Dark Magic (Harbinger P.I. Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

if I leave the Land Rover here, will you call me when it’s ready to be collected? My number’s on here.” I handed her one of my business cards.
    “Of course,” she said, taking the card and reading it.
    “And we’ll give you a loaner while you’re waiting,” Earl said. “You’ll need a car for your supernatural investigations and such.”
    “Sure,” I said. I wasn’t going to turn down the offer of another vehicle. It meant I wouldn’t have to rely on Felicity to get around. It also meant I wouldn’t have to squeeze myself into the Mini.
    “I’ll get the keys,” June said, heading for the office.
    “Could I see that newspaper too?” I asked.
    “Sure thing,” Earl said. “We’re done with it, so you can have it.”
    June disappeared for a few seconds and then reappeared with a set of car keys and a folded Dearmont Observer . She gave me the newspaper and took the keys over to a brown Chevy that was in good condition but looked at least thirty years old.
    “She’s a 1985 Chevy Caprice,” Earl said. “She’s old but she runs just fine.”
    June unlocked the driver’s door and opened it for me.
    “Thanks,” I said, looking at the boxy design of the mud-colored car and wishing Earl had something cooler on his lot, like an Impala.
    I got in and June handed me the keys. The interior of the car was warm and smelled of lemon thanks to an air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror. The seats were beige velour but the fabric wasn’t worn at all, despite the age of the car, so I guessed June and Earl had replaced the fabric recently. The dash was upholstered in light brown vinyl and that looked like it had been recently restored too. The way June and Earl were looking at me with expectant faces, I figured this old Caprice must be their pride and joy.
    “Very nice,” I said.
    Earl grinned. “That’s the car we spent our honeymoon in. Took her on a road trip all the way to California and back in 1987.”
    “She’s a beauty,” June said, lovingly running her hand over the bodywork.
    Considering what the Land Rover had been through recently, I wondered if it might be better if they loaned me a different car. I didn’t want to smash up a vehicle that gave them happy memories. But I was only going to be investigating the church and the lake in the next couple of days, so I didn’t anticipate any car chases or arguments with cemetery gates. I just had to make sure Polidori didn’t get behind the wheel.
    I tossed the Dearmont Observer onto the passenger seat and thanked June and Earl again before cranking the engine. It came to life with a throaty purr. The mechanic couple had probably spent the last thirty years tinkering with the engine, or maybe even replaced it with something more powerful.
    I waited for Felicity to get into her Mini before following her out of the parking lot and back onto the highway. As I left the lot, I waved to June and Earl. They waved back, watching me drive their pride and joy away.
    I just hoped that when I returned the car, it would be in the same condition it was in now.

Chapter 3
    W e reached the township of Clara an hour later, after coming off the highway and following narrow roads that wound through the trees. A simple wooden sign by the roadside, bearing the name CLARA painted in uneven red letters, told us we’d reached our destination.
    There were six houses, three on each side of the road, and a couple of rough patches of farmland but nothing to suggest that anyone lived here. The houses looked abandoned, the farmland neglected and overgrown.
    After we drove past the houses, I spotted a small hand-painted sign that read CHURCH over an arrow pointing down a dirt road that looked just wide enough for a car to pass.
    Felicity’s Mini slowed in front of me and she turned onto the dirt road. I followed, the undergrowth at the edges of the road brushing against the sides of the Caprice. Maybe Felicity’s small car had some advantages after all; it was ideal