"You can stay here with me as long as you like," I said and got us two new diet grape sodas from the fridge.
"I knew you were going to say that, but if I get this job, I can afford a place of my own. There's a little house for rent a few minutes from here. I could rent it and send for my things. There has to be a moving company in the city near my cabin who will pack my stuff and ship it. If someone who works for the construction company lives near that rental house, I probably wouldn't even have to buy a car for a while."
Nathan came home around five in the evening. Sure enough, ten minutes after he'd arrived Charles called and said he needed help with getting his computer ready for David's start day. He promised it would only take a few minutes and even suggested that maybe Nathan and I could swing by on our way out to dinner or something.
I figured that was his way of making sure that I was dressed for a party. I played along and said that I'd be there soon.
Calinda had to borrow something to wear to the party, but fortunately, we were practically the same size. She wore one of my little black dresses, and I chose A red cocktail dress with a subtle flower pattern embroidered on the bodice.
Nathan quickly changed into a dress shirt and black slacks. I'd forgotten to ask Nathan if Brad and Esme were going to be there, but he assured me they would attend.
I was quiet on the ride to the newspaper office. Calinda filled the silence by telling Nathan what the forest was like from a bear's perspective.
"Do you think it would be alright to call Beltran and invite him to the party. I know it's your party, Lenny, but I'd really like to see him." Calinda asked when we were almost there.
"Sure. Go ahead. The more, the merrier, and you're right. It is my party, and I say Dr. Corvin is in."
She called him, and Beltran enthusiastically agreed to meet her there in half an hour. He was finishing up at work when she called and needed to run home to change into something more suitable for a party.
When we arrived, the parking lot was empty except for Charle's car, and I wondered where everyone else had hidden their vehicle.
"That little service road that runs into the woods from behind the office is a couple of miles long. I think they're all lined up on it far enough out to where you can't see it from here." Nathan said when I asked him if he knew.
Charles was sitting at his desk when I walked in. Everyone must have been waiting in the great room area of the building. Nathan, Calinda, and I had debated about whether they should stay in the car or accompany me inside.
We settled on them standing outside until the big reveal was done. Little did I know that they'd walked around and slipped in through a side door.
"Hello, Lenora. Thank you for coming by." Charles said and stood up. "It's so important that everything is ready for David to start working, and I'll be starting my retirement tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" I asked.
"That's right. I'm all done here. I won't be traveling for a few weeks, so you'll be able to reach me by phone if you need to. But, you're on your own kiddo. I know you can do it." He said and smiled.
"Before we get started on this computer issue, I want to show you what a great job the cleanup crew did in the bathroom. It's like they worked magic. No damage at all from that watery mess." He said and started for the great room doors.
"It can wait. Let's get this computer issue sorted out." I said. I knew there wasn't a computer problem at all, and I figured it was my last chance to have a little fun with Charles before he left.
He stood there for a moment completely dumbstruck. Charles hadn't planned on me not immediately following him into the great room, and he had nothing scripted for my resistance.
"Come on, Chuck," I said as I took a seat at his computer. "Let's see what you've got. I'm sure the bathroom will still be there when we're done."
He looked at me with consternation. "You already know, don't you?" He teased.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Charles. But, if me seeing the handiwork in the bathroom is that important, let's go take a look." I said and stood up.
Charles smiled. I don't know if he believed me or not, but he was happy that I was at least playing along with his charade.
"Surprise!" A roomful of my favorite people from Tree's Hollow yelled when I walked into the room.
They'd thought of everything. A rented sound system pumped in jazz music while people filed in and out of the kitchen area snacking on hot and cold appetizers. There were also Angus sliders and chicken wings for people who wanted something more substantial.
We ate and chatted with people for about an hour, and the party was a complete success. Then, Annabelle Kit, the second candidate we'd interviewed, walked into the room looking like she was there to raise a little hell.
Chapter Nine
She was dressed to kill in a skin-tight body con dress and high heels that would have made me dizzy. I could tell by her eyes that she'd already had too much to drink, and I hoped she'd taken a cab to the newspaper office.
Every head in the room turned to Annabelle when she made her entrance. Her huge diamond earrings and necklace caught the light and sparkled like stars in the night sky. It would have been beautiful if the shine from the infernal jewelry hadn't hit me right in the eye and half blinded me.
Annabelle strutted into the kitchen and fixed herself a gin and tonic. I kept my eye on her, but she didn't say much to anyone. It was apparent she didn't know anyone and that this was a party crash. Still, it was my party, and I didn't want her thrown out unless she actually caused trouble.
David made his way over to me about that time. I'd seen him several times that evening, but he'd yet to come up and talk to me. I wondered later if I should have thought it was strange that he waited until Nathan left my side to approach me, but at the time, it seemed entirely innocent.
"So, that's your fiance?" He said as he sidled up next to me.
"Yes, that's Nathan. I should introduce the two of you. Let me call him over." I said merrily.
"In a few minutes," David said. "Let's just you and I chat for a bit." He flashed me that award winning smile, and of course, I agreed.
"What's on your mind?" I asked and then sipped my drink.
"You have been." He said and winked at me.
Immediately my heart sank. It occurred to me that Charles and I may have made a huge mistake. This guy was possible a total creeper, and I'd ignored the signs because he was charming and handsome. I could have kicked myself.
"You've got a background in investigative journalism, but it's all celebrity related, right? Your work in Tree's Hollow has been your first experience with true crime writing?" He asked sincerely.
I let out a deep breath. Talk about jumping the gun. David was referring to my journalism experience, and I thought he'd been trying to hit on me.
"It is," I answered.
"Well, you've done an excellent job. I made sure to get my hands on every paper you've written while working here, and I'm more impressed than you can imagine. It's one of the reasons that I'd hoped to get this job. I think that I can learn a lot from you."
"Well, David, I'm glad you're here too. You were the best of the candidates Charles chose by a long shot."
Just then, a loud noise cut off our conversation. I looked around and could see that Calinda had dropped her glass and it shattered. What I didn't expect to see was Annabelle standing close to her glaring.
Then, I noticed that Calinda was glaring back at her. There was recognition passed between them, and it wasn't good. The two of them knew each other, and it was not a friendly relationship.
"What is your problem, Annabelle?" Calinda hissed. "What are you even doing here?"
"Well, I was going to be the new reporter at the newspaper, but some hottie with good hair and a tight bod won over your new friend."
Just then, Calinda, Annabelle, and Nathan all looked over at me. I happened to be standing there talking to the hottie with a tight bod and good hair. My jaw dropp
ed, and Nathan crossed the room so fast that you'd swear he ran.
"You should come over and help me deal with this." He said and took my hand. I could see him sizing up David, but Nate made no move to introduce himself. At that moment, he was focused on diffusing the situation with Calinda and Annabelle.
Brad and Esme were across the room in a flash too. Esme took her place behind Calinda, and if Annabelle had come looking for a fight, she'd picked the wrong bear.
"Ma'am, can I help you?" Brad said in his special voice. It was the one where he still sounded polite, but you knew he meant business. "This is a private party, and I'm afraid I don't know who you are.
"It's okay, Brad. Let me handle this." I said, and he took a step back but didn't leave. "Annabelle, I don't mind if you're here, but you need to be polite to my guests."
"Your guests. That's funny. Well, Calinda is my sister, and I can talk to her any way that I want."
"Let's take this outside, Anna," Calinda said and grabbed her sister by the arm.
Knowing that they were both probably bears, I stepped out of the way. I didn't want Annabelle shifting into her bear form in the middle of the party. Not many people here knew about the supernaturals living amongst them, and I was afraid that someone would get hurt.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," I said to Nathan. "Let's go outside too." I signaled to Esme that we were going outside, and she and Brad followed. As I passed by David, I said: "Can you hold down the fort for a few minutes?"
"Sure thing, boss." He said.
Calinda had dragged her sister farther away from the building that I thought they would go, but I was thankful for that. She'd seemingly been trying to keep the drama away from the party and me. I was thankful for that.
As we approached them, I could hear the yelling. The two werebear sisters were screaming at each other, but they were both still in human form.
"You had no right to follow me here," Calinda yelled.
"Who says I was following you." Annabella goaded her sister. "Maybe you were following me. Maybe you couldn't handle that I was finally going to get a real job."
"You're crazy, Anna. You need to leave. These are good people, and I'm not going to let you ruin the party." Calinda said.
"Whatever. This is lame. I didn't want to come to this stupid party anyway." Annabelle said and started to walk back toward us.
"You're going to need a cab," Brad said, and we could all smell the booze on Annabelle.
"Why don't you give me a ride, handsome." She said and wrapped an arm drunkenly around Brad's neck.
I had to hold Esme back, and I swear that Annabelle probably came close to being turned into something terrible like a rat or coffee stain that night.
Brad peeled her off like a dirty shirt, and drunk walked her around to the parking area. Esme and I went as well, and we waited with her until a cab came.
Once Annabelle was gone, Esme and Calinda went back into the party as if nothing had happened. I sat down on a bench in front of the office and looked up through the trees at the stars. It was my party, but I needed a few minutes of quiet. I was not going to get them.
"Should I be jealous?" Nathan asked as he sat down next to me.
"Jealous of what?" I asked, but I knew. I also couldn't look at him, and that made me nervous.
"Of your new coworker. The hottie with a good body. The one you'll be working alone with in this cozy office every day starting tomorrow."
"There is absolutely nothing for you to be jealous about. We hired David because he was the most qualified for the job. He just clicked, so it was the obvious choice." I said absent mindedly.
"What do you mean that he just clicked." Nathan was even more jealous, and it was clear that I'd done nothing to assuage his fear.
"He was a better candidate than the other two by a long shot. He's also easy to get along with. As far as him being good looking or whatever, Nathan I promise you that had nothing to do with hiring him. It was a professional decision." I said with a huff. "I swear it's as if you think I'm a ball of hormones walking around making decisions based on who I consider to be hot."
"I didn't mean it that way," Nathan said sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me. I think I'm just insecure because it's been rough for us. I love you Lenny, and I wouldn't wish the hardship I'd put you through on someone I didn't like."
It would have been good if he'd left it there, but Nate kept talking. I'd opened my mouth to speak, but Nate kept going.
"I mean, I'm glad you stayed with me. I halfway expected that you'd bail on me at some point. Not that I would have blamed you."
"You thought I would leave you? Is that what kind of person you think I am, Nathan? Seriously?"
Chapter Ten
"That came out all wrong," Nathan said and took my hand. "I didn't mean that you would do it. It's just something I was always afraid of. Not that you were the kind of person that would abandon someone you love, but more that I was the kind of person who didn't deserve love anymore." He whispered.
"Nathan, why on earth would you think that you weren't worthy of love anymore. It wasn't your fault that you got hurt." I said and squeezed his hand.
"It kind of was. My past mistakes are what led me to that space. I let Irene run my life for too long when we were younger. If I'd been stronger back then, it never would have gotten that far. I should have been rid of her long before she developed such a complete obsession with me. I let things get that bad. I brought this into our lives."
"Nate, babe, you can't think that way. You did the best you could. You're just a sweet and loving person and a good man. I will never leave you. I promise you that. No handsome face or charismatic personality will ever change the way I feel about you." I said. "Not to mention the fact that you are drop dead gorgeous in a way I don't think you fully comprehend. You took my breath away the first time I saw you, and you still do. No other man could ever hold a candle to you."
A scream cut through the night and interrupted Nathan and I about to kiss. We both scrambled off the bench and ran around the back of the building. The crowd was filing out of the newspaper's rear door and making their way toward where the sound had come from.
"Something's not right," I said.
"Maybe you should stay up here by the building, and I'll go check it out," Nathan said.
"Maybe you should stay up here by the house and Lenny, and I will go investigate," Esme said as she joined us.
"Hey, I'm the cop around here," Brad said. "You all should go inside and let me handle it."
Another scream resounded through the night air, and none of us stayed in the building. We kept walking out into the trees toward the source of the scream. What we found was an old out building that I'd never seen before. It was quite a bit of distance from the main office, so I'd hadn't ever found it. Charles had never said anything either. He was standing outside of the small cottage looking pale.
"What's going on? What is this place?" I asked him.
"Back in the old days, we printed our own papers. This is where we used to do the jobs. The printing presses have been out of commission for a long time."
"Why is it so far from the office?" I asked.
"Printing newspapers stunk, so we kept the print room as far away from us as possible. This old one-room cabin was the perfect distance."
"What was the scream?" I asked even though I didn't really want to know.
"There's a body inside," Charles answered, and his face went even paler.
Brad pushed through at that point and made everyone inside leave. Esme, Nathan, and I had followed him in and stayed even after he'd cleared the room.
"I'm calling it in. You guys are going to have to be out of here by the time the cavalry gets here." Brad said.
That was okay with me. I didn't want to stay in the room. I was picking up that same strange vibration that I'd felt at the last crime scene. Only it was fresher now. The magic was stronger, and it made me sick the same way a foul smell wo
uld turn your stomach.
The wounds on the woman's body were the same as the one's Calinda had suffered when she ended up in the emergency room. Except these were much worse. Even Esme looked like she was sick to her stomach, and she'd seen it all.
"Can you feel that?" She whispered to me as we walked outside. "That was some sort of trap, and whoever killed that woman didn't clean up after themselves.
Dr. Corvin had been inside cheering Calinda up, but we could see him as he made his way toward the small building. My guess was that he wanted to get a look at the body while it was still at the scene.
Since Dr. Corvin had to stay, Calinda, Esme, and I left with Nathan. We went back to my house and tried to figure out what to do next. Calinda didn’t know that the bed-and-breakfast was owned by my aunt. But she managed to get Annabelle to tell her that that is where she was staying.
That meant that I had access to her things, and I was going to be able to investigate the next day as long as we keep Annabelle in town. I had to call her and make up a story of how she heard me talking to Charles about hiring Annabelle instead of David.
It worked, and Calinda’s sister agreed that she would stay in Tree’s Hollow for a couple more days. I had to work with David the next day but would be done by early afternoon, and Calinda could lure Annabelle out of her room at the bed-and-breakfast. That would have given me time to get more information on any link Annabelle had to the murders.
Esme said that she would take the next day as a vacation day, she had tons of them saved up, and we'd go together. That way, if we needed magic to find any dirt on Annabelle, we'd have the combined power of two witches instead of just one.
"You think she's the one who killed that woman?" I asked Esme while Calinda was in the bathroom.
"I don't know," Calinda said. "There is something wrong with her, but as far as her being a killer, I just don't know. I can't get a clear read on the murderer. It's almost like they left a trail behind just to confuse us."
Brewing Fun (Tree's Hollow Witches Book 4) Page 5
