Spellbound Murder Complete Trilogy (Spellbound Murder Box Set Book 1) Read online

  It sounded as though the speaker covered the phone with his hand, which was unusual because they generally put her on hold if necessary.

  The phone went silent for a few moments, and then he was back. "We can pass a message on to Mr. Harker."

  "Thank you," Mira said, feeling slightly disappointed.

  The man cleared his throat and dropped his voice, not whispering, but not projecting the clear tone that Reinfield employees usually maintained. "It may take a while to reach him. He was dropped off this morning and has not requested pickup for another hour." Using the clear voice again, he continued, "Should he return the call to this number?"

  "Yes," Mira said, letting out a steadying breath, "I'd appreciate that."

  When she hung up the phone, Mira had fewer misgivings about the concierge service.

  "Everything okay?" Gabriel asked, poking his head out from the kitchen.

  Mira beamed a smile at him. "I think so. They're going to have him call me back, but they, uh, let slip, that they had seen him today."

  "That was nice of them," Gabriel said with no real feeling.

  "I hope you don't mind, but I think he'll call back on your number."

  "No problem." Again, a leaden monotony.

  "Everything okay?" Mira asked, nodding toward the kitchen.

  "It will be," Gabriel said, beginning to loosen up. "We're going to see Barney and the Hendersons. Coming with us?"

  "She has to," Ian called before coming out of the kitchen to join them. "No one's going to talk to us without her being there."

  "I thought you knew Barney?" Gabriel said.

  "Even him." Ian said. "When I dropped off his notebooks after making copies, he wouldn't discuss anything. Della would talk to me, and maybe a few others, but not many. And you said no one else knows who you are."

  "Emmit would talk to you as well," Mira pointed out.

  "Lucky me," Ian said. "There's something wrong with that guy."

  Mira put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "There's nothing wrong with Emmit."

  Ian shrugged, but she was happy to see that he appeared slightly abashed.

  "He's okay some of the time," Gabriel said.

  Mira stopped glaring, happy to see Gabriel giving Emmit a break.

  "Anyway," Gabriel said, "we should go."

  "Let me grab my stuff," Mira said.

  She wanted to bring so many things that she could have filled a duffel bag. Instead, she grabbed her notes before kicking the men out to give her the chance to hide her books.

  Outside, Mira was struck with how warm it was. Remnants of snow clung on in shaded areas, but the rest was gone.

  "I thought it was supposed to snow again tonight," Mira said, taking in the bright day. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, she shrugged off her jacket.

  "Yeah," Ian said, "the forecasters are trying to make heads or tails of the weather, but that’s almost always the case. Traffic was worse on the way over here than it was after the first earthquake. Everyone's playing hooky to enjoy the weather."

  "I can see why," Mira said.

  "We'll go to your store first," Gabriel said.

  "Thanks," Mira said.

  Ian watched his partner for a few moments, but Mira had a hard time placing the look. Now that the truth was out, though, things were bound to settle down between the two.

  "You can sit up front," Ian said when they reached Gabriel's car.

  "No," Mira said quickly. She wanted things as much back to normal between the two as possible. "I'll be working on my notes anyway."

  Mira settled into the back seat and had a flashback of her first ride Gabriel and Ian in Gabriel's car. They’d just met her, and Gabriel had insisted on taking her to the police station for further questioning in Sally’s death.

  "What are you grinning about?" Ian asked, looking back at her.

  "Just thinking about the last time I was back here," she said.

  She couldn't help but notice Gabriel's eyes flash back to her in the rear-view mirror before he drove around Della's big house.

  Ian chuckled. "It's hard to believe it wasn't that long ago. What are you working on?"

  Mira tapped her notebook, while looking over the short list of information she had. "A spell."

  "Is it for the case?" Ian asked.

  "Only tangentially," she said without thinking. Realizing Gabriel wouldn't want Ian to know about the spell, she tried to switch the subject. "I'm not sure what I can do to help the case. I've tried searching for Tyler, but I haven't had any luck."

  "Does that mean he's not in the area?" Ian asked.

  "Not really," Mira said. "If he had a ward of any sort, a locater spell wouldn't work."

  "Is there any kind of spell that could find out who John was working with?" Gabriel asked.

  "Not that I know of," Mira said. "If we had a suspect, maybe Truth would help us, but it depends on who it is."

  "You have a truth spell?" Ian asked. "That would be really useful."

  "You can't force people to confess." Mira remembered that Gabriel had done just that in the Ether. He had told her to confess and she had gibbered non-stop every thought that had been in her head. "Besides, you have Gabriel, which is much better than a Truth spell. He doesn't force you to tell the truth."

  "Not normally, anyway," Gabriel muttered.

  Mira grinned. "Normally, he only knows if a person is lying. Knowing that already gives you all the advantage. Besides, Truth takes away someone's free will. That's super bad for your karma."

  "Bad karma doesn't seem like a high price to pay," Ian said.

  "It's far too high a price," Gabriel said.

  "You must understand it more than I do," Ian said, sounding defensive. "I thought bad karma just caused little accidents. A few bumps and bruises."

  "It varies," Mira said, cutting off whatever Gabriel had been going to say. "Anyway, spells and law enforcement don't mix well. There's always a more powerful witch that can cheat the spell."

  "Is there a spell that would narrow down our other suspects?" Ian asked.

  "I haven't been able to think of one. There's a reason we need you two," Mira said. "Magic may be able to help things along, but this needs professionals."

  Ian seemed to be thinking hard on something. "If we find someone else involved, what happens if that person is a supernatural?"

  "That's going to depend on who is involved," Mira said.

  "Let's say it was a witch," Ian said, "what would happen? I mean, can we put a witch in jail?"

  "Plenty of witches are in jail," Mira said. "We're just like any other person. We make mistakes, we pay the price."

  "But a witch could do something to get out," Ian said. "Couldn't they?"

  "Most witches wouldn't take the risk of being discovered," Mira said. "They'd have to be crazy to do something obviously arcane."

  "Whoever is doing this isn't exactly the poster boy for sanity," Gabriel said.

  For the first time, Mira realized that Gabriel was as interested in the answer as Ian was.

  Mira twisted in her seat and frowned. "There are a few different options. The community of witches could bind the person, which would work for many of the supernatural races."

  "But you said there's always a more powerful witch," Ian reminded her.

  "Yes, but in this case, it wouldn't just be one witch. There would be thirteen working together, all convinced that binding is the correct action, and with the backing of the community. There's not much that could break that kind of spell."

  "What's the other option?" Gabriel asked when she didn't continue.

  Mira hesitated. This was bringing in more about the supernatural world than the community itself knew. The only reason she knew was because of her experience in college.

  "There are... people that could be called in," Mira said. "Specialists, I guess you could say that deal with this sort of thing. If magic could be exposed, people will show up and make the situation go away."

  "Go away
how?" Ian asked.

  "Look," Mira said, "it's not something that we talk about. You shouldn't even know about it. Hell, I shouldn't even know about it."

  "How do you know, then?" Ian asked.

  Mira bit her lip. "College," she said after a few awkward moments.

  "What—" Ian started.

  "Drop it," Gabriel said.

  Ian shrugged. "I guess even supernaturals have their boogie men."

  "Oh," Mira said, "a boogie wouldn't be involved."

  Ian frowned and turned back at her. "You mean boogie men—"

  "We're here," Gabriel said. "Damn, this place looks bad."

  "I see what you mean," Ian said.

  Gabriel noticed that Ian wasn't looking at the remains of Mira's store. Ian was looking at Mira and both of them grinned.

  "Dammit," Gabriel snapped. "I'm just going to stop talking all together."

  Chapter 9

  "You shouldn't stop talking," Mira said with a hint of laughter in her voice. "It lifts the mood."

  Ian nudged his partner on the arm, but Gabriel only rolled his eyes.

  "I'll go in with you," Gabriel said, snapping off his seatbelt. "This place looks like it's going to fall down on its own. I'd hate to see what another earthquake would do to it."

  "It's not that bad," Mira said, getting out of the car and looking at the boarded-up windows. "The fire department said the structure is stable."

  "I'll wait here," Ian said, getting out of the car and leaning against it. "You two take all the time you need."

  The keys jingled in Mira's hand as she nervously unlocked the door. A soot-stained mess greeted them. There hadn't been as much damage in the front room, but it was bad enough for Mira to look around glumly and curse her previous landlord.

  Gabriel followed Mira into the back, which held a great deal more damage. He and Mira exited the Ether during the fire, so Gabriel had his own memories to reflect on.

  Trying not to touch the stove, Mira picked up her cell phone where she had mistakenly laid it. Naturally, it was dead, but she was sure Gabriel's car had a charger.

  "I guess this is all I needed," Mira said, looking around the room.

  "I can't tell which version of this place is worse, here or in the Ether," Gabriel said.

  "Well, the Ether had monsters chasing us," Mira said.

  "And here we chase the monsters," Gabriel said.

  Mira gave him a halfhearted grin. "That's the plan anyway."

  "Do you have all of your—you know, stuff—out of here?" Gabriel asked.

  "My stuff?"

  "The witchy stuff?"

  That pulled a chuckle. "My business partner and I cleared out the witchy stuff."

  "What did you do with the mirror?" Gabriel asked.

  She didn't need to be told which mirror. "I didn't feel good about having it around, so I destroyed it."

  "I don't blame you for that."

  "I never thanked you for taking care of things that night. I should have."

  "Don't," Gabriel said.

  "Why not?"

  "I sent you out into the night alone with nothing, after just having faced monsters. It was freezing and you didn’t even have a coat. I still feel bad about that. Besides, bigger things came up."

  "I had a ride," Mira reminded him.

  "Reinfield. I don't trust those people."

  "I'd trust them for a ride, at least," Mira said. "And I trust they wouldn't let the wrong thing slip in public."

  "They're discreet. I'll give them that."

  "Come on," Mira said, "let's go see Barney."

  Emmit called on the way to the seer's house. Mira's stomach tumbled with butterflies when Gabriel passed her the phone.

  "Hello," Emmit said, "I understand that you were looking for me."

  Mira closed her eyes and smiled at the sound of his accent. "Yeah, um, Ian said he didn't see you last night and I heard there was a fight."

  "I understand," Emmit said, "I'm sorry that I worried you."

  She waited for more, but after a moment, she realized that there was nothing else coming. "So, you were okay? Nothing happened?"

  "It was a regrettable incident, but I assure you I am fine. Will you be at home tomorrow evening?"

  "Yes." Mira cringed at the eagerness in her tone. "I should be home by six or so."

  "Would you mind if I called on you tomorrow evening?"

  "I'd like that."

  "I'll see you around six, then. Please ask Gabriel if he'd be there as well."

  Emmit hung up and Mira's mouth fell open. That hadn't ended as she had intended. It couldn't be a date if he asked for someone else to tag along, could it?

  Mira passed Gabriel's phone back, her mind lost in thought. Did she want a date with Emmit?

  Well, yes. That was a stupid question. She still remembered the heat between them when they’d kissed. It was a kiss that would have ended up being so much more if it hadn’t been for other interruptions.

  Then she'd almost been killed and he had disappeared for a week.

  "How am I supposed to know?" Gabriel's sharp voice brought Mira out of her reverie. "Drop it."

  "We're partners. I should at least know what it is you can do." If anything, Ian sounded more cross than Gabriel did.

  "Nothing, okay?" Gabriel snapped. "Nothing that you don't already know."

  "There's no superpower, then?" Ian asked.

  "Ian," Mira broke in, "they're not super powers and you know you can't ask that."

  "The hell I can't," Ian said. "I'm his partner. I need to know."

  "Enough." Gabriel's voice was tinged with fire, although the energy swirling around the car held a cool note to it. "We can talk about this later."

  A note of command in Gabriel's voice made Mira take note. Gabriel didn't think he had power in this world, but Mira was beginning to suspect otherwise.

  The static between the partners was almost palpable. Mira took out her notebook and turned her mind to the spell in order to ignore the angst the men radiated.

  She made a few more notes for the spell before Gabriel parked in front of Barney's apartment building.

  "I'll stay here," Gabriel muttered. "Gotta make sure no one steals the tires."

  "The neighborhood isn't that bad," Mira said.

  Gabriel only shrugged and rolled down his window.

  "Come on," Ian said, "let's see what Barney can tell us."

  "I guess two people might be more comfortable for Barney," Mira said, not liking the fact that the partners were intent on not getting along.

  Windows were open in one of the apartments, allowing music to spill out into a day, which seemed even warmer than a few hours ago. Someone had also propped the door open to allow the dim hallway to air out, which it desperately needed.

  Ian stood aside and let Mira knock on the door.

  "Barney," Mira called, "it's me again, Mira." She listened intently for any sound coming from Barney's apartment before knocking again. "I just wanted to stop by and talk and see if you needed any other supplies."

  She frowned at Ian when there was still no noise from inside. Mira banged louder on the door. "Barney. If you're in, just let me know, okay? I'll go away if you want, but I need to know that you're alright." Mira bit her lip and without catching Ian's eye, she turned the doorknob.

  The door swung open.

  "Uh, um... Barney?" Mira called into the apartment. "It's not like him to have his door unlocked," she whispered to Ian. "He usually has several locks, the deadbolt, and the security chain on."

  "Barney," Ian called, "we just stopped by.... I feel stupid calling to no one. He's not here."

  "Should we check inside?" Mira asked.

  Ian hesitated. "Yeah, but I'll grab Gabe first. Wait here."

  When Ian went outside, Mira stepped into the apartment. Thoughts of Barney lying somewhere inside injured or worse filled her head.

  She scanned the living room and kitchen, but hesitated before going any further. For some reason, his apartment, e
mpty of everyone but her, felt creepy. It was only yesterday that she was here and felt the Ether reach out.

  Still, if Barney was in there.... She took a few hurried steps, enough to look down the short hall, and saw nothing. The bedroom door was closed.

  When she heard Ian and Gabriel's voice nearby, she jumped.

  Glad they couldn't see her, she took a hurried step toward the door and tried to make it look as though she hadn't been looking around.

  "Did you find anything?" Gabriel asked.

  "I just poked my head in to make sure he wasn't lying hurt on the floor," Mira said.

  "Uh, huh," Gabriel said, giving her an annoying little grin. "Well, he's your friend, so lead the way."

  Mira rolled her eyes and went through the living room, inspecting things more closely as she passed in case some information could be gleaned from the room.

  She stopped at the bedroom door. Opening the door seemed invasive, and she'd be horribly embarrassed if Barney was asleep inside, so she knocked.

  When there was no answer, she moved to open the door.

  "Don't," Gabriel said.

  Mira froze, unsure what Gabriel might have sensed.

  "Let me," he said. "Just in case."

  She didn't want to think what it might be in case of, but since he wasn't jumping in her way, he must not have been too worried. Mira stood back as Gabriel poked his head into the room. Ian was doing the same with the spare bedroom that Barney used as an office.

  "Nothing here," Gabriel said.

  "Nothing here, either," Ian said, in a tone that seemed to indicate the opposite of what he said.

  When Ian walked into the room, Mira followed behind him. There was no body on the floor, no blood, and nothing to indicate that something might have gone wrong.

  The room felt empty, but wasn’t. Barney's desk and a tiny spare bed were here. Her eyes roamed over the room to see what had Ian upset when it hit her. No boxes.

  "Oh crap," Mira said.

  "What is it?" Gabriel asked.

  "He had boxes in here," Ian said. "Lots of boxes. He wrote down every prediction, back to when he was younger."

  Mira went to the closet and held her breath, hoping that maybe Barney had just rearranged things.

  There were boxes inside, but she knew right away that they were the wrong ones. Barney's cryptic filing system wasn't written on the boxes. She opened one and found notebooks. Unfortunately, they were the blank ones. She pulled one out and flipped through it, just in case.