The Bewitching Hour

by Mallory Crowe

  “As much as I hate to hear that, you look amazing, darling.”

  Sam let out a sigh and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She would have to tell her mother something about the sudden flush of power. “I was just having too much trouble sleeping these past few weeks, so I took a sleeping tonic. It was small.”

  “Well, come on in. I’ll brew you a cup of tea.”

  Abigail and Sam walked through the west wing hall to the formal kitchen. The stainless-steel everything made the room look as though it belonged in a high-class restaurant and not a home, but considering the size of some of the elaborate parties thrown here, the kitchen got a lot of use.

  For some reason, Abigail had always preferred to use this kitchen over the more traditional, homey kitchen in the east wing. “It’s probably a good idea for you to stay here for a few days.” Abigail pulled out a jar of crushed tea leaves and measured them into the teapot.

  “I don’t think—”

  “You haven’t used your powers in years, Sam. We don’t know how you’re going to react. Even the smallest spells can have a domino effect within your body and psyche. Let me watch over you for a few days. I can help you ease back into the craft.”

  “I’m not easing back into anything.” Sam sat down on a stepstool next to the stove, but still out of her mother’s way. “This was a moment of weakness and stupidity.”

  “Oh, honey. Please don’t do this. Not again. Let me call Jackson. He can take care of you.”

  Sam had known that when she drank the potion, she’d be resetting the equilibrium that she’d worked so hard to build. Not that her body had ever gotten used to the withdrawal of power, but at least the cravings had decreased from a constant craving to a dull need in the background.

  Now that she was still flush with the power of the potion, she was calm and refreshed for the first time in years. Once it started to wear off, the cravings would be back and hell would start all over again.

  “I don’t need Jackson. I can’t be a slave to this, Mom. I refuse.”

  Abigail pursed her lips in a way that would’ve caused wrinkles if it weren’t for the obscenely expensive night cream she used along with a few choice spells. “I can’t watch you wither away. Not when you can control this. I can teach you!”

  “I tried to control it, Mom. I tried for years and that didn’t bring me any peace or clarity.” The only reason she felt good about the potion she’d just taken was because she knew she was doing it for the greater good. The greater good that would be all the worse off if she started using magic again.

  For a few long moments, Abigail didn’t say anything. She was probably replaying all the arguments they’d had in the past, looking for some new, fresh angle to try. Soon enough, defeat set in. “Well, I’m assuming that you didn’t come here for tea?”

  “No. I’ve actually been putting this off for a while, but since I’m feeling better I figured now is a good time. I lost a necklace here during the Summer Solstice. It was the jade turtle that Grandmother gave me. It was a protection charm. I was wondering if you’ve seen it?”

  “Those sorts of things get left here all the time. Garrett might be able to locate it, though. Did you want me to call him?”

  The joys of living in a home that had a genuine lost and found. Due to how often witches liked to drop trou, things tended to get lost. “No, I can find Garrett. It should only take a few minutes. I’ll go over to his office and I should be back by the time the tea has steeped.”

  Abigail glanced between the kettle on the stove and Sam. “You know the way. If you need anything, buzz me.”

  Sam didn’t think she could remember how to use the elaborate intercom system even if she wanted to, but she doubted she’d need her mother’s help. In fact, this entire plan rested on her mother not going with her.

  Garrett’s office was in the back corner of the house. He was a strange mix of a grounds keeper and the head of logistics, dealing with the large staff required to keep the Harris Estate up and running. But, more than anything, Garrett was the head of security and a warlock of considerable power.

  He was probably mid-fifties or early sixties, but thanks to a rigorous spell regimen, he looked like a perfectly healthy thirty-year-old. When she’d been a teenager, Sam had been head over heels for the head of security. Thank goodness he was smart, and respectful, enough to realize she was a hormonal teen, because if he’d ever even looked at her with the slightest bit of interest, Sam wouldn’t have thought twice about the thirty-year age difference between them.

  Garrett’s office was located in the center of the house in a large, windowless room where he could monitor the many cameras located on the property. Sam gave a soft knock on the door and after only a few seconds, Garrett pulled it open.

  The head of security was tall and ripped and a teenage girl’s dream. He had shoulder-length blond hair that was always pulled back, with one strand framing his epic cheekbones and jawline, with bright blue eyes that she’d tried to draw countless times before finally admitting to herself that she couldn’t draw.

  Her inner teenager sighed at the sight. “Hey.” She smiled. “Got a minute?”

  He smiled at her. “Hey, Sammy. Your mother said you were looking for something left here during the Summer Solstice?”

  “Yep. It’s on a white cord and the charm is a green jade turtle that my grandmother gave me. Think you can take a look in the vault for it?” Everything that was left at the house during the large parties was stored in the vault. Mainly because when magic was involved, it was almost impossible to determine how powerful any item was.

  “That doesn’t ring a bell, but I’ll go take a look for you.”

  “That’s awesome. I know I left it here, but it’s impossible to know if someone decided to take it home with them, you know? But I figured it was worth looking.”

  “No problem. You hang out here and I’ll be right back, okay?” He held the door open for her, and she walked into the security room.

  She could feel his eyes on her as she crossed to stand in front of the wall of nine monitors over his desk. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up under his scrutiny. Did he know why she was really here?

  “You look good, Sammy.”

  She twisted around at the unexpected compliment but recovered from her surprise by the time she was facing him. “Don’t get too excited. I’m going right back to normal life.”

  “You’re killing your mother. You know that, right?”

  Sam let out a surprised snort to hide just how close to the mark he’d hit. “Mom is too strong for this to bring her down. Trust me.”

  Garrett’s face told her exactly how much he didn’t trust her, but at least he didn’t say anything else. “I’ll head to the vault. Don’t mess with anything,” he warned as he left the security room and went down the hall to the left, toward the closest access to the basement vault.

  It was so strange to see Garrett again. And to listen to him flirt with her.... That was definitely a new one. Maybe the flush of power really did make her more attractive than she thought, or her mother had put him up to it. She wouldn’t put a move like that past Abigail.

  But as attractive as Garrett was, she just didn’t have the childhood infatuation with him anymore. His blond hair and swimmer’s body were her dream growing up, but now her tastes ran... darker. Bigger men, like a body builder. Dark hair and an unshaven face over a strong jawline and blue eyes that haunted her dreams.

  The image of Derek came at her completely against her will and she blinked the image away. The joy of having power back in her veins was that her libido was now working overtime, and it was pissed that she’d gone for so long without getting any.

  And for some reason, her subconscious, and full on conscious, had decided to obsess over Detective Derek Pierce. Maybe it was a good thing he’d kicked her off the case. Not good for him, of course, but considering he didn’t believe a thing she said about the magic aspect of the murders, he didn’t believe
her about the danger he was in.

  Maybe she’d even listen to him. But not until after she followed one more lead. Sam glanced down the hallway, confirming that Garrett was nowhere in sight, before she shut the door and headed to the filing cabinet. Thanks to Garrett’s precision filing, she found the CD she was looking for immediately. June 21st, 2016. The night of the Summer Solstice and the night that every coven and family member from all over the world had met to celebrate.

  Sam couldn’t fit the CD into the pocket of her skinny jeans, but she slid the thin plastic case along her back so her waistband held it in. She tightened her belt for good measure and shut the cabinet. By the time Garrett got back, she was leaning against his desk, managing to look as bored as possible while she scrolled through her phone.

  “No luck finding the necklace. Sorry about that.”

  “No worries. I didn’t think you would.”

  “It was probably swiped by someone who was drunk and just saw something shiny.”

  Sam chuckled as she made her way to the door. “Figures. This house is always crawling with liars.”

  “We got him.” Detective James Reyes dropped a file on Derek’s desk.

  Derek flipped it open to see the mugshot of some twenty-something looking back at him. “He’s here?”

  “Well, not here. That picture is from a year ago when he was brought in for questioning after one of his neighbors reported that he’d been following her and she came home to find him rummaging around in her things.”

  Derek scanned over the details of the case. Thomas Collins. Twenty-four years old, six foot three and two hundred forty pounds. Big guy with a bigger list of problems. But no convictions. “She caught him in her apartment and he wasn’t charged?”

  “He brought in some hotshot lawyer, and whatever she said to the girl he was stalking, it worked, because she refused to accuse him of anything in court.”

  “But we pulled a print off the body. Didn’t he get printed when he was brought in?”

  “He must’ve been, but there are no records of his prints in our system.”

  “Fucking sloppy work,” muttered Derek. If those prints had been in the system, they could’ve had this guy weeks ago.

  “Well, we’ve got the bastard now. The captain can get a warrant printed up within the hour, but I say we head out to his place and ask a few questions.”

  Derek slammed the folder shut and stood. “Let’s do it.” As soon as he pulled on his suit jacket, they left the precinct. Derek was lead on the case, so they automatically went to his car while Reyes put the address into his phone GPS.

  “So, Pierce, you never told me. What made you decide to go back to question that chick from Columbia?”

  For the moment, the only one who knew the truth about what happened with Sam was Captain Voss and that was how Derek wanted to keep it. The last thing he needed was to get a reputation for working with the crazies.

  “I was grasping at straws by that point.”

  “Good straw. I didn’t even remember that girl and I was questioning Amy’s friends the same day you were. That was a good call.”

  Derek gripped the steering wheel tighter. He didn’t like taking credit for wins he didn’t deserve, and he didn’t like lying to people he worked with. Especially not good cops like Reyes. Reyes had only been promoted to detective a year ago but had proved invaluable on the Butcher case. The only mark against him was that he had a wife and two young kids to get home to at night, but it was damn hard to hold a loving family against the guy.

  “What all do we know about Collins?” asked Derek, trying to get the conversation as far away from Sam as possible.

  “Not much. But if his lawyer is really as big of a hotshot as the guys downstairs were saying, he might’ve had a big juvenile history that was wiped off the record.”

  “That’s probably a good thing for us now.” Derek pulled onto the street they had for Thomas Collins.

  “What do you mean?”

  “If he’s not afraid of the cops, he probably won’t run.”

  “Do you think any lawyer can get him out of this?”

  “We’ll see. We need to match his prints to the one we got off the second victim. Then we have the washcloth he used to gag Christine Washington. If we find more of the same type at his apartment, that will be a good connection too. The print will be the true test.” But if there were two culprits like Sam said, the print could very well belong to someone else. The fact that he had a washcloth used on a failed attack against Christine wouldn’t do jack shit for the women who’d already lost their lives.

  But Derek really felt as if he was on to something... like this guy was his guy. He’d always trusted his instincts before, but after the past few days with Sam, even his instincts seemed off. He was absolutely certain that she wasn’t a witch, but was it really so different? His hunches compared to her potions and spells?

  Yes. Hunches were much different than potions and spells.

  Derek brought the car to a stop in front of the address they had for Collins. It looked like a creep’s dream. There were two abandoned buildings on either side, and the apartment building looked as if it had more than a few empty units. Derek studied the windows, looking for any sign of Collins realizing they were coming. “We’ll just play it cool. Tell him we need to bring him in for questioning. If we see anything suspicious, we’ll head out and wait for backup. We don’t want to fuck this up right after we’ve found the bastard, got it?”

  Reyes nodded and gave Derek a cool smile, but Derek saw him reach to his shoulder where his gun was holstered, betraying his nerves.

  Derek made sure his own face didn’t betray anything. If Reyes was freaked, then it was his job to make sure everything went smoothly.

  They approached the front of the apartment building. It appeared to be about five stories tall, and it was small enough that there might only be ten units. Derek studied the buzzer system, but there were no names or apartment numbers next to any of the buttons, and he doubted the thing worked anyway. If the buzzer system didn’t work, there was a good chance that the lock didn’t either....

  Derek turned the handle and, sure enough, the door pushed open. “It’s 4A, right?” he asked Reyes as they both walked in the old building.

  “Yep.”

  They both looked up at the staircase that hardly looked safe. The old tile on the steps was peeling off and the walls were streaked with some sort of water damage. The guy lived here but could afford a lawyer good enough to get him off on all those charges earlier? Something wasn’t right. Derek looked up. The winding staircase left an atrium sort of opening that went up to the top of the building. Hopefully he and Reyes would be able to hear if Collins made any sudden movements up there.

  But living in a shitty apartment wasn’t reason to bring in the SWAT team. He motioned with his head to continue up the stairs and led the way up the three flights. Once they reached the fourth floor, they slowly approached the door. Derek held his hand out for Reyes to stay out of view of a peephole. One guy was less intimidating than two.

  Derek knocked on the door and held his breath as he waited. Reyes shifted his weight and Derek wished he could contain his nerves better. If Collins picked up on it, that could cause problems.

  He almost wished Sam was with him. The thought came out of nowhere, but he couldn’t deny that she’d probably be cool under pressure. Nothing really seemed to faze her. Or maybe it was because she was always so twitchy that she wouldn’t really come off as nervous. More like a junkie who needed a fix.

  But she hadn’t looked like that this morning. She’d looked refreshed and ready to take on the worst killers in the world. No, it was good that she wasn’t here. A healthy amount of fear was needed for these sorts of investigations.

  The door opened and Thomas Collins poked his head out, blocking the view into his apartment with his body. Collins was much shorter than Derek, but he had a bulky chest and shoulders, belying some power behind him. And from this view, D
erek had no idea whether he had any weapons.

  “What do you want?” Collins stepped out of his apartment and shut the door behind him.

  “Hello, Mr. Collins. I’m Detective Pierce and this is Detective Reyes. We were hoping you could answer a few questions for us.”

  Collins’s eyes shifted back and forth between the two and Derek immediately knew something was off. This kid wasn’t just nervous. He was terrified, and fear led to stupid decisions.

  Derek decided to try to defuse the situation with a lie. “We have reports of a few car thefts around the area. We’re hoping you can take a look at a few pictures and let us know if you recognize any of the suspects.”

  He shook his head back and forth. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

  “Is something wrong?” Reyes stepped up, standing next to Derek to form a wall so Collins couldn’t make a run past them.

  Collins adjusted his weight as he shook his head back and forth. “I was so close to being done. You shouldn’t be here.”

  Before Derek could ask what he meant, Collins held out a hand and pressed it to Reyes’s chest. The next second, Reyes shot backward and over the railing, tumbling down the three-story fall. Derek jumped back, reaching for his sidearm, but a blinding pain exploded behind his eyes and he found himself incapable of moving. He fell onto his knees as he tried to force himself to fight it. Get to his gun. Kill Collins.

  He forced his eyes open as he was able to inch his hand closer to the Glock at his side.

  Collins walked to the railing and glanced over before he looked over to Derek. “You shouldn’t have come.”

  “Fucking Tommy Collins.” Sam paused the video to see the guy she’d gone to school with get out of his white Toyota Camry at the Summer Solstice party from just a few months ago. “I’ve got you now, you son of a bitch.” Sam jumped up from where her laptop was set up on her dining room table and ran to one of the two bookshelves on either side of the flat-screen television in her living room. She snatched the ornate pink and purple address book her mother had given her a few years ago. A way to keep in touch with the families.