Damned and Cursed (Book 2): Witch's Kurse (24 page)

"And there's my hunk of junk," she said.
 
"My apartment's right up here."

"You walked all that way?
 
Tomorrow, I'll pick you up.
 
And I know a guy who does towing.
 
I'll call in a favor, get your car in a garage somewhere."

"Marie, really, you don't have to do that."

"Don't worry about it.
 
Believe me, I know what it's like trying to start over."

Erica directed Marie to her apartment building.
 
Erica leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes, not ready to get out just yet.

"It's been a long time since I've been up this late," she said.

"If tomorrow is like tonight, I'll definitely hire a few more people.
 
We'll set a schedule, rotate people out.
 
I don't want to kill you guys."

"That place is important to you, isn't it?
 
I saw pictures of it before you cleaned it.
 
You put a lot into it."

"Yeah, it is.
 
It's been a dream of mine for a while."

"I'll help out however you need me to."

Marie smiled.
 
"Thanks, Erica.
 
I need all the help I can get."

Erica opened the door and climbed out, but didn't close it.
 
"Thanks again for the ride.
 
And for picking me up tomorrow.
 
And everything else."

"Sure.
 
What are friends for?"

Erica shut the door and headed for her building.
 
The old saying slipped out, and Marie found herself chewing on the words.
 
It'd been a long time since she had a friend, especially a human friend.
 
The problem with humans was they tended to age and die.
 
It was hard to maintain a relationship as one friend developed wrinkles and gray hair, while the other remained the same.

Still, she wondered if she'd just made a friend.

"Tiff!
 
Let's get a move on, sweetie.
 
It's starting to get dark."

"I'll be right down.
 
I just have to put on my tiara.
 
Every ballerina needs a tiara."

"It's a cheap piece of plastic.
 
Stick it on your head and let's roll."

"Don't rush me!
 
You can't rush beauty and perfection."

Jack rolled his eyes.
 
"Oh, for the love of shit."

He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall by the open front door.
 
Peering up the stairs, he could see Tiffany's shadow from her bedroom to the hall, and could imagine her staring into the mirror.
 
She'd been up there for thirty minutes.
 
She was a tiny person, with a tiny costume.
 
What could take so long?

He glanced out the screen door to see some children were already moving from house to house, starting their Halloween night.
 
A quiet chuckle escaped as he took note of some of the horrific costumes.
 
Vampires, werewolves, witches, goblins, ghosts, Miley Cyrus.
 
He wondered how the little midgets would feel if they knew the monsters they impersonated were real.

"Okay, Jack.
 
I'm ready."

Tiffany walked down the stairs slowly.
 
If Jack didn't know better, he would have thought she was showing off.
 
His daughter was adorable, beyond a doubt.
 
She wore little purple slippers with a puffy dress.
 
The dress was white at the bottom, green in the middle, with white shoulder-pads.
 
The tiara sat loosely on her head.
 
She smiled when she reached the bottom step.

"Do I look okay?"

"You look beautiful, partner."

"Really?"

"You bet.
 
Give me a pose so I can get a picture."

Tiffany didn't need to be told twice.
 
She smiled brightly and stood on the tips of her toes, nearly falling over in the process.
 
Jack laughed as he snapped a picture with his phone.

Now that Halloween had finally arrived, it dawned on him that it was a night of many firsts.
 
It was Tiffany's first Halloween where she would actually go out.
 
It would be their first Halloween together as father and daughter.

Something behind Jack caught Tiffany's attention.
 
Her eyes lit up as she rushed past her father, pushing open the outside door.
 
Jack turned to see Tiffany's friend Jenny heading up their sidewalk.
 
He frowned, as he had no idea what was going on.
 
The two girls hugged in front of the house and gushed over each other's costumes.
 
Jenny dressed up as a ninja.

Jenny's mother sat in a mini-van in the middle of the street.
 
She waved at Jack and smiled.
 
He couldn't muster a wave in return, but did manage to nod his head.

Dread gripped his soul as she put the mini-van in drive and pulled away.
 
He watched the van disappear down the street and make a right turn.
 
The clues started to come together in his head, like a puzzle.
 
He didn't want to ask the question.
 
He was terrified of the answer.
 
But he couldn't stop the words from coming out.

"Uh, what the hell is going on?"

Both girls stopped giggling long enough to face him.

"Jenny's coming trick or treating with us!" Tiffany said.

"Oh, is that so?
 
And when did this happen?
 
Is that how parents do it now?
 
They just drop their kids off at some stranger's house?"

"You're not a stranger, Daddy.
 
All the parents love you.
 
You're the Dad who yelled at Mrs. Galloway."

"Ah, wonderful.
 
If I had to guess, Jenny's not the only one coming, is she?"

"Just a few more," Tiffany said innocently, looking as angelic as she possibly could.

"Clever," he said.

Jack glanced at Jenny.
 
One thing he didn't think about when he first took Tiffany in was the fact that the girl would make friends.
 
That meant he'd be exposed to other loud, hyper little girls, and their equally obnoxious mortal parents.
 
He didn't like Jenny, but Tiffany's friends were important to her.
 
He'd try to be nice.

"So, a ninja."

Jenny threw her hands up in what he guessed was some kind of martial arts pose.

"Yeah!
 
My mom and dad won't let me carry around a sword, even though it's fake.
 
It's not like I could even do anything with it.
 
But they don't want me carrying a sword because they said violence is bad."

"That's because they're stupid.
 
Jenny, let me ask you something.
 
Is there something wrong with your jaw that you can't close it, and you have to breathe through your mouth?"

The girl looked up, deep in thought.
 
"I don't think so."

"Eh, okay, whatever.
 
Just try to reign it in a little, okay?
 
Save some air for the rest of us."

True to Tiffany's word, a few more girls showed up.
 
A total of three of Tiffany's friends, book-ending with Melissa.
 
Stacy, Melissa's mother, took the time to walk her daughter to Jack's yard.

Jack frowned as the female pair approached.
 
Like mother, like daughter.
 
Both showed an inappropriate amount of skin.
 
Stacy wore jean shorts and a shirt one size too small, hugging her breasts and exposing her navel.
 
Not exactly October-friendly apparel.
 
She smiled at Jack as the girls shrieked and chased each other around the yard.

"Thanks for taking the kids out," she said.
 
"It's all they've been talking about all week."

"Ah, all week," he said, glancing at Tiffany.
 
"Hey, it's what I live for.
 
It should be so much fun."

She touched his arm.
 
"I hear you're single now.
 
Are you okay?"

Jack mustered the control to not grab Stacy's hand and break her wrist.
 
The touch was a clear message.
 
She was more than happy to be the rebound.

The mention of his past relationship brought no pain.
 
Perhaps, just like the curse treated his body, his heart healed fast as well.

"Yeah, I'm single once again.
 
And I'm fine."

"Well, listen, if you need
anything
, just let me know."

"Uh, sure."

Stacy gave her daughter a hug and left.
 
The girls stopped running and formed a line in front of Jack.
 
Melissa stepped forward and looked up with a smile.

"Hi, Mr. Jack.
 
Look at me.
 
I'm a gypsy."
 
She did some kind of weird dance.
 
"You look really cute today."

"Shut up, Melissa.
 
Save that shit for the stage.
 
Are you shooting for candy or one-dollar bills?"

Her eyes widened.
 
"You mean some people give out
money
?"

"And that answers my question.
 
Don't worry.
 
In nine or ten years, you'll be able to get all the dollar bills you want, and break your father's heart at the same time."

"I don't have a dad."

"Ah, what a shocker."
 
He looked over the group.
 
"So, are you little munchkins ready to take that next step toward diabetes?"

They didn't even know what diabetes was, and cheered anyway.
 
Jack found himself smirking.
 
Their energy was infectious.

"We're gonna get some serious candy," Tiffany announced.
 
"And we'll stay up until midnight eating it."

"Nice try," Jack said.
 
"The candy gates close at nine thirty.
 
If your parents aren't at my house by ten o'clock to pick the rest of you midgets up, I'm dropping you off at animal control."

Halloween was off and running.
 
Jack didn't realize it until he was herding a gaggle of little girls, but he'd hoped their first Halloween would be between Tiffany and himself.
 
Father-daughter time.
 
But Tiffany was having the time of her life, laughing and smiling.
 
She got along great with her friends, and after studying them through the night, he saw Tiffany was the center of the group.
 
In such a short time, she'd come a long way from the quiet new girl in class that could barely read.

Jack watched his daughter carefully as they pillaged each house.
 
Several times an adult in costume would lunge from behind a tree, or from in between parked cars.
 
Part of him worried about Tiffany.
 
She'd seen horrible things with her own eyes, and she still suffered from nightmares.
 
But she wasn't traumatized at all by Halloween.
 
A sense of pride took hold.
 
Tiffany was strong, just like him.

Despite being in the company of her friends, Tiffany didn't forget her father.

It was a simple moment.
 
They'd just raided another house, and the girls ran back toward the sidewalk.
 
Jack thought they would turn, but Tiffany ran smack into him, hugging him.
 
The girls kept going, but Tiffany remained, sharing a moment with her father.

"I'm having fun," she said.
 
"Thanks for taking us trick or treating."

"You got it, partner."

"Hey, Tiffany!" Melissa called.
 
"Come on!
 
We've got more houses."

Halloween, even with the extra cargo, was going much better than he thought it would.
 
Even Tiffany's friends made him chuckle occasionally.

They were in the middle of their last block when his phone rang.
 
He smiled when he glanced at the screen.

"Victoria.
 
Happy Halloween."

"Jack.
 
I called as soon as I found out.
 
Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah.
 
Why wouldn't I be?"

"You…haven't been keeping tabs on Erica?"

"No.
 
Why would I do that?
 
We're two grown adults who decided a relationship wasn't for us.
 
You'd think I'd spy on her?
 
I'm not a stalker."

The silence stretched.

"Erica's dead.
 
She's been murdered."

Jack froze.
 
He was vaguely aware of someone tugging his hand.
 
Tiffany gave up after a moment, and followed her friends to the next house.

"Who?
 
How?"

"I don't know the details.
 
I just got the call from one of my guys.
 
Jack, God, I'm so sorry.
 
She moved to some town called Sandy Cliffs."

"Montana," he said.
 
"She told me that much."

"Yeah.
 
Look, I'm still in India.
 
I'll catch the first flight out.
 
Alex is getting ready to leave for a case down in Florida, but I know he'll drop it for me."