Page 22 of Bewicched

“But why?” This was unprecedented.

“You looked so tired earlier,” he explained with a shrug, maintaining his balance. “I felt bad and decided to feed you.” He paused. “But the burgers are getting cold the longer you make me stand out here.”

I opened the door wider and stepped out of the way. He leapt in easily, closing the door behind himself.

“Is this okay?” he asked. “I was working out there”—he gestured to the back door—“and I was thinking about what the cop told you. I don’t know.” He dropped the food bag on my worktable. “You looked shaken when you got home. I’m guessing you didn’t find the kid?”

I opened the bag and looked in. Two of everything. Moving the bag to the coffee table, I went to the kitchen for plates, a beer, and a soda. Why not? I was hungry and he had brought food. I did an internal check. I thought my stomach could handle food now. It was worth a try.

Motioning to the couch, I said, “Thanks. I was hungry.” I held up the beer. “Okay?”

He nodded and sat, tearing open the bag and distributing burgers and fries on the plates. “I wasn’t sure what kind of burger you liked, so I had them put the toppings in a separate container. Except the cheese, of course.”

I lifted the bun. “Pepper Jack. Good call.”

He grinned, taking a bite of his huge burger.

I opened the container and added lettuce, bacon, tomato, and jalapenos before taking a bite.Mmm.

“I had a feeling you’d like spicy.” He ate a few fries. “So, did you? Find him?”

I took a sip of soda. “How could I have found him? I’m a con woman, remember? A charlatan.” Rolling my eyes, I took another bite.

“Yeah, about that. Sorry.” He put down the burger and wiped his hands on a napkin. “That was out of line. The scammers that cheated my aunt—” he shook his head. “Giving her hope about communicating with my mom, dangling the possibilities while taking all her money.” He let out a deep breath. “I have a hard time believing all this stuff. I’m working on it, though.” He pointed to my burger. “Am I forgiven?”

“It’s going to take more than this, but it’s a start.” I took another bite and swallowed. Detective Hernández hadn’t told me I couldn’t talk about the case. At least, I don’t think she did. It was hard to hear there at the end. “No. I didn’t find him. I’m sure he’s dead and I have a sense of the killer, but not his face. It’s still in shadow right now. And I don’t know what he did with the body.”

“Oh,” he said, brow furrowed as he finished the burger. “I was hoping he was lost in the woods.”

I put the rest of my burger down, stomach twisting. “I think we all were.”

He stared at my burger and then at me for a beat before shaking his head. “I shouldn’t have asked that question while you were trying to eat. Here,” he began, pulling a folded paper out of his jacket pocket. “Look at the deck plan—I’ve been playing with ideas—and tell me what you think. I’ll start building it tomorrow.”

Walking me through his ideas, he laid out a plan that incorporated my sea monster tentacles. It was perfect, giving the tentacles impact without blocking the view too much. When we were done, he smiled down at my empty plate and then bussed the table.

“I was going to suggest watching a movie or something”—he spun, searching the studio for a TV screen—“but it doesn’t look like you have a TV.”

“I have better,” I replied, grabbing my remote from the side table. I hit a button and a huge theater screen motored down from the ceiling. Another button started the projector mounted above. And then I was scrolling through streaming options. “What are you in the mood for?”

Declan watched with envy. “This set up. That’s what I’m in the mood for. Damn, woman.”

I vetoed his sports suggestions. He vetoed my cooking show suggestions. We eventually discovered a mutual love for British murder mysteries. I moved to the couch to avoid a crick in the neck, wrapped my blanket around me again, and settled in for a country parish vicar investigating crimes.

I awoke with the sun streaming through the back door. My head was on a broad chest, with a strong heartbeat in my ear. What. The. Hell?

When I tried to sit up, I realized I had an arm around me. The remote hitting the ground startled Declan awake. He blinked and then smiled before leaning over and picking up the remote control.

“Good. You slept.” He stood, stretching. “Is it okay?” He pointed to the bathroom in the corner.

Absently, I nodded. I’d slept. The whole night through. All night. Not one nightmare. I checked my watch, my vision going blurry with tears. Seven and a half hours. Depending on when I’d fallen asleep, I was out for at least seven and a half hours! Never in my life had I slept that long.

“I should get home to shower and change before coming back to work. Thanks for letting me hang out. After you fell asleep, I watched a basketball game and it was glorious. Okay,” he said, checking his pockets. “I’ll see you later.”

He walked out the back door, hopping to the nearest post and then leaping to the next out of view.

Seven and a half hours. How?

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