A Witch and Her Man (Jeff and Gail) by G.E. Stills Page B

their meeting, Tom was livid. He went to Felix's house and saw Al's car in the driveway. After his knocking went unanswered, he let himself in.
     
    The scene on the living room floor turned his blood to ice. Felix and Al were sprawled out there, both very dead. Tom drew his gun and carefully searched the house to confirm there was no one else present. When he was satisfied he was alone, he returned to the living room and the two bodies. He examined the scene and came to the conclusion that the two had killed each other.
     
    "Fucking idiots. I wonder what their argument was about this time. I'll let my men find this on their own so no one will ever be able to trace our relationship," he whispered under his breath while carefully removing any fingerprints he might have left behind.
     
    I hope the two new guys I hired are better than these bozos, he thought as he drove away.
     
    Tom drove back to the police headquarters in McManville. He went to his office and closed the door. Opening his cell phone, he made a call. He waited for Fred to answer.
     
    "Fred?" he inquired when the phone was answered.
     
    "Yes."
     
    "I just came from Felix's place. Looks like he and Al got into an argument and shot each other. Both of them are dead. We already had to dispose of two bodies, thanks to the private dick that Sweet woman hired. The one he shot in the chest bled out. We got rid of the other one just in case the dick could identify him. Had to get rid of the car too since it was full of holes…"
     
    "What about the other two?" Fred interrupted.
     
    "They'll never find the car or the bodies. They're all at the bottom of a deep lake. Good thing we hired two more men though, I'm running thin on troops over here. I'll be glad when they get here."
     
    Fred asked him if his identity had been compromised or if he needed additional help.
     
    "No. I may have to do some of the legwork myself, but I won't have to get my hands dirty doing any actual killings. I'm being very careful to hide my involvement and identity."  
     
    "What about the witches?"
     
    "As we ferret them out and expose them, we'll get rid of them," he finished.
     
    Late that night, Tom left the police station and drove home.
     
    ****
     
    Jeff followed Tom, careful to avoid detection. He observed the neighborhood and watched for any other activity. When the lights went out in Tom's house, he waited until he was fairly certain Tom had retired for the night. While he drove home, he mentally went over his plans.
     
    The next day, Jeff changed into a pair of blue jeans and polo shirt then packed a fanny pack. He placed several items in it including his holstered gun. He did a final check to determine he was prepared for the long, round about journey to Tom's house. Satisfied, he called a cab. While he waited, he mentally went over the information he had obtained.
     
    The cab picked him up about a block away from his place where he pretended to walk out of a vacant house and took him to the bus station where he bought a ticket. When the bus arrived, he boarded it and rode to the next small town. He purchased another ticket and rode the bus to McManville, Gail's town. There he took another cab, which let him off in front of another house that he pretended was his destination.
     
    Jeff looked at his watch and saw he was right on schedule. It was early evening and dark outside. When the cab vanished around the corner, he walked ten blocks to his true destination. Casually, he strolled along the sidewalk while surreptitiously checking the neighborhood to make sure no one was watching. Satisfied he was unobserved, he ducked into Tom's back yard.
     
    In a matter of moments, he disabled the alarm, picked the lock on the back door and let himself into Tom's house. Using a flashlight covered with his hand, he made his way into the living room and settled into a chair to wait. He did not turn on any of the lights so as not to alert anyone to his presence in the house. He was