A Ghoulish Midlife (Witching After Forty #1) - Lia Davis Page 0,34

I had to stop staring at his strong jaw. “Please, call me Drew. I’m here on official business, but unofficially.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Okay.”

“I’m going to jump straight to the point. I heard some rumors that have me concerned.”

My stomach dropped. I had a bad feeling about where this was going. “Rumors?”

“They concern you, mainly. Also, I heard a few whispers about how William died that concern me.” His eyes roamed the room before settling on me.

“And the two sets of rumors brought you to me on official business?” I pursed my lips and crossed my arms.

“Well, in a way. I can’t put these rumors into a report if you catch my drift. They’re rather ludicrous.”

I grunted but didn’t answer because Alfred peeked out of the kitchen. I couldn’t indicate he should hide without alerting Drew that someone was behind him.

Smiling, I waved my hand in front of my face. Drew stopped talking and gave me an odd look.

“Fly,” I said sweetly.

He chuckled. “So, you see, if there’s anything strange you should tell me or that I need to know, even if it seems ridiculous and fantastical, I need you to share it with me so I can work on bringing William’s killer to justice.”

“Well, I’m not sure what to say,” I hedged. I wished Sam were here. If Drew was asking about these things, then he knew enough to ask. But what if he’d just found out somehow or heard some strange things? I couldn’t very well tell him William had been a necromancer if all he’d heard was that some cult had been killing people in a similar matter.

“Why don’t you tell me what you’ve heard, and I’ll tell you if I know anything about it?” I suggested. I could come out and tell him I was a witch. That was a known fact in this town. But he was too much fun to play with.

A sharp bang from the kitchen made both of us jump and look toward the doorway. “Probably the cat!” I launched from my seat and scurried around the sofa, but Drew jumped up too.

“Let me help,” he said, and rounded the other side of the sofa.

We reached the doorway at the same time and ended up jammed in the frame, shoulder to shoulder, like we were on some stupid comedy show. “Excuse me,” I grunted.

Drew looked up just then and saw the kitchen. I followed his gaze to see Alfred trying to pick up the teapot he’d dropped. The glass was all over the floor and he had a broom carefully clutched in his stiff hands. He’d stopped sweeping to stare at Drew and me fighting in the doorway.

A split second after Drew spotted Alfred, he dropped to the ground into a crouch and pulled a gun out of nowhere. I stumbled forward into the kitchen.

“Ava get down!” Drew yelled. “That’s a ghoul!”

The broom clattered to the floor and Alfred grunted behind me. Drew rolled forward, going past me as I threw out my hands and yelled. “Stop!” I screamed. “He’s my ghoul!”

Drew jumped up and backed toward me a few steps with his eyes and gun still trained on Alfred. “What are you talking about?” he asked with his brew drawn together to make them look like a unibrow.

I sighed in exasperation. “Put the gun away, Drew. If you know what a ghoul is, you know a bullet isn’t going to do anything but make him mad.”

As he slowly lowered the weapon, Snoozles jumped on to the kitchen table and stared at us with eyes that seemed to know far too much for a cat. He growled low in his throat, then jumped down and sat on his haunches in front of Alfred, who looked as frightened as it was possible for a ghoul to look.

What is it with Drew? That magic I felt when we met flowed from him, stronger. He was some sort of magical being. Maybe a shifter, like a rare one. He didn’t feel like any of the ones I’d met before, but he could’ve been something unusual like a panda or something. Or a dragon. I’d never seen a dragon shifter, but they existed.

“I know you know more about William’s death than you’re saying.” He pointed at Alfred, who was slowly bending to pick up the broom again. “Especially now that I see you have a ghoul. If you don’t tell me what’s going on soon, I’m adding you to my short list of suspects.”

I nodded. “Okay, yes. Come