A Witch And Her Man
By
G.E. Stills
Keith Publications, LLC
www.keithpublications.com
©2012
Arizona
USA
A Witch And Her Man
Copyright© 2012
By G.E. Stills
Edited by Kat Daoud
www.kjdaoud.com
Cover art by Zee Monodee
http://zeemonodee.blogspot.com/
Cover art Keith Publications, LLC © 2012
www.keithpublications.com
ISBN: 978-1-936372-68-3
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from Keith Publications, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes, with proper credit given.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, except for incidental references to public figures, well-known products and geographical locations, which are used fictitiously with no intent to disparage their products or services.
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Printed in The United States of America
Dedication
To Deb. She was very gracious in helping with my research on Wicca and witchcraft.
Acknowledgements
To Mary my publisher without whom this story would never be read.
To my editor who tells me this is one of her favorites. Here is hoping my readers agree.
Chapter 1
Gail opened her cell phone and dialed the number her friend at the plant had given her.
A male voice at the other end answered on the third ring. "Larkin Detective Agency."
"Mr. Larkin, please," Gail requested.
"Speaking."
"Mr. Larkin, my name is Gail Sweet. I... I think I may need your services." Gail bit her lip. "How much does it cost?"
"Mrs., or is it Miss? What type of services are we talking about, investigative or protective? I do both. If it's investigative, it depends on how much time and expense is involved. If it's protective services you're looking for, it depends on whether you need them for a specific event, a few hours or around the clock. I need to know more before I can give you a solid estimate."
"First of all, it's Miss Sweet. I guess the services would involve around the clock protection and a little investigating too. I'm not really sure. This is the first time I've ever been in this situation," Gail said.
"Miss Sweet, if you like, we can meet somewhere for coffee and you can tell me about the... situation, as you call it. Then I can give you a better idea of the charges. You say you've never dealt with a PI or bodyguard before so I'll tell you in advance, we're not cheap. If we're talking about around the clock protection and investigative services too, I'll estimate it to be around fifteen-hundred per week plus expenses," Mr. Larkin said in a straightforward voice that implied there would be no negotiating.
Gail went completely silent for a few moments, but at last said, "Mr. Larkin, I'm sorry to have taken your time. That is far more than I can afford. You must be very good at your job to justify that much." She realized her statement may have come across as an insult although not intended as such and quickly added, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, it's just I can't afford that kind of money. Can you recommend someone else who is not as expensive?"
"Yes, I'm damn good at what I do. Have you been in touch with the police?"
"Several times. The first time, they sent out a detective and he took my statement. He seemed very concerned and I liked him but he hasn't been back since. The next time I called, I was told he no longer worked there and his cases had been given to someone else. Since then they've been unresponsive."
"I have a friend named Shorty who might be interested and yes, he is less expensive. Let me give you his number."
She wrote down the number, thanked him and hung up the phone.
****
Four days later, Jeff answered the phone.
"Mr. Larkin?"
He recognized her voice. "Miss Sweet, isn't it? What can I do for you? By the way, you may call me Jeff."
"Have you seen Shorty?"
"No, I thought he was working for you. At least that's what he told me four days ago when I talked to him. Why? Didn't he show up?"
"Yes, after I spoke with you, I called Shorty. We met and he took the job. He agreed to park in front of my house and follow me to work each day, but yesterday his car disappeared and I haven't seen him since."
"Hmm, that's not like Shorty. He has never left a job without talking to the client. He didn't say anything to you?"
"Not a word. He would usually wait close to my car when I got off my night job and follow me home. He'd walk me up to my door and check inside before going back to his car. Last night he wasn't there when I got off work."
"Miss Sweet," he began, "I'd like to meet and you can tell me about this situation of yours. Off the clock, so no cost to you." Jeff continued, "Do you know where the coffee shop is at the intersection of Highway Fourteen and Grant?"
"Yes."
"Good. Meet me there in one hour. I'll be wearing a blue sport coat and slacks."
"Ok, I'm wearing a red and blue print sundress and I'll be in a dark green sedan. You can't miss it. It's the one with the large dent in the right front fender," Gail answered.
When they hung up, Jeff immediately called Shorty's office and got only the answering machine. He then called Shorty's cell phone and got his voicemail. He climbed into his car and headed for the coffee shop. He arrived there early and waited. Finally, a green Dodge pulled into the parking lot. He waited in his car and watched a woman exit the vehicle and walk up to the entrance. It was Gail.
"Damn," he whistled to himself. Unable to resist, his gaze traveled over her graceful, feminine curves.
Gail entered the restaurant and he waited. Once he was satisfied she had not been followed, he went in to join her.
Jeff entered the diner, looked around and spotted Gail sitting in a booth with her back to him. He approached her.
"Miss Sweet." He held out his hand to her. "I'm Jeff Larkin."
"Please, call me Gail." She shook his hand and waved him to the seat across from her. A waitress immediately came over to take their order.
"Have you eaten? I'm buying."
"Gee, if I'd known that, I wouldn't have already eaten. You're going to get off cheap. I just want iced tea," she said and laughed nervously.
He was already examining his potential client. Laughs when nervous. He made a mental note. "Two teas," Jeff told the waitress and when she left, he turned his attention back to Gail. "So talk to me. Tell me about this situation."
"Where do I start?"
"How about the beginning? I've got all night," Jeff suggested.
"Okay, I was born..." Gail began and her eyes twinkled.
"Not that far back. I said all night, not several days," Jeff laughed as he ticked off another trait. Strong sense of humor.
****
Gail let her eyes rove over his face and upper body. Damn, he's so handsome. I could get lost in those blue eyes of his and what a build. Having him working for me would certainly not be too hard to take. I wonder if he has a wife or girlfriend.
Clearing her throat, she began to tell her story.
"I guess I'll start with Marla. She was my best friend." Her expression sobered as she spoke of Marla.
“You said was," Jeff interrupted.
"Yes, was. She died in a car wreck three weeks ago." Her jaw trembled and her breath hitched. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. "I'll explain everything."
Jeff offered her his napkin to dry her eyes. "Okay. I'll try not to interrupt anymore," Jeff said.
"Marla and I were best friends," she started again. "We worked together at a factory on the night shift. We did almost everything together on our off time too; at either her house or mine. Eating, exercising, and so on. When we went out it was usually together."
"Sort of like a married couple," he suggested.
"Yes, I guess you could say that."
"Go on."
"One day, just before I went to pick her up for work, Marla called. She told me she had to go out of town on an emergency and she'd be back in a few days. She wouldn't tell me what the emergency was."
"Did she tell you where she was going by chance?"
"Nope, nothing. Only that she had to leave. She acted very evasive and seemed to be in a hurry. I thought that very strange because we usually told each other everything. At least that's what I thought. Marla and I were very… close."
"Rushed, as in she needed to get away from here, rather than there being an emergency out of town she needed to go to?"
Gail didn't say anything for a moment. "Yes, when you put it that way. I think that describes her attitude when we talked."
"Okay."
"Anyway, the next day I was informed Marla had been in a bad wreck and didn't survive. They also told me she was very drunk at the time of the accident. I thought that strange, because even though Marla did drink on occasion, she never had more than two drinks, ever. The coroner listed the cause of death as a broken neck, that probably occurred when she left the road and hit a tree. He didn't elaborate, but said the evidence suggested she was going at a high rate of speed. That also caused alarms to go off for me since on more than one occasion I had to tell Marla to speed up because she was going too slow."
Jeff reached across and patted her hand gently. "Go on."
"I was crushed at the loss of my friend and then three days after the funeral the phone calls started. At first, a male voice suggested I quit my job and leave town. After two days, when that failed, the phone calls became more threatening. 'Your kind is not welcome here. Get out or else,' the man's voice would tell me. Then the calls got worse. I was getting them three times per day calling me a wicked witch and lots of vile names. I called the police but they told me it was more than likely some kid making prank calls and to ignore it. Finally, the man told me if I didn't leave, I would suffer the same fate as my girlfriend. The next morning I came home from work and knew someone had been in my house. I called the police again and they sent a detective over to investigate."
She paused for a moment to dab at her tear-filled eyes.
"This caller mentioned Marla?"
"Yes. As I just told you, he said I would suffer the same fate."
"I'm sorry, Gail. I don't mean to cause you further pain, but do you know where Marla's accident occurred? If I take this case and you know where it happened, I'll want to examine the scene and look for clues. If not, it's no big deal. I can find out if you don't."
"Yes, I know where it happened."
"Good. You don't need to tell me right now. You miss Marla a lot. I can see you were very close. So what happed next?" Jeff asked.
She continued, "The detective came out but he found no evidence of forced entry and nothing was missing. He filled out a report and left. The next day I discovered practically all of my panties were missing. I called the police again and that is when they told me the detective, the one who had come to my house, was no longer with them. They haven't bothered to come out to my house again. I got really frightened when I came home from work the next morning to find one of the missing pair of panties spread out on the kitchen table. No message, nothing taken, and no sign of forced entry. The next morning the same thing happened with another pair of panties."
Again he patted her hand and urged her to continue.
"The phone calls continued, but now they said it was too late for me to leave and I'd be murdered soon. 'We'll pick the time and place, but rest assured, it will happen," the voice said. The phone rang when I got out of the shower the next day and when I picked up, the man told me I had a nice body and it was too bad it housed the soul of a witch. When I threw a pink towel around myself, the man laughed and told me it was far too late to cover myself with a towel."
Jeff held up his hand for her to wait and spoke, "You're saying they described everything as if they were right there watching?"
"Yes, everything! It was as if the asshole was standing right there. It freaked me out."
"And you believe they plan on killing you as they killed your girlfriend, because they think you're some kind of witches doing hocus pocus and whispering in verse?" Jeff's voice reflected disbelief.
Gail looked daggers at him. "I'm not going to sit here while you insult my religion." She started to slide from the booth and leave, but Jeff stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"I'm sorry. That was very rude, callus, and unthinking on my part. If someone thinks you're a witch and wants to kill you, we need to stop it."
"Mr. Larkin, I don't think I'm a witch, I am a witch. I do spells, perform magick and other things. I'm Wiccan," she snapped.
"A what?" He quickly looked down to hide the grin.
"Wiccan," she repeated.
"Okay, whatever a Wiccan is, that's all right. I'm going to take on the job of keep you alive Gail because I... just because I believe you're a lady who needs my type of help and because someone is going to a great deal of trouble to hurt you."
"I can't afford you, Jeff…" Gail started, lifting her long, red eyelashes to look him in the eyes.
Jeff sighed, "I know. I guess I'm just a sucker for a good-looking woman so I'm not going to charge you."
Gazing into his eyes, she noted they were filled with concern.
"Can you afford to spend one night in a hotel?" he asked.
"Yes, but why?"
Jeff explained his plans then asked her to follow him in her car to a hotel he was familiar with. When she checked in under an assumed name, he escorted her up to her room.
"I don't have a change of clothes, makeup or anything. I don't even have a change of underwear," she complained as she looked around the room. "Can't I at least go back to my house and get a few things?"
"Give me your keys and no, you can't go to your house. Wearing a dirty pair of underwear for one day is the least of your worries. Need I remind you someone is trying to kill you?"
She sighed in disgust.
"I'm going to head out. Don't open this door for anyone but me for any reason. Understood?" he ordered. "I'll call later."
"Okay, it's a good thing tomorrow's my day off. Anything else you want me to do… sir?" she responded sarcastically as he headed out the door.
He turned in the hallway and faced her. "Gail, I'll try my best to keep you alive, but you have to cooperate and follow my orders. Now close and lock that door. Understood? Follow my orders."
"Yes, sir," she said, giving him a mock salute and closed the door before he could reply. "Pushy asshole," she whispered to the closed door.
She stormed across the room and flipped on the television, not caring what channel it was on. "Arrogant ass. So what am I supposed to do all night, Mr. Jeff L
arkin? I'm not used to having a man boss me." She grinned. "Face it Gail, you're not used to having a man around at all; haven't been for a long time. What the hell am I supposed to eat? Sure I told you I wasn't hungry at the restaurant but that was this afternoon. Of course, I could just get in my car and go get something," she muttered to herself, filled with nervous energy.
Then the gravity of her situation sunk in again. She crossed the room, made sure the door was locked, and engaged the security chain. This time she spoke in a much calmer voice to an invisible Jeff. "You seem to be the take charge type. Somehow I don't think you would like it if I left the room. Okay, I'll be good. I'll stay here just like you ordered. My witch senses are telling me to trust you, so I will. Still, you need to lighten up a little, Jeff. I'm just not the serious type; even when my life is at stake."
A Witch and Her Man (Jeff and Gail) Page 1