Bewitching Fire

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  “I sure hope you’re right,” Valerie said as Thor leapt onto her bed to sit with her. Krystal could see the flash of black fur as he roamed behind his owner. “I wouldn’t want someone keeping information from me like that, especially if they knew.”

  The image of Devin staring into space and his comment about mentally going to some place he shouldn’t have gone, came to Krystal’s mind. He was definitely keeping a dark truth from her, just like she wasn’t telling him everything.

  “Maybe I should call him, just in case.”

  Alexa jostled her phone a bit, making the camera blur her image for a minute. “Hold on a second!” she said. “You said you didn’t want to call him, because he was busy working. Now, it sounds like you really didn’t trust him to tell you if Sierra was dead. What’s going on? You’re never this wishy washy.”

  It wouldn’t have been surprising if they found out Alexa’s dark power was to see straight through lies like Krystal’s mother. She rolled her eyes and thought about how to tactfully word it all. “Okay, so I think there’s something Devin isn’t telling me, but I don’t know what it is. We’ve established that we both like honesty from one another, but there’s just these little hints he keeps dropping that makes me thing he’s hiding something.”

  Valerie’s eyes narrowed. “Do you think he’s done something or maybe he is something?”

  “That’s what Sierra suggested, but I know he’s not a warlock, and I know he’s not anything magical or supernatural. I just think there’s something about his past that he doesn’t want me to know about, that’s all.”

  “Girl,” Alexa joined in with a shake of her head, her curls tumbling around her cheeks, “you need to find out what that is. If you two can’t be open, this relationship isn’t going to work.”

  Krystal no longer had to wonder if she and Devin were in a relationship. The way he felt up her skirt was enough evidence that they were more than friends anyway. No doubt about it.

  “In all fairness, I haven’t exactly come out of the ‘broom closet’ either, so he has the right to keep that secret from me if I have to keep secrets from him.”

  Back in high school, they had come up with a saying that caught on amongst the other witches in town. Whenever they talked about revealing what they really were to non-magic folk, they referred to it as “coming out of the broom closet”. It was cute at the time, and proved to be a nice code phrase for them if they talked about magic in public.

  Alexa and Valerie both nodded in agreement.

  “Okay, you’ve got me there,” Alexa conceded. “Still, I do agree that you should call him. Just to make sure he’s okay and that Sierra is all right too.”

  Krystal nodded and fell back on her pile of feather pillows at the head of her bed. “What about this whole dark magic business? I mean, I’m really torn about this. I like Devin a lot and I don’t want to ruin things by breaking up with him, but I also want to learn to control this now that it’s here to stay. I want to have my cake and eat it too.”

  Once a witch earned her dark magic, there was no way to give it up. If this magic held any semblance to the element of fire, it would rear its ugly face every time Krystal became emotionally charged about anything. Whether she was mad, sad, or in Devin’s case, madly turned on, she’d feel that same raging heat within her and it could get out of control.

  “I say you get out your catalogue and look for something to keep your emotions in check. Maybe not totally suppress them, but just put a dampener on them, you know?” Valerie offered.

  “And in the meantime,” Alexa added, “I’ll look through the copy I have of my dad’s book and Valerie can look through her parent’s book, right?”

  Valerie made a face. “That may be a little hard for me. I’ve been trying to transfer it all onto my computer and it’s been a really slow process. Nothing’s in order anymore.” She angled the phone around to show her friends the disorganized stack of old parchment beside her desktop. “But, I’ll definitely try to find something.”

  Krystal gave a strained smile. “Thanks, guys. I owe you one.”

  “Can I get tomorrow off then?” Valerie asked. “It’ll take me that long to go through this shit anyway.”

  She shot her friend a look. “Mondays are super busy for us. You know that.” Krystal froze when she heard a car door slam close to the house. “I think someone’s coming, hold on.”

  “Did you lock the door?” Alexa whispered.

  Krystal only nodded. Not only did she lock it, but she charmed it too. No non-magic folk was going to step over her threshold. If the door handle jiggled without a doorbell ring or a knock, she knew it was someone she definitely didn’t want in the house. If they did try to ring the doorbell, Krystal would just ignore it. However, if the door swung open without any effort, she knew it was Sierra.

  She let out the breath she had been holding when Sierra came traipsing through the foyer. Artemis perked his head up and looked toward the stairs. Yeah, now he wakes up, but the sharp beeping of the smoke alarm didn’t faze him. “It’s Sierra. Got to go.”

  She promptly ended the three-way video call and ran to see her sister in the kitchen. It was nearly ten o’clock and she was fixing herself a pot of tea. She spotted the green and yellow package on the counter and knew Sierra was about to brew up some lemon and ginger tea.

  “Hey,” she greeted halfheartedly. “I drove by and didn’t see Devin’s car so I just assumed – “

  She didn’t have time to finish her sentence as Krystal ran up and hugged Sierra around the neck. Her sister had the tea bag in one hand and the sloshing kettle in the other. Krystal let the relief wash over her, knowing that her sister was still alive. At least now, one crisis was averted.

  When Krystal pulled back, she stamped her bare foot on the kitchen tiles. “Why didn’t you answer the phone?”

  Sierra blinked at the sudden turn of emotion and pulled out her phone to check the notifications. “I’m sorry, I put it on silent. Is everything okay?” Then, she sniffed the air. “Did you burn something? You never burn while cooking.”

  It was hard to miss the smell of charbroiled fish that was sitting in the trash can. Artemis came bounding in and went straight for said garbage can to see if there was some way he could get to the burnt offerings.

  “I did tonight,” Krystal sighed. “It’s a long story. I might need some of that tea. It’s caffeinated right? And is the spell catalogue where you last left it? I need to look through it.”

  Sierra turned up the range dial after she set the kettle down and shot her sister a perturbed look. “One, you never drink caffeine this late, and two, why do you need the catalogue?”

  “Like I said, it’s a long story.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Aaron was reading back the list of individuals they would need to interview that day, all of them associated with Elizabeth Thatchman in some way. Devin wasn’t listening as they ambled down the sidewalk toward Perfect Books and Brews. His eyes burned, and his muscles ached with the need to jump in the squad car, leave Aaron to the investigative work, and go home for some much needed rest.

  Last night, he neglected to do that. He stayed at the crime scene with Chief Nickels until CSI and the medical examiner showed up. He relayed as much information as he could since half of the other officers had gone home for the night, including Aaron. They were smart. Now Aaron was fresh and ready to tackle the job of visiting these homes and businesses to get to the bottom of what happened.

  “And that’s it,” he said as they passed McRae Morsels.

  Devin looked up and opened his mouth to reply, but a yawn came out instead. When he was done nearly popping his jaw out of place, he said, “How many does that make?”

  “Weren’t you listening?”

  Even though Devin had already downed two cups of coffee earlier that morning before meeting up with Aaron at the station, he was still exhausted. Up to a certain point, he just couldn’t function on so few hours of sleep. After all the excitement
with Krystal, the murder, and paperwork that needed to be done before too much time had passed, Devin felt like he hadn’t slept in days. Not even the prospect of seeing Krystal again could revive him at this point. But, maybe a cup of their famous house blend coffee could.

  “Not really. How many?” he asked again.

  “Just ten. Most of them are her coworkers.” He folded up the paper loaded with addresses and phone numbers and shoved it into his pocket.

  Devin nodded as they stood in the line that stretched out the door and a little down the sidewalk, just like it had last week when he came here for the first time. That seemed like a lifetime ago. It occurred to Devin that he and Krystal almost crossed a delicate line last night, and they hadn’t known each other for a full week. Yet, it felt so natural, so right to be with her in that way. If he wasn’t so tired, he might have gotten another hard on just thinking about how soft and addictive her skin felt in his hands.

  Many of the other customers in line looked just as dead tired as he was. As soon as they saw the two cops come forward, they turned to their neighbors and start whispering. One woman got out of her place in line to come up to him.

  “Is it true there was a murder last night?” she asked as she tightened her scarf around her neck.

  Luckily, Aaron spoke first. If he hadn’t, Devin might have snapped at the woman. When he was tired, he could get downright grumpy too.

  “I don’t know what you heard, ma’am, but we’re not allowed to disclose anything like that to the public.”

  Her eyes went wide. “So, it’s true?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Aaron replied, and Devin could hear his words laden with repressed impatience.

  “So who was murdered?” the next older woman in line asked, her grey and silver hair fluttering in the wind.

  “No one said that anyone was murdered,” Devin piped in.

  “Officer Aaron just implied it,” the first woman said.

  Aaron crossed his arms. “I said, in a manner of words, that if there was a murder, I wouldn’t be able to tell you anyway.”

  Now the second woman’s husband was joining in. “That’s not what I heard.”

  “We don’t care what you’ve heard,” Devin said. “If there was a murder, you’ll hear about it from the newspapers, not from us.”

  And no doubt, the news would be all in the papers by the following morning. The head reporter for Goldcrest Cove Chronicles was at the crime scene the night before and asking far too many questions that could not be answered. Chief Nickels requested that he not cause a panic in the community with the article. That might as well have been like asking a hummingbird to flap its wings a little slower. It just wasn’t going to happen.

  The nosy citizens seemed to accept that and went back to whispering and speculating amongst themselves. What he didn’t understand was how anyone could have found out about the murder so soon. It was only last night, and everyone was told to keep their mouths shut. Granted, he did tell Krystal, but he knew that she wouldn’t have gone blabbing about it all over town.

  Once they were in the warm coffee shop, the air suffused with the pungent aroma of coffee, Devin almost felt a little more awake. Since they were limited on how much they could say about the murder case, they were restricted to silence as they shuffled their way up to the counter.

  Krystal stood behind the register, and his heart sank when he saw the weary look on her face. She didn’t have dark circles around her eyes like he must have, but there was a sluggish quality in her movements as if she were moving through water.

  It did occur to him that he left her in a state the night before. She was obviously shocked and in need of consoling when he told her there had been a murder in Goldcrest Cove. He was sure that plenty more people would react in the same way once the papers printed the story. Perhaps he should have called or stopped by, even if it was three in the morning by the time he left Jackson Creek Road.

  She must have been scared out of her mind, waiting alone in that big house. Devin passed a hand over his face and rubbed at his cheek, wishing he could have gone back and done things over again. At least now, he could talk to her.

  They came to the front counter and Krystal gave them a sleepy smile. “Good morning,” she said.

  “The usual?”

  Devin was taken aback by her formalness. This wasn’t the greeting he expected, tired or not.

  Aaron nodded. “Yep, the usual for me.”

  “Can we talk in private?” Devin asked softly, ignoring the way his partner looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

  Krystal blinked and seemed confused at first, but then nodded. She turned and asked Alexa to take over. The two walked into the back office off to the left of the front counter, past the bathrooms.

  When she shut the door behind her, Devin stepped forward to wrap her in a tight hug. Holding her again was like taking in a breath of fresh air, clean and cool. Devin was liable to fall asleep on his feet, he was so comfortable with her.

  “Is everything okay?” she mumbled against his chest.

  He pulled away and lifted her chin up so he could take his fill of her gorgeous, expressive brown eyes. In them, he saw a late night plagued by worry. Damn, he should have called.

  “Are you okay?” he countered.

  She nodded and her eyelids drooped a bit. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just… I had trouble sleeping, that’s

  all.”

  “I should have called you,” he apologized.

  Krystal waved him off. “No, it’s fine. I know you were working and I’ve watched plenty of crime shows. I know it’s an involved process.”

  Devin cracked a smile. It wasn’t exactly like in the movies, but he appreciated her understanding.

  “So, who was it? Or am I allowed to know?”

  Taking a breath, he said, “I’ll tell you, but you have to keep it to yourself. It was Elizabeth Thatchman. Did you know her?”

  That was a stupid question. Krystal knew everyone.

  By the renewed shock in her face, he had all the answers he needed. Maybe she could be the first one he interviewed about the case. He guided her toward one of the armchairs near the desk that was littered with receipts and printed reports. Evidently, Krystal hadn’t had a chance to do a lot of organizing lately.

  “Can you tell me if she had any enemies? Anyone who might have wanted to hurt her?” Devin leaned against the edge of the desk and watched her eyes dart as she scrambled for the answer.

  “Well, no, not really. I mean, she wasn’t hated or anything. She was actually pretty nice. We went to school together and…” She paused, as if debating whether to tell him the next bit or not. “She slept around a lot. I know it’s not right to talk about her like that, but she did. Elizabeth was in a bad place at home from what I knew.”

  “Does she have any family in town?” he asked, crossing his arms and willing himself to listen closely, despite the fact that he teetered on the line between grabbing her to pin her to the desk and finish what he started last night, and falling asleep where he stood.

  “Her dad’s been in prison for a few years and her brother’s a drug addict. I don’t think anyone’s seen him since he left town maybe… six years ago? I can’t remember exactly. No one really knows where her mom is.”

  Damn. He was hoping that Elizabeth’s family would be the first he could contact. If he had been listening to Aaron’s report, he might have known that family wasn’t really an option.

  Devin rubbed at his bloodshot eyes. “Did you tell anyone about what happened last night?”

  She donned a sheepish look. “Well, I told Alexa and Valerie, but only because I wanted them to understand why I was telling them to not leave the house. And Shawn Stokes, Valerie’s roommate was listening in on the conversation, but I didn’t know it until after the fact.”

  “Would they have told anyone?”

  “I told them not to tell anyone and I trust that they wouldn’t.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What
about Shawn?”

  Krystal smirked. “He’s a teacher, so I doubt he would tell anyone. He definitely wouldn’t want his students freaking out.”

  She had a point. “I’ve already been asked about the murder by some of your customers. If you didn’t tell them, then who did? None of the other officers are dumb enough to let this leak out and the papers haven’t run the story yet. The only other people I can think of are Mr. and Mrs. Hollington who found the body, but we debriefed them and – “

  Krystal let out a laugh. “You really expect Mrs. Hollington to keep herself from gossiping about this?”

  There was his answer. “She would have told people?”

  “I’m surprised the entire town doesn’t know already,” Krystal remarked. “If she gets a hold of a juicy secret, everyone knows it within a few hours.”

  He made a face. “Well, at least we know she hasn’t found out about us yet.”

  She smiled, the first real smile he had seen all morning and he basked in its beauty while it lasted.

  “Can I see you tonight?” he asked, his heart running away with his mouth before his brain could stop him.

  The smile gave a slight downturn and he knew he would do just about anything to get it back, even if it meant pinning her to the filing cabinet and doing her right there in her own office while the coffee shop was packed with customers.

  “I work late tonight, and I really need to get back on track with all this stuff.” She motioned toward the mess on her desk. “I haven’t had a chance to sort out anything and that puts Alexa behind on getting financial reports to me too.”

  “I’m sorry if I’m the one that’s been holding you up.”

  She shook her head frantically. “No, it’s not you. I could have done it on Saturday night, but with the festival and all, I was too tired afterward to think straight. And I could have on Friday, but I… I just didn’t feel like it.”

  His brows shot up. “You didn’t feel like taking care of your business?”