Page 6 of Solstice

He held her gaze for a long moment. “So you still plan to take some big-time job and hightail it back to the city at the first opportunity?”

“I sent out a dozen more resumes last week.”

He sighed. “Are you sure you don’t belong out here, Dori? Hell, nobody tells those Champ stories the way you do.”

She tilted her head to one side, averted her eyes. “You said you were here on official business?”

Jason sighed. If she was determined to freeze him out, there wasn’t much he could do about it. “Yeah. Wanted to ask if you could help me out on a case.”

She looked up at him fast. “Jesus, how do you know about that? No one out here knows about that!”

He was taken by surprise. “About what?”

“Look, Jason, I don’t do that kind of work anymore, okay?”

He had no idea what she was talking about, but suddenly he wanted to. So he narrowed his eyes and watched her as carefully as he would watch a known criminal in town for the weekend, and he took a shot in the dark. “Why not? You did it in New York, didn’t you?”

She lowered her head. “It’s different in New York,” she said. “A psychic or even a Witch helping the police find a missing person is so common there it doesn’t even make the news every time anymore. Out here it would be the biggest headline to hit town in a decade.”

He blinked three times. A Witch. She did say Witch, didn’t she? “You, uh, helped the police find some missing people.”

“Helped. Past tense. Like I said, I don’t do it anymore.”

“And you used...uh...Witchcraft to do it?”

She shrugged. “I used whatever I could. The cards, the runes. My instincts.”

“You’re...psychic?”

“Everyone’s psychic,” She sipped her coffee. “Some people learn how to hone it, how to use it. I’m one of them.”

“Then, you were successful?”

She nodded, but she was looking at him oddly now. “You didn’t know any of this, did you?”

“I didn’t have a clue. So, you went off to the big city and came back a Witch, huh?”

She closed her eyes, irritated it seemed. “If you weren’t aware of my history, then why were you asking for my help with a case?”

“I just need an extra pair of eyes. Some kids have been borrowing boats and taking them out on the lake to party. It’s not safe—especially this time of year. I was hoping you’d keep a lookout and give me a call if you see anything.”

She closed her eyes. “Oh.”

“So tell me more about this...Witch thing.”

She took a deep breath, then shook her head. “No.”

“No? Come on, Dori, you can’t just leave me hanging like that.”

“Yes, I can. It’s not something I want to become public knowledge. Not out here—people wouldn’t understand.”

“What, you think I’m completely ignorant? I know what Wicca is. That is what we’re talking about here, right?”

She nodded slowly.

“And as for not letting it get around, you know me better than that, don’t you?”

“Do I?”

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