Bell(e)s in the Woods - 3. Tuesday, April 22, 2025 (III)

~The Cursebreaker~

Vee brought me up to date while Warren first organized coffee and then we sipped it and discussed. There were a lot of question marks, but admittedly I wasn't surprised. Police work was not a child's puzzle.

I eventually took the empty cups back to the break room and washed them out, and when I returned, Officer Lopez was escorting Maggie Moon to the office.

Maggie Moon, representing the Watermill Coven, was dressed as so often in a pantsuit, today in bright purple. The blouse underneath and her pumps were leopard print, her pale blonde dyed hair in wild curls was held in place with a leo print hairband, but I couldn't get Warren's comment about her butt - which was both awkwardly and fittingly large - out of my mind. As usual, she was overly cheerful and gave me a girlish giggle - remember, she was in her late forties - before shaking Vee's hand and sitting down.

“So one of us has disappeared, huh?” She crossed one leg over the other and folded her hands on her knee.

“Kate Bell.” Vee's reply was decidedly curt, but I could tell from her whole demeanor she didn't like Maggie. “A novice and student of Phoebe's,” she added when Maggie didn't answer.

Maggie hmmmed and swayed her head. "Kate's reliable, at least when it comes to coven matters. Wednesday last week, though, she was kicked off the premises along with another novice because of ongoing disputes."

“Was that Madeleine?” Vee wanted to know.

Maggie hesitated, gave me a glance I couldn't interpret and then nodded. "Kate and Madeleine have continued to argue despite repeated warnings and have been expelled for a week. Tomorrow they are each to speak to their mentor."

As she seemed neither impressed nor concerned, I asked, “Do you expect Kate to report to Phoebe?”

“Of course.” Maggie nodded, her curls bouncing. “For Kate - for both of them - it's about attending their first Walpurgis Night.”

“And they don't want to miss it,” Vee said slowly, with a hint of question at the end.

“It's not about missing it, detective, for a witch, the first invitation to her coven's Walpurgis Night is a sign of her training coming to an end,” Maggie explained seriously. “If that invitation is withdrawn for Kate or Madeleine or both, it's a clear judgment on their maturity.”

“A humiliation?” it came from Warren cautiously.

“No, that's definitely the wrong word.” Maggie's curls swished again as she shook her head. “In this case, it's more of a punishment, or better still, a lesson, because they can't put their differences aside like grown-ups.”

There was a short pause.

I couldn't help feeling that Maggie wasn't taking Kate's disappearance seriously at all. Or at least she reduced Kate solely to her existence as a witch.

“I want to talk to Phoebe, and if possible Madeleine too,” Vee finally said, but Maggie immediately shook her head.

"Detective, I'll speak to Phoebe and Madeleine's mentor and let you know exactly when the talks with the novices are scheduled for. If Kate doesn't show up, I'll inform the Walburga. Dustin, my dear, are you involved in this?"

“Looks like it.” I gave her an artificial smile and a gesture somewhere between welcoming and helpless.

“Then surely the Walburga will allow you to speak to Phoebe and the others.” Maggie winked at me flirtatiously and my smile slipped a little.

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Well then.” Maggie rose from her chair with a flourish and almost shoved her hand in Vee's face in greeting. "Nice to have made your acquaintance, detective. Officer."

Warren got a smile and a wink, which made him blush. He hurried to escort her out and back to the lobby. No idea if he allowed women in his bed as well as men, but he should keep his hands off Maggie.

Shaking my head inwardly, I turned to Vee, who had screwed up her face in frustration.

“That wasn't nearly what I was expecting.”

“Because Maggie doesn't seem to care at all?”

"The whole woman is nowhere near what I imagined a representative of a reputable and secretive coven would be like. And her information was laughably meaningless."

“That's Maggie Moon.”

“Good God.” Vee shook her head.

I shrugged. "Most witches with that kind of temperament are coven members in name only after their training. On the other hand, the coven needs someone who isn't afraid to make contact with strangers. Maggie, as far as I know, is neither strong nor good, but as a representative she does a reasonable job. Most of the time."

“‘Most of the time’?” Skeptically, Vee eyed me, then shook her head. “We're treading water.”

"I know. But tomorrow Kate's supposed to have a talk with Phoebe. If Kate doesn't show up, I could talk to Phoebe already tomorrow," I replied.

Vee shook her head again, slower and more tired this time. "I should be going home now and have the rest of the week off. Instead, I'm going to check street surveillance and scour social media, in case Jonah hasn't managed that yet."

I knew the feeling, so I gave her an encouraging smile. "That's one of the downsides of our job. But you knew that beforehand."

She smiled back weakly. "I know. But we're human, we need breaks."

That was absolutely true and I had nothing to add.

~

The small house with its dirty green plaster and black roof always reminded me of a clichéd witch's house from fairy tales. Some ancestor of the Parkers had stipulated in her will that it always had to belong to a Parker witch. My great-great-aunt had wanted to challenge this because none of her daughters were witches, but there was no legal recourse. So when she died in the early nineties, the house went to Bridget, one of her great-nieces, who in her late twenties had other plans than to move into an ancient house in the middle of the woods, especially as she had two small children.

As the house belonged to a Parker witch, as intended, but was empty, one of Mom and Bridget's cousins, George, moved in - not to be confused with Bridget's brother George, who now lives in the house next door to us. After only a year, George moved out and claimed to have barely escaped with his life.

To be honest, I believed him. Even as a teenager, I had always felt too tall and awkward in the house, as if I was just tolerated. It wasn't much better today.

“Hey Bridget, it's me!” I called out and closed the door behind me. It smelled of wood fire and bitter herbs and the air tasted strangely salty, like the sea.

“Come in,” Bridget called back.

A heavy dark green curtain separated the entrance area from the rest of the house and behind it the warmth of the fire could be felt. The door to the large witch's room stood open and the golden glow of flames fell into the hallway. It was only after Bridget's prompting nod that I stepped over the threshold.

“What can I do for you?” she wanted to know, slowly stirring a cauldron. Green steam curled out of it towards her.

“It's about a missing novice from your coven.”

As she raised a brow questioningly, a surprised ‘oh’ came from the side, causing me to jerk around in startlement.

Vivian was sitting there in an armchair, a thick book in her lap, looking at me with wide eyes. The blush followed on the heels.

“Should I have called?” I wanted to know from Bridget, slapping myself inwardly because I could have avoided Vivian if I'd known about her lesson and waited for the end. Not only did the girl give me pining looks at the MID, no, she had to have gotten the witch of my trust as her mentor.

“No, no, it's all good.” Bridget smiled at me, but her glance at Vivian held a warning. “What was that about a missing novice?”

“Kate's roommate reported her missing.”

A deep frown stretched across Bridget's entire face, the stirring spoon briefly glowing red, then it continued stirring on its own as she let go and half stepped around the cauldron. "The girl has problems and no one to help her. Although, that's not quite right. Phoebe wants to help her, but she won't let her."

“Could you explain that ?” I asked, backing away as she approached before following her into the kitchen. There, Bridget leaned against a kitchen cupboard and I did the same on the opposite side. The faint smell of garlic hung in the air and although the electric ceiling light was on, it was still dim in here.

“I don't know the details, Dust,” Bridget began after a moment's thought, "Phoebe only mentioned a few things because Kate is the first novice for her and Vivian is also going to nursing school. But Kate has problems with her family, everyone here knows that much, everyone knows her father. She's incredibly closed off. Not the strongest witch ever, but with a lot of potential. She's skilled, has a knack for potions and is ambitious with her studies."

Probing about the problems mentioned wouldn't help, so I nodded for now.

"She's talked about becoming a full-time witch because she's disappointed with nursing school, as well as the MID. Vivian said she often comes across as arrogant enough at school, and I have to admit I've found her quite arrogant at times too." Bridget grimaced a little. "On the other hand, she's not alone in that. A lot of young witches these days think they're special."

“Lots of young people just discovering magic, Bridget, not only witches,” I returned, and we sighed in unison.

“I take it you're here on police business...?”

I got a scrutinizing look and rolled my head in a way that should mean both yes and no. "The detective in charge spoke to Maggie, but Maggie was very reserved. Mentioned that Kate was kicked off the premises after a fight and has a mandatory interview with Phoebe tomorrow. She seemed very convinced Kate would show up."

“About the Walpurgis Night invitation.” Bridget nodded. “But if her roommate reports her missing and the police put out feelers...”

I let her think.

Bridget and Maggie had exactly two things in common: they were witches and they dyed their hair blonde. But unlike Maggie, Bridget was tall and slim and followed the old way of witches in terms of overall lifestyle. Not that that was a prerequisite for becoming a White Witch - a witch of the inner circle around the Walburga - but it certainly hadn't hurt either. Bridget knew a lot of things.

“What did her parents say?”

The words came so suddenly that I blinked in surprise before they really sunk in. "Apparently not much. The best friend is still being tracked down and the roommate probably didn't have much to say either."

Nodding thoughtfully, Bridget took a glass and poured water from a carafe with mint leaves and lemon slices floating in it. I knew the look on her face: there was more, but she held back because it wasn't the right moment. “If she doesn't show up tomorrow, talk to Phoebe,” she said, sipping the water.

I nodded slowly. “Thanks, Bridget.” Because she showed no signs of moving, I went out alone.

The forest swallowed up the last bit of daylight, but I didn't find the darkness of nature really threatening. The carpet of dead pine needles and old leaves rustled softly under my shoes, while the wind whispered in the pines and birches above me.

Kate seemed to be a loner and that made the search for clues difficult. But I had to agree with Warren, she must have had a good reason for leaving in such a hurry on Monday. But where did that reason come from?

~The Detective~

The pasta sauce bubbled in its pot, the pasta itself danced in the boiling water. My stomach growled and because the kitchen timer was still in double digits, my eyes wandered to the cheese crackers. One or two of these to satisfy the worst of my hunger...?

My phone pinged. Half hoping, half fearing it was Josy who wanted to continue our conversation, I pulled it out, but it was just a stupid promotional text message. Chewing on my lip, I scrolled through the chat with Josy again.

Whereas at the beginning of the year I had thought Josy had no idea how much I liked her, now it was her who kept making flirtatious moves. And as much as I wanted to, I was still skeptical. Relationships within the department were frowned upon and I was fundamentally not a fan of them, so I - or actually we, although we'd never officially talked about anything before - was faced with a dilemma.

The phone vibrated in my hand, but this time the caller screen popped up.

“Hey Warren, what's up?”

“I just spoke to Helen, Helen O'Malley, Kate's best friend.” Something clicked and clacked in the background, a car door slammed.

“So?” I asked curiously, reaching for the wooden spoon to stir the pasta.

"Forget it. There's been radio silence since January."

“Shit.”

"They had a complete falling out over some guy they met at a New Year's Eve party. But Helen said Kate's had a really awkward ‘I'm better than everyone else’ demeanor since she started nursing school, and it was foreseeable that the friendship wouldn't last."

“Sounds great.” I sighed and turned the heat on the sauce to a minimum.

Warren grunted in agreement, another car door slammed, then the background was pleasantly quiet. "Helen mentioned another guy Kate talked about sometimes, someone from nursing school, but Kate never gave a name. According to Helen as if she was worried she - Helen that is - might take him away from her. Insert hard eye roll on her part here, if you please."

“More teacher or more classmate?”

"More like teacher, according to Helen. The classmates are always boys."

“Hmm.” I nodded thoughtfully and stirred the sauce.

“Maybe she got involved with the wrong older guy?” Warren threw into the air and I exhaled hard.

"Can't rule it out, I guess. Actually, we can't rule anything out."

“Hmm.” Warren made growly. “Then our visit to the nursing school tomorrow should be interesting.”

After agreement on my part and goodbyes on both sides, I stirred my food again in lonely silence. Now having a life partner to share food and thoughts and worries with...

My last girlfriend had given up after just a year because she couldn't cope with the unpredictability of my job, though she had a thing for women in uniform.

I glanced at my phone. Josy and I were probably supposed to talk about things, but of all things this was the subject I couldn't open my mouth for...

~The Cursebreaker~

I threw the clean towel on the bed and let the sweatpants slide off my hips. With one hand I smoothed over my ass; expectant sparks danced across my skin as my fingertips reached the butt plug. Tugging at it, I stepped out of my sweatpants and pulled open my toy drawer with my other hand.

What kind of appetite do we have today...?

I sucked on my lower lip and reached for the bottle of lube first, only to find the contents had reached a critical low. Definitely suboptimal.

The plug popped out and slid back in. I shuddered with pleasure.

And then I winced as the doorbell rang. “Who the hell...?” It was a fair question. The gate to the property was locked and the other paths were only used by relatives - especially in the dark. But at this time of day, even relatives didn't just turn up.

Voices wafted in, then Fred yelled, "Dust! A witch for you!"

It wasn't until I sighed that I realized I'd been holding my breath. “Just a second!” I yelled back. Frustrated, I glanced down at my naked form and semi-hard state and shook out my sweatpants before getting in.

The world had been against me being able to relax comfortably for days now without my eyes dropping straight shut from fatigue.

I hurried down the stairs, turned into the long hallway and at the sight of Vivian immediately regretted not having put on a T-shirt.

With a half-suppressed chuckle, Fred retreated.

Vivian, staring in bright red, made an odd sound before saying in a squeaky voice, “Please excuse the late interruption, but Bridget takes her lessons very seriously.”

“No problem.” I forced myself to smile.

Her smile was indeed shyly dreamy, of course she brushed her hair behind her ear and of course she had to look before she could answer.

No, there was no bulge to be seen, not even an unexcited one with the wide cut of the pants, but presumably the witch in front of me was still so innocent at the age of eighteen that the naked chest of her crush moistened her panties.

I sighed audibly and she winced.

“I heard you talking to Bridget about Kate,” she said hurriedly, her face unhealthily red, but still playing with her hair more playfully than nervously.

“Anything helpful on your end?” God, I was being rude, but honestly, could someone please tell her how awkward it was for her to try so hard to flirt with an openly gay man?

"Kate's been talking about a guy a lot lately. You know, when girls talk to each other at work and talk about guys." She looked to the side, half ashamed, half smirking.

I rolled my hand promptingly.

“She was mocking Madeleine for being overweight and never getting a handsome man and stuff, while at the same time stating that her dude is mature and intelligent and all that.” Vivian nodded hurriedly to emphasize her words.

“Any names or ideas on who it is?” I wanted to know. The hallway was cold, at least one of the old windows was leaking, and a draught made me shiver.

Vivan's eyes were immediately glued to my nipples. Her words came slowly, as if her mouth was mentally preoccupied with other things. “I don't want to say the wrong thing, because she's never said anything really explicit, but...”

“But...?”

"It could be Thomas. Our psychology and communication teacher."

“In the sense of Kate has a crush or there's more?” The name rang a bell. Since I occasionally accompanied the MID nurses to the nursing school for practical demonstrations, I knew the names and faces of the teachers; I had learned from some of them myself more than ten years ago. Thomas was still quite young, definitely still in his twenties, but visually rather a peculiar type.

Vivian chewed her lip for a moment. "That's the point. I don't want to say the wrong thing. I don't see her that often at school, but when someone in the cafeteria mocked Thomas for his long hair, she shot back pretty hard. I've never seen them together though, not even in the corridor or anything. To Madeleine, though, it sounded like there was more..."

“Okay.” I nodded. “The detective in charge has a talk at school tomorrow, I'll pass it on like this.”

Vivian nodded back, her hesitation seeming expectant, like she was hoping I'd offer to walk her back to her car, which was still parked at Bridget's.

I looked at her, nodded again.

Her mouth twitched into a strange smile, again she brushed her hair back. “Have a good evening.”

“Get home safe.” I locked the door behind her and activated the alarm, then returned to my room; glancing out the window, I saw Vivian's phone flashlight shining between the trees.

I turned to my bed, but the sight of the bottle of lube didn't give me a jolt of anticipation, only frustration.

~The Lawyer~

The soothing gurgle and hiss of the nebulizer lamp in my ear, its sleep-well scent mixture in my nose and a fresh pair of pyjamas on my skin, I snuggled into my pillow.

I couldn't get Homelander out of my head. I wasn't a big fan of The Boys, but rare dark romance fantasies haunted my mind's eye.

“I'd burn the world down for you, Nathan...”

My blissful sigh was interrupted by the buzz of my phone - I'd forgotten to turn off the internet for the night. But I was snuggled up warm in my bed and too lazy to move from my nest.

Brrrt.

Brrrt.

Grumbling, I freed one arm and fumbled for the phone, the light from the screen blinding me for an uncomfortably long moment.

Gianna: I thought of something.

Gianna: You have to answer me, do you hear? ☝

Gianna: Do you mind if I ask out Warren?

With an unwilling sound, I released the other arm and typed.

Nathan: Go for it, girl 👍🏻

Gianna: Are you sure?

Nathan: The weird dating rules don't apply. He's not an ex.

Nathan: Why?

Gianna: Thx babe 😘

Gianna: He's cute.

Gianna: And he deserves a rough night 🔥

Nathan: Oh God.

Nathan: Well then, I wish you lots of stamina.

Gianna: Oh I have, dontcha worry 😎 I hope he does too.

Nathan: Given his big talk, I assume so.

Gianna: Don't be so naive, darling.

Gianna: You said he thinks with his dick. Good. He can have dick 🍆

Nathan: Sweetie, I think that was meant differently...

Gianna: Are you sure? 😇

Gianna: Honeysuckle, when I'm done with him, he thinks with his hole 🍑

My fingers hovered over the keyboard. Yes, Gianna and I had clicked in a completely weird way when we'd met, and most of the time it felt like I was back in school and suddenly had this one best friend I'd never had, but hallelujah, sometimes Gianna was hard to stomach. Or rather, all this talk about sex.

Nathan: Are you sure you want to go out with him because he's cute? Or is it more like revenge?

Gianna: Both? 😇

Nathan: There's absolutely no need 🙄

Gianna: Babygirl, let me worry about that. That idiot is a bit too big for you.

Gianna: Well, you know what I mean.

Nathan: Do I?

Gianna: What do you think, is Dust in?

Nathan: ...

Before Gianna themself asked Dust questions about Warren completely out of context, I rather sent him a screenshot of our conversation. His response was a WTF, that was enough for me.

Gianna: Assholes need their holes polished 😤

Nathan: Settle this with Dust and leave me out of it. But he's a bottom himself.

Gianna: Sweet little darlin', Natty, you do watch porn, right? Ever heard of spitroasting? I mean, most bottoms don't say no to a BJ 😏

Nathan: Just wondering, are you sober?

Gianna: Sweetcheeks, I am drunk with rage 😤 This absolute unacceptance within the queer community is unacceptable.

Nathan: I'm not sure if that answers my question, but I agree with the second part.

And why the hell Gianna was suddenly so riled up about this, when the date had been already nearly two weeks ago? Since there was no immediate response to my question, I took advantage of the moment, turned off the internet and put the phone back on the nightstand. Fat Nuggets sat dutifully on the couch, but my teddy Arctos - not white, but beige-blond and curly - kept me company. Hugging him to my chest, I yawned into the pillow.

"I know. Fascinating, isn't it? I suddenly have a magical soulmate and a best friend."

“Hey, those were Dust's words, not mine.”

“Of course I told Gianna, they confirmed me as a bestie.”

“Oh shut up, you're just jealous.”

Nevertheless, Arctos got a kiss on the head. There was no one else around that I could kiss.