“Is that Naida?” Kade asked, confused.
I shook my head. “It’s Tillie. She can control the weather.”
“And who is controlling the ghosts?” Raven asked, confused.
“Bay.”
“Huh. That’s interesting. I ... .” Whatever she was going to say died on her lips as one of the ghosts started barreling in our direction.
“Poet!” Kade held tight as he tried to move me out of the way, but I knew I only had one chance to stop this. If I didn’t, someone would most certainly die.
“I can’t.” I shoved away from him and raced toward the spot between Tillie and Max. They eyed each other with great interest ... and murderous intent. “Don’t!” I screeched as I skidded to a stop between them, holding up my hands. “Don’t do anything!”
Max was calm as he met my gaze. “I believe we’re under attack.”
I shook my head. “They were here looking for Billy’s ghost because they wanted answers. I don’t think they meant to wake us ... or hurt us.” I looked for Bay’s face in the darkness, and when she finally appeared under the limited moonlight her cheek was streaked with dirt. “That’s why you’re here, right?”
She nodded, licking her lips as she glanced around. “We thought we could sneak onto the property without you knowing.”
Raven snorted. “Good job.”
Thistle straightened her frame and glared. “No one needs your lip, snake girl.”
“How do you know what she is?” I asked, legitimately curious.
“We know more than we might’ve let on,” Bay admitted, sheepish.
“I was just about to tell you the same thing.”
She pursed her lips, considering. “I guess we should talk.”
“That would probably be best,” I agreed.
“Wait ... so there’s no fight?” Dolph looked disappointed as he dropped his fists. “Well, this just bites.”
Nellie patted his arm. “I know, big guy. If it’s any consolation, that’s the witch I was telling you about.” He winked at Tillie. “She’s the peanut to my M&M, man. I’m not kidding.”
Ugh. If things weren’t bad enough to give me a headache, that statement alone would’ve sent me over the edge.
“Well, this was fun,” Kade said brightly.
I could think of other ways to describe it.
WE SETTLED AT the picnic tables, Nellie delivering bottles of water to everyone. Max took his spot at the head of the table. Tillie conjured a chair from somewhere and placed herself at the other end, essentially giving herself equal power.
It was mildly amusing.
“How did you get across the dreamcatcher without it alerting?” Max asked right off the bat.
“The dreamcatcher is for evil beings,” Tillie replied, unbothered. “We’re not evil.”
“But ... you obviously had evil intent tonight,” Max pressed.
“I don’t think they did,” I argued, my eyes landing on Bay’s weary features. “You’re a necromancer, aren’t you?”
She didn’t deny the charge, instead rubbing her forehead. “Kind of. I’m still figuring it out.”
“Well, you’d better put some work into it,” Tillie groused. “That was a poor showing. They would’ve beaten us if this one hadn’t stepped in to end things.” She jerked her thumb in my direction. “Those ghosts were not strong enough to serve as an attacking force. Do you want to know why? Because you didn’t put your heart into it. That needs to change.”
“Speaking of the ghosts ... .” I broke off, looking over my shoulder. “How did you know they were here?”
“I’ve always been able to see and talk to ghosts,” Bay explained. “It started when I was a kid and I’ve never been able to shake it. It’s only recently that I’ve been able to control them. It’s a ... long story.”
“We appear to have time,” Max hedged.
Bay opened her mouth and then shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I really don’t know how it works. In a nutshell, one day a killer was after me and I could use ghosts to protect myself. That’s basically it.”
“You’re forgetting about the part where you were the reason the ghosts stayed behind in the first place,” Thistle offered, earning a dark look for her contribution. “I was just saying.” She steadfastly avoided her cousin’s murderous gaze. “Lovely night, huh? Is there anything better than fog?”
“We’re not exactly fans of fog after witches hid in the last batch and tried to kill us,” Nellie volunteered.
“I can see where that would put you off witches,” Clove said. “We’re not here to do that. We simply wanted to talk to the ghosts to see if they knew who killed them.”
“Anything?” I asked Bay hopefully.
She shook her head. “They’re both confused. With a little time I might be able to get through to them. Not right now, though. Right now we’re ... still at a loss. We don’t have answers, and you don’t have answers, which means there are no answers.”
“Oh, that was profound, Bay,” Thistle drawled.
“Shut up, mouth,” Tillie warned, extending a finger. “I can take only so much from you in one day, and you’re officially at your limit.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Thistle waved off her great-aunt’s admonishment and focused on Max. “So ... what are you?”
Max merely cocked an eyebrow. “What do you think I am?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I asked. You’re definitely powerful.”
“I definitely am,” Max agreed, slowly pushing himself to his feet. He seemed to have made up his mind about the witches, and he was no longer at red alert with murder on his mind. “Next time, announce yourselves. You can wander wherever you want on the grounds. We’re working on this one together, are we not?”
Tillie shrugged. “That’s not generally how we operate. We’re used to having to break rules.”
“Well, in this particular case it was unnecessary. Things could’ve gone very badly had Poet not intervened. I was ready to end you.”
Tillie snorted. “You could’ve tried.”
“I would’ve succeeded.”
“So typically male,” Tillie huffed. “You assume you’re stronger because you’re a man.”
“Are you accusing me of being sexist?” Max’s anger was on full display.
“Knock it off,” I snapped, frustrated. I ignored the surprised look Max shot me. I rarely raised my voice with him. “We need to work together on this. No more sneaking around and hiding things.”
Bay’s expression was thoughtful, but she nodded. “I thought I saw one of the women from the tour group earlier this evening. She was at the edge of the fairgrounds watching all of you.”
“When was this?” I stiffened, surprised. “I didn’t see anyone.”
“That’s probably because you and Kade had dinner in bed this evening,” Raven shot back. “You guys were MIA the entire night. I didn’t see anyone watching us, for the record.”
“She was over there.” Bay pointed toward the line of trees. “I saw her when I was leaving the newspaper office. I thought it was weird, because the second she saw me watching her she ducked back and I didn’t see her again.”
That was definitely interesting. “Do you think you would recognize her if you saw her again?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Then that’s where we’ll start tomorrow.” I rubbed my neck as I stood. “Everyone should go home and get some sleep. We’ll talk about strategy and our next step tomorrow morning over breakfast. How does that sound?”
“Sounds good to me,” Nellie replied, sending Tillie an air kiss that turned my stomach.
“I’ll be here,” Bay said as she gestured for Tillie to cede her chair. “Come on. We need to get home before Landon wakes up. He’s going to be angry.”
“That’s what you get for falling in love with ‘The Man,’” Tillie said. “I don’t feel sorry for you.”
“I’m not asking you to feel sorry.”
“Yeah,
well ... hey!” Tillie brightened as she fell into step with her great-nieces. “Who wants to head over to Gaylord and go through the drive-through? I could totally eat tacos right now.”
I smirked as I watched them go, my stomach rumbling at the idea of tacos. What? I skipped dinner.
“Well, that was fun,” Kade said as he moved up beside me. “Can we trust them?”
I nodded without hesitation. “If they wanted to hurt us they would’ve already done it. They’re looking for answers, same as us.”
“Well, hopefully tomorrow we will start getting those answers.” He slid his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go back to bed.”
“Okay.” We turned in that direction, lost in thought and each other.
“Oh, just one other thing,” he added when we hit the stairs that led to the trailer. “I love you.”
My lips curved, unbidden. “Thank you. I love you, too.”
“Doesn’t that feel nice?”
“It’s the best feeling in the world.”
22
Twenty-Two
Bay and Tillie were at the picnic table eating breakfast with our crew when Kade and I exited our trailer the next morning. We were still basking in the love because ... well, we’re schmaltzy, but there was no accusation in Bay’s eyes when they locked with mine. In fact, she seemed to be in a relatively good mood.
“I take it you managed to get into your house without anyone noticing last night,” I said as I sipped my coffee and settled in a spot across the table from her.
“Oh, no, Landon was waiting for me when I got back. He noticed the dirt.” Bay didn’t look particularly bothered by the admission.
“Did you argue?”
She nodded. “Then we made up. It was fine.”
“Yes, Landon is like a dog,” Tillie noted. “He wags his tail as long as you scratch his favorite spot and bribe him with bacon.”
Bay didn’t argue with the assertion, so I decided to let it go. “I’m assuming we’re focusing on the individual you saw loitering in the woods yesterday,” I said, smiling in thanks as Naida delivered a plate of eggs and hash browns to me. “We need to figure out who she is.”
“I’ve already done that,” Bay said, smirking when I forked a huge mouthful of eggs into my mouth. “Are you feeling peckish after last night?”
“I’m simply hungry.”
Kade’s plate was even bigger than mine. He didn’t say a word as he steadily shoveled food into his mouth.
“Yeah, well, I know how that goes.” Bay’s smile was small but heartfelt. “I managed to get a look at the registrations for the festival first thing this morning. I know who we’re looking for because Landon ran a few of the registered visitors while looking for background hints. He had the files at the guesthouse.”
Hmm. “And he just let you look at them?”
“I noticed them on the table when we were arguing,” she replied. “They were sitting out. He needed something to do while stewing about me sneaking away in the middle of the night.”
“The good news is, she does it quite often,” Tillie offered. “Most people think she has a second job as a prostitute. We let them think that so they don’t uncover our real secret.”
Kade choked on his eggs, which meant Luke took the opportunity to thump his back as hard as possible. “Thank you, Luke.”
“Don’t mention it.” Luke winked at me, clearly amused. “So, who are we dealing with?”
“Her name is Emily Wilde,” Bay replied. “She’s staying at the Dragonfly.”
I was impressed. “How do you know that?”
“The manifest lists lodging locations.”
“Do you know where the Dragonfly is?”
She nodded. “Yeah. In fact ... we’re very familiar with the Dragonfly.” She cast a warning look in Tillie’s direction before the older woman could say something derisive. “My father owns it ... along with Thistle’s and Clove’s fathers.”
That was ... odd. “Okay. Um ... can we go out there to talk to them?”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Although ... I thought you were opening today.” Bay looked uncomfortable as she shifted on the bench. “I could head out to the Dragonfly alone and question them.”
That didn’t sound safe. “We open at noon. I have time to go out there with you. Unless, well, you don’t want me to accompany you.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about.” Bay slid her eyes to Tillie, who was busy drinking coffee and shooting small finger waves in Nellie’s direction. “Aunt Tillie and my father don’t exactly get along.”
“Ah.” That made sense. “We can leave her here with the others if you want.”
I thought Tillie had mostly tuned us out. I was wrong.
“No way.” Tillie vehemently shook her head. “If those witches are dangerous, you’ll need me.”
“I think Bay and I are more than capable of handling ourselves,” I argued.
“And I think ... .” She broke off and blew a loud raspberry at me, which caused Nellie, Dolph and Luke to break into riotous guffaws.
“We need to keep her,” Luke said, swiping at his eyes. “I mean ... she’s awesome.”
“Did you hear that, Bay?” Tillie sneered. “I’m awesome.”
“I can think of a few other ways to describe you,” Bay said calmly. “The fact remains that we don’t have much time. I can drive us out to the Dragonfly. We don’t actually know this woman has anything to do with what happened. I simply found it odd that she was hiding in the trees and spying on your group.”
“We have no other place to look,” I agreed. “I have to be back here by noon, but we should definitely check them out. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“It’s better to be drunk than sorry,” Tillie countered. “I think the odds of this woman being a threat are slim, but I never pass up a chance to bother Jack.”
I was confused. “Who is Jack?”
Bay rubbed her forehead and grunted. “My father.”
I always thought that I was missing out once I lost my family. Being an orphan sucked. There were times I was on the street and I imagined things would be perfect if my family had only lived.
Watching the Winchesters in action disavowed me of that notion.
“Let me finish my breakfast and we’ll head out,” I said, hiding a smirk behind my coffee mug when Tillie let loose a mischievous grin. She was obviously looking forward to the trip.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Kade asked, finally coming up for air.
“No.” I shook my head. “We have no proof Emily is involved in this. In fact, odds are she was just curious and didn’t want to be seen staring at us. It will be fine. Besides, you’re needed to keep an eye on the perimeter here.”
“All the area inns are full,” Bay explained. “The tourists will be bussed downtown starting at eleven. It’s going to be a madhouse ... and I fully expect things to grow tense for different reasons when that happens.”
“Okay.” Kade met her gaze evenly. “If something happens to Poet, I will come after you.”
Tillie snorted. “Oh, geez. We have another alpha man making threats. Someone give him some bacon to shut him up.”
Kade shifted his eyes to her. “I’m not afraid of you. I know that you derive strength from terrorizing others, but that’s not going to work with me.”
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see whether that’s true or not, huh, Sparky?”
Kade’s lips curved down. “What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing. Drink your coffee.”
“No, you meant something.”
Tillie heaved out a long-suffering sigh. “This is why men should be seen and not heard.” She looked to Bay for support. “Didn’t I tell you that men were only good for mowing the lawn and caulking tubs?”
Bay snorted. “I believe you may have mentioned something along those lines. You’re all talk, though. I know you loved Uncle Calvin beyond reason and you wouldn’t be saying those things if he
was still around.”
“Your uncle was the lone exception. That man was a saint.”
“He put up with you. He was definitely a saint.”
“Oh, I know what you’re trying to do.” Tillie narrowed her eyes and wagged a finger. “You’re trying to irritate me so I don’t go with you to the Dragonfly. That won’t work. I haven’t seen your father in weeks. We’re due for a reunion.”
Bay made a disgusted face. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
IT WAS A GOOD THING Bay drove, because I had no idea what to make of the ridiculous two-lane highway that led to the Dragonfly. Tillie sat in the passenger seat, leaving me in the backseat alone. I was much more interested in the scenery than anything else, even as I bounced around thanks to the rutted roadway.
“This place is really beautiful,” I noted as Bay pulled into a winding driveway. “I bet you had fun running around the woods when you were a kid.”
“Not out here,” Bay countered. “They only bought this inn about a year ago.”
“Margaret mentioned something about that.” I was uncomfortable admitting I’d listened to gossip about the Winchester family. “She said your fathers all left around the same time.”
“Yes.”
“That must have been difficult.”
“It was ... what it was.” Bay briefly slid her eyes to Tillie as the Dragonfly rolled into view. “It wasn’t so bad. I got to live in a big house with Clove and Thistle, we always had fresh cookies, and Aunt Tillie took us on adventures.”
“I did,” Tillie agreed, unfastening her seatbelt. “Come on. I’m sure Jack is dying to see me.”
I had my doubts, but I couldn’t stop myself from smiling as I climbed out and met Bay in front of her car. “I’m not as effusive as the rest of my co-workers, but I kind of love your aunt,” I admitted, sheepish.
“You’ve only known her for a few days,” Bay pointed out. “She’s not nearly as much fun when you’ve spent twenty-nine years with her.”
“I don’t know ... I bet you have stories that you’ll be able to tell to your grandchildren. She’ll never really die because she’ll be alive in the stories.”
Freaky Witches (A Mystic Caravan Mystery Book 7) Page 21
