The Thirteenth Sacrifice by Debbie Viguié Read Free Book Online Page A

said.
    “I don’t know anything.”
    “But yet you claim to be a witch,” Ed said. “Shouldn’t this be right up your alley? Shouldn’t you be able to cast a spell and tell us something?”
    “I… um… it doesn’t work that way.”
    “Then why don’t you tell me how it does work, because clearly I must be watching too much television.”
    “It’s like, a religion, you know.”
    “So I’ve been told. But you didn’t claim to be a Wiccan; you claimed to be a witch. Big difference. And the symbol on two dead bodies is the same as the one under your bed. Don’t you think that’s kind of strange?”
    “Lots of people use pentagrams,” Katie said, trying to sound tough.
    “Katie, do you know any practitioners, any
real
ones?” Samantha asked quietly.
    Katie stared hard at the table and didn’t say anything, but her shoulders were hunched and she folded her arms across her chest—a protective gesture.
    “Katie, if you know something, you need to tell us,” Ed said.
    “I don’t know who killed her. I don’t know who would want her dead.”
    “Do you know who might want someone like her dead?” Samantha asked.
    “No!”
    Ed turned to Samantha. “I think the lady protests too much.”
    “I’m not! I don’t. I don’t know who killed her.”
    “But what if you had to take a wild guess? Who could have killed her?” Samantha asked.
    Katie went back to staring at the table.
    “Samantha, let’s go get some lunch and let Katie think about who might have done this to her roommate,” Ed said, standing casually.
    “You can’t leave me in here!”
    “Actually we can. Sooner or later you have to talk to us, Katie.”
    He led the way out of the room. As soon as the door was closed he let out a low whistle. “She’s certainly scared of someone.”
    “You think? We have to get her to tell us who.”
    “Let’s grab a picture of Kyle and see if we can’t shake a name loose from her with that,” he said.
    They walked out into the main room. Desks piled high with paperwork were crammed into much of the space. Usually there were half a dozen officers bent over filling out forms, but instead everyone was at the far end of the room, huddled around a television. That was never a good sign.
    They walked over and Samantha tapped one of the officers standing on the fringe of the crowd on the shoulder. “What’s going on?”
    “Witch hunt.”
    “You’re kidding me,” she said, praying he was speaking euphemistically.
    “See for yourself. Hey, people, clear a path,” he boomed.
    Several people shuffled a step or two to the side. There, on the television, was a picture of Katie in full Goth regalia.
    “How did they—”
    She stopped and stared in horror at live images of Katie’s room, including a close-up of the pentagram drawn on the floor under her bed. Ed shoved his way over to her, saw what she saw, and immediately began barking orders.
    “Martinez, Johnson, and Sparks, get your asses over to that apartment now. Secure the crime scene and arrest every newsperson there who just crossed the police tape. Move!”
    Officers began scrambling while Samantha pushed closer to the television to hear what was being said.
    “—a self-professed witch who has been linked to the murders of at least three people. The suspect is in police custody now, but no word as yet from the authorities on charges.”
    “How the hell did they know?” Ed asked.
    Samantha shook her head. “Someone called them.”
    “The real killer?”
    She pointed to the screen. There in the background was a familiar blond figure standing in front of a fraternity house. “No. Distraught girlfriend.”
    “Please tell me we’re going to be able to solve this quickly,” Captain Roberts said as he walked out of his office.
    “We’re working on it,” Ed said.
    “Work faster. I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I think it’s going to turn on us.”
    “What do you mean?” Samantha asked, studying hisface closely. He looked grim. A