Nolan strode down Main Street. His truck was in the shop, so he had no other way to get around. It didn’t matter. He’d walk all the way to Lily’s house if he had to. He knew she was mad and couldn’t blame her. The city had asked him to chase her off, and he had initially agreed. But after the citations, he’d stopped.

Lily didn’t deserve the trouble that came her way. She deserved a chance to open her bed and breakfast, or whatever else she wanted to do with the family property. She was nothing like her ancestors were rumored to be.

Hearing a vehicle rolling up behind him, he kept walking. Deputy Herczeg pulled alongside him and kept pace. “Glad to see you in one piece.”

“Thanks for the ride last night.”

“Get in. I’ll give you a lift.” She stopped the vehicle.

He walked a few steps before stopping and coming back around. “I’m going to the Goode Estate.”

“I figured. So am I.” The deputy motioned at him to get in.

As they drove down Main Street, he asked, “Did you tell Lily the council wanted me to run her out of town?”

“Why would I? I have no reason to.” Herczeg glanced at him. “The council ordered me not to help her. They promised me that you wouldn’t hurt her, only scare her. I need this job, and I believe I best serve the public by getting the Goode family out of town. Things have become weird since they’ve arrived. Last night, we had a full-on epidemic of lunar sickness. The emergency room was over capacity. The O’Donnell twins tried to put on a naked Shakespearean play by the mermaid statue. Cherry had a psychic episode and stalled fifteen cars on the interstate—all tourists, of course, one couple who was convinced it was because of aliens.”

Nolan nodded toward her shoulder. “Is that why you have a bandage?”

“No. Some idiot forgot it was the full moon and didn’t get into his trap in time.” She gave him a side-eyed look.

He winced. “The good news is, my werewolf gene isn’t contagious. It should heal normally.”

“I already checked,” Herczeg assured him. She lifted her left hand to show a bandage on her wrist. “I’m actually more concerned by the Echidna bite.”

“Echidna came out of her cave?” Nolan shivered. The snake lady was rarely seen, and everyone preferred it that way.

“She was cranky as hell, too.” The deputy drove out of town. “That ogre nurse, Ulga, said a scaly rash is a common side effect, and she doesn’t know how to stop it. The skin is already turning green. She said my only course of action was to find a powerful witch and hope they knew what to do. As much as I hate to do it, I’m heading out to the Goode Estate to see if they have anything that can help. I don’t have much of a choice at this point.”

“If they can, they will,” Nolan assured her, though he would understand if the Goode family didn’t want to. It’s not like the deputy had been too willing to help the witches in the past. “The town council is wrong. Lily Goode and her family aren’t here to hurt us. She wants to make a life here, start a business, set down roots.”

“I don’t think she’s a bad person, but I do know the bad luck returned with her.” Herczeg slowed as a car came barreling toward them. She eyed the driver as they passed and jerked her thumb several times in a downward motion to signal at him to slow down. The driver slammed on his brakes and skidded to a more reasonable speed. “I think she’s safer with you trying to get her out, otherwise someone else might decide to take matters into their own hands.”

“You think I’m responsible for the graffiti and fires?” Nolan shook his head. “The only thing I did was write up a stack of legal citations.”

“So, if it wasn’t you, who? Did the council send someone else?” Herczeg increased their speed. “They only told me you were involved. They wanted to keep it quiet.”

“I don’t know. I thought so until the fire yesterday. That wasn’t a scare tactic. That was someone trying to do actual damage. The pour patterns on the ground were unmistakable. They wanted the barn fire to light the house. There’s nothing clean about an insurance investigation, and the city can’t consider a house that’s no longer standing as abandoned. The law is different when it comes to land. Tracts fall under wildlife preservation and there would be nothing the town could do to seize the property. This was not someone working for the council.”

“If it wasn’t you, then that means there’s a real threat after them.” The deputy drove faster. “I may not want the Goode family in town, but I don’t want to see them harmed on their way out, either.”

Nolan gripped his hand into a tight first. It now made sense why Herczeg wasn’t too helpful when it came to her investigations. It should have occurred to him to talk frankly with her before now. He willed the woman to drive faster.