“Pretty sure? How did you come to that conclusion?”
“I recognized Winnie’s voice when I called Gert this morning. She’s pretending to be Gert’s mother.”
“When was the last time you saw Winnie?”
“Over a year ago.”
“You haven’t talked to her for over twelve months, and you still remember her voice?”
I flashed him a look. “Yeah. The woman threatened me with a gun and locked me in a box. She’s not someone I’m likely to forget.”
“Why would she take Tink?”
“Juliet tried to use Tink’s gifts for her own selfish reasons, and I suspect Winnie thinks she’ll do the same.” I drew my lips back in a sneer. “Ha—she wasn’t even a very good witch. I don’t know how she thinks she can use someone as talented as Tink.”
“We’re hurtling down the road because you suspect a bad witch is holding your daughter?”
“Yeah.”
His attitude surprised me. Witches, folk magick, restless spirits, all in a day’s work for me.
“You have to trust me, Ethan,” I said as I focused on the road ahead. We were almost to the gravel road leading to the old Blunt place.
“Do you have a plan, or are you going to wing it like yesterday?”
I drummed the steering wheel. “Winging didn’t work so well.”
“Depends on how you look at it. We didn’t find Tink, which was your goal, but we caught a killer and busted a body snatching ring. Not bad, Jensen.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his smile.
His face sobered. “But we are walking into a hostage situation. Tink might get hurt if we’re not careful.”
“You’re the cop—you got a plan?”
He turned in his seat to face me. “First, since Gert
worked for you, she’d recognize your car. We’ll park down the road…”
“What else?” I asked when he didn’t continue.
“This isn’t what you want to hear, but I think we should call Bill. He’ll send a car out—”
“Oh no he won’t,” I said, cutting him off. “You saw how mad he was at me. If he thinks I’m sticking my nose in again, he’ll lock me up and ditch the key.”
“How about an anonymous tip?” he suggested.
“About what?”
“You said Winnie escaped. I presume that means she’s a fugitive?”
“Yes.”
“We call in a tip about her location—”
“If Bill shows up, she’s not going to answer the door,” I scoffed. “She’ll hide out until he leaves.”
“Scratch that idea.” He thought for a moment. “Best scenario…we watch the house until we spot her, then call Bill. She’s got to come outside sometime.”
“I don’t know…” My uncertainty echoed in my voice.
“Remember what I told you yesterday—the way to build a case is slowly and carefully? If you’re correct, you don’t want Winnie to escape again, do you?”
The thought made me shudder.
We left the car on the side of the road and cut across the pasture to reach the old Blunt place, coming up from behind the house. Using the windbreak located on the north side of the property as cover, we snuck around to the front.
A small white car sat in front of the house. The trunk lid was up.
Grabbing the sleeve of Ethan’s jacket, I stared at him with fear in my eyes. “They’re leaving.”
“Maybe not. Maybe Gert’s been grocery shopping.”
As he said it, Gert came out of the front door carrying a big box. She stowed it in the trunk and returned to the house. A few seconds later she was back. This time lugging two suitcases.
“They are leaving,” I whispered. “What do we do now?”
“I guess what you’re good at—winging it.” He reached for his cell phone and made a quick call.
“Bill, Ethan. I’m out at the old—” He covered the phone with his hand and looked at me. “Where did you say we were?”
“The old Blunt place,” I said quietly.
Ethan repeated it into the phone. “Yeah,” he said as he cast a glance my way. “No, we won’t. Don’t worry about it, Bill, I’ll take care of everything.”
He flipped the phone shut. “Bill’s on his way.”
“We don’t have time to wait,” I hissed. “They might leave with Tink any minute. It takes at least twenty minutes to get here from Aiken.”
The front door slamming caught our attention. Gert again. She moved down the steps toward the car. She got in and we heard the motor turn over.
“We have to move now.”
Before he could stop me, I was on my feet and headed through the grove of trees to the back of the house.
With three long strides, Ethan caught me. “Sneak in the back while I keep them busy at the front of the house,” he whispered. “They could be armed, so no heroics.”
“Not to worry,” I said with a weak smile. “I hate getting shot.”
As he turned away from me, I heard him muttering under his breath, “Bill is going to kill me.”
I skirted around the edge of the property until I’d reached
the backyard. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then ran across the yard. Peeking around the corner of the house, I saw Ethan walking up the short drive. Satisfied he’d provide a distraction, I crept up to the enclosed porch and quietly slipped in through the screen door. Another door leading into the kitchen stood open. Plastering my body to the wall next to the door, I heard voices in the front of the house. They were suddenly silenced by a loud knock.
Footsteps went in two different directions. One set to the other side of the house, and the second set to the front door. The front door opened and I heard Ethan’s voice.
Move, now, Jensen.
But to where? In Aunt Dot’s vision, Tink was being held in a bedroom. In most farm homes, the bedrooms were on the second story, with the stairs leading up from the kitchen.
I peeked around the doorway and saw another door on the wall to my right. It either concealed a pantry or stairs leading up.
Please let it be the stairs!
Slipping into the kitchen, I clung close to the wall as I made my way to the next door. Carefully, I turned the knob and gently opened the door.
Yes. Stairs.
Shutting the door behind me, I hurried over the worn treads. At the top, I found myself standing in a large bedroom containing two twin beds. Two other doors led to the rest of the bedrooms. I tried the first—it swung open easily, revealing an empty room. Crossing swiftly to the next door, I grabbed the knob. Locked.
Lightly, I tapped on the wooden panel.
“Go away, Winnie,” exclaimed an angry teenage voice.
My body slumped with relief. I’d found her.
“Tink,” I called in a loud whisper. “It’s me.”
The sound of footfalls on a wooden floor came from the other side of the door.
“Ophelia?”
“Shh, Winnie and Gert are downstairs.”
“The door’s locked.”
“I know. What about the window?”
“No, I already tried using my bed sheets, but they weren’t long enough.”
“I’ll find something to pry the lock.”
I looked madly around the room for something, anything, to pop the door open.
A hanger? No, the wire would bend too easily.
I ran my hand through my hair and chewed on my lip. A nail?
Stepping back to the center of the room, my eyes roamed the walls, looking for a nail protruding from the plaster.
I spotted one above the door. Standing on my tiptoes, I reached for the nail. A piece of string or ribbon seemed to be hanging on the metal shaft. I looped my finger around it and pulled it down.
Staring at the string dangling from my finger, I couldn’t believe my luck.
Swinging back and forth at its end was a key.
I fitted it into the brass lock and turned. I heard a soft click, and then the door swung open.
The next thing I knew, thin arms flew around my neck in a tight hug. I gave myself a moment to just feel the joy of finding Tink again.
I stepped back and cupped her face with my hands. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Winnie and Gert grabbed—”
“Not now, sweetie, we have to get you out of here.” I threaded my fingers around hers. “Follow me down the steps
to the kitchen. We’re going to sneak out the back door. Once we’re in the yard, run for the grove of trees. Okay?”
“Okay,” she replied in a soft voice.
“And Tink, don’t let anything stop you. You keep going no matter what happens.”
Her mouth took on a stubborn line. “I’m not leaving you.”
I squeezed her fingers. “Yes. Youwill. A DEA agent is somewhere outside. You’ll find him and send him back if I don’t follow. Got it?”
“Got it,” she grudgingly said.
Together we crept down the stairs. At the bottom, I put a finger to my lips and slowly opened the door. Peering out, I checked the kitchen. All clear. I tugged on Tink’s hand. As we stood in the kitchen, I moved her in front of me and guided her toward the back porch.
A sudden yank on the back of my head almost pulled me off my feet.
“Run!” I screamed and turned to face my assailant.
Gert stood holding strands of my hair in her hand. She dropped them and came at me.
I shoved her away, and as I did, my hand caught her pendant, ripping it away from her neck. It flew across the room and clattered to the floor.
With a screech, her open palm flew to her throat. “My Eye of Horus! You took my Eye of Horus!” she cried, staring at the broken necklace. “I’ve lost my protection.”
“Shut up and grab her, you fool!” Winnie yelled from the kitchen doorway.
Gert lunged at me, but I dodged her. Spinning on my heel, I headed toward the door.
A hand clutched the hem of my T-shirt and tugged me backward. I jerked and struggled to keep moving. My shoes
slid on the slick linoleum floor as my body was pulled away from the open door and freedom.
“Freeze! DEA! On the floor now!”
The hand released me, and I staggered to regain my balance.
I whirled around to see Ethan standing in the doorway with his gun drawn.
Winnie and Gert dropped to the floor like a couple of stones.
Thirty-Six
I couldn’t let go of Tink’s hand as Bill took her statement. I knew it embarrassed her, but I didn’t care. She’d get over it.
“They grabbed you at Abby’s mailbox?” Bill asked.
Tink nodded. “Gert stopped and called me over to her car. When I got there, Winnie jumped out and threw me in the backseat. Then they took off and brought me here.”
“Did they mistreat you?”
“No.” Tink rolled her eyes. “They pretended to be really nice.” She gave a small snort. “They didn’t fool me. They’re almost as crazy as Aunt Juliet.”
With that one sentence, Tink summed up the whole situation.
I found Ethan leaning up against the side of one of the patrol cars, his long legs stretched out before him.
“Bill said you’re leaving?” I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets.
“Yeah, just got the call,” he said, straightening.
“A new assignment?”
He gave me a cheeky grin. “Sorry, can’t say.”
I lowered my eyes. “Right…” Scuffing the ground with
the toe of my shoe, I tried to think of the proper words to express my gratitude.
It was impossible. There weren’t enough words written or said to do that.
“Ethan,” I began, raising my eyes to his face. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate—”
“Hey, it’s okay, Jensen. I told you I always pay my debts.”
“Well, this is a debt I can never repay you.”
He laid a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be around again. Maybe by then you’ll think of a way.” Dropping his hand, he opened the door to the patrol car and got in.
I cocked my head. “You’ll be back?”
“Sure,” he said, shutting the door and resting his arm on it. “Whenever my life gets boring, I’ll look you up.”
“Ha—you’re an undercover agent. Your life is a lot more exciting than mine.”
“I’m not too sure about that,” he said with a laugh. He glanced at the deputy behind the wheel and gave him a quick nod.
As the deputy turned the key in the ignition, I stepped away from the car.
Ethan raised his finger in a salute as they slowly backed away.
They were almost out of the driveway when Ethan leaned out the window. Cupping his hand to his mouth, he yelled, “Jensen, remember—don’t fall off your broom!”
I shot a look over my shoulder to see if anyone else had heard him. When I looked back, he was gone.
At the end of the week we were all gathered on the patio, enjoying the warm summer night. It would be our last get
together before Aunt Dot left the next morning for home.
Watching Aunt Dot and Tink stroll around the backyard, I faced Abby. “Aunt Dot got her adventure, didn’t she?” I asked, sipping my ice tea.