Page 12 of Ogre on Patrol (Monsters, PI #5)

Chapter 12

Thain

T heir bravado fizzled like cheap fireworks. The man from Shriek I hated false hope. But my grip around her tightened. I could offer her this. “They’re not tearing you apart. We won’t let them. We’re going to figure this out. Piece by piece, we’ll handle everything.” I hated seeing the worry on her face .

Tears shimmered in her eyes. “How? We don’t even know where to start.”

“Simple.” I met her gaze. “We start by finding out who’s behind all this. And we don’t stop until they pay for what they've done. We’ll do it together.”

Together. The word hung in the air between us, and her expression shifted. Her grip on my shirt loosened, and she gave me a slight nod as she backed away.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice hoarse.

I led her back toward the house, keeping my arm around her shoulders. We could wait on the back deck for the detective to arrive.

He pulled into the driveway, his cruiser tires crunching on the gravel. He'd shut the sirens off a moment ago, but the ache in my jaw from clenching my teeth all morning didn’t ease just because the detective had arrived.

Carter stepped out of his vehicle, his expression professional. His mouth twitched as he glanced at the signs littering the driveway, one of them still half-stuck in a bush near the gate.

“Creative,” he muttered, toeing the Thief! sign with his shoe, the one that the teenager had dropped, before raising his eyes to me and Ellie. “Morning, folks. Looks like I missed the party.”

“You didn’t miss much. Same accusations, louder voices,” I said, squeezing Ellie's hand where she sat beside me on the back deck. “I told them to clear out, and they decided it was in their best interest to listen.”

Ellie kept her arms wrapped around her knees like she was trying to hold herself together. Carter gave her a small nod.

“You alright, Ellie?” he asked, striding over to the deck and climbing the stairs. He settled in a chair across from her and tugged out his phone, tapping on it a few times.

“Not really,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “They ruined one greenhouse, broke into another, and painted lies—” Her voice caught. “They’re destroying everything. Can you help?”

“I'll do my best.” He frowned down at his phone screen. “Let me get everything on record.”

Ellie curled further into her chair. I got up and leaned against the railing, probably looming more than was necessary. Carter didn’t seem fazed by it, but I wasn’t aiming to make him uncomfortable. I felt helpless to do anything meaningful for Ellie, but that was going to change. I had a solid plan for the day and soon, she was going to feel much more secure. The fates help anyone who tried to come here and damage her property again.

“Alright, names,” the detective said. “You recognize anyone in the group?”

Ellie rubbed her temples, her eyes closing for a moment. “Sandra. She was at the front. Sure, she’d complimented my marigolds once. But then she changed and started dropping snide comments about my purchases and even my business whenever I stop in at Monstrous Munchies for take-out.” Her shoulders stiffened. “That human who works at Shriek & Nail. I don't know his name, but the rest of their staff are yetis. ”

“Shouldn't be hard to pin him down,” the detective said.

“He was yelling about greenhouses and trespassing to find evidence.”

“Good start.” Carter jotted this down. He tapped his finger on his thigh and looked up at her. “I assume you want to press charges?”

“Absolutely,” she said. “After all that's happened, I'm done. No one's going to come here and make me feel unsafe on my own property. Trespassing, property damage, harassment. We’ll press every charge you can think of and let the others think about that. I want them to understand they can’t keep doing this.”

Carter nodded. “Good. I’ll have chats with Sandra and the Shriek & Nail guy. See what shakes loose. But I’ll say this upfront: Don’t expect full confessions from people like that. They’ll deny even being here if they can.”

Another good reason to plaster this place with cameras.

Ellie’s lip wobbled. Her feet dropped to the deck floor and she pressed her hands flat on her armrests, tightening her grip. “Can we go look at the greenhouse now? You’ll want to see the damage.”

We left the deck and walked toward the building, the broken door hanging still in the now-calm air. Carter leaned over to inspect the latch and the locking mechanism, scraping at a faint smudge with his pen before shaking his head. “Looks like whoever did this wasn’t trying to be quiet about it. They broke the electronic lock with brute force.”

Stepping inside, he wrinkled his nose at the mess of soil and limp plants but didn’t speak. Instead, he walked carefully around the room, crouching now and then to take pictures on his phone, his lips pressed tight as he worked.

“This wasn’t random,” he finally said, storing his phone in his jacket and returning to us. “Someone knew what they wanted to go after. Or they wanted it to look like they did.”

Ellie leaned against the doorframe. “What am I supposed to do with all this? File a report with my insurance company, sure, but what about stopping whoever’s doing this? They’re not going to do that on their own.” Her voice cracked as her fingers dug into the wood.

“We’ll catch them,” Carter said. “And yeah, get the claim filed as soon as possible. Your best step after that? Talk to a lawyer about the article that probably stirred this up. Defamation cases aren't easy to win, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore the option.”

I frowned. “No charges for Ellie related to the nature preserve. None of this holds up legally, right?”

He shook his head. “No charges. Nothing you need to worry about there. It’s nonsensical, to be blunt, and I'll admit, when the article came out, we looked into it. There are plenty of cameras at the refuge and no evidence at all that anyone's been out there, digging things up. The staff confirmed this. You can rest assured about that.”

Ellie puffed out a breath. “Alright. Thank you.”

He went outside and looked around, taking more notes and pictures before joining us at the entrance to the small greenhouse. “Anything else?”

We walked around but didn’t find any other damage.

With a grunt, Carter pocketed his phone and started walking toward his car. “I’ll be in touch once I’ve spoken with those who were here today. Maybe they'll give me leads into who else was here or who might've instigated it. This may not all be related, but it could be, and we'll keep that in mind. Keep your phone close. And get cameras up on this place today.”

“They’ll be up before dusk,” I said as he climbed into the driver's seat.

Nodding, he shut the door and started the engine.

We backed onto the lawn.

The car rumbled along the driveway and headed toward town, leaving us back in silence. I glanced over the greenhouses one more time. The damage needed fixing sooner rather than later, but first, I’d see about those cameras.

“Go call your insurance company again,” I told Ellie as she stared at where the detective’s car had been. “I’ll head to town, grab what I need from Monsters, PI. We stock everything there now. I'll get those cameras installed right away. Top of the line. Lock the gate while I’m gone.”

Her brow pinched, and she wrapped her arms around her belly. She looked ready to break and that killed me. “What if they come back when you’re not here? ”

“You could come with me. Make your calls while I'm gathering supplies from the garage behind Monsters, PI.”

She didn't point out that someone could come here regardless of whether she or I was here or not, but we'd have to trust whoever did this would take some time before coming back. They had to know we'd be on high alert.

“I will.” She looked up at me, and the sadness in her eyes was a kick in the gut. “I don't feel safe here alone any longer, and that sucks. I need to get a big dog or something.”

I stroked my fingertips down her cheek. “You've got me. My growl is almost as fierce as my bite.”

That made her smile, but it faded too fast. “I appreciate you so much. It means everything to me that you're here.”

We went inside, and she gathered her things. With Crouton snuggling on her lap, I drove to town, parking near the Monsters, PI supply shed behind Main Street. Ellie made her calls in the vehicle while I loaded various items into the back of my truck. Once I had all I needed, I climbed back into the cab.

“I spoke with my grandmother,” she said. “She’s going to come out and reinforce the wards. Said she’d pop over there right now. And I spoke with the insurance company. They escalated my case and are sending someone out today to look at the damage. They reminded me not to touch anything until they've finished.”

She looked so forlorn, I wanted to tug her into my lap and hold her for a while. But we weren't exactly a couple, and I wasn't sure how far she wanted to take things right now. I wouldn't blame her if she wasn't interested in anything between us until this was settled. When she turned away to stare out the window, stroking Crouton's head, I started the vehicle and drove back to her place.

Her grandmother had been here and left. I could taste the swirl of her wards in the air. Wards were great, but if someone was strong or persistent, they would not keep them away.

Thankfully, it didn't appear as if anything had happened while we were gone. Ellie and Crouton went inside while I got to work on installing the top-of-the-line security system I'd picked up at the shop.

The insurance adjuster arrived while I was still working, and I directed her to the house.

That was when I saw someone moving through the woods behind Ellie’s greenhouses.

I leaped off the ladder and bolted in that direction.