Angel: Private Eye Book One (34 page)

Nate took the book and looked
at the cover.
“A Brief History of Magical Crime in Vale? Ahh ... who
wrote this ... and who published it—”

“Oh no one wrote it, it wrote itself.”
Ebony pulled out another book and threw it at Nate. “Here's another
one you might like.”

“Witches, a Comprehensive Study of their
use in Law Enforcement in Vale,” Nate read aloud.

“There are other books I could find you,”
Ebony began to pick her way towards the back of the store. She had
to admit she was feeling a little bit ashamed, but only just a
trifle. She'd had such fun playing with this new detective that
she'd let Harry get out of hand. The spirit of this old store was
cantankerous to be sure, but usually never as dangerous as he'd
been today. To put it simply, she really could have handled things
better, and now she was eager to smooth things over.

Well, not smooth things over
completely. There was something very delicious in the way Detective
Nate reacted to being teased. The man had this certain vibe about
him that made Ebony want to walk up to him, mess up his hair, and
pinch him on the cheek.

“Hey,” Ben walked up to Ebony and caught
her arm, “you can look for books later. Right now, we need you on a
case.”

“Oh,” Ebony said quickly, “oh dear. It's
that murder from last night, isn't it?”

“Yeah.”

“I don't like murders,” Ebony said
softly.

“No one does, kid.” Ben nodded at Nate.
“Now, you've kind of had a big morning. And I'm sorry for how
things have played out. You can go back to the office, and I'll get
one of the boys to give you a proper debrief.”

Nate slowly shifted from foot
to foot, staring warily out at the store, then down at the two
books in his hands.
“It has been an unusual morning,” he said
carefully.

“Ha, yeah.” Ben clapped a hand on his
shoulder and shook it lightly. “I told you it was important to
learn the ropes in this town.”

“I did think it was strange when I was
forced to sign a specially drafted secrets-act,” Nate noted, voice
becoming more detached.

“About that,” Ben grinned, his chin
dimpled like a sand dune in the wind. “That secrets-act is going to
be, ah ... more binding than you think.”

Nate's brow knotted.
“Sorry?”

“It's a magical document,” Ebony
interjected. “One of the things you'll learn in those books I've
given you is about the sacred pact between the witches and the
police department. Part of that pact is that you'll never pass on
the secret of the witches. And in order to ensure that, you sign a
special kind of document.”

Nate's brow tightened.
“What kind of
document? What do you mean?”

“Well, while breaching an ordinary
secrets-act might land you in jail ... trying to tell anyone about
the witches will ....”

“It's not pleasant, son,” Ben patted
Nate's shoulder again. “Your throat will seize up, you'll lose your
voice for a day, you won't be able to write or communicate in any
way ... oh, and you'll grow a really hideous wart on the end of
your nose.”

Nate grimaced.
“Right.”

“Now, we've got to get to that crime
scene, Eb, while it's still, ah, fresh.”

Ebony gave a shudder. If anyone
had been paying particularly close attention to her, they would
have seen her stature reduce slightly, her expression become
weaker, her stance less confident. While on familiar ground, Ebony
could be as cheeky and sassy as her red lipstick and wild hair
would permit, but when things became unfamiliar, uncertain, unsafe
even then Ebony's confidence would ebb. And as the confidence
ebbed, the knowing glimmer would fade from her eyes to be replaced
with
...
well, something more human.

“Rookie, I'll drop you off at the office
on the way.”

Detective Nathan Wall took a
final look around the room, at the books in his hands, up at Ben's
open face, and finally over to Ebony.
“I signed up for this job,” he said,
voice stiff but determined. “And this is my first day. I'll go with
you.”

Ben smiled
appreciatively.
“I knew you were made of strong stuff! Alright, let's stop
burning daylight; the citizens of Vale are counting on
us.”

As the three of them walked out of the
store, Ebony quietly surveyed the strange Detective Nate.
Firecracker, live wire, pain in the butt, or knight in shining
armor?

This one was going to be
interesting.

The end of Witch’s Bell
Book One Chapter One.
The rest of this book is currently
available.