Charmed To Death Part 33

"Yes. And she disappeared two months after his mother died. We'll question Charles again and ask about the woman. The sheriff out there is going to question Charles's relatives concerning his whereabouts when the woman disappeared."

"Relatives?" I said with a scowl. "Cousin Lucy?"

"Not likely. She died about a month after his mother. The sheriff said both sides of Charles's family have medical histories of heart problems that can cause seizures. Cousin Lucy went into a seizure, had a heart attack, and died. In front of Charles, and-"

I interrupted him. "Confirming what she'd told him about bewitching bewitching. He blamed witchcraft for the death of his mother and cousin and he went after the woman he thought was a witch."

"That's my guess," he said. "When he saw the girl in the library go into the convulsion while talking to you, the scene set him off."

"Witches were afoot," I said, my tone sarcastic.

"Something like that." Henry gently laid a hand on my knee. "It's not your fault. The guy was pretty far around the bend to start with. If it's true about the woman in Ma.s.sachusetts, he'd already killed once, before that day in the library. He would have killed again. It was only a matter of time."

I gave him a weak smile as he moved his hand away. "I know you're trying to make me feel better, but...?" I sighed. "It's going to take a while to work through the part I played in Brian's death. And Gus's."

He gave a quick nod. "Remember while you're doing that, if it hadn't been for you, we might not have caught him. More people might've died."

He noticed the shocked look on my face. "What? You don't think I can be understanding?"

I laughed. "I haven't seen too much evidence of it since I met you. You're the Iceman, remember?" I replied, teasing him.

A chagrined expression crossed his face. "Yeah, well, there's more to me than what appears on the surface."

Oh, Enrique Comacho, I'm sure there is, I thought, but kept my thought to myself.

"Hey," I said, nudging him, "what did Abby whisper to you?"

Now it was his turn to laugh. "She said I had a nice aura. It doesn't have any holes in it." He looked perplexed. "Whatever that means."

"It means Abby thinks you're a good person," I answered, my voice low.

"Yeah, well she's okay too." He fidgeted in his seat. "So are you, Jensen," he said, averting his eyes.

Comacho sure needed a lot of work on giving compliments.

A comfortable silence settled as we moved back and forth in the swing. I felt the tension and worry of the past few days ease away from me, leaving a sense of peace.

It didn't last long.

Comacho stopped the swing's motion and turned to me. "There's something I want to ask you. Can you do this all the time? Find things, I mean?"

"Do you mean 'things' or do you mean 'bodies'?" I asked, afraid of what his answer would be.

"Bodies, but not always dead ones," he a.s.sured me. "People who are missing? Who, maybe if we find fast enough, we can save?"

He didn't have to spell it out for me. I knew what he was asking. He wanted me to tap into my gift to help them with impossible cases. Could I do it? Did I want to doit?

Before I answered, his next words rushed out at me. "See, I've got a couple of files I'd like you to look at-"

I held up a hand stopping him. "Henry, I don't know. I've worked hard to come to terms with my gift, my heritage. I'm just now starting to understand things about my talent, about myself. And truly, I don't know if I can help you."

He looked embarra.s.sed. "Sure, sure," he said, rising quickly. "It was only a thought. Ahh, if you decide you want to try, you've got my card." His eyes darted to his car and I felt the air around us take on a chill while his ice wall crystalized around him. "I'd better go. I've got a lot of paperwork waiting. See you around, Jensen."

Whipping his sungla.s.ses out of his pocket and adjusting them firmly on his face, he moved down the steps to his car. A moment later he was gone.

A couple of hours later, I found myself standing with Abby in the clearing, where a short time ago I had asked for the strength to face my destiny.

The tall weeds had been dry and brittle that night, but now tender shoots of green sprouted from their base. Overhead the branches were covered with new leaves. A sense of complete peace filled the clearing-and me.

"Ahh, it's good to be outside," Abby said, taking a deep breath.

"Aren't you tired from all your company?"

I had questioned the wisdom of walking to the woods, but Abby was insistent. She needed to reconnect with the earth, she said.

Not looking at me, her eyes stared out over the clearing. "No, not now. This recharges me," she said holding her arms wide.

I didn't want to disturb the quiet moment, but I had some questions for her about the past few days.

Reading my mind, she smiled at me. "What do you want to ask me? You look puzzled."

"I guess I am." I gazed off in the distance. "Have you ever heard of a witch bottle?"

"Yes."

"Charles made one to use against me," I said, frowning.

"And he became ill," she said with finality.

"Yeah, you're right," I said with a snap of my fingers. "The next day, when I called him about the flowers, he said he had food poisoning. How did you know?"

"It wasn't food poisoning." She arched an eyebrow. "Think, Ophelia-what are the properties of a fire agate?"

I squinted my eyes while I thought about her question. "It protects the wearer against harm. And if anyone casts negative energy toward the wearer, the energy bounces back at the one who wished ill." My eyes widened. "Of course. Charles got a dose of what he wished for me." I placed my hand on the talisman. "This talisman thing is kind of a handy thing to wear, isn't it?"

Her face lit up with amus.e.m.e.nt. "Yes, it is. Why do you think I gave it to you?"

"Any other questions?" she asked.

"No, not right now," I replied and let the silence wrap around us.

And in the silence, I felt the peace, the promise of new life everywhere around us. Looking to the horizon, I watched the sun setting in the west. The sky was aflame with colors of rose, mauve, and yellow. An absurd thought popped into my mind.

Grinning, I looked at Abby. "This scene reminds me of an old movie-the murderer's brought to justice, the mystery's solved. We've reached the happily ever after part." I paused. "You know, the part where the heroines ride off into the sunset. Right?"

I watched her strong profile in the fading light while the sun sank lower on the horizon. A trace of a smile played at the corner of her mouth and her green eyes stared out over the quiet clearing.

Taking Abby's hand in mine, I gave it a squeeze and tried again. "We get to ride off into the sunset. Right? Right?"

Her eyes moved to meet mine and one eyebrow arched.

"Not exactly," she replied.