The Bewitching Hour

by Mallory Crowe

Derek narrowed his eyes as he stopped in front of her. “I didn’t tell you when I was leaving because you’re not invited. Now scram before I have a squad car come out here and pick you up.”

  “You’re on your own here. No squad car is going to come get me. How do you think I figured out where Cherri was anyway? Your captain doesn’t want you doing this without at least one person experienced in this sort of... stuff.”

  “God damn it, I’m putting in for a transfer after this. And you’re the least experienced person I know to be going into a questioning with. Not to mention that you look nothing like a cop.”

  Her hair, which in the sunlight was actually a really dark blue, was pulled back into a high ponytail, but her lilac lipstick would set her apart from any cop long before her normal combat boots and blue leather jacket would. But besides the alternative look he was getting more and more used to, she actually looked better than expected. She could barely stand on her own just a few hours ago. Now her cheeks had some color and her eyes were bright and clear instead of the normal bloodshot color. “I suppose I should be grateful you didn’t light up before you came out,” he muttered as he moved past her and headed to the building where Cherri’s first class of the day was.

  “I even ate this morning. My mother would be so proud of me. She’d be pissed at you, though.”

  “For bringing you into a police investigation? I’m pissed at myself about that too.”

  “No. For wearing the same shirt two days in a row. What are you, a savage?”

  Derek glanced down at the white button-up. “I have fifteen of these things. What makes you think it’s the same as yesterday?”

  Sam twisted to a stop in front of him, and before he could stop her, she rested three of her fingers at the bottom of his ribcage. “Coffee stain.” She looked up and her eyes met his. “You should be more careful about that.”

  Derek wrapped his fingers around hers as he removed her hand from his side, holding it tight as he said, “I’ve been a bit preoccupied. Must’ve grabbed a dirty shirt on accident.”

  “This is why you need me. Someone to watch your back. Don’t detectives normally have partners or something?”

  “The partners I’ve had in the past weren’t in charge of making sure I was dressed to code.”

  “Then you need a girlfriend.”

  Derek dropped her hand and moved past her to open the door to the building. “If that’s your way of hitting on me, I’m not interested.”

  “Excuse me?” Sam walked through the door and followed his lead as he went to the elevator.

  “Touching counts as flirting. We’re not doing that. Got it?”

  “Good grief, I wasn’t flirting. I’m just more hands-on than you.”

  Derek glanced over at her even as he clenched and unclenched the hand that had just touched hers. She had been throwing him off his game from the second she’d first caught him outside their building, and he wasn’t any closer to getting his equilibrium back.

  He liked to think that she wasn’t his type, but it had been so long since he’d dated someone that he didn’t know what the fuck his type even was. For the past five years, he’d fucked pretty much anyone who was okay with no-strings-attached sex, which was easy enough to find in the department. The women trying to climb the ranks didn’t have any more time for relationships than he did. Win-win for everyone involved.

  “So what are we doing here?” asked Sam. “We’re not catching Cherri at her apartment?”

  “Cherri isn’t her real name,” said Derek as they hit the third floor. “She’s registered as a student here under the name Christine Washington. And we didn’t go to her apartment because it’s much easier for someone to evade me while refusing to open the door to an apartment than when I confront someone walking out of class.”

  “So she has an apartment instead of a dorm?”

  “Christine is here purely on student loans and a few scholarships. From what the landlord told me, she’s got about three roommates in a two-bedroom apartment. And she has no job, so I’m thinking that has something to do with why she gave the fake name and didn’t give me any good info the first time around.”

  “You think she’s doing something illegal to make money?”

  Derek found the room he was looking for and came to a stop. “I think that she might not be as cooperative as we’d like.”

  Sam nodded as she glanced through the window of the door to look at the class and Derek grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Don’t draw attention to yourself.”

  She snorted as she pulled her arm out of his grip even as she leaned against the wall. “Please. I fit in much better here than you do, Mr. Cheap-Suit-And-Tie. Who wears a tie on a college campus?”

  “Professors?”

  “Right. If I had more professors who looked like you, I probably would’ve gotten my degree.”

  Derek debated calling her out for flirting again, but she wasn’t looking at him. Instead, her gaze was scanning the hallways, on high alert. It was hard to tell whether she was doing it just to annoy him or whether she really didn’t realize what she’d said.

  But he let it go as students started to stream out of the classroom.

  “Do you think you’ll recognize her?”

  “I don’t forget faces.” Derek reached in his pocket for his wallet, wanting to have his badge ready for when Christine came out. But he let the wallet go as he adjusted his jacket to hide the coffee stain.

  Though he didn’t have to pay too close attention to the emerging crowd. The second Christine Washington came out, she made eye contact with him. Christine was one of those women who always looked five years younger. Her eyes were a bit too large for her face, and her frame was so tiny and petite that a strong wind could probably knock her over. But apparently that didn’t affect her ability to run, because the second she saw Derek, she took off down the hall.

  “Shit.” Derek ran after her. She knew the territory better, but he had longer legs. She weaved through the students crowding the hallway and ducked into the emergency staircase. He was just about to follow her, but he stopped right as Sam ran right into his back. “You stay here,” he warned.

  Her eyes widened in a mixture of anger and surprise. “You’re letting her get away so you can stop to boss me around? Go!”

  “Fine. But if you follow me, I’m arresting you for obstruction.” Derek pushed through the doors and listened for the footsteps. Christine was below him and, from the sounds of it, had a two-story head start. He took the stairs three at a time and had already gained on her by the time she ran out on the first floor. But instead of running straight for a door, he saw her duck into a classroom. By the time he made it into the room, she was already halfway through it and tossing desks around behind her.

  He cursed as he tried to run around or over the obstacles in his way, but he couldn’t catch up to Christine before she reached the back exit of the room.

  Except instead of running out, she stopped abruptly and took a step back from the door. It became apparent why as Sam walked through the back door, gun drawn and pointed straight at Christine.

  “I thought I told you to wait,” bit out Derek as he gave her a look that probably would have sent her six feet under if he had any powers.

  “I didn’t follow you,” she offered. “I went down the main staircase and saw her duck in here.”

  “Okay, fine. I give up!” said Cherri—er, Christine—as she held up her hands in surrender. “Just don’t shoot me.”

  “Put the damn gun down,” said Derek. “You’re not even holding it right.”

  Sam glanced down at the small Glock 43 that her mother had bought her the day she’d moved out of the family house. She held it close to her body, right next to her waist. “I know how to hold a gun. We’re in the middle of a college and I didn’t want to go around brandishing a weapon. That’s illegal.”

  Derek held a hand out to Christine. “Pulling it on an unarmed witness is illegal too!”

  “B
ut effective,” she pointed out.

  “Guns aren’t allowed on campus for civilians even if you have a license, and for the sake of argument, I’m going to assume you have a license.”

  “One hundred percent legit.”

  “Um... can I go?” asked Christine.

  “No!” said Sam and Derek in unison.

  Derek stepped over the desks scattered around the room until he was close enough to Christine that she wouldn’t be able to run again, and Sam tucked her handgun into the holster in the waistband of her jeans.

  “Please don’t arrest me,” said Christine. “I just needed the money.”

  Sam raised a brow and exchanged a look with Derek, but he had the perfect poker face on.

  “We’re not here to arrest anyone, Christine. But you do need to be honest with me. Start from the beginning.”

  Ohh... open-ended question and he didn’t let on that they had no idea why she was running. Sam decided to keep quiet considering Derek obviously knew what he was doing. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look serious and intimidating.

  Christine Washington looked rather harmless and Sam didn’t sense any magic coming off her. Not that Sam could really sense magic, but ever since the potion she’d drank last night, the residual power flowing through her veins was still giving her a boost of energy that she hadn’t felt in years.

  “I just....” Tears started to well up. “I don’t want to lose everything.”

  Derek stepped forward and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and Sam would bet that he didn’t miss the jerk she gave at the touch. Christine did not like men touching her.

  “Why don’t you sit down?” Derek gestured to one of the still standing desks.

  Christine nodded as she took a seat. “I’m sorry I ran. I saw you and all I could think about was my scholarships and everything going away.”

  “I promise I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. But I need to know every detail. Start from the top.”

  Christine nodded as she looked between Sam and Derek.

  Derek made a subtle motion with his hand for Sam to sit, and she immediately took a desk across from Christine.

  “Start with Amy. I know you knew her. How did you meet?”

  Christine looked down as she picked at her cuticles. “We met at the agency. There weren’t many people there we could... talk to, so it was nice to meet another student.”

  “You looked out for each other?” asked Derek.

  She nodded. “Not like anyone else would.”

  “And who started working at the agency first? You or her?”

  “Me. She was still so new.” Christine rubbed at her eyes as she teared up again. “I should’ve worked harder to protect her.”

  “So have you had a lot of trouble with the men then?”

  Sam perked up at that as she started to realize what type of agency they were talking about. When the hell had this happened? Amy had been a prostitute?

  “For the most part, no. This isn’t the kind of place where you stand out on a street corner. It’s all high-class, you know?”

  Sam nodded as though she knew exactly how a high-class prostitute ring worked.

  “But a few weeks ago, there was an incident.”

  “An incident?” said Derek. “How serious of an incident?”

  Christine’s wide eyes looked up to his and that was all the answer Sam needed. “From the second I got into his car, I knew something was off. He offered me a drink and got really upset when I said no. Then when I asked him to let me out, he refused and started to go faster. He finally stopped in a bad part of town. I tried to get out of the car, but he—” She broke off as she tried to compose herself. “He hit me. He put a rag in my mouth so I couldn’t scream, and he tied my hands behind my back.”

  Sam’s stomach lurched as the images from last night came back to her. The darkness. The evil. This girl, no matter what she did to make a living, was about as pure of a soul as they came. And this psycho had almost.... Sam stopped herself from thinking about it any longer.

  “I don’t know what happened, but he didn’t tie my hands well. I was able to get them free, and when he slowed down at a light, I jumped out of the car and ran. I went straight back to my apartment and didn’t come out for a week.”

  Derek nodded. “I’m really sorry you had to go through that.”

  Christine wiped away the tears. “I couldn’t go to the police. The agency apologized and promised it would never happen again. They even said that the client had been blacklisted, but I told Amy to be careful.”

  “I get why you didn’t go to the police at first. But after all the murders continued, why then?” asked Sam.

  Derek glared at her. “For the love of—”

  “No, no. It’s okay,” said Christine. “I’ve asked myself the same thing. But, honestly, I don’t think I can help find this guy.”

  “I understand that you’re afraid, but I promise that we’ve got a whole force of able-bodied—”

  “It’s not that. I don’t have a single thing to tell you about him. I have no idea what he looked like.”

  “Did he have something covering his face?” asked Derek.

  She shook her head. “No! But every time I try to bring up the image, all I see is one dark blur.”

  “Well, it’s been a few weeks since it happened.”

  “It was like that the same night.”

  Sam nodded as realization dawned. “Almost like you were under a spell?”

  Derek narrowed his eyes at Sam, but Christine’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Like someone got into my mind and jumbled up my memories, but only exactly where he wanted. I didn’t even get the full license plate when I ran away.”

  Derek straightened. “You got a partial plate?”

  Christine nodded. “Do you think that will help?”

  “I think it’s a start.”

  “Well, it was a white Toyota Camry. The first three digits were C67. I’m so sorry I couldn’t get more.”

  “No, this is great, Christine. We appreciate that you were willing to open up to us.”

  “I just wish Amy had listened to me,” she said softly.

  “She did too,” said Sam under her breath.

  “Do you think you could come down to the station with me? I want to go over every detail of that night and try to make sure we have everything we need. I know it’s a scary idea, but I give you my word that no charges are going to be brought on you for your... job.”

  “Of course. There’s one other thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I still have the rag he used to gag me. I tried to throw it away, but it was almost a reminder that I survived. My sick, twisted trophy,” she said with a bitter laugh that betrayed the pain behind the thought.

  “I think you should probably bring that too,” said Sam.

  “Boom!” said Sam as she and Derek left the lecture hall. “We did it! Hard, concrete lead.”

  Derek didn’t look as convinced as her. “There’s no guarantee that it was the same guy.”

  “He put a spell on his face so he couldn’t be identified and he probably targeted the same agency twice. How much more evidence do we need?”

  “There is no we.”

  “How hard do you think it will be to find the guy? We know the type of car. How many white Toyota Camrys have a license plate that starts with that? Shouldn’t be too hard to narrow down, right?”

  “Stop, Sam.”

  “No, Derek. We’re so close. I know that if we just put our heads down we can get this guy off the streets before he gets his last victim.”

  He set a hand on each of her shoulders. “No, Sam. I mean it’s time for you to stop. You came here today when I told you not to, you waved a gun at an innocent girl, and that’s not the first law I’ve seen you break. If you stay in this investigation any longer, you’re going to be considered a liability and I will have you arrested.”

  His icy eyes looked dead serious and Sam had to t
ake a deep breath. She stepped away, dislodging his grip. “Come on. Derek. I know this is hard to believe, but what I saw last night led you here. And Christine even said that something kept her from remembering what her attacker looked like.”

  “Yes. Something like intense fear. There are plenty of people who can’t remember what an assailant looks like.”

  Sam shook her head. “No. You need me, even if you don’t believe it. I can help—”

  “No, Sam. I’m not kidding. Go home. Go back to your life. And if I see you again, you’re going to be under arrest.”

  Before she could defend herself any more, he had turned and walked away, leaving her alone on campus.

  “You used magic.”

  She didn’t really expect Abigail to miss the change in her, but Sam still winced at the fact that her mother had noticed it so quickly. “Nice to see you too, Mom.” Sam walked into the ornate foyer of the Connecticut home.

  Well, home was an understatement. The Harris Estate was a sprawling mansion that sat on eighteen acres of forest and had a set of stables on site. The main building was just under fifteen thousand square feet and had about nine bedrooms. Maybe ten. Sam had a hard time remembering.

  “Honey, what’s wrong?” Abigail wore bright-white tailored slacks and a cream-colored silk blouse, allowing her to match the main decor of the foyer, with white marble floors and columns and a bright, light-colored hardwood staircase that led up to the second story of the house.

  There was so much wrong at the moment, but Sam knew she couldn’t tell her mother everything. For one, she would freak out if she knew that Sam had taken on impressions of such a violent murder. Also, Sam knew there was only so much family business she was allowed to know about and didn’t want her mother to know she’d overstepped her bounds.

  “I’ve had a stressful week.” Sam started to take off her jacket. “I kind of... reached out to someone. Thought I made a friend, but I guess we were on different wavelengths.” She didn’t know whether she’d ever considered Derek a friend, but after what she’d done at the crime scene, the way he’d treated her afterwards, she thought they were something. Partners or at least on the way to building some sort of mutual respect.