Witches for Hire (Odd Jobs #1)(51)

Her lips pursed as she tried not to laugh and to keep her composure for the big ass spell she needed to perform. “Get going, Papi.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes after Rudy left. “My sweet tooth is aching.”

Simone raised her hand and closed it in the shape of a beak. “Hush, unless you’re helping. Water.”

Jeremy obediently handed her the full glass.

Simone emptied it into a metal bowl. “Wine.” She took the offered tumbler from Jeremy and wet her thumb in the vintage dark red. Once covered, she slid her finger across the corpse’s lips. The front door opened, and a wave of evergreen scents entered the room. Why can’t all men smell like that? She cleared her throat. “Collect his hair, Jeremy.” There, I said it without squealing.

“I removed a few strands for you, Mr. Ragsdale.”

“Yes, yes, thank you for your cooperation,” Jeremy muttered and brought Simone the hair.

Would it kill him to be nice? Simone added the hair to the bowl and kept her eyes on the body that looked like it croaked that day.

“You touch what’s left of the heart yet?” Desmond asked.

Simone shook her head as she looked at the liquefied section of Gulley’s chest cavity. The Great Mother’s investigation had left him torn open wider than if an energy vamp had laid hands on him. “I have to separate everything back into organs first.” She pointed at the small bottles on the cart. “The green and red ones.”

Jeremy nodded and handed them to her.

At least he’s doing his job right. Simone uncorked the bottles and slowly poured each of them into the bowl. With that done, she faced Gulley’s chest cavity again. Why does there have to be so much… blegh? She closed her hand over Gulley’s mouth and whispered a finding spell. Clive had been sure the liquid bursting from Gulley’s mouth was a mixture of blood and heart, so she started there. She silently commanded the heart tissue to push back down the man’s nasal passage and throat into the top of his chest. A red glob formed, and from that, Simone summoned more of the man’s heart from the splatters lining his rib cage. “Since I have an extra pair of hands while Jeremy plays my assistant, would you care to help me remove it?”

Jeremy handed Desmond a set of gloves. “Better you than me.”

Desmond took off his jacket and folded it. “I don’t mind getting my hands dirty.” He placed it on the desk that had been moved against the wall for more space. After unbuttoning his cuffs, he rolled them up his arms and sauntered to the table. “Please continue leading the way, madame.”

Simone smiled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Be ready when I pick it up.” She laid her hands under the larger ball of collected heart tissue, which now resembled red Jell-O. Time to set this baby free. Chanting the words the Great Mother had instructed to break the stasis spell, she lifted the heart with Desmond’s hands supporting hers underneath. Simone placed it in the bowl. The bowl’s contents steamed with the addition.

“That isn’t going to smell pretty,” Jeremy said.

“Maybe I can find something to cover your nose and mouth if you’re so delicate,” Desmond suggested.

Was that a BJ comment? Simone shook her head and focused on the bowl. “Quit whining and give me the brown gooey stuff in the Ziploc bag.”

Jeremy obeyed with a disgusted look on his face. “I don’t want to know what that is.”

Simone snorted. “You really don’t.” She opened the bag and scraped a plastic spoon inside it. After scooping out a dollop of the goo, she flicked it in the bowl. Carefully, Simone gave the handle side to Jeremy without touching the wet end. “Burn that.” She returned her attention to the heart ball collapsing on itself back into liquid form. A minute or two, and it’ll be ready. Simone put her hands on the dead man’s chest and breathed heavily, letting her magic seep through the skin and encouraging the body to mimic her. She imagined the man’s veins pumping with blood, but placed a barrier over his gaping chest so the blood stayed inside him. In the bowl, the heart was completely liquefied. “Jeremy, the paper.” Her not-so-eager assistant slapped it next to the body’s hand. “Needle.” Jeremy gently put it in her hand, and Simone used it to poke the man’s finger. Blood dripped from the pinprick as she moved his finger to the paper. “Desmond, please blow on it,” she said with an absolute straight face. I need a raise after this because this is going to be the death of me.

Desmond winked. “That is a request I love fulfilling.” He bent down and blew softly on Gulley’s hand. The stiff hand twitched and spasmed. It jerked until a pointer finger rested on the paper and scribbled erratically, filling the page until Jeremy snatched it away and replaced it with a new one.

Jeremy chewed his lip. “His writing is barely legible.”

Simone rolled her eyes. “What do you expect? He’s dead. Another spell can sort that out later. Right now, I’m focused on getting it all down before Gulley’s heart loses its memories.”

“You mean me,” Jeremy grumbled. “I bet Clive expects me to clean all this up too.”

“He better, because I did most of the work.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow at her.

“You had an Amazon to defend you, so stop whining.”

“There are a few spells I want to try on him in private, so I wouldn’t mind taking a few parts with me,” Desmond said.