Page 47 of Fresh Old Bounties

“It saved our butts,” I told her. “It gets to be a kraken.”

“I’m going to need God’s help at this rate to stop myself from strangling you. Are there any other ghosts hanging around? Spider in the attic?”

“I don’t have an attic.”

“Are you sure? Maybe it’s a ghostly one.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Bagley,” I said, contrite. “I thought it was for the best.”

“It was,” Ian said on the call.

I showed the phone to Dru triumphantly. “Ian agrees.”

“Cavalier doesn’t have to work here. He doesn’t get a say.”

“Fair.” I returned the phone to my ear. “By the way, Dru has the man’s gun, so be careful with what you say.”

Ian humphed. Dru looked like she wanted to slug me with said gun.

“I’m almost there,” he said and cut the call.

I pocketed the phone. “He’s almost here.”

“You didn’t need to call him.” Dru poked the man with her foot. “We could’ve gotten rid of him by ourselves.”

“How?”

Dru’s gaze drifted toward the window into the backyard.

“Don’t start.”

“What? Key said there’s nobody buried there. Plenty of space.”

“He’s not even dead!” Wait… “Is he?”

We both glanced down.

“We should probably check,” I said.

“Sure. You go ahead.”

I returned the spellbook to the counter and crouched by the man’s head, pressing two tentative fingers to his throat. I couldn’t feel a pulse, given I had no idea of where to check for that, but his skin felt normal and warm.

“I think he’s alive.”

“Too bad.”

Dru did have a way to keep her grudges going. Grandma was a big believer in forgiveness, and so was I, but one had to admire Dru for sticking to her convictions.

Clanging against the backyard gate announced Ian’s arrival. I hurried to let him and the dogs in.

“He’s in the kitchen,” I told him, grabbing Fluffy and hugging her tight for a good dose of her cleansing wonderfulness.

He told the dogs to stay and walked into the building without another word. I put Fluffy down and hurried to follow. Fluffy was a ball of kinetic energy, but she was well trained. She sat by Rufus’s side, tongue lolling expectantly.

“I’ll introduce you to my new pet later,” I told her before stepping inside. “Don’t worry, though. You’re still first in my heart.”

Fluffy yipped in agreement.

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