Page 30 of Ogre on Patrol (Monsters, PI #5)

Chapter 30

Ellie

A persistent vibration cut into my dreams. I stirred, lifting my head from the pillow as the sound continued. Thain grunted beside me, his heavy arm draped over my waist.

His phone. On the bedside table.

The glow of the screen illuminated his face as he swiped it up, blinking against the light. The furrow in his brow deepened as he sat up straighter, focusing on whatever was on the screen.

“What is it?” I whispered, pushing myself onto one elbow.

“Camera notification.” His voice was rough from sleep. “Someone’s on the property.”

That shot adrenaline straight through me. I leaned closer as he showed me the footage of a cloaked figure moving through the shadows, their silhouette clear against the faint lights on the front of each greenhouse. They stopped near one of the undamaged structures, their hand lifting. The faint glow of magic flickered, but whatever spell they cast hit the greenhouse and arced off like water repelling from wax.

“Thank you, Nana Bea.” The rune specialist had cast some wards before they left.

Thain shot out of bed and grabbed a pair of sweatpants, yanking them on. “Looks like they weren’t expecting wards.”

I slipped from bed and tugged on my robe, tying it tight around my waist while I stuffed my feet into flipflops.

“Stay behind me,” he said as we crept down the back deck stairs and out into the cool night air.

Only the sound of cricket chirps broke the silence. My heart pounded as I followed Thain, his broad shoulders blocking my view as we moved toward the greenhouse, angling away from where the figure had approached so we could come at them unseen.

They were still there, muttering something under their breath, their hands glowing faintly as they prepared another spell. The air tingled with magic, sharp and acrid, setting my teeth on edge. They reached into their cloak and pulled something out. A rune glowing on the surface of a rock. My stomach dropped.

They barely had time to place it on the ground near the greenhouse door before Thain stepped forward. “Hands up, Ophelia. Back away.”

The figure froze, spinning toward us.

Valerie?

Her hood fell back, her blonde hair cascading around her snarling face. Her gaze darted between Thain and me as if she was calculating her odds of escape. It wasn’t lost on me that her foot edged closer to the rune she’d just placed on the ground.

“Don’t even think about it,” Thain growled, his voice low and sharp. His hand snapped out, and he latched onto her arm, holding her in place

I speed-dialed Nana Bea.

Valerie faltered but her lips twisted into a bitter sneer. “You wouldn’t understand. Either of you.”

“Nana Bea?” I said into the phone after she answered.

Valerie groaned.

I explained to my grandmother, who said she'd be here in a flash.

“Explain,” I said after tucking my phone into my robe pocket. “Why did you do all this?”

“I'm not doing anything. I was taking a walk.” Even she could tell that sounded weak.

“What have I ever done to you?” I hissed.

“What have you done to me?” Her voice rose, anger mingling with something dark and painful. “You had everything handed to you. Perfect greenhouses. Perfect reputation. A perfect family legacy to fall back on when things get hard. Meanwhile, I’ve had to scrape and claw for even the smallest bit of recognition. I've always been second best, always in someone else’s shadow.”

“Is that what this is about?” I couldn't believe it. “You were jealous?”

She jabbed a finger in my direction. “You fired me, Ellie. You took my livelihood away. What was I supposed to do, roll over and say it was okay?”

“You were stealing,” I snapped. “You sold endangered magical plants to black-market collectors. You jeopardized everything I’d worked for.”

Valerie’s eyes blazed as she took a step forward, coming to a quick halt when Thain's growl ripped through the night. “Your grandmother’s council fined me. Sentenced me. Do you know how hard it is to come back from something like that in this community?

Thain held up his phone, the security footage playing on the screen as her figure crept across the lawn. “This is sabotage. Expect more punishment to come your way.”

Valerie’s defiant mask cracked, her eyes darting to the glowing rune she’d placed on the ground before flicking back to Thain’s phone. She clenched her fists, trembling with whatever inner battle she was fighting. All the air left her lungs in a rush, and her shoulders slumped.

“Fine,” she spat, her voice laced with venom and resignation. “I did it. All of it. Destroyed the ordrid greenhouse. Planted the rune. The graffiti. The lies in the paper. I even stirred up the protesters. Does that make you feel better, Ellie? Knowing you ruined me first?”

My breath caught. All the time and energy I'd poured into building my business, all the nights spent worrying someone would come after me again, boiled down to this. Bitter jealousy and a personal vendetta.

I lifted my chin. “You’re not the victim here. You chose to do something illegal. You chose to sabotage me. Whatever you’ve faced since then, that’s on you.”

Her lip curled, but before she could say a word, magic split the air. Nana Bea appeared, taller and more commanding than I’d ever seen her. Her hair glowed in the moonlight, and a second figure, a male council member dressed all in black and with sharp features and a no-nonsense expression, appeared by her side.

“Well.” Nana Bea surveyed the scene with narrowed eyes. “Seems there’s an infestation of rats in my granddaughter’s backyard.”

“Here’s her confession.” Thain handed the phone over to Bea to show the footage. “She did it all.”

Nana Bea’s lips pressed into a thin line before she leveled her unyielding gaze on Valerie. “Very well. Let’s see what else she has to say.”

Valerie took a step back, her eyes frantically searching for an escape. But there was no evading Nana Bea. With a flick of her wrist, my grandmother cast a binding spell. Golden threads of light wrapped tightly around Valerie, pinning her arms to her sides. She swayed, stunned, but kept glaring at me as though I was the bad witch in this story.

Nana Bea’s next spell filled the air with an electric charge. Only a few could do truth spells, and she was a master.

It worked quickly, dragging words out of her whether she wanted them spoken or not.

“Why have you targeted Eleanor Landish?” Nana Bea asked .

Valerie’s mouth opened and closed, her jaw trembling as she fought against the magic. When the words spilled out, they came in a flood, her anger twisting each syllable. “Because she has everything I’ve ever wanted. Respect. Success. You. The council. Everyone adores her. I'm nothing.” Her voice cracked.

“And the sabotage? Where did you obtain the rune?” My grandmother's gaze fell on the new rock Valerie had brought with her, and she shook her head in disgust.

“I stole one of Ophelia’s painted rocks,” Valerie said sullenly. “I took it to Salem. There’s a witch there who trades in runes, and she painted the chaos rune for me. I paid her in rare magical herbs I acquired.”

Acquired. A convenient word to skirt around outright theft—again—but my grandmother didn’t press on that thread.

“You’re responsible for sabotaging two of Eleanor’s greenhouses,” Nana Bea said. “State every incident.”

Valerie let out a shuddering breath. “I destroyed the glass roof protecting her ordrids. I painted the graffiti. I leaked the story to the newspaper to stir up the protests. The chaos rune was supposed to destabilize everything else. I wanted to rot her business and reputation from within.”

“And the poisoned plant sold to Misty Stanley?” Thain growled. “Was that you too?”

Valerie grumbled. “She should’ve sued Ellie. Stirred up trouble.”

“Did anyone assist you in this sabotage?” my grandmother asked .

“No one helped me.” Valerie clenched her fists, shaking under the spell’s power. “Ophelia didn’t know. Nor Elias. He’s innocent. He… He didn’t ask me to do anything. I did it all myself.”

Nana Bea made her disappointment clear. “You’ve lied, stolen, and used forbidden magic with malicious intent. You’ve sullied not only your own name but threatened the trust this entire community relies on.”

Valerie’s face crumpled as tears welled in her eyes. “I–I just wanted someone to see me, to… to love me. Elias—he admired Ellie so much—” Her gaze darted to me, full of hatred again. “I thought if I could just prove I was better than her, then maybe he’d…”

My stomach churned. Valerie’s actions were despicable, but beneath it all lay a person consumed by desperation and loneliness. Not that it justified a single thing she’d done.

“Well,” Nana Bea said. “Your intentions may have been motivated by heartache, but your actions were rooted in selfishness and spite. The council will weigh your fate.”

Valerie's knees buckled, tears streaming down her face.

“Ellie.” Bea turned to me, her face softening ever so slightly. “We’ll handle this from here.”

The councilman grunted.

“Thank you.” There was so much I wanted to say, but gratitude was all I could manage for now.

Bea placed a hand on Valerie’s shoulder, and the council member stepped forward, muttering a spell that amplified the bindings holding her in place. Valerie opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

A flash of light, and they were gone.

I’d notify Detective Carter tomorrow that the case was closed.

Thain wrapped his arm around my lower back. The night suddenly felt quiet and enormous, the crickets picking up their soft chorus again.

“It’s over,” he said.

I turned toward him, and his steady gaze met mine. A tremor ran through me, one of relief. I sagged into him, his arms catching me like they always did. His warmth and strength were all I needed. “I can't believe it. It's actually over.” I could move forward from here. Elias would do his best to provide competition, but my customers trusted me. He couldn't steal that away.

I tilted my head back to look at Thain, the stars framing his rugged profile. His face was relaxed, the tension I’d grown so used to seeing there finally gone. I stood on my toes and trailed my fingers along his jawline. “You’ve stood by me through all this.”

His lips curved in a slow, crooked smile—my favorite kind. “Anyone who messes with you messes with me.”

“That’s oddly flattering.” I smiled too.

He pulled me closer, the space between us disappearing. “They’re not just your messes anymore. They’re ours. That’s what this is, Ellie. Me and you, whatever comes next.”

I leaned against his chest, closing my eyes for a moment. His heart beat steadily beneath my ear .

He brushed a strand of hair away from my face, his thumb lingering on my cheek. The way he looked at me made everything inside me melt.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked.

“For helping me face this. For fighting for me. For giving us another chance.”

The smile he gave me then made my breath catch. “I fought for us because you’re worth it, sweet one. Always have been.”

And just like that, the weight of everything fell away. It was like standing on the edge of something amazing.

And I couldn't wait for our future to get started.