by Zoe Arden
The man with the cart paused beside us. He had a friendly, unshaven face, clear gray eyes, and a wide smile. "Water?" he asked. "Ice cream?"
It was a warm day. Lucy and I dug into our wallets. "One of each, please," I said, pushing Lucy's money away. "I got this." I paid for our stuff and we started back down the shore when I paused and spun back toward the man.
"Hey," I called, running after him.
He stopped and looked at me.
"Are you down here a lot?" I asked him.
"Most days."
"I don't suppose you've seen..." I was about to ask him about my wand when I realized I wasn't sure whether he was a wizard. I searched his eyes for flecks of gold. There they were. Tiny pinpricks of light. "Wand?" I finished.
His eyes crinkled at the corners. "You lost your wand?" he asked, chuckling. "You must be that new witch I've heard about. Lorabelle's daughter."
I didn't like being laughed at, but the familiar use of my mother's name somehow made it seem all right. "Lorabelle was my mother. Did you know her?"
"Lived on the island all my life. So yeah, I knew her." He wiped his hand on his pants and held it out to me.
"William Carney," he said. He had a strong handshake that reminded me of my father. I wondered if my dad was still on the island. William's eyes drifted to Lucy.
"I know you, too, Lucy Lockwood. I went to high school with your folks. Sometime, ask your dad to tell you the story about the time we covered Ms. Letterman's desk with snail sludge."
Lucy let out a delighted laugh. "My dad did that? I can't believe it."
"Your father was a bag of tricks back in the day," William said. His laugh was catching.
"So," I asked hopefully. "Have you seen any wands?"
"Nope." He shook his head. "Sorry." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "I've seen your dad, though. Walking along the beach here. Never thought I'd see him again after he killed Jon like that."
Whoa. What?
"I'm sorry. Did you say my dad... killed someone?" When my father had told me he'd 'taken care' of my mother's killer before, I'd thought he meant he'd gotten him locked up.
William nodded. "The man who killed your mother." He must have read the confusion in my expression. "Jon hated witches. Never liked any of us. But when he found out your mom was as powerful as she was—what with those boxie quill extracts she was able to make—he got it in his head to take out a whole bunch of witches and wizards. Starting with her."
"Boxie quill extracts?" I asked, unable to believe what he'd just said. I shot Lucy a look. She looked as confused as I was.
"Yeah. Hard to believe, I know. Your mother was the only witch known to be able to handle boxie seeds. She could get them to do whatever she wanted."
"How did Jon find out any of this? I thought humans weren't supposed to know about witching stuff."
"They're not. Except on a small island like this, eventually even the humans get wise. You can only be around magic for so long before you start to take notice. Anyway, the Council on Magic and Human Affairs told your dad not to do anything. That they'd handle it. But I guess your pop couldn't let your mom's killer go. Can't say that I blame him, really. Used an oobleck spell on Jon. Turned him into a pile of goo."
I turned to Lucy. "Did you know about this?"
She shook her head.
"If the Council gets ahold of him now," William said, scratching his head. "I'm not sure what they'll do. He never faced the inquisition. Just took you and ran. I think he was afraid Jon's son might come after him one day when he was grown."
"Jon had a son?"
"Yep. His mother took him and ran after Jon's death. They were all S.H., you know. I think she was afraid that your dad might go after them, next. Revenge against your mother, you know?"
A sinking feeling hit the pit of my stomach. "You don't remember the son's name, do you?"
William's brow scrunched.
"Not sure. It was a long time ago. Damon, I think. Don't remember the last name, but if he's anything like his dad, I hope he stays far away from Heavenly Haven. We don't need any witch hunters around here."
* * *
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
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"You're awake."
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Back at the bakery, I could hardly think. Damon? A witch hunter? At least that explained why he'd hated me from the moment he saw me. Lucy thought I was jumping to conclusions, though.
"There could be more than one Damon on the island, you know," she'd said.
But the pieces fit together too perfectly. It would definitely explain my dad's violent reaction to meeting Damon and learning he was my friend. He must have recognized him. Snowball bumped his head against my leg.
"Hi there," I said, petting him. "How's Snowy?"
"Snowball has found what Mama asked for," she purred.
"You mean the boxie quill?" I asked, excited.
Snowball nodded and walked toward a storage cabinet in the back of the room. It housed all of Trixie's frosting tips.
"Bottom drawer," Snowball said.
I opened a large drawer on the bottom, but all I found inside was fondant.
"Thanks, Snowy, but I don't think this is what I was looking for." I patted the kitten's head.
"Mama so silly," Snowball said. "Back of drawer. Fake back."
I looked at Snowball who arched her back then flopped onto the floor. She rolled around scratching herself.
I pulled the drawer out and looked behind it. There was a piece of wood standing vertically. It looked out of place. I tapped on it and the wood came loose. Behind it, I found what I'd been looking for. A hiding place. It contained extracts, plants, and herbs, most of which I wasn't familiar with. But amidst them all, I saw a large purple plant dripping with pearls.
Boxie quill.
My aunts didn't just have a stem or two. They had an entire plant.
I heard one of them coming and quickly closed up the cabinet. Maybe this explained where they'd disappeared to after Campbell's death. Maybe they had tried to make a boxie extract like my mother used to do, but it had failed. Maybe that's why Campbell had died. They'd disappeared trying to clean up the evidence.
"Good job, Snowball," I said, getting the drawer back in just before Eleanor stepped into the back.
"Ava, there's a phone call for you," she said, grabbing her tea off her desk and going back out front.
A phone call? Maybe it was Lucy. She'd told me she would see what else she could find out about my mother.
"Hello?" I asked, picking up the phone.
"Ava?"
I paused before answering. "Brendan?"
"Yeah."
I had no idea why he was calling. I wasn't exactly his favorite person.
"Listen, can you come by Coffee Cove later? I've got something for you."
"Something?" I asked. The vagueness of the word made my nerves jump.
"Just come by after closing," he said and hung up.
I debated about going. I didn't trust Brendan. I was certain he was involved in all this somehow. Even if Damon was the one murdering people, he would have needed help. Damon was S.H. and Brendan was his friend. It made sense that they might work together.
By the time nine o' clock rolled around, curiosity had gotten the better of me. I told Eleanor and Trixie I was going for a walk and headed to Coffee Cove. Lucy had left already, but Megan was still cleaning up. She glared at me as I came in.
"We're closed," she snapped.
Brendan popped his head out of the back. "It's okay, Megan. I asked her to come by."
Megan's mouth dropped open. She rounded her shoulders back, took off her apron, and threw it on the counter. "I'm done for tonight, anyway," she said, glaring at Brendan as she made her way toward the door. When she was gone, Brendan sighed.
"She's never gonna like me anyway. Not like that. So I guess it doesn't matter if she gets
mad at me."
Brendan really had it bad for her. I couldn't help feeling sorry for him.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked.
"Stay there," he said and went into the back room. The heriotza pendant began to burn my skin. Danger. A second later, I saw why.
Brendan came out of the back room holding a large, purple plant with pearls.
"What are you doing?" I asked him, stepping back toward the door, ready to make my escape.
"Is this what you keep asking me about?" he said, sounding irritated.
"Yes," I snapped back. "I knew you had boxie quill. Why didn't you just tell me?"
"Because," he said. "This isn't boxie quill."
My mouth opened halfway, and I coughed on the air I tried to inhale. "But I read about it in Magical Herbs and Plants."
"Yeah. And what volume are you on?"
"Volume one," I said, my voice growing soft.
"When you get back to the bakery, look at volume five. Moxie satin." He held the plant out for me to examine. "Looks identical to boxie quill except for the light yellow threads running through the pearls. Look."
He forced the plant into my hand. I squinted at it and saw what he was talking about.
"Unlike boxie," Brendan continued. "Moxie is perfectly safe."
My eyes widened. Maybe what I'd seen at my aunts' bakery was moxie satin then, not boxie quill. That would make sense.
"Did you make the cakes that Damon and Campbell ate?" I asked him.
He shook his head. Much to my disappointment, I believed him.
"No. But I think I know who did. And I don't think it's what you're thinking." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "There's something else. I found this."
He handed me a horizontal box I hadn't realized he'd been holding. I set aside the moxie opened it. My heart stopped. "Oh my wizards!" I cried. "It's my wand!"
Despite his irritation with me, Brendan looked pleased that I was so happy. I pulled him into a giant hug.
"Where did you find it?" I asked.
"That's the thing," Brendan said, pulling away from me. "I found it somewhere... unexpected. The last place you'd think to look, really."
I was so excited, my head started to feel light. The room around me was spinning.
"Ava? Are you okay?".
Then I realized it wasn't excitement making me dizzy. My heriotza was burning. I could feel it making my skin blister. I pointed my wand around the room, trying to think of some spell that could save me from what was about to happen.
"Ava, what are you doing?" Brendan shouted when my wand stopped on him.
But I couldn't think. My head felt numb.
This time, the darkness took only seconds to consume me instead of minutes. I got dizzy. Foggy. Then I was gone.
When I opened my eyes again, my head was throbbing and my stomach hurt, though not as bad as last time. Maybe I was getting used to this.
I sat up, my back stiff. How long had I been lying here? I looked around the room. Coffee Cove. At least this time I was still in the place I'd started.
"Brendan?" I called, looking around for him. "Brendan?" I got shakily to my feet and took a step toward the counter.
That's when I saw him. Brendan's body laid face down on the floor.
"Brendan!" I cried, running to him. I turned him over. His face was blue. He wasn't breathing. I pinched his arm, hoping his eyes would pop open and he'd smile at me. Or yell at me. Or something. Anything other than lying here silently. Dead.
But it was no use.
"Oh no," I cried. "Not you, too."
Footsteps sounded from the back room. My heart thumped in my chest. I readied myself for whoever or whatever was approaching. It had to be Brendan's attacker. I searched the floor frantically for my wand, but it was gone. I'd lost it again.
The door opened and my father stepped out. He looked surprised to see me.
"Ava," he said. "You're awake."
* * *
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
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* * *
You think I did it? …
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"Dad! What are you doing here? Did you...?" I couldn't finish the sentence.
My father wasn't a killer. There was no way. Yet, as he stood over Brendan's body, it wasn't so hard to believe. Especially knowing that he'd killed before.
"Of course I didn't kill him," my father said, reading my mind. There was something in his eyes, though, that worried me.
"Then what are you doing here?" I demanded. "And where's my wand?"
He took a step toward me. I took a step back.
"I don't know where your wand is. You don't really think I did this? Do you?"
"I... I don't know what to think," I told him.
"Ava—"
Sheriff Knoxx burst into the room. His large frame jumped gleefully between me and my father.
"Aha!" Knoxx cried. "I've finally got you!" He was smiling triumphantly at me as he removed the handcuffs from his belt. How had he gotten here so quickly? How did he even know that Brendan was dead?
"No!" I cried, stepping away from him. "It wasn't me! I didn't kill Brendan!" But he wasn't listening. In his mind, he'd caught me red-handed.
"Wait! Sheriff Knoxx!" my father yelled, stepping forward.
The sheriff turned. It was as if he was realizing my father's presence in the room for the first time. He blinked, looking from my father to me and back again.
"Eli Fortune?" he asked.
"How are you, Zane?" my father asked. "The last time I saw you, you were still a deputy."
Sheriff Knoxx stiffened. "That was a long time ago, Eli."
I looked at the two of them, my mouth hanging open. It was hard to believe my father had this whole other life I'd never imagined. With people I'd never known existed until recently.
"What are you doing here?" Sheriff Knoxx asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I came for my daughter," he said, looking at me. He had a strange look on his face. Usually, we could almost read each other's thoughts. For the first time, I had no idea what my dad was thinking.
Sheriff Knoxx suddenly seemed to remember the situation at hand. He puffed his chest out and turned back to me.
"Well, your daughter is coming with me."
"But I didn't do anything," I pleaded.
The front door slammed open. Detective Colt Hudson stomped into the room. I wondered if lawmen took classes on how to burst through a door. It seemed to me that Sheriff Knoxx and Detective Hudson both had that exercise down to a tee.
Detective Hudson took one look at the three of us standing there, the sheriff's cuffs dangling from his hand, and smiled.
"Looks like I got here just in time," Detective Hudson said.
"This is my case. I was first on the scene," Sheriff Knoxx yelled. I watched fascinated as the two men went into a stare down. It lasted several minutes, until Sheriff Knoxx turned his head.
"Ava Rose Fortune, you are under arrest for the murder of—" Sheriff Knoxx yelled.
"Ava Rose Fortune, you are under arrest for the murder of—" Detective Hudson yelled at the same time.
Are they competing to see who will be the first to arrest me?
"It was me!" my father yelled.
Everyone stopped talking at once. We all stared at him.
"What?" I asked, my throat dry as sandpaper.
"It was me. It was all me. I'm sorry, Ava," my father said.
"You?" Knoxx asked my dad.
"That's right. I came back to the island for Ava and... I just couldn't stomach all these humans."
"But why kill Brendan?" I asked. "He was a wizard."
My father stared hard at me, thinking. "I didn't like him."
"What?" I laughed, looking at Sheriff Knoxx. Surely even the sheriff must realize how ridiculous that sounded. My father was obviously covering for someone, but who?
Sheriff Knoxx moved towar
d my dad now. Detective Hudson pushed him aside. The sheriff fell into the counter while Detective Hudson made his arrest. "Eli Fortune, you are under arrest for the murders of Brendan Ash, David Buyers, and Campbell Price."
He cuffed my father and led him outside, where a crowd had already grown. News really did spread fast in this town. It was difficult walking past the townspeople. Lucy was there with Megan. Their eyes were red.
"Is it true?" Lucy asked, running up to me. "Is Brendan really..."
I nodded and broke away from her. "I'll see you later," I told her. "I have to go with my father."
No matter what he might have done, I couldn't let him go to the station alone. I didn't believe he was guilty of murder. I was certain there was someone else that he was trying to protect.
Eleanor and Trixie weren't outside Coffee Cove, and they weren't at the station when we arrived. I wondered if they'd heard the news yet. If not, I would call them from the station after my father gave his statement.
It was difficult listening to my father explain to Sheriff Knoxx and Detective Hudson that he had killed three men. "I just couldn't let them live," he said.
"Bullfrog!" I yelled, unable to contain myself.
The three men looked at me.
"No, Ava. It's not. I'm sorry." My father could barely look at me.
"What is she even doing here?" Detective Hudson spat. Literally. Saliva flew from his mouth and hit Sheriff Knoxx in the eye. The sheriff stood up and wiped himself with a paper towel.
"Ava," Sheriff Knoxx asked, ignoring Detective Hudson's question. He sounded much gentler than I was used to. "Would you like some water? I have some peanut butter dream bars. Your Aunt Eleanor made them. Would you care for one?"
Peanut butter bars? What was happening here? Why was the sheriff being so nice all of a sudden?
"This isn't a bakery!" Detective Hudson yelled. And I thought I understood. Either Sheriff Knoxx was being nice to me to egg Detective Hudson on, or he had finally realized what it felt like to be on the receiving end of a snide toad bottom.
