“I’ll have the clam chowder, New England style, along with a dinner roll, and coffee — make it black and make it plentiful,” Faron said.

  “A double cheeseburger and a cup of tea,” Bran said.

  “Give me fish and chips, and hot cocoa,” Bree said.

  I ordered the same thing that Bree was having, and Elsie moved off to get our drinks and silverware. We sat there silent until she returned, giving us placemats, silverware, napkins, and the hot cocoa, coffee, and tea. As soon as she left, we started to talk.

  “So where have we checked?” Bran asked.

  Listed off all the places we had checked, with Bree scribbling them down on a piece of paper.

  “We haven’t checked any of the hotels,” I said.

  “Yeah, but the question is: If they’re staying at a hotel, where are they keeping their victims? You don’t just hide a bunch of cats in a hotel room — even if they are familiars. And how are you going to get to the two women without being noticed?” Faron asked.

  “Good point,” I said. “What if they’re not staying at a hotel? What if they’re staying at an air B&B? Or, with friends? They might have someone in the area who saw Fancypants with me, and told them. Dragonette’s are worth massive amounts of money on the black market. Even though it seldom works to re-bond one, the chance is worth a lot of money. And if you have enough money to pay for that, you won’t miss the cash if it the attempt doesn’t pan out.”

  “True enough,” Bran said. “It makes a lot more sense than them trying to hole up at some hotel. Even an air B&B would be dangerous. Some of those owners hover like helicopter parents.”

  “We can’t possibly just drive up and down the streets looking for a green van,” I said. “For one thing, people do have garages around here, and some of them even keep their cars inside. I’d put out a bounty, but that would defeat Daisy’s purpose in keeping the news about the van quiet.”

  “I guess there’s not much more we can do tonight,” Bree stirred her hot chocolate, staring at it glumly. “I’m sorry this happened,” she said. “We all love Fancypants.”

  I nodded. “It’s tearing me up, but knowing there are more victims, it’s even worse. We can’t let them get away with this. I can’t let them take him out of the town. We have to save the women and cats, as well. Not just Fancypants.”

  “When we better figure out what to do,” Faron said. “If anybody’s got any good ideas, put them on the table now.”

  At that moment, Elsie brought our dinner, and we waited until she left before we began discussing possible ways to find the poachers.

  As I dug into the fish and chips, realizing that I was hungry, Faron cleared his throat and gave us a clouded look.

  “There is one way we can go about this,” he said.

  “How?” I asked.

  “I have a couple friends who are not exactly in tune with the Pack. I knew them when I was younger, and kept touch even though I couldn’t openly be friends with them while I was on the throne. They understood, because they have to watch out who they’re seen with, as well.” By the tone of his voice, it was obvious that his friends were not exactly good with the law.

  “Can we trust them?” I asked. “I don’t want to compromise Daisy’s investigation.”

  “They don’t compromise anything, they’re very discreet. Their help doesn’t come cheap, but they’re worth every penny. If they can’t find these guys, nobody can. Not even Daisy and her crew.”

  “I wish I could track Fancypants through his energy signature, but if May broke the spell, I’d be so engulfed in grief that I wouldn’t be able to focus. I hate that she had to do this, but I understand why.” I stared at the French fry in my hand, queasy. “I just can’t stand the idea that he might believe I abandoned him.”

  “Fancypants will never believe that,” Bran said. “Faron might be onto something. While I trust Daisy, she has to work within legal limitations. We don’t.”

  I turned to Faron. “How much will we owe your friends?”

  “That’s one of the problems. They don’t get out of bed for less than ten-k. Dollars, that is.”

  I had enough left over from my father’s trust fund to take care of matters. “I’ll pay it. I can pay it — but I want them doing their best. Not just because it’s a lot of money, but because I need Fancypants to come home to me.”

  “I’d be happy to chip in a couple thousand,” Bree said.

  “I can put in about three thousand,” Bran said.

  “I can’t add much at this point, not until my funds are out of the trust. But I can give you a couple thousand after my affairs are settled and the entire situation with the Pack is done,” Faron said. “So we can swing it all together without breaking the bank.”

  “I don’t expect any of you —”

  Bree interrupted me. “Don’t even start. Fancypants is our friend even though he’s your dragonette. We’re not about to let them torture him.” She turned to Faron. “When can you talk to your friends?”

  “We can go there tonight,” he said. “Let’s finish our dinner and I’ll call ahead and let them know we’re coming.” Catching the worry on my face, he added, “don’t be concerned. They will do a good job, and Daisy will never be the wiser. And maybe we’ll be able to save those two women in the process — along with the cats that they stole.”

  Thinking about it that way, I nodded. “Thank you also much. I’m so afraid for his life — and now I’m afraid for the others as well. I hope to hell this isn’t a big company, though. I don’t want to have to take on massive organization.”

  “It probably isn’t,” Faron said. “A lot of these operations are small potatoes, but they sell their goods to bigger fish in the business. Who knows, we may be able to even get a name out of them for the cops. Anyway, I’ll make that phone call and then we’ll finish our food and — if they’re willing — we can go over and talk to them.”

  Feeling a spark of hope, I finished my fish and chips and hot cocoa. While I wasn’t sure about Faron’s thugs, if they were half as good as he said, maybe… Just maybe… We had a fighting chance.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Faron called them and then, after agreeing to a midnight rendezvous, we finished dinner and headed home until it was time to meet them.

  There was a small area of Starlight Hollow that was known as the Grimwold. While there weren’t any slums in the town, there were areas that were better left unvisited. While we didn’t usually have anything as serious as boat pirates or smugglers, there was a faction townsfolk that you just didn’t want to mess with. And most of them lived down in the Grimwold.

  Close to the water line on the south side of town, the neighborhood gave off a peculiar aura. My alarms sounded the moment we came within five hundred feet. It started at Edgewater Avenue and ended up at Wharf Street.

  “I don’t like it here,” I said, glancing at Faron.

  “Not many people do. There’s a reason the houses look uninhabited. Nobody wants anybody snooping around inside so they make them unappealing.”

  I caught my breath. “I’m having a flashback,” I said.

  Faron pulled over to the side, parking by what looks like an old antique shop that had closed up several months ago. “What kind? Are you all right?”

  I shrugged. “All right, but the night Rian and I headed home, we were walking because we were too tipsy to drive, and we were in an area like this.” I shuddered. “Do we have any vampires in town?”

  “I doubt it. I’ve been in and out of here numerous times, late at night. Don’t worry, Bran and I will take care of you and Bree. For that matter, my guess is that Bree can take care of herself. We’ll all go together.” He waited, not pushing.

  At that moment, Bree and Bran pulled up behind us. Bran ran up to Faron’s window.

  “Is everything okay?” He asked.

  Faron nodded. “We were just waiting for you guys to catch up. In fact, I suggest that you get in the back of my car and we all go together for this one. Your truck should be all right here.”

  Looking skeptical, Bran motioned for Bree to join us. After Bran locked up the truck, they slipped into the backseat and fastened their seatbelts. Faron eased back onto the street and we headed into the Grimwold district.

  “It’s hard to believe this neighborhood belongs in Starlight Hollow,” Bree said. She craned her neck, staring out the window.

  She wasn’t wrong. The houses in the Grimwold district looked old — not just in age, but in condition. They were beyond weathered, falling apart, and here and there one of the bigger lots would serve as a junkyard for old cars, piled on the front lawn. Even though it was winter, the lots were overgrown beneath the snow, a tangle of brush and vegetation that encroached from the surrounding woods.

  “I can’t understand why the city council doesn’t do something about this,” Bran said.

  “What can they do? If they try to enforce rules on cleanup, a lot of these people can’t afford it. And frankly, there are several old hootenanny families here — you know the type. Their forebears ran underground stills and speakeasies, and — if I remember right — at least three federal agents lost their lives trying to bring down the bootleggers.” Faron kept his eyes on the road, but shook his head. “Bran, do you remember Claude van Aucht?”

  Bran frowned, crinkling his brow. “Tall guy, spindly but wiry? With a beard down to his belly and his hair pulled back in an old gray ponytail? He always wore a brown suede vest over ripped jeans, if I remember.”

  Faron nodded. “That’s the guy. His family ruled the bootleggers’ market out here on the peninsula at one time. They were a bunch of bear shifters, and while I don’t know if they still live in the city limits, they pretty much kept control of the illegal whiskey trade.”

  I bit my lip. “They don’t sound very pleasant.”

  “They aren’t. The one thing I will tell you, some of the families out on this peninsula have been here since before the pilgrims landed over on the other side. They made friends with the native tribes, or at least developed a mutual peace treaty between them. But when the settlers started moving west, those families didn’t like it one bit. They were mostly shifters and witches, and they liked having control over the resources here. It was touchy going in a number of areas, for a long time.”

  He took a breath and continued. “The van Aucht family was one of those first immigrant families. Don’t get me wrong — they paid their bills, they donated to the church raffles, they even helped with barn raisings. But the minute you stepped into the shadow side of things, they were in firm control.”

  I found the past history of the area fascinating. And I realize that talking about the van Auchts and prohibition had taken my mind off my nervousness. We had been weaving through several side streets, but now Faron pulled over into a driveway. The house was a two-story craftsman, and while it didn’t look as old as some, it sure wasn’t new. He motioned for us to get out and follow him toward the door, cautioning “let me take the lead on this. I mean it.”

  Bran, Bree, and I all just gave a nod. None of us wanted to put ourselves in the limelight.

  Faron knocked on the door four times, paused, and then knocked twice again. After a moment, the door opened and a man about 5 foot 10 stood there, staring at us. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I stayed quiet. But after a beat, Faron gave him a two-fingered salute and said, “It’s a long night before a snowy day.”

  “There’s never enough snow for me,” the other man said, then stood back and opened the door wide so we could all come through.

  As we entered the main room, it struck me that the house was much brighter and cleaner than it looked from outside.

  “Faron, welcome,” the man said, grasping Faron’s hand and then pulling him in for a quick hug and a slap on the back. “It’s been a long time, bro.”

  “You know why it had to be like that,” Faron said. “But now, I make my own rules. I need your help, bro. And I need you to be honest with me.”

  Whoever he was, the man let us into what appeared to be a wide living room. The inside of the house had obviously been renovated, although not to the highest upgrades. But it looked surprisingly nice, and the living room was open and airy.

  “Sit down, do you need anything to drink?” He asked.

  After we all said no, Faron came right to the point. “We’re here because we need to talk to you about the possibility of finding somebody. There’s a collector on the loose, and he has someone near and dear to our hearts. We need to find out where he and his partner are. It could be a gang, because not only has our friend been kidnapped, but also two shifter women and several familiars.”

  The man — who still had not introduced himself — sat down beside Faron, a thoughtful look on his face.

  “Locals?”

  Faron shook his head. “I doubt it. I mean, there’s always that possibility, but I sincerely doubt it. They may be working with some local gang, but you know how collectors generally work. They never stay in one place too long because it’s too easy to get caught.”

  “Anything to go on?” The other man asked. By now, two more men joined us, and they sat on the outskirts of the room, listening in.

  “A green van, although we don’t have the make and model. And two men.” He looked over at me. “Did you by chance catch sight of them?”

  “Did they try to kidnap you?” One of the men asked.

  I wanted to ask what his name was but had the sense that would be a mistake. “Not exactly. I have a magical bond with my friend who was captured.” I hesitated for a moment, then decided to be upfront about it. “I’m a witch. And my friend is a dragonette.”

  The three men sat still for a moment, then one let out a long sigh. “That makes it tricky. Dragonettes sell for so much on the black market, even though it’s stupid to try. Most can’t be re-bonded and die during the attempt, so it’s a true waste of energy, if you ask me.”

  I wasn’t sure why, but that made me feel better. If he saw the folly of trying to kidnap a dragonette, chances were he wouldn’t ever bother doing so. Which meant that chances were even better of me getting Fancypants back, should they be able to find him.

  “When did this happen?” Faron’s friend asked.

  “Do you have something we can address you by?” Bran asked. “It doesn’t have to be your real name. It would just be easier than saying hey you.”

  “You can call me Josh,” Faron’s friend said. “So, when did this happen?”

  “This evening,” I said. “We were having dinner at my mother-in-law’s house, when Fancypants — my dragonette — let out a shriek that I felt all the way down the road. He was the one who told me that it was two men with the green van. But they drugged him before I could get any more information out of him.” I hesitated for a moment, then added, “If you can help us, we’d appreciate it. I know what happens to dragonettes who are auctioned off to the highest bidder. Especially those who were stolen and who are already bonded.”

  “Yeah, it’s not pretty,” Josh said. “Let me make a couple phone calls. Meanwhile you all just rest here while I search for information.” He headed off into the other room, leaving his buddies with us.

  Faron gave them the once over, then looked back at me. “How are you doing?”

  I shook my head. “All right. Though my stomach has a lump the size of a baseball in it. Can he really help us?”

  “If anybody’s got his finger on the seedy side of Starlight Hollow, it’s Josh. And that includes keeping track on scammers and other rogues passing through.” He arched an eyebrow. “If anybody can tell us anything, it will be him.”

  “How the hell did you meet? I can’t imagine your father approving of the friendship.”

  “You’d be surprised. A good leader knows that he has to keep his eye on his entire world, not just the side that’s all sunshine and roses. Unfortunately, my brother doesn’t share the same sentiment. I have some serious doubts about how he’ll do as the king, but that’s not my affair. I’m out of it and if you have any doubts, you can send them packing.” He took one of my hands, and Bran took the other.

  We waited in silence. Bree seemed comfortable enough, she sat back against the sofa, closing her eyes. We were all tired, and I was a little worried about Faron’s new job. But it was a mere ten minutes before Josh returned.

  “I have news,” he said before we could ask. “My sources tell me that the McFarland brothers are back in town.”

  Faron shifted, letting go of my hand and straightening his shoulders. “The McFarland brothers? Wonderful.”

  Even Bran seemed to recognize the name. “I thought they were run out of town twenty years ago. My father talked about them.”

  I glanced over at Bree, but she looked as clueless as I felt. “Will someone tell me who they are?”

  Bran glanced over at me. “The McFarland brothers used to run the underside of Starlight Hollow. They had more charges against them than a porcupine has quills. And they’re far more painful. They had racked up charges from jaywalking to kidnapping to assault when they were run out of town. I wonder if Daisy knows about them.”

  “I doubt it,” Josh said. “Daisy Parker’s a good sort, but she wasn’t the sheriff back then, and the McFarland brothers are good at remaining incognito. However, I happen to have an address for them. In fact, my source was about to call me and tell me about them because he just saw them this morning. They must have just returned to town recently.”

  “Do you have anything you need to get out of them?” Faron asked. “In other words, do they leave anything?”

  Josh shook his head. “I extracted it last time they came through town, which was seven years ago. They’re all yours.”

  “Where are they staying?” Bree asked.

  “Down by the Glassworks. There’s an old abandoned warehouse down there, and my source said that’s where they’re holed up. But I’d hurry. They’ll be on the move quickly. Especially since they’ve kidnapped a dragonette. They aren’t going to want to stick around to face an angry witch.”