I disconnected the phone and shoved it in my pocket. “You first.” I motioned to the barn, and Merick raised a brow.
“Why me?”
“Because last time I went near that barn, it exploded thanks to runes from the cult.”
Merick nodded. “Devin.”
“Yep.”
Interesting that Nick had chosen to come back to town the same day I received a call from the location his brother blew up. I pressed my lips together as I followed Merick through the long grass and to the ruins of the barn. There wasn’t much left, and most of the small debris had disappeared over the last few years.
Merick knelt and flipped over a piece of burnt wood, revealing a digital recorder. I grabbed gloves out of my bag and put them on before I picked the recorder up.
I pressed the back button and then play.
‘Find me…’ following the blood-curdling scream.
I looked at Merick, and he shrugged. “Someone’s fucking with me.”
A shock went through the area, and Merick grabbed my arm the same time I threw up a circle. The ground around us flew up as if something hit it. Debris went flying past us, banging into the circle. A flash nearly blinded me, and I turned to Merick.
“I swear to the goddess if this is your people’s doing, I’m going to kill someone,” I snarled.
He shook his head. “They know you’re protected.”
When the splattering of dirt finally fell. I dropped the circle and looked around. I didn’t sense anything that I could have triggered, but another shock went through the area.
“We’re out of here now,” Merick snarled and grabbed my arm again. The world around me disappeared to be replaced by my house.
I was trying to remember how to breathe when we reappeared. “That was a stupid attempt on my life.”
“Seems like it.” Merick stroked his chin while he thought. “Someone who knew you worked that case and knew how to attract you there.”
“Nick.” I didn’t even put a question into my voice. “But honestly, those cases are open to anyone since they were solved. I don’t think Nick would have gone through that much work to try and kill me.”
“I agree, he’s not smart enough for that.”
I snorted. “He’s smart. He faked his own death, wandered around the underground for a couple years, and now he’s back.”
“Just in time for your current lead and partner to disappear,” Merick added.
I paused. I hadn’t thought about that. Could he be connected to Liz’s disappearance?
My phone rang, and I saw my uncle’s name on the screen. “Someone tried to blow me up.”
“Abigail, you must stop making that a habit,” he answered with a laugh. “I doubt it was the Cult this time. Any ideas on who?”
“Just one, but I’m not sure if it’ll pan out. Once I get the car fixed, I’m going to head out to the first place Liz sent me. I think it’s time I start looking for her despite her desire for me to not respond to the messages she sent.”
“Levi called a council meeting tonight. Did you know that?”
I wrinkled my nose. “No, I didn’t. Why do you know that, and I don’t?”
“He didn’t say. I assume he’ll call you in a little bit, or he’ll spring it on you. I wouldn’t mention you almost getting blown up again today unless you want some extra security hanging around.”
I made an annoyed voice. “Fine, fine. I’ll talk to you later.” I hung the phone up and looked at Merick. “Drug-laced bullet, blowing up old crime scenes. Neither of those seems to be connected.”
Merick shrugged. “It’s your life Abigail, does anything ever really line up?”
I shook my head. “Eventually it all does.” I glanced at my watch. “I wonder if Travis is done with the car yet.”
“I have to go get mine at some point.” Merick crossed his arms. “You better hope that it’s not destroyed. If it is, I’m going to believe Liz when she says your car curse has spread to others.”
I shook my head. “It is not a car curse.”
“How many cars, Abby?” Merick gave me a bored look.
I shook my head. “I’m going to go call Travis and see if he’s fixed it.”
He chuckled as he went up the stairs, and I pulled my phone out and found the contact for Travis.
“Um, hey, Abby.”
There was a hesitation in his voice that I didn’t like. “How’s my car Travis?”
“Well, I just got here to change the battery, and well…”
I sighed. “What’s the damage.”
“It’s not here.”
“You’re kidding me, right? No one would have stolen that POS.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “No sign of it?”
“Nothing.”
“Smell anything odd?”
He was quiet for a moment, and I imagined him sniffing the air. “Nothing unusual, but depending on when it was stolen, the scent could have faded.”
“I’ve had a car stolen once before. If today is any indication, this one will come back the same way.” Crushed, with Nick’s fingerprints on it.
He was playing with me. It had to be him. “I’ll call Levi for the Hummer.”
“Sorry, Abby. Did you need to be somewhere soon?”
“I was going to check out a location.”
“Want to borrow my car?”
I snorted. “I don’t want to destroy it.”
He was silent for a moment. “Huh, I didn’t think of that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for the heads up. I’ll contact security to see if they have anything on camera.”
“Good idea. I’ll see you tonight.” He disconnected the phone.
I sighed and called Levi next. To my surprise, he answered.
“Abigail, what’s wrong?”
“My car was stolen from the PIB parking lot. I was hoping someone could bring the Hummer down tonight so I can have it tomorrow?”
There was grumbling behind him. “Hush, Mario.” Was what I heard from Levi.
“You can have the Hummer. Tonight, stay safe with the wolves.”
Interesting that he didn’t mention anything about the council meeting. “I will. Why are you even awake?”
“Sometimes, my duty as the king keeps me up all day.” He hung up on me without another explanation.
I sighed and sat on the couch, leaning my head back. I was stuck at the house unless I wanted Merick to take me to the location, but he’d disappeared up the stairs right as we got home.
I pulled the computer to me and started it up. If I couldn’t go there physically, I could at least pop it into the computer and see where it was. I was really hoping it wasn’t another old crime scene location.
CHAPTER SIX
“Are you sure?” Mason’s voice came over the phone. “That is the middle of nowhere, Abby.”
“Yes, I’m sure. I’ve double-checked it on a normal map and the internet. It’s a ghost town. The second location, same thing, a ghost town.”
Mason hmmed for a moment. “Well, we’ll check it out. If Liz sent you those coordinates, she did it for a reason.”
“Yeah, and I haven’t gotten anything else from her. I’m worried about her.”
“Agents don’t typically just go missing. If she’s undercover, there’s a record of it somewhere. Right?”
I thought back. “When I went undercover, I was listed as on leave. I don’t have access to the PIB databases right now because O’Donald took that from me when I went on vacation.”
Mason sighed. “Okay, I’ll pick you up, and we’ll go take a look at the first location.”
I glanced at the clock. The first location was a ghost town about two hours away. I had enough time to get there and back before Simon picked me up. “Okay. I’ll be ready.”
I would have left Mason on his own to travel, but I didn’t trust that something wouldn’t blow up.
“Are you going to have a bodyguard coming?”
“No, I should be fine as long as I
’m with you. Levi trusts you enough to not lead me into a trap.”
He snorted. “That wouldn’t do me any good. I’d rather have you on my side and in the field than against me.”
“That’s comforting.” I hesitated a moment before I asked. “What’s the situation with Nick?”
Mason sighed. “He’s being released into PIB custody on suspicion of tampering with key evidence in a case.”
“Interesting. I’ll be expecting a call from O’Donald then. I’ll see you in a little bit.” I disconnected the phone and texted Levi a little bit of an update just so he’d know where I was and that Mason and I were both working on the case.
I puttered around the house, making myself a cup of coffee to go and grabbing a snack before Mason got there.
I walked out of the house when he pulled up in his cruiser, and he waved to me as I approached the car. Getting into the passenger side, I let out a little sigh. “Okay, let’s get this little road trip started. I have to be back so Simon can pick me up tonight.”
“Hot date?” Mason laughed.
I shook my head. “Full moon run with the wolves.”
“You aren’t a wolf.”
“Nope. But my magic surrounds their grounds. It’ll be nice to be up there on the full moon.”
Mason shook his head. “When I first met you, you barely wanted to be a witch.”
“No, I was insecure in my abilities. There’s a difference.”
“And now, you’re running with the wolves, sit on the vampire council—”
“Not by choice,” I cut him off. “Any responsibilities I have with the vampires is accidental, and it wasn’t Levi’s plan.”
Mason tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Are you sure it wasn’t his plans?”
“You’re starting to sound like Nick. Levi didn’t want me to be involved in politics.” I looked out the window. “What he wanted was for me to grow up as close to normal as I could being a witch. And I run with the wolves because I took over that circle of protection. No other reason.” Well, okay, maybe because I was dating the alpha, but I didn’t really want to bring that up as a reason.
“I just worry about you taking on too much.”
“And I appreciate that, but it’s okay. If I need to, I’ll back off something, but right now, I don’t have a PIB case since I’m on vacation, so I’m not overwhelmed.”
Mason nodded. “You know I have your back if something goes crazy, right?”
“Always, Mason.”
“Good, because I have a feeling Nick is up to something.”
I snorted. “You and me both.”
We pulled into the ghost town slowly, my eyes studying each decrepit building made of decaying wood. Many of their roofs were caved in. Weeds and plants had taken over the front yards. It had the look of an old mining town where the veins had run dry.
“A literal ghost town,” Mason muttered. “Do you think there are actually any ghosts here?”
“I hope not. I’ve had my fair share of ghosts, and I don’t want anymore.”
Something peeking around the corner caught my eye. A young child with long black hair. Her eyes blinked at me and then disappeared. “Stop the car.”
“We’re not quite to the location yet,” Mason said.
“I know, but I saw something.”
He stopped the car right in the middle of the road, and I jumped out.
Approaching the house, I kept my motions slow so I wouldn’t startle the child. “Hey, little one.”
The little girl peeked out and paused for a moment.
I held my hand out. “I’m Abby, can you tell me your name?”
She shook her head. “No name.” She came closer, and now that she wasn’t obscured by the building and the shadows, I could see the dirt and minor cuts on her.
The shirt and pants she wore were too big for the small frame of her body.
“Where are your parents?”
They tilted their head to one side. “Gone.”
“Is there anyone else here?”
“Dead.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Who’s dead?”
“They are.” Suddenly she ran to me and threw her arms around my neck and started sobbing. “All gone.”
I picked her up and looked at Mason. “She needs to be checked out, and we need to figure out what happened here.”
Mason nodded and held his hands out. “Come here, kiddo.”
The little girl shook her head and clung to my neck. “No. Stay with Abby.”
I pressed my lips together. “Do you know how long you’ve been here?”
“Forever.” Her eyes seemed to glaze over, and she shook her head. “They’re gone now. You can take me from here.”
I shifted her, so she sat on my hip, and I could carry her with one arm. “Can you tell me where they were?”
“Show you.” She nodded and pointed down the road. “Big house.”
I walked toward the car. “Okay, we’re going to drive there. I have to put you down.”
She bit her lip and shook her head. “I stay with you. She said stay with you.”
“Who did?”
She tapped her chest. “Lady with shiny thing.” She looked around and pointed to Mason. “Shiny thing,” she said again.
Mason pointed to his badge. “This?”
She nodded. “Lady had one.”
My breath caught. Could it have been Liz?
“We’re going to sit in the back of the car together.” I opened the door of the cruiser and slid in with her. I didn’t have a seat to put her in, but we’d be going down a deserted road.
Mason got in the car. “I called an ambulance for her. The closest hospital equipped to deal with this is in the Springs, so we’ll make sure we get the case.”
I buckled her up, but she kept a tight hold on the hem of my shirt.
Mason drove until the little girl yelled. “Stop! Big house! Big house!” She pointed at a large white house. The house was kept up and seemed to have been updated with white paneling, a painted wrap-around porch, and the glass windows were still intact.
Mason got out and opened my door. “Want me to take point?”
“I want to go. You stay here with her. I can take care of anything supernatural. You can’t.” I scooted out, and the girl clung to my arm. I knelt just outside of the car, so I could meet her eyes.
Her eyes darted away from me. “Stay.”
“You need to stay here with Detective Mason. He’s going to keep you safe, and I’m going to see inside the big house.”
She started shaking. “They in the big house,” she gasped. “All of them.” She let go of my arm.
I kissed her head and stood. I stepped away from the car and looked at Mason. “I’ll be back.”
I pulled my gun and started toward the house. I took a moment to listen, but there was nothing in the air. No magic that surrounded the area. Something was off. It was almost too quiet.
Of course, we were in a ghost town.
Maybe the house was inhabited by ghosts.
I hesitated at the steps of the porch. Last time I dealt with ghosts, they tried to kill me.
Another familiarity with another case?
The wind swept by, and the unmistakable smell of rotting corpses crossed my nose. I quickened my steps up the porch and to the door. The door frame was splintered from what looked like a gunshot. So whoever had been here before must not have been worried about being subtle.
I pushed the door open with my foot and found where the rotting smell was coming from. There was a body at the bottom of the stairs, half lying over the last steps.
I covered my mouth and my nose as I stepped further in. Flies surround the body already, and I cringed as I stepped over it and made my way up the steps.
Nothing creaked under my feet as I walked up. A couple more bodies were strewn around the hallway. From first glance, they were taken out quickly by gunshot.
My stomach sank as I got to the last room at the e
nd of the hall. The door was also shot open at the lock. I nudged it open with my toe.
I had expected more bodies, but what I found was a room that was painted black and had the windows boarded up so that no light penetrated the room.
It looked like a medieval torture chamber from the movies.
A table coated in blood. Dried brown blood on the floor. The smell of death surrounded me. Knives hung on the wall, gleaming in what little light the door let in. Chains were bolted into the wall nearby. I walked up and examined them. Burnt flesh stuck to the cuffs.
Silver.
And whatever they had been holding captive had been allergic, so vampire or lycanthrope of some sort.
I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat as I thought about the little girl that we had in the cruiser.
Was she captive? Or was she involved in whatever was going on here?
I turned and left the room, going down the stairs and stepping back over the body.
I found Mason sitting in the front of the cruiser with the little girl, showing her what the switches did. She giggled, and her face lit up each time he let her press one.
“Mason, we need to call the crime scene unit in. And maybe PIB.”
He glanced at me. “You are PIB.”
“Yes, but you need someone with database access. The scene in there is like the one you took me to except we have bodies and a setup.”
He glanced at the little girl and then to me. “Theories?”
“I don’t have much.” I held my hand out to the girl. “Can you show me your room?”
She shook her head. “Don’t go back.” All the laughter and smiles were gone. “You take me.” She hugged my leg. “Lady said you take me.”
I ran a hand over my hair and looked at Mason.
“You catch a ride back with the ambulance. They should be here soon. I’ll call the crime team. I know you don’t want your boss catching you on scene, even as one of Levi’s people.”
“Yeah, I don’t think he’d be pleased. I want to take a look around the outside of the house as well. Stay with her?”
Mason nodded. “Absolutely.” He held his hand out to her. “Come on, sweetie. You can play with the radio again.”
She went back to him, and I walked back to the house. Starting from the front, I made my way around to the side. Last time I did this, I fell into a basement full of bodies. I was hoping to avoid that this time.
A Little Blood Magic (Here Witchy Witchy Book 10) Page 7
