The Watchful Werewolf: Twistchapel Cozy Mystery Book 5 Read online

  “That must’ve been rough,” he laughed. “The poor guy is always such a grouch. I ran into him while he was leaving the porta potty earlier, and he practically bit my head off for not getting out of his way in time.”

  “You ran into him while he was leaving the bathroom?” I asked. “When was that?”

  “I hate to admit it, but it was when Marvin died,” he said, shaking his head. “Not that I could’ve done anything to help Marvin, but I should’ve been there with him.”

  He was there when John came out of the bathroom… so John was telling the truth, at least there. That gave more credence to the other details he told me.

  “Mind if I ask you a couple more questions?” I asked.

  “Sure,” nodded Jerry. “Anything I can do to help.”

  “You mentioned something that sounded a little out of the ordinary earlier,” I said, trying to see if he’d open up more now that the other firefighters weren’t around.

  “I don’t know if I should go into it,” he said, looking away. “It was probably nothing.”

  “I promise not to judge you, even if it sounds really out there,” I said.

  Jerry looked unsure, still not looking at me.

  “It might seem like nothing, but maybe it’ll help us figure out what happened to Marvin,” I tried. “He’d want you to share it with me, right?”

  “I guess it couldn’t hurt,” he said slowly. “Promise not to laugh?”

  “I promise.”

  “A few years back…. a house was starting to cave in,” began Jerry, eyes glazing over while he thought back. “However, the woman living there said there was still a young girl inside. It wasn’t safe anymore for us to go in. Marvin didn’t care. No one ever wanted someone to die in a fire, but with Marvin… it was an obsession. He had to try and save everybody. So, against all of our judgment, he ran in anyway. I waited a second, then followed after him. Even if we couldn’t save the kid, maybe I could make sure he didn’t die.”

  “That’s very brave,” I said, nodding.

  “No, just foolish,” said Jerry, blushing slightly. “Anyway, Marvin was running through the fire faster than I could keep up, and he ended up finding the little girl, passed out in her bedroom. I caught up to him as he turned to leave, the girl in his arms. I was starting to think we were actually going to make it… until a column in the house collapsed right in front of us, blocking our way.”

  “The whole place was in flames, including the column now in front of us. We had no way out, and I began to pray. I knew it was all over. Marvin shoved the girl into my arms for some reason, surprising me. Then, all of a sudden… Marvin reached out his hands… and water appeared.”

  “I see…” purred Bart slowly. “Now it makes sense that they haven’t lost someone to a fire once Marvin was hired…”

  “Water?” I asked, puzzled. I wanted to ask Bart what he knew, but it had to wait.

  “I know it sounds crazy, Miss Foster, but it was like a spring of water burst out of his hand. It completely drenched the column in front of us, killing the flames. He took the girl back from me, shouted to follow him, and we made it out safely. The girl was given an oxygen mask and ended up living. I know it all sounds crazy, but it really did happen. It was a miracle.”

  “Did you talk to Marvin about it later?” I asked.

  “I did, but he denied it happened with a laugh. I tried bringing it up a few more times, but the other guys just told me I must have been seeing things in the smoke. I know what I saw, though. It happened.”

  “I believe you,” I said.

  “You do?” he said, a hint of disbelief in his voice. “No one ever believes me.”

  “You’ve told other people, not just down at the fire house?”

  “Just my wife, and some of the guys down at the Antler’s.”

  Antler’s was a bar near the fire station. It was very popular with not just people from Twistchapel, but visitors from out of town as well. I had been a few times with Bridgette, but it wasn’t really my style.

  “Have you talked about it recently?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he nodded. “Just last night, actually.”

  I wondered if I wasn’t the only other person who believed him. What were the odds that the two chili chefs with paranormal abilities were both killed in a short period of time? That seemed like more than just a simple coincidence to me.

  “You’ve got no idea how helpful you’ve been, Jerry,” I smiled, jumping up and giving him a hug. “I’ve got to go and catch up with a friend, but I think you might’ve given me some really important information.”

  “N-No problem,” he said, blushing as I let go of the hug.

  I ran off in the direction of my car. It was getting late, and I was on the cusp of a motive. I crossed my fingers that Derek had made it back already, and had some interesting news.

  Chapter 9

  Bart and I waited in the alleyway that we last saw Derek in. I was hoping he’d be back by now, but there was no sign of him. I figured I could wait a little longer for him, and if he didn’t show up then I’d have to talk out the possibilities with Drake. That was going to be a little difficult without bringing in the paranormal angle, but I had to at least try. One of the people I talked to was the killer, and we had to stop them before they got away with it.

  “Do you think Marvin was a warlock or something?” I asked. “You know, since he could blast water out of his hands.”

  “I mean, he could have been,” shrugged Bart. “The more likely answer is that he was an aquamancer.”

  “An aquamancer?” I asked. “Is that just like a pyromancer, but they play with water instead of fire?”

  “Bingo,” purred the cat. “They aren’t very common, but they are typically drawn towards jobs dealing with the sea. Things like fishing, or naval warfare. The British had a ton of them back in the day, that’s why their navy was so strong. I hadn’t really heard of one using their abilities in a fire environment, but it makes sense. If more of them went into being firefighters, they would probably be really good at it.”

  “Makes sense to me,” I nodded. “I wonder why more don’t.”

  “Probably because it’s too easy to tell when something strange is going on,” said Bart, beginning to lick at his paws. “No offense to Jerry, but he just seemed like a normal guy. Even he noticed that something was going on, though. If you’re out on the water all of the time instead, then you probably won’t get noticed if you happen to be bringing in more fish than the average person, or water randomly appears near you.”

  I thought about all the dangerous shipping shows they had on TV a few years back. Who knows how many of them were aquamancers…

  “By the way,” I asked. “What’re the side effects of wolfsbane? I don’t think we’ve ever gone completely over it.”

  “Mostly what you’ve heard happened to Marvin,” said Bart. “Nausea. Vomiting, sometimes. Mouth or other parts of your body on fire or tingly. Death, shortly after that.”

  “So you agree it’s probably what killed him?”

  The cat nodded. “Witches used them in various potions, but they always had that nasty side effect of killing or seriously harming the recipient. Took them a few centuries to realize it wasn’t a good idea to keep trying the same deadly concoction over and over.”

  “Noted,” I said. “Should you be teaching me about potions, by the way? You’ve taught me some spells, but nothing involving a cauldron.”

  “I can if you want me to,” he said. “You want a love potion to help you win Drake’s affection? Just kidding. You seem to have that more or less under control.”

  I blushed but didn’t say anything. I know love potions were more of a thing younger witches would make, but I would be lying if I said the thought never crossed my mind just once or twice. I imagine it would lead to a mostly unfulfilling relationship, though.

  I looked up as the soft sound of feet approached us.

  “I’m here,” said Derek, a few feet away.r />
  “About time,” said Bart.

  “Thanks for announcing yourself like a regular guy, rather than sneaking up on us in your wolf form,” I said. “I appreciate the effort.”

  “Whatever helps put you at ease, I guess,” he shrugged. “Any news on your front?”

  “Quite a bit,” I said. “We found out that Marvin was able to shoot a canon of water out of his hands, meaning he was an aquamancer, or at least someone with magical abilities. Probably helped a lot, being a firefighter. The man that told us was telling some people about it at a local bar last night. His audience could’ve included the chili competitors from out of town. It’s possible no one took him seriously, but maybe the killer did.”

  “Interesting,” said Derek, processing the new piece of information. “That makes both deaths not only linked with these cook-offs, but also linked to the paranormal. Maybe there’s a motive somewhere in there.”

  “There might be, but I haven’t totally found it yet. However, I believe Marvin was killed with wolfsbane, whether intentionally or not. One of the cooks, Mary, had some with her. When we looked at it closer, she noticed some was missing. It’s possible someone tampered with it when she wasn’t looking, but also possible she slipped some into Marvin’s sample of chili.”

  “Wouldn’t she not mention that some of the plant was missing if she was the one that poisoned him?” he asked.

  “Possibly,” I admitted. “However, she could also know that if any traces of wolfsbane show up in his system, she’ll be the one they go after. Maybe she’s building a story to help protect her when that happens.”

  “What makes her a suspect besides having the plant?” asked Derek.

  “She talked pretty negatively about your werewolf buddy from Springhill,” said Bart.

  “That, plus she was on the list to appear at the Springhill chili cook-off, but says she didn’t show up. She didn’t go into specifics.” I added. “Two other suspects that were supposedly in Springhill include John and Chad. John is always in a foul mood, and was there when they found Ned. At first I thought he had the motive to kill Marvin because of jealousy, but he brought up some good points about how if he was going to do it, he’d go about it in a different way.”

  “What about Chad?” asked Derek. “I don’t think you mentioned him when we first talked.”

  “I didn’t,” I agreed. “However, he was with Marvin the whole time, and could’ve slipped something into his chili. He also was there with John when they found Ned. John claims he was with him the whole time, though, and couldn’t have killed Ned in secret.”

  “Although, they could be working together,” recommended the werewolf.

  “True,” I nodded. “The final real suspect I have is Lucas. He’s been giving off a weird vibe to me, and has also been at the murder locations.”

  “More like you’ve been giving him a weird vibe,” smirked Bart.

  “Find anything out about Ravendale?” I asked, while shooting Bart a deadly glare. The cat didn’t seem bothered.

  “Not too much, unfortunately,” said Derek. “I’m sorry.”

  “That’s okay,” I said. I didn’t know what I was expecting. “Was there anything? Anything at all?”

  “Basically just that they heard about the woman you mentioned earlier. The one who was found in the lake. No one has been able to identify her or learn her name, though. They agreed with your assessment, that she was bitten by a vampire, but was killed before turning. It’s a bit… concerning.”

  “Concerning? More than the normal amount of concerning when someone dies?” asked Bart.

  “If a vampire was turning her, it was probably because this woman wanted to be turned. Vampirism acts quickly, so she must have been killed within just a couple of hours of being bitten. It wouldn’t have been a vampire that killed her, but someone else.”

  “Could it be a vampire hunter?” I asked.

  “Probably not,” said Derek, shaking his head. “There have been no reports in Springhill about one in a while.”

  “Any leads on who killed her?” I asked. Even if it wasn’t connected with this particular case, it’d help me to have answers for Warren when I talked to him next.

  “There isn’t anything official… but this sort of thing does happen from time to time. There are people that strive to become werewolves, too, and there is also a delay before the infection takes hold. Occasionally, people are killed before that happens.”

  “But how?” asked Bart, his interest piqued. “It isn’t that obvious to know when someone is turning. The average human would have no idea, and probably wouldn’t believe the person even if they told them.”

  “Unless they were intimate with the person,” I said, thinking about the kind of person that would be told of the change. “Families or spouses might be told, I bet.”

  “Exactly,” nodded Derek. “When we find people that are killed between the time they are bitten and before they turn, it is almost always a family member that killed them. It’s nearly guaranteed.”

  “So the person who killed her was probably related to her in some way,” I said slowly. “They must’ve been from out of town, too, since no one has recognized who she is yet.”

  “Why would someone kill their family, just because they wanted to be a vampire or werewolf?” asked Bart. “The person is still the same, just with new abilities.”

  “People are scared of us,” said Derek. “They think we are monsters, with no power to control ourselves. When family members learn that their loved ones have been bitten, they think it’s already too late for them.”

  “How sad,” said Bart. “Telling your family, only for them to turn around and kill you.”

  Even though Derek didn’t think it was much, I had a sudden realization. I was pretty sure I knew who that woman was, but just needed one more piece of information.

  “Did you get the list of the Ravendale cook-off?” I asked.

  Derek nodded, pulling a slip of paper out again. “I almost forgot. I asked my contacts, and this is what they gave me. I didn’t mention it because I’m fairly certain the list is identical to the one you have from Springhill.”

  I took the list and scanned through it. My eyes grew larger as I did a second pass of it.

  Derek was wrong. It wasn’t the same. There was a name missing from it that had been on the Springhill list, and that person was here today, too. When I talked to them earlier, they mentioned being at Ravendale.

  “Are you sure this is right?” I asked. “Someone is missing here that was at the other cook-offs, including this one.”

  “I’m positive,” said Derek. “They weren’t able to find the list of those who were scheduled to appear, so they instead gave me the list of everyone who signed in the day of the event.”

  “This is all starting to make sense now,” I said, looking through the sign in sheet again to make sure I hadn’t missed the name. “I think… I think I was right from the beginning.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Bart. “Who did you guess from the beginning?”

  “No, not a particular person,” I said. “I mean that these three murders are all connected. The person that killed Ned and Marvin is the same one who killed the woman in Ravendale.”

  “Do you know who it is now?” asked Derek.

  “I do,” I said, turning down the alley and beginning to get back to the cook-off. “I need to go confront them before they leave!”

  “I can’t be seen here in this form,” said Derek, following behind me. “I’ll have to be in my wolf form, watching from a distance.”

  “Won’t that cause a scene?” asked Bart, floating behind us.

  “Don’t worry, I’m very good at getting around unnoticed. However, if something goes wrong when you confront this person, Zoey, I probably won’t be able to get to you in time.”

  “Thanks for the thought, but don’t worry,” I smiled. “I can handle myself just fine.”

  Chapter 10

  Making it back to
the cook-off, I hurried on towards where the killer’s station was. I hoped they were still there, or this was going to get complicated.

  “Zoey?” came Drake’s voice. He was off to the side, watching my half jog towards the end of the chili stations. “What are you doing?”

  “Wait a couple of minutes, then follow me,” I said, not bothering to turn back and make sure he heard me. I didn’t want to scare off the killer with police presence. Maybe they’d be more willing to be open if they thought we were alone.

  I arrived just as the suspect finished cleaning up their station, putting the cleaned out chili vat into a large black bag.

  “Lucas, we need to talk,” I said, walking up to him.

  “Oh, hello again,” he said, zipping up his bag and turning to face me. “Have some more questions for me?”

  “I do, actually,” I nodded, trying to catch my breath. “Where’s your wife?”

  “She wasn’t able to make it,” he shrugged. “She’s feeling under the weather.”

  “Is she back at home in Springhill… or in Ravendale?”

  Lucas hesitated. His demeanor changed from relaxed to very tense at the mention of the town, and he locked eyes with me. “I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re insinuating.”

  “You keep mentioning that you’re married. At first, I thought I must have been coming across as flirting when I didn’t mean to. Now I’m starting to think it’s out of guilt. You mentioned taking her with you when you went to Ravendale for the cook-off, yet you’re not on the sign in sheet,” I said, pulling out the paper.

  “Where did you get that?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. My wife and I got into a disagreement while we were there, and I decided I wasn’t in the mood to attend the cook-off. Things like that happen from time to time.”

  “A woman’s body was found in a lake near Ravendale recently,” I continued. “In addition to having all her jewelry and identification stolen, she had… a strange bite mark on her neck, unrelated to her death.”

  Lucas stared silently back at me, waiting for me to continue.