Under Witch Curse (Moon Shadow Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

back to the car to haul out the last of my bags.
     
     

Chapter 6
     
    Since everyone else had plans for the next few hours, it was a good time to visit my best friend, Matilda. She needed to know about the rogue vamp and my run-in with Patrick. Mat was also the most likely person in the entire city to know if either of the dead women at the crime scenes were witches.
    We had been best friends since the day we met in grade school. She was everything I was not; flamboyant, outgoing, a redhead with green eyes, and a witch who was more than happy to do business out in the open.
    Her shop was the place to be and be seen. Only I didn’t want to be seen, even though we were best friends. She was always intermittently busy, and today the place had no less than three women shoppers and Jim, Mat’s boyfriend, packed inside the small store.
    Getting personal time with that many customers around wasn’t happening. Opportunity was slim even for Jim, apparently. As soon as he recognized me, he sauntered over to chat.
    “Hard to get in a word edgewise in such a popular place.” Jim was clean-shaven and almost as good-looking as White Feather, but he was shorter and stockier. With dark sunglasses, his swarthy Hispanic looks and confident swagger, he could easily make a living as a tough guy in movies. His blue jeans and tucked in t-shirt were bad-boy tight. A nice package that Mat was having trouble keeping her eyes off of. Probably her hands too.
    I grinned. It was nice to see Mat so blissfully focused on a guy. We witches had a hard time finding people who accepted our quirks.
    “Business is good,” I said. “Maybe I should come back later.” If he hadn’t had a chance to chat with her yet, I wasn’t next in line.
    “Might clear in a few minutes. I’m on my way out. We just grabbed coffee and dessert at the new place down the street for an early lunch break.” He kept his voice down, but the shop was small. “I didn’t have a chance to tell her I won’t get off work until late, but I'll see her tomorrow morning. If you talk to her, let her know for me, would you?”
    “Sure.”
    He walked backwards out of the shop, purposely pausing to entice Mat to glance his way.
    Flirt.
    The three ladies perusing items seemed determined to giggle over every spell in the place. They were well-heeled, dressed in tailored pants and nice sweaters similar to outfits my sister Kas often wore. They were dolled up as if they had just spent the day at a spa luxuriating in a full makeover from head to toe.
    Rather than hover in my low class jeans and sneakers, I sidled to the back of the shop where a curtain of beads separated the shop from Mat’s living room. She always invited me to take cover rather than stand around like an aimless waif.
    Before it could slip my mind, I wrote her a note with Jim’s message.
    Another minute or two and the cash register slammed shut on a stream of giggles and a purchase. Mat waited a few seconds before she appeared in the doorway. Her flaming red curls were perfectly coiffed into a french twist. Since dating Jim, some of her flamboyance had been replaced with elegance.
    “The gods are smiling on me,” she said. “There’s a fabulous new bakery up the street and right next to it a new nail salon. I can close shop for fifteen, but let me check to see if more people are coming.”
    I waved my hand. “Don’t bother.” I gave her a succinct rundown on the vamp invasion, completely ignoring her gasps. When I finished the story, rather than dwell on it, I slid on to the next item on my list. “I really came by to see if you know any witches by the name of Alicia Romero or Dana Clark.” White Feather had written the names down. I handed her the scrap of paper.
    She waited for more information, but when none was forthcoming, she rolled her eyes. “Okay, so I can find you at White Feather’s if I need you. It will surprise you to know that is exactly where I would have looked if you weren’t at home. As