Mid-Century Monster, page 14
part #3 of Solstice Properties Mystery Series
“You could do that?” There was a hopeful tone in Marzie’s question.
EEEK huffed. “She’ll make you do lots of research and little things for her.”
“I think that’s more me being your mother, than your teacher.” Cin ruffled her daughter’s hair. “But I also think that in this case, if Marzie can handle it, we can all chip in and help her out. Make this a family affair.”
“Until we head off to school,” Char added. “EEEK and I aren’t going to be around forever.”
“I know.” Cin glanced at her daughters and then at Marzie. Was the universe trying to make sure she still had support after her kids went their own ways? She’d seen stranger things happen over the years, and she could have a worse student than Marzie.
Looking at Marzie, she smiled. “So what do you say, wanna learn about magic?”
Marzie bit her lip and nodded as tears ran down her face. “Yes. I don’t want people thinking I’m crazy like they did my grandmother.”
Cin stood and hugged Marzie. “Good. Welcome to the family.”
If anyone had asked her if Marzie had magic even a month ago, she’d have denied it. The thing was, the only constant in the universe was change. Her life, and the lives of every witch across the world embraced the change around them.
23
“Mom, wake up!” Char shouted and the door to Cin and Chad’s bedroom bounced off the wall.
“Louder,” EEEK said behind her. “Mom’s a heavy sleeper.”
Cin jerked up and stared toward the door where her daughters were silhouetted against the hall light as they rushed toward the bed.
Bedside her, Chad was sitting up, a snarl on his sleepy face.
“We’re up. What’s going on?” Cin brushed hair out of her eyes.
“We caught something.” The girls’ words almost sounded practiced, they came out in such perfect unison.
“Caught something.” The last of her sleep vanished. “The traps at the house.” Adrenaline rushed through her. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. Six-thirteen. “It’s almost daylight, we need to hurry. Wait. You two should head to school.”
Char shook her head. “Come on, Mom, we’ve got to go with you and see what we caught.”
“Not to mention we need to dispel the trap so you can remove whatever it is.” EEEK put her hands on her hips and gave Cin and Chad a sharp look. “You’re going to need us.”
Although Cin was fairly sure she could dispel anything her daughters could cast, she had to admire their determination to go and see what they’d caught. “Okay. You two go and get dressed…for school. As soon as we’re done at the house, you two are heading to school. Grab something quick for breakfast. We need to move.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Char grinned, turned and hurried out of the room.
“Yeah.” EEEK rushed over and kissed Cin’s cheek, and then followed her sister.
“Then we’d better all hurry.” Chad swung out of the bed. “You know, these frantic awakenings set my wolf on edge.”
Cin leaned across the bed and patted his butt, since it was the only thing she could reach from the awkward position. “I can imagine. I’ll talk with the girls and remind them about letting sleeping dogs lie.”
He caught her hand and gently pulled her over to his side of the bed. “I’m not a dog.” He grinned down at her before giving her a deep kiss. “Now we need to get ready. If it gets too light, or whatever we caught makes too much noise, it might attract attention. We don’t need something doing that.”
“Right.” Cin rolled out of the bed and then smacked his butt again. “So get moving.”
“After you get dressed, you might want to call RJ and Marzie and let them in on what’s happening." Chad beat her into the bathroom. “Oh, and see if that old dog crate is out in the garage.”
Cin paused by their chest of drawers and started pulling out clothes. They were probably going to miss yoga, but if they solved the case, Shelby would be happy it was something Zack wasn’t going to have to deal with. “How about you handling the dog crate while I grab you something to eat on the way?” It was always nicer to ease from sleep to running, but Cin knew things could happen, at least it was closer to their normal waking time as opposed to something obscene like three or four in the morning.
“We’ll see.” Chad came back out of the bathroom, looking a lot more groomed than when he went in. “You know, not having to shave in the morning does speed things up.”
“Yes it does.” Cin patted his thick beard, thankful her man could grow good facial hair. “I’ll be in the car in five minutes.” She pushed him out of her way and claimed the bathroom so he wouldn’t distract her.
Four minutes and thirty-five seconds later, she was getting into her car as Char and EEEK sped off in Char’s car.
Chad slammed her hatchback before slipping into the passenger seat. “I could drive.”
“I got this.” Cin started the car and back out a little faster than she normally did, screeching tires as she went.
“You got RJ and Marzie called?” Chad braced himself on the dash.
“Yeah. RJ was already on his way. Said something woke him up.” Cin paused at the stop sign just long enough to be legal. “Marzie said she’d be there as fast as she can. Sounded like I woke her up.”
“Probably. She’s even less of a morning person than you are.” Chad relaxed just a little as they shot down a straightaway.
Ahead of them, Char took the next turn a little fast and her car fishtailed slightly, even on the dry pavement.
“I might have to talk to her about her driving,” Chad muttered.
“You do that.” Cin wasn’t overly worried about Char’s driving. As long as she didn’t do any property damage or hurt anyone, she totally understood. Something magical was happening and her girls were ready to dive in and see what they’d managed to set into motion.
As they made a couple more turns, Cin was thankful that Cottonwood wasn’t a huge town and few people were out so close to dawn to watch the spectacle of the two cars racing across the city.
When Char’s car swung a little too hard going around the last corner and nearly hit an older BMW parked on the curb, Cin glanced at Chad. “Yeah, it might be a good idea to talk to her about her driving, but she hasn’t lost control.”
“Yet.” Chad got out through gritted teeth. “She is your daughter too.”
Char pulled in to the curb, tight on the bumper of RJ’s blue Dodge Ram. RJ stood on the curb, frowning slightly as he looked from the bumper of Char’s Subaru and his truck’s bumper.
Cin pulled her own car into the driveway.
“A little close there, Char.” RJ kept turning his head between the two bumpers.
Cin headed toward them.
“Ah, come on, RJ, we caught something in the traps.” Char ran to the back of Cin’s car and jerked the hatchback open and yanked out the medium pet crate and headed for the door.
A quick look at the bumpers showed less than an inch between them. Cin patted RJ’s shoulder. “Chad’s going to talk to her about her driving.”
“Okay.” RJ grinned. “Honestly, she did a good job parking. Any idea what’s in the trap?”
Cin spread her hands as they started toward the porch where Chad was unlocking the door. “They haven’t said. I guess they had a link to let them know something triggered it, but not a visual component to let them know what they caught.”
“They’ll get that sorted out in the future.” RJ stopped just off the porch.
“Visual component.” EEEK turned back to Cin. “That would be really useful, wouldn’t it? We wouldn’t have to use anything gross like frog eyes or anything like that?”
“Probably not.” Cin shook her head as they entered the house. “Might be able to use something like an old lens or mirror. Anything that captures an image.”
“Cool.” EEEK started across the living room, heading toward the backdoor.
RJ touched Cin’s arm. “Things are quiet. That might be bad.”
With all the talking, Cin hadn’t stopped to realize that something that had been scaring the neighbors was caught in a trap and silent. RJ was right, that might be bad. She knew Chad could handle himself, but Char was right behind him, somewhat hindered by the pet crate.
“Oh, gods.” Cin picked up her pace.
“Mom!” Char’s voice rang out. From the tone it was impossible to tell if she was excited or scared. “You won’t believe this.”
Cin cleared the back door and skidded to a stop. The trap glowed softly near the root-cellar door. She hadn’t gotten a good look at the thing that had been living under the house, and doubted that even Juan or Chad had gotten one. Actually, she knew Chad hadn’t, but it was clear how Juan could’ve thought it might’ve been a demon of some sort.
It squatted in the glowing net that had closed over it. For the most part it looked like some kind of primate with long limbs. But the grayish hair was more like dog or coyote hair. The face was the strangest part of the thing. If she hadn’t watched Chad shift from human to wolf, it would’ve been freakish. It had a thick brow like a monkey, but there was also a snout with fangs and a blunted nose.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” EEEK walked around the trap.
“At least it can’t get out of that trap.” Chad squatted a few feet away from the glowing net. “I think you’re right, it’s something someone put together.”
The chimera turned its head toward Chad with a light of intelligence. It looked like it knew he was the werewolf who chased him away down the alley.
Cin walked slowly toward it, with RJ at her side. “The question is what are we going to do with it?”
Char and EEEK stepped between Cin and the trap.
“You’re not going to hurt it.” Char pointed to the thing. “Can’t you see it’s scared?”
“I can see that.” Cin glanced at the pet carrier. It was large enough to hold the thing. “But we can’t leave it here. It’s killing pets and tore up Juan’s body.”
“Maybe we can take it out to the forest,” EEEK suggested. “It could be free and happy.”
“There would be plenty for it to hunt out there.” RJ squatted next to Chad and stared at it. “Who knows, maybe it might find a friendly Bigfoot colony up there.”
Char looked like she was about to suggest something.
Cin held up her hand. “No, you don’t get to take it home and make a pet out of it. If this is something Lucille Jackson made, we don’t know how old it is, or how long it’s going to live.” The glow of the net made it hard for Cin to see its aura, but it had one, that much she could tell. That meant it had an active life force, maybe even a soul.
The click of a gun’s safety being disengaged near the corner of the house jerked Cin around.
Mr. Radford stood there with a semi-automatic rifle pointed in their direction. “I knew there was something about you people. If there’s one thing I hate more than wetbacks, it’s witches.”
24
With no thought but protecting her family, Cin drew power and threw up defensive shields around Char and EEEK. She didn’t know if her power was strong enough to repel bullets, but if she made the shield too big, enough to cover all of them, she knew it wouldn’t work.
“Mr. Radford, what are you doing?” Chad was on his feet. The way he was shaking, it was all he could do to hold his wolf in. A year ago, he’d have already shifted and be taking bullets as he raced to maul the man threatening his family.
“Keeping this neighborhood clean.” Radford looked confused like he wasn’t totally committed to his cause. “We don’t want your kind here.”
“But shooting us isn’t the answer.” Chad held his hands out in front of him, making himself the obvious target. “You’ll go to jail.”
Radford laughed. “You think I ain’t been threatened with that before.” He squeezed off the first shot.
The bullet caught Chad in the shoulder. He jerked, but didn’t go down.
RJ whipped a screwdriver out of his pocket and threw it, not at Radford, but at the magical trap. It cut through the magical net.
“No!” EEEK dove for the trap as the magic dispersed.
The chimera looked confused for just a second, then as more shots fired. It jumped on Radford. Howling, it clawed at the old man’s face.
“Stop it!” Char rushed toward Radford.
RJ caught her around the waist and spun her away from the fight. “Stay down.”
Cin thrust a bolt of magical power at Radford, knocking him backward.
Chad charged him as he fell.
The rifle barked again, several times. Bullets flew around the yard.
EEEK screamed.
The chimera yelped.
Cin sent another thrust of magic, knocking the gun out of Radford’s hands.
In the yard next door, Radford’s dogs began howling and clawing at the privacy fence, trying to get over.
Down the street, sirens wailed.
For a couple of seconds, the yard fell silent. Radford was down and not moving. Chad, on all fours, straddled the man. The rifle lay a couple of feet away.
Cin ran to EEEK, wrapping her arms around her daughter. “Are you okay?”
EEEK nodded. “Yeah, Mom. I think.” She patted her arms and shoulders. “No pain.”
“Then why did you scream?” Cin stared.
“Aren’t we supposed to scream when the bullets start flying? It’s a great distractor.” EEEK looked so serious.
“No!” Char shouted and scrambled to her feet.
Cin looked around, trying to figure out what had Char upset. Several feet away, the chimera lay on the dying autumn grass. Its blood ran out of a hole in its head.
RJ grabbed Char again. “No, Char, you don’t need to see that.” He turned her around and thrust her to Cin. “I’ll handle that before the police get here.”
“Good idea.” Cin nodded.
“Thanks.” RJ grabbed the pet carrier and slipped the limp body in. “You need to help Chad.”
Shaking his head, Chad stood. “I’m okay.” His voice was thick and heavy, like talking was hard. His beard was thicker than normal, and closer to the black of his wolf fur than his normal dark brown.
As RJ carried the chimera’s body in the crate down into the root cellar, Cin forced her daughters over to Chad. They gathered him up into a family hug. “We’re all okay.”
Chad shook his head. “But he isn’t.” He glanced back at Radford. “I think he may have had a heart attack.”
The backdoor of the house flew open and Chief Brown rushed out with his gun out. Two other cops followed him, with Marzie trailing along behind.
Zack stopped on the porch and looked around. “We had a report of shots fired.”
Chad stepped away from the rest of them and pointed at Radford. “He threatened us, then had a heart attack.”
Chief Brown glanced at the other cops. “Secure the premises. Call for an ambulance.”
“Coroner,” Chad corrected. “I can’t find a pulse.”
“And you tried CPR?” the police chief holstered his pistol and strode toward them.
“Yeah, we both did.” Chad continued.
Marzie ran around Zack to Cin and the girls. “Are you guys okay?”
Cin nodded, and hugged her. “Yeah. We will be. I’ll fill you in later.”
“Or you can fill me in now.” Chief Zack looked from Radford’s body to them. “This isn’t everything it looks like.”
Chad waved toward the rifle lying in the grass near Radford. “I think if you run ballistics, you’ll find that the bullets in Juan should match the ones from this gun. He had an issue with Hispanics and thought he was trying to protect his neighborhood.”
“I’ll do that.” Zack knelt by Radford, checked for a pulse, and then turned his head. “But that doesn’t explain the scratched-up face. Although that also looks like the guy we found in the dumpster.”
“Come on, Zack—” Chad touched the chief’s shoulder “—you need to see this, but…well, you know the drill.”
The police chief heaved a sigh but followed Chad toward the root cellar as RJ came back into the yard. The three men turned and walked down the couple of steps into the cellar.
Cin looked at EEEK and Char. “You girls sure you’re okay?”
The both nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Good.” Without looking back at Radford, she headed toward the backdoor. It would be better to get everyone in the house and away from the carnage. “You’re probably off the hook for school, or at least the first couple of hours. We’ll have to go turn in statements. Nothing official about the chimera. We were checking the yard before you went to school since you had some landscaping ideas, and Mr. Radford came over and started shooting.”
“He was a real crazy.” Char nodded again. “Got it. Mom, you might need to call the office for us.”
“I think I can do that.” Cin hadn’t planned on starting the day out with her and the family getting shot at, or having the chimera die defending them. She figured RJ was trying to get it to safety when he used his screwdriver to disrupt the trap spell and set it free. But maybe the little guy had realized they were ultimately there to help it and then tried to help them in return. Even if she still wasn’t sure what they would’ve done with it, she was sad that it had given its life to protect them. Maybe that’s what the Jacksons had originally created it for, a protector. Unless someone happened to drop Lucille’s spell book or journal in their laps, they would never know for sure.
25
A swirl of snow circled Cin’s feet as she and Marzie walked over to the ‘for sale’ sign and put a magnetic sold label across it.
“This one’s done.” Marzie turned to Cin and smiled. “Sometimes I wasn’t sure it would happen.”
Cin laughed. “I always finish what I start. Sometimes it just takes longer than I planned. Or in this case, has more complications.”
Marzie headed for the front door. “Yeah. I can’t believe we sold it so fast. Oh, did I tell you I tried to buy Radford’s place?”
