by Susan Harper
“Yes,” Holly said. “But, please, don’t bother them. Anniston is throwing up and shaking…”
“We won’t,” the other officer said sympathetically, and Monica led Holly out.
The whole family was shaken and crying, holding one another and muttering about Angel and how frightened they all were. What had happened? No one quite knew just yet, it seemed. Norah had found herself a seat alone in a far corner of the yard, and when her brother tried to approach her, she shooed him away. Monica and Holly both decided Norah was making a clear statement that she didn’t want to be bothered, so they too left her alone.
“My little Angel,” Roczen kept saying, pacing. “How did this happen? She just fell over dead…”
“Don’t cry, Uncle Roczen, don’t cry,” Marsha was saying to him. “Aunt Norah is watching. Look at her. She’s like stone, she’s so shocked…”
Weston stood almost as stoic as his sister in her private corner, but he was holding his wife Tora, who was blubbering away on his chest. His eyes were wide in shock and horror, but his expression remained unchanged —refusing to cry in front of everyone. Abigail brushed up against Monica’s leg, so she bent down and picked her up. “Did you see anything, Abs?” Monica whispered.
“No, I was in the kitchen,” Abigail said. “I can tell you Angel was in there just a moment before the power went out before she came into the living room and…fell down…”
“She was fine just a moment before,” Holly whispered, still teary-eyed.
The side door opened, and Joseph exited the house looking almost as sick as Anniston had looked before. “Did the police tell you anything, Joseph?” Roczen asked.
“No, not yet,” he said, shaking. “A coroner just got here to confirm…to confirm her time of death…”
“Where’s Anniston?” Norah asked, jumping up out of her seat now and hurrying over.
“She passed out,” Joseph said. “I put a wet towel on her forehead and covered her up. She looks horrible, Norah.” Norah put her arms around Joseph’s middle and kissed his cheek.
Another moment went by before one of the officers exited the house. He looked sad. “Who here is…Holly?” he asked.
Holly frowned and nervously raised her hand. “Um… I am?”
He waved her over, and Monica went with her. Now, they spoke in whispers. “Holly, my name is Officer George Allen. Can you explain to me who these people are to you, Miss Holly?” Officer George asked. “I know the Kent family…local…but someone was telling me you are Angel’s sister? I didn’t know Joseph and Norah had another one?”
“Norah’s not my mother,” Holly said, wiping her eyes. “I came here looking for Joseph. I was put up for adoption, and we were having a sort of reunion party. It was my first time meeting him and my little sisters.”
“I see,” Officer George said.
“Why are you asking about Holly?” Monica asked.
“Angel was poisoned, we believe,” he said. “The cup she was drinking out of, we’re taking it to the station to be tested to see what she was poisoned by exactly, but the thing is, the plastic cup had your name scribbled on the side of it in Sharpie.”
Holly’s face flushed. “My name?”
“Now, we can’t be sure,” Officer George said, “but it looks like whoever poisoned Angel…was actually trying to poison you…”
Monica felt Holly grip her arm. Someone had tried to poison Holly? Monica slowly turned, glancing back at all the family members standing around. Everyone who had been at the party had been Holly’s family. True, they had only just gotten to know her, but to poison her? What reason would anyone have for getting rid of Holly, who they barely knew? She was Joseph’s daughter, after all. Didn’t they all love him? Didn’t they all want him to be happy? If he had really been looking for Holly for the better part of five years, wouldn’t they have been happy for him to have found her?
“I understand you are in town visiting your family,” Officer George said. “How long were you planning on being here?”
“I was thinking for at least the weekend, possibly longer,” Holly said. “I was wanting to get to know my dad.”
“Where were you planning on staying?” he asked.
“I was invited to stay here in a guest room…”
“I’m going to advise against that until we can get this mess sorted out,” Officer George told her, sounding very sympathetic toward her situation. “There is a nice motel just down the road from here.” He looked at Monica. “You are a friend of hers?”
“Yes,” she said.
“My real suggestion,” he began, “is to stay away from these people for the time being until we can see if we can get any fingerprints off the cup and identify who tried to poison you. However, I understand your…situation. You didn’t come here to cause animosity with your family. I suggest you not come to their home. If you are wanting to meet with any of them, you do it publicly and that you most certainly do not go alone.”
Holly nodded rather pathetically. “I guess… I guess Monica and I could get a motel room while we’re in town…until you find out who…” She looked back toward the large gathering of people, all of whom were looking toward Holly and the officer suspiciously. Monica wondered if perhaps some of them thought Holly might be responsible. She was the stranger in the group, after all. Some of them seemed to be looking at her like they thought this.
“We should get out of here,” Monica suggested. “Why don’t you go tell your dad what’s going on? Then we can go, and we’ll call him later tonight. I don’t think…”
“You don’t think I’m welcome anymore,” Holly said, obviously noticing the looks she was getting.
“Don’t worry,” Officer George said to her firmly. “I’m going to talk to everyone—tell them what we found. They’ll know you didn’t try to poison yourself.”
“Right,” Holly said bitterly and wandered over to Joseph and Norah, speaking privately with them.
Monica watched at a distance, Abigail still in her arms. Officer George went to the rest of the family, explaining what he had found, much to everyone’s dismay. “It would have been easier on them to just assume Holly had something to do with it, I’m sure, as opposed to finding out one of them might have accidentally killed Angel,” Monica whispered to Abigail.
“I think you’re right,” Abigail said. “Look at the way they’re all looking at one another. Someone tried to kill Holly… Why?”
“I don’t know,” Monica said just as Holly came walking back toward Monica, her shoulders slumped. “Your dad looks upset.”
“Of course, he is,” Abigail whispered. “Someone just tried to murder Holly, someone did just murder Angel, and now Holly is getting the boot from his house because that someone is a member of his family.”
“I told Dad I’d call him later,” Holly said. “I kind of want to go check on Anniston again before I leave…” She glanced back at her relatives, all of whom looked mortified over what had just taken place. “But maybe it’s best if we just leave. I got Officer George’s phone number. He wants me to send him our motel information.”
Monica hooked arms with Holly, and the two of them along with Abigail hurried around the side of the house and across the street to where they had hidden their brooms. Holly kept wiping her eyes as they walked. Monica couldn’t imagine what Holly was going through. Everything had been so wonderful. She couldn’t possibly have received a warmer greeting from her father’s family than the one she had gotten. They had opened their arms, so willing to accept her. But, secretly, one of them was so bitter about her presence that they had tried to kill her. Tried to kill her and wound up killing poor, innocent Angel instead. Angel, the sister Holly hadn’t even known she had until less than six hours before. It wasn’t fair for Holly to lose her sister like this, and this motivated Monica. She was going to do whatever she could to find out who killed little Angel Kent.
7
As Monica and Holly settled in at the hotel, the atmosphere surround
ing them was painfully tense. Holly wanted them to get involved with the case, but Monica did not exactly have the same working relationship in this town that she did back home in Bankstown where she was dating an officer. After much contemplation, Monica decided to call Chief Tollr. Tollr was the chief of the mortal town where Monica and Holly lived, but he was secretly a troll hybrid.
Tollr, in typical troll fashion, was rather annoyed by Monica’s phone call, but he knew good and well that Monica being a witch would be very beneficial to the crime at hand. And, as he liked Holly, agreed to put in a call to the local police chief, telling them that Monica was a skilled though unofficial detective. An hour later, Monica was receiving a phone call from Officer George.
She put the phone on speaker so Holly and Abigail could listen in. “Is this Monica Montoya?” the familiar voice asked. “This is Officer George from earlier today.”
“Yes, this is Monica. Holly is here with me,” Monica said.
“Looks like you have friends in high places, Ms. Montoya,” Officer George said, “because my police chief wants me sharing information with you. That’s not really protocol to share private case information with citizens. Especially not ones involved in a murder case like Holly is.”
“We can help,” Monica insisted. “I know this is unusual, but I promise you won’t regret having us involved.”
“You got a personal stake in this,” Officer George said. “And that usually makes for sloppy work.”
“We’re just asking for information,” Monica said. “You’re the lead on this. We want to help, not get in the way.”
Officer George paused for a moment. “All right,” he said at last. “Well, not like the chief is giving me much of a choice. Wants to maintain a good working relationship with Chief Tollr because he’s got some pull around here. I don’t have a lot of information for you just yet, but I can tell you we were able to pull fingerprints off the cup.”
“Did you find a match?” Monica asked.
“Yes, but it’s not really adding up,” George said. “The only other person to touch the cup, other than Angel, was her twin sister, Anniston.”
“Anniston?” Holly asked, looking pale. “You think Anniston tried to poison me?”
“Possibly but based off the interviews I did of when the incident took place, most of your relatives informed me Anniston was outside leading up to the poisoning of her twin and well after the lights initially went out.”
“Anniston and Angel were ridiculously excited about Holly, too,” Monica said. “I have a hard time believing one of them would have wanted to hurt Holly.”
“Fingerprints on a cup that was sitting around where anyone could have picked it up at one point or another is not much evidence,” Officer George said. “But it’s something we have to consider. Anniston is most certainly on our suspect list. Not to mention how sick and disoriented she got when her twin died. It could be mourning, or it could have been guilt. I’m about to head back to the house to talk to Anniston again. Her parents are telling me she’s calmed down a bit, so I should be able to talk to her now.”
“We’re coming too,” Holly said firmly.
“I don’t know if you being over at the house is a good idea,” George said.
“You said to not go if I don’t have backup,” Holly argued. “If my friend Monica is there as well as you, I think I’m going to be all right, don’t you think?”
George grumbled. “All right, well, I’m headed that way now.”
“Then so are we,” Monica said. “We will see you there.” Monica hung up the phone.
“I’m going to stay here,” Abigail said. “Might be a little weird if you keep dragging your cat all over the place.”
“I do that all the time in Bankstown,” Monica said. “You just want to have the motel room to yourself so you can take a nap.”
“Maybe…” Abigail conceded.
Monica shook her head, and she and Holly headed out. They elected to take the bus rather than flying their brooms around, and soon they were arriving at the house. They arrived around the same time as Officer George, and he seemed less moody than he had sounded on the phone about them being involved.
Most of the extended family had cleared out a bit, probably to give Joseph, Norah, and Anniston some space after the horrific experience. They were invited inside by Joseph. He was very relieved to see Holly, likely worried she was going to bolt after the incident. He hugged her and invited them into the living room. “Anniston is in her bedroom still,” Joseph said. “Norah’s in there with her. She’s still really shaken up.”
“I understand,” George said. “Losing her sister like that has got to be traumatic. I have a phone number for a good trauma psychologist if you feel she needs it.”
They all crowded into the girls’ bedroom. In the corner was Norah, sitting in a chair casually working on some sort of sewing project. Anniston was on Angel’s bed, lying on her side in the fetal position. Her head turned slightly to acknowledge the presence of everyone else as they arrived. “Hello, Anniston,” Officer George said, crouching in front of her bed so they could talk. “How are you holding up?”
“Go away,” she said. “I don’t want to talk to you.” Her eyes darted around madly, and they locked on Holly. Slowly, Anniston sat herself up, staring. “Angel is dead. Because someone was trying to hurt you…”
“Yes,” Holly said.
“I’m sorry,” Anniston said, and she looked at her lap, wringing her wrists nervously. “I’m sorry someone tried to hurt you.”
“I’m sorry about Angel,” Holly said, and she gradually took the place of Officer George, who had moved away, letting Holly try to talk to the distraught girl.
“Can you tell me what you remember?” Holly asked. “We’re trying to find out who hurt your sister. Who tried to hurt me.”
“You’re my sister too,” Anniston said, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I know,” Holly said. “And that makes me Angel’s sister too, so I want to find out who hurt her. Don’t you?”
“Yes,” Anniston said, and she rubbed her temples, like thinking about what happened made her head hurt. “I remember I was going to bring you a drink, Holly. I heard you say you were thirsty while I was out on the porch.” Holly nodded as Anniston spoke, as though to confirm that she had indeed said this. “So, I went into the kitchen. I wrote your name on the side of a cup and poured you a soda. But then the blackout happened, and I left the cup on the kitchen counter. I wouldn’t have wanted you to get hurt, Holly… I wouldn’t have…” Anniston shook for a moment. “The lights went out, so I forgot all about the drink. I went outside because it was so dark in the house. When the lights came back on, I came inside. That’s when I saw...saw Angel…” Anniston started shaking again.
“It’s okay, Anniston,” Monica said. “You take your time.” Distantly, Monica thought she heard a slight humming. She glanced toward Norah, who was still working on whatever sort of project she had been fiddling with. Norah seemed to hardly notice anything going on around her. It was her who was humming—so calm and distant. She appeared to be making something with her needle and thread.
“Anniston, stop!” Holly yelped suddenly, and Monica turned to look at Anniston. She could see the girl had her own hair held tight in her fists. She was hyperventilating and pulling out chunks of hair.
“Annie, stop it.” Joseph was at the girl’s bedside instantly, prying her fingers off the top of her own head. Anniston jerked her hands away and started slapping herself on the head and screaming. “Anniston!” Joseph exclaimed, and he spoke softly to her, trying to coax her into a state of calm. Norah remained in her seat, humming and sewing.
When they finally had Anniston calmed down, the girl fell right to sleep in her bed, and they all slipped out of the room, with the exception of Norah, who said she would remain behind. She was in the middle of a sewing project, she said, and didn’t want to get up. Monica, Holly, Officer George, and Joseph stood in the living r
oom. Joseph looked exhausted, his arms dangling at his side loosely like he had lost the ability to move them. His shoulders were slumped, and there were dark circles under his eyes. “I don’t know what to do,” Joseph admitted.
“There isn’t much you can do right now, Mr. Kent,” Officer George said. “Anniston is experiencing some pretty clear distress. You just need to keep an eye on her. She is acting very drastically. I would hate to see her hurt herself in some way. I recommend someone staying with her through the night. To keep an eye on her. Her behavior is very extreme.”
“Yes, of course,” Joseph said. “Anniston’s behavior… It’s scaring me.”
“You just have to support her,” Monica said. “I imagine this is very difficult.”
“It’s a bit of an emotional roller coaster,” Joseph said. “Today… I gained a daughter and lost one all in less than twenty-four hours.”
“I’m sorry, Dad,” Holly said, looking down.
Joseph smiled weakly at her. “This isn’t your fault, Holly.”
“This only happened because I showed up, clearly unwelcome,” Holly said.
“Not unwelcomed by me,” Joseph said. “Not at all. I don’t know who would do this, but I know we’ll find out. Please, I don’t want to lose you today too. I was so excited to see you. Angel, she was so excited too. Both of the girls were. They were so excited to have a big sister.”
Holly wiped away a few tears. “I know. I was really excited to get to know them both. I’m sorry I won’t ever get to get to know Angel, but I will be here for Anniston. I promise.”
This made Joseph choke up slightly. Officer George interrupted. “I’m glad you two are still good and all, but I do think it is best that Holly get back to her motel room. Away from the rest of your family for the evening.”
Joseph glared at George for a moment, but his face softened. “I suppose you’re right.”
Holly sighed and gave her father a quick hug before leaving with Monica and Officer George. The three of them stood out in front of the house, the sun completely set. The only light was from a streetlight at the end of the road. “Did you notice anything, anything at all? Maybe someone acting odd toward you?” Officer George asked.
