A Witch and Her Man (Jeff and Gail) (8 page)

After introductions, she showed Greta the extra bedroom. When they returned, Jeff was preparing to leave.

"Unfortunately, it's time for me to go. I'll call you tomorrow," he said. "And Gail, if you need me or even if you just want to talk, you have my cell number. Call me anytime because just like my gun, I always have it with me."

"I will," she promised. "Just one more thing."

"Yes?" He stopped at the door.

She stepped close, wrapped her arms around his neck and they shared a passionate but all too brief kiss. "I just needed to taste you one more time before you left."

Gods, this is going to be hard. Other than the time I spent at work, we've been together day and night for weeks
. "Okay, bye. I'll see you real soon… won't I?"

"Count on it."

****

The next night after work, Gail waited and even prayed to the Goddess that the phone would ring. She even thought about calling him but discarded that idea. He had only been gone for a day. She did not want to appear desperate to talk to him, to hear his voice, even though she was. She almost jumped out of her skin when her phone rang. When the caller ID told her it was him, she beamed and flipped the phone open.

"Hi, Jeff," she answered, trying unsuccessfully to keep the excitement from her voice.

"Hi, beautiful," he returned, sending tremors of pleasure rolling down her spine. "How are you getting along with Greta?"

"She's nice. A little quiet, but nice, just the same. There's one thing I miss though."

"And that would be?"

"I miss doing the wild thing like I did with my previous bodyguard."

"You better not be doing the wild thing with her or anyone else, young lady. You are spoken for."

Fluttering butterflies.

She smiled into the receiver. "You know I won't, handsome. Just don't stay away too long. I miss you."

"I miss you too. Gail. I took the job of locating that girl I told you about. The only reason I'm telling you is because I thought you might know her. During my research, I found out she was Wiccan too. Her name is Justine."

Gail's hand shook and her voice quavered as she answered, "Yes, I know her. We're not close friends. She's in a different coven, but I do know her. Did you find her?"

"Not yet, but I just took the job today and have scarcely started my research. I may not be over for a couple of days because I want to move fast on this case. I hope you understand."

She hid the disappointment she felt at the thought of not seeing him. "Absolutely. Just find her."

They exchanged some pleasantries and hung up.

The next day, Jeff called to talk to her but had no progress to report on Justine's case. The following day he called again. Jeff apologized, "Sorry to call so late, but I found Justine..."

Gail interrupted, "It's not late for me. It's not quite 2:00 am. I just got home from work. So, is she okay?"

The silence at the other end revealed the answer before he spoke. "I'm afraid not."

More silence.

Gail squared her shoulders. Even though it was bad news, she wanted to know the details. "Tell me, Jeff. Tell me everything."

"I don't really know how to break it to you gently. I found her in a wooded area, tied up with a bullet hole in her head. I'm trying to track down who did this. Trust me, Gail. Whoever is responsible will pay."

Silence.

"Gail, are you okay?"

She did not want her voice to betray how much his news hurt. After taking a deep breath, she calmly answered, "I'm fine. Thank you for telling me about Justine and may the Goddess help you in your search. I need to go now, Jeff. Please be safe." She hung up. Cold shivers raced through her and she hung her head in sorrow. Even though she had not been close friends with Justine, she had been a fellow witch. Another witch was dead. She truly hoped Jeff would be able to track down whomever was responsible and put an end to this. "Please, Goddess, take care of Justine and even though he's not a believer, please watch over Jeff and keep him safe," she choked out in an emotional whisper.

Gail stepped out the shower, dried herself, and walked into the bedroom. Her thoughts turned to Jeff. They talked every day, but he had not been over all week. From the corner of her eye, she saw a movement in the shadows of her closet. In desperation, she looked around for some type of weapon. Her stomach knotted and her heart raced. Sure it was not Greta and in a voice that reflected her extreme fright, she demanded, "Who's there?"

"Me," a male voice answered, and Jeff stepped out of the shadows.

Thank the Gods!
She ran over and leapt into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and covering his face with wet kisses.

"Hi, beautiful," he finally managed, for which she covered his face with more wet kisses.

"You scared the crap out of me!" she admonished. "If I'd had a gun, I probably would've shot you dead."

Jeff laughed. "I don't think so. You can't hit the broad side of a barn. I'd trust my reflexes any day to avoid shots fired by a wild witch with a gun." Typically he was confident, even smug, about his abilities and this was apparent in his reply.

"Oh, you!" She hugged him more and clamped her legs tighter around his waist.

"Where's Greta? How did you get in here?"

"Night off. Talked to her earlier… Gail, calm down, I'm trying to explain," he managed.

At last, she let her feet fall to the floor. She put on a pair of panties and a nightshirt then led him into the kitchen where she poured them something to drink.

"So, how did you get in here?" she asked.

Grinning, he gazed at her. "I had the safeguards on this house installed. I wouldn't be very good at my job if I couldn't get past them now, would I?"

He sat at the table while she fixed drinks and gushed about how glad she was to see him. Although she made a number of attempts to broach the subject of his investigation and how it was going, he carefully changed the topic.

"I'd rather not discuss it. Let's just say that my investigation is proceeding."

She gave up trying to get any further information from him. The set of his jaw when she tried to broach the subject showed he would not talk about it. She was certain trying to coax information from him would be fruitless.

"So, to what do I attribute this nocturnal visit of yours?" she teased.

"I missed the little witch I'm seeing."

Butterflies.

"When's Greta coming back?"

"She won't be back until tomorrow afternoon, in time to take you to work."

Gail stood up, took his hand and led to the bedroom. "Then I think it's high time we get started with a proper greeting."

He held her arms stretched above her head and pinned her to the bed with one of his legs draped across her. Shivers ran the length of her spine as his lips brushed down each of her arms. He kissed her for too short a time before moving on. The buds that tipped each of her breasts were already tight. When he finished nibbling and laving them, they were so taut she was sure they would burst.

"Jeff, I…" She squelched the words.
I love you.
She determined she would not say them even though she knew they were true. There had been far too much hurt and disappointment in her past. "You're so wonderful. You make me feel so wanted."

"You are wanted. I want you every day and every night."

His masculine scent tickled across her nose and she inhaled deeply, relishing his aroma. He moved down and brushed his lips across her stomach, causing her heart to race even faster. When his mouth descended on her clitoris, she sucked in her breath. She squirmed uncontrollably beneath him as he worshipped her body with his lips and tongue. The heat inside her burned so hot, she was certain she would start glowing any second. His tongue traced between her folds and she was going insane with need.

"Come up here. Let me taste those magical lips of yours." She cupped her hands to the sides of his head and guided him upward to her mouth.

She grasped his cock and positioned it to her entrance while their tongues twisted and jousted with each other. A muffled moan tumbled from her lips when he slid into her.

"You're so incredibly gorgeous. So fantastically beautiful," he whispered.

Butterflies.

She laughed giddily. "So you keep saying. Please don't stop. I love to hear the words."

After making love several times, exhaustion overcame them and they fell asleep in each other's arms. When she awoke, it was light outside and Jeff was gone. She groaned in disappointment until she heard the coffee pot perking. Crawling from bed, she found him in the kitchen, pouring himself a cup. Without even turning, he took another cup from the cupboard and poured another one. Even though barefoot and silent, he had heard her.

Greta arrived later and Jeff stood at the door, ready to leave.

"So, when can I expect another nocturnal visit?"

"It'll probably be a couple days. I'll call, though."

She was certain the disappointment showed on her face. Standing on tiptoes, she gave him a kiss. "Take care of yourself, handsome. You know where I live."

"Yep. I know where. Bye, beautiful. See you later."

****

Jeff contacted a friend at the FBI and got copies of the ballistic reports on the bullets that had killed Shorty and Justine. He then contacted another friend for analysis of the reports. At the same time, he took the scrapings he had removed from beneath two of Justine's fingernails and took them to another lab. Just as he suspected, the same gun had been used to kill both Shorty and Justine.

The DNA test results of the scrapings identified Justine's assailant and Jeff's friend faxed him a picture of the man, a hood with a long history of brushes with the law. He took the picture and address then set out to locate Al. He found the house easily, secreted himself away and waited.

Al arrived home just after dark and let himself in. Jeff continued to wait until close to midnight. He walked to the door and knocked. From inside, he heard Al's voice. "Go away. I'm busy."

Jeff knocked again, louder this time.

"Oh, all right, already. I'm coming. This better be important or I'm going to beat the shit out of you!" Al yelled.

He heard the dead bolt rattle and saw the doorknob turn. When it stopped turning, he slammed his shoulder against the door, forcing it open abruptly.

In an instant, Jeff took in the scene. Al was sprawled on the floor. His gun had been flung further along the floor, just out of reach. No one else occupied the room. The television was on low volume and a can of beer sat on a table beside a recliner. The room was unkempt and contained no decorations on the walls. Two doorways led from the room.

He focused his attention to Al, whom he recognized from his picture. There were fresh scratches on the man's cheek. Al scrambled to his knees and headed for his gun.

"Don't even think about it, Al. I'll shoot you dead long before you reach it."

Al stopped and started to get up.

"No, on your knees with your hands on the back of your head. Do it now," he barked.

In a show of bravado, Al yelled, "You didn't even read me my rights, stupid. I wanna talk to my lawyer. I'm good friends with the assistant chief of police. I'll have your badge, pig."

"News flash, Al. I'm not a cop. There aren't going to be any lawyers. I'm tired of talking and getting no answers."

"I know my rights and I want my lawyer right now!" Al screamed.

For an answer, Jeff took two steps across the floor, placed the gun to Al's forehead, and pulled the trigger. Al closed his eyes and flinched when he heard the firing pin click. He opened his eyes wide when the gun did not go off.

"Geez, what an amateur. I coulda reached my gun after all," he spat out contemptuously.

"That was just for dramatic effect. There's a round in the chamber now. Should I pull the trigger again?"

"No."

"Is there anyone else here? Be careful how you answer, Al, because if someone rushes in, you're going to be the first to die."

"No."

"Good. Now you're going to tell me everything you know about Shorty and Justine. The man and woman you killed. I'm certain you know their identities. You're going to add your thoughts and suppositions, too. Start talking," he ordered.

"Not telling you a fuckin' thing," Al mumbled.

"What was that, Al? I thought you said you weren't telling me anything. If that's the case, I guess I'll just kill you and be done with it. Is that what you said?"

The man cringed. "Not what I said. What do you want to know?"

"We're going to have a question and answer session. I'll ask the questions and you'll supply the answers. Oh, and Al, I guess you do have one right, the right to die. I don't much care which you choose because you killed a friend of mine and the friend of a friend. Now I'll give you one last chance to start talking." He hoped his words and tone let Al know he was quickly running out of patience. He knew he had won full cooperation when he saw a large circular wet stain start to form at the front of Al's pants.

"But they'll kill me if I talk!"

"I'll kill you if you don't. The choice is yours. I'm here, they're not. So, if you talk to me, you'll at least have a head start at leaving town or even the country."

"I... I... I didn't kill anyone. Felix did. I swear," Al began. "He used my gun to kill the witch while I held her. He told me his had jammed."

"Your gun was used to kill a P.I. also." Jeff filed a new name into his mind along with the Assistant Police Chief.

Al gulped. "Felix used my gun to kill him too. He said his gun wasn't working."

"You're a fool. Can't you see that Felix has set you up to take the fall if what happened ever comes to light?"

Al blabbed everything he knew as he knelt with the gun barrel pressed to his forehead.

"Anything else, Al?"

"That's all I know. I swear, that's everything," he finished.

"Okay, you've been helpful, so I'm going to let you live. My advice is for you get as far away from here as possible. I'm going to leave now. Don't come outside for at least ten minutes after I go. Is that clear? Take my advice. Leave the country. If you don't, you'll end up dead."

Al nodded and Jeff backed to the open door. He stepped off the porch, ran down the street to his car and waited. Sure enough, ten minutes later Al hurried out the door, wearing a clean pair of pants and got into his car. He started his car and drove down the street, apparently unaware he was being followed. The man went straight to what Jeff assumed was Felix's house and when the door opened, he rushed in.

Jeff knelt outside the partially open door, peeking through the casing and listening to the conversation inside.

"Al, you actually told this person everything! You didn't even lie? How stupid can you get?" Felix clenched his teeth and squelched the obvious anger that wanted to burst from his mouth. Jeff watched the play of emotions on Felix's face and could almost read his thoughts. All his carefully laid plans to shift the blame from himself to Al had gone up in smoke. "You fucking idiot! You told this stranger everything?"

"But Felix, what else was I supposed to do? He had a gun to my head," Al whined.

Jeff was not surprised by Felix's behavior. Al had become a big liability. One he certainly intended to get rid of. Felix turned his back to Al in the pretense of getting his drink off the counter. Then he spun back and fired the pistol he had drawn, striking his accomplice twice, once in the throat and once in the chest. Al slipped to the floor, disbelief written on his face. He could not even speak because of the neck wound as his lifeblood poured out onto the floor. His hand was grasping his throat as he attempted in vain to hold back the flow. He looked up at Felix in shock.