Page 232 of Hidden Nature
“I’m going to go pee and get my sweater. If there’s someone poking around her house today, we’ll keep him quiet till there’s not. But I got a feeling it’s today. Today’s meant for us to expose the witch and send her back to Hell.”
“If you feel it’s today, it’s today.”
“She’ll burn there, Sam. I can see it so clear. She’ll burn for all eternity.”
They took their time with the drive. No point in getting stopped for speeding and have some nosy police asking why they had good strong rope in the back of the van, and a jumbo bag of salt.
They weren’t trusting zip ties to hold her, and the salt poured around her would keep her from striking out. Duct tape to shut her witch’s mouth so she couldn’t say evil words.
They had another bag holding half a dozen bottles of holy water and a crucifix they’d ordered from Amazon.
Clara had packed a Bible in there, too, and had another waiting in the room where they’d hold her, dispatch her.
The Lord helped those who helped themselves, she thought as they drove. Maybe she’d be called home, but she’d use every weapon she had to stop the witch from being the one to send her.
They drove the van past the driveway of the blue house.
“See that, Clara? Nobody there. Your feelings are like gold. And I swear I’ve got one of my own now.”
“We’ve got plenty of time before she usually comes, but we won’t take chances. I’m going to circle back and drop you off. I’ll drive around the lake while you’re making your way through the woods and into the house.”
“I’ll text you when I’m in, give you the setup.”
“Don’t you forget to set your phone on vibrate. You text me again when she comes home. You give her at least five full minutes, Sam. Then you signal me when she’s had time to put that gun away. And I’ll signal you when I’m ready to pull in. Small house like that, you’ll hear me knock on the door.”
“I know what to do, babe. We’ve got this, just like all the other times.”
“This one’s different. Don’t you forget that.”
He patted the Colt in its holster under his shirt. “I won’t, trust me.”
“Never trusted anyone more.” She pulled over, turned and kissed him like it was the first time. “You be careful now.”
“You do the same.”
He got out, hitched on the backpack like any hiker. But in his, zip ties, syringes, surgical gloves, a small crowbar as well as the trail mix Clara had made for him.
He didn’t much like the woods. Looking at them, all fine, but being in them? Regardless, he’d stay true to the mission, and to Clara.
So he hiked his way back, doing his best to ignore any rustlings, until he circled to the back of the blue house.
He gave it a minute, had just started to step out when damned if a truck didn’t drive up.
He hissed out a breath but hunkered down. He watched a woman haul a chair out of the back of the truck, carry it to the patio.
Damn if it wasn’t the same woman the witch had been with at the flower place.
Sam could hear her humming as she walked back, carried a second chair. Old metal chairs from what he could see.
Next she carried over a table with a hole in the middle and centered in between the chairs.
“Come on, lady, what the fuck.”
Idly, he fingered the gun at his side. Maybe she was another witch, like part of a coven. He could plug her from here, drag her body into the woods. He’d practiced plenty with the Colt.
He wouldn’t mind doing that one bit. He wanted to see how it felt to shoot more than tin cans and bottles.
But Clara wouldn’t like it, especially if the woman turned out to be human instead of a demon witch.
