KISS THE WITCH (5 page)

I pointed at Ursula. “Again, I’m sorry dear,
but what the fuck?” To Lilith I said, “Can’t you teach the girl
modern English. She will never fit into society talking like
that.”

“
Yes and you will never
fit in with our new coven unless you exercise witchcraft more
often.”

“
I told you, I have a job
that takes priority.”

“
And that’s all right. But
you spend more time clipping your toenails than you do practicing
witchcraft.”

“
You told me to cut my
nails because you said I stab you when we….” I looked at Carlos and
then at Ursula. “You know.”

“
Have sex, I know. It’s
okay. You can say it. I think Carlos and Ursula know we have sex,
Tony.”

“
All right. I’m just
saying.”

“
And I’m just saying. You
need to practice witchcraft more often and try to be more tolerant
when I practice it.”

“
Why don’t you
compromise,” said Carlos, who until now seemed content just
standing back watching the show.

“
Excuse me?”

“
Sure.” He pointed at
Ursula and then at me. “Lilith, why don’t you promise to help
Ursula with her modern English, and Tony, you promise to practice
more witchcraft?”

I looked at Lilith. Her hooked brow told me
the Cuban Doctor Ruth might have something there. “It is not a bad
idea,” I said.

“
No, not bad,” she
replied. She looked at Ursula. “Would you mind, Urs?”

She gathered her lips in a ripple,
considered it briefly and answered, “Methinks not, my blood. If
thee wish it so, I shall try but gladly.”

Lilith nodded.

“
Great,” I said.
“Done.”

Ursula pointed the dagger at me and shook it
loosely. “But hark thee my words, lest thou forget. Thrice be thy
luck of bad and not if thou profess and squander.”

I shook my head. “See, this is what I mean.
I have no idea what the hell she just said.”

“
She is telling you not to
fuck up,” said Carlos.

I gave him a warning look. “Who asked
you?”

He didn’t even blink. “Got anything to
drink?” he asked.

Lilith gestured toward the kitchen. “Iced
tea in the fridge. Help yourself.”

“
Thanks.” He crossed the
room, tapping my arm as he walked by me. “Want some?”

I waved him off. “Lilith, what is that thing
Ursula is holding?”

“
What, this?” She put her
hand out and Ursula passed the dagger to her.

“
Yes. That.”

She held it up for my inspection. “It’s
called an athame. Every witch should have one, including you. Mine
is over a hundred and fifty years old.”

“
Does Ursula have one,
too?”

“
She did.”

Ursula said, “They took it when they hanged
me. I kept only my witch’s key, which I hid up my––”

“
Uh-uh. I don’t need to
hear that, Ursula. Lilith. I came home to get the thing for
Spinelli.”

“
Thing?”

“
The thing you told me not
to forget.”

“
The stone,” said Ursula.
“What say thee, pray tell, wait and I shall gather it.”

“
Sure, go
ahead.”

She ran off to the bedroom to get the stone.
I turned to Carlos, who was standing in the doorway between the
kitchen and living room. “Almost ready, amigo?”

“
Almost,” he said, and he
tipped his drink back to finish it, allowing the ice to slide down
the glass and dam against his nose. He placed the empty glass on
the kitchen table when he was done, something that would have
earned me demerit points from Lilith. Carlos received barely a
second look. “Ready now.”

I nodded toward the door. “Let’s go.”

Ursula returned with the stone, presenting
it in cupped hands like a fragile flower. “Hear, hear,” she said.
“To my beloved thee shall bring. Yes?”

I scooped the stone up with equal reverence.
“Yes. Of course.”

I slipped it into my pocket.

We started out the door, when Lilith called
back. “Don’t forget about tonight.”

I turned slowly, hoping I might remember
what I obviously forgot. The look on my face was enough to sour
hers. “Tonight?”

“
Tony. This is a big deal.
You cannot forget.”

“
Oh,” I said. “Tonight,
right, the coven thing.”

“
Yes, the coven thing.
Tonight is the new moon. We have to do it tonight. You promised
me.”

“
I know. I know. I won’t
forget.”

Carlos asked, “What’s the coven thing?”

I looked at Lilith, confident she could
explain it better than I could. Truth was I could not explain it at
all.

“
Now that we are three,”
said Lilith, “we can form our own sub-coven of witches. A coven
will allow us greater control over our witchcraft. By harnessing
the power of three, we can guarantee greater successes, where until
now we could only hope. This will also help strengthen the bonding
energies for the wedding.”

“
So it’s a big thing, huh?
You going to have candles and incense and stuff like
that?”

“
Yes, Carlos. We will have
candles and incense and stuff like that.”

“
Can I––”

“
No. You
cannot.”

He turned to me and pleaded with his eyes. I
said to Lilith, “Why don’t you let him come, Lilith.” Man, the look
she gave me, you would have thought I just called her a skank.

“
Tony, this ceremony
tonight is a sacred event. It is not a spectator sport. Tonight we
will call forth the energies of all the witches in my lineage, from
Ursula’s mother to mine. It is a hallowed consecration of body and
soul to a higher purpose. Tonight the visceral collective shines.
Only those engaged can be in attendance.” She paused and gave me a
tentative look. “Besides, I don’t think you want Carlos here for
the cleansing ritual.”

“
The what?”

“
That’s where we purify
our bodies to ease the flow of energy between us.”

“
Purify?”

“
Aye, we shower and oil,”
said Ursula. “`Tis natural to cleanse proper thy body and thy
mind.”

“
Wait,” I said. “We don’t
all have to shower together, do we?”

She laughed lightly. “What say thee thy
thoughts so silly? The bath holds but one in comfort. Three is by
thrice too small.”

“
Okay then.” I looked at
Carlos and expressed my relief with a smile. “For a minute, I
thought we were all going to get naked for the entire
ceremony.”

Lilith smiled back. “We are.”

“
Excuse me?”

“
Tony, witchcraft is all
about connecting with nature and the elements. Ideally, we should
conduct the ceremony outside in the woods or on a beach along a
deserted shoreline. And yes, we would be naked there, too. So be
thankful we will be indoors where you can indulge your prudish
inclinations.”

“
What? I’m not a prude.
I’m…modest.”

“
No, Tony. Ursula is
modest. You’re a prude.”

“
I am not, and to prove
you wrong, I’ll not only get naked for your ceremony tonight, I’ll
stand naked on the front porch and howl like a wolf at the moon
when we’re done. How’s that for prudish?”

She hatched a wicked grin. Her eyes caught
mine and reeled me in. I think the thought of me howling naked at
the moon excited her just a little. “That will not be necessary,”
she said, and winked flirtatiously. “Not tonight, anyway.”

She held me with her gaze until I pried
myself loose and turned for the door. I called out over my
shoulder. “Coming Carlos?”

“
Right behind you,” he
answered, his footsteps confirming it.

We walked out to the car without saying a
word. I knew he wanted to talk about what just happened, but he
knew better than to start up with it. The silence held until we
turned into the parking garage at the justice center. That is when
I said to him, “Listen.”

He shut the car off and turned to me, his
expression stalled in a quizzical twist. “Yeah?”

“
About this thing
tonight.” I shook my finger at him. “You cannot tell Spinelli. You
hear me?”

“
What?” The way his jaw
dropped, you would have thought I had just ripped the mustache from
his face. “Tony, don’t you want to see the look on his face when we
tell him Ursula is gonna get naked in front of you?”

“
No. Of course not. Why
would you want to do that to Dominic? You know how vulnerable he
is.”

“
I know. That is just it.
He’ll squirm like a fish.”

“
Exactly. I thought you
liked Spinelli.”

“
I do.”

“
Then why make him squirm?
Do you think he would do that to you?”

His expression melted into something of a
frown. “No, not for the fun of it.”

“
All right then. Don’t do
it to him.”

He pursed his lips and made a tic sound
through his teeth. “Okay, fine. I won’t tell him, but I want all
the details tomorrow morning. Deal?”

“
Deal,” I said, though I
thought I might regret that promise later.

Spinelli’s enthusiasm to see us faded quickly
after noticing Carlos’ cat that ate the cannery grin. I tried
kick-starting the conversation, inquiring about Howard Snow the
minute we settled in around my desk.

“
Where is he?” I said,
hoping to derail his suspicions. “You got him
downstairs?”

He pitched a glance my way before refocusing
his attention on Carlos and his shit-eating grin. “Who?”

“
Snow. Where is he? In
holding?”

He pointed at Carlos. “You’re hiding
something.”

“
Me?” Carlos’ grin widened
to a full-fledged smile. “I ain’t hiding anything.”

“
Dominic. Snow. Do we have
him or not?”

“
Huh?” He came back to me,
this time long enough to give me a straight answer. “No. We missed
him. The black and white reported his car in the driveway, but no
one home. He could be at the hospital, though.”

“
Why, is he
hurt?”

Spinelli’s attention drifted once more to
Carlos, who had taken the seat across the desk from me. “No. His
wife is in the hospital.” He shook his head. “Cancer I think.” He
said to Carlos, “You know something. What is it?”

Carlos threw me a look, begging me to let
him off the hook. I shot him down with a stone-faced glare. “You
got them heading over to the hospital now?”

“
Who?” said
Carlos.

“
Dominic,” I said. “I’m
asking Dominic.”

Dominic replied, “Who?”

“
The black and white.
Jesus. Will you forget about Carlos and come back to
earth?”

He snapped to attention, turned on his heels
and pulled the bend out of his tie. “Sorry. No, I don’t have the
unit going to the hospital.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because his car is still
in the driveway.”

“
Then why did you say he
could be at the hospital?”

Spinelli offered up a dull shrug. “I don’t
know. I was just saying. His wife is in the hospital. If he’s not
home, maybe that’s where he went.”

I shook my head. “Forget it. Carlos and I
will ride out to his house and try to make contact. Tell me what
you found out about Biocrynetix Laboratories.”

“
Ahh, something
interesting there.” He pulled a small notepad from his back pocket
and flipped past the first few pages. “Biocrynetix Laboratories is
a privately funded co-op specializing in radical R&D for large
pharmaceuticals and governmental contractors.”

“
What does that mean,
radical R&D?”

“
It means they invest in
projects deemed too experimental, risky or radical for traditional
pharmaceutical companies to take on; projects that hold slim hope
for breakthroughs, but yield immense profits with
successes.”

“
I see. Traditional
pharmaceuticals are publically owned and such endeavors make Wall
Street investors too skittish.”

“
Exactly, but here’s the
interesting thing.” He turned to Carlos. “You told me Biocrynetix
Laboratories was working on a super sweetener?”

“
That’s right. Ferguson
told us it was four-thousand times sweeter than corn
syrup.”

“
See, that’s the thing. An
industrial strength food sweetener is agricultural. It is not the
sort of thing Biocrynetix Laboratories typically
researches.”

“
Maybe they are thinking
about going public,” I said. “If that’s the case, they have to
think about getting away from the radical R&D stuff and going
mainstream. A breakthrough in a super sweet food additive would
surely add a feather in their cap and boost their IPO.”

Carlos added, “Ferguson did say he didn’t
want the publicity. That is exactly the sort of thing that would
jeopardize an initial public offering.”

“
Maybe,” said Spinelli,
“but something still seems fishy to me.” He flipped another page in
his notepad. “Case in point. Those two guys that died last night,
Mark Williams and Rick Delaney?”

“
Yeah.”

“
They’re not
alone.”