by Temple Hogan
“Might as well get a wash,” Charlie said and pulled into line.
At a signal from one of the operators, she inched forward until her wheels were locked in place. The car lurched and began to move, aided by a conveyor belt. Just as suds splattered across the front window, a face appeared in the shadows beside the machinery.
“Charlie,” Phil gasped and grabbed her sister’s arm. “That’s him.”
“Where?” Charlie looked around, but water and suds completely covered the car now. Long heavy streamers of foam swiped back and forth over the car, washing away the dirt and grime and blocking the view. Through the sweeping motion, Phil once again caught a glimpse of the face.
“There!” she cried, pointing but the swishing foam covered the window.
“Where?” Charlie cried, opening her car door. Water sluiced in and she quickly slammed it.
“He’s gone now,” Phil said, straining to see beyond the cascading water and soapsuds.
“Damn it,” Charlie cursed. “Strada lied to us. Lenny was here all the time.” In frustration, she turned this way and that, trying to catch a glimpse of the man. A deluge of water cleared the windshield.
“There he is!” Phil shouted, waving her hand at the exit.
At that moment, a spray of wax covered the car, followed shortly after by a wind machine that dried the wax. As the car rolled out of the carwash and into the open, workers sprang forward with towels and began to buff away any moisture that remained. Phil looked around for Lenny but saw no sign of him. She did spot a beat-up older Camry race out of the lot with a screech of the tires then disappear down the street.
“There he goes,” she told Charley. “Follow that car.”
“That’s enough fellows,” Charley cried as she put the car in gear and lurched forward.
Phil threw a handful of dollar bills out the window as a tip. Charley drove the way she did everything else, with dash and wild abandonment. Still, they weren’t gaining. Darkness had fallen like a curtain and it was hard to make out one car from another.
“We could fly faster,” Phil said, staring at the cars ahead.
“Not legal without proper authorization,” Charlie snapped. Phil knew Charlie was afraid of flying. “Besides, we would draw attention to ourselves.”
“You drive then and I’ll fly.” Phil rolled down the window.
“You know we’re not supposed to do this,” Charlie warned, her gaze pinned on the traffic ahead.
“Oh, don’t be such a hypocrite,” Phil scoffed before changing into a black crow and zipping out of the car. At first, she couldn’t see the Camry, but as she climbed, she spotted the speeding car. Flying closer, she dipped lower and again glimpsed the man from the carwash, the man who had threatened her that night in J&B’s parking lot. She could see Charlie in the distance, closing fast. She flew back to signal her.
Charlie waved to indicate her thanks and increased her speed. Phil flew back to the Camry and dove in front of the windshield, anything to slow down Lenny, but he was hell bent to get away. He nearly clipped her, but she managed to catch a wind draft and soared away from him and was content to follow him at a safe distance. She wondered where in the hell the police were? They always seemed to be around when she was speeding!
Lenny turned down a back street that left city sidewalks behind. Eventually, the road turned to dirt, which didn’t slow him down a bit. Phil looked to ensure Charley was still following. Finally, Lenny pulled into a long, deeply rutted driveway that ended at a run-down trailer. Phil perched on the edge of the roof and watched as Lenny climbed out of the Camry and made his way to the dark trailer. In the distance, Phil spotted Charley’s headlights and whispered into the wind to dowse her lights. Apparently Charlie got the message because the headlights winked out. Charlie didn’t need them anyway. Being a witch, she had very good night vision. While she waited, Phil used her own superior eyesight to gaze through the windows of the trailer. There wasn’t much time before Charlie arrived and parked her car at the end of the drive. Phil changed back into her own shape and met her halfway.
“He’s inside,” she said softly. “I don’t think he’s armed. I didn’t see anything that looked like a weapon.”
“Did you search his house?” Charlie asked.
“Just a quick look through the windows while I waited for you to get here.”
“Let’s go have a good look then,” Charlie said, moving toward the trailer.
“Wait. Shouldn’t we call for backup?” Phil asked.
“On what grounds? He hasn’t done anything.”
“He ran so he must be guilty of something,” Phil insisted.
“It doesn’t work that way.”
“So what do we do now?” Phil asked in exasperation.
Charlie glanced at her in surprise. “We’re going to confront him and ask him questions.”
“Okay. You go first.” Phil stepped behind Charlie as they started up the path to the trailer. A growl came from nearby and Phil yipped.
“There’s a dog,” she whispered, clutching Charlie’s jacket.
“Don’t worry about it,” her sister snarled.
“I hate dogs,” Phil said, sidling along behind Charlie.
The growls had grown louder with a bark or two thrown in. Suddenly, it lunged from beneath the trailer, a skinny specimen with bony ribs and bared teeth. Phil screamed.
“Shh!” Charlie said.
Too late. The trailer door opened and Lenny Barnes stepped out with a rifle in his hands. Phil and Charlie ducked around the corner and prayed the dog was chained and unable to reach them.
“Who’s out there?” Lenny called.
Phil and Charlie exchanged troubled glances.
“Come out or I’ll shoot,” the man yelled.
“You do have a gun, don’t you?” Phil whispered to Charlie.
“Yeah,” she said. “But I don’t want to use it unless I have to.”
“You may have to,” Phil said. Lenny had continued to yell threats. “He sounds like a madman.”
“Let’s just get out of here,” Charlie said. “We’ll come back in the daytime.”
Phil stared at her. “I didn’t think you’d run.”
“I’m not running. I’m retreating,” Charlie said, “which is sometimes more prudent.”
“Wait a minute. I forgot. We’re witches. We can do anything and he can’t hurt us.”
“Yes, he can,” Charlie said. “Witches get killed. Look at the Wizard of Oz. Two witches bit the dust. I’m not testing my powers out here tonight.”
Phil stared at her in consternation. At that moment, the dog lunged from beneath the trailer again, straight at them, his chain clanging against metal.
“Who’s there?” Lenny shouted again. “God damn, show yourself or I’ll shoot you dead.”
The report of gunshots came to Phil just before the spits of dirt fanned out near their feet. Lenny was between them and the car. They had no place to retreat but to the back of the trailer.
“You’re right. Let’s go.” She took off, running up the hillside at the rear of the trailer. From behind them came the sound of a door slamming shut and running feet.
“Faster,” Charlie shouted.
Without thinking of any other recourse, they scrambled up the hill with the vision of a mad, ravenous dog and a gun-toting, crazy man pounding after them. Gasping for air, they gained the top and hid themselves in a copse of trees, where they stood watching man and dog follow after them.
“That dog’s going to track us,” Phil said.
They exchanged glances and, as one, changed into crows and lighted in the trees above. Sure enough, the dog nosed the path, leading Lenny directly to the trees where they had hidden. Once there, the hound lost the scent.
“Where is he, you lazy four-legged sack of shit?” Lenny shouted at the dog who cowered.
“You ain’t worth the food I feed you, you mangy mutt,” Lenny yelled and kicked the dog in the side.
Phil couldn’t he
lp cawing a response. Lenny cast a quick look at them, raised his rifle and fired. It barely missed Phil who let out an un-crow-like yell. She and Charlie rose to the top of the tree. With a final curse, Lenny yanked at the chain around the hound’s neck and started back toward the trailer. Phil and Charlie waited for a while.
“What an evil man,” Phil whispered.
“Never mind, let’s go,” Charlie said.
“We can’t leave that poor starved dog with such a hateful man,” Phil protested.
“Well, you can’t do anything about it,” Charlie said.
“Yes, I can.” Phil cawed again and flew down the hill at Lenny, flapping her wings in his face until he lost his hold on the dog and his footing.
Cursing, he went rolling down the hill, hitting a few well-placed rocks on the way. Finally, he hit the cement blocks holding one end of the trailer up with far more force than one would have expected for such a mild gradient.
“Run, run,” Phil cawed at the quivering hound and he took a hesitant step, then another. Phil flew down and pecked at the chain around his neck. Feeling himself freed and the flurry of wings all about him, the hound took off as if the devil himself were after him.
“Let’s go,” Phil called to her sister and to the sound of Lenny’s curses and whining, they flew over the trailer and back to the car.
Making sure the area was clear, they resumed their own shapes and got in the car. Charlie tried to start the motor, but it sputtered and went dead. She tried again, pumping the gas pedal.
“Don’t do that. You’ll flood it,” Phil said.
“If you think you can do better…” Charlie snapped. A rectangle of light showed in the trailer.
“Uh-oh, he’s at the door,” Phil said. “Get this car started.”
“If you can do any better…” Charlie said again and Phil snapped her finger. Instantly, the car started and leaped forward. Charlie floored it and they sped down the dirt road.
“I’ve got to turn on the lights. I’m afraid I’ll hit something,” Charlie said.
“I’ll watch out for you,” Phil said and leaned out the window, straining her eyes to watch for rocks and limbs across the road. “Stop,” she shouted suddenly and Charlie applied the brakes so quickly the car slewed sideways in the road.
“What is it?” she asked, peering out at the darkness.
“It’s the dog,” Phil said.
“Ah, shit, Phil,” Charlie said in exasperation. “Don’t tell me you’re going to be a bleeding heart for this dog. You’re afraid of dogs, remember?”
“I know, but we can’t leave him. Lenny’ll just find him and chain him up again.” In the meantime, the hound had outrun his fear and stood trembling with uncertainly in the road.
“What if he tries to bites you?”
“I’ll put a magic shield around myself like a super hero,” Phil said and got out of the car.
“Here, doggy, doggy,” she called tentatively. The poor skittish creature stared at her for a long moment then took a cautious step toward her. “Come on,” Phil said softly and opened the back door.
“What are you doing? You can’t put him in my car.”
As if to prove her wrong, the skinny hound climbed into the back and sat up on the seat, looking at them expectedly.
“He wants to go with us,” Phil said. “I’ll just take him home and give him a good meal. Tomorrow, I’ll take him to the humane society.” She jumped in the car and fastened her seatbelt then glanced at her sister. “Let’s go, before Lenny comes after us.”
Sighing, Charlie put the car in gear, turned on the headlights and headed back to town.
“You’re crazy, you know,” she said. “You’re getting more dotty every day just like Aunt Agatha.” They argued all the way back to Phil’s house.
Beck was waiting on the porch steps. He got to his feet as Charlie pulled the car to a halt.
“Uh-oh, I think I’ll just go on home,” she said. “You can explain everything to him.”
“Coward,” Phil hissed, but she was glad to see Beck had cared enough to wait for her. She coaxed the hound out of the car and stood watching Charlie back up and drive away. As a sister, she wasn’t half-bad, she acknowledged.
“I was beginning to worry about you,” Beck said, putting his arms around her. “Are you okay?”
She leaned against him, taking in his scent and heat. He felt like a strong oak towering over her. In truth, she was a little shaky from their close call.
“I’m fine,” she said to him and raised her lips to his. After a long kiss, Beck looked at the dog who stood hunched as if waiting for a kick or something.
“Come inside. I have a lot to tell you,” Phil said and snapped her fingers at the dog who meekly followed.
“Where did you get your new friend?” Beck asked as Phil went directly to the refrigerator and pulled out a frozen steak.
“I had to bring him home,” she said, putting the steak in the microwave to thaw. “He’s half-starved. You can count his ribs.”
“I noticed that,” Beck acknowledged. Patiently, he waited to ask any more question as she gave the poor dog the whole steak and made coffee.
They settled at the table across from each other. Beck reached for her hand and held it between both of his in a protective gesture as she told him everything that had transpired from their trip to J&B’s pub to tracking Lenny to his trailer. When she was finished, he looked at her not saying a word, his lips compressed, his blue eyes sharp with unexpressed anger.
“Say something,” she said when he remained silent.
“Why are you doing this?” he demanded.
“I want to prove you didn’t kill your wife.”
“Why? Aren’t you sure enough yourself?”
“Don’t you dare say that to me,” she flared. She’d had a rough night so far and she didn’t need to deal with masculine pride when her intentions had been the best.
“I believe in you,” she said. “Now you have to believe that my motivations are out of lo—out of caring for you. I want you to get your coaching job back and have custody of your daughter. I don’t want people to whisper behind your back. What’s happened to you isn’t fair. I want to help.”
She stopped her rush of words. His grip on her hands had tightened. Now he raised his gaze from their entwined fingers to meet hers.
“Because you care for me,” he stated with a cryptic smile.
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
“Do you know what I want to do right now?” he asked huskily.
“Tell me,” she urged, although she was pretty sure she knew what he had in mind.
“I want to take you upstairs and make love to you again and then I want to hold you all night long.”
“That’s what I want, too,” she whispered and glanced at the hound who was blissfully gnawing on the steak bone. His belly was rounded and full, a sharp contrast to the skin and bones that made up the rest of him.
“He seems content,” Beck said and they got to their feet. He turned out the lights as they left the room and made their way upstairs.
In her bedroom, they silently removed their clothes and turned to face each other, their gazes roaming over each other’s nude bodies. Tenderly, he touched her throat and slid his hands down to her breasts, which he cupped before flattening his hand over her smooth belly.
“I can’t believe you’re really in my life,” he said.
“Nor I, you,” she answered. “It’s as if I’ve been searching for you my entire life and then you just turn up on my porch. Ever since that moment, my life hasn’t been the same and never will be again.”
She stepped into his embrace and felt the heat of his skin, the taut smoothness of his body, the planes of his muscular frame, all familiar and dear to her now.
He made love to her tenderly, taking his time, bringing her to one climax after another, so she drifted in the euphoria of passion. Only when her body hummed with satisfaction did he seek his own, entering her wit
h a maddening slowness that brought her to the edge yet again. His strokes were leisurely without one shred of haste. She waited breathlessly for his culmination, knowing it would be devastating to them both. When it came, she couldn’t speak, couldn’t think, only feel.
Just before she fell asleep, she heard the dog pad into the room and settle on the floor with a contented sigh. Somehow, like Beck, it just seemed right they were both there.
Chapter Nine
She woke to a warm body on either side of her, both snoring. She opened her eyes and found herself eyeball to eyeball with a creature she had always hated and feared. Well, not hated, but she’d avoided them at all cost. Now here was one lying in her bed. She was trapped between her lover and the mangy carcass of a hound that had just been chasing her hours ago with the intent of ripping her heart out. Now the dog just stared at her with wistful brown eyes.
“Just like a male,” she muttered. “Give ‘em a steak and they’re yours forever. Get down, down.” She gestured and he complied, albeit with some reluctance. It seemed to take forever for him to haul his skinny behind off the bed. With a cowed look, he lay on the hardwood floor, his unpadded bones clunking in a way that made Phil wince.
“You’d better not get used to the easy life,” she told him, swinging her legs out of bed and reaching for a robe. “I’ll give you one more steak, which is more than you deserve given the way you chased Charlie and me, but then you’re going to the dog pound. That’s it. I have no room in my life for dogs and—” She halted. She’d been about to say kids, but she’d thought of Emily and Emily was part of Beck. She glanced back at him. He’d awakened and was studying her with an enigmatic smile.
“What?” she asked defensively.
“You are such a softy,” he replied.
“Well, I do have my limits. And I only sleep with one male at a time, and you were it last night. Tonight you may be on the floor and he can have the bed.” She started to rise, but Beck’s big warm hand caught her arm and yanked her back against him.
“Wanna bet?” he asked and kissed her long and deeply.
She came up breathing raggedly. “I can’t,” she said, resisting feebly. “He wants to be fed then I’m taking him to the dog pound.”