Page 19 of Haunting Salem

“Okay.” I glanced at Kael unsure of where this was going.

"By the third body, we knew we had a serial killer on our hands. He only kills near Halloween or on Halloween night. The person believes when they kill the witch, they can absorb their power. The reason we believe there is more than one suspect is because of the fact this has gone on for thirty-plus years, with the incidences only ramping up in the last couple of years. We thought last year we were close to capturing all of the culprits, but in a sickening turn of events, the last person he kidnapped, also turned out to be someone who fought back. And, in our attempt to subdue to the suspect, a fight ensued, and he was killed, leaving us in the dark once more."

“Who did he take?” Kael hedged.

“Mine and Cian’s wife, Jamie. Someone he’d or they’d been trying to take since we were young.”

Woah, talk about heavy. "That's why you said witches were welcome here and Jack and Lucy could stay."

“Lucy mostly,” Zane said. “She’s a witch for sure. Jack, I think, is more like you, Simone, am I right?”

“You don’t want her,” Kael blurted, and I was glad the place was empty. “Lucy isn’t—”

“Death can’t find her in his book,” I stated. “Death or the network of reapers, have books with everyone’s name in it. Lucy’s name can’t be found.”

Zane grew serious. “Are you certain?”

Uh, yeah. Gaspar wasn’t happy about it. He’d pitched a fit, scaring the shit out of me. Had he been corporal at the time, I’m sure he would have torn Jack’s office to pieces. “Yes. Very. It pissed him off because he couldn’t find her, then he warned me to be careful with her.”

Zane scrubbed his chin. “Do you mind if I dig into this? I know I told you not to run with our secret, but this... For a witch to not be known, is rare. I have someone who might be able to help us—you more specifically.”

I stared at Zane for a moment. If he could give us answers, I would take them. I had a feeling the reason why all of us had some kind of wariness about her, was due to the whole not in that little black book of Gaspar's, knowledge. Maybe if we could get some reassurance, I could relax some or better yet, all of us could relax. "Thank you, we'd appreciate it."

“Great. Now, is there anything else I can help you with to make your time in Salem easier?”

Kael grinned. “We’re going to have a free day before our live Halloween event, have anything interesting going on here?”

"As a matter of fact, we do. There's a ball we throw every year. It'll be at Mass Hysteria. You can dress up or don't it won't bother us. Come on out and have fun."

A ball, in a bar? I wanted to say no because we'd be super busy on Halloween night, but we also deserved a little time to celebrate our first adventure. Plus, maybe we could get a little footage while we were there. I mean, nothing says Halloween like a spooky party. Amirite? "Sounds like fun, we'll be there."

“Great.” Zane shoved out of his seat. “Would you like a ride to the hotel or were you going to explore our quiet little town some more before heading back?”

“Explore a little more,” I said. “Thank you for the offer.”

“Not a problem. I’ll have Blake check in with you since he’ll be on patrol too. He’ll give you a lift if you need it.” Zane said his goodbyes then headed out to his vehicle, leaving me with Kael.

“Well, that was interesting,” Kael muttered. “Just what the hell is Lucy and what have we gotten ourselves into?”

I laughed, sliding out of the booth. “We haven’t gotten into anything yet. Come on, I wanted to inspect our sites then grab breakfast for everyone before heading back.”

“I’d kill for some breakfast, sucks being dead.” Kael sighed. “Oh well, at least we can still fuck.”

“See, there’s a bright side to everything.”

---