by Amy Boyles
A chill crept down my arms. “Why? What does he want?”
Axel reached for me. “Come on, let’s get you back into town.”
I slipped from his grasp. “No. I want some answers. No one in this town just simply tells me the truth.”
His lips curled into an amused smile. “The truth is that I was out here looking for clues in the death of Ebenezer Goldmiser. I saw you trying to leave town when you know you’re a suspect in the case, and then Rufus shows up, apparently intent on stealing you for some reason. You’re a brand-new witch with no idea how to use your power. I show up to help you, am able to send Rufus running for the hills and now you’re standing in the middle of the forest, still completely exposed, yelling at me. You’re welcome.”
My mouth opened and shut like a fish gulping air. “Thank you,” I said weakly.
He turned to walk back into the forest. “You’re welcome.”
I speed walked to catch up with him. “Listen, I’m sorry I was rude back there. It’s just been a horrible day. You would think that discovering you’re a witch is great and awesome, but I’m not crazy about animals and now they think I murdered this Ebenezer guy. I can barely butter a piece of toast with a knife, much less use one to slice and dice.”
Axel grunted. “You want me to push your car off the road?”
I grimaced. “Yeah. Sure. Thanks.”
He stopped, turned back around, and we pushed my Camry onto the shoulder. “I’ll call someone about it in the morning,” I said.
We headed down the road. “Didn’t you say you were looking for clues to Ebenezer’s death?”
Axel nodded. “The family hired me to do my own investigation.”
I sneaked a glimpse of him in the moon’s glow. Hard jaw, high cheekbones, piercing eyes—yep, there was a reason the women in the town referred to him as Mr. Sexy.
“Do they not trust the police—to hire you, I mean?”
He shrugged. “People often hire me. Just because.”
Okay, whatever that meant.
“So what’ve you discovered so far about Ebenezer’s death?”
His head slanted as he gazed at me. I flashed him a huge smile. The sort of smile people will tell you to tone down, keep it smaller because you look like you’re trying too hard. Yep, I was trying too hard, and I wasn’t ashamed to admit it.
“I haven’t discovered anything because as soon as I started, I saw a flash of blue and Rufus trying to seize you.”
“Wow, you must have some awesome eyesight.”
He didn’t say anything to that. “Can I walk you home?”
I shook my head. “No. I want to help you.”
“I work alone.”
I shrugged. “I’m on the line for this murder. You know how folks are in small Southern towns. You look like you’re not from there, and they think you’re a spy or something. They don’t trust you, and they’re ready to accuse you of a crime whether or not you did it.”
Axel didn’t say anything.
“I won’t get in the way. Look, I’m not going to beg, plead and steal, here. You did me a favor—huge favor, maybe even saved my life—so if you don’t want me to come, I won’t, but I want to have some shape in my destiny. Since yesterday nothing has been in my control, and I’m tired of it.”
He stopped, pivoted toward me. “You’re not going to cry about it, are you?”
I sniffed, gauged my tear-making machine. “No, I don’t think so—why?”
He placed his hands on his hips and shifted his weight. “Because I really hate it when women cry. It’s just the worst.”
Hope sparked deep in my chest. “You’re saying if I start crying, you’ll have to do what I want?”
Axel shook his head. “Nope. Definitely not.”
I cocked my head. “I think you’re lying.”
“I do not lie.”
“Not even a white lie? Everyone tells those now and again. You have to.”
He waved his hands in front of his body. “I’m completely transparent.”
I scoffed. “No one’s that perfect.”
“But anyway, I work alone. You can’t come with me.”
I hated to do it, I really did, but it was the only shot I had at putting my destiny in my own hands. Reaching deep down into my core, I found a hidden box where I’d stuffed all my angst and frustration at what I’d lost over the course of twenty-four hours.
It took about three seconds for that to ignite into full-blown tears. Really, it was easy—about the easiest tears I’d ever shed.
“What are you doing?” he said.
“I’m-I’m— It’s all so—horrible.”
His face pinched into a look of disbelief. “What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to-to— I know—you hate it when people cry—but it’s—be-be-been so rough.”
I pulled myself back from a wailing ugly cry, because I wanted to keep some of my dignity—at least what little I had left, but really there was no other choice.
“Will you stop crying? You’ll wake up the entire town.”
“Ca-ca-can I come wi-with you?”
He sighed, rolled his eyes and scraped the ground with his boot. “Yes. For heaven’s sake stop that crying.”
I sniffled a few times and brushed the tears from my cheeks. My head throbbed from congestion, but it would pass soon.
“Thank you,” I said.
Axel shot me a look so scathing I almost shrank back. “Come on. But keep quiet and stay behind me.”
“Okay,” I said, giving myself an invisible fist bump of victory.
I silently followed Axel around to the back of Bubbling Cauldron Road to the row where Ebenezer’s pawnshop and my pet store sat. Axel fished something from his pocket. Moonlight glinted off metal.
“You have a key?” I said, surprised.
He nodded. “Ebenezer’s family gave it to me.” Axel unlocked the door and pushed it open. I started to follow him in, but he grabbed hold of me.
A warm, electric current swam up my arm. My heart pinged as if someone plucked the organ. I glanced up into eyes that looked more silvery than blue in the night. Long, dark lashes filled my view as his gaze darted from my face off to the side.
He’d felt it, too.
The power running between us.
Well, whatever. I didn’t have time for men. They were nothing but a handful of trouble and a watershed of tears.
Axel’s hands dropped from my arms. He pointed to the ground. “Watch that.”
He knelt and I followed. Tracking away from the back door were small footprints.
“What are those in?” I said.
“Blood,” he said without looking up. “Cat paw prints. And they’re fresh.”
I cracked the knuckles on my right hand. “I didn’t see a cat when I was in there.”
“Well, there was one,” he said, “and from the looks of it the animal stepped right through the blood around Ebenezer’s body and came out here.”
“How? Can it walk through walls?”
Axel shrugged. “Maybe.”
“That’s ridiculous. Animals don’t walk through walls.”
His lips pinned into a line. “You’d be surprised about things around here.”
I brushed locks of hair from my eyes. “I guess that’s true. But where do the prints go?”
Axel rose, studied the tracks. “Looks like they went someplace you’re familiar with.”
I rose, my knee catching as I straightened. I shook off the twinge of pain. “Where’s that?”
He nodded down the street. “Right into your shop.”
EIGHT
I backed up. “In there? In my shop? What if it’s a feral cat waiting to kill me?”
Axel scrubbed a hand down his face. The sandpapery sound reminded me of normalcy in this otherwise abnormal town.
“Let me guess—you’re not an animal person.”
“I’m barely a people person,” I said.
“I can tell.”
I
fisted a hand to my hip. “What’s that supposed to mean? Like you don’t even know me. You’re not allowed to make sweeping generalizations about my behavior.”
He chuckled. “It’s not too hard when you’re fleeing town in a broken-down car and barely even think to thank me for saving your life.”
I scoffed. “I thanked you.”
“Only because I lit a fire under your rear.”
“No, you didn’t… Wait. Listen, I don’t need this drama in my life.”
He flashed me a smile that made my stomach curl into a knot. A good knot, not a bad knot—not the kind where you know you’ve got to make it to the bathroom within four seconds. No, this was the kind that dug under my skin, pulsing to life on its own. The sort of reaction that started as a flutter and bloomed into a full-on tingle.
He shrugged, and a dimple winked from his right cheek. “You don’t need to ask for trouble. Apparently it’s seeking you out.”
“I didn’t do anything to get it.”
“Ever heard of karma?”
I stopped cold in the alley. “Are you accusing me of being a terrible person who’s called down a flood of drama into my life?”
He smiled. “No. I’m talking about Ebenezer. If anyone was asking to get murdered, it was that guy. Besides, are you going to make me beg you to let us into the store? It’s the only way to see where the cat went.”
“No,” I scoffed. “I’m not going to make you bed—beg, I mean. Beg. Nowhere was I thinking about bed, or beds, or bedrooms or even darkened lampshades.”
What was wrong with me?
He killed a smile that had etched out on his face. “No, it’s fine. Seriously. Let’s just get inside.”
I snapped my trap shut and fished the key from my purse. Sighing, I shoved it into the back lock. “I’ve only tried this on the front door, so I don’t know if it works back here.”
“It’ll work,” he said.
The locked turned, and I pushed open the door. I flipped on a switch and found a dark hallway with a bathroom and what looked like a storage room and an office. From here I could see the front of the store.
My chest constricted as the animals stirred to life. Not wanting to look like a total crazy woman in front of Mr. Sexy, I avoided cupping my hands over my ears to stop the deluge of voices I was afraid were coming.
Instead I threw my shoulders back and stepped forward as if I owned the place—which I did—and managed to plunge my foot in a bowl of cold water.
“Ah.” I tumbled forward, losing my balance and pitching toward the floor.
Solid arms grabbed me around the waist. I immediately sucked in, wanting to make my form as small and petite as possible even though I was completely average sized.
“There you go,” he said, righting me.
I brushed invisible ego from my pants. “I haven’t spent much time in here.”
“I can tell,” he said. “Your animals look dazed.”
I glanced around at the pups and kittens as they yawned to life. “What’d you mean?”
He raked his fingers through his dark hair. It shone like he had really healthy tresses. It was the kind of thick, wavy hair a girl would gouge someone else’s eye out for.
Wait. Was that too violent?
Sorry.
Axel leaned against the shiplap wall. “When your uncle owned the place, the animals would perk up as soon as he stepped in. They all loved him.”
My head tipped toward the ceiling in defeat. “Yeah, well the difference between him and me is that I don’t like animals.”
He quirked a brow. “As you said.”
“Yeah,” I said, “they make me sneeze. I’m allergic.”
He frowned. “Okay. Well, let’s find this cat. Try not to scare it with your innate hatred of its being.”
I shook my head. “What does that even mean? Why would I hate it?”
He raked his knuckles over his chin. Something told me that he was giving me a hard time. “You just said you don’t like animals. I want this creature to think we like it. I don’t know about you, but if I don’t think someone likes me, I’m not going to like them back.”
“What about loving your fellow man?”
He patted the air. “Hold on, partner. After I’ve tried and failed at loving my fellow man, then a hint of dislike might creep in. I don’t go in not liking someone—unlike you and your dislike of animals.”
Heat flushed my cheeks. “Why are you giving me such a hard time?”
He shrugged. “Just pointing out the obvious.”
“This is why you’re not dating anyone, right? Because you needle them?”
Axel’s jaw fell. “Excuse me. How did we get started on my love life? And you don’t even know me.”
A slow smile curled on my lips. I had him. “No, I don’t know you any more than you know me, but that didn’t stop you from pegging me up on a wall, locking me in a box and throwing away the key.”
He rocked back on his heels. “Okay. Point taken. I’ll cease and desist with all presumptuous thoughts.”
“Thank you… Now, let’s find the cat.”
We followed the footprints to the office. Axel pushed open the door. Sitting on a chair was a small calico cat. The creature shivered as if a cold wind was continually blowing on it. It blinked green eyes at us and scrambled up the back of the seat.
“Shh,” Axel said. “Calm down. No one’s here to hurt you.”
The cat stopped and stared at us. Axel elbowed me. “Time to talk to it.”
My head whipped up a double take faster than you can say shrimp and grits. “Talk to it? What do you mean?”
“That’s what you do, isn’t it? Talk to animals? See what it knows about Ebenezer’s death.”
Outside the door, the animal squawking started up. I could hear them wondering what I was doing in the store and if I was going to feed them, ’cause boy they sure were hungry.
I shut the door to close out the noise. The cat leaped from the chair onto the desk.
“Calm down,” Axel said. “No one wants to hurt you. We’re sorry about what happened to Ebenezer.”
The cat’s head rattled atop its neck. The creature was clearly scared and obviously alone if it was coming down to my shop for safety. It must not’ve heard there was a new owner in town—an animal-disliking owner.
Axel stepped forward. “We’re here to help.”
The creature’s eyes widened in terror. It skidded across the table, sending paperwork flying in every direction. It shot to the floor and under the desk.
“I don’t think it likes you, either,” I said.
“I didn’t claim to be a cat whisperer,” he said.
“Good thing,” I muttered. I rounded the desk and bent down.
The cat had wedged itself way in back. “Food. Let’s get it some.”
Axel hooked his fingers on his belt loops, swaying his hips in a way that made my flesh tingle. “Great idea. Know where he keeps the chow around here?”
“No clue. But you stay here and I’ll find it.”
I found the kibble easily enough in the storage room in a big bin. I shoveled out a handful and dropped it in a bowl I found nearby. By the time I returned to the room, Axel was sitting cross-legged in the back of the desk, sweet-talking the animal.
“It’s okay,” he cooed. “No one’s going to hurt you.”
“You’re blocking its only path of escape.”
Axel glanced up as I came around. “I’m trying to coax it out.”
“More like scare it to death,” I muttered. “Here’s the food.”
I handed him the bowl. He set it down and backed up. “How about I give the expert a try?”
“Great. Where’s the expert?” I said. I waited for Axel to answer, but all he did was stare at me. “Oh, you mean me. Right. Expert. Okay. Let me do my thing.”
I hooked my head over the desk. The cat was staring at the food. I sat down, being sure to give the creature enough room to scatter if it needed to.
&
nbsp; I cleared my throat. “Ahem. Okay. Hi. I’ve never done this before. My name’s, um, Pepper and sometimes I can hear things.”
“That makes you sound crazy,” Axel murmured.
“Well, maybe I am for believing I’m in a town full of witches and hanging out in a store in the middle of the night with a private detective everyone in town calls Mr. Sexy.”
“What?” he said.
“Never mind,” I said quickly. I turned back to the cat. “If you want to talk to me, you can. I can help you. Both of us will. We’re sorry about what happened to Ebenezer, but we can help if you tell us what you saw.”
The cat stared at me for a moment, and then it leaned forward tentatively, sniffing. I held out my palm and it took a good whiff and a small pink tongue flickered over its mouth. A moment later it was nudging my hand, and against my better judgment, I found myself stroking the animal between its ears.
After a few minutes the cat curled into my lap, settling with several large claws kneading into my legs before forming a tight ball and purring itself to sleep.
“I guess that’s a start,” I said.
Axel glanced over and chuckled. “I’ll take it. Is she asleep?”
“I think so. And what makes you call it a ‘she’?”
He leaned one hand on the desk. “It’s a calico. They’re female.”
I blinked down at the tiny frail creature. “Oh. I didn’t know that.”
“There’s probably a lot you don’t know about animals.”
I rolled my eyes. “That obvious, huh?”
He pinched two fingers together. “Slightly.”
“Great.”
“Listen, why don’t you put her down? We’ll leave her in here, grab some breakfast and come back, see if she’s ready to talk.”
I frowned. “First of all, this is an animal who can walk through walls. She might not be here when we return. Secondly, how do you know she can talk? And what if she’s not even Ebenezer’s cat?”
Axel pulled a phone from his back pocket. “I’m going to check on the pet cat situation with Ebenezer’s kids, and you’re right about the walking thing. I’m going to find a cat carrier in this place, and we’ll bring her with us. If she tries to walk through the carrier, at least we’ll be there.”
