Chapter 5
Jasmine hopped up from the medical examination bench immediately after the doctor finished her exam. She disliked everything about medical centers. The smells, the sounds, and even the aura of the place.
“Could you tell the detective in the waiting room that I’m okay? He brought me here, and he won’t leave unless you clear me.” Jasmine grinned, but she had the odd feeling that Doctor Cindy Zibble wouldn’t readily do what she had just suggested. Having known Cindy for a long time, Jasmine usually got a vibe of when she wasn’t going to get what she wanted from the doctor.
“That’s not procedure—”
“Cindy, come on! Please! I’ll owe you a pesto pasta lunch.” Jasmine swallowed and waited. She wished she could just tell Cindy what was going on with her psychic sense and her precognition about Landon. But she couldn’t. Telling a mundane human about the supernatural, especially those who preferred a logical explanation for everything, was akin to shooting yourself in the foot. You’d be put in the loony bin and never be invited into a conversation with them again.
“That’s low, Jasmine! Your pesto pasta is my favorite. But still, I can’t clear you— because you’re not okay.”
“You just said I’m fine.”
“Your blood level is unstable. You’re fine now, but it could drop suddenly and significantly. That’s why you fainted.”
“Right, so if I promise not to drive, and I monitor my blood level and check back with you until you’re happy, will that do?”
She nodded. “But no driving until I clear you.”
Thinking about her car in the garage, Jasmine sighed. “Sure, no driving. You got it.”
As soon as Cindy went out to look for Bertram, Jasmine sneaked out of the room, made a beeline to the other end of the corridor, and rushed downstairs to the basement.
She knew where to find her friends. At the basement level, Mia and Beatrice paced back and forth in front of the morgue, hands waving in the air.
They turned toward her as she raced over.
“How’s Landon?”
“He was hurt. But alive. He’s recovering in the ER upstairs,” Beatrice said.
“Where in the ER? I didn’t see him.”
Mia frowned. “Why were you in the ER?”
“That’s not important!” When she saw Mia’s stern stare, she said, “Okay, I passed out. Bertram made me go to the ER.”
“You passed out?” Beatrice and Mia chorused.
“I know— I could just connect and feel things before without any drama. This has never happened before. This time, I had an episode. I saw Landon … no, I didn’t see him. I felt his emotions. Apparently, I passed out when it happened.”
“I have to take a good look at that, Jasmine. Can we have a session after this?” Mia asked.
“Yes, she agrees,” Beatrice said.
Jasmine glared at her friend. “Thank you, Beatrice and Doctor Lee!” Then she sighed. She knew her friends were just worried about her. “Yes, of course. Thanks. I understand.” She pointed her chin at the morgue. “Were you two arguing about the body?”
“If we have it …” Beatrice said and pointed at the door leading to the morgue.
Mia glanced down the corridor to make sure no one was around.
Jasmine stepped toward the door of the morgue.
“Don’t, Jasmine,” Mia said quickly. “We were here at the same time security and the people upstairs figured out what happened to Landon down here. They took him upstairs. We took the chance to check out our body of interest. The morgue was a mess. And the body was missing.”
“Missing!” Jasmine gasped. “I sensed fear and pain from Landon. So whoever took the body messed up the morgue, hurt Landon, and stole the body. But why?”
“This was an outsider job! It wasn’t the locals, and it definitely wasn’t anyone from the coven,” Beatrice said.
“Agreed,” said Mia.
Jasmine shook her head. “I can’t conclude that the killer is an outsider based on what happened. But they obviously want to hide the body from the human police. Just like we do. Landon isn’t liked by everyone in the human community, but there are ways to handle it without hurting a paranormal sympathizer!”
Mia frowned. “So you’re saying a human used this murder as an opportunity to hurt Landon? Apart from us and the owners of the B&B, he was the only person who knew the real condition of the body. He must have told someone about it.”
Beatrice’s eyes widened. “Look at what we have coming!” she said between her teeth. “What a good friend you are, Jasmine. You didn’t tell us your detective is such a looker!”
Jasmine turned around to look. Bertram approached from the far end of the corridor. He smiled, but she could tell he was unhappy and perhaps slightly angry. “How does he know I’m down here?” she asked no one in particular.
Mia winked. “Maybe he’s a psychic like you!”
She smiled at him. “Bertram, Doctor Zibble cleared me, and my friends have just arrived for Landon. This is Beatrice. This is Mia. And girls, this is Detective Bertram Hayes.”
As they shook hands, Jasmine saw Bertram’s eyes land on the door of the morgue.
Beatrice made a quick and subtle move with her right hand, and a tape appeared, sealing the door with a tag that said, “Crime scene. Do not enter.”
Bertram frowned at the seal. Jasmine was sure he was susceptible to Beatrice’s magic. That was why he had seen a dog and not a lizard at the vineyard. She smiled discreetly at Beatrice. She had sealed the door to buy them some time. Her quick thinking this time was helpful. Even if Bertram wanted to see the body now, he would need to get someone in authority to give him permission.
Jasmine saw that thread of thought in Bertram’s mind. But it disappeared quickly and was replaced by a concern … about her. She stopped peeking into his mind. It was a violation of people’s privacy, and she didn’t stomach that well.
Bertram looked at her. “Doctor Zibble told me you’re not allowed to drive for at least a week. She also asked me to let you know that your friend, Landon, is awake upstairs. If you want, you can visit him now. Then I’ll take you home.”
Jasmine nodded and turned to go upstairs. She glanced quickly at Mia and Beatrice as they walked with her. Bertram was right behind them. She’d had the conversation with Beatrice that afternoon about Landon not agreeing to help, but he hadn’t been briefed at all about Bertram. The fact that Bertram might ask him questions now, and not tomorrow, might be problematic.
The missing half-werewolf half-human body might be the least of their problems.