Pet Psychic Mysteries Boxset Books 5-8 (Magic Market Mysteries Book 2) Erin Johnson (good books for 8th graders .txt) 📖

sanctuary, where the trapped Maria Begin saw her chance. She attacked Malorie, who snagged her talon necklace into the bird, and Maria somehow managed to kill Malorie.”

He shoveled some noodles into his mouth and spoke around them. “Case closed.” He pointed at the scattered photos. “I think we can wrap this up.”

I shot him a flat look. “I got you an extra hardboiled egg—we’re not done working.”

Will glared at me.

I shook my head. “Plus, here’s the thing—the photo of the hand sticking out of that plant didn’t exactly prove Malorie killed Richard, right?”

Will shrugged, and Heidi, who sat on her tall stool behind the front desk, nodded.

I lifted a palm. “If it didn’t prove she’d killed him, why’d Malorie get so upset? Upset enough to pay off and fire her head zookeeper?”

Heidi nibbled her wooden chopsticks. “Maybe she finally had an answer as to how her first husband died—the plant ate him. I’d be upset.” Her eyes grew wide. “Plus, I’m pretty sure Will would fire me if I tried to blackmail him, even if he hadn’t killed anyone.”

My bear shifter friend snorted.

Peter held his bowl to his lips with one hand and took a sip while he examined a photograph in his other hand. “We’ve got to just keep looking. Maybe we’ll catch an image from earlier in the evening that proves who fed Richard to the plant.”

Will raised a brow. “Or that it was just a tragic accident.”

I pressed my lips together. Somehow, I doubted that. These people were wrapped up in so much shady business, I had a strong gut feeling that there was foul play involved in Richard Rutherford ending up as plant food.

I picked up a picture, but I couldn’t focus. I huffed and tossed it back down on the seat beside me. I rose and stepped over Daisy, who lay at Peter’s feet, to pace. “I’m still freaking out about those trapped shifters at the sanctuary. I’m telling you guys, most—” I raised my brows. “—shell, maybe all of those animals aren’t animals—they’re shifters! And Ludolf’s behind it all.”

Heidi shook her head sympathetically, but Will scoffed. “How sure are you about all that?”

I planted my hands on my hips and turned to face him. “The sloth told me so.”

Will just raised a brow.

I huffed. “Well… he literally just said Ludolf Caterwaul… he’s a slow talker.”

My bear shifter friend crossed his beefy arms. “You’d better be sure before you go around accusing him… and getting us all murdered.”

I shot him a sassy look. “Or thrown in cages.”

Will flashed his huge eyes. “Yeah—or that.”

I sighed. “Fine. Point taken.” I did need to get absolute proof that Ludolf had basically sold fellow shifters to a zoo.

Heidi clicked her tongue, looking pained. “Why would he throw shifters in cages? Is it like jail for you guys?”

Will and I spoke at the same time. “No!”

Peter spoke up. “Bijou Mer’s jail is jail—for everyone.”

Will and I exchanged disparaging looks, then turned to Peter. I snorted, and Will let out a dry, humorless, “Ha.”

Even Heidi giggled. “Yeah, right.”

Peter frowned, and even Daisy lifted her head and looked around the room. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Will crossed his long legs and leaned forward, perching his chin on one hand. “Tell me, Officer, exactly how many people from the upper tiers are in jail?”

Peter blinked.

He held up a long finger. “Don’t forget—I was born in an upper tier family. I had no idea the privilege I had until I lost it. Jail is not the same for everyone—it’s meant for people from the Darkmoon District. For people who can’t afford bail or fancy lawyers, like Jolene used to be.”

I nodded, and Peter’s brows drew together—his deep thinking look. It was true. The justice system favored the rich—it took being rich to afford the insane amounts we used to charge our clients for decent representation. And it wasn’t just the lawyers—every step of the justice system punished the poor more harshly than the rich.

I bit my lip and remembered the appointment in Malorie’s calendar. She’d been about to see a lawyer about drawing up divorce papers from Quincy. What had spurred her to seek divorce? Quincy had seemed blindsided, but maybe that was more about him being out of touch, than the decision being a sudden one.

Something else was nagging at me. I leaned against the wall and nibbled the inside of my cheek. “Heidi has a point though… what if Ludolf is using the sanctuary like jail? What if that’s where he’s sending shifters as punishment? Including the activist leaders he betrayed to curry favor with King Roch?”

Will frowned. “Okay, but why? He doesn’t need to do that. He could just kill anyone he wants to get rid of.”

Heidi nodded. “And why aren’t they just shifting back and like telling everyone, ‘Hey help me! I’m a person!’?”

I nodded. “He probably used some potion on them, and now instead of being stuck unable to shift into an animal form, like me, they’re stuck in animal form, unable to shift back.”

Heidi covered her mouth. “That’s so messed-up.”

Will paled. “All the more proof for my theory. The phoenix, tired of being imprisoned for all these years, attacked and killed Malorie when she fell into her cage.”

Peter leaned forward. “Yeah, but we still don’t know why or how the phoenix got ahold of that poisoned dart.”

I bit my lip. “And we don’t know what that photograph of the hand of her ex, Richard, meant to Malorie. Who murdered him and fed his body to a carnivorous plant?”

Will scoffed. “Uh, maybe the same lady who filled a zoo with trapped shifters?”

I exhaled slowly, already not a fan of what I was about to say. “I’m gonna go snoop around Ludolf’s lair. Maybe he still has records and I can find proof of the potions he used on those shifters trapped at the sanctuary. It’d either lend our theory proof, or maybe we could even figure out a cure for them so the shifters could testify about what Ludolf