clear target in mind. It didn’t take long for me and Fluffy to arrive at Guiles and Romary. The crowds were unbearable here, spilling into the streets from the different bars. Drunken shouts and techno music mixed with pop filled the air, and I had to take Fluffy up again in my arms lest she get crushed.

The Crawler was on one of the smaller streets fanning out of the main clubbing thoroughfare. Normally, it would be a bit quieter, but today it was as crowded as Guiles and Romary proper.

“Mark,” I greeted him excitedly once I was closer. As the bouncer of the Crawler, he was dressed in all black, scary scowl included. The pub itself was another hole in the wall pub with a brightly lit wide entrance. “Ian called and said you had an earth mage come by?” I searched our surroundings eagerly. “Where are they?”

Mark shooed me aside as a man walked up to the entrance. I obliged happily, too excited to remember our usual feud, and waited for him to check the newcomer’s age before letting him in. The ward on the ground didn’t light up—non-paranormal.

“The mage?” I prompted once the man was inside.

Mark thumbed toward the door. “He’s in there.”

My mouth fell open. “You let him inside?”

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