The Hex With It (A Paranormal P.I. Mystery Book 2)

by Rose Pressey

  “Thank you, dear. Remember my lemon this time.”

  “Lemon,” he repeated over his shoulder.

  “He is so forgetful,” I whispered.

  “I heard that,” he said.

  She kind of laughed nervously. “Okay, so we’ll get down to business. I just have a contract for you to sign. Plus the invoice,” she said as she pulled the papers from her bag.

  “Of course,” I said, taking a look over the papers.

  A contract? For shopping? Luckily, it was simple and pretty straightforward. Since she was still in college her rate wasn’t all that expensive, so I was happy about that. Maybe I’d even get some new outfits. She might be good at what she did. She did have a nice outfit on today. I could fill out the forms and take it from there.

  “I’ll get an idea of what kind of things you actually like,” she said.

  “I like basic things,” I said as I slipped the papers back over to her.

  Now I had to make my move. Derek came back with the ice teas. He set them down and then took the seat next to me.

  “How long have you been married?” she asked, looking from me to Derek.

  “Oh, it’s our five-year wedding anniversary next month,” Derek said, squeezing my hand. “Wedded bliss. It’s been wonderful.”

  I wanted to kick him under the table. He was piling it on too thick. She would never believe we were actually married that way. Maybe if we started screaming at each other. That would work. I took this as my chance.

  “Do you have a husband?” I asked.

  “No,” she said.

  “A boyfriend?” I quirked an eyebrow.

  She placed the papers down. “I did have someone special, but…”

  “What happened?”

  She shrugged as she looked down at the paper, avoiding eye contact.

  I could at least try for more information.

  “What happened to him?” I asked again.

  “Things didn’t work out,” she said. “I’m just dating guys now.”

  “That’s terrible. I’m so sorry. Is it all right if I ask what happened?”

  I needed to ask for more information. Yeah, sure, I could have been a little bit more tactful about the way I asked, but I was in a hurry. She charged by the hour.

  “I’d rather not talk about it. I’ve been through a lot of stressful stuff lately”

  “What kind of stressful stuff?” I asked.

  “A guy killed himself.”

  “That’s awful,” I said. “Who was this?”

  “I’d rather not say.”

  “Were you with him when it happened?”

  Derek was trying to find my leg under the table so that he could kick me. If he was wise he’d avoid doing that. So maybe I’d jumped the gun a little with that question. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to know.

  She took a drink of the tea, frowned, and then said, “Actually, I was there.”

  Now we were getting somewhere.

  “So it must have been terrible when you found his body.”

  “Well, I wasn’t there for that. I didn’t find his body. We were together shortly before it happened. I’d stepped out of the room for just a short time and that’s when he did it. He was supposed to meet someone else, I think.”

  That sounded awfully convenient. Why did she mention Paul was meeting someone else?

  “Who was he supposed to meet?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure. He was a busy man. He even had multiple cell phones. I can’t even imagine dealing with that.”

  “Are you sure it wasn’t just an accident?” I asked.

  “Oh, no, it wasn’t an accident. He most definitely killed himself,” she said.

  “Did he leave a note?”

  “No note, but I’m sure that it was suicide, so the case is closed.”

  That was what she thought. I was determined to make it open again.

  “So no note or anything, but yet you don’t think it was an accident. Maybe he just fell?”

  She frowned. “How did you know that he jumped?”

  My heart rate sped up. I had to think quickly.

  “You told me. Don’t you remember?”

  She looked a little confused and then said, “I guess I forgot.”

  She shifted in her seat as if she was growing more anxious.

  Finally, she picked up the papers. “You know, I feel uncomfortable with you asking so many personal questions.”

  Uh-oh. It was time to walk back my plan.

  “I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean anything by it. I just ask rambling questions sometimes when I get nervous. I’m anxious about this whole shopping experience.” I laughed nervously.

  She looked at me for a moment and then her expression softened. “I didn’t think of that. I guess that makes sense. I promise this will be a good experience for you though.”

  “I appreciate that. Thank you,” I said.

  She gathered the papers and stood from the chair. “I’ll call you tomorrow so we can move forward with everything.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” I said.

  Regina stuck out her hand toward Derek. In her flirtatious voice she said, “It was nice seeing you again.”

  Was she clueless that she was flirty? I rolled my eyes when she turned her back to us. Derek gave me an impish smile.

  When she walked out the door, I said, “I think she likes you.”

  “Who doesn’t like me?” Derek asked with a wink.

  I rolled my eyes again.

  “Stop dong that or they’ll get stuck that way.”

  “Unlikely,” I said.

  “She admitted to being with the man when he died. Yet she didn’t say he was her boyfriend.”

  “If they were only dating then she wouldn’t call him her boyfriend.”

  We stared at each other in silence.

  “So what are you doing now?” Derek shoved his hands into his pockets. I’d never seen him act bashful before.

  I shrugged. “I guess I was just going to relax and watch TV this evening. Maybe order takeout.”

  He stared at me for a long moment again. Was he hinting that he wanted to stay? I didn’t know if I should ask. What if that wasn’t what he was thinking? Then I would embarrass myself by asking.

  Finally I got up the courage.

  “Would you like to stay?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’d like that.” He pulled out his phone. “I can order dinner. How about pizza? You like pepperoni?”

  “Love it,” I said.

  We talked about the case until the food arrived. Then we sat on the sofa watching TV while we ate. We watched more TV and talked. It was about midnight, I guessed, when we drifted off to sleep.

  The sun streamed through my living room window. I opened one eye. My head was on Derek’s lap. He was still asleep. At least he was still fully clothed. This was completely awkward. I tried to ease up without waking him, but he opened his eyes. Surprisingly, his face turned a little red.

  He pushed to his feet. “I guess we fell asleep, huh?”

  “Looks that way,” I said.

  He moved over toward the door. “I should leave you alone. I overstayed my welcome.”

  He seemed as if he was in a hurry to get to the door. I didn’t even have a chance to tell him that I had enjoyed watching TV with him.

  Derek opened the door. “Well, I guess I will see you at the office.”

  “Yeah, see you there.” I waved.

  He tossed up his hand and walked away.

  Chapter 19

  What was odd was they’d never found any personal items on Paul when they’d found his body. His cell phone had never been recovered and they were still looking for it. I didn’t have a whole lot of information on that yet. If the police had found out more, it would help if I had that information.

  I wanted to know who else he’d possibly been going to meet that day. We knew that Regina was with him for a while, but that she had left and he was supposed to meet someone e
lse. At least that was what she claimed.

  I still didn’t know if I believed her story. I’d been told that he had multiple phone numbers, so maybe there would be other phones to discover. We couldn’t find one, so what were the odds we would find others? I wondered why he had so many numbers. Was he hiding something on his phone? It sounded kind of shady.

  I decided to go back to his house since I had the key. Why not? I could take another look around. They would probably start clearing out his stuff before long, and I’d lose any opportunity to look around in there. I had to do it quickly. I’d drive over there and do what I needed to do without anyone knowing. I wondered what Derek would say if he found out what I was up to.

  When I pulled up to the place it looked as if no one was there. It was only me. I circled the block and found a place to park so that no one would notice my car. After sneaking up the sidewalk and to the front door, I opened it and tiptoed in, as if I was trying to keep from being caught. Obviously no one was there, so I wasn’t sure what I was worried about. I guessed it was because the place was so quiet.

  It looked exactly as it had the other day when Derek and I had been there. Nothing had changed. I went through the living room and into the kitchen again, hoping that something would pop out at me this time. So far no luck.

  As I was heading up the back staircase, a noise sounded from somewhere in the house. I couldn’t make out quite where it was coming from. Possibly the front door, which meant that I was now not alone. I stopped moving and froze with my back against the wall and nowhere else to go. I just had to hope that whoever was there didn’t come up the staircase and see me. I had the key, so it wasn’t exactly like I had broken in.

  It still felt odd to be in a stranger’s house all alone with someone else walking in and finding me. I remained still. There hadn’t been any more sounds coming from downstairs, so I wondered if the person had gone outside. I knew the noise had come from the inside. My back scraped against something as I leaned against the wall. I glanced back and noticed the landscape painting behind me. It had moved though. Something metal peeked out from behind. I moved the painting a little more and noticed the metal plate. Was this some kind of secret hiding place? That was interesting.

  It wasn’t really a safe because there was no lock, but it was definitely a hiding compartment. I paused for a moment longer before I reached in to check out the contents. After not hearing anything for a couple more seconds, I couldn’t wait any longer. I turned around and opened the little secret hiding place all the way. There was a metal fire-safe box inside. Had I possibly discovered a gun?

  Paul really should have had whatever the contents were locked away. This was just a plain box with no lock on it whatsoever. I pulled it out so that I could get a closer look. Opening it while I stood on the stairs was almost impossible without losing my balance. I decided to take it over to the bedroom. After hurrying into the bedroom, I set the box on the bed. My hands shook as I struggled to get the little lever open. Finally, the latch worked and the top popped open.

  Only one object was inside the box, which I thought was really odd. Had someone else removed the other contents? Was this really all there was? I reached in and picked up the phone. Apparently this guy had a fascination with phones. What was so important about the phone that it needed to be hidden? Was there something else to this story? Maybe the phone would reveal the secret.

  There was only one problem with checking the phone right now. I didn’t know how long it had been in there. The battery was dead. I hoped that it actually worked, but right now it had to be charged in order to see what was on the thing. I looked around the room and spotted the phone charger on the nightstand. Bingo. Now I just had to wait for the thing to power up and I could have a look.

  I plugged in the phone and waited. I tapped my fingers against the nightstand as I sat on the bed. I stared at the phone as if that would make it charge faster. I just hoped this was all worth it. Finally, the little apple popped up on the screen and it powered on. Yes! Now I was really excited. I picked up the phone and swiped it on. Immediately I went to see the text messages. There were a lot of messages from Regina. I noticed them right away.

  There were text messages from someone asking for money. I wasn’t sure what they wanted the money for, but nonetheless, it seemed like they were really angry. I copied down the phone numbers for the text messages and then looked through the rest of the phone. Those seemed to be the only things of importance, but I stuck that piece of paper with the information back in my pocket.

  I wasn’t sure what I would do with the phone. Should I tell the police? Maybe that wasn’t necessary at the moment. Instead I unplugged it and put it back in the box. I figured the best bet was to put it right back where I found it. If I needed it again I knew where to get it.

  As I headed toward the door to go back downstairs I heard the noise again. It was a door. Someone was definitely here this time. I ran back over into the bedroom. I needed to hide. When I glanced around the room I realized I’d have to go under the bed just like I had with Derek.

  As I slid under the bed I dragged the metal box with me. When I reached the middle of the space, I held my breath, waiting to hear if the person was coming up the stairs or not. I couldn’t help but think about being under the bed with Derek. He had been somehow comforting when I thought we were in danger. Now I was all alone. Maybe I needed him more than I realized. Slowly I was realizing it was okay to need someone.

  Regardless, now I was alone under there with the dust bunnies. It was a bit scary, but I would just have to handle it on my own. I’d be tough. As I held the box close to my body, another bang sounded from not too far away. What if someone discovered me under there?

  The footsteps were coming closer. The person was headed toward the bedroom. Did they know I was in this room? The footsteps grew closer and closer. Now the person was in the room with me. I kept as still as possible. The person walked around the side of the bed. It was like the person was toying with me. I wanted to peek out, but I had to resist that urge. If I made any moves I would surely be caught.

  Another noise came from what I thought was downstairs. Was there more than one person in the house now? The footsteps rushed back into the room. My heart pounded faster. Then suddenly someone pulled up the bed skirt. The person crawled under the bed. I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak. This was like my trip with Derek all over again. The noise sounded again. I didn’t know if I should run or stay put.

  There was something familiar about the person next to me. He wasn’t there to attack me. It was the smell. I’d been around that cologne many times. It was just a hint. Derek never wore too much.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I whispered.

  “Obviously the same thing you’re doing,” he answered in the same hushed tone.

  Now we were both stuck under the bed again. Someone else was still in the house. Derek and I listened in silence as the person walked around the house. I’d begun to think we would have to stay there all night. My leg was pressed against Derek’s. Adrenaline raced through my body. My stomach danced.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered.

  “Yeah, I guess. It’s getting hot under here.”

  “You feel it too?” he asked.

  “Feel what?”

  The heat from his muscular, fit body as it pressed against mine? If that was what he meant then, yes, I felt it.

  “Do you think the person is gone?” I asked.

  “I thought I heard the door close,” Derek said.

  “It’s been a bit since I heard any kind of movement.”

  “What have you got there?” Derek asked, motioning toward the box with a tilt of his head.

  “What? This old thing?” I scoffed.

  “What’s in the box, Cece Cash?”

  I sighed. “A cell phone.”

  “Is that it?” he asked.

  “Yes, that’s it.”

  “Are you being truthful with me?”

&
nbsp; “I’m insulted that you would think that I wouldn’t be honest with you. When have I given you reason not to believe me?” I asked.

  “Do you really want me to list all the times?” Derek asked.

  I sighed again. “Fine, don’t list the times. I think it’s safe to come out now.”

  “Let me go first and check,” he said, sliding out from under the bed.

  He would probably leave me under there. Derek stepped across the room and paused. After a couple seconds, his shoes swooshed as he moved across the carpet.

  “You can come out now.”

  Chapter 20

  The next morning I’d just finished breakfast. Streaks of red and orange zipped across the eastern sky. I’d wanted to do a spell last night. Typically witchcraft cast under a full moon was best, but it had been too late when I’d gotten home and there had been no time until early this morning. Now I couldn’t wait to see if it worked. Time was of the essence.

  I stepped out into the morning air. It hadn’t gotten quite as hot yet. I had my spell materials gathered in my arms.

  I added ingredients to my little cauldron that I’d set on my outside table. It wasn’t the typical spellcasting that people thought of when watching a witch do a spell on TV. This was what worked for me though. I added the spices to the cauldron and recited the words, concentrating all of my energy on casting this spell. I waved my hands across the top of the cauldron. The water bubbled and popped. The power of the spell shimmered through my veins.

  “Make his love for me strong, make him desire me all day long.”

  I sure hoped that the spell worked. I decided to say the words a few more times, just to make sure that I had the spell correct. Then I finished up, gathered my things, and went back inside. I had to get ready for work. I planned on stopping by for a bit of coffee on my way to the office. I put my spellcasting items back in the cabinet, hidden in case Derek popped over anytime soon. I rushed for the shower.

  When I got out of the shower, my cell phone was ringing, but by the time I reached the phone on my nightstand, it had stopped. I looked at the screen and realized I had missed four calls. This must be important. I dialed the last number to see who was calling. I was nervous wondering what had happened. No one answered, but then I realized that I recognized the number. I was pretty sure it was Mark.