“We’ll find out soon enough,” Meg said. “Things could get very interesting.”
Connor and Meg were preparing themselves for the worst, but a confrontation wasn’t inevitable.
Even though Josh had entered the building, he had not spotted Connor or Meg yet. Instead, he was looking around the restaurant for open tables. Once his eyes had scanned the majority of the restaurant, he finally saw Connor and Meg.
At that point, Josh had a big decision to make. He could have turned around and left the building. He also could have just waited to be seated at one of the open tables without saying a word to Connor or Meg. Ultimately, Josh decided to go with a third option. He approached Connor and Meg.
Much to Meg’s surprise, Josh did not immediately start chewing Connor out. In fact, Josh didn’t seem hostile in the least. If anything, he appeared to be pretty nonchalant. At least, at first.
Josh stared at Connor. “Well, look who it is. What are the odds that we’d run into each other again?”
“It’s funny that you should mention that,” Connor said. “I guess the real question becomes, is this intentional, or just a coincidence?”
“This is strictly a coincidence,” Josh said.
“Are you sure about that?” Connor asked.
“Sounds like someone is paranoid,” Josh said.
“Given your history, I have every reason to be skeptical of your motivations.”
“That has to be exhausting, always expecting the worst to happen. Constantly trying to find some dubious hidden meaning in every conversation.”
“It’s just part of my job.”
“Maybe so, but in this instance, you’re reading way too far into things.”
Connor stared Josh down. “Is that so?”
“Step back for a second and really think this through. I know where you live. So, if I really had designs on running into you, why wouldn’t I have just gone to your house?”
“Perhaps you figured that would look too suspicious. Crossing paths in a public place like a restaurant doesn’t raise quite as many eyebrows.”
Josh shook his head. “No. Like I told you a few seconds ago, this is just a random coincidence that we ran into each other like this.”
Connor folded his arms. “Uh-huh.”
“You really need to relax.”
“I was relaxed,” Connor replied. “Until you came in.”
Josh scoffed. “You’re amazingly paranoid, you know that? We live in a small town. And this is a popular restaurant. It’s not crazy to think that we’d end up running into each other.”
“Instead of arguing about that point any further, why don’t we talk about more important matters?” Connor suggested. “Namely, have you been staying out of trouble?”
“Of course. I didn’t spend all the time behind bars without learning my lesson. I’m not going to squander this second chance that I’ve been given.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that a criminal like you has been completely rehabilitated? That you’re on the straight and narrow now for good?” Connor asked.
For the majority of the conversation, Josh had remained completely nonchalant. That was no longer the case. His demeanor suddenly changed. He was having trouble keeping a lid on his true feelings. As Meg looked into Josh’s eyes, she saw a fire burning inside him. He was like a powder keg that could explode at any moment.
Meg fully expected Josh to lash out in response to Connor’s last statement. Somehow, Josh managed to find enough restraint to keep from snapping. Even so, it was clear to both Meg and Connor that Josh wasn’t nearly as unfazed as he was pretending to be.
“I’m not a criminal,” Josh said.
“According to the law, you are,” Connor replied.
“I meant, I’m no longer a criminal,” Josh said. “I’m done breaking the law.”
“Do you know what the recidivism rate is for ex-convicts?” Connor asked.
“I don’t care. Those statistics don’t apply to me. I’m never going back to prison again,” Josh said.
“I’d really like to believe that,” Connor said.
“I’m not stopping you. But I am done with this conversation. I hope you enjoy your meal.” When Josh was finished speaking, he turned around and headed for the exit.
Connor thought about making one last remark as Josh left the table, but he decided not to.
Once Josh was gone, Connor turned to Meg.
“I guess he wasn’t as hungry for Mexican food as he thought,” Connor said.
“I’m pretty sure that a burrito is the last thing on his mind right now,” Meg said.
“I have a feeling that there’s all kinds of awful thoughts swirling in his head at the moment.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Which begs the question. Do you still believe that the universe has decided to take it easy on us?” Connor asked.
“I’m far less convinced of that than I was a few minutes ago,” Meg said.
“So am I.” Connor looked off into the distance and became quiet.
“What are you thinking right now?” Meg asked.
“That the future just became more unpredictable than ever.”
Chapter Sixteen
Thankfully, the rest of the work day went by without any incidents. That didn’t mean that Connor’s suspicions had gone away. He would just shelve them for the evening. After all, there would be a full moon again that night.
Before Connor headed home and locked himself up in his cage, he met up with Meg. They both had a fair amount of strong opinions that they wanted to share with each other.
“It’s a small victory, but it’s nice to know that we were able to make it through another work day without any disasters taking place,” Meg said.
Connor chuckled. “How wild have our lives become when we’re celebrating the fact that things haven’t gone completely off the rails?”
Meg threw out her arms. “What can I say? We’re living in a crazy world.”
“We certainly are.”
“Which is why I try to only take things one day at a time.”
“Speaking of which, I’m so glad that this day is over.”
Meg held up her hand. “I hate to correct you, but technically, this day isn’t over yet.”
“For me, it is,” Connor said. “I’m going to be spending the rest of the day in a cage.”
Meg laughed. “There’s something you don’t hear very often.”
“You certainly don’t,” Connor said.
“Those are also words that I never thought I would hear coming out of my fiancé’s mouth.”
“I’ll bet you didn’t. And trust me, I wish things were different. But—”
“Life is full of surprises?”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Connor said. “Anyway, here's hoping that tomorrow is nice and peaceful.”
“I’m going to pray that it will be,” Meg said.
Connor then leaned in and gave Meg a kiss.
When they were done locking lips, Connor pulled back and said, “Goodnight.”
Just as Connor was about to get into his car to drive home, Meg put her hand on his shoulder.
“Actually, I don't think this should be goodnight.”
Connor pointed at the time on his cell phone. “You know I need to be heading home.”
“I realize that,” Meg said.
“So, what's the hold up?”
“I’m getting a really strong instinct right now.”
Connor’s eyebrows rose. “A bad one?”
Meg nodded.
“What is your gut telling you exactly?” Connor asked.
Meg leaned in and told Connor her fears.
***
When Meg was done speaking, Connor’s eyes widened.
“Is that so?” he asked.
She nodded.
He grimaced. “I hope you're wrong.”
“If I'm incorrect, the night will end with no harm done,” Meg said. “But if my i
nstincts are spot-on, you'll be glad that you listened to me.”
“I certainly will,” Connor said. “I guess the question now is, where do we go from here?”
Meg smiled at Connor. “Don’t worry. I have a plan.”
Chapter Seventeen
Connor listened to what Meg had to say. He then let Meg put her plan into action. The first step was driving over to Connor’s house and heading inside. Step two was locking Connor up in his cage in the basement. Step three was where things got a little trickier.
Meg turned off all of the lights in the house and then sat on Connor’s sofa. She had Connor’s gun with her. She also had a pair of handcuffs by her side.
If things went according to plan, Meg wouldn’t be sitting in the dark for long. Her instincts were telling her that trouble was imminent. And that Connor’s house would be the epicenter of danger.
Meg ended up getting an answer forty-five minutes later.
That was when Meg heard a noise coming from Connor’s back yard. That was followed by the sound of a lock being picked. It became pretty obvious to Meg that someone was trying to break into the house.
At that point, Meg cast an invisibility spell. That would allow her to observe the action without being spotted. With the spell in place, Meg stared at the back door.
A few seconds later, whoever was outside finished picking the lock. The home intruder then turned the knob, opened the door, and entered Connor’s kitchen.
As the intruder made their way into the living room, Meg was able to identify them. It was Josh Gilbertson. The ex-convict was carrying a pistol.
Josh scanned the room and then moved down the hallway toward Connor’s bedroom.
When Josh entered the bedroom and didn’t spot Connor, he turned around and went back into the hallway.
From there, he checked the house’s second bedroom. Once again, he didn’t have any luck finding Connor.
He tried the bathrooms next.
After having no luck with the other rooms in the house, Josh approached the door that led to the basement.
Josh then smirked and said to himself, “There’s nowhere left to hide, Detective Smith. I’ve got you now.”
That was Meg’s cue. She got up from the couch and snuck up behind Josh. She then pressed the barrel of the gun she was holding against the back of Josh’s head. After that, she put an end to her invisibility spell.
Meg then opened her mouth and said, “You have it all wrong. You just walked right into my trap. Now, put the gun down.”
Josh didn’t follow Meg’s orders.
Instead, he asked her a question.
“Where did you come from?” Josh said.
“I’ve been here all along. You just didn’t see me,” she replied.
“I can’t believe it. How were you able to hide so well?”
“Right now, that’s the least of your concerns,” Meg said. “I just caught you in the act. You can kiss your freedom goodbye. You’re headed right back to jail.”
“No. Tonight wasn’t supposed to turn out this way.”
“You thought you had everything planned out, didn’t you? You figured you’d be able to break in here and get revenge on Connor for sending you to prison. That was your plan, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. And it was a good plan. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking forward to this night?” Josh said. “I spent five long years in jail, plotting my revenge. Thinking of nothing else. I’m not going to let you ruin it.”
“Face it, Josh. It’s over. Put the gun down.”
“Why should I?” Josh asked. “I know you’re not going to shoot me.”
“You’re dead wrong,” Meg replied. “Now, I’m only going to say this one more time. Put your gun down.”
The next few seconds were as tense as could be. Would Josh refuse to follow orders again? Would Meg have to resort to extreme action? Would the situation get even more explosive?
After weighing his options, Josh reluctantly dropped his gun.
Meg then handcuffed Josh.
With Josh no longer posing any danger, Meg could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
***
Meg’s next step was calling 9-1-1. A few minutes later, a number of police officers arrived at the scene.
One of the deputies loaded Josh into the back of his squad car.
Meanwhile, another deputy, Richard Stamford, spoke with Meg. Richard had a number of questions for her.
That was when things got tricky. For example, Richard wanted to know where Connor currently was. And why Meg had been the one to apprehend Josh.
Those weren’t unreasonable questions, by any stretch of the imagination. The problem was, Meg couldn’t exactly tell the truth. Not without spilling her secret. Or Connor’s.
Besides, if she admitted that she was a witch and that Connor was a werewolf, the odds were that the deputy wouldn’t even believe her. If he did, it would certainly lead to a series of even crazier questions.
Meg was determined to do everything in her power to avoid going down that path. In order to pull off that feat, she would have to get creative in a hurry.
She told the deputy that Connor had left town after work. That he had headed out to Bertram Lake to go fishing for a few days. While he was away, she had volunteered to do some housesitting for him.
Meg then explained that in the process of checking up on Connor’s house, Josh happened to break in, armed and ready to get revenge. That was when Meg stepped in and stopped Josh.
Much to Meg’s relief, the deputy bought her story. Officer Stamford finished taking Meg’s statement and then headed back to the station. Once all of the deputies arrived at police headquarters, Josh was booked on charges of breaking and entering, criminal trespassing, and attempted murder.
As the officers hauled Josh into a jail cell, Meg remained back at Connor’s house. In fact, she decided to stay there all night. She wanted to be there when her fiancé shifted back into human form in the morning. There was a lot that she needed to tell him.
Chapter Eighteen
The next day
When the morning arrived, Connor shifted back into human form. He then let himself out of his cage and exited the basement. As he made his way into the living room, he saw Meg sitting on his sofa. He could tell by the look on her face that she had a big update to share with him.
After Connor took a seat beside his fiancé, Meg proceeded to tell him everything that had taken place the night before.
When Meg finished speaking, Connor took her hand.
“Thank you for saving my life,” Connor said.
“You would have done the same thing for me,” Meg said.
“I certainly would have. But right now, you’re the one who deserves all of the credit. Not only am I alive because of you, but Josh is also in custody.”
“What a relief that is.”
“I know what you mean. I’m so glad you came up with that plan. I can only imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t.”
“Things would have gotten ugly. In more ways than one.”
“You aren’t kidding. I mean, what if Josh had gone in the basement?”
“He would have gotten the surprise of his life. If he saw you in wolf form, it probably would have scared him half to death.”
“Speaking of death, if he had gotten too close to the cage, the wolf would have taken some swipes at him.”
“I’ll bet. And with claws that deadly, he probably wouldn’t have made it out of there alive.”
“Even if he did, his life would never be the same,” Meg said.
“Isn’t that the truth? Although, now that he’s back in jail, the rest of his life is already going to be pretty different than he probably thought it would be.”
“What a shame, too. I mean, he spent all that time convincing the parole board that he was a changed man. And he got his freedom back. Once he got out of prison, he could have done anything he wanted to. But instead of doing something good with his life
, he blew his second chance.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised. The man was obsessed with getting revenge.”
“Talk about crazy.”
“Oh yeah. That man has a screw loose, all right. Then again, show me a killer who doesn’t.”
“That’s a good point.”
“Enough about Josh, though,” Connor said. He gazed into Meg’s eyes. “Let’s talk about you. And how wonderful you are.”
“You’re so sweet.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? I love you,” Connor said.
Connor leaned in and gave Meg a kiss.
“I love you, too,” Meg replied.
“Speaking of being sweet, after the crazy night you had, I’ll bet you could go for a shoulder rub,” Connor said.
“I’m not going to turn one of those down.”
“That’s what I figured.”
Just as Connor began rubbing his fiancé’s shoulders, Meg’s stomach began to rumble.
“Apparently, my tummy has other plans,” Meg joked.
Connor laughed. “I could always save the massage for later.”
“I think my belly would appreciate that.”
“In the meantime, how about a little breakfast?”
“That sounds great.”
“Should I make some scrambled eggs?” Connor asked. “How about some bacon too?”
Meg bit the corner of her lip and then replied, “Actually, I’m having a serious donut craving right now.”
Connor laughed. “Why does that not surprise me?”
“Hey, it’s hard to compete with a chocolate-glazed treat.”
“That is certainly a sweet way to start off your morning.”
“In that case, it’s settled then. Donuts, here we come,” Meg said.
Connor grimaced. “Meg, I hate to damper your enthusiasm, but there’s a problem with that plan of yours.”
Meg’s nose scrunched. “What are you talking about?”
“According to the story that you told the deputy last night, aren’t I supposed to be fishing right now?”
Meg’s eyes widened. “Oh, right.”
“Which means that I probably shouldn’t risk being spotted in public until at least tomorrow.”
Halloween Witch Cozy Mystery Ten Book Set Page 66
