Page 40 of It All Started with a Bite

A human hand appeared and yanked the tentacle back.

“Nigel, we know you’re behind there,” Samuel said dully. “We just saw you.”

Silence emanated from the cactus.

“No, you did not,” a small voice quavered.

“It’s okay, Nigel,” Janet said soothingly. “There’s no need to be afraid. Abby doesn’t bite.” She paused. “Yet.”

The others made encouraging noises while I debated whether to take this as an insult.

Bo gulped. “What kind of supernatural creature is Nigel?”

I had a sneaky suspicion I knew the answer to my dog’s question.

“He’s the Thing in the Closet,” Janet replied. She waggled her eyebrows at our expressions. “You know,theThing in the Closet?”

“You mean, the boogeyman?” I asked carefully, just to be sure.

“Exactly.” Janet looked awkward. “Except ours is a scaredy-cat.”

“I changed my mind,” Bo declared. “This place is full of weirdos.”

I had to concur.

Mindy crossed her arms and heaved a sigh that was one hundred percent bored teenager. “Can we get on with this meeting? I have some copy machines to go haunt on the third floor.”

Samuel cleared his throat. “Right. First order of business. We have a new case that requires immediate attention.” He slid a file across the table toward Didi. “A cursed artifact was stolen from a witch’s shop two days ago.”

Didi took the folder and leafed through the contents, Gavin peering over her shoulder.

The witch frowned. “Someone stole something from Mystical Moments?” She looked at Samuel like he’d grown a second head. “That’s one of the oldest magical establishments in Amberford. How could someone steal something from there? It’s got first-rate security.”

My stomach dropped. I had a horrible feeling where this was heading.

“I should clarify,” Samuel said with a grimace. “It wasn’t so much stolen as it was manipulated out of the hands of a gullible employee.”

Bo put his paw over his eyes, clearly on the same wavelength.

Samuel shot a puzzled look our way before continuing. “The item in question is a crystal skull. It was disguised as a cheap decoration and locked up in a display cabinet.”

Barney paled, which was saying something for a vampire. “Wait. You don’t meanthatcrystal skull, do you?!”

Samuel nodded grimly. “The very one.”

Didi’s gaze swung between them. “What crystal skull?”

“It’s an object of considerable power belonging to an old vampire family that liked to dabble in the dark arts.” Samuel’s expression hardened. “According to legend, the curse can control supernatural creatures in some way or another.”

A chill ran down my spine as a deathly silence befell the room.

Controlling supernatural creatures sounded like the kind of crazy power a madman would be after.

The tension in the room broke when Gavin accidentally set the corner of his notepad on fire. He mumbled an apology and patted it out with practiced ease.

“How was the object stolen?” Janet asked curiously.

Didi’s expression turned scathing as she continued reading. “According to this, the idiot employee sold it to a teenager while the owner stepped out to deal with an emergency.”

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