by Amy Boyles
FOURTEEN
“How’re we going to find Flynn?” I said. “The only address I have for him is at his house, and he abandoned it and his wife a few weeks back.”
Roman stroked his chin. “I’m going to bet that Flynn visits the site where Lucinda died.”
“What makes you say that?”
He lifted two fingers. “One, if he is the killer, then oftentimes the murderer likes to revisit the place where the victim was killed. Usually in serial killers, but it’s still a possibility here. Two, if he’s in mourning, then he still might go because he misses her. By visiting the site of death, it’ll make Flynn feel closer to her. Especially since they were intimate like you’ve said.”
“Like I’ve said? I have a picture to prove it. It’s not like I’m making this up.”
“You’re awfully touchy. I thought we were past that.”
I expelled a deep shot of air. “We are past it. I’m just…amazed by your insight. I’m beginning to wonder if there’s another Roman you’ve been hiding from me.”
He chuckled. “Darlin’, you have access to every part of me there is.”
I folded my arms. “If you say so.”
“Dylan, the more we go into the world of witches, the more you’ll discover about me. Some of it you might not like.”
I tipped my head back and studied him. Watched his gaze follow the road seamlessly, the easy rise and fall of his chest. His forearm tightened as he strengthened his grip on the steering wheel.
“Did you ever kill anyone who didn’t deserve it?”
“No,” he said.
“Were you promiscuous?”
His gaze slashed toward me. “No.”
I shrugged. “As long as you didn’t do either of those two things, I can handle it. In fact, I’m already getting use to your celebrity status. As long as I don’t discover that you have an illegitimate child, I think we’re okay.”
Roman chuckled. “We should be golden then.”
We reached Silver Springs a couple of hours later. We headed straight over to pool hall to see if Roman’s hunch about Flynn was correct.
It was. Flynn fisted a bouquet of roses. He placed them on the ground tenderly, which made my heart constrict. If he’d really cared about Lucinda, why would he have murdered her?
Roman slid into a spot about twenty yards away. We got out, and I followed my husband’s lead.
“Stone,” Roman said, extending his hand.
Flynn looked up like a scared cat. His shoulders hunched, his eyes widened and I was almost certain I heard him hiss.
Just kidding. He didn’t hiss.
“Bane,” Flynn said. “I recognize you from last night.”
I scoffed. He must’ve been the only witch in a five-hundred-mile radius who didn’t know who Roman was. I mean, honestly.
Flynn’s gaze flickered to me.
“I’m Dylan. Roman’s wife.”
Flynn nodded. He glanced at the ground. “This is the spot where she was killed. I thought I’d bring flowers. I don’t expect them to last long, but she would’ve liked them.”
“About that,” Roman said, “I understand you were intimate with Lucinda.”
Flynn glared at him. “You witch police? I’ve already spoken to that Pearbottom or whatever. Told him everything I know.”
Roman shook his head. “Not witch police. Just privately investigating the murder. Something’s gone missing from town—a magical object—and I’m trying to track it. Just want to rule out any and all people.”
Flynn exhaled in a way that made him look deflated. “Yes, we were involved. Lucinda was a breath of fresh air. My whole life I’ve been forced to do things by rote. I’ve lived to a schedule. I needed something more. Something fresh. Lucinda was that for me. She was such a great person.”
“Is that why you were involved in ritual sex rites?” Roman said.
Flynn’s jaw dropped. His gaze swept to me. “You were the one there last night. Taking pictures.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Let’s face it, I didn’t need this guy trying any kind of crazy revenge stuff on me. It was best to lie, lie, lie in this situation.
“Well,” Flynn said, “I know someone was there. I don’t know who, but okay, you can pretend it wasn’t you.”
“Stop stalling,” Roman said. “Tell us.”
“Why should I?” Flynn spat.
“Because once Pearbottom discovers what you were up to with Lucinda, he’ll haul you to witch police headquarters. And I don’t know if you’ll ever get back out.”
Flynn audibly swallowed. The gizzard in his neck bobbed up and down, reminding me of a chicken. He rammed his fingers through his hair. “Okay. What do you want to know?”
Roman clasped his hands and hitched his shoulders. “Tell me about your real relationship with Lucinda.”
“She was dangerous, okay? Different and dangerous and sexy all rolled up into one.”
“How’d you meet her?”
“Witch Finder. It’s an app where you swipe if you like a witch and want to get to know them better.”
A cough launched from my mouth. I couldn’t help it. It was seriously the funniest thing I’d heard all day.
Luckily I recovered quickly. I fisted my chest a few times. “Sorry,” I croaked. “A fly flew into my mouth.”
“Yes, we met on Witch Finder,” Flynn snapped. “She needed someone to go along with her plans. She liked doing it at haunted houses. It was her thing. She had a hard time finding someone to do that with.”
“You think?” I blurted out. All eyes bored into me. “Sorry. Again.”
“What about the sticks and feather?” Roman said.
“Oh that… Well, um…”
“Yeah, that,” Roman said.
“Lucinda was into some dark stuff. I wasn’t. That’s not my style, but she wanted to go into supposed haunted houses and conjure up whatever spirits she could.”
“That’s dangerous,” Roman said. “You should know that. You open a portal, and nasty beings can come through.”
“Yeah,” Flynn said, “I was hoping that wouldn’t happen, and it hadn’t yet. But anyway, I cared about Lucinda, but the whole thing was beginning to be too much. Going into those dirty places, rolling around. I was lucky I didn’t leave covered in ticks or chiggers.”
Least of your problems.
Yeah, ’cause I’d be worried about ticks and chiggers and not the fleas Lucinda might’ve been carrying.
That time I managed to keep my mouth shut and only think the bad thoughts.
“The whole thing sounds like amateur witchcraft,” Roman said. “I’m having a hard time buying it. I knew Lucinda, had arrested her for theft years back. So what’s the real story?”
“That is the real story.”
Roman pulled out his phone. “Pearbottom. That’s under P, right?”
Flynn waved his hands. “Okay. Okay. Truth is, I don’t know what Lucinda wanted. She liked doing it in haunted houses, but that’s it. That’s the extent of our involvement.”
“What about the others? The guys at the pool hall?”
He shrugged. “Those were Lucinda’s friends. I didn’t know them well. She wanted to go hang out with them, so we did.”
Roman grunted. “You’re a wizard. You know better than to play with the unknown. Why’d you do it? Why’d you let Lucinda coerce you?”
Flynn hung his head. “Truth is, Lucinda was the first girlfriend I’d ever had.”
His words were like a stone in my belly. I shot Roman a confused look. That wasn’t true. Flynn’s wife, Vera, had hired me to follow her husband. What the heck was he talking about?
“But you’re married,” I said. “You’re lying.”
Flynn started. “What are you talking about?”
“Your wife came to me a couple of days ago. She wanted us to find you.”
“Oh no,” Flynn said, dropping his forehead to his hands. “Not again. Tell me,
what did she look like?”
“Um…she was tall, long hair, wore black, dark sunglasses. Very beautiful. Said her name was Vera.”
“Oh it’s Vera all right,” Flynn said, scowling. He raked his fingers down his face and exhaled. “That’s her name, but she’s not my wife.”
“Who is she?” I said.
Anger flared in Flynn’s eyes. “My mother.”
FIFTEEN
“Your mother?” I said. Shock coursed through me. “You’ve got to be kidding?”
Flynn gave his head a hard shake. “No. I’m not kidding. She’s my mother, and she lives to screw up my life.”
I’d only met one other witch who was devastatingly old but looked young—Esmerelda Pommelton, Queen Witch of the South. She was climbing toward one hundred but looked a lot closer to thirty.
“So your mom puts most of her power toward staying young,” Roman said.
Flynn raked his fingers through his hair. You could almost taste his frustration in the air. “Yes. Jeez. Yes, she puts all that power into looking young, and then she pesters me to death. Wants me to live with her for the rest of my life.”
His arms flailed. “She doesn’t want me to leave her. That’s why I never had a girlfriend. She kept such a tight rein on me—I was her only son. How could I abandon her? She always guilt-tripped me. Finally I got over it. I’m thirty-five for goodness’ sake. I deserve to have a little fun and live without having to worry about Mother.”
“Did she know Lucinda?” I said.
“No.”
Roman stroked his chin. He lifted the battery so Flynn could see it. “What about this?”
Flynn shrugged. “What about it?”
“This was found near Lucinda’s body.”
Flynn stared at him. “So?” His voice dripped sarcasm. It made me want to punch him for being rude.
A vein in Roman’s neck popped. Clearly he was annoyed. “So we took a little trip to Batteries ’R’ Us. The owner, James, traced the purchase to you.”
Flynn recoiled. “Me? Why would I have killed Lucinda?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell us?”
Flynn shook his head. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t do it. The last time I saw that battery, it was at Lucinda’s house.”
Roman and I exchanged a glance. “Why was it there?” I said.
He hitched a shoulder. “I don’t know. Said she needed a battery, so I got it for her. Lucinda always needed a lot of things. One day she was talking about how she needed a parrot. Some sort of wooden parrot that talked.”
I grabbed Roman’s arm. “She said she needed a talking wooden parrot?”
Flynn nodded. “Yeah. And she got one, too.”
“She got it? How?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but one day it showed up at her apartment. It’s probably still there. I can’t say for sure, but probably.”
“You got keys?” Roman said.
Flynn shook his head. “Nah. We never got that intimate.”
Really? They only did it in haunted houses but Flynn never got a set of keys to her house. Made perfect sense.
Flynn pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. “I’ll write the address down for you. I think I can remember it. I lost my phone the other day and had to get a new one.”
Roman handed him a pen from the car, and Flynn scribbled. “And here’s my new number. If you need any more information from me, let me know.”
“Thanks,” Roman said.
Flynn left, and we got back into his SUV. “Well, that was interesting,” I said. “Man’s got a mother that would make Mrs. Bates from Psycho proud.”
Roman nodded. “But is she controlling enough to kill to keep her son within arm’s reach?”
I shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to find out.”
Roman nodded. “Yep. But I say we check Lucinda’s place first. Then we grab some supper.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Lucinda lived in a small apartment building on the lake. The structures looked more like condos really and were more along the lines of summer rentals than any sort of year-round occupancy.
“She had a nice view,” I said as we pulled up.
Roman slid into a spot and killed the engine. “That she did.”
To my surprise there wasn’t a gaggle of witch groupies at the apartment to meet us and fawn over Roman.
Though I thought it, I didn’t say it. No need to make petty, sarcastic comments that only made me look like a jerk.
“Here we are,” Roman said, “1B.” He nodded toward me. “Think you can work the lock?”
I pressed my palms to the door and concentrated on turning tumblers. A moment later we heard a victorious snick as the locks released.
Roman squeezed my shoulder. “I knew there was a reason I loved you so much.”
I bit back a laugh. “You should see what I can do with a can opener.”
He chuckled. I moved aside as Roman turned the knob and pushed the door.
We stepped inside to a magical vortex. Objects in the room floated as if suspended in the air by strings.
Roman pushed me back. “Don’t come in.” He pulled his sidearm, and all his police training kicked into high gear. His brow furrowed, and his gaze took on laser-beam focus.
“What is it?” I said. I mean, I could tell it was magic and that someone was working it, but what was really going on?
“I don’t know. Let me see if the place is clear.”
Roman moved forward, and I’d be danged if I was going to let him leave me in the hall while he looked for any hostile witches. No way, Jose.
“I’m coming with you.”
His gaze sharpened on me. “No, you’re not.”
I held up my hands like they were powerful weapons of magic—at least I hoped that’s how I looked. I wasn’t going to be left behind. If someone ambushed Roman in that apartment, I wanted to be right behind him with magical fingers ready to unleash my power.
I was an asset in this business. Not a liability.
My gaze bored into Roman as if to say, I’m coming with you no matter what.
The fire in his eyes smoldered, and he nodded for me to follow. I did, hands raised. I might’ve looked like a crazy woman trying to do some sort of strange looking jazz hands, but I knew the amount of power I held.
I could blow up a couch if I wanted to.
Or at least get it smoking pretty good.
I tailed Roman as he moved from room to room, looking for an intruder. We didn’t find one, but what we did find were more and more floating objects—ottomans, picture frames, knickknacks. If it was smaller than a television, it was drifting throughout the apartment.
I started to get vertigo.
Finally Roman holstered his weapon. “Interesting spell.”
“Let me see if I can figure out the source of it.”
I closed my eyes and focused on my magic. I was trying to pinpoint a flare of power. To see where the energy was originating from. I was a flashlight, my power a beam that I was washing over the space.
As my power flared and I searched, I felt a ping going off in the bedroom. I opened my eyes and strode in. The pulse came from under the bed.
I sank to my knees and reached under. I pulled out a battery that was the same as the one Flynn had purchased.
“This,” I said over my shoulder. “I think this is what’s causing everything to float.”
“Can you disable it?”
I smirked. “Do I look like a card-carrying member of the bomb squad?”
“Yes, you do.”
“I’ll try.”
I pressed my hands to both sides of the battery and focused on cutting the power. The hair on the back of my head rose as if the volts were passing through me.
“I don’t think it’s working,” Roman said.
I glanced up and saw him floating in the air. He grabbed a dresser, which stopped his ascent.
Okay, so maybe I was doing it wrong. “Sorry.”
&nb
sp; “Try not to energize it more. Try to turn it off.”
“That’s what I’m doing.”
“It’s not working.”
“I realize that,” I snapped. “Now if you’ll stop talking, I can try again.”
I thought about it for a moment, trying to determine a way to fix this. An idea flashed in my head. It was stupid but worth a shot. It was either do that or call Milly and Grandma to help, and I sure as heck didn’t want to do that. They’d probably just make things worse.
I raised my hand. With magic coursing through my veins, I karate chopped the battery.
My power worked like a sword and sliced through the hunk of metal. Sparks flew and bolts flared from the battery. I jumped back so I wouldn’t get electrocuted.
The battery split in half, and objects fell to the ground with a thud. Including my husband.
Roman kissed my head. “I knew you could do it.”
I brushed my hands. “All in a witch day’s work.”
He pulled me to my feet. “Now. Who could’ve put that up?”
“No clue. But what about Polly?”
He grunted. “Let’s look for him. But I have a feeling that whoever set this battery already took him.”
“Set this up? What do you mean?”
Roman’s face pinched. “I’ve seen this setup before. This was done by an amateur.”
“What are you talking about?”
Roman raked his fingers through his hair. “Years ago a team of witch police were called to an abandoned building. We had a tip that a wanted criminal was hiding out there. I stayed behind because I was freshly wounded. When the team went in, they reported, very briefly, that objects were suspended in the air.”
He paused.
“What happened after that?” I said.
He closed his eyes. “The building exploded.”
SIXTEEN
“And we went in there?” I said.
We were in the SUV heading back to Silver Springs. Roman squeezed my arms. “Since it didn’t blow when we opened the door, I knew we’d be safe.”
I glared at him.
