Did that mean Jack and Liam suspected George Mertes of killing Kevin Paul?
Buttons had inadvertently given me information that could be very useful, and I couldn’t wait to follow up on it. All Heidi and I had to do now was meet Liam and Jack for an early lunch, find out why Aunt Rowena and Mom felt the need to speak to Liam, and then Heidi and I would be able to walk over to the small campers in the far field to have a conversation with Clara and Olive.
Uh, Raven? There might be a small squirrel-sized wrench in your plan. I mean monkey wrench. Sorry, I’ve got squirrels on my mind.
“Look out for your pigtails, young lady! Oink, oink!” Buttons exclaimed, turning his attention to an adorable blonde child whose bottom lip began to poke out in fear. She even tried to hide behind her mother’s leg, but Buttons had already pulled out a yellow balloon to distract her. “What’s your favorite animal? Come on, you can tell me. I can make any animal you want, little one!”
“A squirrel!” the little girl squealed in delight.
Go figure. Those squirrels are out to get me, Raven, but from the sight before us…we might be dead soon anyway. I hope Skippy will feel cheated.
Heidi was already pulling me away from Buttons, tugging on my wrist to let me know Leo hadn’t been exaggerating. Not that she knew that Leo had said anything at all about our impending deaths, but I’d put two and two together and came up with—four. Specifically, Aunt Rowena, my mother, Liam…and Rye. All four of them were literally standing fifteen feet from us looking like they were having anything but a merry ole time.
I hope she bestows a quick death upon us. At least I’ll have escaped death by squirrel rabies. That’s something, right?
“Whatever your great-aunt has done, don’t overreact,” Heidi muttered, trying to instill a bit of composure over me. Well, there was nothing she could do to stop my anxiety level from reaching the highest level at the sight before us. “You’re the better witch, Raven. There’s nothing you can’t handle.”
You might want to remind Heidi about the last few mishaps you had with those fairly easy spells. We wouldn’t want her to die with the false hope of you becoming her heroine.
“Aunt Rowena,” I called out, having no choice but to put on a show in front of Liam. I forced a smile that probably didn’t quite meet my eyes, but it was better than nothing. “Mom said you might be stopping into town to visit with us. I hope you haven’t been keeping Liam too distracted looking after you, considering he’s busy with the investigation.”
“Raven, dear,” Aunt Rowena called out, spreading her arms open for me to step into her embrace. “It’s so good to see you. I’m so glad we reconnected, letting bygones be bygones and all that. When I heard about the murder of that poor man, I just had to make the drive down here.”
It’s a trap, Raven. Don’t fall for it. Even snakes can smile.
It wasn’t like I had a choice but to close the distance between us and greet her as if she’d told the truth. Her perfume was a bit strong, but that wasn’t what had the air catching in my throat. It was the abject look of horror on my mother’s face.
It appears I’m not the only one who’s had a bad day. I wonder if your mother had a run-in with Skippy. That would certainly explain it. He’s actually quite vicious.
“It’s good to see you, Aunt Rowena. How is everything up in Windsor?”
It’s never good to see her, Raven.
“Good, good, but I just couldn’t believe it when we got word that Mr. Paul had been so brutally murdered in the street.” Aunt Rowena finally allowed me to pull away and feigned that she couldn’t hear a word Leo said. “The newspaper said that Mr. Paul was from our area, but I didn’t know him personally. The next-door neighbor told me early this morning before my little road trip that Mr. Paul’s family moved away a few years ago after he left the area. I thought your nice sheriff might want to know that.”
That was news to me, especially considering that the address listed on Mr. Paul’s license stated that his permanent address was still located in Windsor.
Raven, I’m getting the sense from your mother that it doesn’t matter what address was listed on Mr. Paul’s driver’s license. Is it just me or does she look a little pale?
“Hi,” Liam finally said, giving me a wink of reassurance. I allowed myself a small reprieve and closed the distance between us, allowing his warm embrace to reassure me that no damage had occurred as a result of my great-aunt. “Heidi, did you like the house?”
You’re right. The good ol’ sheriff isn’t looking at you the way your mother appears to be looking at Rye. This can only mean one thing. It’s a good thing we haven’t had lunch yet.
“It was really cute,” Heidi offered up with a tentative smile, her gaze landing upon everyone for brief seconds at a time in an attempt to read their expressions. “We have two more to look at—one this afternoon and one tomorrow morning. I don’t want to rush into such an important commitment without seeing every option available.”
If we live that long. Rowena, fess up. What are you doing here?
Liam’s warm hand continued to stay on my lower back as we all sort of fell silent, my mother and Rye still not joining in on the casual banter. Aunt Rowena didn’t give any indication that Leo was talking to her, which was good considering our current circumstances.
I’m going to go out on a limb here. Not to where that ninja squirrel hangs out, but more figuratively. Are you ready?
I wasn’t ready for anything Leo might have to say in this situation, so I asked the obvious question to hopefully forestall whatever horrible plan he’d come up with.
“Are we all having lunch together?” I asked, secretly hoping that everyone would say no and go their separate ways. Well, except for Liam. I’d still like to know what was said in his office. “Buttons was just telling us how good the pizza is here.”
Rye, we know you committed the murder. Admit it. Go ahead. Admit that you killed the man, that you can hear every word I’m saying, and that you’re a warlock. Do it now!
Had I not been looking directly at Rye to see his reaction to Leo’s rusty interrogations skills, I would have missed the slight narrowing at the corner of his eyes.
You can thank me later. In premium catnip. Or a drawn and quartered squirrel named Skippy. Your choice.
“Actually, I have to meet Jack over by the campers. He wants to speak with the owner of the carnival regarding the firing of Mr. Simpson prior to the start of the spring season.” Liam squeezed my hand before he stepped away, nodding toward Aunt Rowena. “Ma’am, it’s always a pleasure. Please visit us again soon. I hope my suggestions for alarm companies pans out for you, and the company can get someone out to your residence first thing Monday morning.”
Raven, I think my short-term memory kicked in. Alarm companies for a coven of witches? Now isn’t that a novel concept?
“Sheriff Drake, my niece lucked out with a man like you,” Aunt Rowena said in approval that was exclusively reserved for my mother. Who, by the way, still looked as if the squirrel that had landed on Leo’s back had done the same to her hairdo. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other real soon.”
I’m pretty sure Rowena just threw down the gauntlet.
It sounded more like a promise, and I was going to make sure that it was one Aunt Rowena would regret.
Liam began to walk in the direction I’d wanted to take earlier, but it was clear I had some family business to attend to that my mother had let spiral out of control.
It’s a good thing your mother can’t read your thoughts. I’m sure she’d take offense to your lack of confidence in her abilities.
“Someone please tell me what is going on,” I demanded, finally taking control of the situation. I abruptly turned to face all three of my targets, grateful that Heidi came to stand by my side, as she might need my protection from Rowena if things went south. Heidi knew full well that Aunt Rowena was a part of the council of a very powerful coven, but Heidi didn’t let that make a dent in her lo
yalty to me. That was a true best friend. “Now.”
Very assertive. Nicely done. I wonder if that tactic would work on Skippy.
“Do they sell wine here?” my mother asked, exhaustion lacing her tone. She even rubbed her right temple as if she’d developed a headache. Well, at least I wasn’t the only one. After all, misery did love company. “Aunt Rowena, you can go. Rye and I will explain everything to Raven. Your secret will remain safe with us, with the caveat that you’ll leave us out of this war you’re leading one half of the coven against the other on the end of your broomstick.”
It’s beginning to look like a free-for-all with all these personal slights I’m hearing. While we’re airing our dirty laundry—I don’t believe Rowena has all her broomsticks lined up in a row, if you get my drift.
“Leo, you’re one tail swipe away from becoming a toad.”
“Everyone, just stop the commentary.”
Rye stepped forward, front and center.
Leo, Heidi, and I all took a step back in immediate reaction. I thought it was pretty smart on our part, though Rye arched one of his black eyebrows our way in chagrin.
“Mom, you can go back home,” Rye advised softly, resting his gaze specifically on me. I was pretty sure that Heidi, Leo, and I all looked like we’d just heard he’d been hatched by an alien from Mars. “I’ll touch base after Liam finds out who killed Kevin Paul. I appreciate you coming here, but I did have everything well in hand.”
Your suggestion about him being an alien isn’t that far off, you know.
Leo completely vanished when Aunt Rowena lifted her hand in response to his insult. A quick looked around assured me that no one had seen his disappearing act, but we couldn’t afford to take chances like that again. It was time to bring this so-called family visit to an end.
“Mom? As in, you’re Rye’s mother?” I asked, needing some type of confirmation that I hadn’t taken up Leo’s habit of hallucinating things. Then again, it seemed that Leo hadn’t hallucinated anything at all. “This is what is going to happen. We’re all going to sit down at that picnic table over there, each one of you is going to start from the beginning, and Heidi is going to go find us some of that wine Mother mentioned.”
Is it safe to come back now?
Chapter Seven
You should have stipulated to Regina that she needed to bring catnip to this shindig, as much as I love her company. I find it hard to deal with three Marigold women at the same time without a buffer of some sort. It’s next to impossible, and Rosemary never uttered a word about this type of reunion when she talked me into this gig.
I rubbed my temple, wishing my headache would dissipate as fast as Aunt Rowena’s raised hand had precipitated Leo’s earlier vanishing act. We were all currently sitting at one of the picnic tables off to the side of the funnel cake stand, away from all the normal everyday families spending their Saturday afternoon enjoying the local entertainment in the fresh spring air. The live band had started playing down at the end of the carnival’s thoroughfare, drawing the crowds in that direction. The rhythm of the folk music mixed with the beeps, dings, and rings of the rides farther down from the food vendor area.
The fresh spring atmosphere isn’t so relaxing when I’m surrounded by three generations of Marigold witches. Wait, I already mentioned that, didn’t I? That must be my short-term memory loss kicking in again. Stress does that to me, you know.
I was having a very hard time swallowing the story that Aunt Rowena and Rye had concocted out of thin air, but I couldn’t find any glaring holes in their versions of the past events. With that said, it didn’t take away the awesome wave of shock that had enveloped us once we discovered Rye considered Aunt Rowena a maternal figure.
That’s kinda like saying I view Skippy as my fraternal twin. If that doesn’t tell you the man is off his flipping rocker, I don’t know what does. Time to break out the big guns!
“Look, dearest, I’ve been away from Windsor longer than I’d intended to be today. I have plans that need attending to posthaste.” Aunt Rowena sat poised on the end row opposite of me on the picnic table with her hands resting on top of the black purse that was currently sitting in her lap. She held an air of usurped royalty, and I could understand why someone—particularly Leo—would want to knock her right off that pedestal. Her position was stolen from its rightful owner, my grandmother, whom Aunt Rowena had driven from the throne of the witches’ coven with lurid tales of willful disobedience. “Rye can finish filling you in on our situation. In the meantime, I left my familiar in a rather precarious situation up in Windsor.”
I remember Gus. Never liked the chap, but it’s hard not to have sympathy for a fellow familiar having to deal with the bizarre circumstance of keeping the queen bee of Windsor.
“No one is going anywhere just yet,” I said adamantly, steadfast in my desire to finish this conversation with all parties involved present and accounted for. I picked up the coffee that Heidi had brought back, who had been unable to find a vendor serving wine or beer at eleven-thirty in the morning. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so sure this small amount of my favorite beverage contained enough caffeine to enable me to get through the next five minutes. “Let me make sure I understand the manure you’re selling. You found Rye as a wandering orphan in the city of Hartford when he was fourteen years old and simply decided to bring him home with you? Just like that? No one took notice?”
Who knew that Rowena had an itsy-bitsy strand of maternal instinct buried deep underneath that overwhelming vanity? More like the Pied Piper of Hartford. Did some poor family fail to pay the ransom?
“Leo,” I warned, shooting him a sideways glance. He was curled up in Heidi’s lap near the opposite end of the table, as far away from Aunt Rowena as he could get. Regrettably, the distance wasn’t far enough to protect him should Aunt Rowena truly dispense with a bit of magic from the tips of her fingers. “Stop instigating or you’ll be sorry.”
You take the fun out of everything. Where’s my pipe?
“Raven, I lost my parents at a young age, and the foster home the state put me in wasn’t the most pleasant place to live.” Rye was wearing his usual patterned flannel shirt, the kind he usually wore when working on the job. He gripped his coffee in his right hand while leaning both arms against the table. He seemed more resigned to explaining his story than anything else, but I steeled myself from feeling any empathy since this was most probably all a lie. He’d lied to me before. “I took to the streets, not knowing about…”
Rye had finally begun to open up about his accidental discovery of his abilities, but two teenage girls chose that moment to walk past while chitchatting about an upcoming concert they both wanted to go to later this evening. Rye took a drink of his coffee while he waited for the coast to clear of bystanders. During that brief lull, I reflected on what had crossed my mind in regard to Rye lying. Was I really one to judge another for doing exactly the same thing I was doing to someone else? Wasn’t I playing the same game with Liam?
Rye gave a causal glance over his shoulder to make sure the coast was clear and the funnel cake vendor wasn’t listening in before finishing his story. It didn’t escape my notice that his physical attributes did look similar to the Marigold lineage. He had the same black hair, green eyes, and high cheekbones. If that were in fact true, then why would they pretend he was an orphan and not his birth mother? Granted, Aunt Rowena was in her seventies now, but stranger things had happened. Now that I think about it, Rye had missed out on the hips, but maybe that was only an attribute on the female side. Were Aunt Rowena and Rye hiding something else? Could Rye truly be a Marigold and not some random gypsy with a magical family legacy?
“I found myself in what you might call a tricky situation behind the building of a restaurant. One thing led to another, and my innate sense defended itself. To say I was surprised is an understatement. You should have seen the shock on my assailant’s face. Mom—Rowena—witnessed the entire interaction and immediately recognized my fear of the u
nknown and the true nature of my abilities. I’m not afraid to admit that I was downright panicked. Had it not been for her taking charge of the situation, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have actually hurt someone sooner or later.” Rye was no longer the little boy who Aunt Rowena found out back of a restaurant probably near some dumpster, but he’d obviously been raised to have manners and some sort of moral guideline. His slight nod her way was a private acknowledgement of the care, love, and guidance she’d apparently given him over the years. It was difficult to begrudge anyone of such a sacrifice, and she’d obviously raised a gentleman in spite of his rough origins. “Bottom line? Rowena took me in when I had no place else to go, and she raised me like her own son.”
I’m just pointing out that I’m behaving myself and missing a lot of opportunities where I could have inserted my witty replies. Alas, I will remain silent and keep on alert for Skippy and his tribe of bandits.
“Why are you in Paramour Bay, Rye? Were you sent here originally to keep an eye on my grandmother and then me after she’d passed? Or are you here to somehow recruit me into this war Aunt Rowena has chosen to stir up among the members of the coven?” I shot Leo a look when it was clear he couldn’t contain himself. Heidi lifted the corner of her lip in sympathy when I continued my quest to find some answers. “First off, I don’t like being spied on. Second, Mom and I already made it very clear that we want no part of the coven, its council, or the war between whatever factions have managed to survive the carnage so far.”
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