Free Pretty Witches All in a Row by Lisa Olsen Page B

investigation,” he smirked, laughing when she gave him a playful punch to the shoulder. 
    “What’s your theory then?” she challenged.
    “I’m not sure yet, but it turns out there was another fire a few weeks ago, another girl was killed.”
    “Did they know each other?”
    “Yep, part of the same coven.” 
    “Coven… as in vampires?”  Her brown eyes widened to the size of saucers and he couldn’t resist laughing. 
    “No, but not too far off.  Coven as in witches.”
    “Get outta town, really?  That’s it then, that’s the connection.  Maybe we’ve got a witch hunter in town looking to save the world from the dark arts?”
    “Or maybe they were killed as part of a dark, secret ritual,” Nick lowered his voice dramatically.
    “Oh come on, Daddy, it’s not like it is on TV, it’s a religion for most modern witches, same as being Hindu or Buddhist.”
    “What do you know about any of that?”
    “Social studies.”  She gave a careless shrug, sliding back into her chair again.
    “They teach you about witches in school?”
    “Sure, it’s a part of Americana; witches have been persecuted throughout time you know.  Anytime a baby got sick or a guy got caught with his fly open, someone cried witch.  We learned all about their persecution, back in the burning times.”
    “Huh, yeah I suppose that is part of our history.  I guess I should have come to you with all my questions, then I wouldn’t have had to go down to Argent Flame,” he chuckled. 
    “Oh, that shop down on Hawthorne?”
    “You’ve been there?”  His head came up in surprise, not quite sure how he felt about that. 
    “Yeah, lots of times… or actually, no… nope, never heard of it,” she amended after catching the look on his face.  “What?” 
    “Why were you in a store that sells witch stuff?”
    “Um… cause it’s awesome?  They have cool jewelry and stuff, totally cheaper than you can find downtown.  Besides, that’s not all they sell, they have interesting books there, and they never kick you out for just hanging out whether you buy something or not.”
    “Oh.”  That didn’t sound so bad.  “So you’re not… planning on delving into the black arts anytime soon?  Do I need to be checking your dresser drawers for bags of some other kind of little green herbs now?”
    “Knock yourself out, like I’d really keep anything in my dresser drawers,” she snorted. 
    “Good thing I know all the places to look,” he winked at her and Veronica looked appalled.
    “Do you really search my room?”   
    “Cop.  It’s a habit,” he shrugged, finishing off the last of his sandwich. 
    “I don’t even want to get into how unethical that is…” she muttered disgustedly, turning her attention back to her book.
    “Hey, it’s my house.  Technically I own everything in it, including you, so there’s nothing wrong with my searching my own property.”   His tone was smug as he rose to deposit his dirty dishes in the sink.
    Veronica turned around in her chair.  “Ok, what about a lack of trust?”
    “Trust is earned V, you know that.  After that little episode back in LA, you’re back in the earning phase.”
    “Trust is a two way street, Daddy.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “It means that… it’s a blow to my trust in you to know how little you trust me,” she replied, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. 
    “Oh come on… hey…”  Nick gathered her in for a hug.  “I’m sorry, muffin, I do trust you.  I was kidding about the searching thing.  Mostly.”
    “I’ve been trying really hard since we moved up here.”  Her voice came muffled from his shirt.
    “I know, I do, I really do.  And you’ve been doing great.  Your grades are up and my stress levels where you are concerned are way down.”
    “You do?”  She pulled back to look up at him.
    “Of course I do.  It might seem like I’m wrapped up in my job sometimes, but you come first and you always