Pretty Little Fliers: A Cozy Witch Mystery (Magic Market Mysteries Book 1)

check the couch cushions for laundry money.
Will dropped onto a rolling stool and leaned his elbows on the table. He buried his face in his big hands.
Angry Will, I could handle. Defeated Will? I shoved my hands in my pockets. Now I felt a little bad.
“I’m sorry, okay? But he just showed up at my place, his police dog’s hurt, and he begged me to help.” My eyes flicked to the egg on the floor, my hunger suddenly gone, replaced by a tinge of guilt. “I know it’s a risk but… what was I supposed to do?”
Will scoffed, his voice dangerously quiet. “You were supposed to say, ‘Sorry, Officer, I’m not a vet. Best of luck.’” He raised his thick brows. “That is what you’re supposed to do!” He slammed his hands on the exam table, and the bowls rattled.
I jumped.
“You, of all people, should understand what you’ve just done.” He shook his head. “Does he want to put the handcuffs on me now? Or wait till after I’ve operated on his dog?” His eyes blazed.
“You’d probably enjoy it.” I mean, the cop was easy on the eyes.
He glared at me.
My lips quirked to the side. “Does that mean you’ll help?”
He threw up his hands. “Oh. And what about when Ludolf finds out I had a cop in here? You think he’s going to lovethat?”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not my fault you got a ‘favor’ from him.”
When Will had lost it all, he’d been forced to go to Ludolf Caterwaul, mob king of Bijou Mer’s secret shifter underground, for assistance. He’d been hoping to get a position as a doctor somewhere, but the mob boss had set Will up here, in the Darkmoon Night Market District, with the small clinic.
While Will mostly worked on animals, he also patched up Ludolf’s goons whenever needed. Plus, my friend paid a monthly “protection” fee, like many other shifters in the night market, to keep the same goons from roughing him up or vandalizing his clinic.
I’d opted to keep my independence from Ludolf, thank you very much. The dog-scratch-dog world of shifters made my skin crawl. I didn’t want to owe anyone anything.
I stalked a few steps forward and stopped across the exam table from Will. “Look, the cop already knew about you, and if I hadn’t helped him, what then? His dog dies? You think he’s going to be in a great mood? He’d have come back for me and found you out anyway.” I crossed my arms and glared at my friend.
He kept his eyes down on the table in front of him, mouth pinched.
“Besides, he….” I shifted on my feet. “He seems different. Like he might actually be a good cop.”
Will glared at me and circled a hand in front of his face. “Oh, and the fact that he’s gorgeous had nothing to do with how good he seems, I’m sure.”
“Look, you helping or not, cause that dog is out there dying?” I hiked my brows.
My friend stood, towering over me. “Fine.” He shook a thick finger at me. “But only because at this point, I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
I rolled my eyes, but grinned. “Thanks, friend.” I spun toward the door behind me.
“Oh, we’re not friends anymore.”
I glanced over my shoulder as I pushed through the swinging door to the lobby.
Will glared at me. “I’m never speaking to you again.” He planted his hands on his hips. “Which won’t be hard, since I’ll be in jail!”
I spun away and grinned. Heidi wrung her hands, a vial of the poison green vomit between them.
Peter, his face pale, blinked at me.
“Head on in.” I thumbed over my shoulder. “He’ll see you.”
My grin dropped as my eyes landed on Daisy. The dog convulsed in the officer’s arms.
I gulped and stood back, holding the door as he rushed past me.

SPEAK!
Will flicked his wand, and the bowls of ramen with assorted tubs of condiments and toppings cleared. He pointed at the exam table. “Lay her there.”
Peter slowly laid Daisy down, cradling her head in the crook of his arm. Her tongue hung out of her mouth and her eyelids fluttered. Foam and bile clung to the dog’s lips.
Heidi shuffled next to my friend and held up the green vial. “Test it?”
Will nodded, and she got to work at the back counter, her back to us. Jars of swabs, metal instruments, and stoppered bottles of glowing potions littered the counter beside a metal sink.
“Back up. I need room to work!” Will waved his hands and I took a few steps away, pushing my back against the wall.
Peter, lips tight, gave Will a once-over, then backed away from his dog and stood beside me. The small room was barely big enough to fit the four of us plus the dog and the exam table.
I swiped a bead of sweat away from my hairline. “I can’t believe you don’t even have a window in here.” The room was muggy. And I was definitely feeling the heat while brushing shoulders with the tall, handsome cop beside me.
Will scowled at me over his shoulder. “Oh, so sorry it’s not the royal palace, princess.” He went back to shining his lit wand into the dog’s eyes. Her pupils contracted, but she didn’t react in any other way.
He released her eyelids and they snapped shut. Will then peeled her lips back and looked at her gums. He crinkled his nose and turned his head to cough.
“Smells like sulfur.” His eyes darted to Heidi. “Did you try the mandrake root yet?”
She glanced back, her brow pinched. “Yeah, boss.” She shook her head and her braids bounced. “It was negative.”
“What happened exactly, Officer?” Will didn’t look up from looking inside Daisy’s ears.
Peter’s throat bobbed. “We were chasing criminals, there was a flash of light and—Daisy collapsed.”
“What color?” Will pressed his ear to the dog’s heaving chest.
“Huh?”
“The light!” My friend rolled his eyes, impatient. “What color?”
“Um.” Peter shook his head, his brow pinched. “Purple.”
Will swept a hand over the dog’s