"Thanks." I said, but I got up and followed him into the kitchen.
For whatever reason, I didn't feel comfortable leaving him to make my coffee alone. I wasn't supposed to be using my magic at the time, but I couldn't help picking up a strange vibe from David. It was almost as if some sort of dark tentacles were reaching out from him and pricking me.
I'd felt raw without my magic, but that feeling was worse. It was as if I'd been probed. It might have just been my imagination, but David looked a bit disappointed when he noticed me behind him.
"You didn't have to come in here, Boss. I'm happy to make you coffee." That wasn't what he'd said the other day.
"Mmmm. It's okay. I wanted to talk to you about stories." I said as nonchalantly as I could. "You must have some ideas. I'm going to have you take over the columns, but I think you should work on a story too."
David dropped the coffee carafe and it broke. "I'm so sorry. I'll run to the coffee house and grab you a mocha. You want it with whip cream and sprinkles, right? "
"You don't have to do that. I'll be okay for a few hours. It's not like I depend on the caffeine." I said with a nervous chuckle, but I actually did want him to leave. I had no idea why.
"I'll go. Don't worry, I will hurry back." David said and made for the door before I could protest again.
Once he was gone, I locked the door behind him and sent Nathan a text message.
The new guy is weirding me out. He went on a coffee run, but I don't think I want to work with him.
I got a response back a few moments later.
You need to trust yourself. Get out of there before he gets back. Send him an email telling him that you are working from home and he should do the same. I'll help you figure out what to do after I get off work.
It was like I'd been waiting for someone to tell me I could leave. I'd need to work on the whole "being the boss" thing.
About an hour after I got home, I got the call from Brad to come pick Calinda up at the jail. They'd just found another body. That coupled with the fact that Dr. Corvin corroborated Calinda's story of why her fingerprints were in the printing shed was enough to release her.
Apparently, minutes before the murder, Calinda and Dr. Corvin were out in the shed making out like teenagers. No one believed that both Calinda and Beltran were involved in the killings, even I felt bad for contemplating such nonsense, so she was free to go.
"I'll be right there." I said to Brad.
"I won't be here when you get here. I'm going to hold a press conference and appeal for information. We've got a serial killer on our hands, Lenny."
"You're going to hold a press conference when your best friend the reporter is at the jail picking up the woman you wrongly arrested?"
"I'm sorry, Lenny. The whole thing is being recorded. We're hoping the story will go national and we'll get another law enforcement agency who knows something to contact us. I promise, I'll answer any questions you want after it's over. You can have me one on one on the record."
"I'm going to hold you to that."
"I wouldn't expect anything less." Brad said, and I could hear the strained smile in his voice.
I got to the jail to pick up Calinda about twenty minutes later. She looked exhausted, and it was evident she hadn't slept. "I'll get you home so you can take a nap. Are you hungry? We can hit a drive through on the way?"
"I'm starving and exhausted, so everything you said sounds completely amazing." She said with a big yawn.
"Any idea what you want to eat?"
"Burgers and fries from anywhere is fine by me. I don't have much money, though. And, I'm not sure that I'm still going to get that construction job after all of this."
"Don't worry about that right now," I said and pulled out of the police station parking lot.
We went through the drive through at a local burger place and ordered double cheeseburgers, Cajun fries, and chocolate shakes. While Calinda munched on her French fries, I decided to ask her about her sister.
"I thought your whole family had gone rogue? I was shocked to find out that Annabelle was your sister. You know, since she was at the newspaper applying for a job."
"She was the last to go rogue. And, apparently, she didn't stay that way for long. What I don't get is why she's being so nasty and mean." Calinda said and shoved another fry into her mouth.
"What do you mean? She wasn't always that way? I just thought she had the bratty little sister thing going on or something."
"No, she and I used to be very close. Annabelle and I aren't that far apart in age. We'd been good friends up until the point where she decided to go rogue with the rest of the family."
"What I don't get is how she ended up here applying for a job in the town where you bear accidentally visited," I said.
"I don't think it was an accident, Lenny. You and I both know there are forces at work that could have brought us together. Maybe the fact that Annabelle was coming here was what made my bear wander this way. We're not pack animals, but that doesn't mean that our spirits aren't connected."
"You said she'd changed. Do you think, and please don't get mad at me for asking this, that there's any chance she's the one who attacked you. Is it possible that something's seriously wrong with Annabelle and she's hurting people?" I winced when I finished my question.
"I'm not going to turn into a bear and eat you for asking that, jeez." She said with a chuckle when she saw the terrified look on my face. "I hope not. I believe I would have known it was her. I would have felt it. Besides, werebears turn into bears. She couldn't have disguised herself to look like another human."
After I had gotten Calinda settled, I got back in my Jeep and drove like lightning to the location where the press conference was held. I'd really wanted to make it in time to at least catch the tail end of the questions. Part of me wanted to see if David was there too. I had my serious doubts about him, and I need some sign that he wasn't a lying creeper who'd schmoozed his way into a job.
What I really needed was to believe that I wasn't the kind of person who could be schmoozed into making such a horrible decision. But, the chances of that happening had become slim to none.
Everyone was packing up and leaving by the time I arrived, but Brad was still there. He waved when he saw me, and I joined him up front at the make shift podium in the small-town square.
"The story went viral," Brad said with a hearty smile. "I just got a call from the Sheriff's Office in Pine's Bluff Oregon. They had a series of murders just like the ones we're experiencing, and get this. They stopped recently. We're going to coordinate with them to catch this guy, Lenny." The excitement was stifled by the fact that I'd probably turned a sickening shade of green. "What's wrong, Lenny. We've had a break in the case. That's great news, right?"
I should have told Brad what I'd figured out, but instead, I raced home to use my laptop. Pine's Bluff was familiar to me for a reason. Calinda was asleep on the sofa when I walked into the house. I tried to wake her, but she must have eaten all of that food and then entered into some sort of short-term hibernation because I was practically jumping up and down on her and she wouldn't wake up.
"Jeez, Lady. Could you keep it down? Some of us are trying to get our beauty sleep." Jezebel said as she sashayed into the room and then jumped up on the coffee table.
"I know who the murder is," I said. "I need Calinda to wake up."
"You know, before you go doing something stupid, and I can tell that you're about to do something really dumb, perhaps you should take a nap. You look like you could use a few years of beauty sleep. Ugh."
"Whatever, cat. I can do this on my own. I need my computer. If you're going to follow me into the office, you'd better let me work. No knocking my pen cup off my desk."
"No promises."
When I walked into my office, I realized I'd left my computer at the newspaper. I'd been in such a hurry that I walked off and left it sitting on my desk. Going back there seemed like a terrible idea, but what could I do?
/>
I need to go back to the newspaper office. It's urgent.
I sent the text to Nathan.
"I'm going to work," I said to Jezebel.
"I'm going with you."
"That's not a good idea."
"Then, I'm definitely going with you." She said and rubbed against my leg. "If you don't take me, I'll have to teleport, and that is soooo exhausting." She said and sighed.
My phone dinged, and I was worried that Nathan was going to be upset about me going back to work before we'd had a chance to talk. He would have been even more concerned if he'd known why I had to go there. I was pleasantly surprised by his response.
I'll meet you there
That was fair enough, and to be honest, I was glad I didn't have to go back alone. I didn't think David would be there, but I'd had the strong feeling that it wasn't a good idea to be alone with him anymore.
I loaded Jezebel up in the Jeep, and we left for the newspaper. When we got there, the front door of the office was wide open, and even though it was daylight, I could tell the lights were on.
"I'll go in and check it out. You stay outside until I get back." Jezebel said once we'd gotten out of the Jeep.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I responded.
"I don't really care what you think," Jezebel said and sprinted across the parking lot and into the newspaper office.
A few minutes later, she came back out unscathed. Jezebel sat down in front of the door and groomed her ears until I reached where she'd plopped.
"So?"
"So what? It's clear. Do you really think I'd just casually saunter out here and give my ears a bath if it wasn’t okay in there?" She snarked.
"I'm going it," I said as confidently as possible.
"Good plan, genius."
I'd had no intention of staying. I was supposed to run in, grab my laptop from my desk, and then get the heck out of there and wait for Nathan in my Jeep with the windows up and the doors locked.
Ha.
When I saw David appear in the window that looked out into the parking area, I froze. He just stood there staring at me. The expression on his face was completely blank. There was no life in his eyes. It was like looking at something imitating a human being, but whatever it was couldn't quite pull it off.
Without a word or gesture, he turned and walked to the back of the office. I could only see about halfway into the room, so I had no idea where he'd gone.
"I thought you said the building was clear." I turned to Jezebel who looked more than a little unnerved.
"It was. He must have come in through the back door. There's something very wrong with that man, Lenny. We should call Brad and get out of here."
"We can't leave, Jez. We're supposed to be meeting Nathan. We cannot just leave him alone with that... thing." I said, but it was taking all of my strength not to start the Jeep and floor the accelerator out of there.
"Call him and tell him not to come. He can't help us against something like that anyway. Besides, where is he? He was closer to this place than we were." Jezebel said without taking her eyes off the newspaper office. Both of us were terrified that at any moment, the David thing was going to come after us. It made me sick to my stomach that even Jezebel was afraid.
I pulled my phone out of my bag and to my horror, I'd missed a text from Nathan.
I'm here. Let me know when you get here.
"Jezebel, Nathan's already here," I said and swallowed back a lump in my throat.
"Then, where is he?" She asked. "Where is his vehicle?"
"He must not have driven. If Nate was close by, he might have come up the trail in the back." I said and began to open the door, so I could get out of the Jeep.
"What are you doing?" Jez hissed at me.
"I'm going to get Nathan," I said and held to door open for her.
"That's a bad idea. Why don't we call Esme and the goat? We should get that bear and her bear sister out here too." Jez said, but she took a tentative step toward the open door.
"I don't think I've ever seen you scared before."
Jezebel hissed.
"Don’t be a scardy cat. We can handle this." I said.
"You're being stupid. This thing isn't like the other stuff we've dealt with. I can't even figure out what it is. I've been listening in while you crones blather on about the things this killer has been doing. So far, what I've figured out is that it can imitate your powers, and it was possibly absorbing your energy. Does that sound about right?"
I thought about it for a moment and realized she was on to something. That would explain why it was able to get into the basement at the hospital. It mimicked my lock picking powers. If David was the murderer, it would also explain why he was so agitated after I stopped using magic. His whole point in being here and working at the paper was to have a constant source of spell power, and Esme and I had shut him out.
That would also explain why he was so charming at the interviews but then a complete weirdo when he finally began working with me. He was using my magic to lull me into a false sense of security, but David could only pretend to be human for short bursts of time.
Now that he'd become completely drained of any magical or spell power, he was unable to be anything but that creepy thing I saw in the newspaper's window. And, he was a serial killer. And, he had my Nathan.
"Yes, but Jezebel, I think he's got, Nathan. We don't have time. We have to handle this ourselves." I pleaded with her.
"Fine. Let's go do something stupid." She said and followed me around the back of the office.
"I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that you're a witch that can't use her magic to stop this thing," Jezebel said as I walked toward the printing shed.
"I've thought about it, and I think I have an answer," I said and shivered at the sight of the old one-room cabin. The trees had cast a disturbing layer of shadow over it. "It can absorb my magic and use it, right?"
"I'm pretty sure that's it," Jezebel said as we made our way to the door.
"So, we have to use the one thing that grows the more you use it."
"I'm not picking up what you're putting down, Lady."
We walked into the small, dark room, and much to my chagrin, it was empty. David either had Nathan in the main office, or he'd taken him into the woods.
"You'll see," I said and exited the cabin.
I'd had a decision to make. We could go into the office or down the trail. Jezebel and I had seen David in the window, but Nathan hadn't been inside when Jez inspected the premises. I decided that we were more likely to find a trap in there than Nate.
We made it about a half mile in, and I could see Nathan laid out on a memorial bench. Panic began to overtake me, but I pushed it down when I saw his chest rising and falling. We weren't too late.
"If things get too bad, I want you to teleport out of here. This was my idea, and you're not going to pay the price for it." I said to Jezebel.
"That's not going to ever happen. You might be annoying and do foolish things, but I'm ride or die, witch. Now, let's toast this creeper!" Jezebel said and then darted down the path in Nate's direction. "Taraaaaangaaaaaa!" She wailed.
When Jezebel was about halfway to Nate, David shuffled out of the woods. I say shuffled because it wasn't walking. He moved like something wearing a person suit.
When David looked up, the vacancy in his eyes had been replaced with inky blackness. He was a void, and I briefly wondered if that made him more or less dangerous...
"Lady, are you going to do the thing or not?" Jezebel called out to me as David puppet walked over to her.
"I'm going to do the thing," I called out and stole David's attention away from my beloved familiar.
He began to shamble to me, but I closed my eyes. What filled my mind were images of my first kiss with Nathan, waking up at night to find Jezebel sleeping on my pillow and wrapped around my head, the first time Esme had climbed into my window, and Brad getting all worked up about whatever it was he always lathered him
self up over on any given day. I could also see Calinda sleeping on my sofa snoring like a lumberjack and passed out next to a pile of fast food wrappers. And, Abby standing over me in the kitchen telling me exactly how many chocolate chips to add to the cookies, so I didn't ruin her signature recipe.
I saw love.
"Okay, Lady, I think it's working. Whatever it is." Jezebel said with palpable relief.
When I opened my eyes, a massive ball of pure, white light had formed in front of me. David hadn't absorbed it, and from what I could hear, he was trying in vain to get away.
"What is it?" Jezebel asked as she ran over between my feet.
"It's love, silly kitty. It's the only magic I know of that there is more of it when you try to use it up. It's a love trap." I said proudly.
I lifted my hands and guided the ball of light down the trail until it enveloped David. Once he was inside, I could see him struggle and try to claw his way out. When that didn't work, he made an attempt to absorb it, but the more of it David took in, the bigger the ball got.
"What do we do now?" Jezebel asked.
"We call the police," I said and pulled out my phone. "We just caught ourselves a serial killer. With love." I said and waggled my eyebrows at Jezebel.
"You're so corny."
Epilogue
Nathan had taken a pretty heavy conk to the head, but he was lucky and hadn't sustained a concussion. Still, given his history, he spent the night in the hospital under observation and got another week of leave from work. Fortunately, on his second first day back at work, there were no dead bodies.
With the mimic monster serial killer thing gone, Annabelle completely changed. She was back to being the same little sister that Calinda remembered, and I have to say that I liked her a great deal better. The two of them decided to stay in Tree's Hollow and rented a house a few blocks from the street where Esme and I lived.
We still haven't figured out how he affected her personality, or why fate led the two of them to our little town. In the end, it didn't matter. Our little family had grown, and the universe knew what it was doing all along.
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