C is for Crow: The A B C's of Witchery (Moonbeam Chronicles Book 3)
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“What are you going to tell the ME?”
I shrugged. “We were chasing Clay Harrison down. He ran into the woods and an animal got him before we did.”
Jody nodded. “That’s not a lie.”
“Nope. Gospel.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Tuesday, November 17th.
Nine Hemlock Way. Elgin.
I woke feeling something was missing. I trailed my hand down over the side of the bed reaching for Pete’s head and he wasn’t there on his bed.
My heart picked up speed. “I’ve got to find Pete today. Moon is going to be frantic if we don’t get him back quickly.
I vaulted out of bed and ran to the kitchen for coffee and also to see if Moon was up worrying about Sonny.
She stood at the sliding glass doors in the kitchen staring out at the back lawn.
“Did you check the truck?” I asked as I took a mug from the cabinet and filled it with coffee.
“I did, but he can’t open the door himself to get in.”
“You never know,” I said. “He might have had help or found a way to do it. Sonny is inventive.”
“Can we look for him today?”
“Our first priority, Moon. I’ll go this morning to the Animal Shelter for the county and see if he’s been picked up. He might have been if he was running loose chasing down Clay Harrison.”
“I hope he’s there.” Moon turned away from the window and her eyes were full of tears.
“Even if he’s not there, he’ll make his way back home. Sonny is the brain in Pete’s head and Sonny knows where he lives even if Pete forgets.”
“That’s true.”
Moon didn’t say much more through breakfast.
“I’ll have a quick shower and we’ll start looking.”
Moon began clearing the table and putting our few dishes in the dishwasher. Hardly worth using it.
The doorbell rang and I let out a breath. “Probably Cynthia,” I said. “No doubt she has a million questions about last night.”
“Run in the shower quickly, dear. I’ll let her in. As soon as she leaves, I want to look for Pete.”
I was quick in the shower and joined the gang in the kitchen. Cynthia was jabbering on non-stop and hyped up about Andrea’s close call. A pan of lemon squares sat in the middle of the kitchen table.
“Lemon squares. My favorite.”
“You deserve them, Gillette,” said Cynthia. “Andrea told me how wonderful you were saving her from that beast of a man who took her from the roadhouse.”
“Thanks. I love lemon squares. That’s all the thanks I need.”
“Andrea said the man who attacked her was dead,” said Cynthia. “Is that true?”
“Yes, it’s true. He won’t be hurting any more girls.”
“Am I allowed to know his name?”
“As soon as the case is officially closed, I’ll give you more details,” I said, “but it would be best for Andrea not to talk about it until she’s over the shock of it.”
Cynthia gave Andrea a sympathetic look. “I’m so sorry, darling. I’m not being sensitive to your feelings. I’m not going to talk about it anymore.”
“Thanks, Mother. I wish you wouldn’t.”
I smiled at Andrea as I got to my feet. “Can I see you in the dining room for a moment, Andrea?”
“Sure.”
“Do you want me too?” asked Cynthia.
“No, just Andrea. This will only take a minute.” I closed the sliding door between the dining room and the hallway and pulled a card out of my pocket. “These are the people to call if you need to talk to someone about your attack and how you’re coping with it. People are on staff who know how to help you. I want you to call as soon as you feel up to it.”
Andrea stared at the card. “Okay, I’ll call tomorrow. I’m taking today off from the world and staying in the house with Mom.”
“Good. Think positive. You weren’t raped and you’re not dead like the others.”
“I have you and Jody to thank for that. Where is he? Does he start work soon?”
I smiled. “Do you have a crush on Jody?”
“Not a crush, but he is cute. How old is he?”
“Umm…thirty something, I think. He’s never mentioned his age.”
“Does he date?”
“Not that I’ve noticed. I’ve never seen him with anyone or heard him talk about a girlfriend.”
“Maybe I’ll go over to his house later and thank him in person for helping save me.”
“Sure. Do that. He’ll appreciate it.”
After Cynthia and Andrea left I called Farrell thinking he might be up. He wasn’t and I woke him up.
“Hey, little girl. Sorry I didn’t get out there to the roadhouse last night. A helluva night and I couldn’t get away. I’m awake now and I’ll drive out for a coffee and hear the details. Did you take him down?”
“Yes, he’s dead. I’ll fill you in when you get here. One bad thing happened. Pete went missing and I have to go look for him.”
“Wait until I get there and I’ll help you look. Did you call the Elgin County Shelter?”
“I’ll do it right now.”
“If he’s there, tell them we’re coming in an hour or so.”
“Okay, thanks. Can’t wait to see you. Seems like days since we’ve been together.”
“I’m missing you too. I’m hitting the shower now.”
As soon as I ended the call to Farrell, I tried the county shelter and the attendant confirmed Pete was there. The guy on the phone told me they scooped him chasing a man south of town near the roadhouse.
“Great. Keep him safe. I’ll be there in an hour to pick up my dog.”
“He’ll be here, ma’am. Thanks for the call.”
“Moon, I hollered from the dining room. I found Pete.”
She came running with a smile on her face. “Where is he?”
“At the county shelter. Farrell is on his way here and we’ll go get him. They know we’re coming.”
Moonbeam let out a long breath. “Thank goodness.”
An hour later Farrell arrived and Jody hadn’t shown his face. Maybe he was beat from his wolfcapades. If he didn’t turn up by the time we got back with Pete, I’d have to go over and check on him.
Farrell glanced around and asked, “Your assistant have the day off?”
I shrugged. “Hasn’t shown up for work. I’ll check on him when we get back from the pound.”
Elgin County Animal Shelter.
On the drive to the shelter, I filled Farrell in on everything that happened the night before. Moonbeam listened in the back seat and asked a couple of questions.
“You actually saw Jody shift into a wolf?” asked Farrell.
“Uh huh. Big black one.”
“Huh. Don’t know if I believe that.”
“Maybe you’ll witness it sometime in the future,” I said.
Farrell chuckled. “Not sure I’m up for it.”
I parked the truck out front and we headed inside to rescue Pete.
Carl was the man at the front desk and he was the one I had spoken to on the phone. “Your dog ain’t friendly, ma’am. I was going to take him out of the pen to get ready for y’all and he wouldn’t let me attach the rope to his collar.”
“Pete can be testy,” I said. “Show me where he is and I’ll get him.”
Carl led the way into the back part of the building where the cages were lined up and I laughed when I saw Pete sitting close to a white poodle with pink ribbons tied around her ears.
“Come on, Pete. Were you being grumpy to Carl?”
Pete growled as he ran towards the door of the pen.
Carl released the latch and I reached down and grabbed Pete’s collar. “Come on, sugar. You were a bad boy running away like that.”
Pete growled all the way to the front counter where I forked over fifty bucks for the ‘running at large’ fine. “You just cost me fifty bucks, Pete. No supper for you tonight.”
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Moonbeam laughed. “Don’t you worry, Pete. I’ll sneak you some food.”
Pete growled out a couple of words and I hoped Carl didn’t hear him say, “Thanks, Mama.”
In the truck on the way home we got the whole story. “I was sitting in the load bed watching for that asshole Clay Harrison,” said Pete. “He comes out the back door with Andrea from next door and I said to myself, holy shitfires, I’ve got to do something.”
“I must have been only seconds behind you, Pete,” I said. “As soon as he left the roadhouse, I left too.”
“He shoved Andrea in the passenger side of his truck and she looked limp to me. I figured she might try to jump out, but she didn’t. I was right at the door of his truck ready to bite a chunk out of his leg when he slammed the door in my face. All I could do then was run after the truck.”
“Is that when the dog catcher got you?” asked Farrell.
“Running eighty miles an hour down the shoulder of the highway trying to keep the truck in sight, this jerk of a dog catcher cuts me off and I have to veer into the fuckin ditch.”
“Don’t curse, dear.”
“Sorry, Mama. I rolled down the embankment and landed in a pile of muck at the bottom of a deep ditch and that’s when he slipped the snare over my head. I tried my best to rip him to fuckin shreds but I couldn’t get away from him.”
Moonbeam patted Pete on his big head. “You’re safe now, son, and we’re going home. Did they feed you at the shelter?”
“Nope. Not a bite. Maybe I didn’t stay long enough.”
“You tried hard, Pete,” I said. “I’ll give you a biscuit when you get home.”
“More than one. I’m famished, babe.”
Ranger Headquarters. Austin.
My appointment with Chief Calhoun was for three o’clock, then Farrell and I were going out for dinner. We hadn’t been out on an official date in months and he said it was time.
I tapped on the Chief’s door and he hollered for me to come in. He pointed at the chair in front of his desk and I sat down and waited for him to speak.
“I just finished reading through your report from last night, Gillette, and you did well. Clay Harrison is dead and Andrea Nichols was rescued before the rape occurred. I’m proud of your effort, young lady.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m happy to wrap up the case.”
Chief Calhoun grinned. “That’s the first one wrapped up but that doesn’t mean we’re finished.” He pushed another thick folder across the desk. “Here you go, Gillette. Why don’t you sink your teeth into this one.”
“Can’t wait to start, Chief.”
I sincerely hope you enjoyed C is for Crow, the third book in my new series – The Moonbeam Chronicles – The A B C’s of Witchery. If you have a moment to leave a quick rating or review on Amazon, I’d love to know what you thought and I’m sure other readers would too.
The next book in this series is D is for Dead, Book # 4. Find it on Amazon.
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Author Notes from Carolina:
Starting a new series is fun but it’s also a time of uncertainty wondering if the readers will like the new direction. The Moonbeam Chronicles is a spin-off from two different series—Gillette, Farrell, Sonny and Moonbeam, characters from the Night Vipers intertwining with Misty, Forest, Rufin and others from the Misty Magick and Mayhem series.
I hope you enjoy the stories, the new characters and at the same time continue to follow the old characters you love.
A special thank you to the fans who take the time to reach out and share their ideas, support, and opinions. You know who you are, Alisia, Renee, Tammy, Lynn, Dorothy, Shelley, Dianne, Wendy, Dawn, Alice, Billy and Melinda, Jim and Gayle, Ava, Terry and Celestia, Beverley, Janice and Sandra to name a few.
To access my author page on Amazon and see all my books published to date, click here.
Carolina Mac is the author of over a hundred books in eight different series. The Regulators biker series, The Quantrall PI series, The Blackmore Agency series, The Night Viper series, Paradise Park series, The Broken Spur series and the new series The Moonbeam Chronicles.
She’s the co-author with her daughter JL Madore/Auburn Tempest of Misty’s Magick and Mayhem series.
Where to find Carolina Mac:
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Regulator Series:
New release: George Ross
1.Lily
2.Bad Beat
3.Panama Annie
4.Coulter
5.Searching for Billy
6.End of an Era
7.Wingman
8.Triple Homicide
9.The Foundation
10.Hotline
11.Powell
12.The Last Regulator
Quantrall Series:
Quantrall
Ink Minx
Ray Jay
Blacky
The Coven
You Forgot to say Goodbye
Payback
Rags to Rage
The Corner Office
Race
Coma
No Defense
Full Circle
Note: For reading order: Quantrall books 14 & 15 follow Backwater – Book 15 in The Blackmore Agency Series.
Stick a Needle In Your Eye
Crude
The Blackmore Agency Series:
Double Down
Splitting Aces
Dead Man’s Hand
Drawing Dead
Under the Gun
Rivered
The Turn
Final Table
Cat
Dog
Vigilance
Mystere
Hole in the Heart
Dead Eye
Backwater
Road Kill
Street Rat
Hoodoo
Crowbar
Night Vipers
Short Fuse
Cinnamon
Parole
Eight Seconds
Junkyard Dog
Revoked
Blackbird
Random
Stone Cold Revenge
Branded
Night Viper Series:
Full Throttle
Organ Grinder
Thicker than Water
Felons
Bad Blood
Dart Game
Rope Burn
Early Release
Bittersweet
Carnage
Fightin’ Dirty
Third Strike
Coyote Moon
Mortality Rate
Blood Ties
The Moonbeam Chronicles:
A is for Amulet
B is for Boline
C is for Crow
D is for Dead
E is for Evil – coming soon
Paradise Park Series:
Paradise Park
Return to Paradise
Paradise Sparks
Alone in Paradise
Together in Paradise
Prisoner in Paradise
Escape from Paradise
Deliverance
Outlaw
Destination: Paradise
Misty’s Magick & Mayhem Series:
School for Reluctant Witches
School for Saucy Sorceresses
School for Unwitting Wiccans
Nine Saint Gillian Street
The Ghost of Pirate’s Alley
Jinxing Jackson Square
Flame
Frost
Luna
Nocturne
Swamp Magic
Broken Spur Series:
Picking up the Pieces
Comeback Trail
Rodeo Ranch.
Rodeo Bride
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Carolina Mac, C is for Crow: The A B C's of Witchery (Moonbeam Chronicles Book 3)