Here Witchy Witchy Box Set 2

by A. L. Kessler

  “There’s something else in your past that puts you as a subject of interest to them. Originally they thought you were a threat, and now…now I’m not sure what.” Oliver shook his head. “The problem is that they could see you as more of a threat than before.”

  I crossed my arm. “So, like everyone else these last couple days, you’re telling me I’m in danger.”

  “What I’m telling you is that you’ll be seeing the Cult again. Danger or not, I think you can handle them. After seeing how you handled a horde of blood-starved vampires, there’s no doubt in my mind that you can use your magic to protect you.” He handed me my mug. “Now, let’s get down to the real reason why you’re here, shall we?”

  He walked in front of me and led me to the sitting room. I sat down in the squishy, brown leather chair and cupped my coffee with both hands. “So you and Lark…” I let my words trail off.

  “Were both looking for someone by the name of Drake Moll. She was looking for him for a different reason than I was, but we were still looking for the same man.” Oliver leaned back in his chair. “The problem was that someone sent her my way and she continued to harass me until I finally had to take legal action and put a restraining order on her. It was the only way to deal with it legally.”

  I snorted. “Legally, that word worries me. Why didn’t you do some magic to frighten her away?”

  “Because I figured she was going to get herself in trouble and I didn’t want to end up with PIB knocking at my door.” He gave an amused smile. “Since you’ve constantly been here, I wouldn’t think you’d want PIB here either.”

  “I am PIB, but you’re right, I’d be pulled off this case if they found out we were related and I was here that often.” I sipped my coffee. “So who is Drake Moll and why was Lark looking for him?”

  “She said she owed him some big money for something or another. What she said didn’t make sense. She sold him something for research, but he never gave her the money for it.” Oliver met my gaze. “He’s a taxidermist and a bit on the insane side.”

  I raised a brow. “How insane are we talking here?”

  “He’s a magic taxidermist.”

  So there was magic involved, which I already knew. “Dark sort of magic right there, Life Magic?” Life Magic was a really gray area.

  “Yeah, Life Magic.” Oliver looked away. “If she ended up dead, he would be the place to start.”

  “And why were you looking for him?”

  Oliver shifted in the chair, and it was the first time I’d seen him act nervous about things.

  “Oliver?” I prompted.

  “This doesn’t go on the record. I was looking for him to discuss a spell.”

  “A life magic spell.” I put the pieces together. “What were you planning on doing with it?”

  “What I’m planning on is none of your concern, niece.” He looked away. “What matters is that I’m sure I have an alibi for when Lark was killed.”

  Not using my name was a way to shut me down. It pissed me off, but I knew that meant whatever he was hiding, I wouldn’t like it. “What’s your alibi?”

  “I was at Levi’s the night she was killed. We were discussing your future. Is the king of vampires’ word good enough for you?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, as long as you two aren’t plotting anything. Then I might have you thrown into jail just for fun.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be looking into that restraining order, and I’ll be looking into Drake. So if there’s anything you need to tell me, now would be a good time.”

  Oliver shook his head. “I’ve told you everything you need to know for this case. Once I’m cleared as a suspect, I expect that you leave me alone about it.”

  “You’re hiding something.”

  “Aren’t I always, Abigail?” He sipped his coffee. “And aren’t we all?”

  He had a point, and I settled back to finish my mug. After a few moments of silence, I spoke up, “Have you heard from Nick at all? Any other clues?”

  “Not since he sent me his key card. No word from him on your end?”

  “No not since Mason found his fingerprints on my car.” I sighed. “Part of me hopes this isn’t some sick joke by someone.”

  Oliver nodded. “It may not be a sick joke, but it may be messages for you.”

  “About what?”

  “That I have no idea about, Abigail. Now, if you would, I think it’s time for you to get to work, and I have a meeting that I need to get to.”

  I nodded and finished my coffee. “I’ll be checking on that paper work and your alibi.”

  “You could check the security cameras at Levi’s. We had a pretty heated argument.” He chuckled. “Stupid vampire.”

  I rolled my eyes and took my mug to the kitchen. Oliver didn’t follow me, and when I peeked back into the room, I saw him staring at the empty fireplace. “I’ll be back Saturday.”

  “For our session yes, then dinner. I’d like to take you out again.”

  He’d started taking me out about once a month to a fancy French restaurant that he was in love with. It had been one of my mother’s favorite places, and I guess he went there to feel close to her.

  “Sounds good.” I left and got in the car. For a moment, I was worried about him. The way he acted when I had mentioned why he was looking for Drake set off a warning in my head.

  I walked into my office and paused at seeing the desk gone. Something in my heart broke as I realized that Nick truly wasn’t coming back to PIB, even if he was alive. Part of me hoped that he just disappeared to work an undercover case, it wasn’t unheard of.

  I rubbed my eyes and went to my desk. I woke the computer up with a stroke of the login keys. I had all intentions of searching the name that Oliver gave me, but something in the back of my mind kept me from doing it. My fingers paused, poised over the keys, something was telling me not to put that name into the search. Not right now.

  I was always taught to trust my instincts, but this was something I needed to do for the case. If I didn’t, I could lose any lead that I had. My phone rang, making me jump. I pulled it out of my pocket and answered it. “Agent Collins speaking.”

  “Abby, I found something that you might want to come take a look at,” Mason’s voice came across the phone. “It’s just down the road from PIB, and it’s not pretty.” He gave me the address, and I jotted it down.

  “I’ll be there in just a few minutes. I just got in the office, and I was following up on a lead.”

  “Hurry, because I don’t know what to do with this mess,” he muttered. “Any luck with your lead?”

  “No, turns out that he only knew one of the victims and that he had an alibi.” Which of course happened to be with Levi, but Mason didn’t need to know the details.

  He muttered something, and the phone went dead. I looked back at the computer screen, and the lock screen was back up. I took that as my hint to follow my gut and leave it be for now. I grabbed my bag and left my office. Without the desk there it felt more lonely than it did before. Which I knew was silly, because it was just a desk, not a person, but it still gave off that feeling.

  I took the stairs two by two until I reached outside, quickly walked outside, and took a deep breath of fresh air. I had no idea what I was walking in to, but it was only a few blocks away from PIB at one of the newer housing developments. I didn’t need the car, because walking was quicker, especially if I had to avoid emergency vehicles.

  Sure enough, there were about two blocks of emergency vehicles, and mixed in were tabloids. Stephanie included. She sashayed towards me, and I shook my head. Glancing around, I looked for some kind of exit. I saw a small part in the crowd of gawkers who were gathering, and I ran for it.

  “Abigail Collins! Agent Collins!” her shrill voice called after me, but I didn’t stop. There was no way I was giving her any more article ideas.

  I dodged between a few people and into the crowd. “Excuse me, pardon me, Agent coming through.” I made it to the PIB crime scene tape at the
front of the house and ducked under it. The standing officer gave me a look. “I’m avoiding someone,” I said easily. “I wasn’t going to make it to the checkpoint without being stopped.”

  He chuckled and motioned to the officers talking with Detective Mason. “I believe they’re waiting for you.”

  I walked over. “Okay, I’m here, so are the tabloids and the mainstream media.”

  “Yeah, I had to avoid Stephanie by going through the ally. She’s getting more and more aggressive in her approaches.” Mason shook his head. “I’m not sure what to make of this next scene.”

  “Does it have to do with our bodies in boxes?” I started up to the front of the house with him by my side.

  He shook his head. “I don’t think so. Unless there’s something here that you see that I don’t.” He motioned to the house. “To your left, in the basement.”

  Basement. The last time I’d gone into the basement of a crime scene, it was a body pit. I glanced at Mason. “Really? Anything else to go on?”

  “You’re not going to fall into a pile of bodies, there are no ghosts that I can tell, and I doubt anything is going to explode.”

  Those were all very comforting words. “Okay, that’s good to know.” I walked into the house and noticed that the upper floor was set perfectly to reflect a pristine home. There was a little bench with a mirror attached to the back in the entryway of the house and a floor runner with some geometric design. I followed it in and looked around for a moment before going to the basement. Everything that I could see looking like a magazine, almost like the home was staged to sell. I went to my left and saw the stairs that led down. I carefully went down the steps, and it led me into something completely opposite of the picturesque upstairs.

  The damp air hit my nose, and my first thought was that the basement hadn’t been watertight and now moisture was sinking in. The unfinished room was set up with a stained couch and a TV on a rickety stand. Three humans were set up leaning on the couch, their heads cocked to the side, blood dried on their necks. One had their hand on the arm of the couch, fingers touching the remote. His eyes were still open as if watching the screen. The middle person was female, and her hands were carefully folded in her lap. While the third was also male and he was looking away from the TV, his dead gaze cast down the finished hallway.

  “Creepy,” I whispered and walked down the hallway. The concrete floor gave way to a plush white carpet that matched the walls of the hallway, giving the illusion of light. Brown spots dotted the threads of the carpet, leading down the hall.

  Bending down, I pulled out gloves from my bag and put them on. I ran my finger over one of the stains and found the fibers hard to the touch. I was willing to bet that any tests would come back with this as blood. I stood up and continued down the hall. A daybed done in pink frills and sheets sat in the corner with a doll in the middle.

  Curly brown hair framed the doll’s face, and big brown eyes stared at me as I walked in. I shuttered at the scene and wondered what the hell this was all about. I picked the doll up and smoothed down the frilly black dress and examined it closer. Someone had painted dainty white fangs peeking out from the doll’s rose-colored lips.

  I didn’t think dolls could get any more creepy and staring down at this, I knew without a doubt that the child vampire would now be making the mainstream news.

  Mason cleared his throat. “You want the case? Boss Man said I could give it to you, or wait until an Agent Yorkingson got in tonight.”

  “I want the case.” I put the doll down. “I can ask Agent Yorkingson to assist if I needed, but right now, it’s my case, and I’m not sharing.”

  Mason chuckled. “Maybe hand the other case off?”

  “No, I can work both. I’ve done it before.” I looked back at him and saw his brow draw together. “What?”

  “That’s when you had a partner.”

  I nodded. “I know, but I can handle this. Don’t worry. I need to get IDs on the victims and start scanning missing people. If they died from blood loss, they’ve either been here a while or we’re dealing with multiple vampires.”

  “Any way to tell if we are dealing with multiple?” Mason asked as he walked back into the makeshift living room with me.

  “Jason will measure the bite marks. They should be the same if we’re dealing with one vampire, or at least pretty damn close.” I walked back upstairs with him at my back. I paused again at the top of the stairs, instead of going out, I walked further into the house.

  The kitchen was set up with a round dining room table with fake flowers in the middle and plates set up as if ready for dinner. Something was off though, other than it being too perfect. A fine layer of dust covered everything. Nothing up here had been touched in a while. Which told me that it probably wasn’t humans that lived here, it might have just been the one vampire. Keira.

  “Do we know who owns the property?” I walked out of the small dining room and into the kitchen. I pulled open the fridge to find it empty.

  Mason flipped through his notes. “The name on the property taxes is Natalie Trevor. There’s no mortgage, and the property taxes are up-to-date. Looks like they bought it free and clear when it was built.”

  I ran my finger over the dust on the kitchen counter. “It doesn’t look like anyone has lived here since it was built. At least not up here.”

  “I’ll start talking to the neighbors to see if they know anything about the people who lived here.” Mason closed his notebook and put it back in his pocket.

  “Good plan, let me know what turns up.” I pressed my lips together as I thought. “I’m going to do some digging at the office.”

  “Okay, I’ll come visit once I’m done talking to the neighbors.” He walked out of the kitchen, and I stood there alone in the house.

  The forensic team hadn’t come in yet, so nothing was disturbed. I could hear the buzz of people outside the house while I just stood there, wondering what I was dealing with exactly when it came to Kiera and if by some unlucky streak we had two child vampires running around. I was hoping that wasn’t it, but I wasn’t sure that Levi would be thrilled that she made it into mainstream media or that Stephanie was now aware that I was going to be working the case.

  I walked out back and looked at the yard. Just like the rest of the house, perfect. Once I stepped on the grass, I knew why it appeared that way. astroturf crunched under my feet as I walked. I hopped the fence in the back and walked through the ally towards the PIB office. No one noticed me taking that route, so I had no media to deal with, and I could think in the silence on my way back. It was wonderful. Until I came face to face with a man in a black cloak, the Eye of Ra stitched in red on it.

  Well fuck.

  Chapter Five

  I threw my hand up to cast a circle around myself in protection the same moment the man in front of me moved. His magic came out at me almost like a whip. A flash of red cracking next to me. I dodged to the right and threw my magic up. My purple circle appeared around me, deflecting his next blow. What the hell?

  He pulled his hood off and his gaze met mine. “Agent Collins, our priest wishes to speak with you.” His blond hair stuck up in a cowlick at the crown of his head. The sun shone in his blue eyes, giving the illusion that he was innocent, but I knew better.

  “That’s a hell of a way to tell me he wants to talk to me. Attacking me? In public?” I snapped. “Tell him to use a phone, or are you people against phones?”

  He tilted his head to one side. “He didn’t think that you would take his call.”

  “Look, I’d love to chat, but I have two cases on my plate, and I really don’t have time for the Cult and whatever game it wants to play. Last time I dealt with you all, you put a hex on me and tried to kill me.” I touched the pentagram around my neck as if reassuring myself it was still there to protect me.

  He nodded. “That was our mistake; we weren’t aware of what might happen if you died.”

  “I…what?” I shook my head. “That mak
es no sense.” Unless they knew Levi would slaughter every one of them, but even then, since he was the king of vampires, I was betting that was frowned upon.

  “That’s all I can say, except that my priest wants to speak to you.”

  I rubbed my eyes. “Tell him to either pick up a phone and call me or come see me himself.”

  “Your word you will see him if he contacts you himself?”

  I nodded. “Yes, my word I will talk to him.”

  “Then you shall hear from him within the week. I’ll let him know that we have spoken.”

  I was going to mention something about Merick, but I thought better of it. “I can’t wait.” I tried to keep the sarcasm from my voice, but it was hard.

  He bowed his head and put his hood back on. I expected him to walk away and wondered how he was going to get past the cops without suspicion, but he simply faded into the air.

  Like Nick had. The similarity didn’t escape me. I needed to make sure that I asked Merick about the ability because as far as I knew, witches and warlocks couldn’t just transport themselves to and from places. Not like vampires could.

  I blew out a huff of air out and closed my eyes. Concentrating, I called my magic back into me and let the purple circle down. My magic warmed my skin and calmed me as I pulled it in. My life was going to hell in a handbasket again, and I wasn’t sure what I could do about it. Saying no to PIB, Levi, and the Cult didn’t sound like a good option, one would cost my job, one was impossible, and the other could cost me my life. Yeah, saying no wasn’t going to happen.

  I walked back to the office without another issue. I walked in and the rush of the air conditioner wrapped around me and was a welcome relief from the morning heat. Mandy looked up. “Hey Agent A.” She waved at me from the desk.

  I gave her a half wave and headed toward the stairs. I didn’t rush up them. I moseyed as my mind thought about how the cult member disappeared in front of my eyes. I kept thinking about how Nick faded into the dusk. I hadn’t even thought about it being magic. That had never been a possibility in my mind. If he had an ability like that, a spell, anything, then he could have used it to get out of the morgue. It would explain how he disappeared without Jason noticing. I originally had no explanation for the disappearing.