Wild & Hexy (35 page)

Tearing her gaze from Jeremy, she glanced up to thank his rescuer. She was just in time to see the lake monster bob its head once before sinking back into the lake.

Jeremy stirred and opened his eyes. ‘‘Annie? What happened?’’

‘‘Nothing much.’’ She stroked his cheek and choked back a sob. ‘‘Just another crazy day in Big Knob, Indiana.’’

When Dorcas couldn’t find either Jeremy or Annie, she convinced Ambrose that they needed to head home and check the lake road. Leaving the festivities, they walked back to the church, where they’d left the red scooter.

‘‘The spell should be gone.’’ Ambrose climbed on and started the motor.

‘‘I’m sure it is.’’ Dorcas gathered the skirts of her purple velvet dress so she could ride on the back of the scooter. ‘‘I just feel the need to make sure nothing’s amiss down there.’’

‘‘There’s always the chance our lovebirds are down at the lake canoodling,’’ Ambrose said as they took off.

‘‘I doubt it.’’ Dorcas thought she and Ambrose would look much more daring in formal wear on a Harley instead of this little putt-putt. ‘‘Jeremy was knocking back the drinks, which is not what you want in a man when canoodling is involved.’’

‘‘Well, we’ll know soon enough.’’

‘‘If we had a real motorcycle, we’d know almost immediately. Does this thing go above forty-five?’’

‘‘Yes, but I don’t like to push it, my love. I want it to last me a while.’’

Dorcas rolled her eyes. Just what she needed, a scooter that would hang around for the next twenty-five years.

Before they even made the turn down the lake road, she could hear some man yelling obscenities. ‘‘Goose it, Ambrose. We’ve got trouble.’’

To his credit, Ambrose tromped on the gas and they shot forward so fast that Dorcas’s head snapped back. They pulled into the parking lot and Dorcas jumped off before the scooter came to a stop. In the moonlight she saw Annie kneeling on the sand holding Jeremy’s head in her lap. It didn’t look like a love scene, especially with Donald Jenkins speeding toward the beach, swearing loud enough to be heard over the noise of his boat.

Dorcas picked up her skirts and ran toward Annie and Jeremy. ‘‘Is he okay?’’

Annie looked up and the moonlight gleamed on her tear-streaked face. ‘‘I think so.’’

‘‘I’m okay.’’ Jeremy’s voice was weak, but at least he was talking.

‘‘Damned bitch ruined my shot!’’ Jenkins ran his boat up on the sand, cut the motor and jumped out. ‘‘I’ll sue your ass, girly-girl! My arm hurts like hell. Might be broke.’’

Ambrose stepped in front of Jenkins before he could reach Annie. ‘‘You might want to calm down, Mr. Jenkins.’’

‘‘Outta my way, Lowell.’’ Jenkins shoved Ambrose aside. ‘‘That woman threw a goddamned rock at me. I had a perfect shot, and she ruined it. Now my gun’s at the bottom of the lake, and that’s a damned good gun. Missy here has a lot to answer for.’’

Dorcas exchanged a glance with Ambrose. He nodded and laid a hand on Jenkins’s shoulder. ‘‘Why don’t you come with me?’’

‘‘Yeah, like I want to do that, pretty boy.’’ Jenkins tried to pull away.

‘‘I think you will.’’ Ambrose applied more pressure.

‘‘Hey, let go of me!’’ Jenkins struggled, trying to get away. ‘‘What you got, some effing black belt or something? Let go!’’

‘‘We’re going up to the house.’’ Ambrose propelled him in that direction. ‘‘I’ll bet you could use a drink.’’

‘‘I don’t want a drink. I want . . . Well, hello, mama.’’ He glanced up the road. ‘‘I wouldn’t mind having some of that.’’

Dorcas glanced over her shoulder, quite sure Isadora had appeared. Not surprising, with all the psychic energy swirling around this spot. Whatever had happened, Dee-Dee had been involved. Dorcas could feel it.

‘‘Looks like there’s a party going on down here,’’ Isadora said. ‘‘Can I join in?’’

‘‘Sure thing,’’ Jenkins said. ‘‘This night just got a whole lot more interesting.’’

‘‘I was about to buy Mr. Jenkins a drink,’’ Ambrose said.

‘‘I see.’’ Isadora glanced at Dorcas. ‘‘Everything cool with Annie and Jeremy?’’

‘‘Looks like it,’’ Dorcas said.

‘‘Then I’ll go with these gentlemen up to the house. I mix a mean drink, Ambrose. You might want me to do the honors.’’ With that she linked her arm through Donald’s and they walked toward the house.

Annie glanced at Dorcas. ‘‘We need to get Jeremy up to the house, too. Do you have your cell phone? I think we should get Doc Pritchard over here.’’

Jeremy coughed. ‘‘I’m fine. Just help me to a car.’’

‘‘Not yet.’’ Dorcas dropped to her knees next to Annie. ‘‘Can you move your arms and legs?’’

Jeremy made some feeble movements. ‘‘Yeah. What was Jenkins blathering about? Did he see the lake monster?’’

‘‘He just thought he did.’’ Annie combed the damp hair away from Jeremy’s forehead.

‘‘You threw a rock at him? Why’d you do that?’’

Annie shot a quick look at Dorcas. ‘‘Somebody was going to get hurt, and I was afraid it might be you.’’

Jeremy frowned as if trying to put it all together. ‘‘I guess I swam in. I remember falling overboard, but then . . .’’

‘‘You were probably on automatic pilot,’’ Dorcas said.

‘‘Guess so. That’s probably what Jenkins saw, me swimming in.’’

Dorcas knew that in a few minutes, it wouldn’t matter what Jenkins saw, because Isadora and Ambrose would slip a memory potion into his drink of choice. He’d probably always wonder what happened to his gun, but Dorcas thought Jenkins without a gun was a good thing.

She gazed down at Jeremy. ‘‘Annie and I are going to help you stand up. If you can manage that, we’ll see about getting you up to the house.’’ Murmuring a healing incantation under her breath, she helped Jeremy sit up.

‘‘Dorcas, did you say something?’’ Annie stood and grasped Jeremy under one arm.

‘‘Just a little prayer,’’ Dorcas said. ‘‘A prayer of thanksgiving that Jeremy didn’t drown. Okay, on the count of three, we’ll lift him.’’

‘‘This is silly,’’ Jeremy said. ‘‘I can stand up just fine.’’

‘‘We’ll see about that. You’ve had quite a shock to your system.’’ She was dying to find out what Annie knew, but that would have to wait. ‘‘Here we go, now. One, two,
three
.’’

She and Annie got Jeremy upright, but he was wobbly. Without both of them supporting him, he never would have made it up to the house. When they staggered awkwardly into the kitchen, Isadora, Jenkins and Ambrose were singing drinking songs.

‘‘Dunstan needs a drink!’’ Jenkins said.

‘‘No.’’ Annie helped Dorcas lower Jeremy into a chair. ‘‘One thing he definitely doesn’t need is a drink.’’

‘‘Hell, everybody needs a drink!’’ Jenkins lifted his glass. ‘‘Isabel and Ambrose make one damned fine martini, let me tell you.’’

‘‘I’m sure they do.’’ Dorcas sent them each a look of gratitude for a job well done. ‘‘But some of us could use a cup of hot tea. I’ll make it.’’ She walked over to the sink and ran water into the teapot.

Annie came over and stood beside her as Jenkins started singing again. Annie leaned over and spoke in a whisper. ‘‘The lake monster saved Jeremy.’’

Dorcas nodded. ‘‘I thought as much.’’ She glanced at Annie. ‘‘And by the way, her name is Dee-Dee.’’

An hour later, Annie sat alone at the Lowells’ kitchen table, sipping tea and waiting for them to come back from taking Jenkins down to his truck. Isabel had gone for a walk by the lake, and Jeremy, wearing some old clothes belonging to Ambrose, was asleep on the purple sofa in the parlor. Sabrina was curled up at his feet.

Every time Annie had gone in to check on him, Sabrina had been purring to beat the band. Dorcas had said the vibrations would help Jeremy regain his strength so he’d be right as rain tomorrow.

Annie wondered what right as rain would be for Jeremy. If Ambrose had given him the ability to do magic, what other alterations had the Lowells done to Jeremy’s personality in the name of matchmaking? She intended to ask them once things quieted down.

After Jenkins had passed out, Dorcas and Ambrose had hauled him outside and used a wheelbarrow to get him down to his truck. They planned to let him sleep it off in the cab. They’d assured Annie that when he woke up, he’d simply think he’d had too many beers and had decided to go out for a moonlit boat ride. All memory of the lake monster would be gone.

Annie no longer questioned anything they said or did. Whatever their powers, they were way beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Her view of reality had undergone a major shift in the past two hours. And she
really
wanted to know what sort of transformation they’d created in Jeremy.

What he’d said about his magic made sense now. Ambrose had somehow transferred those powers temporarily to Jeremy so he could impress her. They might have put some sort of confidence spell on him, too. The Jeremy she’d fallen for might not even exist.

The kitchen door opened and Isabel came in. ‘‘Had yourself quite a night, didn’t you?’’ She took a mug out of the cupboard as if she owned the place and helped herself to some tea from the pot sitting on the table. She didn’t sit down.

‘‘Quite a night.’’ Annie studied Isabel and decided the resemblance to Isadora Mather was probably not a coincidence, especially because Isabel seemed to have a relationship with Dorcas and Ambrose, so she was probably Wiccan, too.

Isabel leaned against the counter and drank her tea. ‘‘I’m quite proud of my girl, Dee-Dee. She just told me her version of what happened. She was so scared that Jenkins would shoot her, but she couldn’t let Jeremy drown, so she took a chance. That’s guts.’’

Openmouthed, Annie stared at Isabel. ‘‘You
talked
to the lake monster?’’

‘‘Sure. She leads a boring life, so normally she’s not the greatest conversationalist, but tonight’s story was riveting. Without Dee-Dee, our boy in there would be sleeping with the fishes. She heard him thrashing around and sure enough, he was drowning, so she picked him up and brought him to shore, ignoring her personal safety.’’

‘‘Okay, Isabel, who the hell are you?’’

Isabel gazed at her over the rim of her mug. ‘‘I’m not sure you need to know that. You being a reporter and all. It’s bad enough that you know about Dee-Dee. I suppose the reward for her gallantry will be that she becomes part of a freak show for the tourists.’’

Annie cringed. She didn’t want to be responsible for that, but Dee-Dee’s days of seclusion would be over sooner or later. ‘‘If I don’t break this story, I’m just delaying the inevitable. Someone else will get a glimpse of her and might handle it way worse than I will.’’

‘‘Ah, but what if no one else ever sees her?’’

‘‘I don’t see how you can guarantee that. She’s been popping up pretty regularly this past week.’’

Isabel nodded. ‘‘That’s true, but there were extenuating circumstances. For one thing, there was the whole matchmaking gig with you and Jeremy, and for another, she’s lonesome as hell, which makes her more prone to put in an appearance.’’

‘‘Lonesome?’’

‘‘Yeah. She needs a boyfriend.’’ Isabel drained her mug and crossed to the window. ‘‘Don’t we all. I—oh, here comes Dorcas with an empty wheelbarrow. I tried to talk her into dumping Jenkins in the lake, but she wouldn’t go for it. Knowing Dee-Dee, she would have saved him, anyway, even though he tried to kill her. That lake monster has the softest heart in the world.’’

Dorcas came through the kitchen door looking weary. ‘‘That’s settled. Ambrose is bringing your car up and putting it in our driveway, Annie, so whenever you feel ready to go home, it’s right there.’’

‘‘Thank you.’’ She wondered if that was a subtle hint for her to leave. She wasn’t going anywhere until she had some answers.

‘‘But before you go,’’ Dorcas said, ‘‘we need to talk about Dee-Dee.’’

‘‘Don’t bother.’’ Isabel waved a hand in Annie’s direction. ‘‘She’s convinced that it’s only a matter of time before Dee-Dee’s discovered, anyway, so it might as well be her getting the glory.’’

Annie bristled. ‘‘That’s a crummy way of saying it.’’

‘‘But accurate.’’ Isabel’s glance challenged her. ‘‘Aren’t you after the glory?’’

Annie couldn’t deny it. ‘‘I also want to protect Dee-Dee as much as possible.’’

Dorcas pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘‘That’s just it. If we can come up with a way to transport a male lake monster to Deep Lake without arousing suspicion, then I’m convinced Dee-Dee will be content to stay out of sight, at least for another hundred years or so. We won’t have to worry about protecting her, at least not for a while.’’

Annie’s brain was on overload. She could barely comprehend that she was sitting on a story about a lake monster who was older than any living creature on Earth, a Loch Nessian animal who could talk, reason and feel compassion. On top of that, Dee-Dee was lonely and wanted a boyfriend to make her feel complete, which meant there were other creatures out there like her. Any journalist who published that news would be famous forever.

Isabel pointed at Annie. ‘‘Look at her face. She’s writing the lead to that story in her head right now. You’re not going to keep her from reporting on this unless you give her a memory potion, and my guess is that she won’t drink anything other than tea in this house ever again.’’

Dorcas shrugged. ‘‘Then I guess Annie will do what she has to do.’’ She turned to Isabel. ‘‘Our main concern right now is finding a way to airlift a male lake monster the size of a Goodyear blimp without traumatizing the entire population of Big Knob.’’

Isabel blew out a breath. ‘‘I have an idea, but I’m not comfortable talking about it in front of the press.’’

‘‘Oh, for heaven’s sake,’’ Annie said. ‘‘I’m not
the press
.’’