Cold Hard Magic Read Online Free PDF

their house. Clearly, this was a couple that valued taking care of their belongings.
     
    Rob pointed at the closet door. “So that door was ajar?”
     
    Joan Henderson nodded while her husband of twenty-five years, Carl, looked on. “We didn’t open it," she said. "We rarely do this time of year. After I pack things up in August, I only go back in there the last weekend of April to start getting things back out for summer.” She wrung her hands nervously.
     
    Rob nodded and flipped open a small notepad. He jotted down a few notes. "And that's your ritual every year?"
     
    She bobbed her head enthusiastically. "Like clockwork. I'm a stickler for routines."
     
    Rob squatted in front of the door and examined the hinges. His nose twitched at a sharp and vaguely familiar smell. “Is there anything special about the contents of —?”
     
    "Nope," Carl piped in before Rob finished. “No. Not at all. Just clothes and the like.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking around the room to avoid any eye contact.
     
    Rob scratched his head and got up slowly. “The hinges look solid." He tested the door several times to prove his point. "The lock is clasping. You think a poltergeist is responsible?”
     
    Joan became animated at the word poltergeist. "I knew you'd agree with me!" She turned and smacked Carl. "See! I told you I was right!"
     
    Carl rubbed his arm. The half scowl darkened his face but he looked relieved.
     
    “See, we aren’t the original owners of this house," Joan said. "The previous owner’s, well," she shrugged, "they seemed like a nice couple at the time. But you can never tell with people. Not for sure anyway. Right, Carl?"
     
    He nodded with the practiced ease of years of marriage.
     
    "They had kids," Joan continued. "Teenagers," she said, her nose pinching in distaste. "You never know what sort of satanic rituals those hoodlums were up to."
     
    "Rituals?" Rob asked his interest piqued. "You saw signs of Satanism?"
     
    Joan's lips tightened into a thin line. "Well," she shifted her weight and crossed her arms, "no, not at the time, but I've always had this feeling."
     
    "How long have you lived here?"
     
    "Ten years," Joan answered.
     
    "And you've always had this issue?"
     
    "No," Joan said, her brow furrowing. She turned to Carl. "You stopped smoking about two years ago, right?"
     
    "Sounds about right," Carl said, tucking his hands in the pockets of his pants.
     
    Joan's eyes narrowed and she gasped. Carl blanched.
     
    She turned to Rob. "You don't think that awful smoke smell kept the poltergeist away, do you?"
     
    "Well, ummm," Rob hedged and scratched his head, "it's possible."
     
    Joan sighed. "Just my luck," she complained. "I finally got you to give up that nasty habit and now we have a poltergeist because of it.”
     
    Carl nodded at that. "Yuup."
     
    "Is there anything at all we can do that doesn't involve tobacco smoke?"
     
    "Tobacco might be the simplest solution," Rob said giving Joan an apologetic shrug. He ignored Carl's twitching mouth. "But I can contact Dennis Stensen and describe the situation, if you want?”
     
    Joan nodded enthusiastically. Carl scowled.
     
    “He'd have to come all the way from Pennsylvania," Rob continued. "So it might take a while, but I will email him and see if he is interested.”
     
    “We've heard of Dr. Stensen," Joan whispered. "He's the foremost expert in his field of the paranormal.” Her eyes glittered with excitement. "We saw him in your show."
     
    Rob nodded. “Sure is, and in high demand. But you have a condition here that I think could warrant his interest and entice him into coming up to investigate.”
     
    Rob scribbled on his notebook. It was really a great reason to get Dennis back on his show. Maybe even, talk to him about that glowing doe.
     
    “Say," he said looking up. "Have you ever heard of a glow in the dark deer?”
     
    Joan and Carl both paused for a moment, looked at each other then back at