Witches Get Stitches: A Report from the Department of Intangible Assets by Robert Gainey

Author:Robert Gainey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-06-23T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

“What in the frozen pits of Hell are you doing here?” It was a fair question, I thought, even if I did fail to greet my girlfriend with the affection and warmth she deserved. She and Archades were sitting in rocking chairs on the porch. Neither of them had noticed me stalk up the stairs. Well, it’s more likely Archades had noticed me and failed to give anyone a warning.

“Diane!” Sadie startled right to her feet. She dropped the book in her lap, probably one from Mama Lee’s parlor. Sadie had a love for the random books people kept in their homes. Said it was a good way to read things she’d never seen before.

A pitcher of tea sat on the little table between them. In Sadie’s hand, a full glass was beading with sweat, a little wedge of lemon adorning the rim. My mouth tasted like the inside of a compost bin, so I hope I can be forgiven for taking the pitcher in both hands and taking a series of greedy gulps.

“What happened to you?” Archades asked. He kept right on rocking in his chair with a little Cheshire grin. He fully expected me to blow my stack at this development and was obviously relishing every second. Wiping my mouth with the back of a hand, I decided against giving him the satisfaction.

“Morty, I’d like you to go and get the truck ready for tonight. What’s left of the evidence kit and spare ammunition are in my bag. See if you can get some bottles of water too. We may be out there all night.”

“Aye-aye, ma’am!” Archades snapped a faux salute, easing himself out of the chair. His grin never wavered, giving me a cheerful thumbs up as he strolled to the front door and headed inside. I waited until I heard the door close again.

Sadie took in my bedraggled clothes and scorched disposition. “You look like you’ve been through it.” I didn’t move to take a seat, despite sore bones and aching muscles demanding respite. Instead, I slugged another mouthful straight from the pitcher, letting the cold drink douse some of the spicier sass I knew was on its way.

“Sadie, what are you doing here?” I repeated, even though I’d already figured out the obvious. Her uncertain smile was starting to look a little hurt.

“I thought you’d want a little company for a few days. This morning you made it sound like things were unbearably boring.” No such thing in my experience. Just the thought made me laugh.

“Sweetheart, you couldn’t have picked a worse time to surprise me.” I raked my hands through my hair, casting my eyes around for any sign of eavesdroppers or lookie-loos. Sadie was now full-blown frowning, realizing that maybe a spontaneous arrival without warning didn’t jibe with the kind of work I did.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to put my nose in something.” She set her cup of tea down and went to retrieve the fallen book. Now she was a little embarrassed, her romantic gesture having fallen apart.

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