Page 24 of Ogre on Patrol (Monsters, PI #5)

Chapter 24

Ellie

O phelia flinched like I'd thrown a cup of cold water into her face. “Ellie, that's not fair.”

My nostrils flared. “Fair has nothing to do with this. Fair isn’t messing with my life. Fair isn't trying to destroy my business. Are you involved, or aren't you? My patience is running thin.”

“I can't believe you'd?—”

“What is going on here?” someone barked behind us. We turned to find Elias Fenwick striding our way. “I heard shouting and that's strictly forbidden inside my greenhouses.” He swept his hand to a sign that indicated loud voices would not be tolerated. “Even from outside, I could hear you harassing my employee.”

Employee, huh? Last I heard—from my supposed friend—they were living together. He was her alibi for the night in question.

“We were asking her simple questions,” Thain said. “No harassment at all. ”

“It was nothing.” Ophelia turned away, wiping tears. My “friend” rarely cried. The only time I'd seen her upset was… back when she accused Thain of groping her.

Damn her.

“I'm fine.” Her voice shook. “They… It's alright, Elias. I'm okay. They were… asking a few questions, upsetting ones, I'll add. I was defending myself.” Her shoulders shook with her sobs.

“Leave,” Elias snarled. “Go and do not return to the premises. Your moods shout anger and that will not be tolerated here. Unease disturbs my lovely plants. Not only that, but you’ve also upset one of my stellar employees. If she's sad, it will be passed onto the plants in her vicinity. I won't have it.” He stabbed a finger toward the door. “Go. Now.”

Thain and I made eye contact, and he nudged his head toward the exit. We didn't say a thing as we walked away, and neither did Ophelia. The only person I heard speaking was Elias who was cooing, first to his plants and secondly, to her, no doubt trying to cheer all of them up. Sad that she didn’t rate first cooing.

However, nothing beat being kicked off someone's property. My jaw ached from clenching it, and frustration simmered beneath my skin. I should’ve felt victorious after calling Ophelia out, though she hadn't admitted anything. Now all I felt was drained.

Outside, we started walking toward the customer parking lot where we'd left his truck, but Thain stopped, his head turned to the left.

“What’s that?” he asked .

I peered around him in that direction. “Another greenhouse. Smaller than the rest. Looks new.” If the sparkling glass and newly seeded lawn around it were anything to go by.

“Let’s go take a look.”

I pointed to the sign. “That says No Trespassing, Restricted Area.”

“We got lost. Wandered in the wrong direction. It’s an honest mistake.” He turned and took the crushed stone path in that direction with me scampering after him, my hands twitching at my sides.

But we’d only made it halfway down the path before Valerie stepped out of the new greenhouse.

Thain came to such an abrupt stop that I slammed into his back. Clinging to the back of his shirt, I tilted my head around him to look that way.

“Restricted Area, you two,” Valerie said in a dry voice. Her arm lifted, and she pointed to the main path. “Turn around and go look at some flowers, would you?”

“They don’t answer questions,” I said, stepping up beside Thain.

“They don’t, do they?” She gave us a grim smile and crossed her arms on her chest, tapping the toe of her pretty shoe on the path.

“So many beautiful buildings. It’s no wonder we wandered into this area,” Thain said, taking my hand and turning, tugging me down the path.

A peek over my shoulder showed Valerie stepping back inside the small greenhouse.

“Wonder what’s inside?” I asked .

“I don’t believe we’ll find out.”

As we neared the main building, Thain’s hand tightened around mine, and I glanced up. His eyes were focused ahead, but there was a quiet intensity in his expression.

“Let’s take the path on the right.” He flicked his hand toward where it split, the pretty white crushed stone continuing left while plain old gray gravel flowed to the right.

“The sign indicates customers are not allowed.”

“I love breaking rules, don't you?” He flashed me a bone-melting smile.

Mine came out much weaker. “Sometimes. Not really.” We came to a stop, and I frowned, studying the path that meandered to the right of the building and was clearly not for customers. No pretty plantings. No vine-covered trash bins. In fact, that direction led to a dumpster parked as discreetly as a dumpster could be, nestled beneath a cluster of trees. The path ended at a long, paved driveway and a white box truck had backed in and people were unloading things from the back.

Thain's gaze was locked on the workers. “Let’s go check it out.”

“I'm sure it's nothing. I get deliveries myself all the time.” Well, not all the time. My operation was much smaller—and poorer. But monthly. “They look pretty much the same.”

The workers were moving boxes off the truck and into a shed that looked as pristine as the rest of the estate. The shed's modern design, with gleaming white panels and a sharp metal roof, practically screamed Fenwick perfection.

Thain shot me another smile. “Let's go.”

“Why? Looks like regular supply deliveries to me.” Though my curiosity had been switched to the on position. Thain had a way of making the smallest things feel significant.

“No particular reason.” He nodded toward the stack of boxes being carried inside. “Please note the marking on one of them.”

I couldn't see a marking from here, but ogres had better eyesight than witches. But when we got closer, sneaking along the edge of the path like we were on a school field trip and doing something that was guaranteed to get us into trouble, I spotted what had caught his eye. The first few boxes were labeled with the usual words: “Fragile,” “Handle with Care,” and “Breakable.” All normal. But near the middle of the stack, one of the boxes blazed with a symbol I recognized.

A rune, though different than the one on the rock inside my greenhouse.

My stomach sank, and I got chills despite the warm fall afternoon. Stopping about ten feet away, I stared at the marking burned into the cardboard surface like something out of an Indiana Jones movie.

“That can’t be a coincidence,” I whispered.

Thain lifted his eyebrows. “Doesn’t feel like one, does it? Let's go find out what's inside that box and where it came from.”

“Maybe it's a protective rune, one to ensure the contents arrived safely.”

“And maybe not.” He moved closer to the stack of boxes, keeping his posture casual, like he was a simple customer poking around. I followed, unable to tear my eyes from the rune. My hand twitched with the urge to grab the box and rip it open to see what was inside.

“What’s in the boxes?” Thain asked a worker carrying a smaller package into the shed. The man, human and rail-thin and with sweat darkening his gray t-shirt armpits, shot him a frustrated glance.

“Supplies,” he said, his voice clipped. “For the greenhouses.”

Thain gave the guy a smile that could convince anyone to spill their deepest secrets. “What kind of supplies? We’re big plant people. Always looking for exclusive items for our home.”

The worker hesitated, looking at the partially opened truck as if checking to see if anyone else was watching, but they all appeared busy to me. “Fertilizers, tools, nutrients, the usual stock for keeping everything thriving.” He jerked his thumb toward the shed. “Nothing fancy.”

“Are they special?” Thain kept his tone light. “I’ve never seen that symbol on a box before.” He waved to the rune.

The worker’s brows drew together, his lips pressing into a thin line. “I don’t know anything about that. I’m just unloading them. You’d have to ask Mr. Fenwick.” He picked up his pace, hoisting the package and practically jogging into the shed.

I exhaled through my nose and turned to Thain. “That was not subtle.”

“Not trying to be,” he muttered, his gaze locked on the rune-marked box.

Before he could move to touch it, a clipped voice called out. “Wandering again?” We turned as Valerie strode toward us, her heels clacking on the pavement like tiny hammers driving nails into a headache. She crossed her arms and fixed Thain with a steely gaze that might’ve made someone else back up. “You two never give up, do you?”

Thain didn’t even flinch. “Oh, this?” He glanced toward the staff ignoring us and moving boxes. “Just admiring the operation.” He glanced around as if he was studying the trees and plantings for inspiration, though they’d only done minimal landscaping on this side of the building, the standard stuff you'd put in if you wanted to make the place look decent but didn’t care if it wasn’t a showcase. “The setup here is impressive. It makes me curious about how everything runs behind the scenes.”

Valerie’s eyes flicked between us. “Behind the scenes is employee territory. Customers aren’t permitted past this path as you no doubt saw when you passed the sign.”

I rested my hand on Thain's arm. “Sorry. We got lost.” I forced a sheepish smile. “We must’ve missed the sign. I could swear the parking lot was around here somewhere. ”

She studied me for a moment, trying to decide whether I was genuine or full of it. My bet was leaning toward the latter.

“Lost, huh? What a coincidence.” The hard lines of Valerie's mouth pulled tighter.

Thain shrugged, his voice calm. “It happens. Places like this, it’s easy to take a wrong turn. We're back on the right track now, though. Thanks for pointing it out.” He slid a charming, easy-going grin her way, one that could probably get him out of speeding tickets.

“Ellie Landish,” Elias Fenwick boomed, his voice carrying like thunder.

Valerie jumped, but she smoothed her hands down her dress and fluffed her hair, turning his way with a big smile on her face.

Elias strode around the truck, his tailored navy suit looking wildly out of place among the work overalls of his employees. “Mr. Develon again as well, I see.” His sneer traveled over us both. “What are you doing in this area?” His voice cut through the air like pruning shears slicing through a tree branch. His sharp eyes flicked to the box with the rune sitting on the floor of the shed, and when the muscles in his jaw contracted, I worried he'd grind his teeth into powder.

He came over to stand next to Valerie, who mirrored his irritated pose.

“We seem to have veered off track,” Thain said, keeping his voice light. “Got a little curious, I guess. This part of your operation is amazing. Well done. Well done.”

Elias’s lips twitched into a forced smile that didn’t come close to his eyes. “This area is for employees only. Customers have no business here.”

“We didn’t mean to intrude,” I said quickly, trying to smooth over the tension. “We were only admiring the, uh, efficiency. We’ll head back to the main lot.”

“Yes, you will,” Elias snapped. He shoved past us and into the shed, where he grabbed the rune-marked box, hefting it. “I already told you both to leave. If I find either of you on the premises again, I will notify the authorities.”

“I understand,” I said, my stomach twisting into knots. “It was an honest mistake.”

Thain’s hand grazed my lower back, a subtle gesture urging me to move. I took the hint.

Elias spun on his heels and stalked toward the main building. My witch instincts buzzed louder than one of the fans inside his greenhouses. He glared over his shoulder at us every step of the way.

“What do you think Elias is hiding?” I whispered to Thain as we made our way back up the path and toward the customer lot.

“No idea. But he didn’t like us being back there or seeing that box, that’s for sure.”

I glanced back over my shoulder. The employees were busily carrying more boxes into the pristine shed while Elias disappeared through the building’s side door. Valerie’s sharp heels clicked as she followed him.