Broom with a View

  Broom with a View

  by

  Sara Bourgeois

  Chapter One

  “What is that?”

  I sat up so fast and flailed so violently that Meri bounded off the bed with a hiss. The sheets were wrapped around my feet and I almost fell on my face as I sort of rolled off the bed and tried to propel myself to the window. In my sleepy haze, I thought nothing of my safety. I simply wanted to know what had woken me so ferociously.

  The banging sounded like thunder at first, but then as my senses caught up with the fact that I was awake, I realized it was someone hammering. It was someone hammering outside in my yard. Dawn had barely broken the deep navy sky, and someone or something was outside making a disturbing racket.

  Bang. Bang. Bang.

  “What is that?” Meri asked.

  He’d composed himself since my abrupt awakening where I starfished and then tried to cartwheel off the bed all while threatening to launch him into the air with my disoriented floundering. Meri crossed the room and jumped up into the windowsill to get a better look.

  I rubbed my eyes with the backs of my hands as they adjusted to the light and my wakefulness. When I looked outside, I couldn’t see anything but a van parked in front of the house. The banging was coming from the other side, and I was either going to have to look out the window at the end of the hall or just go outside.

  Rushing outside in the near dark to investigate a strange noise was how people got themselves killed in horror movies. I retrieved my phone from the nightstand and predialed Thorn’s number in case I needed the police. While I didn’t hit the send button right away, I was ready.

  When I got to the window and looked outside, I was more confused than frightened. There was a man in a black tank top and jeans building some sort of frame at the head of my driveway.

  He was absolutely enormous, and not in a fat way either. I’d have put him at nearly seven feet tall with gigantic rippling muscles that I was sure probably glistened in the sun. Just looking at him made me wonder if perhaps a choir of angels sang whenever he walked into the room.

  Then, I got ahold of myself. It wasn’t really that he was better looking than Thorn because Thorn was devastatingly handsome. But it was more like the man building something in my yard was… more. He was larger than life, and his biceps were…

  Then, I got ahold of myself. Again.

  “Who is that?” Meri asked after he jumped into the window I was using to observe the stranger.

  Observe. Not ogle. I was not ogling him. I was simply observing to see if it was safe to go outside.

  “I don’t know. I think he might be lost.”

  “Then you should go tell him that,” Meri said.

  “In a minute.” I shushed him and turned my attention back to watching the muscly stranger line up two boards.

  “Brighton.”

  “Hush, he is about to swing that hammer again, and I’ve never wanted to see that as much as I do right now. He’s like that guy in the movie with Norse god and the hammer. He looks just like him.”

  “Brighton,” Meri scolded.

  “Oh, man. You’re no fun. Fine, I’ll go tell him he’s lost.”

  “Maybe you should call the sheriff first. You know, your boyfriend. Or perhaps that might interfere with your checking out the muscle-bound stranger in the driveway. Hmm?”

  “Don’t get all sanctimonious on me, cat. I was just looking. And I don’t really think I need Thorn just to tell this guy he’s at the wrong house. He doesn’t seem dangerous.”

  “He doesn’t seem dangerous?” Meri scoffed. “He’s a seven-foot wall of muscle.”

  “I think you need breakfast, Meri,” I said and pointed to myself. “Witch here. I can handle Adonis out there.”

  “What if he’s a witch?”

  “One, if he is, muscle doesn’t increase magic power as far as I know. Two, if he is, what is Thorn going to do about that?”

  “Whatever,” Meri retorted.

  “Whatever.”

  I went into my room and pulled on a pair of jeans and my favorite gray Henley as fast as I could. Before I went outside, I stopped in front of the mirror and fluffed my hair before pinching my cheeks to give them some color. The thought of throwing on my black sundress and some makeup crossed my mind, but even I knew that was ridiculous. He was just a really, really, really good-looking man who I was probably never going to see again. And I had an amazing boyfriend, so getting all worked up over the guy in my driveway who looked just like a movie star was dumb. Right?

  My hand was on the doorknob when it occurred to me that I probably had morning breath. Talking with someone when you had dragon breath was just rude, so I shot back up the stairs and brushed my teeth quickly. All the while, the banging outside continued, and Meri watched me judgmentally.

  When I was finally presentable enough, I went outside to solve the mystery of why there was an imposing, movie-star type man building something at the end of my driveway. He was in the process of hammering two boards together when I approached him, so I stood back and waited until he was finished. It wasn’t that I wanted to gawk at his rippling muscles as he hammered. I just didn’t want to interrupt him and cause an accident. Safety first.

  I’m not proud of my reaction, but my knees went a little weak when he turned to me and flashed a wide smile. I could feel the blush staining my cheeks, and for some reason, I’d begun batting my eyelashes.

  “Hello, Ms…. Tuttlesmith?”

  “It’s Longfield. Ms. Longfield. Ugh, Brighton. Brighton Longfield,” I sputtered.

  He laughed good-naturedly, and it made me smile too. “Nice to meet you, Brighton. It’s okay if I call you Brighton?”

  “Yes.” It came out as a squeak.

  “I’d come shake your hand, but mine are quite dirty.”

  “So dirty… But that’s okay.” I shook my head and tried to collect myself. Was I drooling? “I actually came to tell you that you must be working at the wrong house, but you’re supposed to be working for a Tuttlesmith?”

  “Yes, I am under contract to build a garage for this address,” he said. “I’m Grey Bane. I own Bane Construction.”

  “That’s interesting because I didn’t hire anyone to build a garage.” I was suddenly quite sad that I hadn’t.

  “It is interesting,” Grey said. “It’s actually a funny story. I guess I could have called first, but I was nearby and wanted to get started.”

  “It’s a funny story?”

  “Oh right,” he said and chuckled. “The contract for your garage was drawn up a long time ago, but the deposit for the work was never paid. I recently had a large payment come through out of nowhere, and I was quite confused. After some searching, I was able to tie it back to the contract for this property. Since I had the money, I figured I should do the work.”

  “How old was the contract?”

  “Hmm. About thirty years? I can get it out and show you. My grandfather was actually the one who drew it up. I’m assuming you aren’t the original customer as you don’t look old enough to have been more than the promise of a notion thirty years ago,” he said with a wink.

  “That’s sweet of you,” I said and giggled like a dang schoolgirl. “So it must have been my Aunt Maude that hired your grandfather to build the garage.”

  “Yes, that’s the name. Maude Tuttlesmith.”

  “But why would you have gotten a payment now? Maude is gone, and I didn’t pay you. I’m sorry, but I didn’t know about the contract.”

  “That’s the other part of the funny story. I called the bank to inquire when I was trying to track down who’d sent me the money, and they said that the payment had been lost in their system. They’ve been doing some sort of huge records reconciliatio
n project, and they’ve released a number of lost payments.”

  “You’re going to do the work for the price Maude paid thirty years ago?” I asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. I mean, Brighton. I take this business very seriously, and I will honor the contract.”

  “Do you normally start so early?”

  “Not usually, but in this case, I wanted to get the work done as fast as possible. I figure if I work from dawn till dusk, I can get the garage built much faster,” he said. “I apologize if it’s caused any inconvenience, but since I am building it at the lower rate, I need to get it done and move on to my next job.”

  As much as I didn’t enjoy the early morning noise, I understood. “Yes, that’s fine. Thank you.”

  It was probably rude for him to start working so early without even checking with me first, but it’s amazing what you are willing to overlook for an attractive face and a huge set of biceps. Grey was doing me a favor too. I imagine he charged a great deal more for building a garage than my aunt had paid thirty years ago.

  My stomach growled as I walked back into the house. I had a serious craving for breakfast and a cup of coffee. Oddly enough, when I checked the fridge and the pantry, they were empty. The house that normally gave me whatever I wanted had taken everything away. It was annoying, to say the least.

  “There’s no food,” I said to Meri. “Even the diet soda is gone.”

  “That’s so weird,” he said as he joined me in the kitchen.

  I was standing in front of the refrigerator with the door open as if I could will some food into existence. The cool air seeping out from the appliance eventually sent a hard shiver down my spine. My skin was clammy with sweat, and I realized my heart felt like it was coming down from running a mile. I was in a state that I couldn’t tell if I was anxious or excited.

  “It is weird,” I said, pushing my agitation aside. “The house is always giving me stuff. I can’t believe it took away all of the food.”

  “Well, then I guess you’re going to have to go to the grocery store and buy some food like a normal person.”

  “I’m not a normal person. Far from it, but okay. I’ll run to Mann’s and get us some breakfast and coffee. I wonder if he’s got the store open yet? It’s pretty early.”

  “You could always look it up or call.”

  “Nah, I’m going to go. He’s the only store in town, so I’m sure he’s open. If not, I’ll drop by Bubble & Brew and get something. They open early for the people who work at the hospital.”

  “I’ll take a side of bacon from Bubble & Brew if you can’t get fish at Mann’s.”

  “You’re not going to come with me?” I asked.

  “Nope, I’m going to stay here and keep an eye on Mr. Muscles from the upstairs window,” Meri said as he sauntered out of the kitchen. “Someone has got to stay on top of things around here.”

  “You’re starting to sound like Thorn,” I said. “Though I suppose he’s not going to like that Mr. Muscles, I mean Grey, is here working and I still haven’t installed security cameras or changed the locks.”

  “You’re a witch, Brighton. This whole house is protected by wards and spells. Oh, and me, of course. The only reason Langoria got in was because she was a more powerful witch.”

  “Oh, yeah, then why did Hattie get in?”

  “Hey, I was rusty, okay. I’ve since rectified the situation.”

  “Sure thing. Well, have fun judgmentally staring at Grey,” I said and grabbed my purse.

  “Try not to fall into his pants while you get your car.”

  “Meri!” I scolded.

  “Sorry,” he said and darted up the stairs to take his perch in the window. “Not sorry!” he called down from the landing.

  When I went outside to get into my car, Grey was working hard at building the frame for the garage. He didn’t notice me right away, but I felt my cheeks get hot when he gave me a little wave as I started the engine. As I backed out of the driveway, he went back to work. I tried not to stare at his butt while he hammered away at more boards, but it was hard not to because his tush was A-plus.

  The drive over was surreal. It was still mostly dark, and there weren’t many people around. At first, I didn’t realize what I was seeing when I pulled into the parking lot at Mann’s Gas & Grocery. I thought that Bob Mann had left a couple of trash bags in the middle of the lot. That would have been completely unlike him. His lot and store were always immaculately clean, but sometimes mistakes happen. The mistake was in my perception.

  You’d have thought I’d have gotten used to finding dead bodies at this point, but I had to stifle a scream when I saw her. The young woman hadn’t been poisoned, suffocated, or any other method that produced a peaceful-looking corpse.

  She had died a violent, hateful death. For a moment, I found myself scanning the area for a bear or wolves. Her demise had been that vicious. It seemed impossible that anything other than a wild beast could have done something so brutal.

  But the rising sun hit a strip of metal and reflected into my eyes. It was a knife. A knife covered in her blood.

  Despite her injuries, I hoped that there was a chance she was still alive. My mind was desperately trying to rationalize that everything could still be okay.

  I walked closer to her body to see if there were any signs of life. I didn’t want to contaminate the scene, but I also didn’t want to just leave her if there was a chance she could be saved.

  When I saw for sure that there wasn’t, I ran past her to the entrance doors for Mann’s. They were locked. He wasn’t open yet. As I pounded on the doors for Bob, I called Thorn.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” he said. “You don’t usually call me this early.”

  “There’s a dead girl in the parking lot at Mann’s. You have to come right now. It’s awful.”

  “Brighton, are you alone?”

  “I am.”

  “I’m on my way, but you need to get back in your car and lock the doors.”

  “Why?”

  “Because if someone killed her, they might not be gone. It’s not light yet. Please, sweetie, get in your car. I have to drive now. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  Bob hadn’t answered to me pounding on the doors yet, and I realized Thorn was right about me not being safe. It was obvious for reasons I won’t specify that she hadn’t died that long before I arrived. There was no way for me to know if a killer was still lurking in the area.

  Going back to my car meant crossing the parking lot again. I could circle around the gas pumps and avoid the body. My eyes scanned the surrounding area in case someone popped out and lunged at me.

  I was halfway back to my car when I heard Bob shout from behind me. “Brighton? Why on earth are you pounding on the doors so… Oh my god!”

  When I turned around, Bob was standing just outside the store with a black rifle in his hands. He started to rush toward the body.

  “She’s dead,” I said and held up my hand to stop him. “She’s already gone.”

  That stopped him in his tracks. “Get over here, sweetheart. Get behind me.”

  I had to make a decision. Did I get in my car and lock the doors like Thorn had said, or did I join Bob and his rifle?

  Having someone there with me helped calm me down enough that some rational thought returned. As the adrenaline wore off, I remembered that I had magical powers. Bob didn’t know I was a witch, but I could still protect us if someone made a move to hurt us. My magic was probably strong enough to protect me from the rifle too.

  “I’ve called Thorn,” I said as I walked back to the store.

  I didn’t know Bob very well, and while I didn’t believe he’d killed the girl, I had no way of knowing. I figured if he knew that I’d called the police, he wouldn’t do anything to me in the few minutes before Thorn arrived.

  “Good, go inside,” he said.

  As I walked through the door, Bob followed me. Except that he walked backwards and had his gun at the ready in case the killer
did reappear.

  “Let’s just wait here and keep an eye on things,” Bob said, and I nodded my head in agreement.

  Minutes later, Thorn’s cruiser came tearing down the street with his lights on but not the siren. He’d told me before over dinner that they did that to keep from scaring off a criminal that might be lurking. If the perp didn’t know the police were coming, they were less likely to run.

  Bob unlocked the door and we started to exit the store, but Thorn got out of his car and held up his hand. “Stay inside for now. I’ll come get you.”

  Bob and I stood and silently watched as Thorn walked around the parking lot perimeter with his gun drawn. Around the time he was done, the other Coventry deputies showed up and used their cars to completely block off the parking lot.

  Eventually, the crime scene people showed up. Thorn sent one of his deputies over to get my statement. Deputy Lungren said that Thorn thought it was best if he took my statement. The FBI was on their way to Coventry for the case, and Thorn thought it was more appropriate if he didn’t take my statement since we were involved romantically.

  I told Deputy Lungren what I’d seen and explained how Bob had come out after I’d pounded on the doors.

  “Hey, Bob. I’m guessing you have security cameras all over this place. Any chance we can have a look? That might clear this whole thing up pretty quick.”

  “I don’t know, Thomas, you know I’d rather you got a warrant,” Bob said.

  “Bob, please, if you don’t have anything to hide, let us have a look.”

  “I don’t buy all that if you don’t have anything to hide stuff,” Bob responded. “I know how the government loves to twist things to fit their narrative.”

  “This is me, Bob. You’ve known me since I was a kid,” Lungren said. “Now the FBI is coming, and they aren’t going to ask. They’re going to shut the Coventry Sheriff’s Office out of this too. Please, won’t you help Thorn and me? We want to get out ahead of this.”

  “Fine,” he said. “But we can watch the tapes in the upstairs office. I don’t want anybody going down in my bunker.”

  Bob let Lungren in and didn’t kick me out, so I followed them into Bob’s upstairs office. The deputy tried to eye me sternly when he went to close the office door. He was too young and fresh-faced to put any kind of dent in my stubborn. Plus, I apparently had Bob on my side.