Once again, I found myself at the Magical Corrections Headquarters. And once again, I was nervous that they would keep me there. Yes, I’d felt rather cocky getting onto that plane, but the closer we got to HQ, the more dread flooded my gut.
True, I’d proven myself useful a couple of times on this case, but if they didn't have another case with which I could assist, they very well may send me back to the CosmoPAWlitan Cat Rescue. And that would have been a disaster.
Once we arrived on scene, we were each interviewed separately about the events of the prior week. I ended up having to tell them about the fiasco at the animal shelter—and I was honest, perhaps to a fault. Kaye had asked us to be forthcoming and hold nothing back. I sure hoped she was right about that call.
“Well…” Mason now stared at the five of us with an unreadable expression on his face. “I can't believe you actually pulled it off.”
He twiddled a pen between his fingers. “I didn't tell you this, but you were not the only team working in Atlanta. I also had a highly trained Ops Team composed of half humans and half magic users on the scene. And they did nothing other than working the dog and hotel angle.”
Kaye gasped. “You knew about the dog?”
Mason laughed. “Of course, we knew about the dog.” He shook his head and smiled—Mr. Grump actually smiled. It was weird and gave me a sick feeling in my stomach. “This isn't some amateur operation This is MCS.”
“Now I’ll be the first to admit, the three of you have been on thin ice, but with this win under your vest, I can put you on our highest-profile case without worrying that you’ll screw it up.”
I cleared my throat. They’d fixed my collar while we were in the headquarters. Now anyone could understand me.
“And what about me?” I asked in a small voice. I hated how meek I sounded in that moment.
Amy held up a hand and waved it around. “And me?”
Mason fixed us with a serious glare. “You both have proven yourselves extremely useful to the Magical Corrections System. It would be a mistake to separate you from Godwin now.”
Amy did a fist pump.
I licked my paw.
“If the next case goes as well as this last one, I’ll be making an official recommendation to commute your sentences.”
Amy and I glanced at each other, our eyes brimming with unshed tears. If Mason was to be believed, solving this next case could mean freedom for both of us.
I’d actually be able to shift back into my real form.
I could ask Amy out on a date.
We could live happily ever after!
I didn't dare hold my breath… and yet. It felt good to believe in something, to run toward it rather than running away. I, for one, was ready for whatever they wanted to throw at us next.
“Thanks for the praise. I do have a couple of questions, if you don’t mind,” Kaye said, then rather than cowering before her boss, she moved ahead confidently with her question. “First, how is the dog?”
Mason's eyebrows flew up. “That one is pretty interesting. The dog is not a dog.”
“Ha!” Kaye exclaimed with a quick glance toward Johnson. “I knew it.”
“The dog is Garrison's son. A witch developed a crush on the boy. In a manner of speaking, he spurned her. She said he acted like a dog, and so she turned him into one.”
Brewer looked toward the ground and shook his head. “Poor guy. Women can be so crazy. Can’t we just ask her to change him back?”
Mason winced. “It's not quite that easy. The witch in question used to work for us. She trained with the best, and as such, she knew the binding spell that we use to keep our shifters in one form. It’s what we used on Moss. And what she used on him.”
I swore under my breath. I was not a fan of that big, stupid dog, but even I felt sorry for him.
“As such, she’s the only one who can reverse the spell,” Mason finished, then pressed his lips into a firm line.
That really sucked. “So he’s stuck as a dog until we find this wayward witch,” Kaye summarized.
“Exactly. And she knows we’re looking for her, which means she’s proving difficult to find. Meanwhile, Garrison, Jr., is acting more and more like a dog every day. Now that his father is locked up, we aren't quite sure what to do with him in the meantime.”
“Will he speak?” Kaye asked.
Mason nodded. “He will.”
Kaye sighed. “Send him with me. I'll work on him while you get us the details on our next case. Maybe between Moss and me, we can help him get some of his humanity back before it’s too late.”
“Whoa now,” I shouted as the fur on my back stood at attention. “Nowhere did I sign up to live with a dog. I don't like this.”
Kaye rolled her eyes. “Well, I didn't sign up for a kitty cat thief, either, but here we are.”
“Hey,” I protested. “That’s former kitty cat thief to you.”
Why didn't anyone believe me? I had absolutely no intention of ever doing anything illegal again. If they wanted to contrive the worst possible punishment, this was it.
“Oh, Moss,” Mason said. “Really a great catch on that DimeSaver thing. I had a team go back and check every city where that publication runs, and it is now glaringly obvious he used it. In the cities that didn’t have that newspaper, he found another discount mag to substitute. If someone had caught that sooner, we could have saved ourselves a whole heck of a lot of work.”
I sniffed and looked away. “All in a day’s work.”
Yeah, right. That had been my one stroke of luck in the whole fiasco. But hey, I’d take it. I needed Mason to like me; he alone could free me from this punishment before it was too late—before I changed into a cat. Permanently.
“So, what now?” Kaye asked.
Mason sighed. “I’m making the five of you a team for the next case.” He pulled a folder out of his desk and met my gaze. “And Moss, I have some great news for you.”
I perked up my ears. “Oh?”
You will once again be allowed to shift back and forth. You'll keep the tracker and the collar, same as before, but you’re getting some of your freedom back, so that we can send you undercover. Don’t mess it up.”
Are you ready to go on another magical manhunt with Moss, Kaye, and Amy?
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