Have Yourself a Merry Little Witness - Dakota Cassidy Page 0,49

searched the perimeter of the hospital and the surrounding areas, but had come up dry.

Of course, there’d be video from the hospital corridors, but how much help could it be if he wore a surgical cap and mask?

But make no mistake. That man wanted to kill my Uncle Monty for what he thought he knew. What he thought Uncle Monty saw. And I wasn’t going to let that happen. There had to be some kind of protection spell I could put on him to keep him safe.

Yet, the only one I knew of wouldn’t keep him from being strangled, or worse. I was a pretty decent witch given the right circumstances, but I wasn’t that boss.

“Did he say anything, Uncle Monty? Anything to give us an indication about who he is?”

“Nope, but he smelled like smoke. Just like that night. Remember it clear as day. Has to be the same guy who killed that kid and left me in the shape I’m in.”

“And you still can’t remember what happened that night…?”

“Not a blankety-blank thing, honey. I’m sorry. I wish I could help,” he said groggily. “I heard they brought that girl in here tonight. They’re saying she escaped him. Tough little cookie, that one is.”

The moment he mentioned Kerry Carver, my heart sped up with worry, even though I knew she was safe because the officer had assured me she and her room were heavily guarded.

Right now, I didn’t want to talk about anything other than him getting his rest. “How about you don’t worry about anything other than getting better so you can come see all the amazing things I’ve done at the house.”

“Can I go to the bathroom inside now?”

I barked a laugh then covered my mouth. The house had needed some updates, for sure, but not that many.

“You stop, or I’m going to have to accuse you of hanging around Uncle Darling and his flair for thespianism.” Leaning in, I gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Now, you sleep, and Darling will be here in the morning. I love you, Uncle Monty.”

But his eyes were already closing, his chest rising and falling peacefully.

I tucked the blanket under his chin and tiptoed out to find the officer in charge of looking after my uncle.

He was sitting on the chair again, the hallway no longer filled with debris, stoically watching his surroundings.

“Hi there. I’m Monty Danvers’s niece. Is there anything I can get you? A hot cup of coffee, maybe?”

Blowing out a breath, he shook his head. “No, ma’am. I’m just sitting here feeling really bad that guy got in there in the first place. I’m sure sorry.”

But I held up a hand as I read his name tag. “No apology necessary, Officer Little. You can’t be expected to know all the staff.”

“I wish that made me feel better, but you can bet I’m going to keep an eagle eye on him now. Promise you that.”

“I know you will.”

“I can’t believe they didn’t catch him, or maybe I can…” He shook his head in disbelief.

I felt like he needed to vent, so I asked, “What do you mean, maybe you can?”

“He fought like some kind of amped-up ninja—like an expert in something. Never seen anything like it. He was slippery as an eel. Got away from me and never looked back.”

“Did you get a good look at him?”

Officer Little gave me a sheepish glance. “I think you know I can’t give you that information, Miss Valentine. But I’ll be honest when I say I didn’t see much. He had on a surgical mask and a cap and he was like some trained attack dog.”

I gave him a sympathetic look and shook his hand after thanking him again for looking out for my uncle, realizing there wasn’t much he could tell me without creating trouble for himself.

But when I walked down that hall, my stomach was somewhere around my feet. Someone wanted to kill my uncle.

Kill him.

And I had jack squat.

Cigarette smoke, a pink lipstick and an amped-up ninja. What did these three things all have in common?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing at all.

Covering my mouth as I sneezed, I trudged into the barn where Nana Karen slept peacefully, trying not to wake her. It was still early, but after getting back from the hospital and visiting my Uncle Monty, I figured there was no point in going back to bed.

It was chilly inside, the bales of hay stacked high in the corner, the floor creaking as I looked at the wide-open