I shuffled into the station, exhaustion sagging my shoulders like a cloak made of damp sand. Charlaine was hunched over her files, eyes narrowed, lips pursed in concentration. I nodded at her. She glanced up and gave me a tired smile.

"You're back." Her voice was flat, weary.

"Yeah, back." I dropped into the chair behind the cluttered desk. "Coffee, please."

Charlaine handed me the pot. I stared at the black lukewarm bean juice. I needed caffeine, a whole damn pot of it. My throat was dryer than the Arizona desert and my clay was still stiff from the heat. I chugged it all in one go. I could feel the liquid coursing through my system, loosening my joints and pushing back the exhaustion. Being not technically alive, I did not need to sleep. But I'd learned a long time ago that for whatever reason, my clay absorbed coffee faster than anything else. Tequila was a close second, but that's another story.

"How much did you find out about the killer?" Charlaine pulled a pack of chewing gum from her bag.

"Killers. And they seem to have vanished into thin air." I slammed the pot down on the desk, making the old phone ring. "Looks like we're dealing with a mage."

"A mage?" My deputy's eyes widened. She looked at me, then at the pot, then back at me. "Well, good thing you're a goddamn golem." Charlaine chewed gum thoughtfully.

"Golem or not, I need your help. Get the kit, please."

"The fingerprinting kit?"

I snorted. "No, Charlaine. I don't mean the fingerprinting kit. I mean the one with all the voodoo trinkets and the weird herbs. You know, the one your grandma gave you."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, that kit. Why didn't you just say so?"

"You know that religious stuff gives me the heebie-jeebies. Your grand-mère is a nice lady, but a priest is a priest. Don't matter if they prey to Jesus, Odin, or Daddy Longlegs."

"Papa Legba."

"Whatever they call him. He's a creepy dude."

Charlaine just laughed and headed to her locker to fetch "the kit". The radio crackled on in the corner, broadcasting local chatter about an impending thunderstorm. We could use the rain, I thought. My desk phone let out a metallic yelp. I ignored the ring until it cut off. Now wasn't the time for an extended break, but a moment would have been nice before diving headfirst into this strange brew. Then, Anna's voice crackled through the interoffice speaker.

"Jam. I need you in my office. Now."

I sighed. I had hoped for another caffeine fix, but you didn't keep the mayor-slash-town-physician waiting. I checked my reflection in the mirror on the wall. I didn't need to shave, the beard was just part of the look. I rubbed my eyes and straightened my hat. I could hear Charlaine giggling from the doorway.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"La douleur exquise. Don't worry, you're looking fine enough, mon cher...iff."

"Did I ever mention that being insubordinate is a fireable offense?"

"Love you too, Jam," my deputy said, and then I was out the door.

Anna's office was a mess. Papers piled everywhere, medical journals mixed with styrofoam cups and empty pill bottles. The smell of antiseptic and stale coffee hung in the air. I stepped in and leaned against the desk. Anna gestured towards the guest chair, which was covered in a thick layer of medical supplies. I preferred standing.

"You smell like garlic," she said, coughing.

"Oh," I said sheepishly, "I carry a clove in a ziploc bag. In case I need to break up a bar fight at the Fangs and Fur. A bullets must have nicked the plastic. Now the smell is streaming out. I can go out if it's too much."

"I can manage, thanks. Bullets, you say. How's the investigation going?" The mayor looked up from the mountain of papers, her eyes red and tired.

"Well, the perps, they're gone. Vanished. Poof. Like magic." I longingly stared at a defunct espresso maker. "Speaking of, this seems to be the first sign of magical elements involved. Complicates things." I pulled out the crumpled ziploc bag from my pocket. "You know, these things aren't cheap, you'd think they could make them bulletproof." I concentrated and enclosed the garlic bag with a thin layer of clay. Problem solved.

"Rules are rules, Jam," Anna said. "As much as I hate it, we've got to call this in."

I shrugged. "It'll make it harder to do my job, Anna. To keep the town safe."

"You think you and Charlaine can do that alone now? Magic's involved. Which means you could be at risk, too."

"Bureau's gonna be here soon after the call. Probably gonna tear the whole place apart. They'll mess things up, they always do."

Anna sighed. "You know I hate it when they're here, too. But they're good at their job, Jam. More than you give them credit for. We need their experience."

"Yeah, well, I've got my own experience. And I'd rather solve this myself."

"You need more than just experience, Jam. You need manpower, competent one." Anna was getting impatient. "And yes, we'll also need to call Krabat. And no, he's not my 'Igor', I swear. Just helping me with some research."

"Alright, alright, Anna. Just don't let him turn us all into fluffy white rabbits."

Anna just shook her head. "I'll tell you what, you go back to the station and I'll start making some calls. You have a hunch about this case? Anything at all?"

"Got a feeling," I replied, "but I ain't sharing it with those goons in suits. It's gotta be me, Anna. It's always gotta be me." I stood up and headed for the door. "Don't let those suits ruin everything. You know how it is."

"I do." She looked at me with a mixture of resignation and hope. "Keep me posted, alright, Jam?"

I nodded. At the end of the day, when the chips were down, I knew I could count on her. "You got it."

I left her office, that damn stink of garlic still in the air. I saw an empty coffee mug and grimaced. Needed another pot. Needed a cigarette. Needed a goddamn break. But Shadow Falls was never gonna let me have one.

"Time to head out, Charlaine," I said and grabbed my hat from the rack. Couple of days, tops, before they'd show up.

Charlaine was already packed up and waiting. "Ready when you are, Jam."

The entire Shadow Falls sheriff's department stepped out into the hallway and back into the business of catching a killer. The case wasn't even a week old and it was already getting complicated. The air was thick with the smell of rain, a scent that was as familiar to me as the back of my hand. "Let's go," I said, taking a deep breath of the damp air, "It's time to figure out what we're dealing with."