The Bewitching Hour

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The Bewitching Hour Page 4

by Mallory Crowe


  Of course his witch had to be melodramatic. “So why don’t you tell me why you’re not....” What had she called it? “Practicing.”

  Sam wiggled a bit as she settled in and closed her eyes. “I don’t practice because too many innocent people get hurt when I do magic.”

  Derek was about to confirm all her suspicions about his disbelief until he realized something. Even though Amy’s body had been discovered in a heap in the compost pile, according to forensics, she had been murdered in the exact position Sam was lying in.

  It had been too long since Sam had taken a potion of any type.... She could feel the power sparking through her, begging her to give direction.

  Her breaths came faster, harder as she struggled to contain the unfamiliar sensation. Maybe she’d taken too much.... The potion had been very specific in the amounts it had called for, and she didn’t want to muck things up by halving the recipe. She balled her hands into fists and tried to pull her focus in. She could do this. She would do this. Even if her powers were rusty, the crime committed here had to be strong enough for her to pick up on—

  The wind was knocked out of her as her arms were pulled taut. Sam’s eyes snapped open as she pulled at her wrists, but the rope around them was so tight that she could no longer feel her fingers. She tried to scream, but a rough gag was now in her mouth, keeping her quiet and utterly helpless.

  The night was now colder against her skin, her body naked to the elements and to.... In a flash, a man was on top of her and then gone. Sam shook her head as the horrible visions unfolded. She wanted it to stop as every instinct in her rebelled, but she knew that if she wanted to help Amy, she needed to do this.

  Forcing her eyes open more, she screamed when she saw the man on top of her again. A black, shadowy figure with no face, just a malevolent presence that seeped into her very being. Sam wanted to be strong and stoic for Amy, the woman who had suffered this same pain all alone, but she just couldn’t do it.

  Against her gag and all her judgment, Sam fought the vision. She tried to scream and thrash and the vision became altered—fragmented as flashes of reality mixed with something darker hit her like a strobe light. She couldn’t breathe through the gag, and her wrists felt as though they were about to break as she pulled harder, bucking and flailing against her bonds, but the darkness just got closer... deeper....

  Sam snapped back to reality with a jolt, but her adrenaline-filled body was still raging and trying to get free.

  Except no ropes were holding her down. Instead, something very large and very strong sat over her, holding her down with a firm palm against her mouth. Instinctively, Sam reached out, hitting at the man on top of her, so similar to the darkness she’d just escaped. She wished she had done something smart, like threw well-thought-out punches, but her barely coherent mind could only manage flailing slaps.

  Unsurprisingly, the man grabbed her wrists easily. But as he lifted his big palm from her mouth, clarity slowly came to her. “Derek?” She tried to catch her breath as she looked around at the dark, deserted garden. “Why are you on top of me?”

  The detective let her go as if she were on fire and stood up abruptly. “So you’re back to yourself now? Because you spent the last five minutes screaming like a damn banshee. We’ll be lucky if no one called the cops on us.”

  Sam sat up as she tried to catch her breath, but no amount of oxygen seemed to be enough. As her breaths came faster and faster, she started to cough. The memories of the trance came back to her in bits and pieces, enough to chill her to the bone.

  “Sam? What did you—”

  Sam jumped up and ran to the corner of the garden right as the nausea hit full force. She gripped the cool iron fence as she threw up, the potion somehow managing to taste worse going out than it did going in.

  “Shit. Do you want me to call an ambulance?” asked Derek from right behind her.

  Great. She really hadn’t wanted anyone to see her like this, especially the man who already couldn’t stand her. She didn’t manage any words, but she shook her head at his offer. The hospital wouldn’t do any good for her. No one could help her right now.

  She reached into her back pocket and pulled out one of her emergency joints. She needed something to calm her. Anything.

  “Fuck, Sam. Do you have to do that now?”

  Sam ignored him as she pulled out her lighter, but her normally shaky hands now looked as if she were in mid-seizure, and the small flame went out as soon as it had ignited. Come on....

  “For God’s sake....” Derek snatched the lighter from her before she could protest. Then he took the joint right from her mouth and lit it before he handed it back.

  “Th-thanks,” she managed as she brought it to her lips and took a deep drag. She hated the feel of the smoke filling her lungs, but the calming effect was immediate. Not nearly enough to get her back to her usual normal, but it was better than nothing. “I was screaming?” she asked in a shaky, but slowly returning to normal, voice.

  “It sounded like you were on fire.” Derek’s eyes roamed over her. As though he still didn’t believe she was okay.

  Well, that made two of them, because she didn’t know whether she was okay either. “I was in a trance.”

  “I thought trances were supposed to be calm and meditative.”

  She let out a bitter laugh. “Not this one. The potion allowed me to pick up on the energy of the area. In this case, a dark, painful energy.”

  “So did you pick up anything that could help? See anything? Hear anything? Smell anything?”

  Sam winced and took another deep drag before she stepped away from the area where she’d thrown up. She reached for the fence for support, but Derek was there, wrapping an arm around her waist as he led her to the other corner where she could brace herself. She leaned into him, grateful for the momentary warmth. She was still chilled. As if she were still tied naked to the ground....

  “Like I said, this isn’t really a vision. I’m not seeing what the victim is seeing or what the killer sees. I picked up on impressions. Those can be tricky.”

  “Tricky how?”

  “The men I saw... they weren’t men. They had something over their faces. Something dark and demonic.”

  “So you’re saying Amy was murdered by demons?”

  Poor Derek. She actually thought he was trying to sound supportive. “Not demons. But because of what happened, what Amy was feeling, that’s how their impression came across to me.”

  “You said men. There was more than one?”

  Sam nodded. “Definitely. Two distinct figures. One was...”—she winced as she forced out the words—“on top of me while the other was standing back. Watching.” Damn, she wanted to get these guys now. Now that she really knew....

  “And this wouldn’t be a false impression or anything?”

  “No. There were definitely two.”

  “That’s new.”

  Good. Then she might have helped somehow at least. “There’s something else.”

  “Something real?”

  “I think so. At the end, I started to fight it. I shouldn’t have. I should’ve just let the trance run its course, but I couldn’t stay there any longer.”

  “That’s more than understandable,” said Derek carefully.

  “It’s not understandable if these guys get to walk free one minute longer than necessary,” she bit out. But now wasn’t the time for that anger. She needed to tell Derek everything she could before the memories fled. “But during the time I was fighting, I saw a series of images and, more than that, stray thoughts. Most of it was screams or pure fear, but there was something else. One coherent thought and I think it was from Amy.”

  “What did she say?”

  “At some point, probably multiple points considering how strong it was, she thought, ‘I should’ve listened to Cherri.’”

  Derek nodded, but his face was blank.

  “Come on, what are you thinking?” Please tell her that this was something he coul
d use.

  “How much of the case file did Voss give you?”

  Sam leaned away so she could take another drag. “Not a lot. Mostly photos. He was trying to guilt me into this.” Which had worked brilliantly, the son of a bitch. “Why? What does Cherri mean to you?”

  “Cherri was a student at the school Amy went to. I only noticed her because when I was trying to track down friends at the university, the girl looked like she was on the verge of tears. She said she just knew Amy in passing and I let it go.”

  “The verge of tears thing wasn’t enough to warrant follow-up?”

  “A young girl died a horrible death. Eighteen-year-olds generally don’t do well when reminded of their mortality. I passed a lot of other girls about to cry that day. And a few guys.”

  “Good. So you’ll go talk to Cherri and maybe we’ll get somewhere.”

  “Yep. But let’s get you home first. You look like you’re about to pass out, and I’m betting we don’t want to be far from home when the laxative kicks in.”

  Sam smiled as Derek let her go. He jogged over to where she’d lain—where Amy had been killed—and picked up her bag for her. Once he had it over his shoulder, he ran back. Sam tried to walk on her own, and probably could’ve made it to the car without falling, but her wobbling must’ve worried him because his arm was back around her.

  She was too tired to fight, and the feel of someone—a warm, strong someone—just felt too damn good to pass up at the moment. Once she was in his car, she let her head fall back as the sleep tried to take her under. Belatedly she realized she still had what was left of her joint in her hand and she gave a little blow to put it out before she set it inside her pocket. It was only after it was stored away that she realized she’d used magic to put it out. Not good. She’d have to be more careful, especially now that the power was closer than it had been in years.

  Derek parked the car in an open spot right in front of the building.

  “You aren’t going to park in the garage?” she asked as he turned off the car.

  “I’m heading back to work after this. I don’t think I could sleep now even if I wanted to.”

  Before she could tell him that she didn’t need his help getting to her apartment, he was out of the car and walking over to her door. She had it open before he reached her, but she didn’t push away the hand he held out to help her. Once she was standing, he grabbed her backpack and turned toward the entrance.

  “You can take off from here. I can make it to my apartment fine.” She might hold onto the railing tighter than normal, but she was past the point of passing out.

  “A few stairs aren’t a big deal.” He pushed the key into the door, unlocked it, and held it open for her.

  “You’re going to look for Cherri then?” she asked as they started up the stairs.

  “First thing tomorrow, I’ll track her down. I have her address, but I don’t think she’d appreciate me knocking down her door in the middle of the night.”

  Sam nodded and they went up the remaining flights in silence. Once they reached her door, she steeled herself for what she needed to say to him. “I want to go with you tomorrow. When you talk to Cherri, I need to be there.”

  The skeptical look on his face more than told her what he thought of the suggestion. “Tonight was fun and all, but this is an official police investigation. I can’t have civilians tagging along and—”

  “This is not a normal police investigation. That’s what your captain knows, and I’m starting to believe more and more. It’s also why Nick and Travis were trying to get in your head. This is witch business, Derek, and they will kill you to keep their business private.”

  Derek ran a hand over his eyes and Sam squared her shoulders as she waited to hear his fight. “Listen, I don’t know what the hell you drank in there, but I don’t believe for one second that you went into some trance state that gave you clues to this murder. You had plenty of information from that file that the captain never should’ve given you in the first place. The only reason I’m talking to Cherri tomorrow is because I am grasping at straws and it seems like it can’t fucking hurt. But I’m not going to put up with these deluded fantasies any longer.”

  Sam looked Derek right in the eye, willing him to trust her. “This is dangerous, Derek. You can’t afford to not believe.”

  “For what it’s worth, I believe that you believe.”

  Sam let out a laugh and shook her head as she reached into the pocket of her jacket for her key. She’d have to figure something out, but she could barely think straight, let alone hold a debate about the possible and impossible. “It’s not worth a damn thing if you’re dead.”

  Derek stood over the same spot Sam had gone into her “trance.” He looked over the earth as the memory of her burned itself into his memory. He’d thought for sure that he’d be ending the night with a trip to the emergency room with the way she’d been screaming.

  If she was an actress, she deserved a damn Oscar after that performance. No... whatever she saw, she believed it a hundred percent.

  A car door slammed shut, breaking the silence of the night. Derek turned around as Nick and Travis Baker walked into the garden. The fraternal twins were practically made to be in the spotlight that they craved. They were about six two and looked as if they spent the time they weren’t making his life difficult or trying to get a cable talk show with their scams at the gym.

  Though Derek would bet money they were the type who did bicep curls for hours on end and had toothpicks for legs. At least from the way they carried themselves.

  “Good evening, Detective,” said Nick as they approached. “We expected to hear from you earlier today.”

  Nick and Travis were fraternal twins, but they were still dammed hard to tell apart. If it weren’t for the carefully trimmed goatee on Travis, Derek would probably be mixing them up all the time. They even dressed the same, both in long wool jackets and carefully pressed slacks. Judging from what he knew about their flashy lifestyles, those jackets had put them back a few thousand bucks. Each.

  “It’s been a busy day,” said Derek as they approached.

  “Well, you were lucky we were able to squeeze this little pit stop into our schedule. We don’t have long,” said Travis.

  Lucky was the last word Derek would use to describe himself right now. “Well, I don’t have any good news. We’ve been working with you for over a week on this case and every lead you’ve given me so far has led nowhere. So take a few minutes, really try to connect with those spirits, and if we can’t get anything tangible now, I think this partnership will have to come to an end.”

  The twins exchanged a glance but managed to keep their faces blank. Derek didn’t think they were used to hearing the word no, but he’d wanted to catch them off guard when he broke the news. Hoping he could get some insight on what they were trying to accomplish by nosing into this case.

  Were they trying to get some news time to promote their own show? Or were they actively trying to keep him from finding out the truth about these murders? He had the same questions about Sam’s motives, but those questions would wait for another day.

  “I didn’t realize we were going to be put to the test,” said Nick.

  “Our abilities don’t really work that way,” said Travis.

  Derek held up his hands. “Hey, guys. This is nothing personal. I just hated to tell you over the phone and wanted to give you another chance. You don’t have to do anything that stretches the limits of your... abilities.” Even saying the words left a nasty taste in his mouth.

  The two separated and started to walk around Derek, not paying any attention to the plants they might be stepping over.

  Sam’s warning came back to him.... Normally he’d never be the slightest bit intimidated by douchebags like this. He had a good fifty pounds of muscle and probably more guns than the two of them combined. Was it possible that they posed a danger he’d never dealt with before?

  “Give us a fucking second,” said Ni
ck.

  Travis wandered around the garden and Derek had to turn to keep track of the both of them. “I don’t sense any—” Travis cut off right as he stood over where Sam had experienced her episode. “What the hell happened here?”

  Nick met up with his brother. “What do you... holy shit.”

  Derek stayed where he was as he studied the brothers. “Something bothering you?”

  Nick waved his hand over the area. “Has anyone been here recently?”

  “That’s the spot Amy was killed, based off what the forensic team found. Think that’s giving you strange vibrations?”

  Nick shook his head as he and Travis both backed up. “No. Someone was here recently. Sometime tonight.”

  Travis and Nick exchanged another look, but this one was easier to read. And nothing good was on their mind.

  “Is something wrong, guys? I haven’t seen anything strange since I got here.” Since he got there the second time.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” said Nick as both brothers headed out of the garden. “I’m sorry, Detective, but I don’t think we can help you anymore. Good luck on your investigation.”

  Derek followed them to the gate as he started to lock up and watched the brand-new SUV speed off. He let his mind wander for a few minutes, trying to figure out what the twins had been silently freaked out about. Had they somehow known what had happened? That someone had used....

  Derek shook his head before the thought could finish. He was obviously too tired and the captain and Sam’s theories were starting to get to him.

  Even with every logical part of his brain telling him that Sam was wrong, she’d seemed so genuine when she’d told him to find Cherri. Who knew? Maybe that would actually get him somewhere on this case.

  “You’ve got to be shitting me.” Derek pulled off his sunglasses as a much too chipper Sam stood from where she’d been sitting on the quad of Columbia University.

  “You look about as surprised as I was when I looked out my window this morning to see you walking off without me.”

 

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