Magic and Mayhem: Witchin' Impossible (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Hazed & Confused Mysteries Book 1) (5 page)

What. The. Hell? I mean, what the hell was I thinking? We were hiding from potential bad guys, and I was trying to live out my school girl fantasy with the popular quarterback.

At that point, I missed anything else said, because it was hard to hear over the beating my brain gave my libido. The sliding door to the building closed, and Ford crawled out first. He stood up, his fingers flexing and clenching as he rapidly paced in front of me.

“What?” I said, keeping my voice down. “I’m sorry.”

He stopped in his tracks and turned his gaze on me. “There’s an opening in the siding over there.” He pointed to the north wall. “That’s where I came in.”

“Why are you here at the junkyard?” I asked. “Are you following me?”

“You accused us of dropping the ball on Danny’s murder. And now with Boyd Decker’s death, I agree with you. It wasn’t my case, but I knew Mitchell wasn’t doing everything he could.” Surprisingly, he grabbed my hand, and the intensity in his eyes made my knees weak.

“I get that,” I said. “But why are you
here
?”

He shook his head. “Why did you come back here, Haze?”

“You asked me that already, and I told you. I came to bring Danny’s killer to justice.”

“Is that all?”

“We should skedaddle while the skeddadling is good,” I said.

“Is that your professional opinion or are you just avoiding the bear in the room?”

I knew this conversation was leading back to him saying we were mates. While I’m sure he believed it, I didn’t. “Driver could come back at any minute.”

He grabbed me by the arms and lifted me up until my toes barely touched the ground, and then…he kissed me. Just a quick brush. Nothing more.

When he set me back down, I couldn’t feel my feet, and I think my brain had short circuited as well. I froze in place because all I knew if I tried to move I’d end up jumping up on Mt. Baylor and scaling him until the air was too thin to breathe.

He lowered her face to mine, his fingers curling under my chin, and said in the sexiest-motherlovin’-pantymelting-lustinducing way, “Don’t kid yourself, woman. Danny isn’t the only reason you came back.”

I would have protested, but my tongue refused to do anything but wag.

“For years I’ve been a man half alive…until I saw you yesterday, Haze. I can’t go back to that. I can’t go back to being someone who doesn’t care whether a murderer is caught or not.” Just as suddenly, he let me go. “My truck is parked about a mile down the road. You go out into the yard and come up one of the rows. I live at 216 Harmony Street. Do you need directions?”

I found my voice, finally. “I have GPS,” I rasped.

The corner of his mouth tugged up. “We’ll meet up in an hour.”

“You want me to come to your house?”

“The chief has given us all direct orders to appear cooperative without cooperating. I want to help you, Haze, but not at the expense of my job.”

“Can you make it three hours?” I had the meeting with Adele Adams and the coalition, and after that, I wanted to touch base with Lily.”

“Fine.” He nodded. “See you in three.”

He nodded once then ducked down to slide out the side of the building.

When he was out of sight, I let out a stuttering breath and a quiet sob. Goddess, that man made every part of me want to touch every part of him. It was unnatural. When the cinnamon scent faded, I followed out the hole in the wall and made my way into the junkyard.

Chapter Nine

THE WITCH-SHIFTER COALITION
office was down on Heavenly next to the DMV. I spent the entire drive settling down my protesting lady parts and trying to get the feeling back in my lips. Damn, that Ford Baylor had really done a number on me. Again. If it weren’t for Lily, I might have packed up my squirrel and got the hell out of Paradise. I didn’t have time for romantic complications. Especially from a tall, grumpy, and furry werebear. Why did I let him kiss me? Even worse, I’d tried to kiss him first, and he cheeked me. It wasn’t the first time I’d been kissed, and it hadn’t even been the most passionate, even so, it had rocked the very foundation of my world.

My alarm on my phone beeped. Shoot. I was missing my appointment. I cracked the windows of the car to vent the afternoon heat and went inside.

The coalition was housed in a historical brick two story building with lead glass windows, and large, wooden double doors. Adele Adams, a tall leggy blonde with big, blue eyes that made her look doll-like, greeted me at the front desk. She wore a tightly fitted A-line dress with a deep vee in the front that showed off her buoyant breasts.

“You’re late, Agent Kinsey. I expected you to be here by noon.” She tapped her watch. “I agreed, as a favor to Carol, to meet with you. At the very least, you could be on time.”

The way she said “Carol” made me think she was trying a little too hard to prove she had a personal relationship with Baba Yaga. From what I could gather through the witch-vine, Adele was nearly two-hundred years old and took great pride in her youthful appearance, which meant her magic probably packed a punch.

“Hi, Mrs. Adams.” I tried to look appropriately contrite. “I’m sorry I’m late. Will any other members of the coalition be joining us?”

Her blue eyes darkened, and her expression grew suddenly intense. She lowered her gaze to mine and held my stare. “All of them.”

I shivered. “Uhm, great. I’m ready to start when you are.”

She frowned as if disappointed. “Follow me.” With a flick of her hand toward a door behind the desk, she turned on her four-inch heels and headed in that direction.

The backroom reminded me of the temple rooms of the Freemasons or the Illuminati. Hey, when you don’t date, Discovery Channel quickly becomes a stimulating evening. Six ornately carved high-back chairs lined a stage-like area. Four people, two women and two men sat in the four chairs on the right. The two on the left were empty. I recognized the man in the third chair, Dirk Nichols, the friendly neighborhood chief of police.

Behind the chairs was a red curtain. With dramatic flair, a man stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself. My stomach instantly felt leaden. “Dad?”

“Hazel, sweetheart.” The handsome warlock took the second chair. His tailored suit fit him impeccably, but I knew, his affability, much like his expensive clothes, was all window dressing.

I grimaced. “When did you get out of jail?”

“Six months ago,” he said. “I tried to contact you.”

“I didn’t get the memo.” Outwardly, I affected indifference. But inside, anger clawed at me, a hungry dragon desperate to escape, but this wasn’t the time or the place to have a showdown with Kent Kinsey. I took in the other four players in the room. If I focused on my purpose, Danny’s murder, I thought I stood a chance of getting out of here without going into a patricidal rage.

“Hello,” I said. “I’m here with permission from Baba Yaga to investigate the suspicious death of Daniel Mason.” I pulled out the white card, though no one seemed interested.

“Yes, yes,” Adele said. “We are all aware that you are here with Carol’s blessing. Get on with your questions.”

I pulled my smartphone out of my purse and slid out the stylus. “My notes,” I explained when my action drew curious stares. “I have an app…” Almost as a group, they blinked. I shook my head. “Never mind. So, the coalition is made up of one witch, Adele Adams, two warlocks, the Chief and Kent Kinsey.” My mouth tasted bitter as I said his name. “And the three of you are?”

A woman, curvy with a bounty of strawberry blonde hair, said, “Mary Lowe, Matriarch for the
Felidae
.” Which meant she was the big momma to large cat Shifters, like Lily and Clayton Driver.

“Robert Townsend.” I recognized him from the station. “Nice to see you again, Agent Kinsey.” His black hair and a salt and pepper beard spoke up next. “You already know I am the leader of the
paullulum mammalia
. I, myself, am
raton
.” Which I knew was a fancy word for raccoon. He really had a thing for dressing up the simple.

“What Bob means is he represents the interests of badgers, chipmunks, and raccoons in town,” Mary said.

“The non-predators,” Chief Nichols said.

My father chuckled. “They’re half-human, Dirk. That means they are all predators. No matter the size.”

I rolled my eyes and refused to make eye contact. “And you are,” I said to a large man, at least six-foot-six with dark hair and gray eyes. He stepped toward me with his hand out. “I’m Bryant Baylor,
Arcturus,
alpha for the bear Shifters in Paradise Falls.”

Gulping, I shook his hand. His palm practically swallowed my hand to the wrist. This was Ford’s dad. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

Goddess help me. What were the chances that my father and Ford’s father were both in the coalition? It seemed astronomically impossible, but here they were.

“We should get down to business.” Some of the hardwood planks in the floor squeaked as I walked across the room. In front of the highback chairs, was a rectangular desk. The top reached my hips. I set my phone down and looked at Adele. “If there are a couple of small chairs, we can do the interviews right here.”

She nodded. Mary and my father retrieved two metal folding chairs. The desk was hand carved. The essence of the wood felt old under my fingertips. I placed my palms on the surface, and the space between my hand the wood began to glow with a white current. I lift my hands. The current died. “What is this thing made of?”

“It’s a combination of birch elm, elder wood, and interestingly, hazel wood,” my father said.

There was an old leather-bound book in the center of the desk that was at least twelve inches wide by eighteen inches long and as thick as Dick Knuckles head with an unusual fractal symbol tooled into the cover. Next to it was an all-white athame, a traditional double sided blade used by witches and warlocks. I’d never seen one quite like it. I picked it up. It was cold to the touch and amazingly light. Symbols had been carved into the blade and handle, but I’d never been much good with rune work or the Theban alphabet, so I couldn’t tell what they meant. The wood in the desk was alive with energy. It made me wonder why the blade felt dead.

I slid my finger over the tip. It was dull. “Huh.”

Someone took the ornamental knife from me with one quick snatch. I looked up and blinked as Adele Adams put it back on the desk near the book.

“Please don’t handle the artifacts in this room,” Adele said with a tight-lipped smile. “We keep various historical pieces that originate from both sides of our community in here. They are for looking, not touching.”

I didn’t really believe the coalition was hiding things from me, but this seemed like a group with secrets so I quietly spelled.

“
What is it that I must not see?

Second sight, so mote it be
.”

The entire room began to glow with the exceptions of Mary Lowe and the red curtain. Hmm. I hadn’t been thinking of anything specific when I murmured the spell, so the only thing this told me for certain was that the cat Shifter was the only one with nothing to hide. Intersecting. I casually scanned the room until I landed on Adele, her eyes wide. “What did you do?”

My damn. Usually, I was the only one who could see the result of the location spell. I reminded myself this witch was two centuries old and raised my hands. “Whoops. Sorry.”

“What happened?” Nichol’s asked.

Adele ignored him. “How did you do that?”

I ignored the jerk as well. “It’s a simple reveal spell.” And much like her ta-tas, there was much to expose here at the coalition.

She narrowed her gaze on me. The glow in the room disappeared. Adele’s voice took on an ominous quality, and I could feel the power she shoved into her words. “There is nothing simple about a reveal spell, child.”

As far as intimidation went, Adele Adams was a master. She ranked right up there with Baba Yaga for the Scary Bitch of the Week award.

“Uhm.” Time for a change in subject. “Are you all familiar with Danny Mason’s death?”

The Shifters nodded, but the witch and the warlocks were still looking at me like I’d sprouted horns and grown a third ear.

“Good.” I ignored the magic half of the coalition and pulled up my notes on Danny. “Are you aware of the extent of the damage done to his body before he was killed?”

Bryant Baylor cleared his throat. “I know from the chief there was an extreme amount of broken bones in his body.”

“Yes.” I nodded. “All of them. With the last bone, a rib, stabbing into his heart.”

Mary Lowe gasped. “I didn’t know all that.”

I didn’t allow her grief to move me. I couldn’t. Not and be effective at my job. “You all are the leaders in this community. There is hardly anything that happens that you wouldn’t know about.”

“Are you accusing us of something, Mizzzz Kinsey?” Chief Nichols asked. His sandy blond hair raised with his ire as if pulled upward by a static charge.

“Not yet,” I said. “And I’d like Detective Dennis Mitchell to be made available to me to as well.” I was tired of playing nice. “This case was handled with an ineptitude I’ve never seen in the last fifteen years I’ve spent in law enforcement. He is either the worst police officer I’ve ever met, or he is hiding something.”

Chief Nichols jumped to his feet. “You uppity little bitch.” His hands held out toward me as his lips moved quickly. The hair on my arms stood on end as he gathered magic for the spell. I fisted my hands and stared the asshole down.

I pulled my handgun from its holster and patted it against my thigh. He might be better at witchcraft, but I was betting I could blow a hole in him faster than he could hit me with whatever he was working on. “Bring it,” I said.

My father stepped between us, his back to me as he faced the chief. “Enough!”

Dirk staggered back as if he’d been slapped by the word.

“There’s no call for anyone to be uncivil,” Adele chimed in. She gave Nichols a meaningful look. Instantly, he backed down. “Just what information do you want from us, Agent Kinsey?”

“Boyd Decker was killed yesterday in his home. His death is too much like Danny’s to be a coincidence. And from what I saw, there is not a human or Shifter in this world that could have misshapen the wereraccoon into the blob he’d become. It’s physically impossible. It has to be magic.” I tapped my stylus on the desk. “And a powerful magic at that. I could feel its residue when I walked into Boyd’s bedroom.”

Adele seemed unperturbed. “Those are not questions.”

“Who’s practicing dark magic in Paradise Falls?” Poignantly, I looked at my father.

He sighed. “I paid for my crimes, Hazel. I’m a witch-law abiding warlock these days.”

Too bad he hadn’t been a so abiding when he’d killed my mother using forbidden magic. I turned to Adele. “You are potent with magic, Ms. Adams.”

“Yes,” she agreed.

“And you didn’t feel the spells that caused these deaths.”

“You still haven’t asked a question.”

“Do you know who killed Danny Mason and Boyd Decker?”

“No.” I looked around the room. The other five members were shaking their heads. I saw something in Bryant Baylor’s eyes that I recognized right away. A simmering fury.

“I find that hard to believe. It takes something seriously dark to turn a man’s insides into kindling sticks.”

“Are you sure about that?” Kent said. “If magic is the culprit, and it is black by nature, Baba Yaga and her minions would have been all over this town looking to punish the culprit.”

“You would know,” I countered.

His mouth turned down at the corner. Well, boo-freaking-hoo. “I don’t possess black magic, Hazel. I’ll admit that the magic I used was corrupt, but there wasn’t nothing inherently evil about it.”

“Tell that to mom.”

He looked as if I’d slapped him across the face, but he didn’t deny it.

“You’re not a child anymore, Hazel,” Adele said. “You are old enough to understand that your mother—”

Kent cut her off. “Enough, Adele. Hazel can believe what she wants to believe. It’s of no consequence.”

I narrowed my gaze. What was my dad keeping from me? Now wasn’t the time for personal revelations. I needed answers about Danny’s murder. “Have any of you heard of the Arete?”

Mary and Chief Nichols blanched. Baylor glowered. Adele, my dad, and Robert Townsend had blank, unreadable expressions.

“Where did you hear that name?” Baylor growled.

“Why does everyone get so antsy and nervous whenever I bring the name up?”

Adele clucked her tongue against her teeth. “Arete isn’t a group or a person, Agent Kinsey. It’s a state of being. A striving for excellence in all things. To be arete is to be morally, mentally, and physically virtuous.”