The Dead Come Calling

by C. C. Wood

  “Maybe you should,” Mal stated.

  Jonelle and I both turned to look at him. He leaned over, his elbows resting on the table and his palms pressed against his forehead.

  “Carissa has worked with Angie several times before. She assured me that she’s the best witch in the area to help us. Apparently she’s brilliant and next in line to take over the Fort Worth Coven,” he continued.

  “He’s got a point,” I muttered to Jonelle.

  She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. Instead she said, “And look at you, Miss Necromancer.”

  I rubbed my suddenly aching forehead with my fingers. “Yeah, I’m not even sure what that means.”

  “I imagine Carissa and Angie could help you figure it out,” Mal said.

  I realized Stony and Blaine were being uncharacteristically quiet and looked over at them. “You guys all right?”

  They both nodded. “Not much for us to contribute,” Blaine murmured. “We’ve mostly dealt with spirits. Mal’s more familiar with the witchy stuff.”

  I realized I was still gripping the amulet Angie had given me in my hand. I slipped it over my head, surprised at the sudden feeling of peace that swept over me as it rested on my breastbone. It was as if the magic inside the necklace was reassuring me that everything would be okay.

  “It’ll all be over soon,” I told them.

  If only I had known how bad things would get before it came to an end.

  Chapter

  The next morning brought Sheriff Lamar Daughtry to my door, hat in hand.

  When Mal opened the door for him, I saw the tension in his body, as though he were bracing himself for battle.

  “Mr. Flemming,” the sheriff greeted him.

  “Sheriff,” Mal answered shortly.

  When Mal didn’t step back from the doorway to allow him in, the sheriff asked, “May I come in for a moment? I need to speak with Zoe.”

  Mal shot me a look. I appreciated that he was looking to me for the decision since it was my house and I was the one the sheriff wanted. I nodded.

  Looking displeased, Mal moved away from the door, allowing the sheriff to enter the house. Lamar glanced around as if surprised at the state of the interior.

  “You’ve done a lot of improvements,” he said to me as he studied the paint color on the walls and the sheen of the hardwood floors.

  “Some. My father did most of them. Or his buddies.”

  Sheriff Daughtry nodded and took a deep breath. “Could we sit down for a moment?” he asked.

  A little on edge, I led him to the sofa and chairs in the living room. The sheriff chose one of the chairs that flanked the couch and Mal wrapped an arm around my shoulders as soon as we sat down, pulling me close to his side. The sheriff eyed our position but didn’t speak at first.

  “What did you need, Sheriff Daughtry?” I finally asked when I got tired of waiting for him to say whatever it was he had to say.

  “It’s about what happened the other night,” he replied. “The preliminary test results came back from the lab. The Scotch was dosed with enough GHB to kill several women your size. One glass would be enough to knock you out for most of the night. Your friend, Jonelle, was extremely lucky y’all recognized what was happening to her and got her medical attention.”

  Once again I experienced the whole blood runs cold occurrence people talked about. The sensation was just as unpleasant today as it had been yesterday.

  “Oh my God,” I mumbled, covering my mouth with my hand.

  The sheriff twisted his hat around in his hands. “Look, I’d like to apologize for blowing this off as a prank when I saw you the other night. It’s clearly something more serious. We’ll be investigating the matter, but I need to know if you have any enemies.”

  I shook my head. “No, no one that I can think of.”

  Mal squeezed me. “That’s not entirely true.”

  I twisted toward him. “What do you mean?”

  He looked conflicted, as though he really didn’t want to discuss this but had no other option.

  “Just spit it out, Mal,” I insisted.

  “Well, you, along with the rest of us, sometimes get…fan mail. Or in this case, non-fan mail.”

  “I get hate mail?” I asked incredulously, my back growing rigid.

  Mal hugged me tighter. “We all do, Zoe. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. You had so much trouble adjusting to the nasty comments on YouTube that I didn’t want to tell you about the emails and the letters.”

  He had a valid point. Though it had been a couple of months, the disgusting and cruel barbs aimed at me on YouTube and social media still stung.

  I relaxed against him. While I like that he’d kept it from me, if those letters and emails were anything like the comments online, I honestly didn’t want to see them.

  “You did the right thing,” I sighed. “I’m guessing you’ve read them.”

  He nodded, his eyes cautious as they met mine.

  “How bad?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking the question.

  He frowned at me. “Bad.”

  “Yeah, I don’t really want to see them,” I told him.

  “If possible, I’d like to,” the sheriff interjected. “Do you have the envelopes that came with the letters?”

  “Yes. We keep them…just in case.”

  Just in case one of us is murdered by a psychotic fan, I thought silently, biting back my sarcastic remark. Then I mentally shook myself. I couldn’t believe I was joking over the idea of Mal saving envelopes and letters from people who were threatening us in case one of us was killed or maimed.

  I’d been hanging out with Stony and Blaine too long. Their twisted sense of humor had rubbed off on me.

  “I’ll also need all the emails you’ve received.”

  “I’ll have to have the letters overnighted from my house in Waco,” he responded.

  The sheriff nodded. “That would be great.” His eyes moved to my face. “How’s Ms. Watson?”

  “She’s better,” I replied.

  “Good,” he replied, getting to his feet. “Make a list of anyone you think might want to hurt you, Zoe,” he insisted. “Or anyone who might be angry with you, even if you don’t think they would mean you harm. Sometimes the most dangerous people are the ones you believe you can trust.”

  A chill washed over my skin as he let himself out of the house. Mal released me to follow the sheriff outside. A bitter taste filled my mouth as I thought about the sheriff’s parting words.

  A few minutes later, Mal returned inside. “Well, the man seemed almost human today,” he muttered, shutting the door behind him and twisting the locks.

  “Yes, he did,” I replied absently, still wracking my brain for an idea of who might want to hurt me.

  Mal sat on the couch next to me, tucking me into his side again. While I was becoming more comfortable with his touch and his embrace, his closeness also had the effect of making me feel dizzy and…needy. I had been able to push it to the side at first, but now my hormones were demanding I take action to relieve my growing sexual frustration.

  “Can you think of anyone who wants to hurt you?” he asked me softly. “He’s right, this could be someone other than an unhinged fan.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t really talk to anyone other than you, the guys, and Jonelle. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything to make anyone angry because I never see people.”

  He grinned, hugging me closer. “That’s not true. You made a bunch of friends when we were traveling to film the last couple of months.”

  I shrugged. “That’s different.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “It just feels different.”

  He didn’t push me anymore, accepting my answer for what it was; the truth.

  “What do you want to do today?” he asked me, one of his hands tracing a line from my knee up to my hip, squeezing gently.

  I sucked in a sharp breath at the shaft of pleasure that speared th
rough me. As much as I enjoyed his touch, I wasn’t sure I was ready for more. It had been a long, long time since I’d had sex. I probably needed to get on the computer and find out if a vagina could really grow cobwebs.

  “Would you help me figure out which Victor Martin Kincade is the one I’m looking for?” I blurted suddenly when his lips started to lower toward mine.

  Mal studied my expression and I knew he could probably see my internal freak out written all over my face. His hand released my hip and moved up to my face, cupping my cheek.

  “Too fast?” he asked, his thumb rubbing my skin. He knew exactly what my problem was.

  “Maybe a little,” I replied. Sure we’d known each other for a couple of months, but the whole couple thing was new. We hadn’t even had a chance to go out on a date yet because of everything that had happened. My life felt so chaotic at the moment, I wasn’t ready to add fuel to the fire.

  Mal smiled. “Then I’ll help you with your project and then we can Netflix and chill. I’ll go get the laptops.”

  He removed his arms from around me and stood up, heading toward the stairs.

  “I know what Netflix and chill means,” I called after him, “And it ain’t happening!”

  I heard his chuckle float down the stairs. “We’ll see,” I heard him mutter as he moved down the hall.

  “I heard that!”

  This time he laughed loud and long.

  “It can’t be,” I murmured to myself as I read the screen.

  “What?” Mal asked. “Did you find something?”

  “Yeah,” I shared, leaning back on the couch. “And it wasn’t what I was expecting.”

  “Can I look?” Mal asked, setting aside his laptop.

  I handed my computer over then stretched out my back. I’d been sitting on this sofa for far too long.

  I watched Mal’s face as he read. His brows lowered into a frown. “Do you think this is really the Victor Martin Kincade we’re looking for?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” I mumbled, rubbing my hands over my face. “I’m sure it’s him.”

  “Damn,” he muttered.

  “Tell me about it. I have no idea what I’m going to tell Teri,” I replied.

  “Tell Teri what?”

  I jumped and looked up, shocked to find Teri hovering nearby. I hadn’t felt her manifest. She was getting sneaky and improving her ability to hide her presence from me. All the better to spy on me if I was making out with Mal, I assumed.

  Mal quickly shut my laptop and set it on the coffee table.

  “Can you give us a minute, Mal?” I asked him.

  He nodded and got to his feet. “I’ll go grab a beer. You want one?”

  “Not yet, but thanks.”

  He padded out of the room on bare feet and Teri watched him go. Then she turned back to me. “Girl, if you don’t jump his ass soon, I’m going to have to do something drastic.”

  I couldn’t muster the energy to bitch at her. I was too consumed with worry about how she would take the news I had for her.

  Her eyes moved over my face and I knew she read my concern. “What’s going on, Zoe?”

  “I found Victor Martin Kincade,” I told her.

  Her eyes widened. “I thought I told you not to go looking for him. Dammit, Zoe, you could get hurt!”

  I shook my head. “That’s not going to happen, Teri,” I replied gently.

  “Is he in prison or something?”

  “No, he’s not in prison.” I hesitated, unsure the best way to share the information.

  “Just tell me!” she demanded.

  “Victor Kincade is dead.”

  Chapter

  Teri took the news better than I expected, though I sensed an undercurrent of disappointment.

  I could relate. I’d hoped to find Victor Kincade alive and somehow make him pay for his crimes. Maybe then Teri could find some peace.

  After the unsatisfactory end of my investigation into Teri’s death, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. Carissa and Angela were knee deep in research on lower demonic beings and how to banish them. Mal was on the phone with his agent every day and Blaine and Stoney were working on stuff for the last few episodes of the show. My aimlessness lasted a couple of days.

  Until my mother called.

  When I answered the phone, she started in with her commands. “Zoe, tonight is Thursday dinner and my darned stove gave up the ghost. I’ll need to come to your house to cook tonight. I’ve already called your father, so he knows where to go.” She barely paused to take a breath before she continued. “Now, I need you to go to the store for me and pick up a few things, so grab a paper and pen right quick.”

  I tried to interrupt. “Mom—”

  “Did you get the paper and pen?” she asked impatiently. “I have things to do today. Damn stove has messed up my entire schedule.”

  “Mom,” I tried again, though if she slipped up and said ‘damn’ that meant my luck was sliding south the longer I was on the phone.

  “Zoe, I don’t have time for our usual verbal shoving match, okay? I have four different errands to run and only two hours to do them in. Please, for once in your life, do what I’m asking without argument.”

  “I might if you actually asked,” I mumbled beneath my breath.

  “What was that?” she asked distractedly.

  Glad she hadn’t been paying attention, because I didn’t need my mother giving me the full Sarah Thorne dressing down on top of everything else in my life, I said, “Go ahead.”

  I snatched the magnetic pad off my fridge and a pen and scribbled down the items she needed to make dinner that night. “I already have some of this, Mom,” I began. “You can just…”

  “No, no, we’re not eating your groceries. You just scoot along and buy those things and your father will give you the cash at your house tonight.”

  I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure how to discourage her from having Thursday night dinner at my house without telling her about everything that had been happening.

  Before I had a chance to come up with a semi-valid excuse, she cried, “Oh, no! I’m going to be late! I’ll see you at four-thirty, Zoe.”

  Then there was a click and she was gone.

  As I lowered my phone and stared at it in disbelief, Mal wandered into the kitchen from the living room, a coffee mug in his hand. Though he’d relaxed—a little—since Angie gave me the protection amulet, he still stayed no more than one room away from me at all times when we were in the house.

  While I found his motivations sweet, I was beginning to get cabin fever. I was accustomed to being on my own for long periods of time, even with Teri appearing at random and usually inopportune times. Having another person around twenty-four hours a day was beginning to take its toll.

  Amazingly, Mal seemed completely unfazed by the arrangement. Probably because he didn’t have people following him to the damn bathroom.

  I sighed at my uncharacteristically irritable thoughts. Maybe it was time to do some more yoga.

  “Who called?” Mal asked, eyeing me cautiously. “Because you look like you want to take a bite out of something.”

  I huffed out a laugh. “Oh, yeah. That’s an accurate assessment.”

  “So who was it?”

  “My mother,” I replied. “She called to remind me that it’s Thursday and also to let me know that dinner will be at my house tonight because her stove went out on her.”

  Mal stared at me, a confused expression on his face. “And that made you angry?”

  My shoulders slumped dejectedly. “Not necessarily. I just hate the way she steamrolls right over me, never letting me get a word in edgewise.”

  He put his coffee cup down and walked over to where I stood in front of the sink, his hands curving around my arms. “I’m sorry, Zoe. Have you talked to her about this?”

  “Have you met my mother?” I asked him.

  He chuckled. “Good point. Though, you said yourself that she’s changing.”

  “Yeah, bu
t I’m not sure she’s changed that much.”

  His hands tightened on my arms in a gentle squeeze. “Maybe you should find out.”

  “I should,” I agreed. “Only not today. I’ve had enough stress this week.”

  Mal kissed me on the nose, laughing when I stared at him cross-eyed.

  “Did you just kiss my, my…nose?” I asked.

  His laughter grew louder. “Yeah.”

  I shuddered and flinched back slightly when he tried to kiss my lips. “Nu-uh. You could have boogers for all I know.”

  I was only half-joking, but he grabbed me in a bear hug, twisting me so that he held me in a slight dip, his laugh morphing into huge guffaws.

  Before I could block him, he pressed a hard kiss to my lips then pulled away to study my face, still wearing a huge grin. “Nope, no boogers.”

  I reached up and tugged his earlobe in retaliation. Not too hard, but just enough to make him wince.

  “Hey, now,” he complained.

  “All’s fair in love and war,” I replied, breathless from my own laughter. I’d never laughed or had this much fun with a man before.

  At my words, the humor faded from Mal’s eyes, leaving behind a twinkle I recognized. That sparkle in his eye also had the effect of making my skin tingle and my knees weak. Slowly, he lifted me up a few inches, his face lowering over mine.

  The fingers I used to tug his earlobe sifted through the hair above the nape of his neck. As our lips touched lightly, my heart began to race. This was different from the kisses we’d shared before. I could feel it.

  “Is there any more coffee? I’m freakin’ exhausted,” Stony complained as he entered the kitchen.

  I heard his steps stop abruptly.

  “Sorry,” he muttered. “Carry on.”

  Though I couldn’t see him, my ears picked up the sounds of him leaving the room. Still it was too late, the spell was broken.

  Mal helped me straighten, his arms still around me, but no longer cradling me closer.

  “If we weren’t like brothers, I’d kill him,” he grumbled.

  I laughed. “Yeah, but then he’d just come back and haunt you.”