“No.” Heidi slumped into a chair, gaping at me.
I shrugged. “Well, I mean, he had one of his goons give the curse to Eve to use, which definitely threw me off his trail—”
“Hold up.” Will held up a huge palm. “You’re sure about this?”
I nodded. “He told me himself.”
“Holy sea snakes,” he breathed.
I pressed my lips tight and nodded, eyes wide. “Uh-huh—and get this, he told me it was a bonus that he got to test potions on me.” I looked from Will to Heidi. “Why is that a bonus? Why is he testing potions in the first place? He has these three creepy old ladies working full-time as hex makers—to what end?”
Will frowned. “That is weird.”
I nodded. “I’d been right all those years ago—he had that kid I was defending taking the fall for him. Who else has gone down for his crimes? And if he had Emerson in his pocket, a top lawyer in Bijou Mer, who else has he bought?” I raised my brows even higher. “This is big.”
Will looked like he might be ill. He lurched forward, fished two random vials out of the nearest small chest, and uncorked both, downing them together. He scrunched up his face. “Eck!” He shook his head, ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth, then turned to me. “Last time you tried to expose Ludolf, you got cursed, Jolene. I just want you to remember that.”
I nodded. “How can I forget?” Not having magic was a daily hindrance, and not being able to shift was like losing a piece of me. “But it’s different now. He’s not going to stop, and Opal Whittaker, before Pearl killed her, told Peter and me that trying to cure a curse with the wrong potion can cause even worse damage—even be deadly.”
Will groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. Heidi’s lower lip quivered. She scooted over the chairs until she sat next to me and grabbed my hand. “You’re in danger.”
I nodded. “I mean, what’s new, but—yeah. Worse danger, that’s for sure.”
“How can we help?”
I gave Heidi a sad grin and squeezed her hand. “Thanks, friend. I’m not sure. I think I need to look into Ludolf more—see what I can learn and go from there. Hope I live long enough to learn something that can help me get out from under his talons.”
Will curled his lip. “What about lover boy?”
I rolled my eyes at him. “We…” I thought of our conversation on the dock. “We talked but didn’t make much progress. He doesn’t understand what it’s like to be a shifter, but I can hardly tell him about Ludolf.”
“Why—hic— not?” Heidi swayed slightly in her seat.
“She’s got a point—you’ve already told him everything else.”
I scoffed. “Well, for one, it puts Peter in danger.”
“Ha!” Will rolled his eyes. “Ludolf already threatened him, right?”
I gave a begrudging nod.
“Then maybe you should tell him—maybe he could help us.”
“It’s not a bad idea... if he’s still talking to me.” I sighed, my stomach already in knots at the thought of telling Peter about Ludolf and the giant mess I was in. Would he be grateful for my honesty and help? It’d be nice to have the police, or at least one of the good ones, on my side. Or would he see it as just another shifter problem... another wedge between us?
Will flashed his eyes at me.
I hugged my arms around my middle. “Fine. I’ll talk to him about it. I just need to find the right time.” I raised a brow. “And… us?”
“Look at me.” Will gestured at his crumpled lab coat, a green stain on the lapel. “I was a top surgeon here on the island, now this?”
“Were you?” I blinked innocently. “You haven’t mentioned it.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m tired of living in the shadows, barely able to afford rent, patching up stupid Viktor and all Ludolf’s freaks.” Will heaved a sigh. “Plus, you’re my friend and whatever. I’m not going to let him experiment on you like a lab rat.”
I nudged him. “So sappy.”
He glared at me. “Don’t push it.”
I leaned my head on Will’s shoulder and squeezed Heidi’s hand. “Thanks, friends.”
Will toed the golden chest on the coffee table. “Well… drink up. Crossing Ludolf means we’ll probably all end up dead soon, anyway, so might as well enjoy ourselves.”
Heidi dug out three glowing vials—purple, orange, and blue—and handed one to each of us. We uncorked them and held them aloft.
“To friendship.” Heidi beamed.
“And getting justice,” I added.
“And suicide missions!” Will clinked his vial against ours, and we all threw them back. I sincerely hoped he was wrong.
Book 6: A curse stole one witch’s powers, but gave her the ability to speak with animals. Now Jolene helps a hunky police officer and his sassy, lie-detecting canine solve paranormal mysteries.
When a bride’s murdered on her wedding day, can this team catch the killer?
Read Breaking Bat to solve a nuptial nightmare today!
BREAKING Bat is available on Amazon in ebook, paperback and audiobook at https://amzn.to/37WC3SZ
CLICK HERE to get your FREE copy of Saved by the Spell and check out rookie officer Peter Flint’s first case with Daisy. Saved by the Spell is the prequel to the Magic Market paranormal cozy mystery series: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/39ltzc764w
KEEP READING for a sneak peek at the next book, Breaking Bat!
A NEW CASE
“Thanks for coming up here on such short notice.”
“No problemo.” I gave Peter a tight grin, even though I was mentally slapping my forehead. No problemo? Why did this man bring out the dork in me?
I snuck a look at Peter, and my smile deepened into a genuine one. Probably because he was a dork himself. We fell into step and walked through an enormous
