Piety gave her a look rolling her eyes as she watched Glenda clearing the breakfast dishes, “So, werewolves are cops and people owning metaphysical stores are witches!? What do firemen get to be? Unicorns?”

“Actually, most occupations that are high on adrenaline tend to attract werewolves.” Glenda had paused holding the plates and Piety snatched them away.

“Sure!” Piety snapped flinging the dishes in the sink regardless of whether they broke or not. “Why the fuck not!”

“What is your problem? It’s not like our world was completely hidden from you.” Snapped Glenda. She made a dismissive gesture with her hand that angered Piety more.

“ You’re supposed to be happy hippies doing weed and stupid chants in the woods!” she pointed at Peabody, “ Not hanging with werewolves , Not ghost summoning and fuck knows what!”

Glenda gave her a stern look and replied, “Just because you don’t want to believe doesn’t mean you can stick your head in the sand and just say fuck it. The metaphysical, magical and witch world knows you exist. The crap will keep happening till you lean to harness and work with it. Otherwise you will go crazy trying to deny the truth.” Peabody ‘s face reddened as she struggled to contain her frustration. “What we can do is a gift and some of us barely have an once of talent. Your aunt was powerful and your mother could have been.  Your mother, if she hadn’t decided to hate who and what she was, could have been a hell of a lot happier than pretending to be uber-Christian June Cleaver.” Glenda paused looking pensive and then continued. 

"Charity , unlike your mother never hid the truth and she never tried to rule you with fear and lies. Your aunt's mistake was that didn’t push you hard enough to know who and what you are. I think she thought she had more time to ease you in. Our world isn’t always gentle.”

Piety had enough, “I am not going to be one of those flakes out in the woods talking platitudes about the goddess . I refuse to be one of those assholes blaming all the bullshit in the world on retrograde planets and negativity. Glenda I am not going to get on this boat to fantasy island.”

“ How do you explain all you have seen?!” Glenda snapped back.

“I don’t know!" Piety said back with heat and flung her hands up. " I do know that I refuse to get dragged into your world of crazy.”

Peabody slammed her hand on the table and said, “Guess what cupcake, you were born into this world and you are neck deep in some shit.”

“Really? As I see it I stopped at an accident and thought I saw a dead man. I made a police report and end of story.”

“It’s not the end of the story, your dumb bunny. You stink like a witch no matter what you what to believe.  So.  Do  I!!   You stopped shortly after a lycanthrope attack and whoever this rogue is she/he has no clue that you checked the box to opt out of all things witchy. They just know that you, know about them. So, chances are whoever murdered Yoder will not want you being able to identify them.”

Piety opened her mouth and then shut it , somewhat like a guppy. Glenda taking that as a cue to surge forward said, “You either learn who and what you are or leave your ass hanging in the wind girly girl. Either way dearie you are in this neck deep and time for you to dither is long past.”

Then with speed that seemed out of step with her age and size Mrs. Peabody turned and went down the hall presumably to gather a few things and be ready to leave and go home. Piety stood her emotions in turmoil and worse she found herself wondering what if she was to learn about this magical inheritance.

Glenda called from down the hall, “Close your mouth, get dressed and take me home. You also have a shop to run.”

Chapter 4

Jack was bored. This was not an uncommon thing, especially if you sat on one of the police only turnabouts on the I-81 freeway. Sitting at a speed trap you watched your radar gun to see who was dumb enough to fly by doing at least ten over the limit. Jack knew it was pointless at 1 o’clock in the afternoon to think he would catch much. It was the got off work crowd that would net him a speeder.

At thinking about stupid speeder zipping by Jack’s wolf perked up, it loved the chase, on all fours or in the police cruiser it was always wanted to run down prey. He soothed his inner wolf telling it they would go for a long run tonight. The wolf did settle, and Jacks mind went to Piety who had been vehement in her not wanting to accept the discovery of this new magical world. He understood, he has a changed wolf and not born to be one. The people who had at least one werewolf parent grew up knowing that one day they might shift into a wolf and have a passenger in their head that didn’t speak as much as send emotion and images.

His cell rang and he sighed as he took it, “Yes boss” he said in an even tone. He had a sneaky suspicion about why his pack leader called him midday on a workday after talking to his wife earlier.

“Hello Jack, how’s things?” David the pack alpha was a realtor in a successful business. Since he was not being his normally direct self-Jack could only assume, he was calling from work.

“All shades of fucked up David.” He watched a red Honda Civic go by, only 5 over the limit he let it pass, “The Amish man was tore up and it looks like a lycanthrope. What kind, I am not sure of, I am hoping that Karen in the medical examiner’s office got close enough to the body to get a sample to see if our venom is in the tissues. The first person on the scene as you know was Piety Jones, her Aunt Charity we all knew and cared for.”

David interrupted, “Hold on, Charity was an off the scale witch and friend to the pack, her niece should have this in hand. Isn’t Glenda the interim coven leader getting her ready for elevation?”

“One would think; however, Piety doesn’t know dick all about being a witch and seems to not want to.”

“How can that be…it’s an old family dating to the colonies, they met the first werewolf on the dock at Plymouth and ironed out how we were all going to get along in the new world.”

“I am not sure, but she sees ghosts and I am willing to bet whoever broke the laws of how we all get along will not care how little she knows and that she has no clue how to identify them.

“I hate rouge weres” David said, and Jack could hear the shuffle of papers in the background. “ Well shit, this complicates things.”

A blue Silverado pickup flew by at 90 miles an hour Jack said, “Gotta go to my other job.” Tossed the phone down and flipped on his lights and hit the gas. The day was looking up, his inner wolf said in a distinctly happy yip in his head” CHASE!” images of deer running flooded his brain and the smell of blood and warm flesh in his teeth.

Jack replied in a murmur “Yeah, buddy!”

Piety was at the shop and she was glad to have dropped Glenda off at her house. She was tired of arguing and she was tired of her modern rational brain having to figure out witchcraft, werewolves and assorted other magical crap was real. What about fairies and vampires, were they real too? She went back to changing out her display window for her late fall Thanksgiving promotion. It was not going well; she had an idea using jewelry and colored leaves and branches hung on fishing line. It looked like a mess. The bell over the door tinkled and she glanced up from untangling two necklaces with crystals dangling on them.

Piety smiled as two high school girls who were regulars stopped in, she said, “You two aren’t skipping class to shop here are you?”

The taller girl with red hair that was not a natural color in nature. She was sporting a nose ring, that was new. Piety said smiling, “Iris Caudwell does your mom know about that nose ring?” Piety looked at the young woman who practically screamed future art college student with her oversized sponge bob t-shirt that she was using as a dress with tore up leggings. The denim jacket a mishmash of buttons, patches and odd bits of jewelry tacked on. Her bangles bracelets peeped out from her sleeves.

The girl laughed and her friend, who was shorter and made of curves, who had her hair braided elaborately and the beads clanked as her head turned said “It’s a fake. You know our moms’ rules. We can’t do anything permanent till we are 18.”

Iris rolled her eyes, “That is total bull, I know of at least four other girls with real nose rings. No one cares but our dino moms.”

Iris’s friend chimed in, “My mom still thinks it’s 1994 and piercings are outrageous.” Another eye-roll. She was less flamboyant in jeans and a pink t shirt. Her leather coat was cute pseudo motorcycle jacket.

Iris pursed her lips in solidarity but added, “Clarissa your mom is so conservative.” The girl then glanced at the window Piety had been working on. She frowned. Piety could see that Iris was less than impressed at her window decorating skills.

Clarissa rolled her shoulders in a “what are you going to do?” gesture that made Piety laugh at how serious they were at the trauma of no nose rings. “Back to my question, you’re not cutting school, are you?”

“No. it’s a half day due to teacher’s in-service.”

Iris leaned in conspiratorial tone, “My mom says you saw that Amish guy get splattered on the road the other day.”

Piety almost dropped her fake leaves she had been using to decorate the shops front window. “Where did you hear that?”

Clarissa jumped in animated, “My cousin Shaniuqa is a grade lower than me but her mom is a dispatcher at the police department. She told me that the forbidden witch shop owner saw it all. I told her she was full of it. Then I said "Why listen to gossip when I can get it from the horse’s mouth?"

“Gift store with a metaphysical bend to it.” Piety said tersely wishing the small-town gossip mill hadn’t worked so effectively. She was depressed it just looked like leaves tossed about some jewelry displays.

“Puh-lease Ms. Piety it’s been a witch shop since my mom was a girl and told she would go to hell if she came in here.” Iris made a show of examining her nails in a metallic blue like you would see on a car.

“I would be willing to bribe you for the story by running to the Dunkin Doughnuts for an Oreo coffee like you like.” Said Clarissa a pinch to eager for Piety’s liking.

Piety said in a matter of fact tone, “Besides rampant goulishness why do you two seem so interested? Oh wait my budding paparazzi, you two still work at the school newspaper?”

“You make it sound like a bad thing” replied Iris trying for nonchalance but sounding like she was just bored.

“It’s an ongoing investigation, so I am not commenting.” Piety replied trying to sound prim and adult.

“SO, you did see it!” Clarissa seizing the opportunity, ‘That part is true.” 

Piety was sure she heard the theme to Jaws in her head as the girls lit up and asked rapid succession of questions. Piety pretended to not hear them.

Iris gave a questing look at the display, she could tell Piety was not going to answer and she was bored. “What were you trying for here? Jewelry to roll around in leaf piles with?”

“Ha ha “said Piety and she scooped up the leaves frustrated. Iris took them from her, “You need fish line and some tree branches, here let me sketch it out.” Iris took a drawing pad from her backpack, In minute the girl produced a sketch of the branches suspended and leaves caught mid tumble with jewelry artfully hung in the branches. Piety went to the register and rang up a no sale and noted what the money was for. Piety decided that it would be a great thing to not deal with the store window this month. She walked back to the high school girl and handed her 40.00 , “ Go get fish line, branches from wherever and coffee for all of us. Don’t forget receipts.”

“What about our story?” persisted Clarissa

“You’re not getting one while there is an investigation, however, I am thinking you two can do my window displays for pin money.” Piety replied hopping Clairissa would just drop it.

“Works for me “Iris chimed in and gathered her things pulling Clarissa along. Piety mused it was worth 40.00 to get them off the “story” and the window to get done in a creative attractive way. She looked at the clock, 5 pm would never get here soon enough.