Witches in Wonderland

by J. D. Winters

  I studied her for a long moment. It just didn’t wash. I didn’t believe her. She looked nervous, wringing her hands and looking around as though she expected something to jump out at us any minute. She was hiding something and I had no idea how I was going to get her to talk openly. Maybe there was no way at all. Still, there were some things I could ask her.

  “What happened to Hector?” I said, hoping to throw her off balance.

  “What?” She looked startled.

  “Hector. The big ghost. The one everyone is scared of.”

  “How did you know about Hector?”

  I shrugged. “I hear things.”

  “Well…” She moved toward the door. “He was always a problem. Now he’s gone. I hope he doesn’t come back.”

  “Why did he leave?”

  “I think…” She turned her face toward me and her eyes looked huge and tragic. “I think he hurt someone.”

  “Aunt Tina. Did he kill Kenny?”

  “Kill? Oh no. He can’t kill. He’s a ghost.”

  “But Clarissa was hurt by him. And Kenny was killed.”

  I stared at where I’d just seen her, but suddenly, she was gone. I looked around the room. No sign of her. I sighed. I guess I could use some lessons in interrogation. I didn’t seem to have any natural skills for it.

  This was really annoying. I didn’t know anything more than what I’d come in with. What a waste of time.

  I was angry and frustrated and I gathered myself together and started out toward the stairway. It was about time that I got back outside and returned to what my goals had been earlier.

  Then I noticed something. A broom and a dust pan, stuck behind a door. Someone had been sweeping up the landing. Stray items got dropped and forgotten when things went a little crazy. No sense ignoring a chance to see what these characters had left behind. I went over and knelt down to check the contents of the dust pan. Ashes. A whole pile of ashes. Once I saw that, the scent filled my head. Had a witch been burning witchy things? If so, it wasn’t me. So who could it be?

  I hesitated. How was I going to take away ashes? I pulled out the folded paper Rennie had given me with the ghost addresses and made a container from the folds. Using it as a scoop, I captured enough of the ashes to do some analyzing later. I folded the paper more tightly and slipped it back into my pocket, then started down the stairs as silent as a ghost.

  (Just a little supernatural humor. Sorry.)

  I paused when I reached the pentagram, paused and studied it for a moment. I really didn’t know much about pentagrams, but I could feel the power in this one. Funny I hadn’t noticed it the night before. Could Kenny’s murder have endowed the power, rather than being a result of it? I just didn’t have answers to these questions. If only my grandmother would clue me in a little more. I sighed and started for the back window—but not quickly enough. One of the cops was coming in through the front door and he saw me the moment I saw him.

  I froze. Electricity. Time stood still.

  In the seconds it took to realize I was in deep trouble, I’d already set a plan in motion. I knew I couldn’t stand here and let this lawman arrest me for trespassing. Not only would that be humiliating, but Shane would have all the excuse he needed to throw me in a jail cell and let me rot. And I didn’t want that.

  I didn’t know this guy. He probably didn’t know who I was. If I could just get out of here unscathed, I could probably pull this off. I needed a quick spell.

  Back when I’d first been realizing that I had witch powers, I’d done an amazing thing. Toto, my little dog, had run out in front of a car and I stopped time in order to save him. I had no idea how I’d done it. I’d asked Gran Ana for the spell, so that I could do it again, and she’d said it was too advanced for me.

  Then how did I get it to work the first time?

  Nobody knew. And when I’d tried to recreate the scene, it hadn’t worked. (No dogs were smashed in the attempt however!) So I had very little hope now. But I had to try something.

  I needed to focus, I needed to tap into that part of my brain that connected to magic, and I didn’t have a written spell to do it with. So I improvised, shutting my eyes so tight it hurt, recreating that moment in my head.

  Weirdly I found myself repeating doggerel Latin: “Canis rescuem, canis rescuem.” Well, the first time I did this I saved my dog, after all. It worked then, would it work again? One more time… “Canus rescuem.”

  I didn’t have to open my eyes to know that it had, indeed worked. I could hear it. Well, actually I could hear that I couldn’t hear anything. Everything had stopped. Time stood still. Whoosh. I was more impressed in this instance than I’d been before. There was the cop in mid-step—in mid-yell—stopped cold. Wow.

  But I didn’t waste time admiring my own work. Instead, I headed for that back window. I didn’t know how long any of these spells could last, and I knew they were all time sensitive. I bailed out through the window and hit the patch of weeds below the opening in a crash, rolled to my feet, and ran. It was so neat seeing the world begin to wake back up around me. Beautiful, actually. Just goes to show—magic can’t be all bad.

  I dashed through the underbrush and came out down the block, turned the corner and began to walk quickly, hoping I was anonymous at least. I didn’t know what had happened to Mandy and her little Shrimp but I couldn’t risk going back to look for them now. I didn’t get the sense that they’d been caught, or I would have given it one last try. Mandy seemed very resourceful as far as making escapes went. I was pretty sure she would be okay.

  But what about Rennie? Had she found Gordon?

  I checked my cell. No calls. I tried to get her on the line, but no luck. I texted, asking her to call. And just as I finished, the phone buzzed, making me jump.

  But it wasn’t Rennie. The screen said “Clarissa”.

  I answered with a question. “How did you get my number?”

  “Your number?” It was Clarissa all right. “Oh, yes. I borrowed Rennie’s cell this morning and cloned her contact list. I figured she’d have plenty of numbers I was going to need if I was going to get anything done in this town.”

  The woman had no shame. But I have to admit, it made me laugh.

  “And how about Hector?” I asked her. “Have you found him?”

  “I’ve got his location pinned down. Now I just have to figure out a way to lure him back to the Haunted House and secure him. How about you? What did you find in your ghost collecting trip around the neighborhood?”

  “I saw some interesting things, such as Rosie the Ghost Keeper carting ghosts around in places she isn’t supposed to be. I’ll tell you all about it when we meet up again.”

  “Good. We’ll coordinate then.”

  There it was again, just something that sparked a reaction in me—as though we were colleagues or coworkers. And it wasn’t like that. What was wrong with me?

  “Hey, listen,” I said quickly. “What do you know about Phyllis Sands?”

  “She’s Kenny’s ex. She’s kind of a ditz.”

  “Yeah, that was my impression.”

  “She came by to see him late last night,” she added.

  I almost gasped aloud. “You’re kidding. You saw her?”

  “I did, but she didn’t see me. She snuck in the back way, and it was after midnight. She didn’t stay long. Just long enough to have a short fight with Kenny, like always, and then she left.”

  “Hmm. Interesting. Especially since she claims she wasn’t even in town yet at that time.”

  “There you go. The guilty flee where none pursueth.”

  “Uh…I guess so.” I gave a little shrug. “Have you heard if we have a time of death yet?”

  “Nope. But I know it was after two a.m., because that was the last time I saw him.”

  “Really? How did he seem?”

  “Just his usual jackass self. I was busy making preparations for the next day and he came out and bugged me, as usual. We had an argument and he went off to bed.”


  “And that was the last time you saw him?”

  “Yes. I finished up my tasks and I went into my own room and didn’t come out until early dawn when I heard a lot of commotion, so I threw on a robe and came out onto the landing. Only to get knocked down by that stupid Hector as he went raging around.”

  “Yeah, he knocked me down too. But I didn’t get hurt.”

  “I did. Knocked me cold. But at least he didn’t shove a knife in my chest.”

  Right. Regarding those tasks she said she’d been going through—I wondered what she meant, and whether there had been a fire and ashes involved. Someone had used one. If I didn’t ask, I’d never know. Right?

  “So did you start the fire on the landing?” I asked, holding my breath for her answer.

  She didn’t pause. “Fire? What do you take me for? Of course not.”

  I was pretty sure she was lying. It was nothing but a vague suspicion, but I was going to have to develop an instinct for catching out those who tried to get away with lies. It would be a handy skill to have in my arsenal. Of course, I might have more luck with accuracy when I could see the other person. Just the voice didn’t convey enough to work on.

  We planned to meet at the Pepper Lane house in a couple of hours, and rang off. It wasn’t until a moment later that I realized I should have asked her if she’d seen my grandmother that night. Or talked to her. I would have to save that question until next time.

  I decided to head over to Bentley’s with my little stash of ashes and see if he could help me analyze the remnants.

  I sailed past Sherrie—no dog for her to outlaw this time—and interrupted Bentley having a cigar in the back yard. He took a look at my ashes readily enough, but he couldn’t tell me what they were all about.

  “You need a good witch to help interpret this stuff,” he told me. “Or a sorceress maybe. Gee, I wonder where we could find a sorceress.”

  I made a face at him but he folded my ashes up and kept them. “I know a few people I might consult,” he said.

  “Okay, tell me the truth about this Phyllis person,” I said. “I heard the two of you had lunch.”

  “We had hot dogs she brought in from the deli,” he said. “Phyllis isn’t one to stand on ceremony.”

  “Or require a decent meal either, I guess.”

  He shrugged and grinned at me, showing off his little pointed teeth.

  “Was Phyllis one of the gang back in the days when you were in L.A.?” I asked him.

  He nodded. “I never did think she and Kenny were well suited, and I guess that judgment panned out, didn’t it?”

  “Do you still think she has no clear motive?” I said.

  “To kill him?” He looked a little shocked. “No. Phyllis isn’t the murdering type.”

  “Really? What does it take to i.d. as a murderer in your book?” I asked.

  He frowned fretfully. “Oh I don’t know. You never can tell. But I’d say she doesn’t fit the mold. Besides, she’s Gran Ana’s godchild. How could you suspect her of a thing like that?”

  “What about….” I hesitated. Should I say this? No, I shouldn’t. And to anyone but Bentley, I wouldn’t. But he was my best friend and I trusted him implicitly. “What about those ties to Gran Ana? How close are the two of them? How far would she go to please her?”

  He stared at me, nonplussed. “Seriously?” he said in a low voice. “You suspect your own grandmother of wanting Kenny removed?”

  I shook my head. “No. I don’t suspect anyone. I’m just throwing out theories and hoping to come up with something to go on.”

  “No Haley. I think you’re barking up the wrong tree here.”

  “Are you kidding? I’m one of those barkless dogs. All I’ve got left is a wicked bite.” I made a biting motion toward him and he jumped back, laughing.

  Look at me, threatening to bite a vampire. Crazy days.

  I said goodbye and turned my path toward the place where the television crew was hanging out. I was supposed to meet Clarissa there. Though we hadn’t specified a time, it seemed that the timing should be right for it now.

  At any rate, I had to make some progress in this case, or I was going to end up a suspect myself. Why not? I had motives. Those people were ruining the house I grew up in.

  Nah. I had to laugh at that one. There really was no way they could get me on that. But at the same time, I’d been using magic, and Shane wouldn’t like that. Still, what could he do about it?

  Famous last words. I was about to find out the answer to that challenge.

  Chapter 13

  The house on Pepper Lane was like a smaller, more rundown version of my house---er, the Haunted House. I could see right away why my family mansion (was that what it was?) might be preferred by tourists. Everyone here was sort of clumped together, whereas at the Haunted House, there were enough rooms to give everyone some privacy when they needed it.

  People were lolling about on couches, listlessly watching television or fooling around with their laptops, watching YouTube or MyVid channels. I looked around but saw no sign of Clarissa. Derek noticed me and rose to come to where I was standing in the doorway to the living room. He looked pretty bad--like someone who’d lost a lot of sleep and then found out his partner was murdered. Yeah, that about nailed it.

  “Hey,” I said, waiting to see if I warranted a smile or a frown.

  He smiled. I relaxed. I don’t know what I was expecting, but things were dicey all around today.

  “Anything new?” I asked quietly, not wanting to attract any attention from the others.

  He shook his head. “Not that I’ve heard.”

  “Same here.” I glanced at the crowd. “Has Clarissa been here yet?”

  “Not that I’ve seen. I figured she’d probably unfolded her wings and flown away like the vampire bat she is.”

  I looked at him sharply, remembering that he’d grown up in a haven town and seemed to know a lot about supernaturals. “She’s not a vampire,” I pointed out.

  He shrugged. “I know that. But she’s bat-crazy as far as I’m concerned. I told you that I’m from a haven town, didn’t I? I know about these types of beings. We’ve been in close quarters for weeks and I’ve seen it all: the silky, seductive Clarissa, the raging monster Clarissa, the clever, scary Clarissa. She’s a woman of many moods. I’ve found it’s best to stay out of her way.”

  I grinned at him. “Aw come on. What have you got against supers? I’ll bet some little Tinkerbelle fairy broke your heart in high school, didn’t she?”

  He laughed, but he was flushing a bit. “Never mind ancient history. I’ve been caught in double-deals from supers more recently than that. I always say, watch your back in a haven town.”

  I shook my head, smiling, then went serious again. “So what’s your plan?”

  “Me? How could I presume to make plans for my own life? That big flat hand of fate always comes down to smack me around if I start looking out for myself. I’ll just go with the flow.”

  “Whatever.”

  He nodded shoving his hands down deep into his pockets. “I know it’s too soon to start back in with filming, but we’re going bug wonky here. We’ve got to get involved in something or we’re going to be at each other’s throats soon.”

  I looked around at the assemblage. They did seem restless.

  “Has the sheriff been by to take statements yet?”

  He shook his head again. “Nope. And from talking to the others, I don’t think we’ve got much to tell. Whatever happened to Kenny happened when we were all asleep.”

  “There might have been somebody awake,” I noted. “And that somebody just hasn’t admitted it yet.”

  He shrugged. “Could be. But when you come right down to it, most people had gone off in other directions by the time this happened. The only ones left in the Haunted House were me and Mario and Kenny and Clarissa.”

  “How about Lilah?”

  “Oh yeah. I forgot about her.”

  “And the
n there were the ghosts.”

  He looked at me, almost seeming spooked. “You don’t think…?”

  “I don’t know. I’m just considering everything.”

  “Yeah, well you go ahead and consider. I’d rather be working.”

  I thought of something. “Hey, do you know a girl named Mandy Vega?” I asked him.

  He stared at me. “What do you know about Mandy Vega?” he asked.

  “I met her and she mentioned you and I was wondering…”

  “She mentioned me?” He got a sort of dreamy look in his eyes. “Mandy. I hadn’t thought about her for ages. What’s she doing now?”

  “She’s in town right now. So you knew her how?”

  He looked up, a little startled to be drawn out of his reverie. “Mandy. She was a pal. I actually knew her older sister better. Mandy’s a shifter. A lot of people—normal people—didn’t understand the supers, but I was hip to the jive from the start. All my best friends were supers. It was cool. Good times.”

  “I’ve only just met her but she seems….”

  “Fantastic. She’s the best. And her sister was cool too, until….” He hesitated and got a shifty look in his eyes.

  For some reason, a chill ran down my spine. “Until what?”

  He looked even more uncomfortable and turned away before he turned back again and spoke softly, near my ear. “There was this horrible accident. I’d already cut out for Hollywood at the time, but I heard about it. Her sister was driving somewhere with a bunch of other women and they ended up in that lake up by Cotton Springs. You know the one? They all drowned.” He looked pained. “That was a real tragedy. Mandy’s sister was Piper Vega. She was a doll. Forget Tinkerbelle fairies, I was madly in love with her at one point in my high school career. She didn’t give me a glance. And now she’s gone.” He sighed heavily, “Too many good ones are dying,” he said mournfully.

  I was stunned by what he was saying. Had Mandy’s sister been a friend of mine? Had she been with me in that car that went into the lake? I could hardly breathe and I was trembling badly. Should I ask him for more information or brush over it? I was lost, no direction in my heart or soul. What should I do? Where could I go?