Larry sighed. “I don’t remember. The last thing I remember is sinking. And then waking up and being pulled to Ava. Owen told me how long it’s been.”
Owen nodded. “Yes, Larry told me his story on Valentine’s night while you two were off in Paris.”
I couldn’t stop the flush rising up my cheeks. “Is there anything else you remember about your death?” I asked, drawing the conversation back around to the skeleton and not my date.
“He slipped a coin in my pocket,” he said. “At least, I think it was a coin. I was running, and he almost caught me. I kept running, but he stuffed something in my pocket. I figured I’d see what it was later, and it didn’t occur to me it was causing me to sink. But in retrospect, I think it could’ve been a cursed coin. I remember a flash of silver.”
“For it to be a cursed coin, it would’ve had to have been silver. Modern coins don’t have enough precious metals in them to contain a curse. Nickel, zinc, copper, those metals won’t hold a curse. It takes gold, platinum, but the most common is silver,” Owen said.
I nodded in agreement. I’d known that; some leftover knowledge from my witch studies as a child.
“There are a number of coins made up until 1964 that are ninety percent silver,” Olivia said.
“How do you know this random stuff?” Owen asked.
Sam patted Olivia’s hand. “This woman is a trivia queen. Always try to be on her team in a trivia contest.”
She blushed and nudged him with her shoulder.
I sighed and sat back in my chair. “Did you see the witch?” I asked.
Larry shook his head. “No, he wore a hood.”
“So, it could’ve been a woman?” Sam asked.
“I suppose.” Larry looked off in the distance as if thinking. “But the presence felt masculine. I don’t know how to describe it.” He blinked rapidly.
Wait. He couldn’t have blinked! He didn’t have eyes! Ugh, damn necromancer powers were making me crazy. Or I was just going insane.
“Your cat is chasing an animal in the backyard,” Larry said and pointed out the door.
Alfred grunted and walked toward the door. At some point, he’d put on an apron that said Kiss the Cook. That silly ghoul.
A brief memory from my childhood flashed in my mind. It was of my dad cooking with a similar apron. Frowning, I shook off the memory as Alfred grunted again and opened the back door, scurrying out with a big wooden spoon in his hand.
Leaving the back door standing open, he hurried out into the yard. I scraped my chair back and followed quickly to see what in the world Snooze had gotten into. There was no telling with that crazy fat cat.
I stood on the patio, surrounded by Drew, Sam, Wallie, and Olivia. Larry and Owen stepped down the porch steps.
“Is that a ferret?” Olivia asked.
Alfred stood by and waited for the mystery animal and Snooze to streak by, then at just the right moment he reached out and thwacked Snooze on the rump with his wooden spoon.
Snoozle stopped short and turned around toward Alfred with a yowl that sounded suspiciously like he was saying, “Ow!”
Alfred put both hands on his hips, glaring at the cat. Then he pointed to the back door with a stiff arm.
“What kind of relationship do these two have?” Olivia whispered.
Snooze hunched down and stalked toward the house. He stopped at the stairs and turned to growl at Alfred.
Alfred stopped walking and put his hands on his hips again. He grunted once, and Snoozle walked past us and into the house.
Alfred waited for us to all follow Snooze back into the kitchen.
With a loud click, Alfred closed the front door and locked it. He nodded once at the lot of us, still close to the door with our heads turned toward the cat, staring at the spectacle, then went back to the stove to finish dinner.
“Ohm-kay. Anybody hungry?” I asked.
Chapter Four
Sam’s work phone squawked halfway through dinner. I internally groaned at the interruption. If Sam left, there was a good chance Drew would too.
Before we started eating, Alfred had urged Larry to go upstairs with him to do who knew what dead things did. I shuddered to think.
Honestly, they were probably just playing with furious birds on the tablet.
I bit into the fish, which was surprisingly tender and flaky, as Sam answered. “This is Thompson.”
I couldn’t hear whatever came over the line, but Sam’s face darkened. That wasn’t good. “Yeah, the sheriff is here with me.”
Sam covered the mouthpiece. “We gotta go.”
Drew’s forehead creased and he pursed his lips.
“Okay, text me the address.” He paused. “Oh, I know where that is.” Another long pause. “Seriously? Okay, we’re on our way.”
“What is it?” Drew asked, scooting out his chair. “Why didn’t they call me?”
Sam jumped up and shoveled several more bites in his mouth. “Said they did. Old Miss Miriam was killed at her shop,” he mumbled around a potato.
Drew pulled out his phone. “Shit. It’s on silent.”
Larry and Alfred peeked down from the top of the stairs as we followed Sam and Drew to the door. “Sam, your uniform,” Olivia said. Drew was still in his.
He shrugged. “It’s okay. I can work a case in plain clothes. It’s better that we get there fast.”
As she pressed a kiss to Sam’s cheek, I considered doing the same to Drew, but that felt way too intimate after we’d only had one date… And whatever dinner tonight could be considered. Not a date.
Even though we’ve kissed before, a couple of times, I didn’t think we were at the point of the quick goodbye kisses.
“Should…” I looked around at my friends. “Maybe we should come.”
Sam furrowed his brow. “Wasn’t old Miss Miriam a friend of your Yaya’s?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Which means she might be a witch.”
Drew shook his head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
He and Sam exchanged a long look. “Maybe once we’ve assessed the situation, we’ll have you come to the morgue, look for one of those witch’s marks,” Sam said.
I nodded. “Okay. Call us if you need us.”
Drew glanced back, looking like he was considering the same kiss I had. He dipped his head and touched my hand briefly. “Good night.”
Okay. Definitely too soon for the have a good day at work, sweetie kiss.
I watched them, Drew specifically, rush to Drew's patrol car as I slowly closed the door. Olivia tugged at my arm. When I glanced at her she giggled, which made me roll my eyes. I did not have it bad for the sheriff.
I had something, but it wasn’t bad.
As a group, we shuffled back to the kitchen, with Alfred and Morty joining us. “Remind them to look for a coin,” Larry said.
“Oh, good idea.” Olivia pulled out her phone and sent a text to Sam.
When we entered the kitchen, I gasped and threw up my hands, ready to shoot a beam of… Hell, I didn’t even know what I would’ve shot. It was instinct and my magic was ready to blast the intruder on my command.
Well, that was new. Maybe opening my senses to my power made it easier to access. Of course, it did. That meant I had to be careful and not be so impulsive. I didn’t want to blow up my house or anyone.