It's Just Magic

This is a work of fiction; any resemblance to real people, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental. All characters involved in any sexual activity are over the age of 18. Medical references are fictional and contrived to enhance the story. It is obviously fantasy, please suspend reality when reading this. I hope you enjoy this story. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

I received many comments saying the sections were too short. On a previous story I had received comments that it was too long to read in one sitting. I'm trying to find the happy medium. This resumes after P. 12.

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It's Just Magic - Ch 13

A couple years later my principles were severely tested. Credible allegations were made against my father and my sister, Celine, for operating an unlicensed medical facility and for blackmail. I was pretty certain that Celine's clinic would never be classified as a medical facility; but I was not nearly as confident that my father was not blackmailing some of her high profile clients.

I gave the case to my chief assistant and told him to run the case 'by the book'. I would like updates, but I would not make suggestions or interfere in any way.

As the case was being developed, it was clear that my first assumptions were correct. No one ever claimed that Celine performed any surgeries or any medical procedures. The best they had was "she put her hands on me and did a little hocus pocus, and my boobs were bigger".

However, there appeared to be substantial evidence that my father was blackmailing Celine's clients, including before and after pictures and requests for follow-up payments. I learned that most of Celine's procedures cost over $20,000 with payment in advance. (And I got it for free, and a blow job!)

I really didn't know the extent of my father's powers, but I believed him to be powerful. Could he be imprisoned? Could he be taken into custody? Would he allow it?

I teleported to Celine's office, which was a great surprise to her. We talked and she said that she almost certainly could not be convicted of operating a medical facility; but Father had been making contact with her former clients.

"He could go to prison, if the allegations are proven."

"They can't take him to prison, he won't let them."

"That's what I was afraid of. How bad would it be?"

"Everyone that they would send to take him in would probably be dead."

"I was afraid of something like that. Who owns the house?"

"Why, YOU do!" Celine exclaimed.

"What??"

"When Father learned of the extent of your powers, and that you had married a woman with strong magical powers, he had the title transferred to you. He was obsessed with carrying on the magical line, and that the house would remain within our magical family. He never told you?"

"About then we had a falling out."

"What happened, anyways?"

"I discovered that he had left a back door in my mental shields so he could enter if he wanted to."

"Oh."

"I have had my shields completely rebuilt with no undesirable openings. So he won't be able to do anything."

"Do you think that I have a back door?"

"I would not be surprised. I don't have the time to check right now, but I am capable of doing that. Unfortunately. Master Otto has passed, so it will take me a little longer than it would have for him, but I can get it done."

I continued, "I need to talk with Father."

"I believe that he's in his study. Be careful, don't be rash."

When I knocked on his study door, he invited me in. "I've been expecting you," he said when I entered.

"You know that there is an investigation into you and some of your correspondence with Celine's clients?"

"Yes."

"The evidence seems to be rather damning. If it proves accurate you could be facing a long prison sentence and substantial fines, you know."

"I'd like to see them try. It would be a bloodbath."

"I was afraid of something like that. You would not surrender to the authorities? You would use your powers in a very public way? All of these years of protecting the magical community would be blown away, just like that?"

"Would you have me go to prison?"

"I would prefer that we were not facing this conundrum. I would prefer that you would not have been blackmailing some of Celine's clients. I would prefer that you had not left a hole in my shields that you could exploit. There are many things that I would have been different. But I will not have my own Father blatantly ignoring the law in the very county that I am sworn to uphold the law.

"I know that you are strong. You know that I am strong, but you don't know how strong I have become. A battle between us would become public, which would not be good for anyone in the magical community, including your own grand daughters.

"Perhaps you could leave the area and leave the country. Go to a Caribbean country where they would not pursue to extradite you. You could buy a company house and have a cook and housekeeper. You could work on your magic undisturbed. Lori and I and the girls could pop in for a visit from time to time."

"Do you think that those investigators would let me just leave? Or would you call them off? I didn't think so. How would I live, how would I generate income?"

"It would be worth a million dollars to me if I didn't have to deal with this." I said.

"Where would you get that kind of money? You can't sell the house! Where would Celine live? Where would she do her work?"

"No, I would not sell the house. Although we do need to have a conversation about the house at some point. But I could manage to give you that much. With a million dollars, would you promise me that you would not be involved in illegal activities? I would get you safely out of the country and to the Island of your choice. The interest on that, along with the lower cost of living, should allow you to live comfortably without ever needing to touch the principle."

"What about my books and other things?"

"I would take your books down a little bit at a time. It would take a while, but I would get them moved down. Other things are just things and can be replaced."

"Except for things like my mother's crystal ball, or my father's wand."

"I have never even heard about them. Now is not the time to discuss them, but I would like to hear about all of that. Will you do it? Will you go?"

"It really means that much to you?"

"Yes. The alternative is disastrous for everyone."

"OK. But Celine?"

"She will have full use of the house for as long as she wants or needs it. And I will keep Cook and Manuel on as well. The house will run just as it always has." I paused, then asked, "Do you have any thoughts about where you will go?"

"I will do some looking and thinking," he said.

"Don't take long. This is coming to a head very soon."

"I'll know in a couple days, at the latest. How will I get out of here?"

"I will teleport you. We may make several intermediate hops, that will be less chance for errors. Do you have a passport?"

"Yes, but will I be able to use it?"

"You won't use it on the trip, but you may need it there until you get established. How are you on languages?"

"I'm a polyglot like your sister. I can understand any language that I hear, and can speak it within a few minutes. Of course, I can understand what another person is thinking as well, unless they are well shielded."

"Get a few essentials together. Set aside the books and essential heirlooms for me to transport over several trips. Let me know soon where you want to go and I will take you there."

When I got home I told Lori what I had done. She was upset and concerned, but as we discussed it further she came to see that it was still the best option. She had a million dollars moved to a separate off-shore numbered account that my father could use. We gathered $20,000 in cash for him to get setup.

The next day I checked on him and he said that he wanted to go to Belize and had found a house there that would work for him. I told him that I had $20,000 in cash and a numbered account for $1,000,000 set up. He never asked me about the source of the funds. He probably assumed that they were illegally obtained.

We would leave the following day. It was Saturday and I would not need to be in the office. I took his hand, and each of us held a suitcase. I thought Atlanta Airport and we were there. Our next stop was the Miami Airport, then Cancun, and finally Belize City.

He checked in at a popular hotel and made contact with the real estate agent. We went to see the house that they had discussed. They haggled on the price until my father was satisfied, then he gave the agent $10,000 in cash and signed a promissory note for the balance of the price.

He was heading to a domestic service agency to hire a cook and housekeeper. I reversed my itinerary and was home by midafternoon. I drove to my father's house to visit my sister and encouraged her to come over to visit us on a regular basis. "While this house is technically my property, it is your home for as long as you wish. I have no need of a second house. Maybe you'd like to find a nice guy and settle down," I said.

Celine looked at me and said, "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"I have been married twice. I outlived my first husband, and my second couldn't deal with the apparent age difference as he aged. I have a daughter who is 68 years old. She lives in California and chose to avoid the magical world."

I looked at my sister, dumbfounded. "How can that be? You only look 25 or so yourself."

"That's so kind to say to this 97 year old woman. Our family ages extremely slowly. I've never been able to pin Father down on his exact age (when he dates, he tells the women that he's 48), but I believe that he is around 150, maybe a little older. He remembers this town when it was filled with horses and wagons. I have lost track of our grandparents. They were born around 1800 and they moved to California in the early 1900's, but they were still doing OK the last time I heard from them when my daughter was young."

"What does this mean for me, Lori, and our children?"

"We have different mothers. You could have inherited the longevity gene, or maybe you didn't; likewise for your children. If you did, you will likely outlive Lori and still look much as you do today. If not, you won't. Time will tell."

"Can you still have children? I mean ...."

"It's OK. I had my tubes tied about 50 years ago. But I still have periods, so otherwise I guess that I could."

"I'm really having trouble wrapping my head around this. Our grandparents, who were born over 200 years ago, may still be alive and living in California?? It's been nice talking to you, but I need a little time to process all of this. But, back to the original purpose of the visit, the house is yours for as long as you need or want it, which may be a very long time. And we would like to see you more often. Just give us a call."

A little over a week later I received a call from Celine. "I need your help, I don't know what to do. The Sherriff is here with a search warrant and an arrest warrant for Father."

"Have them give you all of the paperwork. I will get you a good lawyer."

"Aren't you a lawyer?"

"Yes, but I work for the County. That would be a conflict of interest."

"You don't know where Father is or how he left. You noticed that he did not come to dinner last Saturday evening. Right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"If they want to see or take any of your patient records, ask them to wait until your lawyer arrives. You will have to walk a fine line. You are not practicing medicine, but you do have client confidentiality concerns and you want your lawyer to help you through that very carefully. He/she will need to read the warrant very carefully if they want to take any of your records. Anything in Father's office or anywhere other than your clinic that is called for in the warrant, be extremely cooperative. OK?"

The Sherriff called me next. "Where is your Father?"

"We had a falling out quite a while back and I haven't been in touch with him much for a while."

"You haven't seen him or talked to him recently?"

"I believe that you have had the house under 24 hour surveillance and wire taps running for at least a couple weeks. You tell me, have I visited the house or talked to him?"

"No."

"Did he leave the house to meet me someplace?"

"No. He hasn't left the house."

"Then how would I know where he is if you don't. Have you searched the house? As a favor to me, I would ask that you do not destroy the place. It is actually my property."

"Your property?"

"Yes, he transferred title to the house to me about the time my first child was born. He continues to pay all of the expenses of the house, he just wants it to remain in the family. When I had children, he transferred it to me."

"So any damage would be yours ...?"

"Yes, and I know what is necessary for a thorough search, and what is unnecessary destruction. Perhaps Celine could guide you through the house, show you any hidden passages, or any such things. She has lived there a long time and I'm certain that she would be willing to assist. Would you like me to come over? I, too, am happy to assist. I don't want a cloud hanging over all of this."

"If you would like."

When I arrived at the house, the Sherriff and Deputies were going through Father's study. They were about to break the locks on his cherry wood desk when I walked in. "May I assist? There's a little trick to getting these things to open." I moved in front of the drawer and used telekinesis to turn the tumblers on the locks. Then I stepped away for them to open the drawers. "It would be a shame to damage such an heirloom piece needlessly, wouldn't it?"

One of the Deputies muttered, "I tugged and twisted on that damn thing every which way. I don't know how he did that!"

They gathered all of the papers from Father's desk and credenza. Only his books were left. I summoned Celine to lock her clinic and come to the study. "Celine, these gentlemen want to search the entire premises to look for Father. Would you assist them? Be sure to show them any back doors or other hidden access points." With my mental pictures of her breasts and buttocks, she completely understood my meaning.

"Could I beg your patience for just a moment so that I can use the restroom. Then I will be able to give you my full attention." Celine said with her brilliant smile. When she returned, in addition to having used the toilet, she had also removed her bra. I was confident that she had also removed her panties.

The house was a very old, Victorian house, and it did have a number of hidden passages and obscure hallways. As she showed the Deputies around, she would often need to squeeze past one or another of the men, rubbing her breasts against them as she passed. There were a few crawlways where she led the way along, giving the Deputies behind her a spectacular view of her ass. They were all very considerate of her requests by the end of the tour; and fully convinced that Father was nowhere in the house.

By the end of the tour her attorney had arrived. She reviewed the paperwork and declared that Celine's office was 'off limits'. If the Sherriff wanted to dispute her decision, they would have to have a hearing with the judge who issued the search warrant. Confidential client records were not specifically included in the search warrant. She gave the Sherriff a copy of the standard confidentiality agreement, and asked him whether a client should expect those records to be subject to disclosure. She went on to say that from what she understood, the case against Father was specifically based upon the breach of those confidentiality agreements. How could the State pursue Father if they were willing to breach those same agreements?

The Sherriff backed down and agreed to have the judge review the warrant. He asked to be allowed to post a Deputy to assure that none of the records were removed or destroyed, which Celine's lawyer allowed. Now would be the battle to see who would be allowed to stay with her for the next several days.

The Sherriff and the forensics team checked her clinic very carefully and found no medical devices of any kind, no bandages or swabs. Actually they found nothing except a few examination or massage type tables and Celine's collection of anatomy books. After they met with the Assistant Prosecutor, it was clear that there would be no charges filed against her. And that meant that they didn't have any cause to obtain her confidential client files. So that was resolved.

After inspecting the house thoroughly, the Sherriff had not found Father. He kept 24 hour surveillance on the house and electronic surveillance on all communications, but there was never a sight or sound to indicate where Father currently was. As a courtesy I invited the Sherriff to my home and showed him around, to allay any concerns that I might be harboring him there. The days turned into weeks, and then into months, and other priorities required the time and attention of the Sherriff's Department. While it remained an open investigation, it had moved to a back burner.

TO BE CONTINUED ...