“And house arrest means…” I wasn’t sure exactly what it meant.
“House arrest means if he sets foot more than two feet outside the house—in any direction—his monitor goes off. He’ll have to call in to have it reset, and the police will be able to tell if he’s back inside, so to speak. If he stays outside the field for more than a few moments, the police will send out a squad to apprehend them. They’ll be able to trace him if he tries to run.”
“Can he get it off?” I could imagine Ellison sitting there with a nail file, trying to pry the anklet off of his leg.
“No. If he does manage to break through the casing, a second alarm will sound and it won’t shut off. And since I’m also a lawyer for the Court Magika, I persuaded them to install a magical alarm system on him—a spell will sound an alarm if he moves more than one hundred feet outside of the radius of his house. Think of it as a magical GPS.” Almanzo grinned at me. “All in all, I think we won major inroads on keeping him out of your life. I’d rather have him in prison, but the truth is, he may be more restricted this way. Plus, they suspended his license for two years. At least he’s on house arrest and won’t be able to buy a car or rent one for the next twenty-four months.”
Relief filtered through me. “And phone calls?”
“As I said, if he calls you, make note of it. Same with texting. The court’s putting a block on his phone so he can’t contact you, but he can still borrow someone else’s. We can’t fool-proof this, unless we execute him.” My lawyer snorted. “And that’s not going to happen.”
“Unfortunately not. Honestly, I hate the fact that he’s still free.”
“He’s about as free as a chimp in a zoo,” he said. “I wouldn’t worry too much, if I were you. He’s also been slapped with a five-thousand-dollar fine, and has to submit to drug and alcohol testing once per week. No, Ellison is trussed up pretty tight.”
“He’s a turkey, all right,” I said. I turned to him as we stood in the parking lot. The wind was blowing up a storm, whipping the last of the leaves off the trees. “So, what do I owe you?”
“You don’t, and here’s your retainer check,” he said, handing me my check back. “Ellison will be paying all your court costs, so this one’s on him.”
I clapped my hands. “Good, he deserves it. Listen, if I need a lawyer in the future for anything, can I call you?”
Meier handed me his card. “I know I gave you one earlier, but here’s another. Call me whenever you need. I’ll let you know if there’s anything to worry about with Ellison’s case. But for now, I think you can forget about your ex and focus on the holidays—and the next two years.”
“By then, maybe he’ll have forgotten me,” I said. “Wishful thinking, I guess, but maybe he’ll find some way to turn himself around.”
As I turned to my car, I realized that at least one big episode in my life—Ellison—was pretty much over and done with. I thought it had been when I left Seattle, but now, it was true. He couldn’t come racing down here without the cops throwing his ass in prison. He couldn’t call me or he’d be tossed in the slammer. And even he couldn’t be that stupid. He was still in Bellingham, but he might as well be in another dimension, and that was good enough for me.
My heart feeling lighter, I tossed my tote bag in the backseat, settling down in the driver’s seat, and burst into tears, I was so grateful and relieved.
Chapter Four
I felt like having a drink to celebrate, but with the Crystal Cauldron coven meeting that night, I thought it might be best to go easy on the booze. Then I remembered—I had been downloading a document and needed to finish the research for the Witches Guild. Deciding that one drink couldn’t hurt, I poured myself a glass of white wine and carried it into my office. As I sat down and shifted the mouse, the computer woke up and I saw that the document had fully downloaded while I’d been gone.
Setting the wine to the side, I pulled out my phone and texted Killian. house arrest for two years. even better, he’s on permanent block to my phone. if he fucks up, he goes to prison for real. i count that a win.
Killian texted back. i’d be happier if he were fully locked up, but i guess we’ll have to settle for that. at least he’s got the threat of being incarcerated hanging over his head. you’ve got your coven meeting tonight, right?
right, so i’ll see you tomorrow. love you. xi and klaus send their purrs.
talk to you later, sweetheart. oh, my sister’s coming into town this weekend. i hope you don’t mind—i invited her to thanksgiving. our parents are going on a cruise next week and our brother’s out of town, so she was going to be alone.
I liked Tally, and one more at what was quickly becoming a large event wouldn’t matter. Besides, I could put her to work in the kitchen with the rest of us. that’s fine, she’s welcome at the table. talk to you tomorrow.
I put my phone down and turned back to my computer. The zip file was fully downloaded. Apparently, some group called the D-Zone had gathered all sorts of arcane lore about solstice celebrations held in various European countries. It was so large they had created a zip file to lighten the download, but it was still a hefty amount of information—books, images, and a lot of recorded rituals. I created a folder to hold the file and then dragged it from one window to the other. Once it was in that file, I clicked on Extract Files.
My stomach rumbled, so I decided to let the files do their thing while I hunted for some dinner. I carried my wine into the kitchen and poked my head in the fridge. I didn’t want to eat anything heavy, not before the coven meeting, but I needed something substantial, so I pulled out the deli turkey, bread, tomatoes, lettuce, butter, and cheddar. I slapped together a quick sandwich, going heavy on the meat and cheese, and then put the fixings away and carried my plate back to my computer, along with a can of Sprite. I didn’t want to drink more than one drink, and yet, I was craving something ice-cold and crisp.
As I walked into my office, I stopped. There was a strange scent in the air—like something burning. Frantic, I ditched the sandwich and soda on the nearest table and began hunting for the source of the scent. It was then that I saw a whiff of smoke coming from my laptop.
“No!” Without thinking, I pulled the cord out of the socket, but thank gods it didn’t electrocute me. I knelt by the outlet. There weren’t any char marks on it, but I was still uncomfortable. I pulled out my phone and called 911.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“I smell something burning. I think it was from my computer, which I unplugged, but I’m worried that maybe there’s a short circuit in the wall. I don’t want to wake up with the house in flames.” I waited, hoping I hadn’t bothered them unnecessarily.
But she assured me that it was better to be safe than sorry and that she would dispatch a unit to my house immediately. She recommended I wait outside.
“I have to get my cats,” I said.
Even though the 911 operator tried to dissuade me, I managed to scoop up Xi. Klaus came running up, thinking I was giving out treats, and I lured him into the foyer area of the dining room, where I popped both of them into the carriers. I usually kept the cat carriers within reach, in case of an emergency. I slung my purse over my shoulder and grabbed the cat carriers. Outside, I tucked them inside my car and leaned against the side of the vehicle, waiting. Within five minutes, a fire engine pulled up to the curb.