Page 16

Chapter

Sixteen

brIDGETTE

I ’d never been in a police station before. Honestly, it was a bit disappointing. I had expected to see cops running around, hauling criminals behind them in handcuffs, and filling out paperwork while phones rang off the hook. Instead, when we stepped off the elevator, all I saw were rows of desks that were half empty. The desks that had someone sitting there, the person looked bored as they filled out paperwork. At least that part of my expectation was real.

“Over here,” Logan said as he led me by the hand toward the back wall, where there was an office with windows overlooking the rest of the room and the door standing open. The few men and women working at their desks glanced up and called out greetings as we passed, most of them eyeing me as if I were an anomaly.

Logan knocked on the open door and called out. “Hey, Captain. I’ve brought Bridgette Waters.” He gently tugged me forward and gestured to one of the two chairs sitting in front of the large desk covered in multiple folders.

The Captain was a large man with an even larger, imposing presence. Judging his height from where he was sitting, I would have placed him somewhere near six and a half feet tall with a full head of dark hair and a liberal dusting of gray at his temples. He was handsome, probably of Latin descent, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was married and how I could introduce him to my mother if he was single. It had been far too long since my mother had attempted dating anyone. Maybe it was spending the last two nights with my mate, but I couldn’t help but want everyone to be happy with a partner. If they were so inclined to have a partner, that was.

After Logan had asked me to help with the case, he had gone to the office, telling me he still needed to approve it first through his boss. Later that evening, just as I finished closing up the shop for the night, he’d knocked on the door, a bag of delicious smelling food in hand. We’d had a simple evening together, talking about our childhoods while letting a movie play in the background as we ate. After he’d carried me through my small living room and into the bedroom, he’d stripped me bare. Then I learned how fun it could be to save water by showering with a friend. Ten out of ten. Highly recommend.

“Miss Waters.” The Captain stood up and leaned over his desk to take my hand in a firm handshake that made my finger look like toothpicks. Maybe not quite that small, but I bet he could have snapped them as easily as toothpicks. “I understand you are knowledgeable in the occult.” He sat back down and folded his hands in front of him over the folders on his desk.

“Yes, sir. I was trained as early as I can remember by my grandmother.”

He stared me dead in the eyes, and I didn’t dare blink or look away. “I’m going to be honest with you, Miss Waters. I don’t believe in witchcraft. But I believe that you believe in it, and so does this killer. So if any insight you might be able to provide helps find this asshole and are able to put the fucker away, well, I’m willing to keep an open mind.”

“I understand, sir. But, just saying, just because you don’t believe in something doesn’t mean it’s not real.” I felt Logan rest his hand on my shoulder. I wasn’t sure if it was in support or a quiet warning to shut up.

He sat back, still eyeing me, and picked up a cup of coffee that was sitting to the side of his desk. “You’re correct, of course. But there is no proof of magic. If there were, it would be all over social media. Kids these days film every damn thing. Ghosts, witches, magic. It doesn’t exist.” He took a sip of his coffee, then grimaced. “Damn it. I let it grow cold. I swear I can never drink a full cup of hot coffee anymore.”

I stuck out my hand. “Sir, if I may?” He looked at me in confusion, then back at his cold coffee. With a shrug, he handed it over. I held it between both of my hands. “I 100% understand what you are saying. There’s just one thing to think about, though. Witches have been condemned since the beginning of history. Burnings, hangings, drownings. Even the suggestion that a woman might use witchcraft to help her flowers grow in the early colonial days was enough to have her hanged. If a woman looked at a child wrong or denied a man’s affections, she was accused of being a witch and put to death, even if she was completely human. In fact, the majority of the deaths that have occurred over the many years of our existence weren’t witches at all. Witches know how to keep our secrets, especially after watching our sisters die for just being alive.” I held out the steaming cup of coffee and waited until he took it with a blank face, not revealing his feelings about what I’d said or what he was seeing. The man had earned his position as a leader, and I could sense that he was a very good one. “If you like, I could make you a charm that you can set your cup on. It will keep your coffee fresh and hot all day.”

The Captain took a sip, then he closed his eyes and shook his head. “Okay. It’s not often I have to rethink my stance on a matter. But you have given me reason to.” He set his cup down and stood up. Logan gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, so I did the same. As we stood facing each other with his large wooden desk separating us, I wasn’t surprised to see him towering over me. I definitely needed to ask Logan about his relationship status. “Thank you for agreeing to help my detectives work on their case.”

We shook hands again, but he didn’t let go right away. Still holding on, he eyed me. “You’re not intimidated by me at all, are you?”

I tilted my head and sensed Logan’s growing agitation beside me. “I respect your position, sir. But, no offense, men don’t intimidate me.” I allowed a small jolt of electricity to flow through the palm of my hand and watched with a little too much satisfaction as his glacier facade cracked with the smallest grimace. Logan stepped forward and placed a hand on my waist, and I nearly rolled my eyes at the blatant display of ownership.

“Captain,” he said with a heavy dose of warning that likely would have ended up getting him reprimanded at any other time.

The Captain dropped my hand after another long second, then a smile spread across his face, turning him from stoically handsome to charmingly gorgeous. “Are you married?” I blurted out. I could hear Logan curse a “what the fuck” under his breath as he yanked, pulling me closer against him. “My mother is single,” I said, somewhat embarrassed at my outburst, and tilted my head back to give Logan an apologetic smile.

“Does she look like you?” The Captain asked, still smiling, showing all his perfectly aligned white teeth.

Logan definitely growled since I could feel his chest vibrating against my back. “Actually, yes. But she has blue eyes. Other than that, we could pass for sisters. She’s out of town right now, but I believe she’ll be back next month.”

“Bring her with you next time. Now, go catch me a killer.” With a wink, he sat back down and picked up his coffee again, taking a large swallow. Then he opened up the file in front of him, effectively dismissing us.

Logan took my hand again and started leading me from the office, pulling me much quicker than he had on the way in. We walked toward another office along the wall that looked much smaller and only had one window overlooking the larger central space. As soon as he yanked me through the doorway, he kicked the door shut and had me pressed against the wood in the space of a heartbeat.

“You’re mine!”

Logan’s mouth was devouring mine before I could laugh. Even though I found the situation humorous, my knees went weak, and only his strong but gentle grip around the back of my neck, where he held me firmly, kept me standing upright. I was gasping, gulping in breaths of much needed oxygen, when he finally wrenched his lips from mine.

It took some effort, but when I blinked my eyes open and took in his still fierce expression, I grinned. “He’s old enough to be my father.”

“I don’t give a fuck if he’s old enough to be your grandfather; you don’t ask another man if he’s single!”

I reached out and ran my hand soothingly up and down his chest to calm his jealousy. “Logan,” I began, doing my best to keep a straight face at his ridiculousness. “I thought he was a nice man.” Biting my lip, I ignored the rumble from his chest and the snarl he wasn’t holding back. “My mother has been alone for a long time. I thought she could use a man with his kind of aura.”

“You shouldn’t be looking at any man’s aura but mine, little witch,” he said as he bent down to nip at my bottom lip. I’d noticed he liked doing that for some reason.

I slipped my arm around the back of his neck and raised onto my tiptoes to whisper into his ear, giving it a tiny flick of my tongue as I did so. “Don’t worry, Detective. Yours is the only aura I want.”

A knock on the door had us pulling apart, though Logan kept his eyes locked with mine, a promise of what he would be doing to me later once we were alone written there. I stepped back from the door so he could open it, and an older man with a heavily lined face filled with kindness looked toward me as soon as I came into view.

“Hey there, Bridgette. I’ve heard a lot about you. My wife wants to extend an invitation to dinner soon if you can make it.”

I took his hand with a smile and gave it a shake. “You must be Mac. I’ve heard about you as well.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of gum, offering it to me, and when I declined, he took a piece for himself. “Are you two ready?”

I glanced up at Logan to see his slight frown. “I’m ready,” I said. Logan gave a sharp nod, and we followed Mac out of the office that I assumed was Logan’s, and we walked into another office a door down. There was just a table, but there were two folders sitting there, both of them closed, and I knew without having to be told that I wouldn’t like what I would see inside.

Logan led me to a seat and took the one beside me while Mac took one across from us. He pulled out a notepad and a pen, ready to take notes.

“I want you to take your time. What you see isn’t going to be easy. It’s not like photos you see online. These are not edited or censored. It’s okay if you decide you can’t handle the brutality. It can be shocking.” As Mac sat there telling me these things, I could see the sincerity and compassion. These men needed my help, but they weren’t going to force me to face it.

“I understand, Mac. I appreciate the warning and the concern. It’s okay. Like I told your Captain, I am willing to help. If having to see photos of a murder is what I have to do in order to put this person behind bars, I will do it.” I squared back my shoulders. “I think I’m ready.”

“Alright, Bridgette. The first folder is Mrs. Brooks. We would like for you to tell us anything you can about the room she’s in. We don’t know about witchcraft, so we don’t know what the killer was trying to do. If you can answer anything pertaining to that, it can help.”

I took a breath and let it out as I stared down at the folder he slid in front of me. Logan placed his hand on my thigh and gave it a squeeze, offering his support. “Alright, let’s do this,” I said.

I may have been a little too confident in my ability to handle seeing the crime scene photos. As soon as I opened the folder, the first picture on top was a large print of a woman I recognized, but she didn’t look the same. Death had changed her appearance, making her ashen. Her empty eyes were open and staring into the distance at nothing. After seeing her blank stare, I took a shaky breath and forced myself to look further.

There was blood. So much blood.

I slammed my eyes shut and lifted my chin as I took deep breaths through my nose. Instead of shutting the image out, I could see it behind my eyelids. All that blood pooled around her body. That poor woman lying there in her white nightgown, which had become stained a dark red.

A bottle of water was shoved into my hand, and I could hear Logan talking into my ear. It took several seconds before I could make out the words he was saying through the buzzing in my head.

“Slow breaths, little witch. Nice and slow. That’s it. Breathe with me. In and out. Good girl.” I nodded my head, letting him know I was listening. As my breathing calmed, so did my heart rate. I lifted my shaky hand, bringing the bottle of water to my lips. “Small sips. That’s my girl.”

His soothing voice helped, along with the cold water, until I could finally open my eyes again. I felt his thumbs swipe over my cheeks, and I glanced down at them to see the wetness there. I hadn’t even realized I had been crying.

I looked up into Logan’s concerned face. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“Don’t be sorry. I should have known better than to ask you to do this.”

I shook my head, seeing that he was beating himself up over the situation. “No. I told you I was willing. It’s not your fault.” I looked down at the table to see the folder once again closed and both of the case files resting in front of Mac. He looked just as apologetic as Logan sounded. “Please, stop beating yourselves up. It was just a shock.” I shook my head again. “I know what to expect now.”

I held out a hand but Mac hesitated just as Logan barked out “No!”

I turned a glare his way, then aimed it at Mac for good measure. “I can do this.”

I waited until, finally, both men seemed to grudgingly give in. I took one last fortifying breath, then opened the folder again.