Page 50 of Midlife Witch Unexpected

Great.

We were never going to survive the zombie apocalypse if all I could do was find the monsters and had no powers to defeat them.

“Maybe you had experiences when you were younger?” Hilda continued.

“What type of experiences?” I asked.

“You could always find things others could not. It’s part of what makes us magic; we see things others do not. It’s how we can use spells to manipulate it. All we’re doing is working with things that exist, which others cannot see yet. When others do see them, they think it’s magic.”

“So, if vampires move very quickly, then we need to anticipate where he’s going to be,” I pointed out. “If we can’t outrun him, we need to outthink him and get ahead of him.”

“And how exactly do you plan on doing that,” Trina said skeptically.

“Well, if we track his movements over the last few days, maybe we can anticipate where he’s going to be next, and then we can be there waiting for him.” I channeled my best version of CSI trying to figure out the movements of a serial killer.

“I thought we just told you, you can’t use magic to track vampires.” Trina looked down her nose at me, her spectacles balanced on the tip.

“You’ve been away from the human world too long,” I said with a gentle smile. “Tracking can be done without magic, too. How do you think Normie’s function? And here’s something else, I know, every human being has an electronic signature. And I know someone who can help me find Joachim’s.”

“Huh?” Trina looked mildly taken aback.

But I didn’t care what she thought. I grabbed my phone and quickly sent a text to my daughter. “Joachim…Patroni.” I closed my eyes and imagined seeing his name on his shirt Joachim Patroni, that’s what it said. “Can you find this person online near Cougar Creek?”

“You really think you’re going to find a three-hundred-year-old vampire online?” Trina asked.

“No. But if he’s staying around here and using anything other than cash to pay for his expenses, I’ll find him,” I said. “Everybody leaves an electronic trail nowadays, that’s what my daughter taught me.”

“Cougar Creek Coven…” Drake said dramatically, “stepping into the 21st century.”

“My daughter is not in the coven," I said adamantly. “It’s not because she can’t be, it’s just because she doesn’t know anything about it yet, so I can’t tell you whether she’s going to join us or not. It will be her decision to make. All I can tell you right now is if Joachim Petroni has any kind of an e-signature, my daughter will find it.”

“She’s a hacker,” Drake said with interest.

I hadn’t really thought about it like that before. “I hope not.” I had a personal issue with any of those people who were getting their kicks out of disrupting the flow of society around them using electronic means.

“But maybe she has the skills to do that,” I said. “I just hope I taught her a little better.”

“Doubtful,” Trina said bitterly.

“Yet possible,” I said. She was a woman in distress; I wasn’t going to trouble her by arguing each point. It strengthened my resolve to find Anita and quickly.

My phone buzzed. That was my girl. Always eager to help.

“He used his credit card at the Crowne Hotel this morning.” The text was brief.

“Bingo,” I said, holding up my phone. “The Crowne Hotel.”

“The old Fae place?” Hilda said.

“Let’s go.” Trina was already halfway to the door.

“Trina, you and Drake go down to the Crown Hotel,” I said. “Stay there in case something happens or he comes back.” I looked over at Branson’s hulking, strong frame. “You’re with me,” I said reluctantly. But if I was going to go up against a vampire, I was going to bring my bodyguard.

“What are you going to be doing exactly?” Trina asked.

“Investigating also,” I said. “We’ll meet back here in a couple of hours. Stay connected.”

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