What the Hex? (A Paranormal P.I. Mystery Book 1) Read online

  “Maybe then we can narrow down where she may have gone. Paige didn’t give us much to go on. She said they were best friends. If that’s true, I’d think Morgan would have told Paige where she was going.”

  Derek navigated around a silver Toyota. “Maybe Morgan didn’t know she was going anywhere.”

  I glanced at him. “You think something bad happened to her? Maybe she was murdered too?”

  Derek turned onto Flamingo Street. “It’s possible. We can’t rule that out.”

  “No, you’re right, we can’t. Paige said Morgan owns a gym. Why would she leave a business unless something happened to her?”

  “I guess not going to jail meant more to her. We should go by the gym right now and check it out,” Derek said.

  “Now? Do you think it’s open?” I looked at the time on my phone.

  “Everything is always open in Vegas.”

  “I know that, but since Morgan is gone they should be closed for the day, right?”

  “I guess we’ll find out.” Derek’s voice was strong, confident, and tantalizingly sweet at the same time.

  As I watched the traffic, I said, “You know, we don’t have to work on this case together. Maybe we could split up and cover more ground.”

  He glanced at me. “Sure, is there someplace else you’d like to go now? I can drop you off?”

  Derek was quick to agree, which probably meant I should in fact stay with him instead of going alone.

  I looked out the passenger window. “No, I suppose not. Let’s just go to the gym.”

  I sensed his smirk even though I didn’t look at him.

  We stopped at a light. Derek drummed his fingers against the steering wheel and silence filled the car.

  After a second, he said, “Why does that sign over there look familiar?”

  “What sign?” I tried to sound casual. I hoped he wasn’t talking about what I thought he was talking about.

  He pointed. “That one.”

  I followed his pointing finger and discovered my fear was validated.

  Chapter 5

  That stupid poster of me dressed as Marilyn Monroe, along with an Elvis impersonator standing beside me, was plastered next to us at the bus stop. Derek had no clue about my secret gig, and that was how I wanted to keep it. On top of being a witch I was a Marilyn Monroe impersonator. Hey, I needed the work and it paid the bills.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I pointed at the traffic signal. “The light’s green.”

  The car behind us honked, so Derek had no choice but to go. Derek’s suspicion hung in the air as we drove away. When we reached the gym’s parking, I said a silent prayer. Now maybe we could change the topic and Derek would forget all about what he’d seen.

  The Vegas Fit Club was located in the middle of a small shopping center. On the left was a sandwich shop and on the right a dry cleaner’s. A blinking Open sign flashed in the window of the gym.

  “I’m surprised it’s actually open. If she owns the place then who’s working here today? Her employees must have opened this morning,” I said, answering my own question.

  “They probably have no idea that she’s missing.” Derek pulled into a spot between a red Corvette and a black Jaguar.

  “Surely the police have been by looking for her though,” I said.

  As soon as Derek cut the engine, I opened the door and climbed out. He rushed around to join me at the front of the car. I regretted wearing the black skirt today. The heat had already reached somewhere between hot and too damn hot. I’d figured I’d be in my air-conditioned office all day, not walking around Vegas. Sweat was already forming around my hairline. Perhaps people would think as a witch I should be dressed all in black, but that was so 1692. As if I’d walk around with a black pointy hat.

  “Maybe Morgan came back and didn’t tell Paige. We could be looking for someone who isn’t even missing,” I said.

  “It’s doubtful she came back. Paige would have called us. The police are still looking for her,” Derek said as we walked across the lot.

  Windows lined the front of the club, allowing us a glimpse of the inside. Treadmills faced the parking lot with a few people staring out the windows as they ran.

  Derek opened the gym’s glass door and motioned for me to enter. “Ladies first.”

  “Thank you.”

  Cold air blasted us in the face as we walked into the space. The reception desk was to the right and the workout room to the left. No one was at the desk. Derek motioned with a tilt of his head toward the workout area. I nodded and followed him into the room. A couple people on the treadmills looked over at us when we entered, but soon turned their attention back to the parking lot. Since we weren’t in workout gear, I supposed we did look a little out of place. Other members were busy on the various machines around the room.

  “What’s next?” Derek paused by the elliptical machine.

  “We should try to find someone who works here,” I said.

  Derek followed me as I headed back toward the desk. “Sounds like a good idea.”

  As soon as we reached the front, a tall, dark-haired, muscular man spotted us and rushed over. His arms, legs, and chest looked as if they’d been inflated. Of course that made his head look a little too small for his body. He wore baggy jersey pants with an American flag design and a white tank top that looked like an animal had gnawed off most of it.

  “Can I help you?” His voice rumbled like distant thunder.

  I flashed my sweetest smile. “My name’s Cece Cash. This is Derek North. We’re investigating the disappearance of Morgan Stewart.”

  He furrowed his brow. “Her disappearance?”

  “Yes, she hasn’t been seen since last night,” Derek answered.

  The man scoffed. “Did someone file a missing person’s report?”

  That was an odd question. He worked in Morgan’s gym. Surely the police had already been by here and informed him of the situation.

  “No, but we are looking for her,” I said.

  “Is this because of Amber?” He leaned his massive body against the counter.

  Derek and I exchanged a look.

  “Do you know Amber Barrett?” Derek asked.

  Muscle man looked over our shoulders out over the workout room as if he was distracted, or annoyed by our presence. Finally, he said, “She worked here for a short time. That’s about all I know.”

  “So you know she’s dead?” I asked.

  “I heard.” His tone seemed robotic, almost emotionless.

  “We’re concerned for Morgan’s safety,” Derek said.

  He lifted his bushy eyebrows. “Why?”

  He had to ask? It seemed pretty straightforward to me. I supposed people had their own way of dealing with things, but his behavior seemed off. Derek had to be picking up on the strange vibe too. I had to remain professional and take control of this situation.

  Derek looked the guy right in the eyes. “Because Morgan hasn’t been seen since last night. With one woman dead, her friends are naturally concerned.”

  The man laughed. “Morgan’s fine. You look like her, by the way.” He motioned toward me.

  That was interesting since Paige hadn’t mentioned it. Neither had Derek.

  “What’s your name?” Derek asked with that same confidence in his voice.

  The fact that Derek didn’t let the guy intimidate him was impressive. Maybe that came from Derek being the only male in a household of four sisters. His father had taken off when he was about seven or eight. After that, Derek had always felt the need to be protective of his mother and sisters. Maybe that was why my parents had invited Derek over for dinner so many times, because they had felt sorry for him.

  The sneer on the man’s face faded. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Steve Rowe.” His tone let me know that he’d not wanted to share this information.

  “So you know where she is?” I asked.

  Steve stepped closer to the workout room, letting us know that our conver
sation would soon be over. “I don’t know where she is right now, but I’m sure she’s fine.”

  “What makes you say that?” I tried to remain friendly so that he wouldn’t stop answering our questions. He was pushing the limits of my Southern hospitality though.

  Steve waved at someone across the room. “Morgan disappears all the time.”

  “What are you talking about?” Derek asked.

  He focused his dark eyes on us again. “If she decides she wants to get away for a while, she’ll just take off without telling anyone. She’s done it before and she’ll do it again. Morgan will be back in a few days. In the meantime, I will make sure everything here runs smoothly. Morgan trusts me to operate this place without any issues.”

  Derek looked him up and down. “You’re the manager here?”

  He nodded. “Yes, and unless you want a membership, I need to get back to work.”

  I forced another friendly smile onto my face. “Thanks for the info.”

  Steve didn’t utter another word as he turned on his heel and headed for the workout area. If that was the way he treated everyone who came into the Vegas Fit Club, then Morgan should rethink his position at the gym.

  “Do you believe him?” I whispered.

  Derek watched Steve walk away. “I suppose, but there’s something about him that rubs me the wrong way.”

  “His offensive outfit?”

  “His attitude,” Derek said.

  I glanced to my left. Just beyond the reception desk was an office. The door was slightly open and a light glowed from the room.

  “You think that’s Morgan’s office?” I motioned with a tilt of my head.

  Derek shrugged. “Could be.”

  Before I could say another word, Derek took off toward the office. Of course I had to follow him. It was my business’ reputation at risk if he did something stupid. I didn’t want to be a babysitter, but he wasn’t giving me that option.

  Derek had pushed the door wider and stepped inside the room. I glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. As far as I could tell no one saw us, so I inched into the room behind him.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I whispered as we stood in the middle of the office.

  “I just thought we’d have a little look around since we’re here.” Derek scanned the room.

  “I don’t think we should be in here.” Unfortunately, leaving Derek alone in the office wasn’t an option.

  “Steve’s probably hitting on a woman who’s wishing he’d just leave her alone so she can work out. He won’t catch us.”

  “What do you think you’ll find?” I asked.

  “Maybe Morgan left an idea of where she’s going. Travel plans. A receipt for a plane ticket or hotel room.” Derek moved over to the desk and shuffled through a few files.

  “If the police really want to arrest her they will probably track her credit card use,” I said as I glanced over my shoulder.

  “Unfortunately, we don’t have that information.” Derek continued his search of the desk.

  I was tempted to help Derek look, but I also couldn’t stop watching for the ginormous Steve to return and find us.

  “You do realize that guy can snap us in half. Probably with one hand. Both of us at the same time.”

  “I know karate,” Derek said without looking up.

  I snickered. “You’re going to get us caught.”

  “Not going to happen.” Derek opened the desk drawer.

  Finally, I gave in and rushed over to open a few drawers so that we could hurry up and get out of there. Risky behavior wasn’t my thing. It made my stomach twist into knots and my legs shake.

  “We need to get out of here as quickly as possible,” I said as I lifted a couple papers.

  Derek’s mouth twitched at one end into a wry grin. “Don’t worry, Cece, I have everything under control.”

  I placed my hands on my hips. “Oh, yeah? That’s what you said last time. What about the fire in my office?”

  “Our office… and it was contained to the wastebasket.” Derek pulled a small paper from a stack on the desk. “Wait. Maybe I found something.”

  I leaned closer. Derek’s cologne was distracting. It smelled really good, like a hint of leather and maybe sandalwood. I recognized the scent because I used the sandalwood in my weather spell. Sure, it was still hot out, but I was counting on the spell to work soon. “What did you find?”

  Derek held up the slip of paper. “An ATM receipt from the casino. Look at the date. It was last night.”

  I grabbed it from his hand. “It has the account number. Now we just have to find out whose account. Was it Morgan’s or Amber’s?”

  “Or possibly Steve’s,” Derek added.

  Derek stuffed the paper into his pocket and continued the search. Our time in this office was limited, but I still allowed Derek to lure me into his shenanigans. I was looking through the belongings just as much as he was. I was elbow deep in a drawer when footsteps echoed from the doorway. Unfortunately, there was no time to move my hand.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Steve shouted as he stormed into the tiny room.

  The walls shook and a picture of Steve, flexing his muscles while posing in a tiny Speedo, fell from the wall and landed on the floor. The glass shattered in several big chunks.

  I froze with my hand in mid-air. “We’re dead.”

  Chapter 6

  Derek and I stood frozen. Steve’s mouth twisted into an angry snarl. He hadn’t grabbed us up like ragdolls yet, so maybe he would control his anger and not pulverize us. How would we come up with an excuse to get out of there? I’d told Derek we would get caught, but once again he hadn’t listened to me. Hell, I hadn’t listened to the little voice in the back of my head telling me to run. That same voice that told me not to date Bradley Price. Within a week of our first date, he had started planning our wedding. I’d practically had to fake my own death to get away from the guy. Okay, now I was rambling. The fear was making me bonkers.

  Steve crossed the room in one giant step. “You have two seconds to tell me what you’re doing here before I crush you both like a couple of cockroaches.”

  A rush of adrenaline shot through me. Steve drilled his index finger into Derek’s chest. Derek’s expression remained calm. However, in one quick motion Derek’s hand flexed into a fist as he pulled his arm back.

  Before Derek could swing the punch, I dove in between the men. A risky move, sure, but completely necessary. Derek stumbled backward. I’d give this brute a kick to the groin if I had to.

  “Just calm down, it’s not what it seems.” I spread my arms out in front of Derek, blocking Steve from reaching him.

  Of course, if Steve really wanted Derek, he could probably just toss me to the side. I placed my hands on Steve’s chest to push him back. I gave a shove and groaned. He didn’t budge. It was as if I’d tried to move a brick wall. Nevertheless, Derek owed me one for saving his butt. Would that be enough to settle our money debt? Yeah, probably not.

  I batted my eyelashes. “You know, we decided to join your club after all. It was little ol’ me who decided to look in the office.”

  Apparently turning on the Southern charm did nothing for him. Steve’s nostrils still flared and the veins in his temples still bulged. His face was slightly less red now though, so I thought he was possibly calming down. The idea that we were ready to hand him some cash changed everything.

  “You better not be yanking my chain,” Steve said.

  With my hands on my hips, I said in my Southern accent, “Well, darlin’, if you really don’t want us to join we won’t. There are other gyms.”

  He glared at us for a few seconds longer. “You should have come to get me if you wanted to join. This office is for employees only. What were you looking for in the drawers?”

  “A sign-up form, of course.” I gave him the same annoyed look my teenage niece gave my sister when my sister asked what time she’d be home. Maybe I sho
uld have punctuated my sentence with a, Duh.

  Steve moved over and sat behind the desk. “If you want to join, I’ll sign you up.” He reached into the desk drawer and pulled out a couple of forms.

  Now I really was going to have to start a workout routine. Derek yet again had gotten me into a situation that I didn’t care to be in. Like the other night when Derek had turned on the light in the car and the person we were staking out had noticed us, stomped over, and started throwing punches. If it hadn’t been for my purse-swinging skills, we might not have gotten out of there alive.

  Steve’s hands seemed a little shaky as he was filling out forms. I inched over to the chair in front of the desk and slid down, as if Steve might change his mind and lunge at us at any moment.

  I cleared my throat and then said, “You take care of the gym for Morgan when she’s gone? She takes off like this often, right?”

  He looked up at me. “Yes, that’s what I said. I run the place, among other things.”

  At least now I had a little bit of a dialogue going. Derek pulled the chair back from the desk a little and then sat down. Steve didn’t bother to look over at him.

  “What other things do you do?” I pushed.

  “Morgan’s my girlfriend. We live together, so I do a lot of things for her.”

  I glanced over at Derek. His blue eyes were still narrowed and his gaze locked on Steve’s face. I hoped Derek didn’t get any bright ideas to go after Steve for the chest-poking incident. Shake it off, Derek.

  Steve and Morgan were living together? This changed things a lot. Had he seen her last night?

  “When was the last time you saw her?” I asked.

  Steve looked up. “I thought you said you weren’t the cops?”

  “We’re not,” Derek said.

  Steve shoved the forms toward us. “Add your bank account info at the bottom and sign.”

  How much was this going to cost me? My checking account was looking a little sparse at the moment. I wouldn’t have to worry about working out if I didn’t have money for food. I shot Derek a dirty look and signed on the dotted line. I just wanted to get out of this confined space with my life.