Gray Witch (Black Hat Bureau 5)

“Right.” I massaged an ache in the center of my forehead. “I knew that.”

The ringleader was down, but there were still others waiting on their turn for otherworldly revenge.

“You have bigger things on your mind.” He kissed the spot I was quickly rubbing raw. “But the summoning ring must be stopped, with or without us.”

“Give me the phone.” I reached for it then girded my loins. “Marty, you’re in Natchez, right?”

“Who the fuck put you on the phone? Pass me back to Kerr.”

“Apprehend Lucy March. She’s a summoner. Likely a black witch. Contain her, and you contain Frankie. Lean on her to get the location of Frankie’s bones. Burn them, mix the ashes with her grave dirt, and salt the earth. Got it?” I recalled our eerie accommodations. “Find out what happened to her guests while you’re at it.”

They hadn’t been on Parish’s list, but something happened to them. A trial run for Frankie, maybe?

“You’re out of your godsdamned mind if you think I’m taking orders from you.”

“Bernard Lacky is on the run. Find him. He’s responsible for Old Man Fang.”

“Are you deaf?” Marty laughed, a bright choking noise. “I ain’t listening to you, witch bitch.”

“Parish is dead.” I wasn’t sure I made the decision to tell him so much as it fell out of my mouth. “The director will be looking to promote. You caught his attention with the last case, right? The one in Charleston? You rounding up this summoning ring will make you look good. Maybe good enough to step into Parish’s shoes.”

For once, Marty kept his mouth shut. I imagined the gerbil in the wheel of his brain waking from a long nap.

“Okay.” He thought about it. “Give me the others, and I’ll take this case off your hands.”

“Thanks.” I forced my jaw to unlock and fed him Colby’s research. “That’s all I’ve got.”

The call ended, and the mental picture of Marty dancing a jig popped into my head.

“You lied.” Clay clucked his tongue. “The director probably doesn’t even remember his name.”

“Marty horning in on all the other individual investigations will give us a breather.” I even threw him the waitlist of summoners who hadn’t gone active yet. “He won’t tell a soul Parish is dead, but he will tell everyone that he’s acting on Parish’s behalf and that if they take issue with it, they can contact Parish. Except they can’t, because Parish is dead. That sticks Marty in an endless loop of authority.”

“You didn’t give up the Amhersts.” Clay pried his fingers off the railing. “You going to recruit them?”

Hearing him put my plans into words, I couldn’t control my flinch.

“They’re killers, but they’re also kids.” I forced myself to shrug. “And we left our stuff there.”

“You’re such a softie.” Clay shook his head. “We left you under that hot Alabama sun for too long.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

As much as I wanted to ask Clay to swing by the mausoleum to pick up the Boos’ collection while I slept, I couldn’t trust him. Not while Dad, who collected dark artifacts too, could command him to steal them. With more battles ahead, Dad would use any and all resources at his disposal. Including my friend.

Already, I was deciding how to use the hoard to finally identify the Boo Brothers’ mysterious benefactor. I fully expected the trail to lead straight to Black Hat. To a black witch, most likely. One of our rogues.

Thank the goddess Parish hadn’t won, or else the director would have a fresh armory instead of me.

For now, all I could do was text Marita, beg for an extension, and promise to pick up the goods at dusk.

That done, I shoved past the guys, picked the closest bed, and flopped down face-first.