Witch for Hire by N. E. Conneely

trolls than humans, but several giants, dwarves, fey, centaurs, and satyrs lived in the area. There were a few dots not far from the chicken farm I'd just visited. I talked to a sergeant, who gave everyone at the crime scene a heads up.
    Tilting my wrist, I discovered that it was nearly four in the morning. I might as well stay up at this point and catch a nap later. Besides, their information could be useful. After leaving a note for Jones, I settled in the viewing room and listened in on the interview of the older guy.  
    "What time did all of the kids arrive at the house?" the investigator asked.
    The guy (Robert, I was informed) ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair as he sighed. "About six."
    "What did they do?" Detective Smith questioned.  
    "They made a pizza for dinner. Then they hung out in Lee's bedroom for a little bit. I think they watched a few movies. After that they went on a walk around the property. I'm not sure how long they were gone—forty minutes—an hour—when my wife and I heard the explosion. It startled us awake. We ran outside and saw the kids running back to the house. I asked where Ben was and they said that he had gone home when they went for a walk. Lee had picked him up earlier in the evening, but he lived a mile away so he walked back to his house. We went back inside and I asked them about the explosion. They said one of the old silos that we didn't use had gone up. I called the police and the kids stayed in the house until you showed up. You know everything else."
    I turned to the room where the wife, Regina, was being interviewed by White. She said the same thing, but in slightly different words. They both said they had spent the evening together. The kids on the other hand, all four of them said the same thing, with only the slightest change in verbiage. Lee, Carrie, Lisa, and Brian all agreed that Ben had walked home instead of going on the walk. They'd never seen the troll and saw the silo explode, but had been on the other side of the property. They didn't know anything else about Ben or the dead troll. They were all shocked that something had snacked a guy to death. They were all lying.  
    An officer on that side of town dropped by Ben's house. His parents hadn't seen him since he went to Lee's for the night. A picture from their house confirmed Ben was the deceased.  
    Brian and Lee were a bit deaf; we were assured they had perfect hearing. Everyone had a few soot stains, and no one had worn a winter coat. It was cold enough that the kids would've wanted something to keep the cold away if they were out for a walk.  
    A few lawyers and judges were awakened so the police could serve a warrant for searching the house while the residents were sitting in the police station. Funny thing, they found a stack of "Free the Troll" fliers, videos, and plans for releasing the trolls from captivity. By five, the sheriff was organizing search parties to look for trolls. He didn't want any more deaths, and there were several markers near the farm. I warned him the map was showing other people, leaving it in their hands. Trolls weren't magical; just big, and hunting for a place to hide for the day.
    With nothing more I could do, a prisoner transfer gave me a ride home. Two hours squished in the front of a passenger van with rude criminals in the back wasn't much fun.
    Happy to be home, I enjoyed a long nap before going down for a sociable lunch. The five werewolves were back, but there was a new tingle in the air around them. The older one, with a long mustache and a bald head, introduced himself as Bobby. The man the aura of power was centered around was Liam. He had a shiny carrot top and slight lilt in his voice to match the name. The remaining three, Westen, Roland, and Mitch, had few distinguishing features other than their docile nature. Not that werewolves were docile, but some were less aggressive and controlling than others. These three gave off some serious relaxed and chilled