A Witch's Curse (7 page)

Carolyn ran to the still open door and peered into the hall. The woman had vanished. Chester raced
passed her and down the stairs just as Carolyn heard an insistent pounding on her front door and a deep male voice shouting, “Police. Open the door.”

Cautiously, Carolyn crept downstairs. When she
didn’t see the strange woman anywhere, Carolyn sprinted to the door to let the officer in.

“
Are you all right, Miss?” he asked.

“
Yes, I think so.”

“
You called about an intruder?”

“
I did. I think she was a...a woman.” Carolyn had enough sense about her not to say a jealous ghost broke into her bedroom. She didn’t want to spend the rest of the night in a padded cell.

“
You saw her?”

“
Yes. She came into my bedroom. I hit her with a vase and she ran off.”

“
Do you know where she went?”

“
No. She sort of disappeared.”

The officer’s
concerned expression changed to disbelief. “Disappeared?”

“
Yes. I don’t know how to explain any better than that. By the time I got to the hallway, she was gone.”

“
Okay, Miss. Try to remain calm. Stay here while I check the house and make sure the perp is gone.”

The officer pulled his service revolver and a flashlight and began searching the upstairs first, then the main floor. “Is this door always open?”

“
No. That’s the door to the basement. I always keep that closed, and I know I locked all the doors before I went to bed.”

The officer nodded before he went down the steps, re-emerging moments later. “All clear down there. Whoever she was, she's gone now,” he said as he holstered his pistol.

“
You’re sure?” Carolyn asked.

“
Yes. She or he is gone. Excuse me for a minute.” The officer
clicked
on the mic attached to his shirt collar. “Sally?”

“
Go ahead, Chief.”

“
Get Herman out of bed and send him right over, will you?”

“
Sure thing, Chief.”

Smiling, the officer extended his hand to Carolyn. “Herman is our C.S.I., Miss...Waters?”

Taking his hand, she replied, “Yes, Carolyn Waters. And you are?”

“
Chief Eric Rose. Don’t you own a store in town?”

“
Yes, I do,
Herbs and More
.”

“
Ah, yes, I remember now. You’re Ester’s granddaughter.”

“
You knew my Grandmother?”

“
You find that surprising? Harrisonville isn't that large of a town that I wouldn’t know someone living here as long as she did. Now, while we wait for Herman, and provided you feel up to talking about what happened, I’d like to take your statement.”

“
Yes, of course, Chief. Would you like some coffee?”

“
Yes, I would, I am surprised you would drink any, though.”

Carolyn smiled weakly. “Why? Because coffee isn’t good for you?”

“
Yes, but also because caffeine doesn’t quite fit with the health conscience motif of
Herbs and More
.”

“
No,” Carolyn admitted, “But aren’t I allowed one small vice?”

“
As long as the vice is legal, I’ve no objection what-so-ever. And, please, call me Eric.”

After a few attempts to separate the coffee filters, she ended up using several. Her hand shook as she measured the coffee, managing to get most of it in the machine and not on the counter. Taking a deep breath, she told Eric all she remembered, starting with when she retired for the night. Carolyn did leave out the fact she and Sarah had been reading her grandmother's
Book of Shadow
earlier. When a knock came at the door, Eric stood, motioning for Carolyn to remain seated. “That will be Herman. I’ll let him in.”

Chief Rose let Herman in and told him what he knew about the break-in before returning to the living room. “Herman’s good at his job,” he told her. “He’ll find out how your mystery woman got in and where she went.”

“
I hope so. I know I locked all the doors and windows before I went upstairs for the night. I also remember hearing a crash, like breaking glass. Did she break a window to get in?”

“
No, they’re all fine. I did find a broken vase in the foyer though. That’s probably what you heard.”

Carolyn reflected a moment. “I suppose--.”

“
Hey, Chief. You better come see this,” Herman interrupted from the kitchen.

Carolyn followed Chief Rose to where Herman held the back door open. On the outside portion, ‘GET OUT’, had been written in large letters with what she hoped was red paint. Even though the porch light was off, she still saw the dark shape swaying from the rafters in the darkness, light reflecting off its open eyes.

“
Chester!” she screamed.

“
Is Chester your cat, ma’am?” Herman asked.

Holding back her tears, Carolyn answered, “Yes.”

“
I saw him a minute ago, he sure was heading for the hills,” he said, pointing toward the foyer. Then, jerking his thumb at the swinging animal, he added, “This here's a raccoon.”

Relief and anger swept over Carolyn. “Why is a raccoon hanging from my back porch?”

“
Probably put there to scare you,” Chief Rose offered.

“
Whoever did this also cut the animal's throat and used the blood to write this filth on your door,” Herman added.

“
Who would do something so evil?” she demanded.

The chief took Carolyn by the arm and led her back into the living room. “At first, I thought this might be teenagers doing a prank of some sort. Halloween is not far off and sometimes they like to get an early start.”

“
But?”

“
But, now I’m not so sure. They’ve never done anything quite this bad before. This house has been a favorite target of teenagers over the years. The house's reputation draws them more than any other reason, I suppose. Usually, they toilet paper the front porch or leave a lighted bag of dog poop by the door. Nothing quite this bad though. We’ll know better once Herman finishes his investigation.”

“
I can tell you this much, Chief, they didn’t come in through the front or back doors. You said you heard the lady slide back the bolt on the front door to let you in, and I noted the back door dead bolted as well. All the windows are locked,” Herman said.

“
So how did she get in?” Carolyn asked.

Herman shook his head. “Don’t know, but I will before I’m done.” Herman turned around and went back into the kitchen.

“
He will too,” Chief Rose said. “He’s like a pit bull when it comes to the unexplained. He won‘t sleep until he figures out all the answers.”

By morning, Herman found, to Carolyn's embarrassment, Ester’s altar room, but no other exit from the house the intruder may have used. Chief Rose left around five o’clock to check on an early morning fender bender in town, and Herman left around nine, scratching his head as he went out the door. He collected some evidence and promised Carolyn they would catch the perp soon.

Carolyn felt immensely satisfied when Herman had shown her the veil the woman wore had drops of blood staining the white fabric. Her vase had scored a direct hit on the intruder. The bloodstains also proved her trespasser to be human and not a second ghost.

That’s all I would
need, a jealous Caroline.

To take her mind off the previous night’s events, Carolyn threw herself into her house cleaning. She scrubbed, polished
, and dusted until her arms felt as if they would fall off. At midnight, she dragged her weary body to bed without even bothering to take her dirty clothes off or pull the blanket back.

Caleb came to her immediately. He lay next to her on the bed and kissed her forehead. “Carolyn, my love. You are distressed?”

“
Not anymore, my dearest Caleb.” She gazed into his ice blue eyes and again, was touched by the heart wrenching sadness she saw in them. “Will you stay with me?”

He answered her with a kiss that sent her pulse skyrocketing as their tongues sought each other. His strong hand glided down her side and under her shirt, making her happy she wasn’t wearing a bra. Carolyn fought an urge to giggle when she thought of this nineteenth century man trying to undo one.

His firm hand slowly ran over her ribs ever so gently, eventually coming to her breast. His hand followed its curve, his palm brushing lightly over her hard nub. The room temperature rose as his kisses trailed down her neck, his tongue licking the hollow at the base of her neck, sending shudders of delight deep inside her. She ran her nails down his back, marveling at his solid muscles.

Carolyn rolled over on top of Caleb and helped him raise her shirt over her head. While he undid her belt, she ripped his shirt open and ran her hands across his smooth chest. With her blue jeans unbuttoned, she stood, allowing them to fall to her feet with a seductive wiggle of her hips.

Wanting to return the favor, she unbuttoned Caleb’s pants, but in
order to take them off him, she needed to remove his boots first. Straddling his outstretched leg, she practically wet herself when she felt his other foot pushing on her ass, but was able to get both boots removed. Then, turning around, she tugged at his pant legs until she had them completely off. To her delight, he wasn’t wear anything under his clothes as his cock stood straight, hard, and erect, making her mouth water for its taste.

Carolyn crawled back onto the bed, her hands sliding up his legs to his sculpted abs. She lowered her head and swirled her tongue around the purpled head on his thick, hard cock. Taking his length into her mouth, she bobbed her head up and down, licking and sucking as if tasting her first Popsicle of the summer. She cupped his balls in one hand and squeezed lightly. Unbelievably, his moaning turned her on even more. Caleb wrapped his hands in her hair and thrust his hips to the rhythm she set.

Suddenly, he pulled out of her mouth, rolled her onto her back, and pulled her up alongside him. His hands played wildly with her nipples as his hot lips kissed down her breastbone, across her stomach, then continued along her inner thighs. Her juices began dripping from her slit, soaking her underpants.

One hand released a breast, and with fingers curled, Caleb slowly dragged them down her body until they hooked the top of her panties and pulled them down. Spreading her legs with his hands, Caleb leaned in close to her mound and breathed fire onto her damp sex. The heat from his breath inflamed her need for him even further. A firm hand moved up and down her mound, rubbing with just the right amount of pressure, adding to her mounting orgasm.

Sweat rolled off her brow when he parted her lips and found her engorged clit. He took the fleshy bud between his lips, his tongue lightly massaging the sensitive area. Reaching underneath her hips, he raised her higher so he could bury his mouth deeper into her heated pussy.

Inserting two fingers inside her, Caleb continued to work his magical lips and tongue, driving her into a deeper frenzy. Carolyn’s orgasm exploded like fireworks at a rodeo on the Fourth of July. Her body bucked with each wave, sending his fingers further and further inside her. His fingers and mouth didn’t stop until well after her orgasm faded, starting a second one building.

Pulling his fingers out, he fingered her areolas, covering them with her juice then
licking them clean. He covered her mouth with his, their tastes mingling on each other’s lips. Carolyn couldn’t wait any longer; she needed to feel him inside her, so she rolled him onto his back, straddled him, and lowered herself onto him, guiding his shaft into her.