Chapter 16

Konrad jogged down the staircase then out the door and down the front steps. Even though it was a cool day, he wore only his black t-shirt and jeans. “Morgaine, what’s all this?”

Morgaine nodded toward the table they had set up on the busy street corner. It was covered with plates of cookies, loaves of bread, cakes, and tarts.

Gwyneth stood in the gutter, talking to a couple of women in a car. She held up one finger to the car behind who’d stopped at the same traffic light and rolled down their window to see what was going on.

Morgaine grinned. “We’re having a bake sale—to help pay your rent.”

Gwyneth backed away from the cars and skipped over to them.

Konrad was taken aback. “Pay my rent? Why?”

“Because you’re flat broke, sugar,” Gwyneth answered.

“Huh? How did you know? Oh, yeah. You’re psychics.”

“Not only that, but Roz confirmed it for us.”

He tried to keep his temper under control. “I wonder what gave her the idea that I’m a charity case?”

“It’s not charity. We’re not giving you our money,” Gwyneth said.

“Minor detail.”

Morgaine laid a hand on his arm. “Look, we wanted to help, so we all put our heads together and hatched this idea. Roz knew you wouldn’t take charity, but you’ve done so much for us…”

Roz?

Just then, she opened the door and came trotting down the stairs with another plate.

“Yes, lover?”

He waited until she arrived at the table. The smell of warm oatmeal cookies wafted up to his nose. “You organized this?”

“We all did.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t you see the eviction notice on your door this morning?”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked at the sidewalk. “I saw it. I was going to wait until Jason and Merry got back before I took it seriously. He’s the landlord, after all.”

“Yes, but we didn’t want Dottie on your case.”

He nodded. “She can be a nuisance. But you didn’t have to do this.”

Gwyneth chimed in. “We wanted to. Besides, it’s fun. It’s one of those things that brings neighbors and kin together.”

The front door opened again, and Nathan jogged down the steps with a few dollars in his hand.

When he got to the table, he said, “Sorry, I don’t bake, big guy. But I can eat my weight in tollhouse cookies.”

He handed a ten over to Morgaine and she handed him a plate of cookies.

“Where’s my change?”

She gaped at him. “You want change?”

Nathan stared at the plate. “Ten bucks for eight cookies?”

Roz placed a hand on her hip. “We’re doing this for our friend and neighbor, Nathan. Don’t be a cheapskate.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine. But they’d better be good.”

Gwyneth smirked. “Oh, they’re good all right. Don’t be surprised if y’all come back for more.”

Nathan sniffed and examined the cookies. “I don’t see any special ingredients.”

Gwyneth returned to the opposite side of the table. “They were baked with love, silly. We wouldn’t put any wacky tobaccky in them.”

He sniffed them again. “Hmm. Well, they sure smell good. I guess I’ll just have to take my chances.” He peeled back the cellophane and stuck the plate under Konrad’s nose. “Here, try one.”

Konrad laughed. “Sure, buddy. Don’t mind if I do.”

Gwyneth looked over her shoulder at the street. “Oh, another red light! I’ll take the oatmeal ones this time. They smell too good to pass up—even without a spell on ‘em.”

She grabbed the plate and sidled up to the car’s windows, calling out, “Y’all want something delicious?”

The guy in the car grinned like a love-struck teenager and rolled down his window.

“Spell?” Nathan dropped the cookie in his hand back onto the plate.

Morgaine waved him off. “Don’t worry. It won’t work on you. I worded the spell so that only human beings who could afford them would be susceptible. At first, we were giving one free with every purchase.”

Nathan smirked. “Good idea.”

“Well, it was until the same cars drove around the block and wanted more every five minutes.”

Nathan held the plate in front of her. “Can you add a few words to make my boss give me a raise? Then I’ll bring them into work.”

Morgaine whirled on him. “Oh, just eat the damn things.”

Roz patted her on the shoulder. “Relax. I’ll get back inside and make another batch of normal ones. Gwyneth’s sales pitch seems to be working just fine without a spell.”

Morgaine pouted. “Yeah, her sex appeal is in overdrive. But we’re making boat-loads of money, so it wouldn’t be right to complain.”

“You don’t need to complain. You’re every bit as pretty as she is,” Nathan said.

Everyone stared at him in shock.

He shrugged. “What?”

Morgaine recovered first. “I think I heard you give me a compliment, and it wasn’t followed by some kind of smart-ass remark that negates the whole thing.”

“You seemed to need one.”

She rolled her eyes, “And there it is.”

Roz and Konrad were making out on her sofa when she heard a knock on her door. They reluctantly broke their lip lock. “Before I answer it, would you mind closeting yourself in my bedroom again? Just in case it’s my dimwit step-father?”

“Sure, if I have to.”

“I think it’s best until after the case.”

Konrad removed himself as Roz crossed to the door. She glanced over her shoulder to be sure he was out of sight, then opened it.

Of all the people she hadn’t expected… “Merry!”

Her best friend rushed in to hug her. “I couldn’t wait to get home. I’ve missed you so much!”

Roz welcomed the firm embrace and almost cried, because she was so glad to see her. “Oh, Merry, I’m glad you’re back. I’ve missed you too. A lot!”

“Well, tell me what’s going on. Are you still seeing Konrad?”

Roz turned toward her bedroom. “Hey, sweetie, it’s okay. You can come out.”

“He’s here?” Merry strode to meet him as he rounded the corner and gave him a big hug too.

“Great to see you, Merry. Is Jason home? I need to talk to him.”

“Yeah, he should be upstairs talking to Dottie.”

His face fell. “Oh. I’ll wait a while, then.”

“Is anything wrong?”

Roz groaned. “You could say that. Konrad’s been arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, and posting bail wiped out his bank account. He was a little late on his rent and Dottie sent him an eviction notice yesterday.”

Merry gasped. “What? You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Sorry, Merry,” Konrad said. “It’s no joke.”

“I can’t friggin’ believe it. I’ll be right back, guys. I’m going to have a word with Jason and his Aunt.”

Roz didn’t stop her as she flew out the door and up the stairs.

Konrad yelled, “Wait.”

Merry didn’t even slow down.

As Konrad charged up the stairs, he heard Merry demand, “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Dottie? Evicting Konrad for one late payment is ridiculous. Jason, set her straight!”

Konrad appeared at the door she had left wide open.

Dottie reared back and stared at Merry wide eyed. “Excuse me?”

“Honey, that’s not necessary.” Jason put an arm around his furious wife. “I’m taking care of it.”

Konrad quickly interjected, “Merry, Roz didn’t get a chance to tell you…I’m getting the money.”

Dottie crossed her arms. “Oh? And when are we getting it?”

Just as Merry opened her mouth, Jason held up his hand. “We’ll get it when he has it, Aunt Dottie. There’s no need to rush him.”

Whew. I knew I could count on Jason to be reasonable.

“But his aunt better stay out of choking reach,” he heard Roz think from downstairs.Perhaps their telepathy was growing stronger, traveling over greater distances.

Dottie’s jaw dropped. “I thought I was the manager.”

Jason rested his hands on his hips. “And I thought I was the landlord.”

Her lips thinned into a tight line.

Merry took a deep breath. “Dottie, if it weren’t for Konrad, I might not be alive. He saved me from a would-be rapist with a knife to my throat. Don’t you remember that night?”

Konrad stared at Dottie and waited to see what she’d say to that.

She relaxed a bit, but her arms remained folded in front of her. “I remember. But does that mean he gets a free ride? How are the other tenants who pay their rent regularly going to feel?”

“They don’t have to know.” Merry folded her arms too.

Konrad coughed. “Um, Merry, they already know. They held a bake sale to help me out.”

Dottie had a smug look of satisfaction on her face. “You see? They all know. I watched the whole thing from that window.” She pointed to the bay window facing Beacon Street. “Roz and Morgaine set up a folding table on the corner and Gwyneth risked her neck walking into oncoming traffic to sell the goodies. Nathan bought some, so he knew about it. In fact, the only one I didn’t see was Joe.”

“And he already gets a break on his rent,” Merry added.

Konrad’s eyebrows shot up. “He does? Why?”

“Because his roommate is an officious ghost,” Dottie said. “And for some reason, he won’t let anyone stay there except Joe. So it’s half the rent or none at all.”

Konrad scratched his head. “I heard Joe is moving out. I can give you half the rent right now.”

Dottie gasped. “Joe’s moving out? Oh, no. We’ll never get that place rented again.”

Konrad stuck in hands in his pockets. “I don’t know. Chad seems to like me. Maybe he’ll let me move in.”

“You’re kidding. Now I know he hates me,” Dottie wailed.

“What makes you say that?”

“Apparently, I’m the only one he plays tricks on.”

“Tricks?”

“Yes. Last fall, before we held the séance and he was still trying to frighten potential renters away from what he considers his apartment, I was showing it to someone, and he moved boxes from the closet right into my path, causing me to trip. I could have broken my neck!”

“Are you sure that was his doing?”

“Don’t you start questioning my sanity too. I get enough of that from my husband and nephew.”

“Sorry.”

Dottie jammed her hands on her hips. “But why would he like you? It’s not like you can protect him from anything. He’s already dead. You can’t talk to him like Morgaine and Gwyneth can. You can’t even see him to know he wants you to turn on the TV, like Nathan does.” Dottie threw her hands in the air. “I give up.”

Jason patted her shoulder. “I’m sure he doesn’t hate you. He probably just knows he can get a reaction from you. If you ignore him, he’ll probably leave you alone.”

“Oh, no. I tried that.” She shook her head, vehemently. “If I ignore him, he keeps upping the ante until I lose my temper and scream at him.”

“What does he do?” Konrad asked.

“Aggravating things. He sees me waiting for the lottery numbers to be read with my ticket in hand and then causes static on the TV. He turns the oven off as soon as I put a roast in. He shakes up my cans of soda in the fridge.

Konrad bit his lip. Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh.

Jason sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you, Aunt Dottie. There’s nothing we can do about a ghost.”

Ralph walked in from the hallway. “What’s going on? Did I hear Dottie telling you some stupid ghost stories again? By the way, welcome home, Jason.”

Dottie put her hands over her face, but Konrad saw the skin around them turning red. Jason and his uncle clasped hands and patted each other’s backs in a man-hug.

At last, Dottie balled her fists and yelled, “I can’t do this anymore!”

Jason raised his eyebrows. “Can’t do what, Aunt Dottie?”

“This! All of this. Managing an apartment building full of miscreants, trying to rent unrentable units, using what little authority I have to collect the rent and being undermined at every turn. I’ve had it!” She stormed off toward her bedroom.

Ralph rolled his eyes. “She’s been like this ever since she published that travel article. Now she wants to take off in an RV and tour destinations all over the country.”

Merry and Jason spoke at the same time. “She published the article?”

“What article?” Konrad asked.

Ralph sighed. “When we were in the Caribbean, scouting hotels for Jason’s and Merry’s honeymoon, Dottie found her calling. She had a ball touring the various facilities and grilling the managers. Later she used all her notes to write an article describing each place in detail and submitted it to a few travel magazines.”

Dottie strode back into the living room with a magazine in her hand. “And not only did a magazine offer me a good paycheck for it, they wanted me to write more for them.”

Jason took the magazine from her. “That’s great! Is it in this issue?”

“Page twenty-three and twenty-four,” she announced proudly.

Ralph cleared his throat. “Um, Jason, after you get settled, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Sure. Give us a couple of hours to unpack.”

“When you’re free, can I speak with you too?” Konrad asked.

“If it’s about the rent, don’t worry about it.” Jason clapped him on the back. “My wife’s right. If not for you, she might not have survived the attack in the alley. Take that eviction notice and tear it up.”

Whew. Dodged one bullet. Now all I have to worry about is a grand jury.

While Roz was at the courthouse, trying to change the date of his trial to a waxing or waning moon, Konrad decided he should bone up on the law. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any law books, so he pulled out his copy of John Grisham’s The Jury.

He remembered enjoying the story the first time he’d read it, but now that he was a defendant… Well, I might as well prepare myself for the inevitable.

He had barely started reading when he heard a commotion from upstairs. It sounded like women yelling and not in ecstasy, so he put down the book and hoped the witches weren’t killing each other—again.

“I should mind my own business,” he said out loud.

He retrieved the book and tried to read. After he had scanned the same sentence three times, he realized it was no use. He had to intervene.

Upon opening the door, he was able to identify the voices. Yup. Morgaine and Gwyneth were at it again. Suddenly a new voice was added to the cacophony. Joe?

“Look, it’s not her fault. I told her I like to listen,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean she should forward all the calls to your apartment. I didn’t receive a single phone call for two days. I thought all my customers deserted me. Instead, I find out my dear cousin is stealing them!”

“It ain’t like that, Morgaine.”

“Oh, yeah? Then what is it like?”

“Like Joe said, he likes to listen to me handle the sex calls.”

“So, you did it because you were being nice to him and didn’t think about how that would affect me?”

“Yeah. I’m not mean, just stupid sometimes.”

Morgaine covered her mouth as if trying not to comment.

“I see you smirkin’.” Gwyneth advanced on her cousin, but Konrad inserted himself between them.

“Hold on, you two.”

Morgaine peered around him and continued to talk to Gwyneth as if there wasn’t a six-foot four werewolf standing between them. “Why not just invite him to our apartment?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“On account o’ he gets horny from all the dirty talk comin’ out of my mouth. Then he just has to start—”

Konrad cleared his throat. “Not to change the subject or anything, but I thought Joe was moving out.”

“He is.”

“What?” Morgaine seemed shocked, but Konrad was pretty sure she knew about that. “I thought he changed mind.”

“Well, he changed it back.”

Konrad folded his arms. “It might be for the best. You two have been fighting ever since he moved in. You were the best of friends before that. Isn’t that true?” He looked from one witch to the other. “I never heard fights in the hallway before.”

At last Morgaine answered. “We’ve had our disagreements, but not like this.”

“You liked me better when you were my teacher. Now I find I can do things on my own that you can’t, like writin’ dirty books.”

“Yeah, how will you do that if Joe moves out and can’t correct your grammar for you?”

“I’ll think of somethin’. Maybe Konrad here can do it. You used to be a teacher, didn’t ya, Konrad?”

He held up both hands and took a step back. “I’m not getting involved in anything that might make one of you furious or my girlfriend insecure.”

“Aw…” Gwyneth tipped her head. “Y’all are a right stand-up guy, Konrad. I wish I had someone as dedicated to me as y’all are to Roz.”

“What about Joe?” Morgaine asked.

“That was just sex.”

“Ah ha! You finally admitted you were just using him!”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

Dottie appeared at the stair landing and called, “What’s going on up there?”

Gwyneth rolled her eyes. “None of your bees—”

Konrad quickly slapped a hand over Gwyneth’s mouth. “Just a little disagreement, Dottie. I’m sure the girls will work it out.”

“Well do it quietly, for God’s sake. I can’t hear myself think!”

As soon as the door slammed Morgaine snorted. “Dottie thinks?”

Konrad chuckled. “I guess now that she’s a magazine writer, she needs to use her brain.”

Gwyneth’s eyes widened. “She’s a what?”

“A writer.”

Gwyneth practically flew down the stairs, and for a witch without a broom that implied a lot.

Morgaine groaned.

Konrad scratched his head. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told her that since she was looking for someone to edit her books.”

“What’s that Chad?” Morgaine cupped her ear. “He says Dottie will do it. He heard her offer to help Jason write his memoirs.”

Konrad stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry. I totally didn’t see that coming.”

“No worries.” Morgaine tipped her head. “Hang on, Chad has something else to say.” She laughed. “He said, once Dottie reads Gwyneth’s erotic novels, she’ll probably jump Ralph’s bones and maybe that’ll help her relax.”

“Hey, can you ask Chad something for me since you’re talking with him right now?”

Morgaine paused a moment. “He said, sure. Go ahead and ask him yourself. He’s invisible, not deaf. I’ll just let you know what he says in response.”

“Oh, okay. Uh, Chad, would you allow another roommate to move in when Joe moves out? If it’s someone you know and like—one of us, I mean.”

She cocked her head and listened. “He wants to know why you want to move in with a ghost.”

“Dottie said half the rent is better than none and since I only have half the rent and will be spending a lot of time at my girlfriend’s place anyway…”

Morgaine nodded. “Makes sense, but maybe Gwyneth could move over there for a while, if not permanently. Since we’re not getting along all that well, maybe putting a little distance between us would help. What do you think, Chad? Would you be willing to have Konrad or Gwyneth as a roommate?”

She paused then said, “He’s thinking it over.”

She tipped her head back and forth as if ticking off the seconds it took to answer a question on Jeopardy. At last, she had an answer. “He says he’s still not sure, but if he did allow it, he’s partial to Gwyneth.”

“Why?”

She listened another minute, then crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “He said, not only can she talk to him, she’s wicked pretty and walks around in the buff.”

Konrad sighed. “Oh well, it was worth a shot.”

Morgaine straightened and her eyes lit up. “I don’t think you need to worry. You might be moving in with your girlfriend soon anyway.”

He balled his fists. “I won’t sponge off my girlfriend.”

“I’m not saying that.” She smiled and there was this knowing look on her face.

“Do you know something I don’t? Did you get one of your psychic flashes?”

“Maaaaybe.”

He leaned back and studied her for a moment. “If anything I’d rather she move in with me. I can’t imagine finding room to house my whole library. Her place is smaller than mine.”

“It sounds like you’ve thought about it.”

Konrad smiled. “Maaaaybe.”

Roz took her fighting stance. Hands on hips. Eyebrows knit. Torso leaning forward. She wasn’t going to let some client tell her how to do her job—even if he was her two hundred-thirty pound, werewolf boyfriend.

“Don’t give me that look,” Konrad said.

“What look?”

“The one that says you’d like to wipe the floor with me.”

“Sometimes I wish I could. This is one of those times.”

He threw his hands in the air and started to pace across his living room. “There’s got to be another way. I don’t want you using the pack for my alibi. Besides, it’s not as if any of them would remember where I was on any particular evening in the early nineteen-nineties.”

“I beg to differ. It sounded as if some of them remembered a meeting that took place that night.”

His jaw dropped. “You…You spoke to them?”

“Of course I spoke to them. How would I know if you had an alibi or not?”

“How?”

“I did my research and found the only private school once run by a certain Konrad Wolfensen, and then I went to Newton and asked to meet with the faculty.”

“What did you tell them?”

“Well, at first I just said that I was your lawyer and that you were being accused of a crime I believed you were innocent of committing, and that we needed an alibi if they could provide one.”

“Roz, these are the same people who ran me out of town and threw me out of the pack.”

“Well, they wanted to help. It seems like the guy who replaced you as the dean is a real ass hat. His secretary’s words, not mine.”

He laughed. “Good. What else did you talk about?”

“Well, they wanted to know how you were—and how much I knew about you.”

He looked at her askance. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “They seemed really concerned for you.”

“Not that. The other thing. What did you tell them you knew?”

“That you were a werewolf.”

Konrad gasped. “Why the hell…Do you know how much danger you were in?”

Roz shook her head. “No, they seemed really nice.” I sounded really lame, saying that just now.

Konrad dropped onto his sofa and covered his face with his hands. “That was insane. I thought I told you that the number one responsibility of werewolves was to keep humans from finding out we exist. I don’t know why they didn’t kill you.”

“Well, they were starting to get their hackles up until I told them I was your mate.”

He looked up at her in wonder. “You said that?”

“Yes.”

“How did they take it?”

“They wanted me to prove it, and when I told them we had telepathic communication it seemed to change everything.”

He patted the seat next to him.

“Does that mean you don’t think I’m insane anymore?”

“Oh, I’m still sure you’re certifiable. I just want to make sure I heard you right.”

She sat next to him. “Heard what right?”

“It sounded like you’ve finally accepted me as your mate.”

Roz folded her hands in her lap and stared at them. You may have showed your hand a little too soon, Roz. Now what?

“Now we celebrate, my love—in the bedroom.”

Roz chuckled. “I should have known you’d hear that. And react that way too.”

As he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his bed, he said, “You and I are two of the luckiest creatures on earth. So many people never find their soul mate.” He gently placed her in the middle and crawled in beside her. “I love you, Roz.”

He wasted no time pulling her into his tight embrace and kissing her senseless.

Roz found nerve endings she never knew existed tingling to life. His shadowy stubble subtly scraped her face.

He pulled back a moment. “Do you know how rare this is?”

“You mean making love with your soul mate?”

She noticed the tiny lines crinkling outward from the outer corners of his eyes as he smiled at her. “Yeah. Making love, not just having sex.”

“Rare and beautiful.”

He delivered another intoxicating kiss and stroked her back all the way to her buttocks, which he kneaded tenderly.

She inhaled deeply, loving his scent. Loving him so much it almost moved her to tears.