“Give him an extra pear and you’ll be his best friend forever.”
“Noted. My shift is over, but I’ll see you in the morning. Can I bring you anything?”
“Sneak me in some food that’s not hospital food?”
“Sure,” Willow grinned. “I’ll be back with a burger and fries in about an hour.”
“You’re a lifesaver in more ways than one.”
Willow left the room, and I leaned back in my bed, closing my eyes and trying to relax. Even though it had been a few hours, it still felt like there was a bit of adrenaline running through me. After all, it wasn’t every day that I was kidnapped by a vampire, almost murdered, had my hand burned, and had to be rushed to the hospital.
I was definitely going to take tomorrow off.
A few minutes later, however, I realized my visiting hours weren’t over. Mom and Grandma Rosie both burst through the door, and Mom looked practically apoplectic.
“Are you alright? Tell me you’re alright.”
“I’m fine, thanks, Mom.”
“Well in that case, do you want to explain to me why I had to find out at the bakery that my daughter had been arrested?”
Whoops. I had forgotten that I hadn’t actually been yelled at about that yet.
“Does that mean you didn’t get the gift that I left you?”
“No, I got it, and I appreciated it until I realized it was my daughter bribing me to avoid getting in trouble for getting herself arrested. What were you thinking?”
“To be fair, I was thinking the same thing as the Enforcers or I wouldn’t have been caught.”
Mom threw her hands up in the air while Grandma Rosie wisely decided to stay quiet.
“I never thought I had a daughter who would get in trouble with the law.”
“Don’t worry, I made up for it by catching a murderer,” I replied.
“Don’t worry? I had a daughter who spent a night in jail! And everyone was talking about it.”
“Well, now they’re going to talk about the fact that I’m a hero. And if they don’t, you can bring it up.”
“It’s not about what people think. It’s about having a daughter who makes better choices in her life.”
“Well, I did what I had to do to find a killer. It didn’t go smoothly, but I got there in the end. My job is going to take me to the edge of the law, Mom,” I said. “That’s just going to be a fact of life from now on.”
Mom sighed. “I just don’t want to see my daughter ever end up in Spellcatraz. I thought I raised you better than that.”
“You did,” I said, my heart going out to her. As much as I didn’t want her to yell at me, I could also understand why she was upset. She saw me being arrested as a failure on her part. “I’m not going to go to Spellcatraz. It was just a misunderstanding with the Enforcers.”
“Most people don’t have misunderstandings with the law,” Mom said.
“I know, but most people don’t work alongside — but not as part of — the law,” I said. “Trust me, it was fine.”
Mom gave me a dubious look. “I’m not sure I trust you.”
“You can ask Jack, then. He’ll tell you it was just a miscommunication and that Chief Enforcer Loeb only put me in jail for the night for the optics.”
Mom still didn’t look convinced. “The Enforcers don’t lock people up for just anything.”
“It was technically breaking and entering,” Grandma Rosie said, and I glared at her as Mom’s mouth dropped open.
“Breaking and entering?”
I sighed. “Grandma Rosie is exaggerating. I thought the bank-robbing shifter who was the main suspect was going to try and break into the bank here, so I went to set a trap at the ice cream parlor next door. It wasn’t my fault that the Enforcers were also set up there.”
“Rhea help me,” my mother muttered, looking to the ceiling. “I wish I hadn’t known any of that.”
“Well, to be fair, I was hoping you wouldn’t ever find out,” I replied, flashing her a huge smile that was not at all returned. I supposed I wasn’t quite forgiven just yet.
“And then you thought you would buy my forgiveness with an admittedly very nice selection of beauty supplies?”
I shrugged. “It was worth a shot.”
“It didn’t work, young lady. I did not raise a criminal. I can’t believe you broke into the ice cream parlor. You’re going to find Frank as soon as you get out of here and apologize.”
“Sure, I’ll let him know that I found a killer because of it. I’m sure he’ll forgive me,” I replied, and Grandma Rosie laughed. Mom spun around and glared at her.
“You’re not helping. You’re supposed to be on my side.”
Grandma Rosie shrugged. “Your daughter stopped a murderer. So what if she had a minor kerfuffle with the Enforcers along the way? Overall, everything worked out.”
“She’s in a hospital bed!” Mom practically shrieked.
“Yeah, with a burnt hand. You’ve been in here for worse after kitchen accidents.”
Mom sighed, resigned to the fact that she was outnumbered two against one on this. “Well, I am glad that you’re not more hurt,” she said. “When Jack called me and told me you were in the hospital, I feared the worst.”
“Don’t worry, it’s just a burn and a few scratches. Willow made the potions herself.”
“Good. She’s an excellent influence on you, and you should hang out with her more.”
“I already spend basically every moment that she’s not working with her,” I said.
“Well, try to ask yourself what Willow would do. She would never break into Frank’s ice cream parlor.”
“She would never solve a murder, either.”
“Rhea have mercy on me,” Mom muttered as Grandma Rosie winked at me.
“Come on, let’s leave Ali alone. She needs her rest,” Grandma Rosie said, taking Mom by the arm and leading her out of the room.
“Is she going to be alright, though?” Mom asked, looking back towards me.
“I’ll be fine, thanks Mom,” I said,
