First Bite: Sweet & Sour Mystery, Book 1 Read online

  We reached the end of the alley and turned a sharp right down the street. Orion didn’t stop until we were halfway up the hill toward the tree road. He slipped into the mouth of an alley and set me down.

  I sniffed my hands and wrinkled my nose. The scent lingered on my fingers. “What was that stuff?”

  He grasped the corner of a fenced yard and peeked around the other side. “Salmon-scented fish bait. Most of the police for is full of were-bears, so I always keep some handy whenever I have trouble with them.” He turned to me and smiled. “Besides, the fish love it.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “So you’re telling me even a scent can throw a were-person into a feeding frenzy?”

  He shrugged. “It has to be the right scent, and it has to be strong.”

  I stuck my hands into my pockets. “You’re telling me.”

  He turned away and glanced around the corner again. “But it looks like the coast is clear. We should head out before they get a hold of themselves.”

  “Where exactly are we heading out to?” I asked him as he led me out of the alley and up the street.

  “A friend of mine has a place outside of town. We can stay there until the patrol passes and then start our reporting,” he explained.

  We hurried up the hill and in a few minutes we reached the turn in the road. To our left lay the dirt road to the strange tree. I paused and glanced down its dark depths. My mind recalled that strange pull that led me down the lane to that mysterious grove. I felt a small bit of that, enough that I took a step toward the path.

  I jumped when Orion’s hand slipped into mine. He tugged me away from the lane and back to the road. “Come on. We don’t have time for a detour.”

  I glanced one last time at the tree lane before he pulled me across the road to the forest of trees. We dove into a narrow, little-used path that wound its way through the thick trunks and brambles. Our steps had taken us twenty feet when we heard the wail of sirens behind us.

  Orion ducked us behind a large tree and pulled my head down. The sirens stopped on the road, and I heard car doors open and shut. He peeked around the trunk. “Looks like they’re checking out the tree first before they get to this side,” he whispered to me. He took my hand and led me down the path. “That gives us some time to reach the junkyard.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “The junkyard? That’s your hideout?”

  He looked over his shoulder and smiled at me. “What better place for a couple of discarded werewolves? Besides, my friend runs the place. He’ll shack us up for at least a night.”

  We zigged and zagged our way through the forest for a couple of miles before the path opened in front of us. The tree line stopped on either side of us and we stepped into a clearing some two hundred yards wide and long. In the center five yards from us and surrounded by an eight-foot tall metal-sheet fence stood the town junkyard. Stacked cars, fridges, and twisted hunks of metal towered above the fence.

  Orion guided me over to the fence. He knelt beside a sheet of metal and peeled back one of the bottom corners. He turned to me and swept his hand toward the opening. “After you.”

  I squeezed through the hole and held the sheet open for Orion to wiggled through. He stood and brushed himself off as his eyes inspected the area. “Not a bad place, is it?”

  I followed his gaze and cringed. Piles of diapers, rotten food, and broken appliances stood nearby. The stench of garbage invaded my nose. I clapped my hand over my nose and shuddered. “Just wonderful.”

  He grasped my hand and lowered it. “Don’t do that in front of our host.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He nodded at a nearby pile of composting junk. “See anything strange about that pile?”

  I leaned forward and squinted. “Other than its resemblance to an ink blot, no.”

  He chuckled. “Your stripes are showing, Jerry.”

  My eyes widened as a group of orange and banana peels slunk off the pile on all four limbs. Orange paws crushed the cans beneath its toes and a long, ringed tail swung from side to side behind it. The creature lifted its head and revealed itself to be a large tiger. Its long black whiskers twitched as it stalked toward us.

  I yelped and leapt behind Orion. He laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s just Jerry.”

  The tiger stopped five feet from us and raised itself onto two feet. The creature’s form shifted into a half-man, half-tiger where the face wasn’t quite as elongated and its back legs were longer than the front ones. I could discern the faint facial features of a man of Near-Eastern descent. “I thought I had you fooled.”

  Orion smiled and shook his head. “Almost, but your whiskers always twitch when you get excited.”

  The man brushed his fingers over his whiskers. “I will improve on that, but what has brought you here? Do you wish to buy some of my precious things?”

  Orion pursed his lips. “This is more of a personal call, Jerry. We need you to hide us for the night.”

  Jerry raised one of his fur-covered eyebrows. “Hide? From whom are you hiding?”

  The call of the police sirens came to our ears. Orion jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “From those.”

  Jerry frowned. “From the police? But why?”

  Orion shook his head. “There’s no time to explain. Just think of it as I owe you big time.”

  Jerry sighed and nodded. “Very well. Follow me.”

  He shifted into full tiger mode and loped into the jungle of junk. Orion swept me into his arms and we flew after our furry guide. The yard was a maze of piles and stacks. Everything from trucks to tea sets lay among the rotting debris. We reached the opposite end of the junk yard and found an oasis of clean among the desert of debris. A two-floor house stood in the far left corner of the junkyard. Its exterior walls were painted a bright white, and around its perimeter was a lush green yard.

  To the left of the house lay the large front gates that stood on rollers. They were open, and a dirt road led around a bend in the trees and to the fence. A plow truck stood just inside the open gates. The noise of the sirens echoed down the road.

  The front door to the house opened, and a familiar, and striped, face rushed out. It was Jasmine. Her eyes fell on us and she rushed over. “What’s happened?”

  Jerry nodded at us. “Take them to the basement room. I will speak with the police.”

  “But-”

  “Please do as I ask,” he insisted as he turned her back toward the house. He glanced at us. “Please follow my daughter. She will help you.”

  Orion smiled and nodded. “With pleasure.”

  I glared up at him. “Not with too much pleasure.”

  “Come with me,” Jasmine spoke up.

  She rushed back to the house, and we followed with the call of the sirens close at our heels.

  19

  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.”

  “An
d 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 late night?”

  I snorted. “For news, any night.”

  20

  The late-afternoon sun fell below the horizon and night overtook the shadowed junkyard. The wait was a welcome reprieve. Sort of.

  “Too hot! Too hot!” Orion yelped as he lunged for the glass of milk in front of him.

  We sat at the dining table, Jasmine beside me and the men opposite us. Between us was a small bowl of innocent-looking red peppers. Orion had just consumed two at once and his mouth was in the final stage of grief, acceptance. It had accepted that the pepper was one of the hottest in the world, and he had been stupid enough to eat two of them.

  Orion tipped his head and the glass back, and downed all the contents. He slammed the glass back on the table and hunched over the table. His face was flushed and tears poured down his cheeks. He breathed in and out like he was the last dying dinosaur.

  “Wow,” he croaked.

  Jerry chuckled and popped one of the peppers into his mouth. “It ta
kes practice, my friend.”

  “Lots of practice,” Jasmine added as she, too, partook of the peppers like they were candy.

  “Or you could stop now and live to a ripe old age,” I quipped.

  Orion coughed and nodded at the untouched glass of milk in front of me. “Your turn.”

  I cringed and glanced at my watch. “Well, would you look at the time. It’s almost midnight.” I stood and pushed in my chair. “We’d better get going. We wouldn’t want to miss the guy.”

  “Then next time I will insist,” Jerry warned me as Orion stumbled to his feet.

  “And it’ll be double like mine,” Orion added.

  I made a mental check in my mind to avoid the junkyard in the future. Jerry and Jasmine led Orion out of the room to the front door. I tucked a few of the peppers into my pocket and hurried after them. I met them at the open door where Jerry grabbed his coat.

  Orion grasped his arm and shook his head. “I’d rather you and Jazz stayed here.”

  Jerry frowned. “But this is my duty. I must protect the yard.”

  Orion nodded. “I know, but this guy’s infected with the Sickness, and it wouldn’t be a very polite thank-you if we got you involved and you caught the Sickness.”

  Jerry pursed his lips. “I still do not like this.”

  Jasmine grasped his arms and tugged. “Please, Dad. Orion knows what he’s doing, otherwise Mab wouldn’t trust him.”

  Our host sighed, but nodded his head and replaced his coat on its hook. “Very well, but call if you need help. We will come.”

  Orion smiled and gave a nod. “And we’ll be glad to have it.”

  The autumn night was cold and dark as the two of us stepped out onto the lawn. The beam of light from the open front door disappeared at its closing, and we were left with the faint glow from the curtained windows. Before us towered the heaping shadows of the junkyard junk. Twisted shapes stabbed the sky and flickering shadows of rats skittered across the ground.