Witch Hunt

by Marie Batiste

  Even though I didn’t plan on asking them any questions I couldn’t help myself. “Do you think the professor did it?” I walked over to Syn’s table and sat down.

  “I don’t,” answered Syn.

  “I don’t know him,” answered Wolf.

  I looked at Paige and she bit her lip.

  “What is it, Paige?” Syn asked.

  “Um— I’m not sure. I don’t think he did it, but the police have all this evidence. Her hair, her bracelet. It has to be him,” she said. “Right?”

  “Honestly, I’m unsure,” I sighed.

  Syn looked up at me while Wolf and Paige walked over to the table. Wolf grabbed two chairs from another table and they both sat down.

  “I thought you helped the police bring him in?” asked Syn.

  “I told them about him and what I saw and learned from my interviews, but I was never sure he abducted her. Honestly, I thought Professor Pierce knew who did it,” I answered.

  Syn leaned forward, his finger brushed against my hand. I pulled my hand back. Wolf smiled from across the table. “What do you think now?” asked Syn stone-faced.

  “Part of me still believes the professor didn’t take her himself. But the police consider the case closed,” I answered.

  “Is it true he died while being questioned by the police?” asked Paige.

  I stared at her.

  “That’s the rumor on campus,” added Wolf.

  “Y-yeah, he did. I was there and watched it happen,” I whispered.

  Wolf looked at his watch and said he had to go. As he was leaving a customer came in. Paige got up from the table to help her.

  “What happened?” asked Syn.

  “He was—” I stopped. I searched for the right words, but even when I replayed the events in my head. I still found it difficult to describe. I had never seen anyone die before. It was strange to put into words. “He was talking and then it was like he was choking on something. He hadn’t eaten anything, and no one was near him, but he couldn’t breathe. He fell back out of his chair as he was fighting for air. Some black goo oozed out of his mouth and his lips turned blue. By the time help arrived, he was—”

  “Dead,” finished Syn.

  “Yeah,” I said. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them away.

  “First time you’ve seen a dead body?” Syn asked.

  “No, I’ve seen dead bodies before. Just— no one has ever died in front of me,” I answered. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It almost didn’t seem real.”

  “Death never does,” he said quietly. “It sounds familiar.”

  “What does?” I asked as I blinked away more tears.

  “His death,” he answered. Syn stood up and disappeared into the stacks. He emerged with five books.

  “What are those?” I asked.

  “Old spell books,” he answered. He took one from the bottom and searched through it. It was an old leather-bound book with frayed edges. “No not this one.” He set that one aside and took up a black book that didn’t appear to be as old as the one before. He searched through it until he reached the middle of the book. “Here it is,” he said as he handed the book to me.

  “I’ve never heard of this spell before,” I said as I stared at the page.

  “Probably because it’s very old and dark magic,” he explained.

  “You practice dark magic?” I asked.

  He stared at me for a moment. “Look at the description of the spell,” he said.

  I took that as a yes. I looked at the description written above the ingredients.

  Your enemies will perish from speaking your name without your permission.

  “It’s a spell that will stop someone from speaking your name?” I asked.

  “Yup,” he answered.

  “That would come in handy if you wanted to stop your partner from turning on you and talking to the police,” I said. “If only I could talk to someone who knew him best. Find out who his friends were.” Probably should have done that before but what is it they say about hindsight?

  “Did you already talk to his son?” he asked.

  My head darted up from the book. “What son?” I asked. After Professor Pierce died, I investigated him. I couldn’t find much except what was on the school’s website and there was no mention of a son.

  “Um… yeah, he had a son. I don’t think they were close. I had to stay after for some extra help, and I heard him talking on the phone. It seemed like they had a strained relationship. The Professor was yelling at him about not wanting to see him and about the kid changing his last name to his mother’s maiden name. It seemed to really upset him. He apologized to me for having to hear all of that, but he seemed kind of sad about it. I just assumed you knew about him,” Syn explained.

  “Do you remember the last name?” I asked as I took out my notebook.

  “Um- J-Ja-Jasper. That’s it, Jasper,” he recalled.

  Jasper. I wondered if that was the J in TJ that she was supposed to meet the day she disappeared. “You never met him?” I asked.

  “No,” he answered.

  “Okay. Thanks.” I stood up. I gave a short wave to Paige who was behind the register ringing up another customer.

  I picked up a few groceries for my newly cleaned fridge. If I did start Rose’s case again, I would be on my own. Lola tracked a bounty to Tarau (the island of water) so she would be gone for a while. After I put the groceries away, I headed to my office with my computer but first I knocked on Blossom’s door and asked her to join me when she had a chance.

  “You needed something dear?” she asked.

  “What do you know about a spell that will suffocate a person for speaking your name?” I asked.

  Blossom’s mouth opened and closed twice before she finally answered. “Why would you want to know about such dark magic?”

  “Professor Pierce was a suspect in the disappearance of Rose Stone. When the police were interrogating him, he was about to say something but then he started choking and some black substance came out of his mouth. Detective Warren told me he probably committed spell suicide and activated it when they brought him in.”

  “No, that’s not possible. That spell only activates when you are about to say the castor’s name. Unless he was about to say his own name,” she said. “So, you think he had an accomplice?”

  “Yes and no. He might have had an accomplice and was about to give him up, or he conjured the mist cloaking spell for someone, but he had no idea what that person was doing. He realized that was the person who took Rose and was about to give him up when the death spell activated,” I explained.

  Blossom leaned back in the chair with her forefinger tapping against her bottom lip.

  “I just,” I sighed. “How advanced would a person have to be to cast both spells?”

  “Hmm, the death spell and the cloaking spell?” she asked. “Extremely. I mean they would have been practicing magic for years. Both spells are intricate and time-consuming. And with the death spell, you need access to the person you are casting the spell on.”

  “What kind of access?” I asked.

  “You need their blood,” she answered. “And there is a symbol that goes on the roof of their mouth. You must be standing over them when you cast the spell. Was he married?”

  “Divorced.”

  “Who else would have that kind of access?” she asked.

  “His son, maybe. But they weren’t that close,” I said. How was I going to find his son? Would he run? Probably not because no one was looking for him.

  “Now you listen to me dear, be careful,” stated Blossom. “What you are getting into now is very dangerous. Anyone that could cast these spells and that shadow that followed you to your apartment—”

  “That shadow,” I whispered. Something clicked in my head.

  “Huh?”

  “Um… I’ll be back. Thank you so much for your help,” I said as I jumped up from my chair, grabbed my purse, and headed out the door.
/>
  The bus pulled up two seconds after I had sat down on the bus bench. I rode it to Rose’s apartment.

  Standing in her apartment I could feel the same feeling I felt my first time there. I sat down in her living room and waited.

  An hour went by and then there it was. I caught it out of the corner of my eye. A dark figure. It moved from the hall and stood in front of me in the living room. There it was. The shoulders, the same body type.

  “Hello Syn,” I said. “Come to Rose’s apartment now so we can talk.” As I said the last word, the figure disappeared. I sat back and waited again. Fifteen minutes went by before I heard a knock at the door.

  “Come in,” I said.

  Syn walked in and sat on the sofa.

  “How long have you been into dark magic?” I asked.

  “Not long,” he sighed. “I’m not doing anything wrong.”

  “Really? Creating a shadow to follow people— what is it?”

  “I’m not a shadow person or anything like that. It’s a spell to remove my shadow and— place it somewhere,” he explained.

  “Okay. I think I get it. Why? And when?” I asked.

  He hesitated.

  “Before Rose went missing? You were spying on her,” I said.

  “No!” he shouted. “It wasn’t like that.”

  “Then, how was it?” I asked.

  “She had some mystery boyfriend and was acting strange so—”

  “Strange how?” I asked.

  “She would disappear for hours at a time. She never told me his name, and we never got to see him, which I thought was strange,” he explained.

  “You wanted to figure out what she was doing,” I stated.

  “Yeah, I did.”

  “She’s a witch. How did she not sense you?” I asked.

  “I’m good at masking it,” he smiled. “Usually. How did you know?”

  “I’m good at sensing things. Were you in love with her?” I asked.

  “What? No!” Syn shook his head. “We’ve been friends for a while. Even though I’m a couple of years older she’s my best friend. My first real friend anyway and something just didn’t feel right.”

  “Mm-Hmm.”

  “I’m not a perv, okay. When she was changing, I stayed out of the room. I wasn’t trying to look at her. I was trying to get a glimpse of the guy she was dating,” he explained.

  “Did you?” I asked.

  “No, he never came to the apartment. They talked in text, so I never heard his voice. I learned nothing.”

  “So why does your shadow keep coming back?” I asked.

  “In case she comes home,” he answered. “Or someone else shows up.”

  “And why did you follow me home?”

  “I was trying to figure out who you were and then Rose’s mom told me you would be contacting me, so I stopped,” he answered.

  “Hmm.” So, the shadow disappearing from my apartment had nothing to do with the necklace Blossom had given me. Okay.

  “Are you going to tell on me?” he asked.

  “Tell people you’re a perv?”

  “I’m not—”

  I smiled. Syn sat back on the sofa and sighed. He just wanted to protect his friend, and that was the only way he could do it because she wouldn’t tell him anything. He still couldn’t tell me anything about the mysterious boyfriend though, so I went home after I told him to answer the phone when I call. I stopped by my office to get my computer before heading upstairs. When I neared my desk, it powered on. I picked it up. My email screen popped up saying I got a new email from The Missing of Crystal Lake. They allowed me access to their site.

  Chapter 11

  A Witch Hunt

  The sun had come and gone, and I was still on the forum. I talked to several family members that had a missing loved one. I decided in the middle of the night, after learning about Tania, that I was going to continue with Rose’s case. Tania was like Rose. She was a college student, a witch, and a sweet person. At least according to her friends. She didn’t keep secrets until she got a boyfriend a few months before she disappeared. Tania’s friend Lana said she knew Tania was dating someone but was never introduced. Sounds familiar.

  With dry and scratchy eyes, I made one more post.

  If possible, I would love to meet all of you or as many of you as possible, for interviews. We could talk about your loved ones and gather any clues that link the cases together. If you would like to get together, please let me know and I’ll set it up.

  I locked my office door and trudged up to my apartment. Collapsed face-first onto the sofa and didn’t move for six hours. Rolled over and slept for another three. I was still sleepy when I woke, but I had things to do. I showered, found something to eat and went back downstairs to check my computer. Ten people replied saying they would love to meet me. I replied with a date and a meeting place. A park where families go for picnics and to play. We agreed to meet Saturday morning.

  “Miss Moondance,” the voice was accompanied by a knock.

  “Yes?”

  Mrs. Stone stepped into my office. She wasn’t as put together as her previous visits. The heavy bags under her eyes told me sleep had abandoned her. Her blouse and her slacks were wrinkled, and her hair looked like she had put it in a ponytail without bothering to comb it first.

  “Mrs. Stone,” I gasped.

  “I’ve decided I want you to keep looking for my daughter,” she announced.

  “Um…have a seat,” I offered.

  “I’m not staying long. I just wanted to say that.”

  “I had already decided I was going to keep looking. Dead or alive, it’s better to know,” I said.

  “Have you found anything yet?” she asked.

  “I’ve been talking to some people on a forum set up by the families for other missing girls. Some of the girls have a lot in common with Rose. Witch, sweet, going to college. I’m meeting them Saturday morning at Ethereal Park. You should come,” I said.

  “Okay. I would like that,” said Mrs. Stone. “Please let me know if you find something else.”

  “I will.”

  She left quickly and quietly. How am I supposed to find someone that no one has ever seen before? And what about Professor Pierce’s son? Maybe Syn was mistaken. I scoured the internet, and I couldn’t find anything about the Professor having a son. No pictures. He wasn’t even mentioned in Pierce’s biography on the school website. As if not being able to find him wasn’t bad enough I tried talking to Detective Warren and he refused to talk with me.

  “The case is closed. Move on,” he ordered.

  “But you never found her body,” I reminded him.

  “And we probably never will,” he replied. “My boss signed off on it. Professor Pierce abducted Rose because she turned him down and committed suicide before we could get him to confess.”

  I didn’t believe that for one second. So now I needed to prove him wrong.

  I grabbed my purse, keys, and my notebook before exiting the apartment building. The bus stop was empty.

  “Join the revolution!” shouted a young girl who stood on the curb to the left of the bus bench.

  No wonder it was empty. She was young, late teens or early twenties. She looked like any other teenager. She wore a pink shirt, blue jeans, and sandals. Her dirty blonde hair was in a loose ponytail with stray strands framing her face.

  “Join the revolution. If you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem!” she shouted with neon green pamphlets in her hands.

  “Did that just move?”

  She looked at me and then down at her pamphlets. “Here,” she offered.

  I took one and smiled. It did. The cartoons on the front of the paper were moving. Fighting. Soldiers fought the rulers of the main islands. Beating them down until they cowered in a corner of the pamphlet.

  It read: Join us in bringing freedom to all.

  The bus pulled up.

  “If you don’t fight for the oppressed then you stand with
the oppressor!” she shouted.

  I found a seat all to myself. Behind me sat two middle-aged women whispering loudly to each other.

  It ended when one said, “They need to take that revolution crap back to the main islands. I live here, so I don’t have to be a part of that mess.” The other woman grunted in agreement.

  I rode the bus to the college. All the while trying to work out what I was going to say in my head. I knew what I needed to know I just wasn’t sure they would give it to me. Once there, I sat in the lobby for twenty minutes as I waited for the headmistress to return. People walked in and out of the school, but one caught my eye.

  “Mr. Lore?” I asked.

  The man looked up at me and squinted. He retrieved a pair of rimless glasses out of his briefcase and slipped them on as he inched closer to me. His hooves clicked against the tile floor. His dark blue dress shirt and dark blue suit jacket bunched up in the back.

  “Miss— wait a minute—Moondance?” he asked.

  “Yes sir,” I answered.

  He gave me a bear hug. “How have you been?” he asked.

  “Good. You?”

  “Not bad. I’ve downsized my classes to spend more time with my grandchildren,” he answered.

  “Oh, that’s sweet,” I said. “Mythical Creatures 101 was one of my favorite classes.”

  “You were one of my best students. You and your friend Tracey? No. Stacey,” he replied. “How is she doing?”

  “She disappeared six years ago. It was shortly after we had graduated,” I answered.

  “Oh. I’m so sorry to hear that,” he said. “She was never found?”

  “No. And we never learned what happened to her. Her mother moved away but I talk to her now and then. Just to check-in,” I answered.

  “Oh. Well what are you doing now?” he inquired.

  “I’m a private investigator,” I answered.