The Shifter Romances The Writer (Nocturne Falls Book 6) (29 page)

Alex let out a soft curse. “That complicates things.”

“Just a bit.”

Hank leaned on the table. “I’ve already got Nick Hardwin and Greyson Garrett working crowd patrol for the parade, but I can deputize a few more. That would free up another deputy to help keep an eye on Ms. St. James. Of course, if she’d just cancel the signing—”

“You heard her,” Alex said. “She won’t. And I don’t need extra help. In fact, I think it’s a good chance to catch this guy. She won’t ever be out of my sight, so the minute he shows up, it’s over.”

Jenna frowned. “You say that like you know what the guy looks like.”

“I know his height. And I know his scent. He’s human, but I can pick him out. And most of Roxy’s readers are female. This guy is going to stick out like a sore thumb.”

She pushed her chair back. “Good point. But I still think you should have backup. And I think I should do it. I’ll blend in with the demographic.”

Hank tapped a finger on the table. “That’s a good idea. In fact, why don’t we get some of the other women in town to assist?”

Alex liked that idea. “You think Ivy would help?” Hank’s wife was a werewolf just like he was.

Hank shook his head. “I’m sure she would, but she’s already scheduled to work at Delaney’s.”

Alex looked at Jenna. “Okay, then how about your sister?”

The valkyrie snorted. “She’s not exactly the bodyguard type.”

“But she’s a valkyrie like you and knows how to protect herself. And she’s a librarian. A book signing would be right up her alley.”

“True,” Jenna replied. “She’s probably already planning on being there, so helping out shouldn’t be an issue. So long as she doesn’t have a commitment immediately afterwards. But I’ll find out.”

Alex glanced at Hank. “Two valkyries and I should do it. Plus, isn’t the woman who owns that shop a witch?”

“Agnes?” Hank asked. “I think so. Maybe she and some of the other coven members could give us some magical aid. A little spell of protection or some such.”

Alex nodded. “I’ll talk to Agnes about it. I want to go over to the shop anyway, get the layout, see where the exits are, check if she has any kind of security system in place.”

“You going to tell Agnes what’s going on?” Jenna asked.

“I have to if I’m going to ask for her help. Besides, it’s her shop. She has a right to know. And an extra set of eyes can’t hurt.”

“Agreed.” Hank stood. “Whatever needs to happen to keep Ms. St. James safe, we’ll do it.”

“Thanks, boss. Jenna.” Alex gave a wave and left.

Ten minutes later, he’d parked in the public lot on Broom Avenue, a block away from the bookstore, and was walking into the Bell, Book & Candle. There were a few browsers and a clerk behind the counter, a young man with pointed ears. Alex didn’t recognize him, but Roxy’s stalker definitely wasn’t fae, so whoever the clerk was, he was cool.

Agnes Miller was crouched in the front window, working on a display of Roxy’s books. He’d never formally met Agnes, but he recognized her from around town. He leaned over the small partition. “Ms. Miller?”

She looked up, a trio of straight pins sticking out of the corner of her mouth. She put down the book that she was holding, took the pins out of her mouth and smiled. “That’s me. Can I help you, Officer?”

“I’m a friend of Roxy’s and I’m also going to be handling security for her signing tomorrow. I was hoping you could show me around and we could have a little talk.”

Her expression took on greater concern. “I didn’t realize she had hired anyone. I can assure you, my events are very well run.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with you or your store so much as…” He lowered his voice. “Roxy has an overeager fan that we’re concerned may show up. In fact, we’re anticipating it. So if we could talk in your office, maybe?”

She nodded. “That’s not good. I had no idea. We can absolutely talk.” She stood, then opened the small door that closed the window partition off from the rest of the store, and jumped down. “Follow me.”

For an older woman, she was certainly agile, which was made even more impressive by the fact that witches never looked their age. They had their spells and potions and magic to hold back the hands of time. If Agnes appeared fifty, she might be seventy. Or older. But she’d act thirty. The streaks of color in her hair were evidence of that.

“Lead the way.”

She started off and he fell into step behind her. She pointed at the young fae man behind the counter. “Leo, mind the shop, I have a meeting.”

Leo’s brows rose and he smiled. “You got it, Agnes.”

Her office was in the back and had a small one-way window. The space was tiny and made even more so by the stacks of books, magazines and papers. She scooped a pile off one of the two chairs. “Have a seat.”

Then she put that stack on her desk chair and sat on the desk. “What do you need me to do to keep Roxy safe?”

He took the chair. “I’m glad you asked. Do you have any kind of security system? A closed-circuit camera set up?”

She shook her head. “In Nocturne Falls? Nope.”

“Not a big deal. I’ll be here tomorrow and I’ll have at least one other deputy with me, possibly two.” He wasn’t going to explain about Jenna’s sister just yet in case Tessa had other plans. “We’ll all be in plainclothes. The women should blend in well with the crowd. I know I won’t be able to do that, so I’ll probably pick a spot where I can see as much as possible and do my best to disappear while generally keeping an eye on things.”

“You can have the run of the place if you like.”

“Thank you. I was hoping maybe you and some of your friends from the coven might be able to cast some kind of protection spell over the place?”

She grinned. “I already have an anti-theft spell in place. I can whip up something for tomorrow. It would be easier for me to do something specific for Roxy, but I’d need something of hers.”

“Such as?”

Agnes tipped her head back and forth. “A lock of hair, some eyelashes, fingernail clippings…you know, spell ingredients. But I suppose that would be a strange thing for either of us to ask her for. Especially since she’s human and doesn’t have any clue what this town’s about.”

“No, she knows. She didn’t, but she does now.”

Agnes grimaced. “How’d she take that?”

“It was a little tough, but she’s adapting quickly.”

“Good to hear. Does she know I’m a witch?”

He shook his head. “Not unless Delaney told her. Roxy is at Delaney’s now. She’s spending the night there as a safety precaution.”

“The stalker is that serious, huh?”

He gave her a brief history of what had happened so far.

“Okay, that is serious. Hey, if you have anything physical from this guy, I could scry for him, see if I could find out if he’s in town.”

Alex sat back as best he could in the small space. “We don’t even have a fingerprint. So far, he’s a ghost.”

“Literally? No, you said you actually had him pinned to the ground, so that can’t be.” She made a face. “This guy is not going to disrupt tomorrow’s event. I’m going to call a few of my coven members and seed the crowd with some extra help. We’ve got a few who can read auras, and picking out a guy in a group of woman won’t be hard. Then it’s just a matter of reading his aura to see if he plans to do harm.”

“That would be great. Who do you have in mind?”

“Right now, Kaley Van Zant is our best aura reader. Pandora Williams is her mentor.”

“I know Pandora. In fact, I’ve been meaning to talk to her, but I don’t know Kaley. Is she new?”

Agnes nodded. “She and her dad moved to town last year. He inherited the old Pilcher manor.”

“Wait a second. Kaley is a kid. I don’t know if her father would appreciate her being involved in this.”

“There won’t be any danger to her. If Pandora can’t be with her, we’ll find someone else. She’s just the best aura reader we have.”

“All right, but make sure her father’s in the loop.”

“I will. I suppose you want to have a look around the store now. Besides the sales floor, there’s a storeroom in the back. It’s where I keep stock, but also the magical books that I deal in. Those aren’t out in the open, for obvious reasons.”

“I do want to see the rest, but…” He hesitated. “There’s one more thing.”

“Sure.”

“There’s a spell that can allow a human to live as a shifter. It’s old magic and very—”

“No.” Agnes’ gaze turned cold. “That spell will ruin any human it’s placed upon. I don’t do that kind of magic. I won’t.”

“Good,” Alex said. “That’s exactly the response I was hoping for. If Roxy brings it up, which is more likely something that would happen in the future, I hope you’ll explain to her why it’s such a bad idea.”

Agnes’ expression softened. “You think she might ask me?”

“If she finds out about it, and knows you’re a witch, yes. Right now, she doesn’t know such a spell exists. I’d like to keep it that way, but in this town…” He sighed.

“She sweet on you? Is that why you think she’d want the spell? Or some other shifter?”

“You know what I am, huh?”

She grinned. “Honey, my first husband was a tiger. Literally. Too bad he’d used up eight of his nine lives when I’d met him. May he rest in peace. Anyway, I know you big cats when I see you.”

Alex smiled. “We’re sweet on each other. Which is why I can guarantee you nothing’s going to happen to her tomorrow.” He stood. “I’ll go have my look around now. If I see anything out of the ordinary, I’ll let you know. And thank you for the spell thing.”

“You got it, Officer. See you tomorrow.”

Roxy shook her head in amazement. All Delaney had done was offer Pandora Williams a slice of her Tall, Dark and Handsome chocolate cake and Pandora had shown up thirty minutes later. Now the three women sat in Delaney’s kitchen, ruining their appetites for dinner and talking around the reason Delaney had invited Pandora over.

Roxy couldn’t take it anymore. “So now that I know what Nocturne Falls is really about and I’m starting to find out who people really are—like you being a witch, Pandora—it’s making me feel…I don’t know, sort of like I’m standing on the outside looking in.”

“I get that,” Pandora said. “Being a witch isn’t that far removed from being human. In fact, being a witch is pretty different from being a vampire or being able to shift into a different shape. Although we can do that too, if we have enough magic and the right spell. Of course, that shape carries the limitations of the spell, which includes an expiration date, but it’s still a possibility.”

“I’m glad you mentioned that,” Roxy said. She couldn’t have asked for a better segue. “That’s kind of why Delaney asked you here. So I could talk to you about a spell.”

Pandora swallowed the cake she’d just eaten. “Oh? What can I do for you?”

“First of all, I should ask what you charge. I have money, but as you know, most of it has gone into the house and that aquarium. So if this is going to be a lot of money, it’ll have to wait a while for my bank account to recover.”

Pandora scoffed. “I’m not going to charge you for a spell. I mean, if the ingredients are super expensive, then we’ll have to talk. But seriously, I’m so happy to finally be able to do magic again that I’ll do just about anything for free.”

That was a curious thing to say. Roxy squinted at her. “What do you mean about finally being able to do magic again?”

Pandora finished the last of her cake. “My magic only recently started working again. All my life, my gifts were so unreliable that they were worthless. Nothing I did went as planned. I pretty much gave up using magic altogether. Then I met my boyfriend, Cole, and everything changed. Turned out he’s a human familiar. Long story short in terms a normie can understand, his presence makes my magic work. And work well.”

“Wow, that’s really cool.” Roxy looked at Delaney. “Did you know about that?”

“A little.” Delaney smiled. “Nothing stays secret in this town for long.”

Something to remember. “Well, I’m really glad you got your magic working again. And not just because I’d love your help. But I would.”

“All right,” Pandora said. “What kind of spell do you need?”

Roxy took a breath. “I don’t know.”