Sam and Drew met us outside. “Our guys have been over the scene already,” Sam said.
Drew put his arm around me, and I sank into him, loving his warmth. “We’re officially calling this a string of murders,” he said. “The coins are too much coincidence.”
“Okay, so you just want me to confirm her witch’s mark?” I asked. “I already know she’s a witch.”
Sam and Drew exchanged a glance. Drew cleared his throat. “Er, actually, I can see the marks. We thought you could try to get her to talk like you tried before. See if she saw anything or knows anything.”
“Sure,” I said. “I can try. Are we alone here?”
Drew nodded and pulled me closer to him. “Her husband is human, right?”
“I have no idea. She never introduced me to a husband, and the coven members and some of their children were only people here when I was.”
Drew sighed. “Okay. The husband is probably human if he wasn’t at the coven meetings. We sent him to the station to fill out paperwork. And their children live out of state. They’re flying in. We’re alone here for the moment.”
They led Olivia and me into the house that had magically welcomed me in just a few days before.
CeCe laid in a pool of blood in the doorway of the big entrance hall and her enormous dining room. “What happened?” I asked, moving closer.
Sam said, “She fell.”
I peered at the body. “Is that…?” I wasn’t sure if what I was seeing was really what I was seeing. “A casserole?”
“Yes,” Sam said. “She was on her way into the dining room with a casserole for her and her husband. She tripped and the glass broke, cutting her carotid.”
“It’s not the blood loss that often kills the person when they cut the carotid,” Olivia chirped.
We all turned to stare at her. “What?” she sniffed and tossed her hair back. “I know stuff.”
“Well, what is it then?” Drew asked.
“Blood pressure loss to the brain. Eventually, blood loss would do it, sure, but the loss of blood to the brain is the main culprit.”
I wasn’t sure she was right about that. I’d done a bit of research myself, being an author. I was pretty sure I’d read that a fully cut carotid would cause death by blood loss in five minutes or so.
Not that I was about to contradict Olivia. At least not at the moment. Besides, It didn’t matter to me how CeCe died. I was just sorry she was gone.
I knelt beside CeCe and tried to ignore the casserole. Focusing on my would-should have been friend, I called to my magic. “CeCe, who did this to you?”
Her eyes flashed open and my heart dropped to my feet. I would never get used to that. At least CeCe hadn’t put a spell on herself so I couldn’t raise her. I was about to ask my question again when she started to speak. “Coin is cursed. Don’t let him put the coin in your pocket.”
“Who?”
“Don’t take the coin. He isn’t sane.” Then her eyes closed, and my magic broke off suddenly.
I pushed magic into her only to have it snap back at me like a rubber band, hitting me in the chest and knocking me on my ass. A groan escaped me as something wet seeped through my jeans. Nice. All I needed was to sit in CeCe’s blood.
Drew was at my side in an instant, helping me up. “Thanks,” I said resisting the urge to wipe at my blood-soaked ass. “You don’t happen to have a change of pants or shorts?”
I was joking but Drew nodded and led me out to his patrol car. Opening the trunk, he pulled out a pair of sweats and handed them to me. “They’re clean. I didn’t make it to the gym today.”
He worked out? Olivia was slipping. She was supposed to tell me all the scoop on everyone in town whether I asked for it or not. That included Drew. Yet, she hadn’t told me he had a gym membership. I was going to have to tell her about her failures as the town’s busy-body.
Now I’d have to check to see which of the two town gyms he used. You know, so I could get a membership and watch him work out.
“Thank you.” I waved a hand and said the incantation for the invisibility spell, then changed out of my soiled jeans and panties. Drew started and turned in a circle. “Ava?”
I giggled and pulled up the pants. Drew’s sweats were huge on me and rested on my hips even with the drawstrings tied as tight as they’d go.
Once I released the spell, Drew blinked and frowned. “Where did you go?”
“I was here. I did a spell to take the attention away from me while I changed. It’s like being invisible.” I moved to Olivia’s 4-Runner.
She was waiting for me, looking a little paler than I’ve ever seen her. Handing me a plastic grocery bag, she said, “You okay? How did your power bounce back like that?”
“I’m not sure. I guess that she was ready to move on. Or it could have been the curse from keeping her from giving a necromancer too much information.” I was betting on the latter. “And nothing she said helped us get any closer to figuring out who did this.
Fatigue started to set in, and I yawned. Drew massaged my neck, and I almost told him he’d have to follow me home and give me a full body massage. But I needed sleep.
I turned to him. “Olivia and I are looking through the occult books that I ordered through the bookstore tomorrow. I’ll also look through some of the grimoires and see what I can find on this curse.”
There had to be a way to track the magic back to the witch who cast it.
Drew kissed my forehead. “I’ll call if I find out anything new.”
I nodded and climbed into Olivia’s SUV and fastened my seat belt.
When we got home, Olivia collected a sleeping Sammie and left with promises of coming back. Or were those threats? I still wasn’t sure.
After my new BFF and the cutest kid on earth—besides Wallie of course—left, I went straight to my bedroom and showered. When I exited my bathroom, thankfully wearing my robe, I jumped seeing Alfred sitting on my bed. “Alfie, is something wrong?”
He shook his head and stood, then motioned to the teacup on the nightstand. I walked over and picked up the cup and inhaled. Chamomile and mint. It was what I needed to relax. “Thank you.”
I stared at him for a few seconds before reaching out to touch the string hanging from his mouth. He knocked my hand away while shaking his head and moving to the door. “Alfred, I know you can talk. Why don’t you want me to take the string out?”
The ghoul was weird about the string. He didn’t want it removed. He lifted the tablet I hadn’t noticed until then and typed. When he turned it around to show me, the words didn’t make sense.
Too soon. Not the right time.
Then Alfred disappeared out of my room.
Why in the world was everyone being so cryptic today?
Chapter Seventeen
Bright and early the next morning…Okay it was 9:00 a.m. but that was still too early for me. Olivia came over with warm, fresh donuts and caramel mocha lattes. The woman was spoiling me with her early morning delivery service.
Sammie was with his grandparents, so we were on our own for the afternoon. The possibilities were endless.
Yet, instead of actual fun, we were hunting for clues and trying, again, to trace the magic behind the curse on the coins. Drew was able to steal the coin found on CeCe and had dropped it by the house last night. I’d been asleep so Alfred answered the door. I hoped he didn’t answer the door that often. Eventually, we were going to scare a human to death.