To Rowena, pawn shops always reminded her of old pennies, forgotten memories, and dust bunnies. She stood in the row of instruments for sale, wondering how many of them once belonged to a high school student forced to be in the marching band.

"Do you think I should buy this trumpet?" she asked Cross, who was standing behind her with his arms crossed at his chest. Liam and Matt were beside him looking at a keyboard missing a few keys. Abby was two feet away, inspecting a witch's hat with a crochet cat sewed to the brim.

When he didn't respond right away, Rowena continued," For the Sweeter Home beauty pageant. There's going to be a talent portion. Maybe I can play the trumpet." She was holding the instrument in front of her with a smile.

"You know how to play the trumpet?" Cross asked with a mix of surprise and admiration.

Her brown eyes looked up at him. "No."

They stared at one another for a moment before Liam cleared his throat and leaned forward. "The beauty pageant starts in a few days. Maybe you should try something different for the talent portion. I overheard one worker say she was going to wear a bikini and wrestle a goat in a plastic pool of mud. Maybe you can do something like that?"

A growl from Cross had the beta take a step back.

Rowena's mouth perked up. "You're talking about Gladys."

Liam shrugged. "I don't know, but I bet it's sexy and earns her some extra points with the male judges." He winked at Rowena, earning a second growl from Cross.

Rowena placed the trumpet back in its case. "Doubtful. Gladys is seventy-eight and so thin some guys mistook her for a Halloween skeleton last October when she fell asleep in the breakroom."

"What?" Abby asked, laughing as she stepped forward with the witch's hat still in her hands. "Tell me you're making that up."

Rowena shook her head. "Nope. True story. Warner almost choked on Kenny's Ding Dong when Gladys woke up and opened her eyes." She raised an eyebrow at her friends. "Talk about awkward. She thought he was dying and tried giving him mouth-to-mouth instead of the Heimlich."

"Kenny's Ding Dong?" Matt repeated, his cheeks turning bright pink. "Who's Kenny?"

"He was a janitor. He quit after that."

"And Warner was eating his Ding Dong?" Matt asked.

"Yeah. Warner said he couldn't resist. He wanted that white crème all over his mouth."

The head enforcer frowned.

"Matt doesn't eat junk food," Cross explained, rolling his eyes. "He probably has no idea a Ding Dong is a chocolate cupcake with crème inside."

"Who hasn't eaten a Ding Dong before?" Rowena mumbled. She shrugged. "Kenny called us a bunch of snack-stealing savages. Maybe I should stuff a bunch of Ding Dongs in my mouth for the talent portion?"

"I think you should tell fortunes for the talent portion," Abby suggested, attempting to change the subject from Ding Dongs. She lifted the hat she'd been holding. "You could wear this hat. It even has a cat that looks like Kitty."

"Don't put that on your head," Cross warned. "Who knows where it's been. It could have lice."

"How dare you accuse us of selling lice-infested hats!" Sal, one of Little Mikey's workers, cried. He was wearing a mustard polyester suit and had his hands hidden in his pockets. His step faltered when he saw Cross. The two had come to blows the last time Cross had visited. Well, it was more like Cross scared him into unconsciousness.

"It's you again," Sal hissed.

The alpha's eyes narrowed. "Is that how you treat a customer?"

"You may have your wolverine tricks, but I'm ready for you this time," Sal warned. He pulled out his hands from his pockets. They were encased in brass knuckles.

Matt stepped forward, but Cross shook his head.

"Meet Mr. Right and Mr. Left." Sal shuffled his feet like a boxer, his fists in front of his face.

"Really? Those are the best names you could come up with?" Rowena groaned. "Come on, Sal. You could've called them the Rock and Vin Diesel. Schwarzenegger and Stallone. Even Rocky and Bullwinkle would've been better."

"Roadrunner and Coyote," Abby piped in.

"Heckle and Jeckle?" Matt suggested.

"Do you mind?" Sal huffed, glaring at Rowena. "I'm trying to beat up your handsome but scary boyfriend."

"That's a weird way to refer to him, but I won't argue with you," Rowena said.

Liam pulled Rowena and Abby away from Sal's reach.

"This isn't wise," Cross warned him.

"You got the drop on me last time, but not today, big boy," Sal sneered.

"Big boy?" Abby repeated, laughing. Cross turned his head to give her an annoyed expression.

Sal swung, and Cross dodged the hit. He swung again, and his fist hit a trombone, causing it to clatter to the floor.

"Won't Little Mikey be upset you're damaging the merchandise?" Rowena asked as Sal swung his fist while trying to kick at the same time.

He lost his footing in the confined space and his shoulder hit the shelf holding the instruments before he fell to the ground on his back. The shelf shook and a tuba, still in its case, tumbled down and slammed into his face.

"Ohhhh," Rowena and her friends groaned together, grimacing.

"What is going on out here?" Little Mikey's voice rang out from the front of the pawnshop. Rowena called out to him and a few moments later, the balding, overweight man known in Clarkton as a notorious criminal, was crouched down in front of Sal, shaking his head. "The putz. I told him to be careful with those brass knuckles. He bought them at the flea market. Who buys weapons at a flea market?"

"I bought pepper spray there once," Rowena said. "And a bomb...twice."

"You bought bombs at a flea market? Why?" Liam gulped, his eyes darting to Cross.

"It's best you don't know," Rowena said, avoiding his eyes.

"We're here to see Gina," Cross informed Little Mikey. "Rowena's been worried about her, and she didn't show up to work."

"She wasn't at home either," Rowena added, stepping in front of Cross. "I've been worried sick, Little Mikey. Also, did you send those mariachi singers to the store? Word on the street is you did."

Little Mikey scratched his neck, looking away. "They weren't my idea. They were Sal's. Gina felt like everyone was whispering about her being a murderer behind her back. Sal said the mariachi singers would distract everyone from talking about the crime. The idea backfired. Now, all everyone's talking about on social media is how a murder happened at the same store the mariachi singers visited. Did you hear they played an entire eighties playlist?"

"Can we please change the topic back to Gina?" Liam asked. He looked at his watch. "Cross, we have that appointment later, remember?"

Cross placed an arm around Rowena. "Mikey, can we see Gina for a few minutes? We just want to ask her a few questions about when she found Karen."

The pawn shop owner looked away. "I really don't think it's a good idea. She has a lawyer, and he said not to talk to anyone."

"Her lawyer is my brother," Cross shared.

"Still, Gina's feeling sensitive right now. She doesn't really want to talk to anyone.

Rowena's eyes narrowed. "You're hiding something."

"What?" Little Mikey gave a nervous laugh. "You're crazy, Flores."

"Don't make me hex you again. If you thought having bubble guts was bad, I'll make you experience something far worse—unending menstrual cramps."

"Ewww," Liam moaned. "Can't you act like a lady for once and not say things like that?"

"Are you judging my soulmate?" Cross asked, his voice deepening.

"Will you two be quiet?" Rowena turned back to Little Mikey. "What's it going to be? You let us talk to Gina or I start hexing?"

"Listen, Gina said she didn't see or hear anything. Her story isn't changing. If she said she didn't kill Karen, I believe her."

"Karen was your ex-girlfriend, wasn't she?" Matt asked.

Sweat ran down Little Mikey's forehead. "So? That means nothing."

"What aren't you telling us?" Rowena demanded to know. Her eyes widened, and she gasped. "Were you cheating on Gina with Karen?"

"W-what? Of course not. I love Karen—I mean Gina."

Rowena sucked in air. "You loved Karen?"

"You're confusing me with all your family's magic, Flores."

"You cheated on Gina?"

"No! I told you; I didn't cheat on her. I wouldn't do that to her."

She scoffed at his words. "You probably just have a different definition of cheating."

"It's not that," Little Mikey insisted. He looked around the store and lowered his voice. "I'm just trying to protect her."

"You think she killed Karen?" Cross asked.

"What?" Rowena took a step closer to Cross. "There's no way Gina did that. She likes to read rabbit shifter romance books. People who read about cute bunnies falling in love can't possibly be murderers."

Little Mikey's head lowered.

"Tell us what you know," Cross ordered.

"She's been reading books on how to get away with murder," Little Mikey whispered. "I told her if she needed a guy whacked, all she had to do was let me know. She said I was crazy, but she kept reading them books."

"Does she still have them?" Rowena asked. "Maybe I can borrow them?"

Cross glared at her.

"She was always jealous of Karen," Little Mikey explained. "I tried to tell her there was nothing going on between us, but she wouldn't believe it. Even though we broke up, we were still friends. Gina didn't like that."

"Most women wouldn't," Rowena informed him.

"I tried to talk to Karen when Gina wasn't around. I didn't want to hurt Karen's feelings, but I knew Gina would get upset if she found out Karen was still calling me."

"No," Rowena disagreed. "She wouldn't be upset that Karen was calling you. She'd be upset that you're still answering. Associating with your ex-girlfriend when you know she still has feelings for you is a cardinal sin in relationships."

"I know that now," Little Mikey sighed. "I blame Gina's new friends. They put all these weird ideas in her head."

"New friends?" Rowena asked. "She has friends besides me?"

Little Mikey nodded. "She met them three weeks ago at some book signing."

"She went to a book signing without me?" Rowena squeaked.

"Weird ladies," Little Mikey said. "One of them...I think her name was Bubbles. The other laughed like a hyena. Both were pretty. A day after meeting them, she comes back with how-to books on murder."

Cross and Liam exchanged a look.

"Do you know anything else about these new friends?" Matt asked.

Little Mikey shook his head. "No. I tried to ask Gina about them so I can get Sal to tail them, but she was tight-lipped about them. Like she wanted to keep them a secret. I think they live outside of Clarkton."

"Little Mikey, did Karen ever tell you anything about the pageant?"

His eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you said she still called and you two still talked. Did she tell you anything about the pageant or maybe she told you she saw something she shouldn't have seen? Something that would've gotten her in trouble?"

"We've been through this before, Flores. I can't give you any specific information or it'll hurt my reputation."

"Even if Gina could go to jail for it?"

"I'm trying to protect her."

"Are you?" Rowena gave him a sad smile. "You kept talking to a woman you slept with, knowing it would upset Gina. You can say you're just friends, but that behavior would still make Gina doubt herself and your relationship. It's an ugly feeling to experience. You say you're trying to protect her? Why? Because you think she's guilty? You're wrong about Gina and you don't deserve my friend."

A moment of silence passed before Cross kissed Rowena's head and urged her forward and out of the instrument aisle.

As they walked to the door, Little Mikey called to her. "I can't tell you anything specific but stay out of the pageant. From what Karen told me, it isn't safe."

"Thanks for the warning," Rowena said. She watched Little Mikey bend over to drag Sal out of the aisle when thoughts of Karen taunting Gina flashed through her mind. "Little Mikey?"

"Yeah?" he looked toward her.

"I curse you to have menstrual cramps all day." She grabbed the witch hat Abby was still holding. "And I'm taking this hat!"

Rowena didn't wait to hear his response. She stepped out of the pawnshop and waited for Cross and their friends. She felt a twinge of pain in her stomach and her brows narrowed.

"Are you okay?" Cross asked.

"No, I think all the stress is going to give me kidney stones or something. Now what? Do we find these weirdo friends Gina made?"

"I think we already know who they are," Liam said.

"Bubbles," Cross muttered. "She's a fairy."

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Matt asked.

"What does it mean?" Abby asked.

"We're going to visit the fairies on their own turf," Cross answered. "But first, we'll need disguises."

Abby clapped. "I'm on it!"

"Wait! Promise me you will not dress me up like another Stephen King character," Liam demanded.

Abby grinned. "I promise."

They were in the car when Rowena said, "So, back to my talent for the beauty pageant. What do you think about juggling firesticks?"