Natural Born Witch: Witches of Palmetto Point Book 8

by Wendy Wang

  "All right, then," Jason said. His internal sensors pinged. Maybe he’d just been around Lisa and Charlie and the others too long, and maybe there was nothing to it. But everything inside him told him that Gerald was lying. The question was why. What did he have to gain by lying? "Well, we appreciate your time."

  "No problem. Are you gonna head back up to Ben's office?" Gerald asked.

  "Yeah, we are. Just want to let him know what we found,” Jason said.

  "Good. Y'all have a good day then," Gerald said. He turned on his heels, swiped his badge, and the elevator opened. Jason kept a smile on his face until the elevator doors closed.

  "Great," Tom said. "Now what do we do?"

  "Now we go tell Ben."

  "Tell him what exactly?" Tom asked.

  "Tell him that we have our first suspect. Come on," Jason said.

  Chapter 18

  "What do you mean you think Gerald is a suspect?" Ben asked. The back of his head felt like a woman with very long nails had dug into his scalp and squeezed until sharp pricks of pain penetrated his skull.

  First, Jason described his interaction with the security chief, and then laid out his suspicions carefully and methodically. Ben listened, concentrating on the story until finally, Jason stopped talking and gave Ben an expectant look.

  "Well?" Jason asked. "What you think?"

  Ben rubbed the back of his neck, massaging the tight muscles at the base of the skull. "I think if Gerald said there was nothing on the tape, there's nothing on the tape."

  "You don't even want to confirm that?" Jason asked. "Because my spidey-senses were tingling."

  "You’ve been hanging around Charlie too long,” Ben said

  "Maybe so. And I'd like to keep hanging around her. Wouldn't you?" Jason asked.

  "Of course." Ben sighed and opened his desk drawer. He pulled out a small bottle of aspirin, popped the top, and shook three into his hand. He swallowed them with a sip of water and rested his head against the back of his chair. While he waited for the medicine to start working, he closed his eyes for a moment and thought over what Jason had said. He didn't know enough about the security systems in this place, but he knew people who did. His eyes flew open. He sat up, grabbed the handset of his phone, and quickly dialed three digits.

  "Hey, Athena," Ben said. "Can you come up here, please?"

  A few minutes later, Athena knocked on his door and popped her head into his office. "You wanted to see me?"

  "Hey, you work the security desk sometimes, right?" Ben asked.

  "I sure do. In fact, I'm technically still on their payroll, not yours." She made an amused face.

  "What can you tell me about the badges that we use?” Ben asked.

  Athena's gaze shifted from Ben to Jason and Tom.

  "It's okay. You can talk in front of them."

  "Okay." Athena sat on the corner of Ben's desk. "Here's how it works. Everyone is given a badge when they enter the building, whether it is an official badge like mine and yours, Ben, or a visitor badge like theirs. The chip inside allows you to move throughout the building based on security clearances."

  "Does it track when someone comes in and leaves the building?" Ben asked.

  "Oh, yeah. It tracks everything. You can see a person's movement once they swipe it the first time and go up the elevator. And then you can see every single time they swipe that badge,” Athena said.

  "Yeah, but we don't swipe the badge to enter or exit the building," Ben said.

  "No, we don't, but the RFID chip pings the database with the timestamp anytime someone walks outside the building. It also pings anytime someone enters the building. That's what keeps up with a person’s movements throughout the building."

  "See, I told you," Jason said, sounding a little too triumphant.

  "Is all this information stored somewhere?" Ben asked.

  "Oh, yeah, sure thing. There's not only a database but a backup of the database,” Athena said.

  "Can you access that database from here?" Ben asked.

  "Of course,” Athena said. "I just need access to a computer on the network."

  Ben stood up and gestured to his chair. Athena sat down, and her fingers began to move deftly over the keyboard.

  Jason leaned over and smiled. "Any chance you can access the security camera footage remotely, too?"

  Athena glanced up, her green eyes full of light. "You bet."

  They all stared in silence at the screen, watching the footage outside Lauren's door. Jason had watched his fair share of video footage, most of it boring him out of his mind. But he also knew when something was wrong.

  "Athena, can you play that back for just a second?" Jason asked.

  "Sure thing," Athena said. She quickly rewound the digital file. If he hadn't been looking for it the second time through, it would have been easy to miss. Just tiny blip. A jump.

  "Is this video time-stamped?" Jason asked.

  "I don't know what you're saying, Jason. Can you share what's going on in your head?" Ben asked.

  "It's just this really tiny little jump in the footage. Maybe it's been edited,” Jason said.

  "Wow," Athena said. "You’re good. Thirty seconds are missing." Athena pointed to a timeline just below the video footage. "See how it goes from 13:52:26 and it jumps to 13:52:56 here?"

  "Can you fast-forward this about five minutes?" Jason asked.

  "Of course," Athena said. She gave him a sly smile. "I think I know what you're looking for."

  "What is he looking for?" Tom asked.

  "I want to see how smart our suspect is," Jason said.

  "This still doesn't prove Gerald did it,” Ben said.

  "Hey, Athena can you tell when this might've been edited?" Jason asked.

  "Yeah, there should be a log,” Athena said. "I just have to pull up that file." She drew her finger around the touchpad on Ben's laptop until she found exactly what she was looking for and tapped the touchpad twice. The log opened.

  "The last person to access this file besides me is username BGHANDLEY." Athena chewed her bottom lip.

  "Who is that?" Jason asked.

  Ben stared down at the screen. He tightened his arms across his chest.

  "It's Gerald Handley,” Athena said quietly. She directed her attention to Ben. "What do we do?"

  "We…" Ben shook his head. "We proceed with caution. We need to trap him in the building. Get him to a casting circle and question him."

  "You mean question the demon inside him," Jason said.

  "We have no proof that he’s possessed by a demon,” Ben said.

  "There was demon dust in Lauren's office," Tom said.

  "I know but… I've known Gerald a long time. Since I was a kid. I can't believe—"

  "It's not Gerald, though,” Tom said. "Not if he's possessed. It's not Gerald."

  "I don't know about that," Jason said. All eyes focused on him, and he squirmed in his seat.

  "Why do you say that?" Athena asked.

  "Because he left Lauren alive. Gerald may still be in there somewhere fighting against this demon. Trying to stop it from wreaking complete havoc,” Tom said.

  "Why haven't the sensors gone off?" Athena asked.

  "Maybe they have," Ben said. "Gerald has obviously doctored security footage. What else has he changed? Not as himself, but as this demon."

  "The cleansing herbs have been a little heavy in the past week,” Athena said.

  "Right, and that's automatic. No one would think twice about it, either. They're so used to it,” Ben said.

  "Yep," Athena said. She puckered out her bottom lip. "I'm going to ask again, sir. What do we do about it?"

  "Let's quietly put together a security team to take him into custody,” Ben said. "Athena, I need you to gather your best and most discreet security officers together for this. If there is actually a demon possessing him, then I want us to take extreme care with Gerald. I'm not about to let a forty-year veteran at this company lose his good name because of something happening
to him that is out of his control."

  "Yes, sir," Athena said. She turned back to the computer and began typing again. "I'm just going to check his whereabouts in the building." Her fingers moved over the touchpad in a graceful rhythm and stopped. "Um, we have a problem."

  "What?" Ben and Jason asked in unison. They exchanged a concerned glance.

  "According to this log, Gerald Handley left the building twenty-two minutes ago,” Athena said.

  Chapter 19

  Ben gathered the others into the conference room. Jen, Lisa, Daphne, and Evangeline sat around the conference table with Tomeka and Darius. Athena, Marigold, and Sabine stood along one wall, with Jason, Tom, Joy, and the reaper Gabrielle standing along the opposite wall.

  A murmur of disagreement traveled throughout the room, and Ben held up his hands, trying to quell the crowd.

  "Why are we going to Gerald's house," Tom protested. "He could be out of the city by now, on his way to the West Coast for all we know. We need to concentrate on finding Gabrielle's book."

  "I agree," Ben said. "Let's just think about this logically, okay? He attacked Lauren in her office and took the book with him."

  "You think," Tom said. "Even you said there's no proof he took it."

  "I know," Ben said. "But if he left the building, and he had the book with him —"

  "A big if," Tom said.

  "Then, we will be better off just going to his house and confronting him. The worst thing that could happen is the book’s not there," Ben said.

  "I’m all for going to this human’s house if it means I can retrieve my book," Gabrielle said. The haughtiness of her manner and the sharp angles of Gabrielle's face and body reminded Ben of one of those skeletal models in the fashion magazines that Jen sometimes read. Her black turtleneck, black pants, and harsh make-up job didn't help to soften her image. If he didn't know already that she was a reaper, he would have suspected it, just from the way she presented herself.

  "We don't have time for a wild goose chase," Tom said. "We need to… We need to find that book as soon as possible. Surely there must be another way." Tom glanced at Lisa and Jen down at the end of the table with an imploring expression on his face.

  Lisa shifted in her chair and rested her hands on the table in front of her. "I think I may have an idea about how to do that."

  "Please," Ben said. "I’m open to ideas at this point."

  "I noticed you have a ring on your finger, Gabrielle," Lisa said, pointing toward the reaper's hand. Gabrielle lifted the hand with the ring and cradled it against her chest.

  "Yes," Gabrielle said.

  "I think we can use your ring to find your book," Lisa said. She laced her fingers together and met Ben's eyes. "A location spell should do it. That way we can find the book in time. Then you can send a team to get the book, and another team to retrieve Gerald, and everybody's happy."

  Ben rocked on his feet and thought over her proposition. Finally, he nodded. "Okay. It shouldn't take too long to set something up."

  "Great," Lisa said.

  "What do you need?" Ben asked.

  "A casting circle, some crystals, some candles, Gabrielle's ring, and some maps," Lisa said.

  Ben turned his attention to Athena. "Can you help Lisa with that?"

  Athena sat up straight in her chair, her curls bouncing a little when she nodded. "You bet."

  Ben led them to the fourth-floor casting room. He slipped in next to Jen and said, “I wish we were doing this under better circumstances. I always intended to bring you here sometime.”

  The elevator opened and interrupted him. He had looked forward to the expression on Jen’s face when she first saw the setup. Now she just looked tired and worried, and the guilt he felt about her worry gnawed at his gut.

  "This place is amazing," Daphne said, and slipped off her shoes. She stepped onto the green grassy floor and rocked back and forth.

  "It certainly is," Jen said, moving closer to Ben. She leaned against his arm. "I can see why Charlie likes it here so much."

  "And she will like it again," Tom said, sidling up next to her. "If it's the last thing I do."

  "Don't say things like that, Tom. It would kill Charlie if she gained her life and you lost yours,” Jen scolded.

  "Jen's right," Ben said. Athena bounded through an open door carrying what looked like a rolled-up map in one hand.

  "I found it," Athena said, holding up the map. "It's the largest one we have."

  "Great," Lisa said. She unfurled the corner of the map and appeared to give it a cursory scan. "I'll take that if you don't mind. Where's the best place to set up?"

  "Athena, can you show Lisa the center of the casting circle?" Ben asked.

  "Of course," Athena said. "I also checked on that other thing we talked about."

  "And?" Ben asked.

  "I looked up Gerald’s address and put it into the maps app on my phone. Once we’re done here, we’ll be ready to start searching for him at ground zero,” Athena said.

  "Ground zero?" Ben asked.

  Athena shrugged. “That’s what I’m calling his house."

  "Good. I think we’re prepared for any scenario then,” Ben said.

  Athena nodded. "Come on, Lisa. I'll show you where you can set up."

  Lisa had asked for black candles and insisted that everyone step inside the stones that made up the casting circle. On a table in the center of the casting circle, Lisa spread the map. The energy in the room thrummed, becoming palpable. Lisa gave a nod to her aunt, and Evangeline lit her candle, then used the flame to light Jen's. When her candle flared, Jen lit the next candle, and so it went until all the candles burned. Lisa carefully retrieved Gabrielle’s reaper ring from her front pocket and carefully threaded a long piece of red string through it before tying it into a loop.

  She moved closer to the table and looked down at the map of the United States in front of her.

  "I'm going to do this by geographical region," Lisa announced. "Starting in the South. If this proves successful, we may need more maps."

  "Don't worry," Athena said. "We have plenty of maps."

  "Let's begin." Lisa gave her a nod and closed her eyes. She thrust her hand out over the map. She opened her fingers, holding tight to the red string and let the ring fall.

  "Blessed Goddess, hear my prayer," Lisa said. The witches around her softly echoed her words.

  “Thank you for granting my desire," Lisa said. She imagined a light, warm and bright, glowing inside her chest while she spoke the incantation.

  "What was stolen shall now be found. Where ere it be, the whole world around."

  The ring began to move in a small circle at first. Then, it grew larger and larger still. Lisa continued to chant, her words reiterated by the witches standing around her. The ring spun and tugged against the thread. The words Find the Reaper's Book popped into her head, and she found her lips uttering them instead of her incantation. The witches followed her lead, changing their chant. Her heart pounded against her ribs, and a small voice inside her head screamed, "You're doing it wrong."

  But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to go back to her incantation. Lisa pushed the voice down deep until she could barely hear it. The ring spun harder until the thread popped, sending it into the air.

  Lisa's eyes flew open, and she watched as the ring flew up and out before landing on its edge. The witches moved in closer to the table and watched the ring circle the entire map of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It rolled with purpose.

  "Find the reaper's book," Lisa whispered at first. Then she repeated it louder. Daphne joined in. Then Jen. And Evangeline. Soon the others chanted along with her. The ring sailed across Alabama, before taking a sharp left at the Florida Panhandle. It traveled along the Appalachian Trail before turning again toward Charlotte. It circled the large city on the map as if it were looking for its destination.

  Lisa watched the ring spiral away from the city before it finally stopped and fell down on its side. A
collective gasp traveled through the witches around her. Lisa stopped chanting and peered through the ring down at the map.

  "How far is Lake Norman from here?" Lisa asked.

  "About an hour depending on traffic," Ben said.

  "That's where we're going to find it," Lisa said.

  "Lake Norman's a big place," Ben said.

  Lisa nodded. "You're right. We're gonna need another map to narrow it down."

  "Athena pulled her phone from her back pocket and held it up for the others to see. “I already have a map that will work. Gerald Handley’s house is on Lake Norman.”

  Chapter 20

  "Lisa, you, Jen, and Evangeline are with me," Ben said.

  "What about me?" Jason asked.

  "I appreciate that you want to be there, but I figured you would probably want to stay here with Charlie. I mean, this is a little out of your depth really,” Ben said.

  "I am going to disagree with you on that. I think you need as many people as possible, witch or not,” Jason argued. “And if there’s anything I know how to do, it’s how to apprehend a suspect.”

  “A possessed suspect? I don’t know, that demon’s going to give Gerald super-human strength,” Ben said.

  “That’s all right. I’ve got something in my trunk that might temper that super-human strength.”

  “What exactly?” Ben asked.

  “A stun gun,”

  “A stun gun,” Ben said, his tone doubtful.

  “Yep. Even if it doesn’t bring him down, it could slow him up enough for y’all to do that thing you do with your wands,” Jason said.

  Ben scrubbed his chin. "Fine. You can come. Just make sure you don’t stun anyone other than Gerald."

  “No problem,” Jason said.

  "Ben, do you mind if I stay behind?" Tomeka asked. "I'd like to continue sitting with Charlie, if that's okay. Darius would too. Wouldn't you, Darius?"

  A look of surprise widened Darius's eyes, and his brows rose halfway up his forehead. "Sure. I'd be happy to stay here with Charlie and you. If Daphne doesn’t mind."