What the Hex? (A Paranormal P.I. Mystery Book 1) (12 page)

Tonight was the weekly coven meeting. Derek had wanted to go over the case, but I’d made up an excuse about why I couldn’t meet up with him. We all took turns with the meetings. This time the coven get-together was being held at Melanie Mills’ place. All the coven members lived in the retirement village. I wasn’t sure if they’d been coven members first or if my Aunt Barb had gotten them to join after she moved to town. She had been secretive about this stuff. Either way, the women were entertaining. The next youngest member after me was Melanie—she was seventy-two. 

Melanie lived a couple streets over. Since most of the houses all looked alike, I usually pulled into the wrong driveway. Her place was beige stucco with a terracotta roof. I counted down to the fourth house so this time I wouldn’t miss it. Cars filled the driveway, so I parked along the street in front of the house.

I’d offered to drive Agatha over, but she’d insisted that she could drive herself. All the coven members insisted on driving. Probably just so they could prove that they still were capable. I would have walked over, but I’d had an errand to run beforehand. I was happy to see Agatha’s Buick safely parked in the driveway. After locking my car, I weaved around the ones in the driveway and made it to the front door. 

With my finger almost ready to push the doorbell, the door opened.

“Cece, I’m glad you’re finally here. Please come in.” Melanie pulled on my arm and yanked me through the door.

The women sat in the tiny living room. Three of them on the small baby-blue sofa and the others on the matching chairs next to it. It looked as if I was late again. They all had gray hair styled in a helmet shape. For some reason they all thought during the coven meetings black was the required color of clothing.

I tossed my hand up. “Sorry I’m late. I ran into traffic.”

Actually, I’d stopped at In-N-Out Burger, but there had been traffic after that. Melanie only served vegetables and dip at her meetings. Unfortunately, after the day I’d had, rabbit food wouldn’t stop the rumbling in my stomach.

Sue, Ellen, Anna, and Agatha were perched on the sofa, waiting to start.

“Did I miss anything?” I asked as I sat down in the chair across from the sofa.

“No, dear. We were just chatting while waiting for you,” Sue said.

Melanie stood at the entrance to the room and read the minutes from the last meeting. While she talked I tried to keep my mind off the events that had taken place recently. I hoped that I hadn’t been followed here. I didn’t want to put the rest of the coven members in jeopardy if someone crazy had decided to come after me.

“Cece?” Agatha waved her hand in my direction.

I snapped out of my daydream and had no idea what she’d just said. Now I had to act as if I’d been paying attention.

“Are you still on board to host next week’s meeting?” she repeated.

Thank goodness she’d clued me in. “Yes, of course.”

A vision of Derek showing up when we were in the middle of casting a spell ran through my mind. It was as if he sensed when I didn’t want him to know something and that was exactly when he came around.

“Great, so that just about does it for all the issues,” Agatha said.

Melanie cleared her throat. “There was one other thing we wanted to ask about.”

Everyone stared at me.

I quirked an eyebrow. “Let me guess, this has something to do with me?”

“It’s about your spells,” Melanie said. “We just don’t want you to miss out on casting a spell you need…”

I held up my hand to stop her words. “Because you think my spells are unorthodox?”

Melanie looked down at her shoes. “We were just concerned for you.”

I pushed to my feet. “No reason to be concerned.”  

“Where are you going?” Agatha asked.

I paused with my hand on the knob. I had forgotten that we still had to do the spell. My exit would have been spectacular if I could have left on that note.

I marched back into the room. “Sorry, I forgot.”

The women gathered in a circle and we held hands. This was one spell that they wouldn’t let me make up my own. The spell was a bond for us. I might not agree with everything the women did, but we were coven sisters now. The spell also offered us protection for the week ahead.

I started or the door when Agatha stopped me again. “Cece, aren’t you forgetting something?”

My mind really wasn’t on the meeting tonight. I’d forgotten a lot of stuff. It was our tradition that we had dessert to celebrate a successful meeting. However, Melanie always had something healthy, so it wasn’t exactly a treat.

Melanie motioned toward the dining room table. “I thought I’d surprise you all tonight. I have cookies.”

My eyes lit up. Maybe she’d proven me wrong.

She waved her hand. “I tried this new recipe with chickpeas.”  

Just as I had suspected. Trying not to cringe, I grabbed a cookie and took a little nibble. I attempted a smile while chewing. They tasted like sawdust with a smidgen of sugar added. Holding my breath, I swallowed and then said, “Yummy.”

I wondered if she knew I wasn’t being honest. The other ladies coughed and I spotted Ellen spitting hers into a napkin. 

I wiped my mouth with the napkin and then said, “Okay, ladies, I’ll see everyone next week at my place.”

I’d have chocolate cake too. I headed toward the door when Agatha stopped me again. What had I forgotten this time?

“Cece, I don’t often have these feelings, but this time I felt compelled to warn you. I just have this sense of dread.”  

It wasn’t like I wasn’t nervous enough already. “I’m fine, Agatha. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“It’s just that your work is dangerous. With that murder case and all.”

“How did you know about that?” I hadn’t told her anything about the case. I didn’t want her to worry.

She stared for a moment and then said, “I’m not sure how I heard. I can’t remember. Just the same, I want you to be careful.”

Agatha had become more and more forgetful.

I tried to sound nonchalant. “Agatha, I appreciate the concern. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

She sighed and said, “Fine, but call if you ever need anything.” 

I left the coven members behind and hurried to my car. When I looked back, they were all at the windows peering out at me. I wasn’t sure why they were so concerned about me. Not much had changed. Well, other than the little murder case. That was just part of my job now.

I pulled away from the curb and headed back to my place. As much as I tried to tell myself not to worry, I couldn’t help but glance in the rear-view mirror every few seconds to make sure that Jaguar wasn’t behind me again. I still didn’t think that was a coincidence.

We still hadn’t figured out who had been by the office. The only description George had given was the man was large with muscles and dark hair, which sounded just like Steve.

“George, do you think you could point out this guy if you saw him?" I asked.

Derek looked at me and mouthed, “What are you doing?”

I shrugged. “Well, we might as will take him by the gym.”

"I have photographic memory. I never forget a face,” George said as he puffed out his chest.

I laughed. “Great. You want to go for a ride?”

“Can we stop for ice cream?” George asked.

Derek chuckled. “I think we can arrange that.”

We piled into Derek’s SUV and headed over to the gym. Unfortunately, Steve wasn’t there again. I didn’t recognize anyone working this shift. That was a good thing because I was sure they were starting to be suspicious of us.

As we pulled away from the parking lot, Derek said, “How about we go over to the house?"

It was a risky move, but I was sure that was the only option we had left.

“Let’s do it,” I said.  

“Don’t forget the ice cream,” George reminded us.

After the short drive and a stop at the ice cream shop, we pulled up in front of the house. Steve’s Corvette was parked in the driveway.

Now what do we do?”

Seems like my plans were more spur of the moment, which couldn’t considered plans at all.

George opened the car door. “I’ll go up and knock on the door.”

“George, he’s a very big man,” I said.

George puffed out his chest. “I’m not afraid.”

“What are you going to say?” Derek asked.

“I won’t say anything. When he answers the door I’ll see if it’s him. He’ll just think I’m some senile old man.” George smiled and walked away from the car.

We watched as George marched up the sidewalk and to the front porch. He rang the doorbell, then turned and gave us the thumbs up.

“What are the odds this is going to turn out badly?” I asked.

Derek said, “I give it fifty-fifty. If Steve gets mad he’ll snap us all like toothpicks.”

“After he picks his teeth with us,” I said.

“That’s kind of a disgusting image, Cece.”

The door opened. Steve stood in front of George. His body took up practically the entire door frame. Steve's lips moved, but of course I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I didn’t know if George was actually saying anything. A second later George turned and hurried down the steps. Steve looked a little confused at first, and then stepped out onto the porch to watch George. I was afraid he was going to see us in the car and completely flip his lid. Derek started the car and had it ready to pull away when George climbed in. When I glanced at the door, I realized that Steve had spotted us.

“Go, go,” George said as he jumped in.

I think George was secretly getting excitement out of this.

“You know, I used to have my share of fun back in the day,” George said.

Steve was probably furious.

“Was that the man you saw?” I asked.

“Oh, that was him, all right. I’d recognize that mean face anywhere.”

“Maybe he just wanted us to sign papers for the gym,” Derek said.

“That’s doubtful.” I kept my eye on Steve’s house as we drove away.

“What’s he doing?” Derek asked as we made the next left turn onto Porter Street.

“The last time I saw him he was walking toward his car,” I said.

“Walking or running?” Derek asked.

“Why do you ask?”

“If he was running then that means he was coming after us. If he just walked, then he’s just going out.”

“Well, I guess we’re in luck then because he was just walking.”

Derek made another left. “Good. That means we can go back.”

“Why would we go back?” I asked.

Derek clearly had lost his mind.

“I want to see if we can follow him.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Derek had already made it back to Steve’s street. My anxiety increased substantially.

Derek peered in the rearview mirror. “You okay back there, George?”

“Doing fine. I’m doing fine.”

I hoped he was being honest. We’d made it back to Steve’s house. Actually, I still wasn’t sure if Morgan and Steve had been living together. Now that Morgan was gone Steve looked as if he’d made himself right at home without her. Steve’s car wasn’t there. I glanced in the side mirror to see if maybe he’d swung around and was now behind us. So far, he was nowhere in sight.

“He’s not here, so we can’t follow him. Now let’s get out of here,” I said.

Derek came to a stop a few houses down from Steve’s place.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Derek tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. “Planning our next move.”

That was what I was afraid of.

“Care to share your ideas?” I asked.

“We should talk to the neighbors. See what they can tell us.”

“What if he comes back before we’re finished?”

Derek opened his door. “We’ll be at the neighbors. He’ll never know what we’re doing.”

I sighed. A little voice in the back of my head told me this was a bad idea.

“I’m sure it’ll be okay,” George said as he opened his door.

It looked as if I was outnumbered. I got out of the car and hurried over to Derek and George. They were already halfway to the house next door by now. I hoped the neighbors didn’t think we were strange for asking questions. What if they were friendly with Steve? If so then they surely wouldn’t give us any details.

The garage door was up on the two-story brick house, so I assumed that someone was home. Derek and George had already made it to the door and rang the doorbell. 

“I don’t think anyone’s home, guys.”

"The garage door is open.” George pointed.

When I peeked over toward the garage I spotted a woman looking out the window. Then the curtains moved back. I guess someone was home after all. A couple seconds later the door opened slightly and a middle-aged woman peeked out.

“May I help you?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am.” Derek flashed a smile at her and then his wallet, as if he had some kind of official badge in there. All he had were business cards. “We’d like to ask some questions about your neighbor.”

She looked from Derek to George. Then she turned her attention to me. "Is this about the murder?”

I knew by her tone that the subject made her uneasy.

“Yes, it is about the murder,” Derek said.

Had the police already talked with her? Of course they had. That would be one of the first things they’d do. Obviously we were a little behind in the investigation. Perhaps the police had missed crucial information. What was I thinking? What made us think we’d discover something that the police hadn’t?

“What would you like to know?” She opened the door wider.

At least it seemed as if she was willing to talk. Derek looked back at me.

Oh great, now he didn’t have a plan.

I stepped forward. “Did you notice anything unusual at the house?”

“I suppose nothing too unusual. They were kind of quiet. The other day I heard that Morgan was missing. Tabitha and Steve seem cozier than ever with each other.”

“What do you mean?” Derek asked.

She crossed her arms in front of her waist. “Let’s just say they didn’t look as if they were upset that Morgan was gone.”

Just as I had suspected. Unfortunately, that didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know.

“Is there anything else you can think of?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, I told the officer who was here the other day that I didn’t have any other details.”

“Thanks for the info,” I said.

Derek glared at me as if to say he couldn’t believe I’d given up that easily. 

If she didn’t know anything else then it was pointless to stay around? As I turned to leave and she called out to us.

“Wait.”

I spun around.

“There was one thing that I just remembered.”

“What’s that?” I asked as moved closer.

“I saw in the paper the night that the murdered woman went missing…” She brushed the hair out of her eyes. “I can’t believe that I didn’t remember this sooner.”

My heart sped up.

“The poor girl who was murdered had been over there that night.”

“At their house on the night she was murdered?” I asked.

“Yes, but Morgan hadn’t been there all day.”

How did she know? She couldn’t possibly watch the house the whole time.

“As a matter of fact, she hadn’t been around for a couple days before that.”

Paige never mentioned that Morgan hadn’t been home for days. Was there a reason Paige hadn’t told us?

She waved her hand. “Anyway, that night I saw the two of them leave together. But I never saw the young woman leave.”

“The murdered woman?” Derek asked.

She nodded.

“I guess you must have missed her,” I said.

She sighed. “I suppose.”

“Will you contact us if you think of anything else?” I handed her my business card.

She studied the card for a moment. “So you’re not the police?” She looked as if she regretted talking to us now.

“We’ve been hired to find Morgan,” I said.

She paused and then said, “Oh, well, I hope you find her safely. She was a very nice lady.”

“We hope so too,” I said.

We’d made it halfway across the yard when someone yelled. Steve had returned. He’d spotted us and was now on his way toward us. He was like a bull and we were the matadors waving red capes.

“Run,” Derek yelled.

Had Derek forgotten that George was with us?

“I don’t think he can run that fast, Derek. We’ll just have to talk with Steve.”

Fury covered Steve’s face. Maybe we should carry George if he couldn’t run fast enough.

George took off in a sprint. “Don’t worry about me. I used to run track, and I was in the army.”

I had no idea that George could move that fast. Derek and I ran after George. Steve was running full speed toward us. I hoped he didn’t realize that we had been talking with his neighbor. 

“Stay off my property,” Steve yelled.

We jumped into the SUV and Derek pulled away just as Steve caught us. He pounded on the hood as the tires squealed. Luckily, we got away before Steve got to us. I looked back in the mirror. Steve was standing in the middle of the road. At least he didn’t come after us now. 

“Whew. That was a close one. George, are you okay?” I turned around in the seat.

George smiled. “Never better. Nothing like a good jog to get the body flowing.”

“Derek, why didn’t you confront Steve?” I asked. “You were all ready to beat him up the other day.”

“I didn’t want to put you in that situation.”

Now that I thought about it I was glad that he hadn’t.