Witch Way To Amethyst: The Prequel (A Stacy Justice Mystery Book 0)

by Barbra Annino

  “Not likely.”

  “Fine. Then I will tie you to the bed so you can’t move and then I will kill you.”

  If he tried to move me, I might have a fighting chance.

  “Excellent.”

  Gates raised his eyebrows. “You’d rather take that option?”

  “I’m pretty sure you’re going to kill me either way. I find it more dignified to die in bed then squatting on the porcelain throne.”

  “Fine.”

  Gates stepped out of the room for a minute and I scanned my surroundings for a way out. It was the only space in the cottage without windows.

  Soap, shampoo, toilet paper, towels. Not even a hair dryer. Or a towel bar. Linens were stacked in a wicker unit, which I gathered wouldn’t knock anyone out. Unless I could loosen up the sink basin, there was no weapon except the needles. And I had no idea which drugs were inside them. I heard the faint rumble of a freight train approaching as I tugged at the sink leg through the handcuffs.

  Before I knew what was happening, Gates roared in seconds later, stabbed me with the needle in his pocket and ran out.

  The train got closer and I thought I heard glass breaking right before my eyes closed and the world slipped away.

  Chapter 39

  It wasn’t a freight train. It was a hulking group of old men on motorcycles led by none other than Wildcat.

  By the time I came to, there was a lot of broken glass, a kicked-in door, and a doctor who wish he’d never been born. Samantha managed to slip away, but I doubted she was going to get very far in the woods. Leo was looking for her now. Apparently, Gramps’ friend had seen me driving the doctor’s car and knew something was wrong. Wildcat made a few calls, rounded up his posse, and well, here we were.

  Wildcat’s crew didn’t waste any time ringing the bell when they reached the place. Someone spotted Gates holding a needle through the huge glass windows and decided to park his bike in the living room. A few of them took turns playing dodge ball with the doctor before calling the police and since these were not the most law-abiding citizens, it was either get on the back of a bike or wait at the scene where Samantha could have shown up at any moment. I chose option A.

  I was at Muddy Waters Coffee Shop now with my cousin, sitting at an outdoor table littered with sandwich wrappers, gently applying ice to my lip. Hours had passed and the sedative that Gates drugged me with had worn off. Who knew he was telling the truth when he said he wasn’t going to kill me?

  Wildcat’s Harley pulled up to the sidewalk then. With the engine still idling he shouted, “Listen, girls, you need anything, ask at for me at the Elk’s Lodge. They’ll find me.”

  “Are you leaving?” I asked.

  His face met the sky. “I think it’s time I moved on. The road is calling.”

  “What about War Games?” Cin asked.

  His eyes sparked. “Just a pipe dream. My true passion is wanderlust. Keeps me young. Besides, I’m guessing the cops won’t be too happy that I bent the law a little bit back there.” He grinned.

  Damn near broke it off, I’d say.

  Cin and I watched him head down the road until he disappeared over the horizon. I wondered if I would ever see him again.

  Tony walked up to the table carrying two coffees. He set one in front of Cinnamon who smiled at him and he kissed her. A small piece of my heart leaped at that. Maybe things would get back to normal. At least normal for those two.

  "Leo said you can come down to the station tomorrow to draw up the statement if you’re not feeling well." Tony set the other coffee in front of me and I thanked him.

  “Good. I’m exhausted.” I lifted the lid on the coffee and blew on it.

  A loud grumble followed by an impressive snore erupted from beneath the table. I peeked under at Thor who was dreaming of something that made his lip curl and his tail thump. Tony thought it would be funny to dress him in a Batman costume for the parade, but if I were to be honest, I think the dog liked it. There was an extra perk in his step when he greeted me.

  Cin sipped her coffee as Tony stared adoringly at her. "Are you're staying for Samhain?"

  I met her eyes but said nothing.

  "Birdie would want you there," she said.

  Birdie was home now, all charges dropped since she recanted her ‘confession’. Pearl had not been so fortunate. We’ll never know why Gates used a lethal dose on her and not myself. Maybe it was an accident. Maybe he hadn’t meant to kill her. Perhaps she was on a medication that caused a bad reaction to whatever drug Gates injected into her. Or maybe he hadn’t meant to spare me. It could be that Wildcat and company got him so flustered that he mixed up the needles. Either way, it meant that Gramps would now be alone again and it twisted my heart to think of the pain he would be in. Almost as much as when I first got the phone call that he was sick.

  I wrinkled my brow, thinking about that and something knocked on my brain. A missing puzzle piece.

  Cin said, “What is it? You OK?”

  “There's something that still bothers me," I said. “Neither of them mentioned anything about putting Gramps in the hospital in the first place. How did that happen? Why would Gates go to the trouble of poisoning Pearl and myself, but not admit to that? And what about the break-in at the cottage? The antifreeze?”

  Cinnamon said, "You can't possibly still think Chance stalked you."

  "No." It couldn't have been Chance. I just had to believe it couldn’t be him.

  “I’m sure they had something to do with it, Stacy,” Tony said.

  Thor rose from the table, toppling my coffee, but I caught it before it spilled. He stretched and yawned, and I scratched him behind his big pointy ear. “You’re probably right.”

  Cin was watching me. "You know, Thor isn't just the god of thunder.” She and Tony exchanged glances.

  I eyed her. "Yeah? What else?"

  Cin nudged Tony.

  "Well, he represents lots of things,” Tony said, looking at his huge canine companion. “Let’s see, there’s health.”

  “Agriculture,” said Cinnamon.

  Tony said, “Protection.”

  I didn't like where this was heading.

  "But most importantly he's the god of moral right and wrong," Cin said.

  Tony said, "You might say justice."

  I shook my head, looked from one to the other of them. "Oh hell no. I know you are not asking me to take this beast."

  Thor harrumphed.

  I said, “No offense, buddy.”

  "Tony and I were thinking of renting an apartment close to the shop and they don’t accept pets." Cin gave me a sad look. “Besides, I worry about you in the city. There’s a lot of nuts out there.”

  “There’s a lot of nuts right here,” I said, watching Shea Parker approach our table.

  He came over and pulled up a chair, interrupting this awkward exchange. For once, I was grateful to see him. He swung the chair around and sat on it backward.

  "Hey, Lois," he said to me. Parker was dressed as Clark Kent. He was munching an apple.

  “Where’s your cape?” Cinnamon asked and sipped her coffee.

  "Wouldn't you like to know?” Parker winked.

  Tony pulled his fake gun on him. He was dressed as a cowboy.

  "Just kidding," said Parker. He turned to me. "You going to write the whole story?"

  I took a swig of my coffee, the last few days events swirling in my mind. I hadn’t realized how much I missed Amethyst until just then. I missed my family. I missed this crazy ass town. "You gonna make me an offer I can't refuse?"

  Cin spit out her coffee and Tony swung his head to me.

  "Are you serious?" Parker asked.

  I smiled. "I don't think I could handle the slow pace of the city anymore."

  Parker jumped out of his chair and kissed me on the cheek.

  “Agh.” I wiped his slobber away. “Boundaries, dude, boundaries.”

  "See you Monday.” He hurried off before I could change my mind.

  Mon
ique passed him on the street, waving her knockers at him, and teetered over to us. She was wearing a Charlie's Angels costume, complete with fuzzy handcuffs slung over her hips and a squirt gun tucked in her cleavage. I think she was going for Farrah, but the tight white jumpsuit, platform heels, and dog collar around her neck made her look more like Farrah's slutty sister from the trailer park.

  Tony jumped up and mumbled something about the bathroom.

  Monique watched him leave. "Well, aren't you all cozy?"

  "Nice shiner," I said, grinning at her.

  She had attempted to cover the bruise with a thick coat of foundation, but the purple splotch pushed its way through.

  She smirked. "Compliments of your cousin."

  "I aim to please," Cin said.

  "Look, I just wanted to say that I'd like to call a truce." Monique glanced from me to Cin. "With both of you."

  I raised my eyebrows and watched my cousin.

  She flicked her eyes to Monique. "Bite me."

  "Get bent," Monique said and tottered away.

  "I think you two may have reached a plateau in your relationship," I said, sipping my coffee.

  "A good ass kicking will do that."

  And with that, everything was as it should be.

  Chapter 40

  October's full moon is often referred to as the "Blood Moon" because hunters would track enough prey to last through the winter under her illumination. Tonight the blood moon stamped the sky, tinted by an orange hue. There was a thick ring around it that gave my stomach a turn as I snaked through crowds of tourists dressed as ninjas, witches, nurses, and knights. The parade had ended and I was heading to the cottage to change and rest before the Samhain ritual.

  I was about to walk up the steps off Main Street when I caught a glimpse of flaming red hair. Not light like mine, or auburn like Birdie's, but deep, rich red. Only one person on Earth had that color hair.

  She turned then, a black cape shielding her as she wafted through the crowd. She lifted the hood and I followed, stepping on toes and weaving through kids still collecting candy.

  She was a block ahead, the cape billowing behind her like a shadowy warning, but I was gaining momentum, sailing past storefronts and groups of trick-or-treaters.

  "Mom!"

  She darted down an alley then and I ran to the spot where she had just turned seconds before, but there was no one. Just a dumpster stuffed with cardboard boxes and a broken old chair.

  "You really are losing it, Stacy," I muttered.

  I hiked up the hill to the cottage where Moonlight greeted me with a yawn and a demand for dinner so I obliged him. I was utterly spent but decided to put the blue cape on first because Birdie would have wanted me to wear that for the festival and I didn’t feel like arguing about it. Then I went to rest my eyes for a few minutes.

  I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up Zorro was holding my phone.

  I blinked for several seconds trying to decide if I was dreaming and then Zorro said in a deep voice, "Hi, Angel."

  Chance. We really needed to discuss that nickname.

  I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "Hi. Didn't expect to see you here." I was still half asleep and I’m pretty sure I had drooled all over my cape.

  He walked over to the dresser and leaned against it. "Thought I'd give you a sneak preview of my costume." His voice sounded strange.

  "Do you have a cold?" I swung my legs over the side of the bed and yawned.

  He shook his head.

  I stood up. "Well, just let me splash some cold water on my face and we can head to the festival." I looked out the window and didn't see his truck.

  "Did you walk here?" Chance always drove.

  He nodded.

  "Are you okay?" I stepped forward and my stomach roiled then, so much so that I thought I might puke. Uh-oh. How did he get in anyway? Didn’t I lock the door? This was not good. Not. Good. And Thor wasn’t here either.

  He stepped over to me and bent his head to kiss me and ice shot down my spine.

  I backed away. "What are you doing?" Nothing about this felt right. This wasn’t the Chance I knew. Not my Chance.

  That's when I saw his eyes. Not blue. These were light brown, nearly amber. And angry. So angry.

  Birdie’s voice shot through my head. Harmful intent.

  I pretended to play along until I could get to the door, making a mental note to always keep a knife in my boot. "Let's just go to the festival, Chance."

  "Well, I thought it would be nicer if we kept the party here." That voice. It was disguised, yet familiar. But I couldn’t place it.

  "Sure. I think I have some beer in the fridge," I said, walking towards the bedroom door.

  He grabbed my wrist and threw me on the bed. Hard. His voice was gruff, like his hands. "No, I mean here." He kicked the door shut behind him and locked it.

  "You know, Chance, it isn't a good time. I've got PMS, I haven't showered--"

  "Shut up!"

  For once in my life, I did. Mostly because my heart was in my throat.

  "You've always cast me aside. Like I didn't even exist. Treated me like a leper."

  "Now that's just silly, I don't even know any lepers."

  "Everything is a joke to you isn't it? I'm a joke to you."

  "You're wearing a Zorro costume, so..."

  He cast his eyes down. That's when I saw the rope. Why didn't I bring Thor home with me? Or the sword Birdie had given me? That was back in Chicago.

  "Yes, the costume. You'd be surprised how easy it is to masquerade in this town. No one locks their doors. So easy to just break in, borrow some keys, some clothing."

  Clothing? Was he talking about the shirt? The goddamn red and black shirt stuck in my doorframe. I must have had an expression of clarity on my face because he said, "Now you're catching on." He smiled. I knew that smile. That crooked smile. The smile of a crocodile.

  "Nothing ever impressed you. Not how hard I worked, not how I dressed. Not the sacrifices I made for you, for your family." He cracked a whip against the closet door. "Three years at the gym to buff up this body. Do you know how much a gym membership costs?"

  I crab-walked back near the headboard. Maybe I could reach something on the dresser. Toss it through the window.

  He kept talking. "So I decided if I couldn't be the kind of man you wanted, I would just be the man I know you've had."

  There was a clink in my brain and the sound of a hundred pennies falling to the floor filled it. It made sense now. The year I was born, the year Chance moved here, the year I graduated from high school. There was one before that. I thought it signified my parents, but it was also the year this man was born, the man in the Zorro mask. The face of Gladys popped in my head.

  “He say he owe him.”

  I knew what that meant now. Pain pierced my skull as I tried to halt the spinning. Then I saw it. Pearl in a hospital, crying, holding an infant. This was the baby she put up for adoption.

  "You’re Pearl's son." Pearl's son. Pearl's son. It played over and over in my head.

  “I was,” he shouted. “But you destroyed that too. She’s dead and it’s all your fault.”

  “I called Eddie,” Pearl had told me.

  I scanned the room for a way out as Ed Entwhistle pulled down the mask. "Guess who?"

  I rolled off the bed and hurled myself toward the window. Something bit my back--the whip, maybe--and I cried out in pain.

  He said, slick as snakeskin, "Uh, uh, uh. No running."

  Ed grabbed me forcefully by the hips. I jackknifed into the air and donkey kicked him in what felt like a twelve pack of abs. I heard a gasp, but before I could reach the window, he had that damn rope around my legs like he’d been raised on the rodeo circuit.

  "Now I'm sorry to have to do this, but you've misbehaved,” he growled.

  For the second time that day, the world blackened.

  Chapter 41

  I woke up in a dark, damp room, hands tied behind my back, still wearing the blue
cape the Geraghty Girls had given me. I blinked a few times trying to acclimate myself to the darkness. Felt stone walls. My head throbbed as I wondered where I was. Something sparkled in a far corner. Not a light. Something glittery.

  It came back to me in bits. Ed Entwhistle. Pretending he was Chance. How could I have missed it? Birdie was right. I didn't pay attention. I should have seen this coming. And now what? He blamed me for Pearl’s death?

  Oh, he is so out of the will when I tell Gramps about this.

  I stood up, noticed there was damp dirt beneath my feet and my legs were no longer bound. My eyes began to adjust to the darkness. I pivoted around and caught a familiar scent. Vanilla and lavender and sage all whipped into one.

  Wait a minute. I knew this space. That was an amethyst cluster sparkling in the corner. Amethyst for protection, spiritual enhancement, and to guard against psychic attack.

  Although right now I was more concerned with a physical attack.

  But I knew where I was. The old fruit cellar below the Geraghty House. This was where they used to store much of their herbs and where they cleansed some of their magic tools, at least the ones that benefited from re-charging within the earth. When I was a kid I would play hide and seek down here. It had the best nooks and alcoves. But the Geraghty Girls hadn’t come down here in ages. Not with their trick knees and arthritis.

  But why would he bring me here?

  Then I recalled the festival. It would be going on for hours if this were still the night of Samhain. Until dawn even. And no one would find me down here. Not for a long time. Not until the smell got to them and they searched for a dead raccoon.

  Seeker of Justice. A lot of freaking good that did me. I just get pennies flung at me. Bet the Warrior got a set of throwing stars.

  I studied the corner where the amethyst sat. It was something, at least. I shuffled back towards the wall, squatted, and tried to pick up the crystal. It was heavy, larger than I anticipated. I couldn't lift it with both hands tied behind my back, so I tried another approach. The gemstone had a few sharp edges, but since I had been bound with that stupid whip, I only made my wrists bleed trying to sever the ties.