Witches of Three: Charlene (12 page)

“Thank you for trying,” Charlie said and turned to Nick. “We can still hold Nolan because I’m an eyewitness, can’t we?”

“Yes. We have him solid for that. We have his gun down at ballistics right now. I think we’ll find a match for the slug they took out of Geronimo.”

“Jerome? My Jerome?” Adelina asked, not understanding.

“We have the man who shot your husband in the first place,” Charlie explained.

“Where is he? Was he in the lineup? I want to see him,” Adelina said heatedly.

“We’ve already sent him back to lockup.” Nick reassured her. “I’ll have someone drive you back to the hospital.”

“Thank you. You have been very kind,” the Latin woman said and picked up her sweater.

Charlie accompanied her back to the squad room, and they stood talking while she slipped on her sweater. She turned with a farewell smile then her smile died as she stared at someone behind Charlie.

“There is the man, you do have him,” she said with a joyful note to her voice.

“Where?” Charlie said, looking around. But there wasn’t anyone present that shouldn’t have been there.

“There, he just went through that door.”

Charlie raced out of the squad room and down the corridor. Out on the steps, she scanned the area but saw no one who appeared suspicious, only police officers leaving and arriving for their shift changes. She spotted a familiar figure and called after him.

“Ray, wait.” She ran to him just as he was about to get into his car. “Did you see a man leave the station? He would have been tall and wearing a black suit.”

He stared at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?” His car door was open, and he had his keys in his hand.

“Maybe you haven’t heard. Someone tried to kill Geronimo today. His wife saw a man she thought might have been the attempted killer. We brought in Kermit Nolan and put him in a lineup for her to see. He wasn’t the man she saw, but later, she thought she saw the man in the squad room.”

“That’s an incredible story, Charlie,” Ray said, closing his door and leaning against his car while he regarded her. “Where’s the woman now?”

“She’s still inside. We were making arrangements for someone to take her back to the hospital to be with Geronimo.”

“You want me to give her a ride? I know her, and she might be more comfortable with me than a stranger.”

“Aren’t you heading home?”

Ray nodded. “But I can run by the hospital and drop her off.”

“That’s terrific, Ray. I’ll go get her.”

She ran back into the station and looked around for Adelina, but she was nowhere in sight.

“Sam, do you know where Geronimo’s wife went? I have a ride for her.”

“Nick took her to the hospital. He said he wanted to talk to Geronimo some more. His car isn’t working so he took mine. He said to tell you to wait for him here. He doesn’t want you on the street without backup.”

“Thanks, Sam,” Charlie said, hiding her irritation.

Nick had to get over this protective attitude. She’d have a talk with him later and make him see that she could take care of herself. She retraced her steps out to tell Ray Adelina already had a ride.

“Where’s she headed, back to the hospital or home?”

“Nick took her to the hospital. He wanted to talk to Geronimo some more.”

Looking annoyed, Ray straightened. Charlie was suddenly aware of how tall he was.

“Thanks for offering to take her,” she said, pushing back at a thought that nagged at her.

“No problem,” he said and glanced at her. “Can I give you a ride?”

None of it made sense, she told herself. There had been two murders and two attempted murders so far, and she couldn’t connect the dots. Were they all by the same tall man in a black suit that Adelina had seen? Seized by a sudden dread, she reached for her cell phone. She had to call Nick, give him a warning to watch out for Geronimo and his wife. She couldn’t tell him why, but the premonition was growing.

Charlie met his gaze, and something deep in his eyes stunned her, the dark, secret light of a man who was capable of doing anything. Immediately, all the pieces fell into place.

“You’re the one,” she said. “You and Ralph were stealing heroin from the compound and reselling it on the streets.” She paused to take a breath as a thought came to her.

“You’re the one who shot him, aren’t you?”

Ray grinned. “You were always too smart for your own good, Charlie,” he said nastily. “I knew if anyone figured it out, it would be you.”

“Geronimo said something about that day. I thought he was kidding, but he was working on a hunch. That’s why he wanted to see Kermit Nolan, and that’s why Nolan shot him. You told him to.”

“I used to laugh at Ralph. He thought he was the brains behind it all. He never knew I was the real boss. I told Nolan to get rid of Geronimo.”

“Then you tried to kill Geronimo because I said I was going to talk to him again, and you shot at me at the hospital.” She stared at him in disbelief. “Were you the one who attacked me at my house?”

She took a step toward him. “Are you the one who held a gun against my throat? You shot me. If not for Nick arriving when he did and spoiling your aim, I would have been killed. Is that what you wanted to do?”

She stopped talking because it hurt too much. She’d thought of Ray as a friend, and yet he’d nearly killed her and Geronimo and had succeeded with Ralph.

“What went wrong?” she asked. “What made you shoot your own guys?”

Ray took a deep breath and stared at the other cops milling beside their cars.

“Ralph had an ego that got him in the end. He couldn’t believe that you wouldn’t go with him but was having an affair with the captain. It drove him crazy. That’s all he talked about. He was willing to put our whole plan in jeopardy just to pay you back. I had to stop him.”

He opened his car door.

“Are you coming with me, or are we going to lose some more good men out here in the middle of the parking lot?” He had his gun out and held low so others weren’t apt to see it.

Charlie reached for her holstered gun, then remembered she’d been headed for the hospital, not to work, and she’d left it at home. Ray grinned when he saw she was unarmed.

“You won’t get away with this. You know that, don’t you?” she said.

“Get in the car, Charlie,” he said pleasantly.

He pointed the gun at her. He was right, of course. If she made an attempt to take him down here, people could get hurt. She could just blink the gun out of his hand, but something compelled her not to. That would mean showing him her powers, and until she was in real danger, she didn’t want to do that. She got in the car. Ray settled in the passenger seat and handed her the keys.

“You drive,” he said evenly. “No tricks. Remember you won’t be the only one who gets killed. I have nothing more to lose.”

She opened her mouth to argue with him, to tell him what he was doing was beyond what a policeman would do, but then realized he was right. He’d made some bad choices a long time ago, and he couldn’t undo them. All he could hope to do was cover them up, no matter how many people he had to kill.

“Nothing personal,” he said now as if he’d read her mind.

“No, nothing personal,” she repeated and turned the key in the ignition.

The motor roared to life just as Nick pulled to the curb in his borrowed car. He glanced at them then did a double take as he saw her in Ray’s car.

“Charlie!” he shouted, starting toward them.

She slammed the gas pedal to the floor, and the car jumped forward. Nick leaped aside as she gunned it down the street. In the rearview mirror, she saw him run back to his car and tear out after them.

“Don’t slow down,” Ray ordered. He had his pistol pressed into her side. “If the captain stops us, he’ll be the first to die.”

She turned sharply round a corner and had the satisfaction of seeing Ray sway and nearly lose his grip on his gun.

“No more tricks,” he said, jamming his gun against her bandaged jaw.

She winched at the pain, but her mind was already scrambling to devise a plan. She waited until he stuck his head out the window and began firing at Nick who had gained on them and was right behind. He took aim and shot, and Charlie swerved the car sharply, nearly sideswiping a parked car on the other side of the road. Ray lunged against the door then withdrew his head and aimed his gun at her.

“What did I tell you?” he shouted.

She thought he might shoot her. Witches could die from gunshot wounds. She’d have to bide her time. She longed for her own gun.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to. Someone stepped out in front of me, a kid, and I didn’t want to hit him.”

“Next time, hit him,” Ray snarled and once again stuck his head out the car window to aim at Nick.

She had to do something, but before she could, Ray screamed. His gun flew out of his hand, scraping along the side of his car. He withdrew inside the car, cradling his bloody hand against his chest and glared at her.

“What happened? Have you been shot?”

“Hell, no, a bird attacked me.”

“A bird? What kind of bird?” Suddenly, she pictured her sister turning into a crow and following a suspect like she had two years ago. She looked around, trying to see a crow.

“Look out, it’s going to hit us,” Ray cried.

Charlie saw he was right. The crow swooped down in front of the car then flew away.

Okay, Phil or not, she couldn’t depend on anyone but herself now, and she no longer had to fear being shot. She took her foot off the pedal and drifted to the curb.

“Don’t slow down,” Ray yelled, looking over his shoulder.

“I didn’t,” she said. “The motor just died.”

“Start it up again,” he ordered tensely.

“I don’t think it’ll start, but I’ll try.”

She turned the ignition key and the motor made a grinding sound like Nick’s car had and died. It wouldn’t have made any difference, she surmised, because Nick had already blocked them from pulling back into the street. Charlie looked at Ray, who cursed and threw open the car door.

Nick was already there, his lips pressed in a tight line, his eyes glinting with angry lights, as he moved purposefully toward Ray. “Hey, Ray, what’s going on? Why did you take off like that, especially with Charlie in the car? And why were you shooting at my vehicle?”

Ray swung at Nick, who was ready and blocked the attack, pushing Ray back against his car. Ray recovered and took off running.

“He killed Ralph,” Charlie yelled, jumping out of the car and giving chase.

She could hear Nick pounding along behind her and increased her speed. She was a fast runner on her own, but she added a little bit of extra magic just to show him what she was capable of. When she reached Ray, she took hold of the back of his shirt and ran him into a tree. His knees crumbled under him, and he fell to the ground.

“Oops,” she said, looking at Nick with an innocent air.

He, in turn, stared at her as if he were seeing a total stranger from outer space.

“I guess we’d better call for backup,” she suggested and, bending, she scooped Ray up and steadied him on rubbery legs. His nose was bleeding, and his eyes were dazed looking.

Back at the station, she booked Ray for murder and talked to Captain O’Shea about the confession Ray had made to her. The next thing was to get him to repeat that confession for the record. She expected him to be difficult, but an air of defeat had settled over him. He talked freely of the confiscated drugs he and Ralph Latimer had stolen and put back on the street. He also admitted he’d killed his partner and ordered Geronimo killed. They had everything down in his own words before he even thought of asking for a lawyer. It was late when they had finished.

“Are you hungry?” Nick asked as they left the station.

“I haven’t eaten all day so I’m starved, but all I really want to do is go home and go to bed.”

“That sounds good to me,” he said, pulling her against him as they walked. “We have some leftover pasta.”

“I love leftover pasta,” she said.

Nick drove, and she slept until he pulled up before her condo. He came around and opened the door for her and held her against him as they made their way to the front porch.

“I feel like we’ve been away for a year,” she said when they paused to unlock the door.

He chuckled and guided her inside. They shed their things in a path to the bedroom. Nick turned on the hot water and helped her finish undressing then led her to the shower. They got in together and stood under the stinging spray. She thought it would be nice if he made love to her, but when she glanced at him, he shook his head.

“We have some talking to do,” he said firmly.

Obviously, what she’d told him about herself had finally registered. Wrapped in terry robes, they made their way to the kitchen where Nick took the leftover pasta out of the fridge and got out a pan to warm it.

“Oh, why bother with all that?” she asked and blinked her eyes. Instantly, steam rose from the dish.

“Ouch,” Nick said and dropped it on the counter.

“Sorry,” Charlie said and filled their plates. She grabbed a couple of wine glasses and headed for the dining room table.

“Want some salad?”

“Are you going to make it?” he asked warily.

“No, it’s already done.” She blinked and a filled salad bowl appeared. “Do you like Greek salad?”

“Sure,” he said and sat down.

She dished up the salad, and he took a tentative bite then looked at her in wonderment.

“This is good!”

“Of course, I made it fresh,” she said with a little smile.

“About what you said earlier today,” he began tentatively.

“Uh-huh.” She wasn’t paying real attention. Suddenly, she was famished, and Nick did make the best pasta she’d ever eaten, even reheated or maybe because it was, so she filled her mouth and sat back with a sigh of contentment.

“Tell me again about you being a witch.”

“What’s to tell? I’m a witch, so are my sisters.”

“Both of them? Even shy little Sera?”

“Of course. It runs in the family.”

“I didn’t know real witches existed.”

She looked at him and smiled. “Of course, we do, Nick. We’ve been around for thousands of years. What do you think Salem was all about?”