Witching for the Best

by Samantha Silver

  “How so?” I asked, leaning forward.

  “You know the Senior Center? The one across the street from the retirement homes? Well, that’s where most of the retirees hang out when they feel like leaving the house, and they run games of bingo every Thursday.”

  I gave her a flat look. “Bingo? Seriously?”

  “Bingo’s no laughing matter, honey,” dad said in a grave tone. Was I having a stroke?

  “Not for the Senior Center crowd, at least,” Mom said with a dark laugh as if we were talking about a drug ring. “I’ve seen lifelong friendships fall apart in that bingo hall, and Susanna? Everyone had her pegged for a cheater, and a long-time one at that. That doesn’t make you many friends in this town, let me tell you.”

  I mouthed “cheating at bingo?” in disbelief, but Mom had already moved on.

  “Where else to start? Susanna definitely got around. She was a widow, but last I heard, she was seeing Elton Kolbeck. Reckon they’d been seeing each other for oh, almost half a year now, and the rumor mill says Elton was shopping for engagement rings.”

  “After just six months?” I said in almost as much disbelief.

  “We’ve only got a few decades left, tops, sweetie,” Mom said dryly. “When you’re single at our age, you’re out of patience for playing the long game.”

  That was fair enough, I supposed.

  “Anyway, both of them lived at the retirement community. Oh, and now that you mention it, I do remember hearing something about her getting into a spat with Tony Byrd.”

  “Who’s that?” I asked, wishing I’d brought a pen and pencil to start writing all this down.

  “Another retiree at the Center,” Mom said with a wave of her hand. “One of the richest men in town, too.”

  I made a face. “If he’s rich, why is he at a retirement home? Don’t they have like, servants?”

  “He does,” Mom said with a sardonic smile. “He’s rich because he owned the Senior Center.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “So he’s retired, but…”

  “...but he likes keeping an eye on his assets, having a whole community’s worth of servants that have to bend over backward for him, and just being a jackass to everyone around him,” Mom finished, not mincing words. “His kids might technically own the place now, but that didn’t stop him from buying up three suites for him to stay in.”

  “And he was fighting with Susanna about cheating, I’m guessing?” I ventured.

  “Could be,” she said, “but last I heard, it was because Tony thought Susanna was getting favors from the staff. Preferential treatment. You know, Tony’s the one they have to act like they like, but Susanna’s the one they actually like. I don’t know details, but it was probably some quibble like her getting extra cheesecake or something. Tony’s the kind of man who would pick a fight over anything he thought he could get away with. I’m surprised he’s not the one who turned up dead.”

  I nodded. Cheesecake and bingo could be serious business, apparently.

  “Well, sounds like I’ve got a visit to the Senior Center to make,” I said. On the list of “things I didn’t think I’d be saying this morning”, this was pretty high up there.

  “Be careful in there, honey,” Dad said with a concerned look. “Don’t think for a second that it’s all old-timey music and piano recitals that happen there. Old witches and wizards might not spend their time cackling and plotting over cauldrons in dark towers anymore, but the attitude is definitely still there.”

  “And don’t you even think about shopping for rooms for us in there,” Mom said as I stood up and wiped my hands on my napkin, feeling ten pounds heavier already from all the food. “If we ever sell the cottage, we’re moving into the B&B.”

  “I know, I know!” I said with a laugh. At least that place was definitely big enough to accommodate a side-house.

  “And speaking of,” Mom started, narrowing her eyes. I was in trouble for something. “What’s all this I hear about you wanting to renovate the place? What’s wrong with it?”

  “Huh?!” I spluttered. How on earth did she find out about that already?

  “Oh, don’t act so surprised, you know I’ve got eyes all over town.” That sounded a lot more threatening than she probably meant it to. Maybe it wouldn’t be too out of place if she did get accused of murder a second time.

  “Oh, I, uh, um,” I said, glancing to dad for help, but he was conveniently looking out the window and twiddling his thumbs. “Just something I was thinking about doing, you know, like window shopping,” I said quickly and nervously, moving for the living room.

  “Arti,” Mom started.

  “Anyway! I’ll let you know if I find anything interesting! Thankssomuchforallthehelploveyoubothbye!” I said even faster as I made a break for the front door.

  I could hear Mom shouting “Don’t you touch the floor trim!” as I grabbed my broom, grabbed Luna - “Hey! I almost had that squirrel!” - and rushed off the property.

  Next stop, the Senior’s Center.

  Chapter 5

  Hopping onto my broom, Luna quickly settled in around my shoulders again. She wasn’t purring anymore, presumably angry with me for picking her up and taking her away from her supposed prey, that poor squirrel in the yard. She was pointedly ignoring me, her tiny nose turned up and away from my face as I kicked off the ground and bounced the broom up into the air.

  “What? Are you mad at me?” I asked lightly. She made a little huffy sound and I chuckled. “Lu, you weren’t going to catch that squirrel anyway.”

  “Your faith in me is truly inspirational,” she retorted, clearly offended.

  “You haven’t climbed a tree in, what, years?” I reasoned.

  “Doesn’t mean I can’t still do it now. What’s that stupid human proverb? That you never forget how to ride a bicycle? Well, it’s like that. I may be an indoor cat who likes to sleep on a sofa and eat from a fancy crystal bowl, but at my core, I’m still wild. Like a tiger,” she said proudly. I had to bite my tongue to keep from bursting out laughing.

  “Luna, have you ever even seen a tiger?” I giggled.

  She swatted my shoulder, half-playfully, half-annoyed. “Of course I have.”

  “Where? On television?” I said, smiling.

  “No. Well, yes. But I’m sure I’ve seen one, you know, in the wild before,” she replied defensively. I had to turn and look at her, taking my eyes off the road just long enough to give her a dubious expression. It was important.

  “What?”

  “Where do you think tigers usually live? What is their natural habitat?” I asked her.

  She thought about it for a moment, really mulling it over. I could tell this was going to be a fun answer. Finally, she answered. “I imagine they keep to themselves. They’re quite large, aren’t they? I bet they live in the woods. You know, beyond the boundaries of town.”

  “Well, you’re half-right,” I laughed. “They certainly do live beyond the boundaries of Moonlight Cove, but they don’t live in the woods. Not here, anyway. Except for maybe at the zoo or something. But mostly they live on other continents. You know, across the planet?”

  If Luna could have blushed, she would have.

  “Okay. You got me. I’ve never met a tiger in person, alright? You happy now that you’ve crushed my dreams and called my bluff?” she pouted. I reached up with my free hand for a moment to pet her, scratching her behind the left ear - her favorite spot.

  “I know, Lu. I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never seen a tiger face-to-face either. I’ve only ever been to the zoo in Seattle and I think the tiger was at the vet that day. So I missed it, too,” I told her sympathetically.

  “That’s it, then,” she announced.

  “What’s what now?” I asked, confused.

  “It’s going on my bucket list. I want to meet a tiger,” she declared.

  “That might be a little tricky to pull off, Lu.”

  “Well, it wouldn’t be a bucket list item if it was easy
, would it? I would’ve done it already if it were easy,” she reasoned. I guess she had a point. But still, the idea of trying to smuggle my cat into a zoo purely so that she could see a tiger behind bars was definitely not a pleasant one. I had a feeling it would just make her sad to see such a magnificent beast locked up like it was in prison simply for existing.

  “Okay. We’ll think about that later. For now, we’ve got smaller fish to fry,” I said. “And I’m kind of feeling a post-meal coffee.”

  “Another one?” Luna balked. “You’re going to get those awful jitters again.”

  “Fine. I’ll get decaf,” I sighed.

  “Then what’s the point?” she shot back.

  “Hey, Lu? Can you just be, I don’t know, quiet for a little bit? I’m thinking,” I said.

  She huffed and puffed, but eventually settled down. I was going to the Senior’s Center, sure, but first I felt like I needed to check in on Elisa and Bella again. I knew even if they had closed up shop for the day, they would likely still be there for a while cleaning up.

  I guided the broom back to the Bean and to my surprise, when I pulled up to it, I noticed that there were still lots of people inside. I frowned. I’d thought they were closing up for the day? This time, Luna came inside with me, perched on my shoulder. I bypassed the gawky teen at the cash register and went straight to the back. He opened his mouth and raised a finger as though to stop me, then promptly gave up. He was swamped at the counter and was in no place to play bouncer for the kitchen door.

  When I walked in, I saw Elisa and Bella sitting in the back on stools, both wearing their usual work aprons and sipping what smelled like earl grey tea. They looked up at me. Elisa gave a faint smile, but Bella’s face was still splotchy pink and white, her eyes puffy and red from crying. I felt awful at the look of her. Susanna’s death was bound to knock her off her feet for a while. Bella didn’t deal very well with stress, being a fragile sort of person, but she was so sweet and kind it broke my heart to see her so sad..

  “Hey,” I said gently, walking over to them. “I thought you were closing up shop for the day, guys?”

  Elisa nodded. “We had planned on it at first, but then I realized that if we just went home, the day would be even worse. We would just sit there bored and depressed with nothing to distract us from how sad we were. That’s no way to deal with something like this. Life must go on, and keeping the shop open today is just enough distraction to keep us both from totally falling apart. You know what I mean?”

  I leaned back against a metal counter sprinkled with flour. “Yeah. I get it.”

  “B-besides,” Bella said, her voice wavering with tears, “Aunt Susanna was so tough and sassy. She wouldn’t want us to be all weepy and weak. She would’ve wanted us to stay strong.”

  “That’s right,” Elisa agreed, reaching over to take her little sister’s hands. “Aunt Su would’ve told us to just pull up our big girl pants and keep the wheel a-rollin’.”

  Bella almost laughed, but it was thwarted by a sob. She looked like a complete mess, the poor thing. I grabbed a roll of paper towels and brought them over to her so she could wipe her face.

  “Thanks, Artemis,” she said softly.

  “Anyway, what are you doing back here?” Elisa asked, looking up at me.

  “Oh, I just wanted to check in on you two. I’ve just gone to see my parents and break the news. I expected Mom to cry, but I don’t know why. She isn’t really the crying sort.”

  Elisa nodded and smiled. “No, not Celeste. She’s more likely to get angry than sad.”

  “Exactly,” I agreed. “She was pretty pissed, especially after what happened last month with the Olsen case. She thinks the town is going to the dogs, or something.”

  “Well, I can’t blame her, exactly. It was never like this when we were growing up here, was it? It was always so safe. So quiet. So boring, really,” she said.

  “Definitely boring,” I said, reminiscing for a moment about all the things she and I would think of to pass the time and make our days a little less, well, normal. “But I’d take the boredom over this kind of thing any day of the week.”

  “Me, too,” Bella said. “I rather prefer boring.”

  Elisa patted her hands. “Hey, Bella, will you be okay back here? I’m going to go fix Arti some coffee and check on Gary at the front counter.”

  Bella nodded. To my surprise, Luna hopped down off my shoulder and climbed into Bella’s lap, purring. She gave me a wink as Bella started petting her. That was sweet. Luna was usually pretty standoffish with people other than me, but she had her moments. Elisa and I went back out to the main area, leaving Bella to cuddle with Luna. The gangly teen boy, Gareth, was just barely handling the steady flow of business on his own. He did look a little less petrified than he did earlier this morning, at least.

  “New guy?” I asked in a whisper. Elisa nodded.

  “Hired just three days ago. He’s been great so far. A little awkward, but I mean, who isn’t awkward at that age?” she said. “You want the usual?” she asked, holding up a mug.

  “Yeah, but can you make it decaf?” I asked. She raised an eyebrow.

  “You sure?”

  I sighed. “Yeah. Sometimes too much caffeine gives me the shakes, and I need to be on my A-game today.”

  “Why’s that?” she asked.

  “I’m gonna do just a little light snooping, some reconnaissance stuff. You know.”

  Elisa snorted. “You really don’t hesitate to jump right in, do you?”

  “Hey, I’m doing this for you and Bella.”

  “I know. And I’m grateful. I trust you more than anyone else, Arti. Just promise me you’ll be careful. Things worked out fine last month, but you never know who or what you might be dealing with this time,” she said pointedly. She lowered her voice even further. “I mean, her body was found in the water. That can’t be a good sign.”

  “No,” I said. “Probably not.”

  And she was right. I could feel it. The world felt a little bit scarier than it used to, even in my tiny little town. It used to be that the only time I ever caught wind of anything bad or frightening, it was on the rare occasion that I watched the news channels to hear about horrible events, horrible people far, far away. Outside the safety and quiet of Moonlight Cove. It was strange to think that there were places where a murder or a mysterious death might not be such a big deal. Here, it was a huge deal, something that truly frightened and disrupted the smooth fabric of daily life. We all took it for granted, how gentle and easy life was here.

  But if bad things did start happening at a more regular pace, what would that mean for the town? For our tourism business that kept us churning and supported year-round? What would it mean for the local businesses? And for my own business, the Moonlight Cove Manor?

  It was a scary prospect.

  “Here’s your decaf with dark chocolate powder,” Elisa said, shaking me out of my dark thoughts. I smiled and took it from her.

  “Thanks, El. What do I owe you?”

  She shook her head and waved her hand. “Nah, no worries. You’re already helping me out. This cup is on the house.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. She gestured broadly to the long line out the front door of the cafe with a wry smile.

  “I think the business will survive without your three dollars, Arti.”

  I grinned. “True. My moon, this place really is packed.”

  She looked around, a wistful look on her face. “Yeah. To be honest, though, I think it’s partly just the buzz. You know how the rumor mill is around here. I’m sure somebody told somebody whose body it was in the water, and now they’re all here to gawk at the grieving nieces or whatever.”

  “That’s awful,” I commented, patting her shoulder. She shrugged.

  “That’s business. But hey, as long as they keep buying stuff, they can gawk all they want,” she said brightly.

  “You really are a lot like her, you know. Susanna, I mean,” I told her. Elisa’s e
yes shimmered just for a moment, then she swallowed back the tears and smiled.

  “Thank you. Really. That means a lot to me,” she said, leaning her head on my shoulder.

  “Really? Lara Lancaster?!” boomed a voice from across the cafe. Elisa and I both looked over toward the noise. A table of middle-aged ladies were crowded around a little table, clearly in full gossip mode.

  “Shh, keep your voice down, Shirley!” admonished one of the others.

  “Sorry, sorry. She’s just one of my favorite actresses!” the one evidently called Shirley replied, only slightly quieter. I had a feeling she might have been a little hard of hearing.

  “There’s no way. Lara Lancaster would never come to a town like this,” one of her friends said in a falsely hushed voice. I wondered if the ladies knew how loud they were being. Still, I didn’t mind. I was mildly interested now.

  “It’s true! I heard it from my cousin’s wife’s niece’s boyfriend who works at the tourism building. He photocopies the pamphlets there, you know,” said another of the women.

  “But really, though, Lara Lancaster? I didn’t even know she was a witch.”

  “Nobody knew. She kept it a secret so she could be a celebrity. Can’t be a movie star if you’re in hiding from half the world.”

  “That doesn’t make sense, though. How could she lie low like that? Did she just never use magic? Oh, I couldn’t hack it.”

  “Well, then it’s a good thing you’re not a movie star.”

  “Good point.”

  “Anyway, she’s retiring here. Can you imagine? What if you were just out at the grocery store, doing your weekly shopping, and then poof! Suddenly Lara Lancaster is standing in the dairy section!”

  “Oh, how bizarre.”

  “No, no. You sillies. She wouldn’t do her own shopping. She’s a celebrity. She has a personal assistant who does all that stuff.”

  “Must be nice.”

  “Nice? More like annoying. I wouldn’t want some fame-driven little woman following me around all day.”