Page 20 of Ogre on Patrol (Monsters, PI #5)

Chapter 20

Thain

O phelia’s name hung in the air like a curse. I tightened my hand around the stone, trying not to touch the rune again. I’d seen… something. Not enough, only impressions.

Ellie didn't say a word. But this was Ophelia, her so-called best friend. After carefully placing Crouton on the floor near her feet, she stared at the stone in my hand. Her arms crossed on her chest in a way that made her seem smaller, like she was trying to pull herself inward.

“Ellie?”

She blinked and turned her head toward me, her eyes still somewhere else.

“Talk to me,” I said.

Her lips pressed together before she finally spoke. “I don’t—” Her voice broke like a brittle twig underfoot. She tried again, shaking her head as if to clear it. “I don’t want to believe Ophelia could have done all this.”

I rose, laid the stone on the bench and went to her, careful not to touch her yet, not unless it was clear she wanted me to. “I know this isn't easy for you. But I’m sure. The impression I got off the rune… She left it here. I’d bet anything on it.”

Her shoulders sagged and for a moment, I wasn’t sure she’d respond. Crouton let out a low whimper from where he sat beside her. She reached down to stroke his back, her fingers trembling enough for me to notice, before straightening again.

“She’s my best friend,” Ellie said softly, more to herself than me. Her voice sounded frayed, like the edges of something she'd been holding onto too tightly for a very long time. “Or she was. Thain, I don’t… What do I even do with this? I haven't figured out how I was going to confront her about her lies. She purposefully broke us up, and that stings. Now this? What do I do about all this? Call my grandmother, I suppose. Not sure what else I can do.”

“I think that's a good start. She'll be able to verify if my read is accurate.”

Ellie nodded.

I stepped closer, taking her hands from around her waist and squeezing them. “You deal with it by facing it. We both do. If she’s doing this to hurt you, to sabotage your business… that’s not a friend. That’s someone who needs to be stopped before this gets worse. For you and for everything you’ve built here.”

Her gaze darted away, settling back on the rune glowing faintly on the bench. “I can’t reconcile it with the Ophelia I’ve known. She was there for me in so many ways—through my parents’ passing, through ridiculous break-ups that didn’t matter half as much as I thought they did at the time. That...” her gaze met mine. “That was in high school and college, not recently.

“She’s been here for me for as long as I can remember. We met in kindergarten and were fast friends from then.” Her breath jerked in and out of her chest, her hand gripping the edge of the bench like she needed something to steady her.

I didn’t want to point out the obvious, that Ophelia could've been manipulating their friendship for a while. I swallowed the thought, forcing my frustration somewhere it wouldn’t show on my face. This wasn’t about me. Not now.

“But she also hurt you,” I said carefully, my voice low. “She lied about me back then, Ellie. And now this. It’s not a small thing. If she's responsible, then we need to expose her. No true friend would behave like this.”

Ellie’s face crumpled, but she didn’t cry. She was too strong for that, even when she clearly wanted to let go. She dragged a hand through her hair, leaving a streak of dirt on her cheek “You’re right. I know you’re right. If it turns out Ophelia is behind this, I’ll press charges. I have to.” Her voice wavered. “Our friendship already changed when I found out what she did to us back then. I thought maybe there was a way to salvage it, to forgive her eventually. But this? This is different. This is my life, my business. She knows how much this place means to me.”

Hearing those words was a punch to the gut, not because I disagreed, but because I hated the pain twisting through her. Ophelia deserved whatever came from this. All of it. But Ellie didn’t. Knowing she’d have to cut ties with someone she’d trusted her whole life made me angry on her behalf, even as I admired her strength.

“I’m here for you in any way you need me,” I said. I tucked her hair behind her ear and wiped the streak of dirt from her cheek with the hem of my t-shirt. I'd do anything to comfort her. “If this ruins things with her completely, that’s on her, Ellie. Not you. Remember that.”

She gave me a nod, her fingers still gripping the bench as if letting go of it would make her fall apart. But Ellie didn’t do anything like that. Not in the time I’d known her, and I doubted that had changed now. She squared her shoulders, gave Crouton a long stroke down his back, and straightened again, exhaling a breath that seemed to loosen something inside her. “You’re right. I hate that it’s come to this. I need to confront her about what she did years ago, and if we prove she's involved in this now, it's over between us.”

“You tell me what you need, and I’ll do it. Anything. Remember that.”

Her lips curved, a faint smile but there, like a sunrise peeking over the horizon.

We walked back to the house in silence, Crouton skipping along beside us.

Inside, Ellie busied herself making sandwiches, and I ate quickly with her, neither of us saying much. She returned to work in one of the greenhouses and took care of one customer, an oddity since I’d bet anything she usually swamped with them.

I finished mounting the final camera on the property. It didn't take long before the app on my phone started showing a clear stream of the footage. I cycled through each angle. The driveway. The perimeter by the woods. Her house and shots of each greenhouse from various angles. Enough coverage to make anyone think twice about trespassing again. And if they came for us, we'd capture their image and this would be over.

At least this would offer Ellie some comfort.

After I'd put all my tools inside the locked box in the back of my truck and loaded my ladders, I found Ellie in the second greenhouse, crouched near a flat of magical herbs, her hands deep in the soil. The smell of damp earth and berrybliss hung in the air, and sunlight filtered through the glass panes, painting her in gold. She was muttering under her breath, words I didn’t quite catch, though I recognized the occasional flick of her fingers—a spell, one of her softer ones. Likely coaxing the plants back to some semblance of health.

She didn’t notice me at first, too absorbed in her work. Crouton had curled up in a sunny patch of the floor nearby, his chest rising and falling in sleep. I was glad he was watching out for her when I couldn't.

Ellie hummed, a tune that flickered and dipped like the sunlight around her, and my chest squeezed tight. Watching her like this felt like seeing her in her truest form. No barriers, no defenses. Just the Ellie I'd fallen in love with all those years ago .

My fingers tightened on the doorframe, and I held myself back before I did something stupid. Like stride across the greenhouse, gather her up in my arms, and tell her I'd never let anything hurt her again. Or worse, kiss her until she was moaning, right there in the dirt and herbs, where she’d probably scold me for ruining some of her plants.

I remained in place, wrestling down the surge of longing that had carved out a permanent home in my heart. The soft light hit her hair, casting it in warm waves that shimmered like they held the sun itself. Every movement of her hands in the soil, even the way her brow furrowed as she concentrated, was mesmerizing. Ellie seemed to fill any space she was in, not with noise, but with a quiet strength that demanded attention. And believe me, she had mine.

“You’re staring,” her voice broke through my thoughts, teasing. She didn't even look up.

“Not me.” I stepped into the greenhouse and let the door creak closed behind me. My boots scuffed the concrete floor as I walked over to stand beside her.

She glanced up, squinting against the sunlight. A smudge of dirt streaked across her cheek, a mark of her hard work. It made her even more beautiful. “What kind of special agent are you?” Her grin hit me in the chest like a lightning strike, stealing all my thoughts, all my self-control. “You’re terrible at sneaking around.”

“I wasn't sneaking,” I said weakly, floundering to come up with something witty to say in reply. “I was admiring a hedge witch in her natural habitat. ”

Her laugh bubbled up, soft and bright, and it twisted through me in a good way. “A hedge witch in her natural habitat? What are you, a documentary host?”

I smirked, crouching down beside her. “I'd be happy to narrate a scene or two, if the job calls for it.” I brushed the edge of a flat, tracing the cracked corner. “But what I’m seeing here? This is award-winning stuff, Ellie. Pure magic.”

She shook her head, still grinning, and returned her focus to the plants in front of her. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

“Actually, I’m very possible.” I tried to tamp down the streak of hope threading through my words, but it was a losing battle. Being near her like this, seeing her smile even after everything she’d been through, felt like a victory I didn’t deserve. Still, I’d take every moment she was willing to give me.

Ellie rose and grabbed a small watering can, a delicate ceramic thing painted with ivy, and started soaking the soil. The earthy, herbal scent filled the space. “Are the cameras up and working?” she asked, her voice lighter now, the heaviness from earlier lifted at least for the moment.

“Running perfectly.” I rested my hand on a nearby table. “Anyone who sets foot near your property will now show up on my app. We'll catch them if they come near your place again.”

“Good.” She gave the watering can another tilt, letting the last of the water drip out in a patter before setting it on the floor beneath the bench. “It makes me feel better, having you here. Knowing you’ll catch them if they try again.”

Hearing her say that nearly stopped my pulse. “That’s the whole point, Ellie. I’ll protect you, no matter what.”

Her hand stilled on the edge of a flat, her fingers curling against the wood. For a second, I thought she might pull back, close herself off from me. But instead, she looked at me, really looked, and her eyes held something I couldn’t name. Trust, maybe. Or something bigger.

My heart slammed at double its normal speed. I wanted to be worthy of that look, of her trust. I wanted everything to be different. I wanted to start over and give her not only protection and a partnership, but something more.

But I couldn’t push for it. I couldn’t rush her, not when we’d only just started figuring all this out. Figuring us out.

Instead, I reached over and gently wiped another streak of dirt from her cheek with my thumb. Her skin was warm, and my pulse throbbed so loud I wondered if she could hear it. “You’ve got a smudge,” I said, my voice low.

Ellie blinked, her lips parting as if to reply, but no words came. The air between us felt heavy and charged, like that moment right before a storm breaks, releasing its fury. Her eyes searched mine, and I didn’t know what she was looking for, only that I hoped she found it .

Her smile returned, softer this time, almost shy. “Thanks.” She brushed her hands on her thighs.

I dropped my hand, knowing I might not be able to stop myself from leaning closer, from telling her everything I’d been holding back since the day I saw her again.

Crouton let out a sleepy huff from his sunny patch on the floor and rolled over, spiking his little feet into the air. I stepped over to him and scratched his belly for a distraction.

“I'm going to drive over to Elias Fenwick's place tomorrow to question not only Ophelia, but Valerie,” I said.

Ellie rose from the floor and brushed off her knees. “I'd like to come with you.”

“Alright.”

“What time tomorrow? I could close early. Maybe three?”

“Perfect.”

She flashed me a smile that was a thud in my chest that got my heart started all over again. I could only gape at her. Admire her in her work clothing and with dirt on her skin.

I wanted to roll around on the floor with her. Make her dirtier.

“You’re looking at me like…” she croaked.

“Like…” I was croaking too.

“Like you did when you crawled between my legs.”

“Want to be there again as soon as I can.”

Her smile widened. “You make me crave so much.”

“Then I’m doing a good job, aren’t I? ”

“You are.”

The crunch of tires in her driveway caught my ear. “Customers.”

“Damn,” she hissed. “And I was going to suggest we…”

I rose and stalked toward her, pressing her against the closed door of her greenhouse. “You want me to eat you out again, don’t you, sweet one?”

“Thain,” she breathed.

Car doors banged, and a flush rose on Ellie’s face.

She pressed a palm against my chest. “Behave.”

I stroked her cheek. “Never.”

After lifting her and placing her to the side, I opened the door and stepped through the opening. “Tomorrow morning, I’m going to wake up early. And maybe instead of eggs, I’ll have you for breakfast.”