What the Hex? (A Paranormal P.I. Mystery Book 1) (6 page)

“Cece. Over here, Cece.” Agatha Holt frantically waved her arms at me.

Pink rollers were secured tightly in her gray hair. Today she wore purple and pink floral capri pants and a white blouse. Her mouth was always tilted into a smile and her eyes always merry. No doubt she was on her way to the morning bingo game at the rec center.

Aunt Barb and Agatha had been best friends. Agatha had taken over as the head of the coven now that Aunt Barb was gone. Derek didn’t need to know any of this though, so I wanted to avoid Agatha accidentally sharing my witchy secret.

“Oh, no. She’ll talk our ears off,” I whispered.

“Who is it?” Derek asked.

“She was best friends with my aunt. Now that my aunt passed away, she’s taken on this motherly role for me.” I sighed.  

“That’s sweet,” he said, glancing over his shoulder.

“Don’t look back,” I said, pulling on his arm.

It was too late though. Agatha had caught up with us. She was fast for her age.

Agatha shuffled over. “How’s George?” Her blue eyes lit up when she spoke his name.

“He’s fine, Agatha,” I answered.

Whew. Luckily she didn’t lead the conversation with the witchcraft topic.

“Will you tell George I said hello?” she asked.

“I promise I will.”

Just like all the other days when she asked me to do the same thing. George was oblivious that Agatha was gaga over him. Maybe I needed to step in and enlighten him to the fact. I didn’t want to play Cupid, so I’d stayed out of it, but this was getting ridiculous. Not to mention I’d had to convince Agatha not to cast a love spell on George. I’d told her if she couldn’t get his interest without the help of a spell, then she didn’t need him.

She eyed Derek up and down. “And who is this?”

Derek smiled and stretched his hand toward Agatha. “Derek North. I’m Cece’s partner.”

I’d told Agatha about Derek, but I’d never given her the opportunity to meet him. Less chance for her to spill the beans that way.

Agatha glanced over at me with a wry grin on her face. “Nice to meet you, young man.”

Tonight she’d have a ton of new questions about Derek. I’d never felt the need to share the facts about why he was now involved with my agency. Why bother when he wouldn’t be around long anyway? Plus, it would only bring up the dreaded marriage and children topic again. I had a business to run and no time for a social life. At least that was what I kept telling myself.

Agatha winked. “Okay, well, stop by for dinner later. I made liver and onions. We can watch
Golden Girls
and work on ideas for our next meeting.”

Whew. At least she hadn’t uttered the words coven or spells.

As I pulled on Derek’s arm, I tried to hide the cringe on my face. “Oh… liver and onions, my favorite. I will if I have time, Agatha.”

I hated that Derek now probably knew that I spent a lot of time at Agatha’s watching
Golden Girls
and
Jeopardy
. I’d led Derek to believe that I had an active social life.

“Do you really like liver and onions?” Derek asked when Agatha walked away.

“Are you kidding? It’s disgusting.”

Derek laughed.       

“I’ll drive.” I motioned toward my car.

He quirked a brow, but didn’t argue. Derek climbed in the passenger seat of my Ford Fusion and we took off. I still couldn’t believe that I had let him talk me into going back to the casino. I wasn’t sure what made him think we could find out any more about Morgan. All another trip to the casino would do would be to cause me more embarrassment. But as my grandmother Blanche always said, I needed to ‘suck it up, Buttercup.’ She was full of wise advice. I had a job to do and now was not the time for complaining.

My stomach danced with butterflies as I neared the casino. Of course I was nervous to go in.

As if Derek sensed my tension, he said, “You’ll be fine.”

“Easy for you to say. You didn’t get kicked out. As crazy as that is to believe.”

“I need to go back to Caesar’s. There was this woman there last night. She was a stunner.”

I glanced over at him. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Yeah, she was dressed as Marilyn Monroe. I think there was a spark between us.”

Derek was staring at me. I didn’t have to look over at him to know. If I looked at him, he would probably know that I was keeping some kind of secret from him. Did he really mean that there was a spark? Or was he just messing with me? 

As I sat at the red light, I glanced in the rear-view mirror. The black Jaguar didn’t look as if it was slowing down. At that moment, brakes squealed. The car smacked into the back of mine. My head swooshed forward, but I’d gotten a look at who had been behind the wheel. I’d recognize that face anywhere.

“Are you okay?” Derek asked.

Still in a daze, I looked over at him. “Yeah, I think I’m fine.” I shoved the car into park and we got out. “What about you?”

“Never better,” he said.

The woman had already gotten out of her Jaguar and was staring at the front of her car. Tabitha, the trainer we’d met at the gym, had hit my car. What were the odds that I would run into her here on the Strip? Even worse odds that we’d be involved in an accident.

She was wearing her workout gear of yoga pants and sports bra. Cleavage spilled over the top of the fabric. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. No surprise that Derek was already standing beside her. He’d better not let her talk her way out of this. When I approached, she glared at me for a split second and then she frowned, giving me a distressed look.

“I guess you didn’t see the red light,” I said sarcastically.

Derek quirked an eyebrow.

“What?” I mouthed.

I was only telling the truth. She focused her blue eyes on me like lasers.

“I suppose I didn’t,” she said through gritted teeth.

What was she so mad about? I was the one who’d have whiplash tomorrow. I leaned closer and looked at the back of my car. Other than a little scratch on the bumper, it appeared that my car had come out of this unscathed.

“Are you okay?” Derek asked as he soaked in her appearance, clearly checking out her chest longer than necessary.

She shrugged. “I guess I’m okay.”

Needless to say I was a bit suspicious of her.

“Were you following me?” I asked.

“Subtle,” Derek said under his breath.

Sure, maybe she wouldn’t answer me truthfully, but at least she would know that I wasn’t born yesterday. 

She scowled. “Of course not. Why would you even ask that?”

“I just think it’s odd that you would be behind me today. We just met you and the woman who owns the place where you work is missing.” I crossed my arms across my chest.

She narrowed her eyes. “I have no idea what you’re implying. Maybe we should call the police.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Yes, maybe we should.”

Derek stepped between us. “You know, we’re holding up traffic. If both cars are fine and we all appear to be fine, then maybe we should just be on our way.”

She glared at me for a couple seconds longer. “Yeah, I guess we should.”

“I know where to find you,” I added as she walked back to her car.

Derek stared at me as we headed back to the car. “What’s on your mind, Cece?”

I slipped behind the wheel and took off. “I think she was following us.”

“Why would she follow us?”

“How should I know?” I shifted the car into gear. “I just don’t think it was a coincidence.”

“We’re not far from where she works.”

I made the next right and moved into the next lane to pass a slow car. Now that I thought about it, I supposed she could have been leaving work and just happened to fall in behind us. Maybe I was overreacting. Regardless, I still wasn’t ready to admit that Tabitha was innocent of any wrongdoing. Maybe I’d have to look into her.

As we continued down Las Vegas Boulevard our chitchat settled into a pleasant silence. Derek reached down and picked something up from beside his foot. Panic set in. I’d dropped my purse earlier. Had something fallen out that I wouldn’t want Derek to see? Like one of my spells? I couldn’t get a good look at what he had found. Traffic was demanding my attention. I couldn’t take my eyes off the road for more than a few seconds. Thank goodness we came to a red light. I glanced over. Derek was holding a piece of paper. I knew instantly it was a spell. I tried to snatch it from his hands, but he moved it away. The light turned green and a car honked.

“You’re holding up traffic, Cece,” Derek said as he unfolded the paper.

Silence filled the car as Derek read the paper. This was embarrassing. How would I explain this away? I’d gotten by with the bottles, but this would be impossible to explain. He refolded the paper and said nothing. In my opinion that was even worse than if he’d said something right away. He knew just how to torture me. I had to know what was on his mind.

“Okay, are you happy? You read my paper.”

“I have to be honest with you, Cece, that’s a little strange.”

He wasn’t even asking for an explanation, which meant I had to give one. I couldn’t say that it was a recipe. He’d never fall for that. I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel nervously. We sat in silence. I had to say something.

“I found that paper.” I didn’t bother looking at him.

His suspicion radiated over to me. Words weren’t necessary for me to know how he felt.

“Where did you find it?” he asked.

“Outside my apartment.”

Well, that had come off my tongue surprisingly easy. I thought it sounded convincing.

“I think it might have been Agatha’s.”

See, I should have stopped at finding it. The more I talked the worse it got.

“Are you sure you’re not hiding something?” Derek asked.

“Positive.” I smiled. 

He handed the paper back. “If you say so.”

Again I felt his suspicion. The casino lights on the huge sign up ahead blinked as if taunting me. I wasn’t looking forward to going back in there again.

I pulled up to the doors and cut the engine. “I don’t know about this, Derek. I don’t want to go to jail today.”

He opened the car door and climbed out. “You wanted to be a private investigator. Sometimes that means getting in trouble.”

I got out from the car. “Or in your case, a lot of times.”

He flashed his sexy devilish smile. “You know you love trouble.”

I pushed my shoulders back and headed toward the door. “No, I most certainly do not. And don’t try to flirt with me, it won’t work.”

“Whatever you say, Cece Cash.” He was so cocky and his attitude only grew worse by the minute
.

The wreck was still on my mind as we walked up to the casino doors. I’d have to do a spell and see if I could get any help with the case
.
For now though,I wanted t
o
sneak into this place, find out what I could, and then get the heck out of there. I hoped I could do all that without being kicked out… or worse.

“I hope your friend can help us this time.”

“He’s cool. Plus, he owes me.”

I wouldn’t even ask why Russell owed Derek.

“We need to find out more about why Morgan was kicked out of here. I wonder if she was kicked out of other casinos,” I said.

“I guess we have gambling in our future,” Derek said.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I asked.

“Just having a little fun, that’s all. Let your hair down.” His gaze went to my hair. 

I glared at him. “That’s not funny.”

So far no one seemed ready to toss me out on my butt. I just needed to blend in with the crowd. I stayed close to Derek, holding onto to his arm.

Derek glanced over. “I could get used to this.”

My stomach did a little dance as he stared at me. I shook off the feeling and focused on getting into the building. The noise of the machines instantly smacked us in the face as we walked through the door.

“Where is Russell?” I asked.

“He’s probably by the blackjack tables,” Derek said.

“Can he meet us by the doors? I don’t want to get too far into the building. Less chance of me getting caught.”

I peered around for Derek’s friend. I’d only seen him once, so I wasn’t sure I would remember what he looked like.

“Do you see Russell?” I asked, still hiding behind Derek.

He glanced over his shoulder. “You know you’re going to draw more attention to yourself if you keep hiding like that.”

I supposed he had a point. Why did he keep throwing logical arguments at me? I stepped out from behind him.

“I’ll go ask for him,” Derek said as he headed for the information desk.

“Don’t leave me standing here alone,” I said as I followed after him.

I weaved around a couple people and caught up with him. The woman who’d helped us the other day was working again. She took one look at Derek and smiled. It didn’t surprise me that she remembered him. He always left an impression on people.

I found myself being drawn to the slot machines again. The blinking lights and tinkling sound lured me in. Somehow I managed to resist this time. I supposed the thought of being dragged out when they saw me gambling was a big deterrent. 

After speaking with her for a couple seconds, Derek turned to face me. “She’s getting Russell for us.”

“I just hope she hurries up,” I said. “I want to get out of here.”

“Don’t be so paranoid… oh wait, I think someone’s watching you,” Derek said.

“What? Where?” I asked as I scanned the area.

Derek laughed. “I was joking. Besides, of course people are watching… they just think you’re gorgeous.”

“See, Derek North, this is what you do to people. You charm them with compliments. It has never worked with me.”

He held his hands up. “I’m only being honest, Cece.”

Maybe they just hadn’t noticed that I was supposed to be banned. Soon enough they would spot me again.

I shifted from one foot to the other. “Where is he?”

“Here he comes now,” Derek said. “Just take a couple deep breaths.”

“Easier said than done,” I said.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Russell asked when he approached.

Russell had dark hair that was shiny from hair gel or sweat. His large, muscular body was crammed into the casino’s navy blue and gold uniform.

“Never been better.” Derek shook his hand.

Russell studied my face for a long moment. Surely he noticed my panicked expression. Would he throw me out too? The pulsating noise from the machines rang in my head. The lights practically hypnotized me. Suddenly the room began to spin. I hoped that I didn’t pass out. Maybe I should have taken deep breaths like Derek had suggested. I’d tuned out Russell and Derek.

“Cece,” Derek yelled.

I snapped out of it and looked at him.

“You okay?” he asked.

I looked around, still a little dazed. The stress was getting to me. “I’m fine.”

“Russell was saying that we should talk to a pit boss here. He knows about Morgan.”

Well, maybe this trip wouldn’t be a waste after all.

“Really? That would be great,” I said.

“I’ll call him over here,” Russell said.

When Russell stepped away Derek turned to me. “What’s wrong?”

I blew the hair out of my eyes. “I guess it was just the stress of possibly going to prison. I’m better now.”

Derek reached up and brushed the hair out of my eyes. “Everything will be fine, Cece.”

For a brief moment, I forgot about our surroundings. The dizzying lights and sounds faded away and it was just the two of us. As I studied Derek’s handsome face, my thoughts were pulled back to a faded, but never forgotten memory. To the time when Derek and I had sat on my parents’ front porch swing. We’d talked for quite some time that hot summer evening, and not once had he seemed cocky or like the womanizer I knew him as now.

That innocent face of a fifteen-year-old was stuck in my mind until he said, “Cece, are you listening to me?”

I snapped back to the present day. “What?”

Derek gestured. “Russell’s back.”

I spotted Russell headed our way again with a tall, muscular blond man walking next to him. This man wore the casino’s uniform too.

When they reached us, Russell said, “This is Joe Schultz.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

I supposed if they wanted to kick me out they would have already, so I calmed down a little. If I wanted to be a successful private eye, then I needed to take the good with the bad. Derek was asking about Morgan.

“Yes, I saw her here a lot,” Joe said. “She spent quite a bit of cash, but she wasn’t one of the high rollers. There are people here who spend a lot more.”

That was a scary thought. Gambling wasn’t my thing. What little money I had would stay in my bank account.

“She came in here a lot though?” Derek said.

“More than just a few visits,” Joe said.

That wasn’t telling us much.

Joe turned his attention on me. “You know, she came in here with that other woman. She was tall with long blonde hair.”

This description matched the photo I’d seen in the newspaper. 

I exchanged a look with Derek. “Amber?”

Joe shrugged. “All I know is they were in here a lot together.”

“Were they here together last time?” I asked.

“I’m not sure, but it would be a safe assumption.”

This wasn’t much to go on, but it was something, and that was better than nothing. I’d take what I could get.