Morgan shook her head. “She works the day shift at the bistro. She doesn’t usually get home until after seven or so.”
“Perfect. Then I can sneak into her house while she’s out and see if I can find something concrete.”
Morgan and Sean both looked at her like she’d lost her mind.
“I don’t think that’s the best idea,” Sean said, at the same time Morgan said, “That’s not a good idea.”
“I guess great minds think alike,” Kenzie chortled. “You both just told me the same thing. But I’m stubborn, and I’m determined to get to the bottom of this case. Besides, it may be the only way to help both of you.”
“You shouldn’t go alone,” Morgan insisted. “Audra’s one of the most powerful witches I’ve ever known, and she’s relentless. If you piss her off, she’ll hold a grudge forever.”
“I’m willing to take that risk.”
“What do you hope to accomplish?” Morgan argued. “If the cops arrest Audra, a jail cell isn’t going to hold her. She’ll hex her way out somehow.”
Another thing Kenzie hadn’t considered. If there was ever a time she could have used her vampire sidekick, it was now. Isaiah would at least stand a chance against a witch. But there was no way she’d be able to convince him to come to Barnacle Bay. And even if she did, by the time he arrived, it could be too late for Morgan and Sean. Audra’s spells may not be temporary until she removed them; some could be permanent. And Kenzie wasn’t willing to take that risk.
“If she’s not at home,” she tried to reason with the couple, “there’s no risk of getting caught. She may be a witch, but she isn’t psychic.”
Both parties contemplated this before finally Sean said, “Then at least let me go with you. She can’t hurt me. And I want to help Morgan more than anyone.”
“Fine, but only because, like you said, Audra can’t possibly hurt you any more than she already has.”
That’s how Kenzie found herself driving toward Audra’s house with Sage in the front seat and meeting the ghost of Sean Plankinton outside. One thing Kenzie forgot (why was she forgetting everything?) was Audra’s pet cat. The black furball hissed at them as they approached the house. Kenzie remembered what Isaiah had said about witch familiars. It was obvious that’s what this cat was.
Still, familiar or not, he was still technically a cat. And Sage was half dog, half wolf. This cat didn’t stand a chance. Sage, on Kenzie’s command, lowered her head and bared her teeth, a low growl escaping from her throat. The cat hissed once more before scurrying off the porch in a frightened stupor.
Kenzie chuckled under her breath, pleased. Then, she trudged up the porch steps and tried the door. Of course, it was locked. But Kenzie had anticipated that. She withdrew a nail file from her pocket and went to work on the lock. It gave way relatively easily.
Kenzie had been in Audra’s home before, but it seemed more sinister and foreboding now that she knew what Audra really was. Still, the house appeared normal enough considering a witch lived inside.
Then again, Isaiah was a vampire and his house appeared perfectly normal as well.
“Where should we start?” she asked Sean. He just shrugged his cold shoulders and looked around.
Kenzie surveyed the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
She didn’t have to wait long, because the “out of the ordinary” came right to her, walking right out from a door behind the stairs.
“Holy shit!” Kenzie couldn’t help shrieking as she jumped back in alarm. Even Sean let out a cold gasp of shock as he also took a step back.
Of all things Kenzie expected to find in the witch Audra Spellmeier’s house, a walking, talking skeleton dressed in a maid’s outfit was not one of them.
“Why are you here?” the skeleton asked in a raggedy old voice. Kenzie was too dumbfounded to speak. She hugged herself in a misguided attempt to shield herself from the spectacle before her, but unfortunately it didn’t go away.
“Uh...we come in peace,” Sean attempted.
“Smooth,” Kenzie mumbled. “We’re not aliens.”
“Leave now or I’ll inform Mistress,” the skeleton continued.
“What is this thing? A dominatrix?” Sean inquired aloud.
“I don’t know about that, but I can tell you one thing it is – creepy as hell.”
“You can say that again.”
The skeleton began walking closer to Kenzie and Sean. Kenzie was at a loss as to what to do. This was getting ridiculous. Luckily, she still had a trusty weapon.
“Sage,” she said to her trusty companion, “get the bone!”
Sage barked excitedly and barreled toward the skeleton. The skeleton, in turn, shrieked loud enough to shatter glass (if the duration were long enough) as Sage tackled her to the ground. She managed to pull the creature apart, but only when she removed its head did it stop talking.
“Good girl, Sage,” Kenzie praised. Sage trotted back toward her owner proudly, as if to say, “I know I’m good.”
“Okay, now that that’s over,” Sean interjected, “can we get on with the point of being here now? The sooner the better?”
Kenzie nodded and stepped forward, careful to avoid the debris of bones on the floor. As she was making her way toward the kitchen, Sage’s ears perked up and she growled again.
“Now what?” Sean asked, exasperated. Sage began sniffing the air fervently and headed toward the stairs leading to the second story.
“Come on,” Kenzie told Sean as she followed her dog.
Kenzie took the lead upstairs until Sage came in front of a closed door at the landing. Kenzie opened it cautiously and peeked inside. A small library greeted her. One whole wall was nothing but bookshelves and there was a comfortable-looking sofa and rocking chair parallel to them.
“What in the world is in here?” Kenzie wondered out loud.
“Beats me,” Sean replied. “How do you know your dog isn’t on the trail of the cat?”
“Sage is very intelligent. It’s a long story, but she’s basically my partner. Her nose is a big help.”
“Great. If Audra comes back, she’ll let us know.”
“She will. Trust me.”
At that moment, Sage walked over to one of the bookshelves and began sniffing it, then pawing at it while growling.
“What in the world?” Kenzie walked toward the bookshelf and examined it, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Sage’s growling and pawing didn’t cease, so Kenzie got an idea.
“Sean, can you go through walls?”
“Of course I can. You saw me do it at the hotel.”
“Oh, right. Well, we’re dealing with a witch, here. Can you go on the other side of this bookshelf and see if something’s behind it?”
“I suppose so. But if there’s something freaky behind it, you owe me big time.”
“Fine. Just hurry; I want to get out of here before Audra gets home.”
Sean floated over to the bookshelf, took a deep but unnecessary breath, and merged himself with the bookshelf before disappearing behind it entirely.
It didn’t take long before Sean’s voice said, “Yep, there’s something back here. It’s just a room with a spiral staircase though. Must be some sort of secret passageway.”
“Audra can’t just go through walls like you, so there has to be some way to get in there. And I bet I know what it is.”
Kenzie pressed the sides of the bookshelf that held Sage’s attention, but that did nothing. She started touching various books until at last she felt the shelf give way. As she expected, the bookshelf doubled as a hidden door. She watched in awe as the bookshelf slid open and pushed back to reveal the hidden passage that Sean was in.
“Nice,” Sean observed as Kenzie stepped into the passage, the shelf locking securely behind her.
“Believe it or not, this isn’t my first experience with hidden doors.”
“I believe it. How else would you know to check for one? Anyway, shall we see what’s upstairs?”
“Definitely.”
Kenzie led the way up the spiral staircase, Sage on her heels. Sean floated behind them both.
What Kenzie saw upstairs made her raise her eyebrows. Everything Isaiah had told her turned out to be true. There was a cauldron nestled in the far corner, a spell book propped against the wall, and a wand on an end table. There were also strange specimens inside jars, undoubtedly for potions or other wicked concoctions. Kenzie couldn’t restrain a shudder as she took it all in.
“So, this is what a witch’s secret hiding place looks like,” she said dryly. “Looks fitting to me.”
“Looks fitting for Audra, too. I can’t believe she had this here the whole time I was with her.”
“What? I thought you said she put a spell on you to get you to spend time with her.”
Sean’s expression became even more melancholy as he realized what he’d just said. Kenzie’s jaw dropped as she also realized it.
“You were seeing her behind Morgan’s back, weren’t you? And it had nothing to do with a spell.”
“I honestly don’t know. I don’t know if I was really attracted to her or if she hexed me. But I do remember that the night I died, I told her I was going back to Morgan because it was her I loved. Then I ended up like this. I think you’re right about her killing me. She had the motive and the power, literally, to do it.”
Kenzie gritted her teeth as she traipsed toward the spell book. It seemed Audra wasn’t the only one with skeletons in her closet.
Unfortunately, before she could contemplate that any further, she heard something below. She hoped she was wrong but knew deep down that she wasn’t. The sound she heard was the bookshelf rotating. And then she heard footsteps rushing up the spiral staircase.
And then, as Kenzie feared and expected, she saw her. Audra Spellmeier, standing before both her and Sean, with a look of smugness and irritation on her face.
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