Page 13 of Down and Dirty

Keaton

Chapter 6

Keaton couldn’t stop himself from blurting out the brunette was going to be his wife. He’d known for years. He’d seen her in his dreams. Seeing her last night in the landfill he hadn’t believed his eyes. His worst nightmare had come true. She was part of the deadliest case he’d yet to solve.

That was why he’d been outside her window, staring up and making sure she was safe. He couldn’t have left her even if he’d wanted to. Even more so now.

His gaze followed her out of the room before he turned it back on Jimbo and pegged him on the spot. “Who’s Mary?”

“A witch that lives in the woods,” Jimbo said as if a witch living in the woods was a normal thing. Maybe in fairytales and in books.

“How come you didn’t tell me about Mary when I showed up?”

“Her spirit showed up to Faith a week ago. We’ve yet to find her body or even prove there was any wrongdoing.”

“Who reported her missing?”

“No one. It’s all unofficial since we don’t have a shred of evidence that she hasn’t just picked up and left town. Only Faith has seen her spirit. She knows how she died. Mary wouldn’t up and leave. Trust me.”

The ghosts in the room lingered as Keaton tried to avert his gaze from acknowledging their presence. The less they knew about him, the better. The woman hovered behind Jimbo. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she tilted her head from side to side while staring at Keaton. He could feel the younger boy at his back. Keaton knew the kid was near. What Keaton didn’t know was why they were hanging around Faith.

Keaton picked up everyone’s plates and hand-washed them before putting them in the dishwasher. After wiping his hands on a dishtowel, he turned to find Faith holding a shoebox and staring at him as if confused. “You washed my dishes?”

“You cooked breakfast,” he said as if that explained everything.

She gave an unsure nod. “Uh, okay.” She turned to Jimbo. “Did you explain?”

“Yeah,” Jimbo answered.

“Good. Now maybe he can find whatever we’ve missed. You can drop me off at my car when we’re done.”

“Your car is in the driveway,” Keaton answered and handed her the keys as he passed on the way to the front door.

“You let him steal my car?” she asked Jimbo as Keaton headed out the front door.

“He didn’t steal it. He used the key fob that you left inside to drive it over. You should know by now the car won’t lock with the keys inside.”

They were talking in hushed tones as they approached. Jimbo climbed behind the wheel as Keaton held the passenger door open for Faith.

She climbed inside, unwilling to take her eyes off him. She pulled the door closed before Keaton even had a chance.

He chuckled and folded himself into the SUV’s backseat. She was like used sandpaper, rough around the edges but smooth in the center from years of pressure.

Jimbo pulled out of the driveway and headed up the street as Faith peeked inside the box on her lap.

“What’s in the box?” Keaton asked from the backseat.

Faith glanced at Jimbo. He gave her a nod before she turned to look at me. “A bag of herbs and trinkets that Mary put together for me.”

“Why did she do that? Is that so you can perform love spells?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She turned around. “I’m going to use them to try and connect with her. It helps if I just have something of theirs to concentrate on.”

Jimbo glanced her way again and frowned.

She was lying, and Jimbo knew it.

“How long have you known Mary?” Keaton asked.

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