Haunted Hex (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 10) by Sara Bourgeois (book series for 10 year olds txt) 📕

looked like there was something in the hanging tree. I saw a black creature with red eyes peering back at me, but when I blinked, it was gone.

“Did you see that?” I asked Meri. He’d jumped up on the windowsill and was watching the scene below.

“See what?” he asked.

I relaxed a little. It must have been my imagination. There was still enough adrenaline running through me that my brain was making things out of shadows.

From what I could see out of the window, Jeremy was running the scene. Thorn stood back and watched, but Jeremy was conducting the investigation and calling the shots. It made sense since the crime scene was literally in our front yard.

Thorn looked up a couple of times and saw me in the window. I couldn’t read his expression. He wasn’t angry or anything like that, but he looked sort of perplexed.

After the coroner took the body away and he came back inside, I’d find out why. “She wasn’t stabbed,” Thorn said.

I felt my knees go weak. The knots in my stomach unclenched, and I took a deep breath. “So Lilith didn’t kill her,” I said it as a statement, not a question.

“I can’t say that for sure, but the victim wasn’t stabbed. Lilith isn’t under arrest, though, because we can’t even be sure that her being here had anything to do with the body,” Thorn said.

“You can say for sure that Lilith didn’t kill that woman, Thorn,” I said.

“Kinsley, please. I know this is hard, but I have to do this the right way. I cannot show any hint of being biased or I won’t be able to go anywhere near the case. I already can’t investigate it, but do you want the state or feds to step in and shut me out completely? How can I protect her then?” he asked.

“You’re right,” I said.

“I need to get ready for work. I need to get into the office,” Thorn said as he squeezed the bridge of his nose.

He started to leave the room and stopped. Thorn reached into his pajama pants pocket and pulled something out.

“Thorn, are you okay?” I asked because he’d begun to rub the back of his neck nervously with his other hand.

“I did something,” he said. “I did something I shouldn’t have done, but I had to.”

I crossed the room to where he stood in the doorway. When he opened his hand, Thorn revealed one of the little black spell bags. It was just like the one I’d found at the shop.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “Where did you get that?”

“It must have been tied to Lilith somehow because it fell onto the road when I had my arm around her,” Thorn said. “It must have been tied to her nightclothes. I picked it up and put it in my pocket. It’s possibly evidence, Kinsley. I took it from the scene… but I figured it was the best thing to do. Given everything that’s going on, I didn’t think you’d want my deputies to find it.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“I need to get ready for work,” Thorn replied. He kissed me again and then went to shower and get dressed.

I took the black magic spell bag and put it in the binding box where I’d kept the other one. Since I was up, I went down to the kitchen and started some coffee.

While Thorn finished getting ready for work, I made him a breakfast sandwich to go. I also packed him some leftovers for lunch. Given everything he had going on, I figured it was best if he ate well. Plus, it made me feel like I was helping.

“What’s all this?” he asked when he came into the kitchen and found two paper bags and a large Thermos of coffee waiting for him.

“Making sure you eat today,” I said. “Plus, as far as I know, the coffee at the station still sucks.”

“It does, thank you,” he said. “I’m not upset, by the way. You didn’t have to do all of this.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I thought maybe you felt guilty because I hid evidence and gave it to you,” he said.

“Why would I feel guilty about that?” I asked and then thought about it for a moment. “Oh… you’re doing things that are out of character on my behalf.”

“You’re corrupting me, Mrs. Wilson,” he said with a mischievous smile.

“It wasn’t my intention,” I said earnestly.

Thorn let out a hearty laugh. “I just bet it wasn’t,” he said, and I swore his eyes were twinkling. “I can’t be the husband of a witch and father to another while walking around with a stick up my butt. We have a talking cat. I think it’s beyond time for me to adapt.”

“You came up with all of this while you were in the shower?” I asked.

“It’s been coming on for a while, I guess. Ever since Laney was born, I realized that I was accepting who you are, but I never embraced it. And I walked around thinking and acting like I was doing you a favor for that. I was a jerk so many times, but the baby has made me see the light. It’s not enough for me to just accept it. I was always on the outside, but the Coven is my family now too. My daughter is going to be the leader someday. It’s time for me to fall in line. I think we’ll all be happier if I do,” he said. “So, if I find out anything about the murder or those spell bags that will help you guys out, I’ll call you.”

Then he kissed me, took his food and Thermos, and left for work. I stood there for a few minutes completely stunned.

“Did you hear all of that?” I asked Meri when he came sauntering into the kitchen.

“You did a number on that man,” Meri replied.

“It’s about time,” I said with a chuckle.

“You don’t even feel bad, do you?” Meri asked.

“Not nearly as much as I probably should,”