Page 6 of Death Dance

“I’ll bring the keys down, Mr. Francis,” Ben promised. “And yes, Pepper, Emerick is onto you, and he is in his office muttering curses. I was told to wait for you to come home and get him, but I’ll let your dad steal the Beetle first.”

“You’re the best, Ben. Thanks.”

The garage door opened, and my father eased the car down the ramp. I directed him to the spot I’d claimed for my new car, which was nestled between my Jaguar and my purple SUV. “Isn’t my SUV beautiful?”

“She is an excellent and bold vehicle. I see you have put your vehicles in a row.”

Once he killed the engine and Eugene got out, I bounced to my Jaguar and gave her a loving pat on her hood. “I’m really looking forward to driving this.”

My brothers came to investigate my father’s present, and Eugene circled my car. “I can understand why a brood of cats would like this vehicle.”

My father nodded. “Your sister has always had cat-like tendencies, so I thought she might enjoy it. Eugene, do work with her in the SUV before giving her a taste of true speed and power. Perhaps you could earn your brother-in-law’s respect should you take her for driving lessons on a racetrack.”

“Hey,” Alisander and Benoit complained.

“We can all go,” I said, aware my brothers would start fighting with each other. “We can all take turns driving the fancy cars on the track. Then I will graduate by taking our father on a drive. That might kill him off, dealing with me behind the wheel.”

My father snickered. “Unlikely, but a good try, little girl. Ah, there’s Ben.” He held out his hand for the keys. Both Ben and I handed over the keys to Emerick’s Beetle. “I will return her almost as good as new, painted in her original color but wrapped in silver so he can appropriately show off his plumage. I will be kidnapping my daughter’s new child and putting her in purple wrap when I go to take his daughter to the body shop for the work. She can still be driven, yes?”

“Be careful in second gear. She is prone to stalling, and she’s bleeding oil. We top her up weekly, so she’ll be fine to drive. Her max limit is thirty miles before she needs to be checked.”

My father sighed. “I will take her to my home and have the mechanics begin work there, and if my lift and tools are insufficient, I’ll have her shipped. It should be fine, especially once the boys source all the parts. I want the Beetle ready to be wrapped in two weeks, so don’t disappoint me, children.”

My brothers saluted our father before returning their attention to my Jaguar.

Ben stared at my new daughter, and he raised a brow. “If you park that in his spot, I can ask him to come downstairs so I can question what happened to his Beetle when he wasn’t paying attention to her.”

I snickered at the trick, which wouldn’t last long, as my Beetle had different plates from his. I’d gotten custom plates, which read BLACKCAT.

It amazed me nobody had claimed it already.

“I can move her car after you leave, Dad,” Alisander offered. “We can also start preparing Emerick for the reality of being one of your sons.”

My father chuckled, opened the engine compartment located at the back of the car, and began poking around. “A lot of love has gone into keeping this poor daughter running. I admire that. I will return her as good as new, and any parts we cannot restore with magic will be returned so he can keep them. But I am hopeful we won’t need any of those parts. I will not appreciate the bill, but she’s in better shape than I anticipated. Excellent.” My father closed the compartment, gave the Beetle a fond pat, and got behind the wheel, coaxing the engine to life.

We got out of the way, and I appreciated how my father took great care with Emerick’s car, waving as he left.

Alisander took the keys of my car, got behind the wheel, and moved her into Emerick’s spot.

Ben chuckled, got out his phone, and tapped at the screen before holding it to his ear. “Emerick, I have apprehended Pepper in the parking garage, but we have some questions for you. What did you do to your car?”

That question would inevitably induce panic, and I would have myself a grand time when he realized what I’d done. After a moment, Ben returned his phone to his pocket. “He’s on the way. He, for the record, exclaimed he hadn’t done anything to any of his cars. You’re rather evil, Pepper.”

I was. “Look at my plates, Ben. He’ll figure it out if he looks at my plates. If the paint job doesn’t tip him off, the plates will.”

Ben crouched for a look at the plates and their frames, which featured a black cat wearing a witch hat. “That’s great. But where did you get one of these cars?”

“I spent some of my bounty money. Honestly, the bounty I bagged this morning will pay for her bill. Oh, that reminds me. The head.”

Alisander pointed at the box, which waited near my SUV. “I already did the groundwork for you, so the police will be by in a few hours to bring your check and claim the head. They did ask that we at least refrigerate it until they get here.”

Fortunately, the brood had a freezer dedicated to bodies, body parts, and other things nobody had any business eating. “I’ll put it in the appropriate place before I’m apprehended and taken upstairs.”

“What happened to my car?” Emerick demanded, stomping out of the elevator and heading our way.

For him to have arrived so quickly, he had already been on route to the garage when Ben had called him. I grinned and gestured at my vehicle.

He stopped, and his eyes widened. “That is not my car.” To my delight, he checked the plates first. “That is definitely not my car. Where is my car?”