Pretty Little Fliers: A Cozy Witch Mystery (Magic Market Mysteries Book 1)
to risk my friend and me going to prison to help a dog.The German shepherd’s labored breathing came quicker, foam gathering at her dark lips.
We were down here on the lowest level of Bijou Mer—or at least the lowest level once the tide rose each evening, submerging the lower part of the island and cutting our magical mountain off from the human mainland of France.
He’d have to race to one of the upper tiers to find another vet that’d be open at this time of night. And they likely wouldn’t be half as talented as my friend Will. I sighed. The officer was right. His dog wouldn’t make it.
And at this point, if I refused to help, I’d not only be signing the dog’s death sentence, but incurring the wrath of a distraught policeman. And he’d probably march right back here once the sun was up and shut me down. And since he already knew of a black market vet, it wouldn’t be too hard to find Will and shut him down too, just for spite. And, in my dealings with policemen so far, they were full of spite.
Great. A police officer around a couple of shifters running unlicensed businesses. What could go wrong?
I threw my hands up. “Fine.”
He blinked and flashed me the briefest of smiles. Of course it was white and dazzling and made him even more good-looking. But it quickly faded, replaced by a crease between his brows and a grim set to his jaw. “Thank you.”
I waved a hand and shot him an exaggerated smile. “Don’t worry about it, my pleasure.” I shot the older lady, my first and only customer in forever, and her cat a flat look. “Alright, reading’s over. Out.” I thumbed toward the beaded curtain behind the officer.
She blinked at me. “But….”
“Out.”
The woman huffed, shifted the cat in her arms, and practically ran past the officer. “You should be shut down,” she called over her shoulder.
Oh, I’ll be folding up shop soon enough, lady. Her heels clicked all the way down the stairs. The bell on the door rang, signaling she’d left. Goodbye rent money, hello eviction notice.
I edged past the cop and his panting dog, giving the teeth end of her a wide berth. I crinkled my nose at her sour breath and grabbed the iron key ring that hung on the hook beside the doorway.
I jerked my head. “Follow me.” I started down the stairs.
“Is it nearby?”
“Around the corner.” I jogged down a few steps, the walls so narrow my upper arms brushed against them. How had this cop even made it up here with those wide shoulders of his, plus a dog in his arms? Which reminded me. I should probably warn him to watch his—
“Ow!”
I glanced back up at him and winced. “Er. Low ceiling. Watch your head.”
He grimaced, but nodded and followed me down sideways, his chin now tucked toward his chest.
A thumping bass beat from the bar below my apartment nearly drowned out Daisy’s whines, and soon we exited the tight, dark stairwell into the street below. I held the door for the officer, and after he’d stepped out into the muggy summer night, I shut the graffitied door and turned the lock.
BACK-ALLEY VET
With quick steps, I led the way through the dark, narrow side street I lived on. We passed the lively bar, its loud music and flashing neon lights spilling into the street. A gust of steam shot up from a metal sewer grate beside me as I shoved my keys back into my jeans pocket.
I glanced over at the officer. The German shepherd’s head rested limply on his arm, her side rising and falling in quick pants.
“What happened to her?”
The officer’s throat bobbed. “We chased some criminals a few streets over. There’s been a string of muggings around the Darkmoon district lately and we—”
We sidestepped a group of drunken revelers who crowded together in the middle of the cramped street, neon blues and purples from the signs above us illuminating their bleary-eyed faces. They raised bottles in a toast.
The officer glanced back as we passed them.
I lifted a brow at him. “Yeah, drunk and disorderly. I think you’ll have to let it go this time.”
He shook himself. “Right.”
I took a right down a dark alleyway, and brick walls rose high on either side of us. “Then what?”
“Oh.” He let out a little grunt as he shifted the dog in his arms to squeeze down the narrow passage. She whimpered in pain. “We chased them down an alley, and Daisy led the way. I was a few steps behind her, and all I saw was a flash. Then she cried and collapsed.”
I kicked an empty crate out of the way and a couple of rats scurried away, squeaking.
Hey!
Watch where you’re going.
“What happened to the muggers?” I glanced back over my shoulder. Deep shadows obscured the cop’s features.
He shook his head. “They got away.”
I raised a brow. “Because you stopped to help your dog?”
“Of course.”
I blinked and spun back around, eyes on the ground in front of me. Glass crunched under my boots. Wow. Either this guy was a saint, or way too into his dog. Maybe both. Because no cop I’d ever come across would have passed up a chance to stick it to a “bad guy,” even if that came at a cost.
I stopped about halfway down the alley at a black metal door that I’d have walked right past if I didn’t know to look for it.
“Hang back.”
The cop retreated a few steps.
I sighed. Will was literally my only friend in the world. And while I was no stranger to him being angry with me, for anything from eating his fortune cookie to interrupting his nap, bringing a cop to his back-alley clinic was probably going to be the last grain of sand.
I took a deep breath, my shoulders hiked into my ears, then lifted a fist and knocked. I shifted on my feet as I waited. The muffled sounds of