Pet Psychic Mysteries Boxset Books 5-8 (Magic Market Mysteries Book 2) by Erin Johnson (simple ebook reader .txt) 📕

Heidi frowned and crunched on a mouthful of potato chips. “Malorie was pushed into the cage from the second story and hit her head pretty hard, right?”

Peter and I nodded.

She tipped her head to the side. “So Maria saw her fall, changed into human form and grabbed a blow gun and poisoned dart the veterinarian had smuggled in for her, maybe, and aimed it at Malorie? And then she came to and managed, while her head was bleeding, to slash Maria in the chest with her talon necklace? And somehow Maria then shot Malorie in the back of the neck with the dart and they died at roughly the same time?”

Peter heaved a heavy sigh. “And there were no signs of a struggle.”

Heidi flashed her eyes at Will, then said in a doubtful tone, “Riiiggghttt.”

She had a point. I shook my head. “And then, how did the blow gun end up in the hallway of the sanctuary?”

Will licked his finger, then held it up. “Besides, you’re assuming Malorie was keeping this phoenix lady captive for what—fifty-plus years? Ha.” He raised a bushy brow. “Um… if that’s so, why wouldn’t Maria have just shifted to human form earlier, like during some public tour, and been like hey, let me out of this cage, dum-dums?”

“Ooh!” Heidi bounced in her seat and clapped her hands. “What if the phoenix wasn’t a captive. What if Malorie was protecting her? You think it was like witness protection or something?”

“No.” Peter shook his head. “We’d never do that.”

Heidi looked unconvinced and smiled knowingly. “Maybe not officially, but maybe Malorie and Maria were friends and they worked out a deal.”

Will scoffed. “If they were friends, why would they kill each other?”

Heidi shrugged. “Falling out?”

I waggled my brows. “More like a falling in.” I looked around the room. “Get it? ’Cause her stepdaughter pushed Malorie, and she fell into the cage?”

Will shook his head. “Oh, girl.”

“Okay, going back a sec though.” I pointed at my bear shifter friend. “Will, you said before—why didn’t Maria Begin just shift back into human form?”

“Mm-hmm.” He spat out another olive pit.

I held up my hands, my jumble of thoughts taking a vague shape. “What if she couldn’t? What if she couldn’t shift because of the same reason I can’t shift?”

Heidi gasped. “Because her coworker cursed her?”

I grinned. “No—because Ludolf cursed her. Biddy and Jan heard a rumor that Maria Begin crossed him years ago and that’s why she disappeared.”

Will narrowed his eyes. “But you’re trapped in human form….”

I nodded. “Exactly—so what if Ludolf tested a different potion on Maria, and it had a different effect. She got trapped in animal form—as a phoenix.”

Peter nodded, that thinking crease between his brows. “Then how’d she end up in a cage at Malorie Rutherford’s sanctuary?”

An icy-cold chill flooded my stomach as I thought over my talk with Madeline and the conversation we’d had with Zane Perez from WWAAC. I spun to face Peter. “We need to go back to the sanctuary and look at that paperwork you asked Quincy for.”

28

Underground Animal Rescue

Peter, Daisy, and I didn’t waste any time booking it back up the mountain to the Magical Animal Sanctuary. A servant showed us in, and we surprised Quincy and Mark in the zebra enclosure. One of the black-and-white-striped creatures lay, sedated, on its side, while Mark held its eyelid open and used his wand to shine a light into its eye.

I frowned at Mark, then at Quincy. “Didn’t you just fire him?”

Quincy rose from a crouch beside Mark and adjusted his buttoned shirt. He shot a disapproving look at the servant who’d shown us in, then licked his lips and cleared his throat. Mark, cigarette hanging from his full lips, rolled his eyes and went back to examining the zebra.

Finally, Quincy found his voice. “I, uh—changed my mind. We’re working on getting his license reinstated.”

Peter widened his stance. “Why did you change your mind?”

Daisy, at Peter’s side, fixed her intense gaze on Quincy.

The tall, thin man scratched at his neck. “You know, I, uh—” His thin chest heaved, and he stared at Daisy. “Mark was right, of course. It’s not easy finding someone who’s able to take care of these animals and their—” He choked and had to clear his throat. “—unique needs.”

Daisy whined. True.

Peter and I exchanged doubtful looks. My cop boyfriend narrowed his eyes at Mark. “In the meantime, I assume you’re not performing any procedures that you’re not licensed to?”

Mark held up his palms. “Of course, Officer.”

Daisy whined. True.

I glared at the veterinarian. It might be true… so far. But he’d been operating without a license for who knew how long already. “We’ll be reporting that you’ve been working for years without a license to the board.” I didn’t know what board exactly, but I hoped my threat sounded credible.

The vet’s face split into an infuriating smile. “Report away. But I should tell you, Quincy here has already helped me submit an appeal to the Board of Veterinary Magic and Medicine. Considering Malorie was a prominent member of it, I’m sure we won’t run into any issues in that department.”

Quincy frowned. “Is that why you came back?” He glanced at Mark. “To check on him?”

Peter shook himself. “No, actually. Earlier, we mentioned we’d be back to check over your permits for these animals.”

Quincy lifted his thin brows. “I assumed you meant in a few days’ time, not a few hours. I—I haven’t even looked for them. Like I told you, Malorie handled all that. I don’t even know where to begin.”

I flashed my eyes at Peter. We’d tried to think up a way for me to be able to question that sloth again, or any of the animals really. I had a theory that I needed to test. This seemed to be a good chance.

Peter gave me a slight nod, then turned to Quincy. “I’ll help you look.”

Quincy’s face flushed red, and he opened his mouth as if to protest, but snapped it shut