Wicked Witches of the Midwest Mystery Box Set

by Amanda M. Lee

  I knit my eyebrows, confused. “Why do you care so much?”

  “Because I do.”

  “But ... why?”

  “Because I do.” Landon was firm. “I like that camp. It’s important to me for a number of reasons.”

  “Even though you didn’t know it existed until a few weeks ago,” Thistle muttered.

  “I heard that.” Landon shot her a look. “It doesn’t matter what I thought then. It matters what I think now. I don’t want Mrs. Little owning that place. I don’t care if you believe that makes me weird.”

  His expression — bitterness tinged with proprietary bravado — made me smile. “I think it’s kind of cute.” I leaned closer and kissed his cheek. “You’ve attached sentimental value to the camp because that’s where we met. I get it.”

  He met my gaze. “If you’re laughing at me, I’ll make you pay later.” He grabbed a fry from the plate and shoved it into my mouth before I could fire back a smart response. “I don’t want Margaret Little owning that camp. I’m not going to change my mind.”

  “No one wants her owning the camp,” Chief Terry said darkly. “For years people have been whispering about her trying to buy up pieces of the town. I know she wanted to buy The Whistler after William Kelly died, but his will didn’t allow for that.”

  I jerked my head in his direction, surprised. “I didn’t know that.”

  “She said she wanted to bring the paper to glory.” He grimaced as he shook his head. “We all know she would’ve used it as a propaganda machine for herself and as a way to advertise her businesses above those of all the others in town. I was originally glad when I heard Brian Kelly was coming to town. That was, of course, before he tried to screw you over.” He offered a kind smile, which caused me to relax a bit. Sure, he’d slept with my mother on the first date. He was still Chief Terry. He was the man who strong-armed Brian into selling me the newspaper and fleeing town after the transaction was complete. He was the man who rallied the town behind me when Brian tried to erase my position. He was my hero. Nothing had changed that.

  “Well, I’m glad that didn’t work out for her.” I wiped the grease from the fry from my chin. “I remember when she wanted to buy the cemetery. She said she wanted to make sure only the right people were buried in the township limits.”

  Landon frowned. “You’re kidding me.”

  “No, she’s always been a terrible person,” Thistle said. “Just when you think she can’t possibly do something worse than she’s already done, she proves you wrong.”

  “She’s the devil,” I agreed, shaking my head. “Maybe we should try to figure out a way to keep the camp from her. I don’t know how we’d manage it.”

  “That’s not a concern right now,” Chief Terry said. “I talked to the bank manager today. I made sure he realized that loaning her money to buy the property now would be a mistake given the investigation. He’s agreed to hold off, at least for the time being.”

  “That gives us time to figure out a way for someone else to buy it,” Landon mused. “Maybe Marcus needs a spot for more animals.” He looked toward Thistle, hopeful. Marcus, her boyfriend, and Thistle lived in a converted barn. He ran the stable and a petting zoo. He fancied himself an entrepreneur of late, though I doubted he would want to add more stress to his life now.

  “He doesn’t have the money to expand anytime soon,” Thistle replied. “Sorry. He probably would like the land. It’s going to take him two years to pay off the loan he took out for the petting zoo expansion.”

  Landon made a face and glanced at Clove. “What about Sam? He’s doing well with the Dandridge and the haunted tanker.”

  Clove’s fiancé was also a businessman. I knew that he’d gone deep into debt to buy the Dandridge. The business was doing well, but he wouldn’t be able to acquire another loan for some time.

  “Sorry.” Clove flashed him an apologetic smile. “That won’t happen anytime soon. We already have enough on our plates.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  Landon remained moody while we placed our orders. Once the waitress left, the spirit of the table changed.

  “So, Chief Terry, what are your intentions toward Aunt Winnie?” Thistle asked, her eyes gleaming with evil delight.

  Chief Terry glared at her. “Don’t you worry about it,” he snapped. “It’s none of your business.”

  “I don’t know.” Thistle wasn’t the type to back down, no matter who ordered her to do so. “I didn’t think it was any of your business when you interrupted my high school dates. You did it all the same.”

  “That’s because you were underage and that boy you were dating was not,” Chief Terry fired back. “Also ... you were better than him. You don’t see me interfering with your relationship with Marcus, do you? No. Do you want to know why? He’s age-appropriate and you’re an adult. Plus, he’s a good guy. I only stuck my nose in when you were making bad decisions.”

  Thistle opened her mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. Apparently she didn’t have an argument, which made me laugh.

  “Oh, look at that.” I giggled maniacally. “She’s speechless. Somebody take a photo for posterity.”

  Landon snickered as he moved his hand to the back of my neck and started rubbing. “I never thought I would see the day,” he teased.

  “Shove it.” Thistle leaned back in her chair and kicked out her feet. “Let’s talk about something else. Tell them about the ghost you saw.”

  I wanted to strangle her, but when I risked a glance at the neighboring tables I realized they’d cleared out and nobody had overheard the reckless statement. “Talk a little louder,” I hissed.

  “Shh.” Landon grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss to my palm. “It’s okay. Tell us what happened. I didn’t realize you saw anything.”

  “I don’t know much.” I continued to glare at Thistle as I talked. “It was a woman. Dark hair. We couldn’t get close enough to see her because she was shy.”

  “I told Bay to make her stay, but she refused. She said it would make her feel icky.” Thistle rolled her eyes. “I think finding a killer is more important than her feeling icky, but what do I know?”

  “Not much,” Landon answered, his eyes on me. “It’s okay that you didn’t want to force her, Bay. I know you don’t like that. Do you think it was Hannah?”

  I shook my head. “I’ve seen photographs of her. It definitely wasn’t her.”

  “Then it’s probably the other one,” Landon said. “What did you say her name was again?”

  I realized he was looking at Chief Terry. “Wait ... you guys identified her?”

  “We have,” Chief Terry confirmed. “Vicky Carpenter. There was a missing person report from more than a decade ago. We managed to match the dental records.”

  “Vicky Carpenter?” My stomach made an uncomfortable roll. “She was a counselor at the camp the last summer I was there. I think she was there the last summer Clove and Thistle were there, too.”

  Chief Terry arched an eyebrow. “You’re right. I had to pull her missing person file. She lived in Traverse City but worked here that summer. How did you remember that?”

  “She was the counselor in our cabin,” Thistle replied for me, all traces of mirth missing from her angled features. “She was a lot of fun. She didn’t like Lila, which meant we liked her. She was staying the entire summer and came back the next year. Clove and I got to see her again and we were supposed to meet her in town for coffee at the end of the season before she left. We promised to bring Bay with us.”

  “Oh, I remember now,” Clove said, leaning forward. “She never showed up for the coffee. We were upset and went to check at the camp. One of the other counselors said she’d left a day early without saying why.”

  Chief Terry’s expression was thoughtful as he leaned back in his chair. “Apparently she never left after all. She would’ve disappeared right around the time they closed the pool.”

  “That’s not a coincidence.” I thought about the smil
ing counselor and the way she laughed at every joke, even if it wasn’t funny. I was always somewhat upset that I never got to see her again. Apparently she didn’t ditch us. She was ripped from her life instead. “We have to figure out what happened to her.”

  “We will, sweetie.” Landon flashed me a reassuring smile. “We’ll find out what happened to both of them. I promise you that.”

  Thirteen

  Clove and Thistle were eager to open Hypnotic after lunch. They didn’t come right out and say it, but the pall that had settled over us after realizing we knew the dead woman in the pool was enough to shake everyone and they couldn’t wait to get away.

  Landon, on the other hand, was insistent as he followed me to The Whistler. “Why won’t you talk to me about this?” He was plaintive as he waited for me to unlock the door.

  “I don’t know what there is to say,” I replied. “I thought I recognized the ghost at the camp. I told myself I was imagining it — I mean, I would know if someone disappeared back then and probably died, right? — but I clearly wasn’t.”

  “You’re upset.” Landon made sure to lock the door behind us before following me toward my office. I was still getting used to the new configuration of the building — I’d occupied a small office before I became owner — and I started left before I remembered I needed to go right, so I ultimately completed a large (and unnecessary) loop around the front desk. “You’re so upset you forgot you’re the boss.”

  I forced a smile for his benefit. “I will never forget that. Would you like me to boss you around?”

  He didn’t return the smile. “Maybe later. Right now I want you to tell me why you’re so worked up.”

  How could I explain it to him when I didn’t understand it myself? “I don’t know.” I opted for the truth as I shrugged out of my coat. “It’s just ... shouldn’t I have known she was missing?”

  “Weren’t you, like, nineteen at the time?”

  “So? She was still a person. I knew her. When she didn’t show up for coffee I thought some rather unpleasant things about her.”

  “Ah. That’s what’s bothering you.” He snagged me around the waist and pulled me down on the couch with him. He insisted I needed a comfortable couch so we could nap together during the day — something I thought ridiculous, but we’d ended up enjoying several long lunches since I’d purchased it — and he sighed as he snuggled me close. “It’s not your fault this happened. You couldn’t have known.”

  “I don’t think we did anything when she didn’t show up.”

  “What could you have done?”

  I shrugged. “We could’ve called Chief Terry. Even if he thought we were being alarmists he still would’ve gone out there looking for her. She might not have been dead then. Maybe someone was keeping her locked away. We might have been able to discover her before it was too late.”

  “Bay, you’ll drive yourself crazy with what might’ve been. You can’t go back in time and change things. She’s dead. It’s not as if you’re to blame.”

  “Still ... it seems like I should’ve known.”

  “Well, you didn’t and we have to move past that.” He pressed a kiss to my neck and made me squirm. “Why didn’t you order her to stay and answer questions while you were out there?”

  “You know why.”

  “It makes you uncomfortable.”

  “It does. I’ve ordered ghosts around three times now. The first time was to save myself. I reacted out of instinct and I don’t regret it.”

  “I don’t regret it either. You could’ve died if you hadn’t sent those ghosts to attack. You did the right thing.”

  “The second time was with Dr. Lovelorn.”

  Landon made a face. He hated the dead radio personality who’d haunted us weeks ago. Thanks to my new power, I made him visible to Landon, which meant he had to listen to the good doctor wax poetic about any number of ridiculous things for several days. He was still bitter.

  “I forced him to answer questions,” I continued. “He was lying and hurting people, so I didn’t feel all that guilty about what I did to him. The same with Melanie’s parents. She killed them and I used their spirits to haunt her. She had it coming ... and they were mostly willing.”

  “So, what’s the problem?”

  “The problem is that Vicky was clearly not willing. I didn’t even know she was Vicky at the time. I don’t want to force a traumatized murder victim if I don’t have to.”

  “I think that’s fair.” He exhaled heavily, his breath tickling the ridge of my ear. “What are you going to do with the rest of your day?”

  “Are you asking because you’re a concerned boyfriend or an FBI agent?”

  “Concerned boyfriend. Although ... the FBI agent is curious, too. I know you’re going to do something about Vicky. I would like to know what.”

  “I’m going to research her,” I replied simply. “I’ll bet she’s in some of the photographs from the camp back then. There might even be other information.”

  “Okay.” He gave my ear a kiss and then released me. “I’ll help.”

  I was caught off guard. “You’re going to go through old files with me? Isn’t that a waste of your time?”

  “No. We’re waiting on information on Vicky’s next of kin. I don’t have anything to do until then. You might be onto something, and we can discover it together. It will be romantic.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You just want to make sure I’m not sitting over here pouting.”

  “Ah. Two birds with one stone. I’m a great multi-tasker.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re ... something.”

  “So, it’s agreed? We’re working together.”

  I heaved out a sigh. “It’s agreed. I wouldn’t want to partner with anyone else.”

  “Right back at you.”

  “THESE OLD FILES ARE SURPRISINGLY thorough,” Landon noted after we’d found the camp file consisted of three large folders and moved our operation into the kitchenette so we could sit on the floor and spread the clippings over a larger area.

  “William was nothing if not diligent about making sure we had three copies of everything cross-filed,” I replied as I held up an old photo of the camp. “He was crushed when things started going digital and there was no need to keep hard copies. He kept it up several years even after it wasn’t necessary. I helped him when I came home from college during the summers. He must have quit at some point, because there was a big stack of newspapers that spanned several years when I returned to town.”

  Landon tilted his head as he regarded me. “You filed them all, didn’t you?”

  He knew me too well. “It’s what he would’ve wanted.”

  He grinned. “Come here.” He leaned forward and smacked a loud kiss against my lips. “You are a wonderfully moral creature. That’s why you couldn’t order the ghost around when it wasn’t necessary and that’s why you probably spent weeks filing articles that could’ve been accessed with a simple online search.”

  “I don’t think I’m that moral,” I hedged. “Aunt Tillie said I was the best liar she ever trained.”

  “Aunt Tillie is full of crap. You’re a terrible liar.”

  “I managed to hide who I was and what I could do for years before you entered my life. I think I’m just a poor liar when it comes to you.”

  “I guess I can live with that.” He went back to sorting through the articles. “I’m not sure exactly what I’m looking for.”

  “Me either,” I admitted. “Look at the photos. I’m sure Vicky is in there somewhere.”

  “Yeah, well ... hey, it’s you!” He brightened considerably as he held up a photo. I snorted when I saw it. “Look at those long legs and how blond you were.”

  “It was from the pool,” I noted. “I was extremely blond that summer.”

  “I like you the way you are now.” He shot me a flirty wink as he sifted through more articles. “Here’s something. There’s a list of four counselors, kind of like thumbnail bios. V
icky Carpenter is one of them. It says that she has a sister, lives in Traverse City, and wants to be a teacher when she finishes college.”

  I exhaled heavily. “I guess that never happened.”

  “No. The sister is named Stephanie. I bet we can track her down thanks to this. If she’s still in the area, we can arrange to talk to her.”

  I couldn’t hide my surprise. “We?”

  He grinned. “We’re partners, aren’t we?”

  “Is this just a way to keep me close to you because you’re afraid I’m going to feel sorry for myself all day?”

  “You knew Vicky. Taking you with me makes sense. Besides, Vicky’s ghost might be hanging around her sister’s house. You told me yourself that ghosts can go wherever they want, so maybe Vicky splits her time between the camp and her sister’s place.”

  That was a legitimate possibility. “Well ... then we should do a search for her.”

  “That’s the plan. You keep going through the photos and I’ll see if I can find Stephanie. I told you this was a good idea.”

  “Yes, you’re handsome and wise.”

  “And don’t you forget it.”

  STEPHANIE CARPENTER-CREWS WAS NOW a married mother of three girls. The oldest girl was blonde and the frame on the wall of Stephanie’s house proclaimed her name to be Victoria.

  “I knew Vicky was gone,” Stephanie said as she delivered a pot of tea to the table and sat next to us. Her two older children were at school, but the younger one, a toddler, was busy sitting on the floor and making flirty eyes at Landon.

  He grinned at the little girl before sipping his tea. “Are you the one who reported her missing?”

  “I’m the only one who was left to report her missing,” Stephanie replied. “Our parents died when she was in high school. I was three years older, so she was allowed to stay with me, but we were watched closely by Social Services. We had to walk a fine line to make sure we weren’t separated.”