What's a Witch to Do?: A Midnight Magic Mystery

by Jennifer Harlow

  “I called a few of the names my friend at the paper gave me of Erica’s acquaintances. The general consensus is she poisoned her husband, not that they have proof or seem to care. And they all know that Thomas guy and a few knew Alejandro. She was always flirty with both, but especially Thomas until about a year ago. He started seeing someone and cut the flirting, though she never gave any real indication that she cared.”

  “A jilted egomaniac is never a good thing. I’ll ask her about it tonight.”

  “You’re still going to the auction?” Clay asks, more than a little surprised.

  “Of course. I have a date. Are you covering it?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “I hear Bethany Harmon signed up,” I say in sing-song. More than once I’ve caught him glancing at her and turning bright red. Must be genetic. “Bring your checkbook.” The bell rings again, and I stand. “Hell, bring it anyway. I may need you to bid on me the way my week is going.”

  And the hits keep coming. As I walk to the front area, the Whore of Babylon with her low-cut jeans and off-the-shoulder shirt sans bra worms her way through the store toward Adam. “What a mess,” she says, nose scrunched.

  “And good morning to you too, Cheyenne,” I say. “What can I help you with?”

  “Nothing.” She reaches Adam and smiles. He smiles back. “I was on my way to work and saw you in the window,” she says, as if Clay and I aren’t even on the planet. “Just … wanted to thank you for last night.”

  Clay clears his throat. “I better get back to work,” he says, kissing my cheek. “I’ll see you tonight at the country club. Adam. Cheyenne.” He gives me a pitying look before walking out.

  Cheyenne sneers at me. “You’re going to that thing? Why?” she asks snootily.

  “I promised Doctor Sutcliffe I would. He was most insistent I attend.”

  Cue eye roll. “Whatever.”

  I have no desire to watch the coming farce. “Excuse me. I have work in the back.” I step into the back room and shut the curtain, then stand right behind it. I said I didn’t want to watch; hearing is another story.

  “That hot doctor is really into her?” Cheyenne asks.

  “So it would appear,” Adam says with little enthusiasm.

  “Huh, no accounting for taste.”

  “She can probably hear you, you know,” he says in a low tone.

  “So?” Bitch. “She ruined our night with her minor drama, and you know she did it on purpose. Probably busted that pipe herself.”

  “It’s an old house,” he counters, “pipes burst.”

  “Whatever. Look, are you busy tonight? We can finish what we started.”

  “I promised Mona I’d watch the girls. Sorry.”

  “I can come over and help,” she says.

  “I don’t think Mona would be comfortable with that.” Damn straight. “Maybe Thursday, okay?” I can hear the smack of lips on lips and grimace. “I have to get back to work too.”

  “Fine,” she says shortly. Seconds later I hear the bell on the door. The bitch is gone.

  I toss the curtain back and step out. “Okay, we so need to find a way to nail that c-word.”

  “I am in total agreement,” he says. “We should go finish the search at her house.”

  “Is that a good idea? We keep almost getting caught.”

  “Any better ideas?”

  I think for a second. “Waterboarding? Worked in Salem.” He shakes his head no. “Okay, then the house it is.”

  They do say the third time’s a charm.

  Continue investigation

  After Alice arrives an hour later, and after walking past the diner to make sure Cheyenne’s there, we drive to her house and break in. Again. Adam takes the bedroom and I the office. I re-examine the books on black magic she has, but they are innocuous, with a watered-down version of the demon summoning spell in one. It wouldn’t work since it’s missing a bloodstone ingredient. I feel along the walls and floor for false panels but find none. Twenty minutes and nothing to show for it. Adam has since finished in the bedroom and has moved onto the living room where I join him. “Any luck?”

  He lifts up the couch one handed as if it were made of marshmallow. “Anything under the couch?”

  Yeah, I should probably take my eyes off him and check. “Just wrappers and dust.”

  He lowers the couch. “Bedroom was clear. This one too.”

  “I’ll check the kitchen, you take the bathroom.” As he walks to the bookcase, I rifle through her cabinets. Snack foods and empty boxes of snack foods. No goat heads or baby’s blood in the fridge either. “Nothing here. This is a bust.” There’s nothing here I can nail her with. Waterboarding is looking more and more viable by the minute. I flop down on the couch. “Maybe it’s time to confront her. Haul her in, be the bad cop to your good.”

  “We have no proof,” Adam calls from the bathroom. He steps out a second later. “And if it isn’t her, you might tip off the real person.”

  I groan. “This is so aggravating! Everywhere we turn, we hit a brick wall.”

  “Well, we’ve gone through this place top to bottom. We should get out of here.”

  “And do what? Go where?”

  “We’ll figure it out.” He stretches out his hand to me and pulls me off the couch with a smile. Goddess do I love that smile. “Come on.”

  Since we can’t see each other with the invisibility amulets, we hold hands all the way back to the car. First time I’ve strolled down a street holding a man’s hand. It’s nice. From here on out, I won’t roll my eyes when I see couples do this. We make it back to the car and replace the invisibility amulet with the psychic protection one. I already feel naked without it. I start the car but have no destination in mind. Back to the shop I guess; but if I do that, it’s kind of like I’ve failed. Given up. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

  “Careful. Your face might stick like that,” Adam says of my scrunched face.

  I force it back to normal. “Hardy har.”

  “I had a thought. Why don’t we go to the barn where the demon was summoned? I might be able to pick up scent or find a clue the police missed. It’s been over a day, but it’s worth a shot. We probably should have done it yesterday, but I just thought of it now.” He shakes his head. “I am not very good at this investigating crap. Jason and Vivian usually handle that part. I just go and do as I’m told.”

  “Does that bother you? Being bossed around like that?” I ask.

  “No,” he says. “I’m his Beta, it’s my job. It’s why he picked me.”

  “You never wanted to rise up? Usurp the throne?” I ask dra-

  matically.

  “No thank you.”

  “Never even gave it a thought?”

  “Not a once. I’m not like you and Jason. I have no desire to be a leader. It’s not in my nature. I’m not that ambitious. Too much trouble anyway. I much prefer being in the background, helping when needed. It’s just as important.”

  If not more so. “Well, Jason’s lucky to have you.” I pause for a second. “Me too for that matter. I … I don’t think I’ve thanked you for everything you’ve done for me. I doubt I would have made it this far without you.”

  “You’re selling yourself short.”

  “I don’t think so. You’ve been great, better than great. You’re like my hero,” I say with a chuckle. “So … thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Mona,” he says solemnly. “I’m happy to do it.”

  Before I can stop myself, I ruin this beautiful moment by blurting out, “Why?”

  “Maybe someday I’ll tell you,” he says with a mischievous grin.

  The few minutes to the barn are spent in silence except for a Shania Twain block on the radio. Normally I’d be belting right along with her, but not with a cute boy in the car. He’s already seen my horrible dance skills, don’t want to scare him with my singing too. There’s a car I don’t recognize already parked outside the b
arn when we arrive. Adam and I exchange a look and grab our respective weapons: charms and potion for me, and my .38 from the locked glove box for him. We exit the car, slowly approaching the barn. Though faint, my skin prickles from the demon. Rap music booms inside mingled with a girl’s giggles. Adam and I glance at each other again and put away our weapons. Demons do not giggle.

  Off in the corner near the back lying on a sleeping bag, Jace Brown has his hand inside Amber Kermer’s bra. They’re too busy making out to notice us step in. Ah, young love. I loudly clear my throat and they jolt apart. “Sorry to interrupt.”

  The teens scramble for their clothes. “Oh shit,” Jace mutters as he zips up his pants.

  “Shouldn’t y’all be in school?” I ask.

  “Yeah, um,” Amber says as she stands, “we were just—”

  “Hasn’t been that long, hon,” I say. “But you two know better—this place is dangerous.”

  “I know. We saw all the Satan stuff on the floor,” Jace says, collecting the sleeping bag. “I heard they were sacrificing virgins here or something.”

  “Don’t think you two have to worry then,” Adam says.

  The mortified couple walk toward us heads hung. “Um, bye,” Amber says. They practically run to their car.

  Adam and I chuckle. “Youth is wasted on the young,” he says.

  “I was never that young,” I say as I walk in.

  Adam follows me. “What, you never ditched school to go make out in a barn?”

  “No, I was too busy taking care of my hellion sisters and being groomed to be Queen of the Witches.” I scoff. “That and my teenage years weren’t my best style wise. I hit the trifecta: zits, overweight, and braces all four years. I looked like a troll.”

  “Trust me, you weren’t that bad,” Adam says. “I thought you were kind of cute actually.”

  “Thank you for that wonderful lie,” I say as I examine the reverse pentagram, minus a plank of wood in the center, with splotches of blood, yellow powder, and wax around. I step into it and the barbs of pure evil grow worse, like literal pinpricks hard enough to draw blood. I’m standing on a portal to hell. I get a little sick to my stomach and step out.

  “It’s not a lie,” he says as he steps toward me. He grimaces. “God.”

  “You feel it too?”

  “Yeah. And it reeks. Sulfur and blood mostly. Ugh.”

  “What about tacky perfume and cigarettes?”

  He steps away. “This is where teenagers come to party, that’s all I’m getting. Nothing specifically Cheyenne, sorry.”

  “What about the evidence the police collected? Think you’d have more luck there?”

  “Probably, but no guarantees.”

  I check my watch. “I think we have time. Okay, police station it is.”

  “Great,” he says with a sneer.

  “Got a better idea?”

  He shrugs. “We could stay here, and I could help you make up for lost time.”

  “What? Oh … ” A flash of me throwing myself into his muscled arms and sticking my tongue down his throat fills my vision. I go a little gooey inside for a few seconds. I mean, if I get it out of my system, maybe … I glance up and find the real Adam smiling mischievously. Lust is replaced with embarrassment. He’s kidding, of course. Of course. To think I … ugh! To regain some dignity, I straighten my back. “Cute. Let’s go,” I order, my voice hard as concrete. I spin around.

  “Mona, I wasn’t—”

  A stiff breeze wafts through the barn. I hear the crack above but don’t have time to put the source and noise together. I glance up and just watch like an mo-ron as a piece of wood falls from the roof toward me. I feel a scream coming, but the force of two hundred pounds of muscle grabbing and spinning me out of the way stifles it. The moment we stop moving, the plank smacks right where I was standing. I gasp and clutch onto Adam’s shirt. “Hell’s bells,” I say.

  My rescuer and I both breathe heavily, our chests moving in rhythm. I realize they’re pressed together, and we’re embracing each other like lovers. The adrenaline sends my senses into overload. His raspy breathing echoes, his hot body mingles with mine, and the scent of soap mixed with stale sweat intoxicates me.

  “Are you okay?” he asks. I nod. “Come on.” Arm still enveloping me, he leads me out of the barn. When we’re safely outside he gazes at me, checking my head and forehead for damage. When he doesn’t find any, his body relaxes a little. He doesn’t let me go though. “Thank God. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  As long as we stay exactly like this, all is right in the world. “I—I’m fine.”

  “I swear, I think you’re cursed,” he says with a laugh. “A walking damn disaster area.”

  “Th—that’s me,” I say with an awkward chuckle.

  Still smiling, he smoothes my hair and finally meets my eyes, that beautiful smile slowly wavering to nothing. He searches intently for something in my eyes, but I give nothing but anticipation and lust. There’s nothing but this. This is it, the right moment. He can throw me down and have his way with me, and I won’t resist. Oh please … damn it!

  All mirth leaves his eyes a second later. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was disappointed. All emotion vanishes, replaced with a blank screen. He pulls away with a smile. “We better get out of here before it starts raining brimstone and frogs. Come on.” He starts walking back to the car, leaving me shivering from the adrenaline and frigidity left in his wake. I hug myself to stop it. It doesn’t work. Only one thing can fix it and he’s walking away. I can’t take much more of this, whatever this is.

  I give myself a second to collect myself, forcing the mortification and deep regret down. Years of practice pay off once again. I square my shoulders then amble back to the car as if nothing happened. Without a word, I get into the car and start the engine, nary even a glance at Adam. I can’t wait to get to the police station. Maybe one of the officers will let me borrow their gun so I can shoot myself for being such a mo-ron.

  Review evidence with Sheriff Andrews

  The Gardenia County Sheriff’s station is located one town over in Juniper. They have a satellite office in Goodnight with two part-time officers posted there, but Sheriff Andrews works out of this one-story brick building. I’ve only been here a few times with Daddy when we had to pick up Ivy after she got caught being scandalous. It hasn’t changed a lick since those days, with a drab waiting area and wooden counter for reception. The officer at the front runs back to get the sheriff for us. Andrews appears a second later, all smiles. “Miss McGregor. Nice to see you.”

  “This is my cousin, A.J.,” I say of the silent man behind me. Hasn’t uttered a word since the barn, thank the goddess. “We were wondering if you had a minute?”

  “Of course,” he says, lifting the partition. “Come on back.” Andrews leads us into his cluttered office filled with boxes of files. We sit in the chairs across from him. “I’ve been meaning to call you.”

  “Same here. We wanted to stop by to maybe get a look at what you collected from the barn.”

  “There wasn’t much there, I’m afraid. Some blood on that pentagram, wax from candles, dust, and salt. We took photos before we collected all the paraphernalia.” He takes the top file off and hands it to me. The white paint of the inverted pentagram is stained red with blood with pools of black wax on the sides of it. Circled around that is salt to trap the demon. Near the bottom of the pentagram the salt has been removed to let the demon out after he agreed to do her dirty work. The next few photos are of the same area at different angles.

  “There weren’t any gemstones or other ritual items?” I ask.

  “Nope, that’s all we found.”

  “So there’s no chance of fingerprints or DNA?” I ask, dejected.

  “Sorry,” Andrews says. “I can tell you that the blood came from a dog, but we didn’t find the carcass.”

  “Did anyone report any pets missing?” Adam asks. “She might have stolen one.”

  “We checked in
to that. The few that weren’t found at the pound, I spoke to their owners. No one saw anyone steal them, and they found their gates open.”

  Another freaking dead end. “Would it be possible to see what you collected from the barn?” I ask.

  “Sure.” He moves his chair back, bends down, and pulls out a box, which Adam takes. “Right now all we have is a case of animal cruelty. I can’t exactly arrest someone for summoning a demon.”

  Adam opens the box and pulls out the baggies with the residue of four candles, a small plank of wood, a vial of powder, and another with salt. He opens the evidence bag with a candle.

  Andrews balks. “You can’t do that.”

  Adam ignores him, inhaling the scent. “Sulfur mostly,” Adam says, “blood, and cigarettes. Faint but there. Also a latex smell.”

  “Probably wore gloves so she didn’t ruin her nails,” I offer.

  He opens the other bags, with Andrews grimacing each time, and sniffs. “More of the same, though the wood smells of ectoplasm and fire.”

  “You don’t get anything else? No perfume or personal scent?” I ask.

  “I can barely pick up the latex and cigarettes, and with those I can’t be a hundred percent positive. The sulfur is overpowering.”

  “Crap.” It’s official. I am beyond frustrated in every conceivable way. Can just one darn thing go my way? “Thanks for your help, Sheriff.” I walk out of his office and the station without looking at another living soul. I’m not feeling very up with people right now. They’re either disappointing me, trying to kill me, or sending me mixed signals, all of which are doing my head in. The gray sky isn’t helping matters either. Demon, take me now.

  Adam catches up to me as I step outside. “We should go back to Cheyenne’s house and gather her ritual knives. They might still have dog blood on them.”

  “I examined them. They were spotless. Plus Andrews would want to know where we got them or he’d drag Cheyenne in, and we’d lose our element of surprise.”

  He grabs my arm and pulls me to a standstill. “But—”

  I jerk my arm away and keep walking. I just want to go back to my shop and hide in the back until it’s time to go home, where I fully intend to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head until this is all over. I get into the car and start it. Adam has three seconds to get in here or he’s walking. He just makes it.