by J A Whiting
“How are my two best girls?” Jodie asked.
“We’re fine, Mom,” the sisters reported.
Jodie hugged her sister, Jin, and then reached down to pat the cat. “Hello, Sweet Raisin.”
Livvy told her mother, “Ben had to work late so he and Ava are going to meet us at the ball.”
Everyone went inside to see Aunt Kay, Kara, and Colleen.
“We never thought you’d get here,” Kay told them.
“The traffic was terrible,” Livvy reported.
Spread over the dining room table were hummus, pita bread, olives, crackers, cheeses, and cut-up veggies to snack on.
“This looks great.” Ella picked up a small plate and dug into the food. “I’m starving.”
Thirty-years-old with blue eyes and shoulder-length, light brown hair, Colleen carried some costumes into the room. “We picked these out for the three of you. I hope they’re okay.”
One was a queen’s ball dress with tulle and organza fabric with a gold crown and a scepter.
“That one has my name on it,” Jin chuckled.
“We also have a good witch and a bad witch costume,” Kara held them up for her cousins to see. The young woman was thirty-one-years old and had blue eyes and long, dark blond hair.
“Let’s flip a coin to decide.” Livvy pulled a nickel from her pocket and Ella called “heads” as her sister tossed it.
“Tails. You’re the bad witch.” Livvy laughed as Kara handed the witch costume to Ella.
“What are you four going as?” Ella asked as she put her black witch’s hat on her head.
“We’re The Three Musketeers,” Colleen told them. “And Jodie is going as a horse.”
The group put on dramatic makeup and pulled on their costumes, then posed for a group photo before heading out to Kay’s van for the ride to the ball. Raisin would stay and guard the house.
“We look great,” Colleen told them. “We’ll be the belles of the ball.”
“I don’t know about me,” Jodie said. “I’m a horse.”
“You can be the belles’ carriage horse,” Kara told her aunt with a smile.
The conversation was light and happy as everyone chatted away.
“Where are we going?” Ella asked.
Each year the location of the magical ball was a secret until the morning of the event when an email blast went out to all ticket holders. Since Colleen bought the family members’ tickets, she was the one who received the email with the information.
“It’s being held at the Winchester Mansion,” Colleen told her cousins.
Whoops of excitement went up from all of the women in the van.
Built in the early 1900s by a wealthy steel magnate, the Winchester Mansion, with twenty-five rooms and acres of lawn, was situated on a cliff overlooking the ocean on the outskirts of Salem.
Only witches and warlocks could attend the annual Magical Ball and every year, it was a huge success.
Kay drove the van up the long, winding driveway, and depending on the way the drive curved, a view of the mansion could be seen between the trees. The place was lit up with orange and white lights, and old-fashioned lampposts illuminated the walkways as guests arrived and promenaded along the stone sidewalks to the rear of the property. Halloween music played over hidden speakers.
After leaving the van with the valet, the family proceeded down the walkways to see three huge white tents set up with jugglers, a trapeze artist, ice sculptures, exotic dancers, game booths, food trucks, cotton candy, popcorn, and candy apple counters, and guests dancing to a live band. Flowers, fabric streamers, pumpkins, corn stalks, and hay bales decorated the tents. White tables with chairs were set up in the dancing tent with enormous vases of flowers set in the middle of each one. Garlands of flowers were wrapped around the tops and sides of the tents.
“This is unreal.” Colleen couldn’t turn her head fast enough in order to take in all the things there were to see.
Jin, Jodie, and Kay spotted some friends near one of the bars and went over to talk with them, leaving the cousins to stroll around to watch the acts and play some of the carnival games. Ben and his girlfriend, Ava, arrived and joined them. They all got glasses of wine, chatted with friends and acquaintances, helped themselves to the tables of food, and danced under the sparkling chandeliers in the music tent. Ava and Ben stayed to keep dancing when the others decided to take a break.
“Let’s go sit by the ocean.” Colleen led her cousins to some Adirondack chairs overlooking the cliff. The cool breeze off the water felt good and helped to cool them down after vigorous dancing in the heavy costumes.
“Tell us about the ghost in Connecticut that you helped the other day,” Kara said.
Livvy and Ella gave the cousins a summary of the events that took place at the gothic mansion.
“I was ready to run from the house when the tigers came out of one of the rooms.” Livvy took off her witch hat and set it on the grass. “But Ella was as cool as a cucumber.”
“I was not. My heart almost jumped out of my chest. You just never know what you’re going to run into when investigating a ghost.” Ella shook her head. “I still haven’t recovered my energy. It took a lot out of me to help the spirit cross.”
“We hear Jin set up interviews with a journalist to do a story on the family,” Colleen noted. “How’s that going?”
“It’s okay. The writer seems open to learning about ghosts,” Ella explained. “Until I see the article, I’m wary though. It can be hard to trust people with private information.”
“I like the guy.” Livvy smiled and raised one eyebrow when she glanced at Ella. “I think he’d be good for my sister.”
“Oh, please. My matchmaker is at it again,” Ella told the cousins.
“And Raisin likes him, too,” Livvy added.
“Well, if the cat approves, I don’t think you can go wrong,” Kara laughed. “Tell us about this murder mystery you’re involved with.”
“I was with the journalist at the inn trying to talk to Rebekah.” Ella took off her hat and fluffed her damp hair. “We went outside to the inn gardens, and nearly tripped over the dead body.”
“You’re having quite the month,” Colleen pointed out. “Dealing with Rebekah’s usual October antics, finding a dead body, and being the subjects of a news article.”
Ella smiled. “Not to mention our other jobs.”
“Oh, right, you have real jobs, too,” Kara teased.
A ball of light flashed to their right and the cousins turned to see.
A young witch stood with two more experienced witches trying to learn to hold onto the ball of light and not let it go out. She tried again, but it fizzled into little sparks.
One of the older witches, Polly, was a family friend and she called to Ella and asked her to come over.
“This is Ella Daniels.” Polly introduced Ella to the teenager named Jessie. “She’s very powerful.”
Jessie’s eyes went wide. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard all about you.”
Ella shook hands with the young woman. “I’m sure a lot of the things you’ve heard are either exaggerated or made up.”
Polly said, “We’re trying to teach Jessie to hold onto the light, but it keeps going out. Any advice?”
“Show me,” Ella asked the teen.
Polly started by holding her hands close together and reciting a spell. A tiny ball of light formed between her palms. She passed it to Jessie, and while the teenager was holding it, it flickered and went out before she could speak any words.
Ella stepped closer to the girl. “Right before the ball is passed to you, begin to say the spell in your head. To start with, close your eyes as soon as Polly hands it to you. Take slow, deep breaths. Keep saying the spell in your head, over and over, until you feel the light heat up. That’s when you should open your eyes. Say the spell aloud, and then slowly move your hands another inch apart. Try that.”
Polly brought forth the ball of light. She passe
d it to Jessie who quickly closed her eyes. “I feel the heat,” she whispered.
“Open your eyes,” Ella told her. “Speak the spell.”
The ball of light flickered, but it didn’t go out. Instead, the light grew brighter.
“Move your hands now, but concentrate on keeping the light together. Don’t let it go out.”
When Jessie moved her hands further apart, the ball grew a little bigger and retained its brilliance. The teenager got so excited by her success that she squealed with delight. “I did it. It didn’t go out.” Immediately, the ball of light disappeared.
“You did great,” Ella praised the teen. “You lost your focus when you got excited. Keep practicing and you’ll have this first part mastered by the end of the night.”
Jessie grabbed Ella in a big hug. “Thank you, thank you.”
“Nicely done.” An older witch approached leaning on a cane. She was an important person in the New England area and had trained young witches for decades. “Hello, Ella.”
“Hello, Maggie.” Ella nodded respectfully.
Maggie’s eyes held onto Ella for almost a full minute, before she looked over to where Livvy was sitting with the cousins. “Livvy, come here for a moment, please.”
Livvy stood, walked quickly to her sister’s side, and bowed slightly to the older woman.
Maggie leaned her cane against her leg. “Take one of my hands, both of you.” The woman held tight to Ella and Livvy’s hands. “You’ve been doing difficult work lately. You will need your strength of mind and heart to finish what needs to be done. You will be strong. When the time comes, do not be afraid. Wear your amulets from now until the danger passes.” Maggie let go of their hands. “Before you return to Quinsigamond, take part in a circle with your family.” The old witch turned and walked away.
“She scared me,” Livvy whispered to her sister. “What in the world is going to happen?”
Ella let out a long breath of air. “I wish I knew.”
When the ball ended and they’d returned to Jodie’s house, the female members of the family went into the backyard and stood in a circle under the light of the moon, holding hands while candles flickered on the rock in the center of the circle. Raisin sat on the grass between Ella and Livvy.
Jin said, “We stand together to wrap Livvy and Ella in a circle of our love with wishes for safety, strength, clarity, and protection.”
First, Jodie spoke a protection spell, then Kay recited a binding spell to keep anyone from harming any of the family members, and then Jin repeated an energy spell.
Each cousin then recited a spell for one of the elements. Colleen shared a water spell invoking healing, Kara spoke an earth spell for grounding and responsibility. Livvy said an air spell asking for intelligence and mental clarity, and finally, Ella recited a fire spell asking the universe for strength and energy.
When the seven women finished speaking a family prosperity spell together, Raisin threw back her head and howled into the night.
20
Ella met Livvy in town to do some errands and they stopped at the bank so Livvy could make a deposit into her business account. When they were leaving, they almost bumped into Leo’s brother, Larry Billings, who was coming up the steps.
“Oh, hey.” Larry stopped to say hello to the sisters.
“How are you doing?” Ella asked.
“I’m doing okay. I came into town to go into the art supply shop and to do some banking,” Larry told them.
“Do you have a few minutes?” Ella asked. “Do you have time to get a coffee?”
Larry looked surprised by the request, but he agreed. “Is something new with Leo’s case?”
“There are a few discrepancies,” Livvy said with a reassuring tone. “We’d like to ask you about them.”
They went into a café on the corner, ordered coffees, and took seats at a small table.
“Has someone been arrested for Leo’s murder?” Larry asked.
“Not to our knowledge.” Ella took the lid off of her cup so the coffee could cool. “When we spoke with you before, you mentioned you and Leo had gone out only twice, once for dinner and once to a pub.”
Larry nodded and took a swallow of his black coffee.
“You sometimes visited Leo at the inn though?” Livvy questioned the man.
“A few times.” Larry nodded.
“You didn’t tell us that. We thought you’d seen your brother only the two times you told us about.”
“I thought you were asking about the times we socialized,” Larry clarified. “I frequently go by the inn on my way to pick up art supplies. There’s a store about forty minutes from here where I buy my large canvasses. I’d swing by the inn to say hello to Leo.”
Ella said, “A few of the staff from the inn told us Leo often came back to work in a bad mood after seeing you.”
Larry’s eyes widened. “Did he? Why would he? I don’t understand why someone would say that. Leo and I always had a cordial conversation. He was never angry with me when we chatted.”
“What did you talk about when you saw him?” Livvy looked at Larry.
Larry shrugged. “What was going on that day, what was happening with work, simple things. We didn’t discuss any earth-shattering topics.”
“From what we’ve heard, it seemed like maybe Leo didn’t appreciate your drop-in visits,” Ella pointed out.
“Leo never told me not to come by,” Larry said with a slightly defensive tone. “I was trying to make a connection with him. We’d been apart for many years.”
“Do you think Leo wanted to connect?”
“I’m not sure. He didn’t tell me not to contact him. I don’t know why he’d be in a mood after talking with me.” Larry rubbed the back of his neck. “Our parents are dead. Leo was the only family member I had, it was just him and me. I thought we could be involved with each other’s lives.”
“We heard Leo received a large inheritance from his father,” Livvy said.
“He did.” Larry blew out a long breath. “Edwin was Leo’s father. He was my stepfather. He wasn’t home much. He was always at work. I didn’t remember my own dad since I was so young when he passed away. Growing up, Edwin was the only father I knew. He was sort of a harsh man, cold. He didn’t seem to want anything to do with kids. I don’t think he liked my interest in art. I was supposed to be serious, do something important like business or law. Edwin looked down on me. That said, I was hurt when I wasn’t mentioned in his will. His money was split evenly between Leo and our mother. Maybe he thought when my mom died, she would share what he’d left to her with me.”
“She did, didn’t she?” Livvy asked.
“She left two-hundred-and-fifty thousand dollars to each of us. The rest of her money went to charities.” Larry sighed. “That took me by surprise. I’m very grateful for the money she left to me, but I really was shocked that she left so much to charity.”
“Was Leo surprised as well?” Ella asked.
“Leo didn’t like talking about it. I think he felt guilty that Edwin left me nothing.”
“Did you talk about financial planning with your brother?”
“Yeah, a few times. I asked him if he had an advisor to help him direct his investing. I asked him if he had a will, a power of attorney, a health care proxy. Leo had money. He needed to protect it.”
“Did he have an advisor?” Ella questioned.
“He said he did, but he told me he didn’t meet with him often. I suggested he keep his eye on his investment statements. The advisor shouldn’t be given free rein.”
“Did Leo have a will?”
“I don’t know. He avoided the subject,” Larry said. “Leo was a young guy. I worried he wouldn’t keep his eyes on his finances.” A look washed over Larry’s face. “Oh. Did Leo think I was after his money? I didn’t think of that. Oh, no. I wonder if Leo thought I wanted to have access to his bank account.”
“Has anyone contacted you about Leo’s estate?” Livvy asked the man.<
br />
“No one has contacted me,” Larry said. “I have an attorney looking into it. I’m Leo’s only living relative. In this state, I have rights to the estate.”
“There might be a will,” Ella suggested.
“Maybe. I don’t know. Who, besides me, would Leo mention as a beneficiary?” Larry asked.
“His girlfriend?” Ella offered. “Rose Mahoney might be mentioned in Leo’s will.”
“That could be, I guess, but they weren’t married.” Larry scratched at his chin stubble. “I’ll find out if there’s a will eventually.”
“So you stopped by the inn to see Leo on the day he was killed?” Livvy asked.
“Yeah, I did. I was on the way to the art supply store. I stopped at the inn to say hello.”
“How did Leo seem?”
“He seemed his usual self. We weren’t pals or anything, but I thought if I saw him more, we could have a brotherly relationship so I stopped by the inn whenever I could. I never stayed long. I didn’t want Leo to get into trouble.”
“Did he mention Rose when you saw him?”
Larry gave a little shrug. “He probably did, but nothing about what he said stands out. It was just a few minutes of general conversation. I wanted to reach out to Leo. I’m the oldest so I thought it was my job to be friendly and show interest in him.”
“If Leo lived, do you think you would have connected?”
“I don’t have any idea,” Larry said. “Only time would tell. Now I won’t get a chance to know.”
After talking with Larry, Ella and Livvy drove out to the inn to check on Leo.
“What did you think about the things Larry said to us?” Livvy asked.
“What he said made sense, and he might be sincere, but there’s something a little flip about Larry that doesn’t sit well with me. He doesn’t seem the least bit upset that his brother was murdered. He acts like it’s just one of those things. It strikes me as odd. Here was a chance for the brothers to connect, but Larry just shrugs about it all.”
