Well, that definitely rules out her being a vampire witch.I had not invited her in.
“How thefuckdid you do that?” I shouted. “The entire exterior of my house is protected from magical attack.”
She glanced over at me as she shoved the book back into her bag. “I didn’t use magic. I kicked it in.”
“The fuck?” I cried, then glanced over at the table where I’d left the gun.Idiot.
“I’m a wolf shifter too,” she said, and shrugged a single shoulder.
“A witch shifter?” I said, standing slowly. My fear was fading the longer she stood. If she’d come here to kill me, she would have already shifted and attacked, blasting me with magic and ripping my throat out to make sure I was dead.
“Yeah,” she said, glancing at the busted door and broken drywall. “Uh…sorry about that. You sort of pissed me off.”
“I can see that,” I said, rounding the couch warily, keeping the furniture between us. “Sorry. I guess.”
“I need your help, Mr. McClintoc. I’ve been?—”
“Nope,” I said, shaking my head. “No thanks. I told you before. I’m retired. I’m not coming out of retirement to help a trespassing witch shifter. Okay? I’ll give you one minute to get your ass out of here before I call the cops.”
Backing down the hallway, I stepped through the door that separated my living area from the office where we stood. The woman watched me go, not with anger or sadness, but more a strange curiosity. I shut and locked the door, but before I’d gone a foot, a metallicsnapsounded behind me and the door swung inward.
The intruder stood there, holding the other side of the knob where she’d broken it off with her bare hand.
“Jesus!” I pointed at the knob. “You’re racking up a hell of a repair bill.”
“Listen,” she said, and tossed the knob away, where it thudded to the carpet. “My name is Veronica Paolo. I’m a student at the Freedman Academy?—”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, waving a hand at her. “I’ve heard of it. Ball Taser Freedman, or whatever his name is, runs it.”
Her face twisted and she put a hand to her chest. “His name wasBalthazar.He’s dead.”
“Great,” I grunted. “I’ll send flowers. Now, can you get the hell out? I’d like to get some sleep.”
Ignoring me, Veronica continued on as if I hadn’t said anything. “I’ve been framed for his murder. They all think I killed him.”
“I hate that for you. I really do, butonce again, not my fucking problem,” I said, backing down the hall, hoping to get to my cell phone. I needed to callsomeoneto come get this crazy lady out of my house. I had contacts on the police force that were of a supernatural persuasion and could handle this.
“I read on the back of this book about how you helped solve this big murder case. I skimmed a few chapters while I was hiding in a culvert. Some of the instructors were hunting me, and I had to disappear for a bit.”
“You hid in a culvert?” I said. “What kind of fucking witch are you?”
“Not an especially skilled one,” Veronica said. “I’m not great at it. I lucked out when they found me with Balthazar’s body. I managed one good spell and ran.Anyway, while I was hiding and waiting until things were clear, I skimmed this book and read how you were able to figure out who the killer was eventhougheveryoneelse thought it might be some sort of succubus hierarchy war and?—”
“Veronica,” I said, cutting her off. “You said your name was Veronica, right? Listen, I don’t need a synopsis, I lived it, okay?”
At last, something I said seemed to sink in, and she flinched like a chastised child.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I’m nervous.”
“I’m the one who just had a witch shifter kick my fucking door in, andyou’renervous?”
“I guess that does make sense,” she admitted, looking back toward the hole that used to be my front door. Snow had blown in, leaving melting swirls on the entry mat.
This woman was no threat, I could sense no evil or ill will in what she was doing. Plus, my gift told me everything she was saying was the truth. I allowed myself to relax a bit and tried a different tactic to get her out of my house.
“How about you head on home, sleep this off, and come back tomorrow during normal business hours? Huh?” I said.
“Business hours?” She shook her head, face twisted into a scowl. “No, this can’t wait. I told you, they think I killed Balthazar. And someone kidnapped his niece.”
