whiskey witches 02 - blood moon magick by s m blooding Page B

breath through his nose, straightening his stooped back. “Yes. Yes. I believe so.”
    Dexx leaned forward. “Do you happen to know if they frequented the same places?”
    Sam chuckled. “This isn’t a big town. We frequent all the places.”
    Paige smiled and scratched the back of her neck. “Sam, we need a place to start. Is there a location one of the victims was last seen? Or one of their houses? Though, I’m kinda doubting that would help, I won’t rule it out.”
    “What do you think?”
    She could tell by his tone that he wasn’t being lippy. His question was honest and blunt. “We found Elizabeth Harwood last night.”
    The light of excited interest in Sam’s blue eyes dimmed. “Dead?”
    She hated seeing that reaction, but she understood it. One day, she hoped she could stop being the person to deliver the bad news, though, in her line of work, that was unlikely. “A demon killed her. That’s all I know right now, but with that said, he would probably not have taken them from their homes.”
    “Why not?” Tony asked.
    “Thresholds. They have to be invited across the door of a home, unless the demon possesses the one the doorway belongs to.” She frowned at him. “Which reminds me. Do thresholds work on you?”
    He raised his eyebrows. “Fictional mumbo-jumbo perpetuated by witches.”
    “Then, no.” Witches were able to create wards that could be keyed to keep certain people out, certain types of creatures—like demons—out. Normal human beings could power their thresholds, too, and it went a long way toward keeping them protected. “Okay. Anyway, I’m willing to wager this thing kidnapped them some place semi-public. I would say in a secluded spot, but there’s a lot of that around here.”
    Sam clapped his knees. “Well, Kevin liked to frequent one spot. Might be what you’re looking for.”
    “Kevin.” Paige mentally rummaged through the file she’d been reading, though she’d only just started on it. “He’s the one that went missing a week and a half ago, last seen leaving school.”
    “Yes.” The tea kettle whistled. Sam rocked back and forth before successfully launching himself out of his chair. “We’ll have some tea, and then I will give you directions to his spot.”
    Paige released a tight breath. She hoped she’d find something. If Sven really was a part of this, she would.
    Well, this would be a very telling spot.

“W hat did you pull off the victim?” Tony asked quietly when Sam left the living room.
    “What?” Paige blinked, her mind elsewhere. “You’re just asking me that now?”
    “We were busy discussing other things.”
    “Just the case.” Dexx tipped his head to the side, looking at first Tony, then Paige. “What did I miss? I feel like I missed something.”
    “Barn knows more than he should.” Paige removed the card from her back pocket.
    Tony took the card from her and flattened his lips.
    “You mean the coroner?”
    “Yeah.”
    “About what?”
    “Paranormal stuff.”
    “Oh.” Dexx quirked his lips to the side. “Well, there could be some benefits there. You could actually gather evidence and you’d have someone on the inside able to hide it or tamper with test results for you.”
    “Yes.” Though, having someone “tamper with test results” for her made her feel dirty.
    “So, what’s the big deal?”
    “I broke a lot of Tony’s rules today.”
    “Like, ‘Don’t discuss Fight Club’ rules?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Well, then he shouldn’t have revealed Fight Club.”
    “I’m standing right here. Listening to you.” Tony flipped the card over. “What does this mean?”
    She wished had an inkling of a clue. “I have no idea.”
    Dexx stood and walked to the fire place. “In Louisiana, Sven would leave bodies for her with messages. Clues and love notes at the same time.”
    Tony licked his lips and stared at her with open surprise. “That’s a new one.”
    “Demon.” Dexx popped his lips, fingering a brass vase on the