To Speak of Things Unseen (Hemstreet Witches Book 2)

by Rain Trueax

  “Lovely.” She sat beside him and watched the river as she heard him opening the bottle, then pouring the wine. He handed her a plastic cup. They sipped without words. She wanted to make love with him, but she also found her mind going again and again to a murderer in Tucson. Some romantic partner she was.

  “Are you having doubts about us?” he asked.

  She looked at him. “No, not at all. More just concerned about what happened in Tucson.”

  “The murder or the religious fanatics?” She was surprised he was so willing to redirect his own thoughts from what she knew he’d been planning.

  “The murderer. The fanatics will always be with us.”

  “Okay, you won’t enjoy what I had in mind until we talk about it. Tell me again what you know.”

  “The only thing I hadn’t mentioned was that when I went out to the site with Detective Myers, where they found the body, I sought a vision. Sometimes I can do that, you know feel what happened somewhere. I had no feeling that a murder happened there. What I saw was a heavyset man carrying and then positioning the body before walking away. I never saw his face.”

  “Interesting.” He sipped his wine as he stared at the river. “What was his energy?”

  “Angry and rushed.”

  “Violent?”

  She considered that. “I didn’t get that. More upset. The feeling I have is it was Pastor Jefferies, but since I didn’t see a face, I can’t say for sure it was him. He’d have had no reason to be there, but Debbie did work for him until he said he had fired her the day before.”

  “When you were with him, did you get murderer vibes?”

  “I was blocked and that was strange. I disliked him so much that… it’s hard to be objective, but no, I didn’t. Abuser maybe but not a murderer.”

  “Okay, let’s think of reasons why he might’ve been there with the body.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Maybe he was only about body disposal. If the murderer was someone else, then, who would he want to protect, to take the risk of being with a body? And, even at night, he could have been seen. Then, there is how he positioned it, in the crucified pose was that sick or purposeful in terms of a religious mentality—or trying to get revenge on someone he thought it might finger?”

  “Are you a writer?” she asked teasingly, reaching out to stroke his cheek.

  “In the five years I was near my father, lots of plots were always being thrown at him.”

  “What about the man whose arm you broke.”

  “Definitely he had something untoward in mind, but would a murderer strike again so quickly after killing one person? Did you get an autopsy report on the girl?”

  “No, it hadn’t been in before you kidnapped me.”

  He laughed. “Don’t use that word around your detective friend. I might end up the one in jail.”

  “Since I am only planning to tease you with it, you are safe.” She giggled. “I should call Mom or Torre to see if they have determined cause and time of death.”

  “Good idea.” He put down his wine glass and leaned her back on the blanket. “And now for more important business.”

  “And what would that be?” she asked as he began to kiss his way down her cheek to her neck.”

  “Think on it. It’ll come to you.”

  An hour later or maybe more, she came back to reality as she thought about how Mitch stroked all her right spots and that included intellectually as well as physically. She watched him, his eyes closed. “What are you thinking?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” she lied.

  He laughed and looked up at her. “I know what I’m thinking. You are everything I want in a woman. I want to be all you want in a man.”

  “We haven’t known each other long,” she reminded him-- or maybe it was herself.

  “Does that matter?”

  “You might find you don’t much like the idea of a witch for a… friend.”

  “Friend was not what I had in mind. I want you as a mate… and since you are a witch, then I guess I want a witch.”

  “It can get difficult.”

  “Like I am easy to get along with.”

  “Are you warning me?”

  “Some. I don’t know where we’re going with this, but I want us to move forward.”

  She considered that. “You really want to drive back to Tucson with me?”

  “No.”

  She understood that. “I think I can do this without you.”

  He snorted. “I don’t doubt that but that’s not what I have in mind. I feel good enough now. I’ll fly us down. I have a Citation CJ3. Are you familiar with it?”

  She came from a rich family but not that rich. “No.”

  “It’s reliable, fast, and we can be down there whenever you want… and back here by night—if we want.”

  It was her turn to laugh. “You are a pilot.”

  “I am and a good one.”

  “Do you commute then?”

  “I hadn’t but could if I had a reason. I think we should both stay at your place though… if that’s okay with you.”

  She hadn’t expected that. “Why?”

  “Somebody tried to break into your home. It seems to me that person could be back… with a cast and sling.” His smile was crooked. “I am sure you could take care of them, but I want to be there too. Maybe we can… uh convince the man to tell us what he knows about Debbie’s murder.”

  “That seems a longshot.”

  “We’ll see. Besides you’re closer to good restaurants, and I don’t intend to bring Sofia.”

  “You doubt I can cook?” she teased grabbing a long grass stem and teasing his lips with it.

  “With everything else in your package… pretty much, yeah.” He leaned over, and she forgot the rest of what she was thinking.

  When they went back to the house, she called her mother to see what was happening. When it was nothing new, they decided to fly down early in the morning to beat a promised thunderstorm. In the evening, he suggested they watch a DVD. He had one room with a huge screen TV and hundreds of DVDs. “How do I pick from all of these?” she asked as she looked at a bookcase almost the length of a wall.

  “Some were my father’s collection, and I had them made into DVDs when that became an option. He had all his films, but many of the ones of his friends and even enemies.” He laughed. “I still get sent DVDs of new films by directors he worked with or those who remember him. Maybe hoping I’ll review them. Good and bad, I have a lot of what’s ever been made.”

  Finally, she chose one she’d seen many times, but it never got old, Casablanca. They settled onto a long sofa. Sofia brought them popcorn before she headed for bed.

  “This is a wonderful place,” Elke said, as she wiped away the tears from the ending. Something she always had to do.

  “It’s a sanctuary for me. I don’t live here year round but maybe should.”

  “You aren’t fond of people?”

  “I can be with them when it’s required. The reason I avoided publicity after the book came out is the whole Paparazzi thing. With my father being who he was, my wantabe stepmother being who she is, I knew not being known was safer and made my life more peaceful.”

  “And your stepbrother?”

  “Who actually never was since he wasn’t my father’s son. I see him when he needs money. That’s about it. Except the stupid article he sold.”

  “I did read that.” She felt herself flush. “I was stalking you.”

  He chuckled. “And now I’ll help you do it. Stalk me all you want.”

  “I was half in love with Adolfo.”

  “Better mate for you would be Adolph,” the wolf said before he put his head back down.

  Elke laughed, not sure Mitch found it so humorous. She brushed his tawny hair back behind his ear.

  “One thing hasn’t changed,” Mitch said. “I won’t let you use the book for a play.”

  She suppressed her feeling of annoyance. “Did you think t
hat’s what this was about?”

  “No. You’re not that kind of woman. Just saying.”

  “Well, you can say all you want. Maybe I can write my own play now based on what happened in the canyon. It’s not like you own that.”

  “Why don’t we argue this out-- after you get your murderer nailed.”

  “Was that a plotted distraction?”

  “Maybe.” He laughed. “I am coming to know you well enough to know some possible ways to do that.”

  “Two can fight that way.” She put her fingers out to brush over his chest where the vee in his shirt opened.

  “Fight that way all you want, baby. That kind of distraction works for me.”

  “Me too.”

  “Am I going south with you?” Adolph asked lifting his head again.

  “Not this time. I want you here to keep an eye on the ranch.”

  “You think it’ll be dangerous for me,” the wolf argued.

  “Or that you’ll go after my woman.”

  Adolph chuckled but didn’t argue further.

  “Am I your woman?” she asked liking the sound of that.

  “If you want to be.”

  “There are things to work out.”

  “We can do that… if you want to.”

  She wanted to. She just wasn’t sure it was possible—assuming he even stayed alive. He seemed to have a tendency to court danger.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The flight south from the Verde Valley on Mitch’s plane was smoother than Elke had been expecting given the promised storm in the afternoon. He handled the plane with ease and soon they were landing at Tucson International where he taxied into a hangar.

  “I don’t want it beat to death with hail today,” he said as they grabbed their bags, disembarked, and he left the plane in the care of one of the uniformed tenders. “Fuel it up,” he directed, “and give it a once over to be sure everything is in shape for when I need it.”

  The man smiled. “No problem, Mitch. Give us a call, and we’ll get it out when you want it.”

  She was surprised that an SUV was also waiting for him. The privileges of his level of wealth went beyond anything she’d imagined. For the first time, she began to wonder exactly how much money he had. Wealth could be a barrier she had not imagined.

  “You hungry?” he asked, as they drove out of the parking garage.

  “Could we stop by a grocery store, and I’ll get some food for back at my apartment.”

  “You sure?” He raised his brows with skepticism.

  “Nothing complicated. Just bread, sliced turkey, roast beef, horseradish, lettuce, eggs, bacon, some basics like wine and beer.”

  He grinned and pulled the SUV into the grocery parking lot. She expected him to wait in the vehicle, but he followed her in.

  She had already figured that Mitch was the kind of man who could not walk anywhere without being seen just for his unusual height and that lion’s mane of his. Then there was his resemblance to his movie star father, whose movies were still on the old movie channels as well as available as DVDs. Doubtless, some staring wondered why he looked familiar. Whatever it was, heads turned as he passed. Although Elke knew herself to be an attractive woman, she’d never had that kind of attention, walking alongside what amounted to a celebrity. She wondered if he was aware of the notice he drew. Probably so, and it’s why he had been so reclusive.

  “You like chocolate or vanilla ice cream?” he asked as he looked in the frozen food section.

  “Cookies and cream,” she said.

  He put one of those and another flavor she’d never seen. So, he was an ice cream person. Another of those things she hadn’t known. When Pepsi went into the cart, she learned something more.

  “How about for breakfast?” she asked as she threw a sack of Seattle’s Best coffee beans into the cart.

  “Anything except dry cereal,” he said. In the fruit section, he added a bag of small oranges to her apples. “You have any potatoes?” he asked studying the varieties.

  “Carbs,” she protested.

  He laughed and put a 5 lb. sack of Goldens alongside the fruit. She headed back to the meat counter to add a package of chicken breasts. Mitch threw in a flatiron steak. Butter, cheese, and bread were also not the usual for her, but then nothing about this was the usual. She realized given his size, he probably took in a lot of food. She’d need to do much jogging, if she didn’t want her hips to explode along with this relationship.

  By the time, they got to the cash register, the cart was a lot fuller than she’d expected. Before she could get out her credit cards, Mitch had pulled out a roll of hundreds and paid cash. At the SUV, he stowed the groceries, and she returned the cart.

  When he turned the SUV back onto the street, she said, “So there are multiple reasons why you avoid people.”

  He gave a little laugh. “Yeah, you get used to it in a way. In another way, you never do.”

  “I suppose being with your father, you saw that a lot, especially where you look like a younger version of him.”

  “Some. Do I turn here?” he asked. “I was only there once and came in from the other side.”

  “The next road.”

  “As for my father, I am taller than he was. I would guess if he’d been my height, he’d have not had the career he did. Dwarf all his leading ladies. I get called giant a lot.” He looked over at her. “Lucky you’re a tall woman.”

  “I’ve always liked being able to see over the crowds.”

  “There is that… After we unload the groceries, I’ll park a few blocks from your place.”

  “You really are hoping to set a trap?”

  “It’s possible. If not, we’ll have to do more detective work, check to see if hospitals let us know if that night they set a broken arm. I am hoping we get him the easy way when he shows up again.”

  Having a potential murderer show up in her apartment was the easy way? She tried to divert herself from her worries of how many ways this could go wrong—especially if the killer had a weapon.

  “When will you be willing to meet my family?” She wasn’t sure how that would go. Her mother would instantly be hearing wedding bells. Her grandmothers would be suspicious of his spiritual powers--well, Grandma Elsa might do some lusting. Her unmarried sisters would be watching him with their tongues hanging out-- slight and only slight exaggeration.

  “Let’s talk about that when I get back.” He helped her carry up their bags and groceries before driving off while she put everything away. It would seem strange to have him in her home. It was then that she heard the crash of thunder and flare of a lightning bolt. Moments later, he was running up the stairs. “It let loose,” he said as he came in the apartment shaking his head and throwing water drops. She handed him a towel.

  Drying his hair, he walked into her living room and opened the door to the deck. “This is nice,” he said, watching as the rain pummeled the bougainvillea, bushes and trees.

  “We needed this kind of storm,” she agreed.

  “Your place is nice.”

  “Thank you. Not very big by your standards.”

  “Big enough for now.” He smiled. “I guess you’d want to live in the barrio if you were married or something.”

  “I have liked it here but not as well as your ranch… if you are hinting at where would we live if we were trying to put a life together—which I know you haven’t asked to do.”

  “You’ve felt secure here, but I notice you don’t have a very good lock on your door.”

  “I never felt it was a problem.”

  “Those energy bolts can’t protect you from everything.”

  “Well, there might be a few other things.” She smiled and headed back into the kitchen, returning with two beers. “I didn’t ask if you wanted one.”

  “I do.”

  “I can fix a sandwich,” she said as a lightning flashed and the crash was almost immediate. “Or if you like, I do know how to fix fettuccini. It’s pretty easy—if we don�
��t lose power anyway.”

  “Sandwich now. Fettuccini later,” he said with a smile, “and I can put together my own sandwich.” They went into the kitchen and came back to eat on the covered deck, and watch the storm as it moved up the valley. Nature’s electrical storm surged all around them. When the thunder crashed overhead, it was hard not to jump, but being with him, his arm around her, helped.

  “I should call Mom, I guess,” she said, when the thunderstorm had mostly passed. She knew her mother would already know she was back.

  “Want me to go outside while you talk?” he asked.

  “Not needed. She will know you’re here, and you and I have no secrets.” She hoped anyway.

  “Hi sweetie,” her mom said when she picked up.

  “Have you all figured out the murderer yet?” she asked going right to the point. She liked watching Mitch as he sat back on her sofa, his attention on the sky as the clouds changed colors in the aftermath of the storm.

  “No, can you come tomorrow and we’ll put our collective heads and magick together.”

  “Sure. What time?”

  “Say eleven and you can have lunch.” There was a brief silence. “Mitch is with you, isn’t he?”

  “Yes, he flew me down.”

  “Bring him, and I’ll suggest Denali bring Nick. We can use some masculine thinking.”

  “Sounds good. See you then.”

  “You’re invited, and Nick will be there too,” she said when she sat beside Mitch. “Did you ever meet him?”

  “Nope. I bought his work from Jane Elm.”

  “They will grill you.”

  He chuckled. “About murders or you?”

  “Both.”

  “I am up to it.” He put her hand on his growing hardness. “Among other things.”

  “I like that ‘other things’.”

  In the morning, they had a relaxed breakfast, which he fixed since he was more gifted at scrambled eggs than she was. Sipping their coffee on the deck, Elke saw Maya coming out to survey the damage to her garden. She hollered down to her and introduced her to Mitch.

  “You look like you got some strength in this one,” Maya said teasingly.