Witch Hearts (3 page)

“Better than I am, I think. Though he definitely wants to catch this guy and beat him to death.” Ruby found the news station; sure enough, there was a recent photo of Courtney on the screen with the details of the three murders.
 

“Don’t blame him. The sicko gets what he deserves, killing women like that. Anyways, I better go get the store ready to open. Text me the memorial time when you know.”

“Sure. Thanks again, Miranda. I owe you big time.”

“If there’s ever a time for you to take a break, this would be it. Call me if you need anything.”

Ruby said goodbye and hung up, turning up the volume on her television. The photo of Courtney now joined photos of the two other victims.
 

“…the serial killer. We’ve now discovered the names of the victims. Courtney Wilson, Amanda Hatcher, and Emily Fisher all went missing hours before their bodies were discovered.”
 

The news anchor paused her report. When she spoke again, her tone was less businesslike and more horrified.
 

“We are getting unconfirmed reports that their hearts were removed. We will keep the public informed as we get more information. Again, this is unconfirmed, however, we advise all citizens, especially women, to remain vigilant about their safety. If anyone has any information about these crimes, please call in at…”

Ruby turned the TV off. She didn’t want to listen anymore. She sent Cooper a text asking if he needed any help today, but several minutes passed without answer. She briefly wondered if Courtney’s job - an upscale restaurant as a server - knew of the death. Then her brain felt a little numb, threatened to make her panic.
 

“I think I’ll clean the place up,” she told Aziza, who stood in the middle of her coffee table. A soft meow confirmed the idea. Courtney used to tease her about being a neat freak, but it was a way to keep Ruby’s mind busy and off her best friend’s murder. She occupied herself with laundry and making her apartment spotless, blasting Florence and the Machine for noise as she cleaned.
 

Aziza spent the entire time watching her from a sunny spot in a window, her tail flicking every so often in annoyance at the vacuum cleaner. Ruby noted she kept an especially watchful eye on the duster. Perhaps Courtney had teased her with it one too many times.

Three hours later, not a single dust bunny, cobweb, or fingerprint remained. Finally satisfied with the hard work, Ruby showered to rinse off the sweat and grime. She checked her phone to find two missed calls and a text from Cooper: “Service tomorrow. Call me back?”

He answered on the first ring. “Hey.”

“Hi. Sorry I missed your call. Did everything get worked out?”

“For the most part. It’s just as well we’re having a memorial. The cops want to examine the body a while longer, so we’ll be lucky to have her cremated by Sunday. May take another week.”

“Okay. So the memorial is tomorrow? That seems last minute.”

“I kinda wanna get it over with, Ruby.” Cooper sounded tired. “I’ve made a few calls to people in Courtney's address book, but as long as you and I are there, that’s really all that matters to me. And to be honest, I don’t want reporters catching wind of it and turning it into a media circus. I’ve already had to fend off several nosy phone calls.”

“I understand. I’ll call some people on my end to let them know, but I’ll definitely be there. What time?”

“Right before sunset.”

“Her favorite time to do rituals. She’d like that.”

“I thought so too.”

They spent another ten or fifteen minutes discussing the memorial logistics. Ruby spent the rest of the day calling friends to let them know about Courtney’s death; their gasps of horror and sympathetic responses made each phone call more difficult than the last. By the time evening rolled around, she was exhausted and couldn’t bear to talk about it anymore, so she put in a movie and laid with Aziza on the couch until she fell asleep.
 

After the memorial ended, Cooper and Ruby stood outside by her car, unsure of what to do next.
 

“When will we take her ashes to the spot in the forest?” Ruby asked.

Cooper shrugged. “Anytime after Tuesday, according to the coroner. Maybe you and I can go on your next day off?”

“I’m sure I can work it out with Miranda.” Ruby lifted her head towards the sky. The stars sparkled but as she thought of Courtney and her sadness, clouds rolled in quicker than was natural as the wind picked up. She took a deep breath and tried to control her emotions. Cooper noticed the weather and took her hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze.
 

 
“Are you ready to go back home?”

The idea of sitting alone with only Aziza for company didn’t appeal much to her. She shook her head. “Do you have something in mind?”
 

“My original thought was to grab a beer afterwards, but I’m not really feeling it now.”

“I’m not big on the bar crowds at the moment. What are our other options?”
 

“Do you wanna get some coffee or something?” Cooper asked her.

“I don’t drink coffee past two p.m.,” she said. He raised an eyebrow. “I’d never sleep if I did. I’d be happy to get some tea, though.”

He laughed. “Okay, tea, then. I’ll get coffee.”

“That doesn’t keep you up at night?”

“Sleep isn’t big on my list of priorities right now.”

“Ah.” Ruby looked down at their clasped hands, unsure of what to say to that. They got into her car and she drove them down the road to a nearby coffee shop. Cooper paid for their order while Ruby found them a lone booth in the back corner of the shop. She stood and waited for him, taking note when Cooper quickly took the seat with his back to the wall, with a clear view of the front door. They sat for a few moments in silence until Ruby broke the ice.
 

“Thanks for the tea.”

“Sure.” Cooper cleared his throat. “It was a nice memorial service, right? I mean…Courtney wouldn’t have sat there and rolled her eyes through the whole thing?”

Ruby laughed into her mug. “Courtney rolled her eyes through everything, so I can’t answer that for sure. But yes, it was nice; can’t say I’m surprised by how many people came despite the last minute scheduling.”

“Courtney was always popular.”

“Well loved, you mean,” Ruby corrected.

“I’m surprised Michael showed, especially without what’s her face.”

Ruby picked at her cuticles, not wanting to look up at Cooper as she talked about Michael. “Oh, I figured he’d be there. They may not have gotten along, but he was still Courtney's coven leader before all that mess. Plus, he knows how important Courtney was to me.”

“You think he came for you?” Cooper raised an eyebrow and Ruby shook her head.

“No, I think he wanted to show support in the community. To show that he cares about fellow witches no matter what history he may have with them. It’s important to him to save face.”

“I’m willing to bet he didn’t mind gaining a few points in your favor, though.”

She shrugged. “I don’t really care if he showed or not; he certainly isn’t getting back on my good side. If he wanted to be there for Courtney, I wouldn’t stop him, but it doesn’t change anything.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. Ruby wrapped her hands around her warm teacup, inhaling the sweetness of honey and vanilla.
 

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Cooper asked.

“Sure.”

“What did you see in him? I mean, I guess he’s good looking, for a British prick.” He shot her a sheepish grin. “Courtney and I always thought you were way too good for him.”

Ruby couldn’t help but chuckle. “I know that now. Courtney tried to warn me before it blew up in my face. It’s a question I’ve asked myself a few times. I think part of it was that I got caught up in dating an important figure in our circle, for one. Totally shallow, I know, but it was nice to see how people looked up to him, to know he could protect me.”

“Why would you need protecting?”

She shrugged. “I was naïve. I didn’t date him for his money, though it was nice to not worry about finances. He’s never had to worry about those things like you or I have; he doesn’t know what it’s like to choose between school loans or groceries. I guess it was more about security; I knew he’d take care of me. He wasn’t always a jerk, either. He was good to me for a long time, always wanting to take care of things for me and giving us the best life he thought possible,” she admitted.

“Until…?”

“We’d grown apart, headed down different paths. After he met Rebecca, I should’ve seen it coming. I wanted him to be less controlling; he wanted me to be at his beck and call, to act as though the sun rose and set on him.

“Rebecca believed he was something special and made sure he knew it. His late night meetings and quick coffee breaks with her evolved. I was blind for a while; I didn’t want to believe any of it. Courtney helped me see the truth. I might still be putting up with that shit if she hadn’t.”

“I don’t believe that. You would’ve gotten tired of it sooner or later.”

“You’re right that he’s a prick. The cheating was bad enough, but to parade her around the coven…a relationship might be one thing, but our craft is our life. Looking back, I realize how stupid I was, that he was a major control freak. It was going to hurt us in the end no matter what. All I really miss now is the group.”

“You don’t practice with any of them?”

She shook her head. “Thanks to spending all my time with Michael, I never got close with any of the others and sometimes I regret not opening up more. That said, I haven’t minded doing magic without them. It’s been nice not having to wait on others to learn and catch up.”

Cooper sat back and gave her a knowing smile. “I can agree with that. I’ve never been big on covens myself.”

“Well aware.”

He raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. She knew they would talk about his absence sooner or later. It would be better to clear the air but Ruby feared if she pushed too fast, Cooper would get offended and leave again. They hadn’t talked like this in ages and she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him until his reappearance. She bit her bottom lip and tried to sound casual.
 

“So how long do you plan to stick around?”

He shrugged and glanced down at his coffee cup. “I figured I’d hang around town long enough to get Courtney's murderer.”

“You sound confident.”

“I don’t think the police will get him or could handle him if they did.”

“What if someone else finds him before you do? Like Michael and his coven?”

Cooper bit back a laugh. “Michael’s little group isn’t going to go looking for a witch killer.”

Ruby had to admit he had a point. They were probably more afraid than anything. “Maybe you should include me in your plans so I don’t make my own.”

“All right.” He splayed his hands across the table, his long fingers nearly touching hers as he gave her a serious look. “You and I should find Courtney's killer.”

“What makes you even think we can?”

“I know some shady enough people to find something out.” His smile was anything but cheerful.

“Even if you hear something, what do we do? How do you know
we
can handle him?”

“We’ll put protection spells on ourselves so his magic won’t affect us.”

“I always have one of those on me. That only helps with a few things, though,” Ruby pointed out. She and Coop could perform self-protection spells to avoid being affected by other witches’ magic, but there were plenty of ways to work around it if a dark witch was determined enough.
 

“I’m not so bad at my magic, but you’ve always been better at it than most.” Ruby waved him off but he shook his head. “I’m serious, Ruby. You can come up with a spell for him if we need to have one.”

“What happens once we find him?”

“We take care of him.” Cooper's hands curled into fists on the table.
 

“You don’t think he should be brought to justice.” Ruby’s flat voice made it clear it was anything but a question.

“I want him to suffer before I end his life.” Cooper's green eyes burned into hers and she felt a fear creep up her spine. He would never let Courtney's murderer live to see a prison cell.
 

“I’ve been wondering…what if he’s like us? What if he’s got magic, too?” Ruby asked.
 

“It makes sense. Courtney wasn’t lazy with her practice; that’s why I searched through her apartment. She wasn’t exactly lax with her safety, either, which makes me wonder if the guy used magic on her.”

“Plus her heart…” Ruby trailed off, afraid to upset Cooper. He half-shrugged, flexing his fingers back out around his coffee mug.

“You can say it. He cut out her heart. What if he’s using it for his own rituals?”

“What kind of awful rituals is he doing that needs a human heart?” Ruby wondered.

“Not just a human heart. A
witch’s
heart,” Cooper reminded her. “That’s why I want your help. We can stop him if we know what we’re up against, but I can’t do it without you.”

Ruby fell silent, not yet wanting to continue on that particular path of conversation. She switched topics. “Where will you stay? What about your job?”

A rueful smile crossed his face. “Well, bartending isn’t exactly a career. I can do that anywhere. Besides, Courtney and I had insurance policies taken out. Not that I want to use it, but I’m serious when I say we made sure neither of us would go in debt if the other died. We learned a few things when our folks kicked the bucket. I stayed in a motel the last couple nights, but I guess I can stay at Courtney's. I’ll have to figure out what to do with her things anyways.”

“Oh, Cooper, no, that’s way too much.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean?”

“That would be too painful. All her stuff, the memories there…that’s too much for anyone, even you.”

“Even for me? I thought you were the tough one out of Courtney's circle.”

“I have no idea where you got that notion.”