“Good afternoon, office of Rebecca Fraser,” a young woman answered.
“Hello, my name is Kinsley Skeenbauer. I was hoping to speak to Rebecca,” I said.
“I can squeeze you in at four thirty. I just had a cancelation,” she said in a distracted tone. I could hear her typing.
“I’m sorry. No, I just wanted to talk to Rebecca.”
“Yeah, like I said, I can squeeze you in at four thirty. That’s the last appointment of the day. She’s got things to take care of, so it can’t be any later than that.”
“I don’t need an appointment,” I said. “I was hoping to speak to her on the phone.”
“That’s not how it works. I can fit you in or not. I’ve got someone on the other line who will probably take it if you don’t. It’s chaos here today with Rebecca still taking clients and her… her family emergency. Please, just tell me if you’re taking the appointment or not. I’ve already typed your name into the system. Since you’re a new patient, please arrive a half hour early. I have forms.”
“I…” I started to say.
“Thank you. We’ll see you at four. Appointment at four thirty. Write it down. People always forget.” Then she disconnected the line.
I hadn’t meant to call and make an appointment with Rebecca, but I had one. I didn’t need to see a psychiatrist, but I figured I could pay cash for the session. That would give me an opportunity to get some information. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be too angry if she at least got paid.
Reggie didn’t even ask where I was going after work. She had to go pick up Jeremy from the airport, and I was actually surprised she’d stayed the whole day. She’d gotten the call that morning that he was arriving in St. Louis sometime after five. She only stayed because we’d been so busy all day. I wished I could have sent her home early anyway, and I made a mental note to put more consideration into hiring another person for the shop.
Past the library off the square was an old neighborhood full of houses that had been converted to businesses. Well, at least one street was. There you could find lawyers, accountants, and Rebecca Fraser’s office all along one tree-lined street.
I pulled into the driveway of the massive blue Victorian and drove around to the backyard that had been long ago converted into a parking lot. There were only two other cars in the lot. One was an older model Tesla 3 from before they did the most recent battery exchange, and I guessed that belonged to the receptionist. The other was a giant black Escalade EV with the glass solar panel roof. Rebecca Fraser had paid a pretty penny for that vehicle, but she never had to stop to charge it. Even on a cloudy day, it drew enough power to run forever.
The back door to the house didn’t look like the entrance, so I walked down the driveway and back around the house to the huge wraparound front porch. A welcome mat placed in front of the door and an “open” sign told me I’d found the right way in.
Just inside the door was a waiting area with a pale blue sofa and three cream-colored wingback chairs. Beyond that in what would have been the house’s dining room or a parlor was a huge mahogany desk. A petite blonde, whose hair was escaping her fancy updo, was typing something frantically into her computer.
“Kinsley Skeenbauer?” she asked without looking up from her computer. “Your forms are right there.” She finally stopped typing and pointed to a clipboard perched on the edge of her desk. “Please fill them out and bring them back to me.” I had no idea what her eye color was because she still hadn’t looked up at me, but as soon as she was done telling me about the forms, she went back to typing.
I grabbed the clipboard and took a seat on the sofa. I didn’t really want to fill out the paperwork, so I waited five minutes and then waved my hand over the packet. My magic filled in generic answers to all of the questions. It didn’t matter. I knew that when they found out I wasn’t a patient, they’d just throw the forms away.
In fact, the one thing I did use the pen for was to draw a sigil on the top sheet to make the harried receptionist feel the need to throw them in the trash. If she didn’t, then Veronica, that’s what her name plate said, would spill her Diet Coke all over them. She still wasn’t paying any attention and had no idea that I hadn’t used the pen to complete the forms.
“Here you go,” I said and slid the clipboard back onto the desk.
Veronica final looked up at me. Her eyes were hazel. Not that it matters. “Thank you. You can go back,” she said and pointed toward the door to her right. “She’s waiting for you.”
“Oh, it’s you,” Rebecca said when I walked into her office. “I thought I recognized the name, but I just couldn’t place it. Anyway, whatever this is, I need to get over to the funeral home. Whatever you came for, spit it out,” she demanded. “Unless you’re really here for therapy? No, I don’t expect that you would be.” By that point, she was already standing up from her desk and shoving her phone into her Birkin bag.
I knew I was losing Rebecca’s attention, so I just spit it out. “What happened to your husband, Rebecca? What happened to Paul?”
Her eyes narrowed and she looked me over again. I knew she was reappraising me. Rebecca was calculating whether or not I was involved with her husband in some way.
“He had a heart attack. I don’t know how. They said his heart was fine, and they were wrong. Of course, they also said that he had cancer, and he didn’t. I don’t know how they messed up so badly, but I hope there’s no one walking around out there with cancer and they don’t know it. That’s all I can think of. Maybe they switched the patient records, but I don’t know how that could even happen in this age. What I do know is that after I go to the funeral home to arrange his burial, I’m going to a lawyer’s office to sue the crap out of that hospital. Is that enough information for you? Now, what do you want to tell me about MY husband?”
Rebecca was freaking out a little, and I felt terrible. “I genuinely didn’t know him, Rebecca. That’s the truth, okay? I just think the circumstances around his collapse in the restaurant and now his death are strange. I was there when he collapsed and I guess I feel sort of… I don’t know. Maybe responsible for him. I don’t know why, but I’m having a hard time letting that go.”
“Mmhmm,” Rebecca said and nodded her head thoughtfully. “For that, you’re going to need to make a real appointment. Trust me, I would love to take a deep dive into your psychiatric issues, but since they are about my husband and he died today, we’re going to have to put a pin in it for now. Come back in a month and we can talk. Okay?” And with that, she was headed for the door. “But hey, maybe you could ask Hollie Ellis. I think she knew more about my husband than I did. Cleaning out his office at the college is going to be… interesting.”
If I was going to break into Paul’s office at the college, and I was, I needed something to make people look past me. I couldn’t really turn invisible, well, I could, but it would have required more magic than I could safely use while pregnant, so I had to settle for an amulet that would make people completely ignore me. Thankfully, I had something like that.
When I pulled up to grab the amulet and Meri from Hangman’s House, I found a car already in the driveway and Dorian Black sitting on my front porch.
“Good evening,” he said as I got out of my car.
“Why are you sitting on my porch?” was my response.
“Because I tried to catch you before you left the shop for the day and I missed you. I figured you’d eventually have to come back here,” Dorian said.
“I have to go somewhere,” I said.
“I’ll go with you,” Dorian countered.
I spun around on my heels and glared at him. “What makes you think you’re invited. You’re kind of a creep, you know that? Why are you following me around? Are you, like, a stalker?”
“I’m a journalist. It’s what we do. We can also read people, and I follow you around because you react like that to me following you around. I know I’m onto something good.”
“I’m not interested,” I said,
“in you. I have a fiancé, and messing with me would be a mistake. Consider that your only warning.”
“That’s another reason I know whatever you’re doing has a good story. You think I’m a stalker, but you’re not calling your fiancé, the sheriff. Means you don’t want him in on it. What could you possibly be up to?”
“I…”
“Oh, and I’m not interested in you, by the way. Let’s just clear that up right now. You’re not my type.”
“I never said I was,” I felt myself getting upset. I knew on an intellectual level that Dorian was pushing my buttons to get a reaction, but emotionally, it was working. “Hey, what do you mean by that anyway? Not that I care, but what are you trying to say about me exactly?”
“That I’m already married, Kinsley. My husband’s name is Isaac.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” Dorian said. “So, me saying that you’re not my type has nothing to do with you. Now will you let me come with you?”
“No,” I said.
“Then I’ll just wait for you to leave, and I’ll follow you,” he said and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Oh, my gawd. You are impossible. Maybe I just won’t go then.”
“Not happening. I know wherever you want to go, you want or need to go now. I can also tell by the look on your face that if I follow you, you won’t call the sheriff.”
“I hate you,” I said. “Get in the car. I have to grab something from inside the house, and then we’ll go.”
Chapter Seven
I didn’t have an amulet for Dorian, but I did have Meri. As long as Dorian stayed close to me, and I couldn’t imagine why he wouldn’t, Meri could amplify the talisman’s protective effects.
I wasn’t sure how we were going to locate Paul’s office because I doubted that anyone who worked at the college would just tell us. There probably wouldn’t be a huge directory like at the mall either.
Fortunately, once I told Dorian where we were going, he worked his internet magic and found the location of Paul’s office by the time I pulled the car into a parking space at the college. I was both impressed and horrified at his ability to pull information from the web.
“Stay quiet but act like we’re supposed to be here,” I said as we got out of the car.
“I know how to do this,” Dorian said and cocked an eyebrow at me. “What surprises me is that you do too. Maybe I should have you come work for me.”
“One, there’s no way I’d ever work for you. Two, I have a business of my own.”
“Yeah, but you could hire someone to run that shop for you and just rake in the profits. Don’t tell me that it wouldn’t be exciting to work in journalism. You’d always have a reason to be sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. I know that gets you going.”
“You’re not supposed to be talking,” I countered.
“You didn’t say no,” Dorian quickly shot back.
“Shh,” I said. “But please, lead the way.”
He knew where Paul’s office was located on the campus, and I figured it was easier for me to follow Dorian than to take the time for him to explain it to me. For better or worse, we were partners in crime, and I decided to trust him. He was annoying and kind of stalkery, but something deep inside of me told me I could have faith in him. I listened to my gut.
We walked through the halls of one of the science buildings, and as I’d hoped, no one paid us any attention. Of course, all of the students, and any adults we saw, were staring at their phones. I didn’t even need the amulet for us to be completely ignored. Everyone was off in their own little world anyway. So much so that a young man and woman ran into each other. They both fell on their butts before even realizing what had happened.
Dorian’s footsteps quickened away from the human collision. At first, I wasn’t sure why, but then we got to the office we were looking for twenty feet down the hall. The commotion provided the perfect cover for us to slip into the office.
I was fortunate that the door had been left partially ajar. If I’d come alone, I could have just used magic to open a locked door, but with Dorian there, I wasn’t sure what we’d do. Then again, he might have had that covered. The doors didn’t have traditional locks on them. They’d been upgraded to mini scanners that you swiped a card in front of to unlock.
“That was easy,” Dorian said once we were inside. “I thought I’d have to use my phone to get it open.”
“Use your phone?”
“I have a lock breaker app on my phone. It can open those scanners. It can do fingerprint locks too. Sometimes even retinal scans, but it’s pretty dicey on those.”
“That sounds highly illegal,” I said.
“Oh, it is, but it’s not like you’re going to tell on me. We just broke into this office together. We’re partners in crime now, Kinsley. You and me are like cheese and rice.”
I rolled my eyes at him. Just then, Meri jumped out of my bag and onto the desk in the middle of the small office. “You’re really strange. Let’s look around and see what we can find quickly. Anything strange or out of place. Or anything that might indicate someone wanted him dead.”
“You’re saying I’m strange but a kitten just jumped out of your purse,” Dorian said. “And I know what I’m doing. I really don’t need you to tell me.”
“I was just trying to help. Jeez. Sorry.”
“I don’t mean to be curt. Why don’t you start with his computer, and I will look through these file drawers?”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said.
I went around the desk and plopped down in Paul’s chair a little harder than I intended. I was tired and hungry. Even though it would have been a little weird, I secretly hoped I’d find a candy bar or bag of chips in Paul’s office. I didn’t want to risk making a trip out to the vending machines we’d passed on the way in, but I figured I might have to if I was going to make it until we got home.
Fortunately, Meri must have sensed my distress. I’d set my purse down on the desk, and he nudged it with his shoulder. My bag fell over, and a granola bar fell out.
“Thank goodness,” I said and tore the wrapper open.
Dorian cast a look over his shoulder, but he kept going through the drawers. “Why did you bring your cat? In your purse…”
“If I told you he’s an emotional support animal, would you leave it alone?” I asked without peeling my eyes away from the file folders I was clicking through on Paul’s computer.
“For now… I guess,” Dorian said. “Though you don’t seem like the kind of woman who needs an emotional support kitten.”
“Maybe that’s because he’s really good at his job,” I countered, again without looking away from my search.
“Touché.”
I kept systematically combing through the files on Paul’s computer while Dorian went through three of the file cabinets. I wasn’t finding anything that was remotely of interest when an idea hit me. I’d learned that most people who wanted to keep things private on their computer used hidden files. You couldn’t even see them unless you hit the right key combination on the keyboard. I had no idea what Paul’s could be, but I didn’t need it. While Dorian’s back was turned, I waved my hand slowly over the keys.
S 3 X Y
Those keys depressed themselves, and a file popped up on the desktop with the same name. I almost didn’t want to click on it, but Meri was right there by my wrist. He put his little paw on my hand and nodded subtly at me. Meri actually was really good at emotional support. I’d need to reward him later with bacon.
“What is it?” Dorian’s voice startled me out of my shocked stupor. “You look as white as a sheet.”
“I found something,” I said.
“What is it?” Dorian rushed over and stood behind me so he could look over my shoulder. “Oh my gawd.”
“Are those his students?” I wondered aloud. I wasn’t really asking Dorian because he’d have no way of knowing.
I attempted to scan the pictures without reall
y looking at them. I kept my eyes on their faces and tried not to look at the rest.
What I’d found was a file full of hundreds of naked pictures of young women. I’d scroll through and think I got to the end and then the bar would expand and I’d find even more.
Eventually, I got to a series of folders. My heart nearly stopped when I saw the name of the file.
Hollie
I didn’t want to click on it, but I had to do it. I had to know if it was her.
It was. As soon as I confirmed that, I closed the whole thing.
“They look like selfies,” Dorian declared as soon as I shut the file.
“What?” I was still too stunned to process what I’d seen.
A Taste for Magic (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 5) Page 8