“Oh, no, buddy. You’re not climbing over a fence with no shoes and a body that’s going to crumble at any second. What’s this ghost telling you is behind the fence that’s so important, anyway?”
Win’s gaze narrowed as he watched Bel flap his wings in his face. “He said there’s something in there. He said, ‘look in there.’ So I’m going to look in there.”
“No, you’re not climbing a chain-link fence with barbed wire, knucklehead. Not when you have me and I can fly,” Belfry replied saucily. “I’m going to look in there.”
Win made a face, but he conceded. “Then after you. I don’t know what he wants me to see. I don’t even know who he is, but whatever it is, it’s over there. Thus, I suggest you look everywhere.”
I didn’t like Belfry going in on his own, he was so tiny, and it was cold out. But it was the lesser of two evils, considering Win was going to try to scale the fence.
“Arkady, you stay here with Win. Let me see if I can follow Bel. I want someone to watch his back.”
I wondered if that were possible, but I didn’t want him to go alone. Bel can hear me just like Win. Yet, I wasn’t sure if my attachment to the earthly plane extended to him as well. I didn’t know if I’d be able to see what he could see the way I could with Win.
Nonetheless, Bel zipped up and over the fence with my eyes glued to him until he became a tiny white dot. At the very least, I could still see him.
“Try the garage doors first, Bel. See if there’s anything inside that’s of interest,” I suggested.
He flapped his tiny wings and hovered by the windows before he hummed, “I might need some confirmation, but I think this is a chop shop.”
“A chop shop? How can you be sure?”
“I watch enough of the news to know what one looks like, Boss. Does this look like the kind of place that would have a dismantled Ferrari and a couple of Porsches?”
I tried to see what he was seeing, but apparently, the only person’s eyes I could use as my view to the world were Win’s.
“I can’t see, which I think means I can only see what Win sees, so I’ll have to trust you.”
“Truuust me. They steal them and sell the parts and body panels and whatever they can for cash.”
“Right. I know how they work, but what does this have to do with our new ghost friend and me? If this has something to do with my car, which I doubt, because it’s no Ferrari, then I can’t figure what.”
“Belfry!” Win whisper-yelled, latching on to the fence with his fingers. “What’s happening, chap?”
Bel flew back to the fence and gave Win the evil eye. “Gimme a sec to look around back. You stay put, or we’ll be having caviar all right, and it’ll be made from your hide!”
Bel buzzed away, flying around the back of the building, making me a nervous wreck because now I could no longer see him.
“Has the male ghost said anything more, Win?”
“Not a sound. Honestly, Stephania, I don’t know how you did this for all those years. It’s maddening.”
I chuckled. “It’s very different than talking to the spirits up here. Speaking of, they behave as though I don’t exist. I haven’t had time to ask what that’s all about.”
Arkady gave me a sympathetic pat to my arm. “You are different, malutka. You look different than everyone else. They are afraid of the unknown.”
I looked around and tried to find a gaze that would meet mine, but everyone found something more interesting to look at when they realized I was staring at them.
That left me feeling regretful. I would never want a spirit to be frightened of me. I wish I could explain to them how important spirits had been, how they’d been so much a part of my life.
Bu there wasn’t time for that now. “Well, as soon as I have a moment, I’ll try and dispel the fear. For now, I just want to keep track of Belfry. Where is he, anyway?”
Win leaned back against the fence and stretched his arms, rolling his head on his neck. “Are you getting that feeling in your bones, Stephania?”
“You mean the one that says you’re dead meat come morning when Nurse Gloria finds you gone? And speaking of, who’s going to feed Whiskey and Strike?”
In my panic, I’d forgotten all about them. Gosh. I really was a scattered mess.
Bel buzzed back around the building then, interrupting whatever Win had been about to say. He carried something in his tiny hand, stopping when he landed on Win’s shoulder.
“Whiskey and Strike are fine, Boss. You don’t think I’d forget my furry and feathered friends, do you? We made sure their bowls were full enough for a week, and they have the doggie door in the kitchen if they need to go out to the back patio and do their business. The home fires are burning just fine. Now, on to this,” he said, dropping whatever he held in his fingers at Win’s feet.
“What is this, Belfry, and what did you find?” Win asked as he stooped to pick up what looked like a business card and stuck it in his pocket.
“Guess what’s behind this building?” he chirped with excitement in his eyes.
“Please say it’s Tom Ellis,” I joked to alleviate my fears.
Win scoffed, giving his cane a shake. “What is your fascination with that man? He’s average at best, Stephania.”
If only Win knew how much he reminded me of my newest obsession, who played Lucifer Morningstar on my latest Netflix binge. But I would keep that to myself because a girl had to have her secrets, and my crush on Tom Ellis was one.
“Don’t be jealous, Win. He’s only tall, dark, British and Satanic. Does it get any sexier than that?”
“Bah, Stephania! He’s no more—”
“Lovebirds!” Arkady barked with a clap of his hands. “Can we not have quarrel now? Belfry has information. Please remember we have ticking clock, dah?”
I gave Arkady a guilty look and squeezed his hand. “Sorry. Okay, Belfry, what’s behind the building?”
Bel shifted positions on Win’s shoulder. “Your car! And not just your car, Stevie B, but another car. And guess what’s on that car?”
Win plucked him from his shoulder and held him up. “What’s on the car, Belfry?”
“A bumper sticker for a horse farm called Rainier’s Rides.”
I gave Arkady a blank look and muttered, “So?”
“So, Stephania, the ghost that first appeared to you and kept speaking to me had on riding pants and was holding an equestrian’s hat, was she not?”
Phew, I really was off my game. “Holy Hannah!”
“They’re both parked in the back, along with two other cars,” Bel said. “This means something, Boss. I feel it.”
My mouth fell open before I clamped it shut and squeezed my temples. “So, there is a connection between me and the horse lady, but—”
Just then, Gooch pulled up with his headlights off, rolling down the passenger-side window. “I know you told me to stay put, sir, but you have company. Company bigger than you. Please get in. I’m getting a really bad feeling about this place.”
Belfry tucked himself into Win’s hair as Win looked up, but Gooch’s voice, which was usually so calm, grew urgent with his next words.
“Don’t look, just get in. Please, sir!”
My stomach did a backflip as I looked to see what Gooch meant, preparing for something I couldn’t unsee. But my eyesight apparently wasn’t as good as I thought, because I only saw some blobs of people and a car I couldn’t identify if a gun were held to my head.
Win did mostly as he was told, popping the back door open and closing it with a wince when it clicked shut, but he did exactly the opposite of not looking by staring hard out the window into the dark. And then he inhaled a sharp, wheezing breath.
Of course, that was right before the bottom fell out.
Out of nowhere, there was a screech of tires, and Win yelled to Gooch, “Mate? Do you know the meaning of put your foot in the kitchen?”
Gooch’s eyes widened, but he nodded. “I think so, sir.”
> “Then put your foot in the kitchen!” he ordered with a bark.
Gooch did what he always does—he listened by putting his foot in the kitchen as his little Ford Fiesta roared to life, jolting forward and picking up speed rather well for an economy car.
My stomach did a half-gainer off the back wall. I didn’t understand what was going on. “What’s happening?” I sputtered.
“Not now, Stephania!” Win shouted, peering out at the road in front of them, coming at us faster and faster. “Listen carefully to me and everything will be fine, Gooch. You’re going to take a hard right but wait until I tell you to do it. Waaaaaiit for it—do it,” he paused a moment, making my heart crash, “now!”
Gooch whipped around the corner, running over part of the curb as he went and sending Win sliding toward the other side of the backseat, straining the seat belt to its limits.
He unbuckled his belt, leaned forward and patted Gooch’s shoulder. “Listen closely to my direction, Gooch. Let go of your instincts and let me do the driving through you,” he growled in the young man’s ear.
Let him do the driving through Gooch? What in all of insane was he talking about and who the frickety-frack was chasing us? Why were they chasing us? Was it another ghost? Could ghosts drive cars now?
Arkady appeared to instinctively know Win would need another set of eyes on the road. He set me to the side of him and bellowed, “Zero, look out for construction. Up ahead two hundred feet!”
Orange barriers, their lights bright in the rain-slicked night, loomed ahead. I gripped Arkady’s thigh, clenching it as I fought not to scream and distract Win.
As I looked out the rear window, I finally saw the car chasing us. A medium-sized dark car, but I couldn’t see much more than they were gaining on us with terrifying speed.
Win’s eyes lifted long enough to take note of the barriers before he was leaning into Gooch’s ear again. “Hands at ten and two, mate, and on the count of three you’re going to jerk the wheel quick right. One—two—three!”
Gooch jerked the wheel with a snap of his wrists, his body leaning into the passenger door from the force, spinning the car around and screeching the tires to head in the other direction.
There was a loud crash behind us, and when I looked back, I saw the dark car take out several of the orange barriers and a barrel, but it only sideswiped them, knocking them over with a jarring howl.
“Well done!” Win praised Gooch with laughter that was far more excited than it was out of any sort of nerves. I actually believe Win was enjoying this like a blast from his spy past.
But enough of that, both he and Gooch were going to die if we didn’t get away from these madmen.
“Approaching fast, Zero! We must lose them!”
Listen, I’m not much for hysterics, and I get that Win is skilled in matters like car chases, but this car, rapidly gaining on us as we flew down the back streets of Seattle, had me very close to them, and I wasn’t even in the car.
“All right, mate, now let’s lose these bloody ninnies,” Win directed, beads of sweat on his brow and upper lip. “Listen closely, Gooch. When I say brake, hit it hard and brace yourself. I’ll take the wheel.”
Take the what? Did he say take the wheel? This was all going so fast, I didn’t have time to protest.
Win began to climb over the front seat and situate himself on the passenger side, a gleam in his eye, just as Gooch’s eyes went wider than they’d ever gone since we’d met him.
“But, sir, we’re headed straight for the county building!”
Um, yeah, sir. We were headed straight for the county building. An enormous brick structure with a fountain and a statue in front of it.
“Bear with me, Gooch, and do as I say,” Win said, his teeth clenched as we raced closer and closer toward the structure.
Even though I wasn’t in the car, it felt like I was in some bizarre, real-life 3-D video game, and as the building loomed, daunting in its size, coming at us at an alarming rate, I couldn’t keep from screaming anymore.
“Win! We’re going to hit that head on!” I screeched, terrified, but Arkady grabbed my hand and squeezed it, tucking it under his arm to soothe me.
“Gooch? Brake now!” Win bellowed, grabbing the steering wheel and yanking it so far to the left, he almost ended up in Gooch’s lap. Gooch’s little Fiesta just missed the sidewalk as the tires tore around in a half circle, leaving the scent of burnt rubber in the air.
As we came to a screaming halt, the other car, which been so close to our tail I think we could have comfortably passed each other a bowl of sugar, roared over the sidewalk, and by the time the driver was able to brake, he’d crashed into the fountain and the statue in the center.
I tried to catch my breath, but apparently that was for wimps, because Win barked another order at Gooch. “Now let’s get out of here!”
Gooch took off again, tearing down the street and as far away from the mess as we could get while I leaned forward and took deep breaths, pressing my forehead to my knees.
Only when Gooch comfortably slowed to the speed limit did I dare make a sound.
“What the heck was that?” I asked, the panic in my tone evident. “Why were they chasing us?”
Win sat back in the seat and began to laugh. Like, really laugh, until I wanted to shake him. “Oh, wasn’t that exhilarating? What a rush!”
Gooch was still in shock, but I wasn’t. Nay. My mouth worked just fine, thank you. “Are you bananapants, Win! What was that about? Who was that back there and why are they chasing you?”
Win busied himself climbing into the backseat, when he settled back in, he pressed his hand to his headset and said, “Those we just encountered, Stephania?”
I frowned. He wasn’t taking me seriously at all. “Yeah. Those men. What about them?”
“One of those walking troglodytes was Egan Joseph.”
Chapter 12
It was pretty late when Gooch finally knocked some sense into Win by insisting he rest, at least for a little while. He did it under the guise of needing some rest himself by telling Win he didn’t want to fall asleep at the wheel, but there was no mistaking his concern for Win’s pale face and strained expression.
Not to mention, I think he was still quite shaken up by the car chase and needed a moment to collect himself. And who could blame him?
I needed to collect myself so I didn’t throttle him.
But not Win and Arkady, they were busy reliving old spy missions like they were at some class reunion.
Gooch had opted, without a moment’s hesitation, I might add, to share a room with Win. He refused to go home and leave Win alone. His complete trust Win wasn’t some kind of serial killer spoke to my Spy Guy’s insane people skills.
While Gooch was downstairs in the hotel lobby, gathering some food from the vending machine for them, it gave us a chance to unpack the latest revelation.
Win sat in the chair at the table the Marriott provided in our room while he Googled.
“What were you thinking, fake James Bond?” I scolded.
“Au contraire, Dove,” he said with a pleased smirk. “I was the real James Bond in my other life.”
“You could have been killed, and then where would we be? Right back where we started except that incredibly handsome face of yours would have been pulp.”
“You think my face is incredibly handsome?” He batted his thick eyelashes. “Do you think I’m as handsome as Tom Ellis?”
I groaned. “I think Tom Ellis wouldn’t give me a heart attack. That was a crazy stunt you pulled.”
“What choice did I have, Stephania? They were chasing us. I didn’t initiate the chase. I had to react. I’m happy to say, though still sluggish, I managed to make this body do as my brain told it to. And my brain told me we had to get out of there.”
I hated when he was right. “Okay, I’ll let that go for the moment, but don’t think I’m going to forget. So let’s unpack this, yes? Why does Egan Joseph give a fig about you, Crispi
n Alistair Winterbottom? Why does he give enough figs to chase you as though you’re starring in the next edition of The Fast and The Furious. And how does he know anything about you at all?”
Win looked up at the ceiling. “I’ve wondered the same, of course. I’ve obviously never met him in person, unless Balthazar has, and I think we both know that’s unlikely. I’ve only seen his Facebook profile picture. I’m at a loss as to why he’d chase me down. But then, we’re giving him a great deal of credit. Maybe those thugs would have chased down anyone near the pawnshop.”
“Because they’re the people who stole my car and they don’t want anyone to steal it from them? It’s hardly worthy of that kind of chase.”
Win rasped a sigh. “I wish I knew. Maybe this Joseph fellow saw me at the hospital with Artie? It’s not as though I’m inconspicuous in this clothing, Stephania. By the way, did you happen to see their plates?”
“Hah! I happened to see my life flash before my eyes. That’s what I saw. I know that’s not being a good amateur sleuth, but I’m way off my game.”
“As am I, Dove. As am I,” he murmured grimly, his eyes glued to my phone.
I sensed his frustration was growing, and he looked wiped out. It was time to move on to something else. “So what did we find out about Rainier’s Rides?” I asked, squinting at the small screen of my cell phone.
“Well, it’s not far from here, and of course we can look into it tomorrow in person, but it appears they’re a horse farm and they offer riding lessons. Maybe that’s where our ghost rode or taught others to ride? The pictures of their family and employees don’t show anyone matching the description you gave of her.”
He held up the phone and scrolled through the pictures, letting me see them, but he was right. Our ghost lady wasn’t there.
Belfry, wrapped in a washcloth so he could quickly be hidden when Gooch returned, sat on the table. “By the way, ghost lady’s car wasn’t anything special either. It was a black Toyota Camry. Not a cheap car, mind you, but not really chop-shop worthy. So if that really was her car, and we know it was Stevie’s car, why are two seemingly dead women’s cars parked behind that place? Doesn’t feel like a coincidence to me.”
Witches Get Stitches Page 13
