The Witch and the Dead Read Online Free PDF Page A

character, I might add.”
    I couldn’t help smiling. “Did
you
stick him in Ve’s garage?”
    He laughed, a deep, throaty chuckle. “If only. Did I mention the mocking?”
    Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a shadow in the window of the house behind Archie, where he lived with Terry Goodwin. “How did Terry feel about Miles?”
    Craft familiars belonged to no one, but many had caretakers. For Archie that person was Terry, a Numbercrafter who worked from home as a CPA. Rarely leaving his house, he was an elusive Elvis look-alike and also notoriously nosy. He was almost always peeping out a window.
    Terry also held the distinction of having been Aunt Ve’s first husband. And very nearly her fifth. Their attempt to rekindle their relationship this past spring had failed, due mainly to Ve’s monogamy issues. They ran deep. Ocean deep.
    Fortunately they both rebounded quickly. Terry with his second ex-wife, Cherise Goodwin, whom I counted as a dear friend, and Aunt Ve with Andreus Woodshall, whom I counted as someone I couldn’t trust.
    Archie fluffed his wings and sidestepped along a branch inside the cage, an enclosure that was purely for display. He could come and go as he pleased. As he edged as close as he could to me, he whispered, “Although Terry was married to Cherise at the time, once word leaked that Ve had eloped and had no memory ofthe union, it is my belief that
if
Miles had returned to her I highly suspect he would have disappeared again quickly. Knowing Terry as I do, trust me when I tell you Miles would not have been found a second time.” He sidestepped away again.
    Terry was the protective sort. I knew that firsthand, as he’d come to my rescue a time or two in the past. I had the feeling it was the root of his nosiness. He was the village guardian. “But it
didn’t
happen that way?”
    â€œHe didn’t know of the marriage until well after the fact. Ve kept a tight lid on the matter. It might never have been known except she had to eventually place a notice of divorce in the local paper. It was the only way to proceed with the dissolution since Miles couldn’t be found.”
    â€œI don’t suppose you have the names of any of the women Miles had been seeing?” I asked. “Ve said he was something of a ladies’ man.”
    â€œIt’s true, he was regular Casanova. There’s no accounting for taste,” he squawked. “However, now that you ask, I do recall one relationship in particular. . . .”
    â€œWhat is that twinkle in your eyes?”
    He fluffed his wings and loftily said, “How badly do you want to know?”
    Knowing this game well, I sighed. “What’s your price?”
    â€œA role in Evan’s play.”
    â€œImpossible.”
    He pressed a wing to his chest and weakly said, “My memories . . . they’re fading . . .”
    I gave him a wry grin and sang, “‘We extort, we pilfer, we filch and sack . . .’”
    With a groan, he hid his head under his wings. His deep voice rumbled out. “I know it. I know I know it. . . .” He hummed the melody; then he popped hishead out.
“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl!”
Wiping a wing across his brow, he added, “My love of Johnny Depp is deeply ingrained.”
    â€œI know. As are your piratelike traits.”
    â€œI rarely filch,” he protested. “Extortion, however, comes in handy from time to time. As in right now. When one wants a role in the village play . . .”
    â€œGood grief. Fine. I’ll see what I can do with Evan, but I cannot guarantee a stage role. Deal?”
    He let out a whoop. “’Tis a deal.”
    â€œNow, spill.”
    He chuckled low and deep. “All right, all right. Miles had quite the scandalous affair with none other than . . .” He