Eli pulled Meaghan against his chest and smoothed his hand over her head and back. He couldn’t believe he was about to ask this question, but at this point, all they had to go on was spirit photography and a scrying spell. Why not toss possibly prophetic dreams into the mix? “Did you recognize the area?”
She shrugged. “Sort of. It was wooded, but so are lots of places around here. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the same place we found Marisol a few years ago. That was an orchard, and these didn’t look like apple trees.”
“Do you think this is a psychic dream kind of thing?” he asked. “I mean, do you have those? Are they real, too?”
She laughed, but it sounded as if there was an edge of hysteria to it. “I’m not the least little bit psychic. Until the wedding, the only experiences I had with ghosts were with my sister. So who knows? I guess it could be a psychic dream. Or it could just be my subconscious working overtime out of desperation. I don’t know.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m going to review these files along with any other unsolved child abductions. Maybe there’s some connection that’s been overlooked.”
“Is there a way you can search to see if any of Bob’s relatives or friends have a gold car he might have borrowed?”
He shook his head. “Not without something to tie him to either of the girls.”
She turned her head to look at the clock and sighed. “As much as I don’t want to, I should probably get up. I need to go to the studio and explain why I’m not finished sorting the photos yet.”
“Make sure you keep an entire unaltered set…just in case.”
She nodded. “Already on it.”
He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Yet another reason I’m well on my way to falling in love with you.”
Her eyes widened, but she laughed, seeming genuinely happy. “I’m a little concerned that you’re turned on by organizational skills.”
“Mostly, it’s just you.”
She reached up and brushed the hair from his eyes, her expression tender and full of wonder.
“I know it’s fast, and I know that you insist you’re not relationship-able,” he said, stumbling over the word. “But I think you are. I’m hoping you’re willing to give me a chance to prove it to you.”
Meaghan stared at him for a moment, her deep brown eyes full of an emotion he couldn’t identify, then nodded and pulled his head down for a kiss.
When he finally lifted his head, he glanced at the clock and groaned. “If I’m going to get in there early enough to look at those files, I should get going.” Instead of moving, he kissed her again. When they finally broke apart, he said, “Or I could just call the chief and let him know I’ve been enchanted by a beautiful witch.”
“Oh my god. I’m so stupid.” Sudden shock and horror twisted her features. She gently shoved at his shoulder and climbed out of bed. She grabbed a long T-shirt and yanked it over her head.
“Meaghan? What’s wrong?” Stomach sinking to his feet, he got out of bed and went to her.
She turned and met his gaze, her eyes filled with unmistakable pain. “You’re not falling in love with me.”
“The hell I’m not!”
She shook her head. “Just listen to me a minute. You’re under a spell. My stupid best friend has been saying I needed a love spell. In fact, she was saying it again right before I nearly hit the kitten.”
“So? What does that have to do with how I feel about you?”
She looked as if she was going to cry, and he wanted to do anything to take away the pain. When he stepped toward her, she backed away.
“You’re not really feeling it,” she explained. “You were just convenient when she cast the spell.”
“No. No way.” There was no way what he felt wasn’t real. He was falling in love with her. Maybe a little part of him had always loved her.
“Explain why you didn’t completely flip out when you saw me cast those spells. It’s part of the enchantment.”
Now, he was getting pissed. He’d be even angrier if he couldn’t tell this was tearing her up. “I was a cop. In Lansing. For years. Do you have any idea how much weird shit I saw? It’s hard to shock me.”
She snorted in disbelief.
He dragged a hand through his hair in frustration. “I’ll be honest; it did freak me out a little. What was worse was those few minutes I thought you might somehow be involved.” He turned her to meet his gaze. “When you went on to prove—quite effectively, I might add—that you weren’t, I was more relieved than anything else.”
She swallowed hard. “I know this feels real to you, but I promise, it’s not.”
He opened his mouth, and she laid her fingers across it. Her huge brown eyes filled with tears. “Please don’t make this harder than it already is. I’ll talk to Rowan today and get her to reverse it. I’m so sorry she did this to you.”
“Meaghan…”
“Please don’t. I’m sorry. I just can’t do this.” She smiled sadly at him then stood on her toes and brushed a kiss across his cheek. “You should go so you can look at those files.” Without another word, she disappeared into the bathroom, the lock clicking shut behind her.
He wanted to break down the door, but what good would that do? Instead, he paused at the door and said, “I’m leaving, but this isn’t done. Not by a long shot.”
His chest ached at the sound of her muffled crying.
* * * *
When Meaghan opened the bathroom door, she knew Eli was gone. The kitten sat mewing plaintively outside the door. She picked him up and wandered into the kitchen. Her phone sat on the kitchen table next to her purse. Definitely not where she’d left it. Picking it up, she found she had a text message.
Sorry to go through your purse to find your phone, but I wanted to make sure you had my number in case you need anything. Or in case you come across more information. I’ll talk to you later. Please give me a chance to prove you wrong.
She looked around the kitchen. He’d picked up her clothes from the night before and folded them—well, “guy folded” them—and put them on one of the chairs.
The sight of those sloppily folded clothes started the tears all over again. Falling for him hurt. The idea that he actually cared about her hurt far worse than outright rejection. She loved Rowan. She really did, but she was going to kill her friend for this.
* * * *
After a quick shower, Meaghan headed over to Rowan’s. Not bothering to knock, she pushed open the backdoor.
Her friend smiled at her as she set a plate of pancakes on the table and said, “You’re just in time for breakfast.”
“I’m not hungry.”
Rowan looked more closely at her. “You look terrible. Sit down—at least, let me get you some coffee. What’s the matter?”
Meaghan sank into the chair across from Rowan’s one-year-old daughter and waved at the little girl who squealed excitedly and banged her hands on her tray.
“Megs,” Rowan said. “What’s going on?”
“I need you to reverse the love spell on Eli.”
Her friend frowned. “Who’s Eli?”
“He’s the guy who rear-ended me the other day when we were on the phone—the one I spent the night with after the wedding. He thinks he’s falling in love with me.”
“Did he hit his head?” Rowan set a plate of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon in front of Meaghan. Being this close to actual home-cooked food made it almost impossible to resist.
“Nice,” Meaghan snapped, biting into a piece of bacon.
“Well, you act like that’s the only way a guy would fall for you.”
She glared at Rowan. “Well, that or a love spell.”
Meaghan watched as Rowan broke up pieces of pancake and put them on the baby’s highchair tray. “I didn’t cast a love spell on anyone, Megs. I promise.”
Meaghan stared down at the plate of food in front of her, willing away the tears that burned her eyes.
Rowan laid her hand over Meagh
an’s. “You know I’d never do that to you, right? Not without your permission, anyway.”
Meaghan nodded and swiped at her eyes as Rowan passed the syrup.
“Eat something, and tell me everything—starting with who the hell is Eli?”
Meaghan poured some syrup on the pancakes. “Remember the guy who used the tutor me in Algebra back in high school?”
Rowan frowned for a minute, then said, “Oh yeah. That adorable little nerdy kid.”
“Yeah, well, that adorable little nerdy kid grew up to be a drop-dead gorgeous cop who’s nothing short of amazing in bed.”
By the time they’d finished breakfast, Meaghan had told her everything from the accident to finding her clothes folded on the chair this morning. Gwydion, Rowan’s husband, had joined them for the last part of the story.
“So he really didn’t freak about the whole witchy thing?” Rowan asked.
Meaghan shook her head. “He was surprised, but no, not really. Not like some people.”
Rowan stood to clear the plates. “Look, I’m not saying you need a man to complete you, but he’s cool with witchcraft, is gorgeous and fucks like a dream…and you kicked him out?”
Her husband playfully smacked her ass. “Do you want your daughter to learn that language?”
She dropped a kiss on his upturned mouth. “She doesn’t understand yet. When she does, she’ll probably be a potty mouth like her mama and her Aunt Meggie.”
Gwydion laughed and turned to Meaghan. “Do you like him?”
Meaghan nodded miserably.
“Then give him a chance.”
Chapter Thirteen
Eli pushed away his frustration over Meaghan and pored through the missing children case files, looking for any similarities. Ava Billings, Daisy Sumner and the child Meaghan had told him about, Marisol Ramirez, had all been abducted by a white male driving an older model gold or tan car. There were even partial license plates for the last two, but none of the numbers matched. Okay… Different plates for each abduction. It wouldn’t be the first time a serial kidnapper had done that.
He punched the numbers of both partials into the DVM database.
“You’re in early, Jones,” the chief said.
“Yeah. I had a thought about the Sumner abduction. Just doing a little follow up.”
“You look like shit on toast. What the hell happened to your face?”
“A linebacker at that house party happened to it.”
“Damn kids,” the other man muttered then gestured at his computer screen. “Well, don’t think you’re getting overtime for coming in early.” His boss took a sip of his coffee and started to walk away.
The database results popped up on Eli’s computer screen, and his blood ran a cold. One of them was registered to a Margery Lewandowski. Bob’s mother. Meaghan had been right all along.
“Hey, Chief? There’s a partial from the Billings’ abduction that shows a limited match to a nineteen eighty-two, gold Lincoln Town Car registered to a Margery Lewandowski. Did anyone ever check that out?”
“Margery Lewandowski is a housebound, little old lady. There’s no way she kidnapped those kids.”
Eli fought the urge to bang his head against the desk. Or better yet, bang his boss’ head. “Probably not, but someone else could have used her car.”
The chief stared at him for a minute and said, “You wanna suit up and run by her place, knock yourself out. That little old lady wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
If Eli found what he suspected he would, his boss might want to put in for early retirement. “I’ll do that.”
He went to the locker room and quickly changed into his uniform. The faster he got out to the Lewandowski farm, the better he’d feel.
* * * *
Eli pulled his cruiser onto the pitted, gravel driveway of a turn-of-the-century farmhouse. Old willow trees bent and swayed in the breeze, and a dilapidated barn stood in the distance, its once red paint faded and peeling. Turning back toward the house, he climbed the crumbling cement steps and knocked loudly on the door.
Through the lace curtains hanging on the door, he saw an elderly woman shuffling toward him. When she finally reached the door, she opened it a crack.
“Oh, hello, Officer. Can I help you?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He held out his badge for identification. “I just need to ask you a few questions.”
“Of course. Come in. It’s so nice to have company.”
He followed her to the living room. The chief was right, there was no way this woman had kidnapped anyone.
“Now, who are you?” she asked, beaming at him.
“My name is Elijah Jones, ma’am.”
“Well, Officer Jones, what did you want to talk to me about?”
He pulled his notepad out of his pocket. “I wanted to ask you about your vehicle.”
“Oh, I don’t drive anymore.” She laughed. “I’m far too old for that.”
“But you still own your car?”
She nodded. “It’s in the barn. My Bobby drives it every so often to make sure it’s still running. He says it’s a classic, so we keep it inside. Wouldn’t want it to get rusty, you know.”
“Of course.” He smiled even though his stomach churned. This guy had turned his mother into an unwitting accomplice. Eli stifled a sigh. It wouldn’t be the first time, and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last. “Is there any chance I could take a look at the car? There was one used in a crime recently, and we just want to rule out your vehicle since it matched the description.”
Her eyes widened in horror then filled with tears. “That little girl?”
He nodded.
“Of course. Anything you need, Officer. I can call Bobby up here and have him help you.”
Eli gave her what he hoped was his most reassuring smile. “No need for that. If you can just point me in the right direction?”
She shuffled to the kitchen door and lifted a set of keys off the key hook on the wall then handed it to Eli. “It’s in the barn.”
The lawn leading to the barn was carefully tended. Eli guessed Bobby was out here often enough. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was because he was invested in caring for his elderly mother or if he had other reasons.
Eli unlocked the relatively new-looking padlock—well, newer looking than anything else on this barn—and slid open one of the doors to reveal the gold Lincoln Town Car. It was the quintessential little old lady mobile. He slipped on the latex gloves he’d stuck in his pocket before leaving the station and carefully opened the driver’s side door. He didn’t see anything out of place. The backseat yielded nothing either. Moving to the opposite side, he shone his flashlight around the interior. He spotted a small muddy boot print on the glove compartment. It wasn’t enough to call out the department’s excuse for a forensic team.
Hope soon returned. A dull flash of red caught his eye, and he squatted down next to the open door to peer under the seat—a red rain boot. It had to be Ava’s. He was sure it was. He immediately called dispatch for a processing unit.
* * * *
Meaghan left the studio after cluing in Toby about the problems with the wedding pictures and apologizing for not finishing the editing process. Toby had taken the ghost issue better than Meaghan had thought she would and proceeded to pull out other photos of spirits that had shown up at photo shoots. Still, she was more than a little creeped out by the ghost’s resemblance to the missing girl.
After they sorted through the best pictures, Toby suggested Meaghan take the rest of the day off. Meaghan wasn’t stupid enough to argue with that offer. Besides, she needed to figure out some way to apologize to Eli. If he’d even forgive her after her crazy-pants behavior.
Sighing, she decided to take the long way home. She needed time to think about what to say. The fact that she apparently didn’t believe someone could love her without the use of magic was more than a little pathetic.
The sun flickered through the leaves as she made her way along the back r
oads beneath the green canopies that arched over the rough gravel. She rolled down the windows to let in the fresh air then suddenly slammed on the brakes. There, off the side of the road, was the stand of trees she’d seen in her dream. Belatedly, she glanced behind her. Thankfully, the road was empty. She pulled onto the shoulder as far as she could and turned on her hazard lights.
Getting out of the car, she stared at the trees. There was an old barn in the distance beyond the trees. She didn’t remember the barn from her dream, but she was sure this was the place. Anxiety twisted her stomach as she stared at the small copse.
She yanked her phone from her pocket and quickly sent Eli a text.
I’m on Seventy-Sixth Street near Riley. Found the trees from my dream this morning. Checking it out. Will let you know if I find anything.
Without waiting for a response, she hopped over the ditch into the thigh-high grass beyond. As she made her way through the sun-drenched field, her phone vibrated with a message from Eli.
Please wait for me.
As she drew closer to the trees the knot of anxiety in the pit of her stomach tightened. The sound of plastic flapping in the light breeze didn’t help. The anxiety turned to nausea and dread as she got close enough to see a black garbage bag hidden among the bracken at the base of a cluster of trees. Through a hole in the bag, she saw a little blue sock with bits of hay stuck to it.
She texted Eli again.
I’m pretty sure I found Ava. Hayfield. North side of the road. Can you come out? Or send someone?
She’d started to dial nine-one-one when she heard a child crying. Oh, god, was this her dream coming completely true? Was the killer bringing Daisy here to torment her with Ava’s body?
Meaghan darted behind the largest tree and watched, waiting for whomever it was to get closer. Her phone vibrated in her hand. Eli again.
Don’t touch anything. I’ll be there ASAP.
The child came into view. As did the man with her. It was the bride’s uncle. Bob or whatever his name was.
Meaghan’s hands grew slick, and her breathing shallow. As fast as she could, she texted Eli.
Elemental Enchantment Page 9
