As she entered the sitting room, Joe gave her a severe look, and her mother paced over, worry playing on her face. “Darling, where have you been? Joe said he needed to talk to us both; I was getting worried about you.”
“I know mum, I’m sorry I’m late. I…got caught up with some work, I should have rang you. Let’s go and sit down.”
Avoiding Joe’s curious stare, Catherine walked over to the faux leather corner sofa, plumping herself down on its cushions heavily. Her mother followed after her, and sat down, still keeping herself balanced on the edge of the sofa. Joe cleared his throat, and hooked his thumbs through his belt-loops, pulling at them slightly.
“Well, you’re here now, Catherine. Mya…I’m not sure how to start this. Catherine came into the station today because she’s had a rather…” He paused, wondering how to continue without upsetting her. “She came to see me because she brought me something a little worrying. It’s rather delicate, Mya, and she didn’t want to upset you.”
“Oh, honey!” Mya turned to look at her daughter, who was nervously fiddling with the tassels of a cushion. “You know you can tell me anything! What was it?”
Catherine cast a worried glance at Joe, who shrugged and tilted his head. She took a deep breath, and turned back to her mother’s smiling face. “Mum, I found a dagger in my room last night. Someone must have sneaked it in when you had the front door open. It had a note attached to it for me-like the notes that we got after dad left.” As she finished, she lowered her head so that her mother couldn’t see the scared look in her eyes.
The colour drained from Mya’s face. “W-What?” She looked across to Joe, who scratched at his beard, and came over, crouching in front of her. He took her hand, and squeezed it.
“Now don’t worry, Mya. I’m staying here for the night, and we’re going to make sure you have someone watching the place twenty-four/seven. Okay? It’s probably just a joke of some kind.”
Mya’s haunted eyes looked up at him. “A joke?” she whispered. “What kind of messed-up joke is that?”
Catherine kicked herself inside for letting Joe upset her mother by being so forthright, but she knew it had been the right thing to do. She shuffled across the sofa, and put her arm around her mother’s shoulder. “Mum, please don’t panic. Joe is right; it’s probably nothing to worry about. At least not as much as you think.”
“Nothing to worry about! Don’t you remember when your father disappeared?”
Catherine let her arm slip away. She remembered that day all too well…
…”I don’t know where he is, honey.”
Little Catherine watched her mother curiously, noting how she kept wringing her hands together. It was very late at night, and her mum had let her stay up for some reason, which meant something was up. She didn’t understand the worry though; her dad was sometimes late, he had told her it was because of his work. Catherine looked back down and continued to colour in with her crayons, sticking her tongue out in concentration.
Mya glanced at her little daughter, her brunette curls spilling across the paper she was drawing on. She was glad she didn’t really understand why she was so worried; it wasn’t as if she could explain to her. Her husband’s work was…well, special. And dangerous.
He promised me he would be back by ten, he promised me! Please come back to me, please come back to me!
She glanced at the clock again. 1:36 am. Mya chewed nervously on a thumbnail, staring in desperation out of the window for her husband. She paced back and forth along the kitchen tiles, the bright fluorescent lights over her head hurting her eyes. He was just going to pick it up, come back, and hide it. Nothing else…so where is he?
“Mummy, why are you worried?”
Mya was snapped from her reverie by her daughter’s sing-song voice. Catherine was staring at her wide-eyed, swinging her legs merrily beneath the kitchen table. Mya forced a smile onto her lips, and sat down at the table, opposite her daughter. Reaching out for her small hand, she tried to reassure her. “Honey, I’m not worried. I’m just…wondering where your daddy is right now.”
Catherine furrowed her little brow. “But daddy is sometimes late. He’s late all the time because of his work.”
“Yes, but…” Mya stopped herself, and patted Catherine’s hand. “You’re right sweetie. He’s probably just late as usual!” She tried to sound light-hearted, but her tone had a nervous twinge to it.
A sudden loud banging at the front door sounded through the kitchen, and Mya jumped as though she had been shot. She scraped her chair back, running like the wind to the door. Please let it be him…
Opening the door, she was met with nothing but the cool night air, and darkness. She stuck her head outside, looking from left to right for any sign of anyone stood out there. Shaking her head, she pulled herself back inside, shivering from the cold, and went to shut the door. As she did so, she noticed a small parcel sitting on the doorstep, tied with string.
She bent to pick it up, and rapidly pulled the string off, letting it fall to the floor. One of the cats pounced on it, and began rolling around next to her feet with it, playing as though he were attacking it. Ignoring the cat, Mya opened the brown paper, her heart pounding.
Her blood ran cold as she saw what was inside.
Her husband’s severed finger, complete with the gold wedding band she had given him happily on their wedding day, sat in the middle of the parcel. On top, lay a note.
We have your husband. We have the orb. You are next.
Mya’s scream rang on and on…
…Mya shook with fear, looking fearfully down towards the floor. Catherine cast Joe an angry look, and he nodded in acknowledgement, looking suitably apologetic.
“They’re coming back; they’re coming back for me and Catherine.” Mya wrapped her arms around herself, and began to rock back and forth. Joe put his hand heavily on her shoulder, making her look back up into his eyes.
“Mya. I promise you that nobody-not anyone-will be getting to you or Catherine. I will be here, and you will not be left alone for a minute. When Catherine goes to work in the morning, I will personally make sure that she has somebody with her. Right, Catherine?”
Nodding furiously, Catherine shifted off the sofa, so that she could look at her mother properly. “Mum, no-one will even get close enough to us, even if it is real. Joe and the others will catch whoever it is first.”
Mya shook her head, her expression haunted. “No, you don’t understand. They can’t be found. They can’t be caught. They will get to us whether someone is with us or not.” She continued to rock herself, shivering, but not with cold.
“Mum? What do you mean?”
Mya stopped rocking at Catherine’s remark. She turned her face slowly, and scrutinized Catherine’s worried look, and then shook her head, pursing her lips determinedly. “Nothing. Don’t listen to me, I’m just worried, that’s all.”
Catherine sighed, and stood up. Joe followed suit, and gave a last glance towards her mother before turning back to Catherine. He nodded towards the hallway, and paced over, his face serious.
As she followed him outside, she folded her arms across her chest, almost defensively. He scratched his beard, a thing he did when he was nervous, Catherine noted. “Well, I’m going to stay here for tonight with you and your mother, okay? I need to ask your mom some more questions, but I’ll leave it until the morning when she’s had more time to think about it. Do you have any idea what she was talking about when she said ‘They’?”
Catherine thought for a moment, and then gave a quick shake of the head. “Not that I can think of. They never found out who took my dad-if anyone. We don’t know anything about it at all.”
Joe sighed, and hitched his trousers up, taking a look back at Mya sat in her clean white living room. “Alright. Well, I’ll ask in the morning, as I say. You should probably try to get some rest now, you might need it. Is there anyone I can call to go with you to work in the morning?”
Feeling a slight p
inch in her stomach at the thought of leaving her mum on her own, Catherine nearly brushed him off, but then nodded, and replied, “Yeah, Shawna can go with me. We’re supposed to go out tomorrow night anyway.”
“Good. I’ll call her now. And, Catherine?” His eyes seemed to soften as she looked up at him. “Try not to worry, okay? I know it’s hard, but nothing is going to happen to either of you while I’m on the case, got it?”
Smiling gratefully, Catherine patted him on the arm, and turned to go towards her bedroom. But she could help hearing her mother’s words swirling around inside her head.
“They can’t be found. They can’t be caught. They will get to us whether someone is with us or not.”
Chapter 7
“Damn it girl, I’m sorry! I just thought your friends should know, that’s all!”
Catherine had just finished work, and met up again with Shawna. She hadn’t really talked much to her that morning, not wanting to get into an argument with her. But now she was letting her have both barrels about telling Jackson.
She spun on her heel, feeling it dig into the dusty dirt underneath. “I don’t care, Shawna! I asked you not to tell anyone else, and you just had to tell him, of all people! You know he’s going to be far too over-protective now.” Looking at Shawna dejectedly, she turned around, and continued to walk ahead.
Shawna ran up and grabbed Catherine’s arm, making her stop again, her hair flying over her shoulder. Shawna swallowed, and then sighed. “You’re right, okay? I should never have told him without asking you first. But I only had the best intentions at heart.”
Catherine’s face softened slightly. “I know you did. Let’s just forget about it, okay?” She held out her arms, and the two women embraced, smiling. Shawna pulled away, and came next to her, both of them continuing to walk on.
The town was so quiet in the evenings. It was still hot, and flies buzzed around everything. The sound of children laughing far off carried over to them, making Catherine smile slightly. As she looked up towards Henri’s, she could see that most of the town were already there; their cars parked neatly outside. Typical for a Friday night, of course.
As they drew closer, they could hear the cliché rock music spilling out from indoors, along with the laughter and squeals of the patrons inside. The neon sign outside made a slight humming sound, its fifties retro-style writing making it feel as though it might have gone back in time. The trucks and saloons parked up outside all had the same dust marks up the sides from driving on the town’s roads.
Shawna went ahead, jumping up on the wooden decking outside the bar, and pulled the door open, the sounds inside suddenly jumping up in volume as if someone had flicked a switch. Both of the women pushed their way inside, greeted by shouts and waving. They waved back, stopping to talk to a few people, before pushing their way over to the bar.
Henri saw them and smiled, but nudged the barmaid working next to him. She looked up, and squealed in excitement, running over towards them. This was Hannah, Shawna and Catherine’s friend ever since she spilled a drink on them by accident when they came in the bar for the first time. Dressed in a tight pink tank top, her shoulder-length blond hair swinging around her face; she was the fantasy of a lot of the men in here. But like Catherine, she wanted to set her sights a little higher. That didn’t stop her messing around with a lot of the men though, and Shawna and Catherine had in the past had to get her out of plenty of scrapes with angry girlfriends.
“Oh my gods, I haven’t seen you two for days!” she grinned, leaning over the bar and throwing her arms around both of them, nearly knocking over several glasses at the same time, all respectively grabbed by their owners. “Where have you been?”
Catherine coughed at the strong perfume her friend had on, and unwound her arm. “We haven’t seen you for three days, Hannah; we were hardly at the other side of the world.”
“I know, but it always feels like it! So what can I get you both? The usual?” When both of them nodded, she bounded off to grab glasses for them. It wasn’t hard for most people to work out that her element was fire-she had a fiery temper, played with fire with other women’s men, and was full of sparks. Shawna watched her, shaking her head.
“I swear that girl’s gonna bust a spring or somethin’ soon. Does she ever run out of energy?”
Catherine laughed merrily at her friend’s disgusted expression. “I don’t think so, I think she keeps creating it.” She turned around to look at everyone in the bar. Nearly everyone in the bar was from the town, and those that weren’t were still well known by everybody. There was a rowdy game of pool going on in the corner, and raucous laughter following it. Men and women were stood drinking and smiling all over the wooden floor. A couple grind-danced together over by the jukebox, while the woman’s friend tried to chat up a biker-looking man, changing her hair from black, to brown, to blond using her magic. Catherine grinned and turned away. The woman would be using magic to increase her breasts next, she thought sarcastically to herself. She briefly wondered if Caden would like her as she was, or if he would like it if she changed herself by magic. She chased that thought away, thinking that she shouldn’t change herself, and she couldn’t show him anyway. He wasn’t a Wiccan, as far as she knew. Which meant that she wasn’t actually allowed to tell him at all.
Shawna noticed the light shining in Catherine’s eyes, and tapped her on the arm, bringing her back. “What’s that look for? You waiting on someone?”
Catherine giggled, and shrugged, casually. “Maybe. I said I would meet Caden in here tonight.”
“Oh? Come on, girl! Spill, what happened last night!”
Hannah came over to the two of them, just in time to catch the last part of Shawna’s sentence. Placing the two cold glasses down in front of them, she raised an eyebrow, pulling a surprised face. “Now don’t tell me our little Catherine has a man! Come on, tell me more!”
Laughing at their enthusiasm, Catherine hopped up onto one of the barstools, and leaned in, perching her elbows on the polished wooden bar-top. “Okay, okay. Shawna and I met him yesterday. His name is Caden Rouquette, and he is hot.” Shawna nodded agreement, fanning herself dramatically, feigning fainting. “Anyway, I went to see him last night, and we had a little chat. Not long, but he told me a little about himself. Then when I went to leave, he kissed me. I don’t mean he just pecked me on the cheek either, I mean he kissed me. Then I said I’d meet him in here tonight.”
The three women squealed at the same time, Hannah clapping her hands in delight. “He sounds yummy. Where can I get one?”
Shawna’s face snapped into seriousness, and she pointed her finger at Hannah. “Hey, you stay away from this one, he’s Catherine’s. You keep your claws out.”
Hannah bristled slightly, pouting. She pulled at her top slightly, wiggling her head comically at Shawna. “Alright, you don’t have to get all shouty on me. I was only kidding.”
“Good.” Shawna moved her hand, and smiled again. “Not that he would even look at you anyway; he only had eyes for Catherine yesterday.”
Hannah grinned happily at Catherine, and quickly walked over to the other side of the bar, excusing herself, to where three of the men were shouting for her attention. Easing straight away into seductive mode, she flicked her hair across her shoulder, pushing her chest out for them. Their eyes nearly dropped out on the bar.
Catherine turned back to make a funny remark about it to Shawna, when she saw her friend looked suddenly thoughtful. Peering at her, she frowned. “What is it Shawna?”
Opening her mouth as if to say something, Shawna snapped it shut again, as if she had thought better of it. She took a quick swallow of her drink, and then placed it down carefully, taking a deep breath. “Okay, look…this is just me thinking out loud, but…isn’t it weird that this Caden guy turned up and took an interest in you, and then that dagger appeared in your room?”
Catherine sat back on her stool, not liking where this was going. “What are you trying to say? That a guy i
sn’t going to show interest in me unless he’s a murderous maniac?”
Looking shocked, Shawna shook her head furiously, her plaits nearly whipping into someone behind her. “No, no…I told you, it’s just me thinking of nothin’. Forget I said it.”
As if he had heard them talking about him, the door suddenly swung open, and the tall figure of Caden strode in. The girl who had been changing her hair stopped abruptly, leaving it stuck somewhere between black and blond. Catherine gave Shawna a last look, and slid off her stool, waving over to him. He saw her, and waved back, grinning broadly.
He was dressed in his usual shirt and jeans get-up, his Stetson balanced on top of his tousled black hair. Catherine felt that swooning feeling again as he drew close to her, and he wound his arm around her waist. He leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss, a taste of what he had left her with the previous night. “Hey there, Miss Catherine.”
She grinned back up at him. “Hey, Mr Rouquette.” Remembering her manners, she looked to her left, where Shawna was looking at her amusedly. “Sorry, this is Shawna; I’m sure you remember her from the other day.”
“Of course. It’s a pleasure, Shawna.” He smiled at her, and tipped his hat. Even Shawna looked a little bit flustered, and Catherine was sure she might have tipped her hand in return, and giggled ‘Oh, you’, if Hannah hadn’t come over.
“Well, hello there handsome! You must be the lovely new man that Catherine has been telling us about. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Hannah gushed, leaning over the bar at him again. Shawna scowled at her, and she leaned back, but kept the confident smile on her face.
“The pleasure is mine, ma’am.” Caden tilted his hat again, and smiled at her, but his eyes fell again on Catherine. Shawna cast Hannah a triumphant look, who just shrugged in return, and grinned.
With You In Spirit (The Bassinville Witches Series) Page 4