"My hands?"
"The victim was stabbed. You wouldn't believe how often the person doing the stabbing accidentally cuts themselves."
"Well, are you satisfied, then?” I said.
"Mostly, but we both know you could heal yourself," Thorn countered.
"Not for personal gain,” I said. "I mean, I guess technically I could, but there would be consequences."
"I understand that. But with that being said, I was hoping you would give a blood sample and some DNA. It will help rule you out."
"Don't you need a court order for that?" I asked.
"Unless you volunteer."
"But it will rule me out?" I asked.
"Especially if we find the killer's blood at the scene and it's not yours,” he said.
"Okay, when, where, and how?"
"I can meet you at the clinic this afternoon. One of the nurses can take the samples, and I'll take them into evidence."
"All right. Let's do that then,” I said.
Chapter Six
Thorn left, and I decided to take another chance at a shower. This time, the pipes cooperated. Since the house didn't attack me with cold water again and my magic had worked, I decided to hold off on the plumber.
What Thorn had said about a space being for rent in the square had piqued my interest. Especially since he said it would be cheap. Checking it out was also an excuse to get out of the house and possibly avoid a huge welcome home party.
At least for a while anyway.
I dried my hair and dug my favorite pair of jeans and black sweater out of my bag. I never wore much makeup, but I wanted to look presentable, so I pulled my makeup case out. While I was putting on mascara, it hit me that neither Thorn nor Reggie had said anything about my hair. Reggie hadn't seen me when I came into town, so maybe she just assumed it was my look.
Thorn, on the other hand had seem me before my mermaid transformation. I'd had it pulled up, so maybe it wasn't that noticeable. Or perhaps he just wasn't the type to make comments on a woman's hair. Especially when he'd come over to see if I had cuts on my hands because I'd stabbed some guy behind the diner. He hadn't said anything the night before either. I figured he'd probably say something later. Especially if it changed again, and he didn't have a murder case to solve.
I thought about putting my hair in a bun again to try to hide the color, but some women paid hundreds of dollars to look that way. I did tie it up in a high ponytail though so that the color could cascade down my back. A little bit of turquoise eye shadow and a slick of nude gloss completed the look. For a moment, I thought about how my ex-husband would have busted something if he saw me with that hair and wearing turquoise eye shadow, but I brushed those thoughts aside and headed downstairs.
"Where are you going?" Meri asked as I slid my feet into my black boots.
"Down to the square to look at that shop Thorn was talking about,” I said as I sat on the stairs to tie the laces. "I know you heard him."
"He also said to wait until you're not a murder suspect anymore,” Meri said.
"I'm just going to have a look,” I said.
"I'm going with you," Meri countered.
"Fine."
"Whatever."
I grabbed my purse and we headed out to the car. it was a short drive down to the square, and I pulled my hunk of junk into a parking spot between two shiny, silver self-driving cars. It was a little strange seeing the ultra-modern vehicles parked outside of the old historic buildings around the square. I walked across the square past the statues of my family members. A hum vibrated in my chest as I crossed the ley line and it connected with the magic inside me.
It was almost enough to make me stop, but I was on a mission. I could see the vacant shop with a "for rent" sign in the window. Meri was walking along next to me, and I thought I'd get some weird looks for that, but no one paid him any mind.
We passed a small group of tourists who were listening to their guide tell a story about a ghost in the courthouse. I didn't hear much of it because I was walking quickly, but what I did catch was that the ghost was a woman in white with black holes for eyes and a mouth. A woman in the group quickly covered her child's ears and I had to chuckle. What had she expected to hear on a ghost tour of Coventry? At least, I assumed that's what it was. I'd seen similar small walking tours in other towns I'd visited.
There was a little traffic, but I crossed the street and Meri and I stood in front of the vacant shop. "This place is too haunted for this town?" I asked.
Meri didn't respond other than with a flick of his tail. There were to many normal people and tourists around for him to talk.
I stepped closer and leaned in using my hands to cover the sides of my eyes so I could see inside. It was dusty, but I could tell it had previously been a lovely store. I was thinking books based on the wood shelves lining the walls and arranged in the center. I could vaguely remember there being a book store there in the past as well. It had been owned by the man who ran the defunct Coventry Historical Society. He'd opened the store when he bought a bunch of rare books at an auction for super cheap. I wondered what had happened to him and his store. Not enough to really ask anyone. He'd been an unpleasant man.
But, had ghosts run him out of business? From what I knew, the Coventry Historical Society was a cover for the Coventry Paranormal Society. Ghosts couldn't have run the leader of a paranormal society out of business, right?
There was a number on the "for rent" sign. I pulled my phone out of my purse and dialed. I felt Meri's claw tugging at my pant leg. When I looked down, he was glaring at me. If he could talk, he probably would have said something about how I'd said we were just looking.
"I'm still just looking,” I said to him.
"Excuse me?" Someone had picked up on the other end of the phone.
"Oh, sorry. Not you,” I said. "Hello, I'm Kinsley Skeenbauer, I'm interested in renting the shop in the Coventry Town Square."
"It's haunted," the voice on the other end grumbled.
"I know. That's why I want to rent it,” I said a little too enthusiastically.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Are you there now?" the man asked.
"I am. I'm standing out front."
"Be there in five,” he said and the line went dead.
"He said he'd be here in five minutes,” I said as I slid the phone back into my purse.
I looked around to see where the little ghost tour had moved onto and noticed there was a woman standing across the street staring at me. She was dressed in a bright red, below-the-knee dress with huge white flowers on it. Her graying dishwater blonde hair was pulled back in a severe bun that stretched the sides of her eyes. Even from across the street, I thought it looked painful. Maybe that's why she's staring daggers at me, I reasoned. She probably had one heck of a headache.
"Can I help you?" I shouted across the street when she didn't look away.
"Are you nuts?" Meri chanced a whisper.
A car passed right as he said it, so there was no way anyone else heard. "She's freaking me out." I whispered when I knelt down and pretended to tie my boot lace. "You can see her, right? She's not, like, a ghost?"
"No, she's real, and she's walking across the street so stop talking to me."
I stood up and suddenly the woman was toe to toe with me. "Are you here to show me the shop?" I asked.
Maybe I'd misread her and the voice on the phone.
"No, and I hope the landlord doesn't rent this place to the likes of you. That's all we need is trash like you littering up our beautiful downtown area," she snarled.
"Excuse me?" I hadn't misread her.
"You heard me. I don't know what kind of vile business you're planning on opening here, but it's not welcome in Coventry. Neither are you. We haven't had a murder in years. Not until the spawn of that other troublemaker rolled into town. You need to keep on rolling."
Her breath smelled like garlic and eggs. I took a step back. One, so I didn't have to sme
ll it and two, I was fighting the urge to clock her.
"Don't talk about my mother," I practically growled.
I could feel heat rising up from my chest into my face. My vision began to narrow as rage filled me. It was a rage that had been building up inside of me since I'd found out my ex-husband wanted a divorce, and it was all about to be channeled at this unfortunate woman on the street. If I were a dragon, I'd have burned her alive right there for all of the tourists to see.
But instead, I felt Meri rub against my legs. A tingle ran up them until it reached my heart. My muscles relaxed, and my heart rate slowed. The rage dialed itself down into a simmer like a boiling pot pulled off the stove and placed on the cooler back burner. My vision widened back to normal, and I took a deep, cleansing breath.
"Don't talk about my mother,” I said again, but in a far more polite tone. "You'd be wise to leave my family out of this."
"Why do you care?" the woman sniped. "The word is that you ran away from home when you were just a surly teenager. If you ask me, we were all better off without you."
"Do I know you?" I asked as calmly as I could.
I was determined at that point not to give the woman the satisfaction of riling me up, but I had to find a way to get rid of her before the landlord showed up. Only the goddess knew why I hadn't abandoned the idea of opening a shop at that point. It was obvious that doing so would cause me immense trouble.
"I doubt it,” she said. "Doesn't matter who I am anyway. What matters is that you pack that trailer up and roll on outta here with your crappy car and even crappier trouble."
Before I could respond, the woman turned and left. She hurried back across the street without looking and was nearly taken out by a car full of teenagers. She made it safely, though, and I watched her walk down the square. A minute later, the woman disappeared behind the courthouse.
"Kinsley Skeenbauer?" a voice asked from behind me.
I turned to find a man with dark olive skin and gray hair. He had tiny black-rimmed spectacles perched on the end of his long nose and was dressed in chocolate brown pants and a matching vest. Under that, he wore a faded blue cotton dress shirt.
"Nice to meet you, Mr..." I said and stuck out my hand.
He took it. "It's Mr. Andino. Castor Andino."
"Thank you for meeting me, Mr. Andino."
"Are you still interested in the place?"
I thought it was an odd question as we'd just spoken minutes before. It would have been very peculiar for me to change my mind already.
"Why would I have changed my mind already?" I asked.
"I'm guessing you looked through the window?" He flinched like I was going to slap him.
"I did. It's a lovely store. That's why I called,” I said. "I'd like to take a look around inside."
"Oh, okay. Most people aren't interested anymore by the time I get here."'
"Really?" I asked. "Why is that?"
"I don't want to put ideas that aren't there in your head," he responded.
"Because it's supposed to be haunted., I offered.
"It is haunted."
"Even so..." I started but he cut me off.
"I'd feel bad even renting the pace to you," Castor said and shoved his hands in his pocket.
"For what I'd want to use the building for, the haunting would be a feature, not a bug."
"I can't imagine how that could be possible,” he said.
"Well, there seems to be a lot of new tourism in Coventry since I left, and I'd like to capitalize on that. I was thinking of opening an occult store. Something witchy to take advantage of the vibe in town."
"Oh," Castor said, but he sounded more intrigued than put off. I took that as a good sign.
"So, can I see it?" I asked.
"Sure. Sure,” he said and started to unlock the door. "But you'll have to go in alone. I'd, uh... I'd rather stay out here."
"You're not going to come in and show me around?" I asked.
"I think you can figure it out. There's a front room, back room, small office, and a bathroom. I'll wait out here," Castor said.
"Okay,” I said.
Castor held the door for me, and I scooped Meri up into my arms. I walked inside the shop and immediately felt a heaviness. I almost turned back right then and there, but took a step forward instead.
The door closed behind me, and as soon as it did, Meri spoke up. "You can feel that, right?"
"Yeah, but it's not that bad,” I said. "If this place is cheap, we can deal with it."
"Kinsley,” Meri said. "Nobody is going to buy anything in this atmosphere. You'd be wasting your time and money."
"If I was a mere human I would be,” I said. "But we can take care of this. We'll cleanse whatever is causing it. Don't you want to go explore?"
"No, I'll stay here with you for now."
"Don't tell me you're scared of a little ghost? Meri, the great demon hunter? Please give me a break."
"I'm not scared. I just don't know where that's coming from yet. I'll stay here with you until we do."
"Whatever floats your boat,” I said with a shrug.
Despite the slightly oppressive feeling in the air, the shop was nice. The lighting was just right for a cozy yet mystical feeling once we got rid of the disgruntled spirit. Towards the back of the front area of the store was a wood display case with a glass front. A cash register sat on top of it, and I thought that was a cool perk. I wouldn't have to buy a register to use in the store. I wouldn't even have known where to buy a cash register, but I figured probably on the internet.
Behind that was a door that led into the back area of the store. Off to the left was the small office. I went inside and turned on the light. There wasn't much in there, but it was furnished with a desk and an office chair. I had a laptop that I could bring in from home until I could afford to buy a computer just for the shop. I turned off the light, stepped out of the office, and closed the door behind me.
I heard a faint rattling coming from the door up ahead to the right. "Maybe it's just a pipe,” I said to Meri who was still at my feet. "That should be the bathroom."
"Yeah, maybe it's just the pipes," Meri agreed, but his voice was mocking.
"Well, even if it is a ghost, if the haunting is only in the back, then it's not going to be a problem. Even if we couldn't get rid of it, which we can, customers aren't going to care what goes on back here,” I said and waved my arms to indicate the rows of metal shelves used for stock.
The rattling sound in the room switched to being a light tapping on the door. Whatever was inside was knocking like it wanted to get out, but it was very faint. I found it more unnerving than if it had been pounding on the wooden door.
"Maybe it's just rats," Meri snarked.
I rolled my eyes at his sass. "Hey, whatever you are... whoever you are... you might as well show yourself. We're not scared. You're wasting your time trying to intimidate us. Not that you're short on that. You're dead after all," I called out.
The knocking stopped, and it was followed by a faint squeaking sound. At first, I couldn't figure out what the heck it was. Then it dawned on me. It was like the sound of someone raking their hand down the glass mirror that was probably in the bathroom.
"Very clever,” I said. "But still not going to work."
I started walking toward the bathroom door. The specter wasn't going to come out, so the only solution was to go in. I assumed the ghost wasn't dangerous, like the spirit of my Uncle Brody, because they couldn't be a witch. Surely, a powerful ghost wouldn't resort to making creepy noises behind a closed door. Such things were below the more potent dead.
When I put my hand on the knob, it turned icy cold. Not enough to actually hurt me, but enough to startle me and make my draw my hand back. The sensation faded from my fingers quickly, and I reached out to grasp the knob again. That time, I used a little fire magic to keep my hand warm.
Unfortunately, while I was paying attention to the ghost in the bathroom, I wasn't paying any mind t
o what was going on behind me. Neither was Meri as he sat dutifully at my feet staring up at the door. He was in position to pounce on whatever was inside. I'd hate for him to have had to blow up a demon inside the shop I wasn't even renting yet, but he would have if necessary.
I heard the creaking sound of someone pushing the metal shelving behind me over right before the edge slammed into the back of my head. Meri must have used magic to catch it because right after it cracked into my skull, it lifted off me. My vision went black before I could focus enough to use a healing spell and I slumped to the floor. I felt myself falling, but I did not feel my body and head hit the bare concrete floor beneath me.
When I opened my eyes, Meri was pawing at my face. He was about to lick my eyelid when I stopped him. "Whoa, no need to get weird. I'm awake,” I said. "Thanks for healing me."
"Don't thank him yet," a voice said from behind Meri.
"That's the ghost that tried to kill you,” Meri said. "I cast a circle around us, so he can't get in, but unfortunately, I can't banish him."
"What? Why not?"
"Unfinished business,” Meri said with a sigh. "He has unfinished business, and because of that, the magic to banish him won't work."
I looked over at the ghost. "It's the man from behind the diner,” I said. "Merrill Killian. Wait, why is he haunting this shop?"
"He's not the ghost that was messing around in the bathroom,” Meri said. "Merrill isn't haunting the shop. He's haunting you."
"You can get rid of me easy." Merrill’s ghost said. "Just bring my killer to justice."
"Well, that will be easier with you here,” I said. "So, who killed you? I'll be happy to tell the sheriff."
"I don't know,” he said and my heart sank.
"Wait, what? You were stabbed through the heart. How could you not know who did it? Were they wearing a mask?" I asked.
"I can't remember the day I died." Merrill said. "In order to bring my killer to justice, you're going to have to figure out who it is."
"Great,” I said. "I mean, I can do that but not if you keep trying to kill me."
"Yeah, I guess I'm sorry about that. It's just that I keep getting so angry. I don't know where it comes from. I wasn't a patient man in life, but I never tried to thump a woman on the head with a metal shelf."
Black Magic Kitten Page 5
