Page 23 of Investigation of a Quest

“Right?” he said. “I don’t know who decorates with a broken yellow brick, but the professor never explained it. I asked about it once, but he just made me swear never to touch it.”

“Did he say why?” Bel approached the ancient, yellowing rock.

“Nope. Just freaked out at me, so I never brought it up.”

Without asking permission, she reached out and snatched it from its resting place.

“You shouldn’t⁠—”

“What are you doing?” Olivia cut the aide off, but Bel didn’t answer. She simply ran her finger over the rough edges. It wasn’t a beautiful piece. It was a dirty rock with an odd color, but she knew why Professor Jack Samuel placed it on his mantel and never touched it again. There was something wrong about this cracked yellow brick. Something ancient.

Something like Eamon Stone.

“Hey!” Bel rolled down her window as she braked on the long, tree-studded drive leading to Eamon’s mansion. “Want a lift?”

“You’re a cop,” Eamon said. “You should know better than to pick up strange hitchhikers on the side of the road.”

“I should, but I can’t resist abs or a tired puppy.”

“You wanna go for a ride with Mommy?” Eamon asked Cerberus, but the panting dog was already trying to climb through her open window, so he picked him up and settled into the passenger seat, draping the seventy-pound pitbull across his lap as if he were a Yorkie.

“You have a good run?” Bel asked as her dog reached over the center console to put his slobbering jaw on her legs.

“I wasn’t sure when you were getting home, and I’ve been gone all day, so I figured I’d exercise him before we turned in,” Eamon said.

“Perfect timing, then.”

“Do you have paperwork, or can you come to bed?” Eamon asked.

“I always have paperwork.” Bel cupped his jaw. “Always… I don’t miss this part of the job.”

“But you did miss the job?”

“Yes,” she said as he twisted to kiss her palm. “I missed it a lot. Just not the late nights or endless paperwork.”

“Cerberus and I don’t miss those either. We like when you’re home with us.”

“Me too. Why weren’t you home today?”

“I met with the witch who blessed your necklace,” he said. “As far as she knows, no coven operates in or around Bajka.”

“So this isn’t a witch war,” Bel said.

“Not necessarily,” Eamon said. “Just because a coven hasn’t claimed this region doesn’t mean they aren’t fighting a war here. The easiest way to mask a magic surge is to cloak it below an Alpha’s power. Ewan is an alpha in his own right, and alphas never tolerate another encroaching on their territory. Our friendship is historically impossible, so the power well our bond has created in Bajka is incredible. The sheer force of our presence masks lesser magic to outsiders, so if covens are planning violence, they could be deliberately risking our wrath to hide the genocide. A witch war would send shockwaves through the magic community, and other covens would intervene to stop the hostile takeover.”

“But with your strength, the disturbance will go unnoticed,” Bel said, catching on.

“Not unnoticed, but it wouldn’t be as significant below my signature. Any supernatural who enters Bajka knows an alpha rules this territory. It makes some flee. It makes others like Ewan feel safe from hunters since my power shields them. Then you have the weaker magic users who risk showing up for Halloween because they’re too insignificant to warrant my attention. Disturbances regularly fluctuate my domain, and as Alpha, I rule wherever I set foot. A coven would never get involved unless catastrophe struck. They wouldn’t risk angering me unless forced.”

“So war could very well be brewing,” Bel said.

“War could definitely be brewing,” Eamon repeated. “My contact’s put out some feelers.”

“Good… I just hope she learns something before witches wipe all of us out.”

“Reception said you wanted to see us,” Bel said as she and Olivia entered Griffin’s office first thing the next morning.

“Yes, we identified our tin man,” he said. “Since we agreed to keep our neighbors in the loop, Thum sent them a copy of the autopsy report, and Deputy Dorothy called. Our John Doe lived in the neighborhood next to hers, so she recognized him without the makeup. His name is Dr. Frank Calon, and I told her you two would meet her before you speak to the family. And honestly, better Dorothy than the sheriff.”