9. Emma

NINE

Emma

We walked out of the office, the door swinging shut behind us with a soft click. A chill breeze swept through, tugging at my jacket. My attention caught on a scene a few feet away; a mom licking an ice cream cone, a kid beside her, tears in his eyes. There was a tension between them. One I didn’t see often, and it made me pause in my movements to watch them.

"Mommy, you said if I was good all day, I could get ice cream too." He wrapped his arms around himself, flinching like he was fully expecting her wrath

The woman didn't look down at him as she took another bite. "I told you, we only had enough for one. Stop crying."

"But we had more money–”

"Quiet. If you’re a brat, you won’t be getting dinner either.”

I clenched my fists as injustice knotted in my stomach. The kid didn’t look surprised, just hurt, and I’d unfortunately seen too many kids just like him, with parents who aren’t abusive enough to be "abusive,” but who are terrible people. They break their kids down day after day in tiny ways, eroding their faith that the world is a good place.

"Look, just go inside. I’m going to go to the gas station around the corner and get some smokes."

"We have money for smokes,” he murmured.

"Quiet,” she muttered again, licking her ice cream with satisfaction.

I didn't even realize I'd taken a step forward until Beth put a hand on my shoulder. "Emma, let it go," she murmured, but I was already past listening.

Heat rushed through me, a familiar prickle under my skin. I focused on the woman, on the injustice, and something clicked into place. Karma. The energy that made things right in this world. If I was wrong about the woman, nothing would happen… but I didn’t think I was wrong.

"Watch," I whispered under my breath.

One minute passed, and then it happened. The mom's confident posture faltered as her heel hit a slick patch on the pavement. Arms flailing, she slipped backward, and the cone flew from her grasp, splattering onto her face in a cold, sticky mess.

"Aw, what the—" She tried to catch herself, but ended up sitting hard on the ground, her expression one of shock and disbelief as ice cream dripped down her cheeks.

"Here." I dug into my purse and pulled out a single napkin, offering it to the woman still sitting on the ground. She snatched it from me, scowling as she tried to wipe the melting ice cream from her face.

"Thanks for nothing," she muttered.

But I knew the universe wasn’t done with her yet, or with the boy. My gaze moved to him, his eyes were wide, his face innocent. Karma was going to be stepping into his life now. He’d be okay.

"Come on, Emma." Beth pulled at my arm. We walked away, leaving the woman struggling with the inadequate napkin.

As we reached the car, I glanced back and that feeling lingered. "Karma's not done with her yet." I shook my head.

"Probably not," Beth agreed, unlocking the car.

We got in, and just as Beth started the engine, my phone rang. It was Daniel. I could hear the irritation in his voice straight away. "You won't believe this. I had to speak with that vampire detective again. The one who tried flirting with you."

"Yikes. Sorry about that," I tried not to laugh.

"Anyway," he continued, still sounding a bit growly and possessive, "they confirmed they're werewolf attacks. No doubt about it now."

"Great," I said sarcastically.

"Why are they keeping it so quiet?" I asked as Beth navigated the car onto the road.

"Because the three people who were attacked are wealthy and influential," Daniel replied. "All three of them are loaded and have connections everywhere. It's like pulling teeth trying to get anything out of anyone."

We already knew about the three wealthy people, thanks to the manager at the apartment complex, but my guess was that Daniel knew something more than what she had told us. Maybe something that could help us figure out our next step.

"Typical," Beth muttered, her hands tightening on the steering wheel. "Rich folks thinking they can sweep it under the rug."

"Unfortunately, it's not just about the money," he said. "They're part of that committee, you know, the one that takes care of Mystic Hollow's old buildings and stuff, the Historic Preservation Committee."

"Right," I said, because we knew that too. "But why does that make it harder?"

"Because." Daniel sighed. "They're popular around town. No one wants to believe they’d ever turn into... well, werewolves. And they sure as hell don't want others to know either."

"Popular or not, they're still werewolves now," I pointed out, although my heart ached a little even as I said it. "That doesn't just go away because you've got a nice house and a few friends in high places."

"Tell me about it," he said. "But for now, that's all I've got. I'll keep digging, though."

"Thanks, Daniel," I said. "Keep us posted… and be careful"

"Will do." There was a brief silence before he added, "Stay safe, you two."

"Always," I responded, ending the call.

Beth glanced at me. "So, what now?"

"We find out everything we can about the committee members. It can’t just be a coincidence that the three people on the committee all got attacked," I declared.

"Guess it's time to do what we do best," Beth said with a determined nod, accelerating down the street toward our next lead.

Since she was driving, Beth handed me her phone. "Would you pull up Trudy Durgin, please? Ask her if we can talk to Nam."

"Think she'll agree?" I typed up the message and hit send.

"I don’t see why not. They want answers as much as we do." She stuffed the phone back into her bag and glanced at me. "Are you ready to get to the bottom of this?"

"Definitely."