We rushed inside to find the house as clean as its exterior. The smell of spices permeated the halls. In front of the entrance was a staircase to the upper floor, and below that was an open staircase to the bottom. We swung around the railing of the lower staircase and down to a landing. At the end of the short landing was a doorway.
Jasmine led us through the door and into the dark, cool dry basement. My inexperienced eyes made out shapes that hung from the ceiling, and my experienced nose was bombarded with the scents of strong spices.
We followed the wall to the right until the corner. Jasmine pressed her palm against an indent in the wall, and part of the wall to her left opened to reveal a hidden room.
She turned to us. "You can hide in here, but whatever you do don't make a noise. They might hear you."
Orion nodded. "Understood, and thank you."
He carried me inside and Jasmine closed the wall behind us. We were left in pitch-black darkness.
A sudden thought came to my mind. "You think there's any way we can let ourselves out?"
Orion set me down. "They'll let us out when the police leave."
"And what if the police take them away?" I countered.
"Then we have a problem."
My shoulders slumped and I pinched the bridge of my nose. The scent of the spices bit at my sensitive nostrils. My eyes water"Maybe we should-" He clapped his hand over my mouth.
A moment later I heard the thud of heavy boots above us. Murmured voices floated to our ears. One was high-pitched and young. Jasmine. Another was soft. I could barely hear him. A third joined theirs. Their voice was deep and firm.
The many pairs of boots trudged across the first floor and faded upstairs. Orion dropped his hand from my mouth. I glared at him, or at least the spot where I thought he stood. I didn't have time to scold him before a pair of boots came back down the stairs. They walked the boards to the basement steps and proceeded down into the spicy domain. I held my breath as I heard the door creak open.
"What the hell-?" a man yelped.
The other boots pounded down the upper stairs and rushed to the aid of their basement fellow. "What's wrong?"
"What the hell is down here?" the first voice asked.
"It is our spice cellar," I heard Jerry explain. "The spices dry best beneath the ground, and store very well here. Would you like to try some?"
"What we'd like you to do is tell us where Orion and the girl went," the deep voice spoke up.
"I did not see where they had gone," Jerry replied. I suppressed a snort. It was the truth. Sort of.
"Everybody, spread out," Deep Voice demanded.
"But sir, there's no way we can smell them down here," the man who had yelped pointed out.
The guy with the deep voice growled. "Fine. Everybody back to the cars."
The boots began their ascent. A sudden tickle hit my nose. I threw my hand over my mouth. Too late. A small, squeaky sneeze escaped me.
The boots paused. I froze. Orion stiffened at my side.
"Did you hear that?" Yelp Man asked the group.
"The walls are old and make noises," Jerry spoke up.
"I don't think walls sneeze," Yelp Man argued.
The heavy boots walked deeper into the basement and stopped a few feet from our hiding spot. There was a long pause. The boots turned. "All right, men, let's go."
I heard Yelp Man take in some air. "But sir-"
"I said we're going," the gruff man repeated. "Thank you for your time, Jerry."
"It was my pleasure, and please come again when you are in need of supplies," Jerry replied.
"We will. Come on."
The boots and two pairs of other shoes clomped upstairs and out of the house. The sirens sounded, and faded into the distance. I leaned against the wall and sighed. "Are we having fun yet?" I quipped.
Orion chuckled. "I admit it's been a little too long since I had you in a dark room all to myself."
I rolled my eyes. "Maybe it's about time I taught you how to heel."
Soft footsteps walked down the stairs and over to the hidden door. The entrance swung open. I blinked against the basement light. Jerry and Jasmine stood before us, and both sported pursed lips.
"I would like an explanation please," Jerry requested.
Orion smiled and bowed his head. "And you'll have one, but in your living room."
Our little party trudged upstairs and to the living room at the front of the house. Orion and I took a seat on the couch, and Jerry seated himself in a chair opposite us. Jasmine stood behind him with one hand on the tall back. We recounted our story, and when we were finished Jerry leaned back and frowned.
"This is very bad," he commented.
Orion smiled. "Only bad in that we have to wait for the entire police force to leave before we can hunt for that loose werewolf."
"Did you want me to tell Mab about this?" Jasmine offered.
Jerry grasped her hand and shook his head. "I do not want you leaving. Not when it is dark and that werewolf might return."
Orion arched an eyebrow. "Return where?"
Jerry furrowed his brow and tapped his chin. "I cannot be sure, but I think I have seen this big werewolf of yours."
Orion and I leapt to our feet. "Where?" we shouted.
Jerry shrank beneath our question, but pointed a finger out the window. "Around the junkyard. The wolf tried to get in many times, but I scared him away with my growling." He smiled and nodded his head. "He is very afraid of me."
I rubbed my nose as another blast of spice rolled off our host. Maybe it wasn't so much the noise as the strong smell.
"Can you show us where you last saw it?" Orion requested.
Jerry stood and nodded. "Yes. Come with me."
Jasmine stayed behind while Jerry took us through the maze of junk to the back fence. He pointed at a newly repaired portion with two fresh metal sheets. Beside the fixed wall was the destroyed parts. Their lower joined corners had been peeled back to make room for a large body.
Orion knelt in front of the destroyed parts and ran his hand over the curved metal. "How long ago was this done?"
"Last night. Very late," Jerry told us.
Orion looked over his shoulder at the stacks of junk. I saw microwaves, water coolers, small fridges, and the legs of countless office desks. "Any idea what he might have been after in this part of the yard?"
Jerry followed his gaze and shook his head. "No. This area is for office machines only. No garbage to eat."
Orion stood and turned to our host. "Were there any recent dumps?"
Our friend nodded. "Yes. Yesterday. It came from city hall. Let me show you." He led us over to a slope of one of the piles and pointed at a broken computer monitor. The screen had a large hole in the middle. "They bring that one. I asked what happened, and they said it was an accident." He smiled and shook his head. "No accident. That is a fist."
Orion leaned down and brushed his hand over the screen. "You're right." He straightened and sniffed his hand. "And it smells like our old friend the mayor was involved."
I arched an eyebrow and nodded at the screen. "So that was her screen?"
He nodded. "Yes. She must have seen something she didn't like."
I snorted. "Probably spam."
Orion half-turned back to the fence and furrowed his brow. "The police investigation notes disappear, the mayor warns us not to interfere, and now we find our prey is stalking her."
I folded my arms and frowned. "If this were a mystery movie I'd say we had a motive for a multi-department cover-up."
He nodded. "Yes, but no solid proof. That's why we need to capture the werewolf before they do."
I grinned. "Looking to shake up city hall with some furry proof?"
Orion turned back to Jerry. "What time did the werewolf come here?"
"About one in the morning," he replied.
Orion looked to me and smiled. "Ready for a l
ate night?"
I snorted. "For news, any night."
CHAPTER 20