by Snow, Raven
"Suited me fine up til now. Haven't had much reason to leave this place recently."
Jessica was quiet for a second. "You know, most people have forgotten about what happened by now," she said gently.
"I doubt they've forgotten." I held the hand grip as we rounded a corner. "This is a small town, Jessica."
She turned another corner, guiding the vehicle around with smooth precision. "Okay, maybe not ‘forgotten.’ But they have gotten over it. You can show your face in public again, you know."
I didn't respond.
After a few minutes of silence, Jessica let out a long sigh. "Okay, so where are we headed, then?"
"Back to see Jim Beasley."
Jessica gently placed her foot on the brake, slowing the car down.
"Why are we going back there?"
"Because I found something." I turned to face her. "Jessica, I knew he knew more than he was letting on. I think he knows something about Helen."
Jessica looked at me out of the corner of her eye without turning her head. "What are you talking about? Yesterday, you said Josh did it.
Practical y accused me of not trusting you when I didn't want to arrest him on the spot. What is going on?"
I looked down at my lap and fiddled with the zipper of my coat pocket.
"I'm just wondering if maybe my visions were wrong, after al ." I looked up at her slowly. "Maybe Josh didn't do it."
The faintest hint of a smile crept onto her lips. "You mean you want Josh to be innocent because you like him."
"Come on, Jessica, this is serious. I just want to get to the bottom of what happened. Isn't that what you want?"
"Of course."
We rounded the final corner that brought us to the bottom of the mountain. I looked out the window. The last snow had final y melted, and the ground was total y clear. Maybe Jessica was right; maybe I should get a car. I couldn't use the excuse of being snowed in anymore. We drove through town slowly, and Jessica slowed the car down even more as we passed Hal's Diner. "You want to go in?" she asked, giving me another hint of a cheeky smile.
"Hmm, if I didn't know better, I'd have sworn you didn't actual y want to solve this case, Jess," I said half-teasingly. "Aren't you on a tight deadline with Harry breathing down your neck?"
She nodded. "But one cup of coffee and a plate of pancakes isn't going to make any meaningful difference."
"Ah, screw it," I said. "Pull over."
***
Jessica poured the maple syrup over the pile of fluffy cakes and then pushed the plate towards me. "You go first."
"Should we get ice cream?" I asked. She nodded eagerly so I waved Hal over and requested two scoops. He returned with them, and I spooned the two cold lumps on top of the syrupy pancakes, where they immediately began melting. We were just about to put our forks into the concoction when we heard the bel jingle and the door open.
My arm and fork froze as I stared at the man walking in. "Who is it?"
Jessica asked.
"Josh," I whispered. I wanted to slide down into my chair and disappear.
Jessica turned her head. Josh walked up to the counter to order a coffee and fetched a bill from his pockets. He stopped when he saw Jessica and me.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he walked towards us. "Jessica," he said, nodding down at her. Across the table on the other side of the booth, I slid down as low as I could and stared at the table.
"Zelda," he said, turning to me. "How are you?"
"Fine," I mumbled.
"I suppose you didn't want to go on our dinner date last night after all, then," he said, "seeing as I didn't hear from you al night. You could have at least texted me to let me know."
"Sorry," I mumbled.
He let out a soft sigh and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Did I do something wrong, Zelda?"
How could I answer that question? Yes, you did—I think you may have kil ed someone. But I'm not entirely sure. I just shook my head softly. "I was just busy. I forgot to text you. Sorry again."
"I see." He stared at me for a second longer and then excused himself and walked back to the coffee counter.
"Wel , that was awkward," I said to Jessica once he was final y out of earshot. I put my face in my hands and stared through the cracks at the melted ice cream on top of the pancakes. "I had no idea what to say to him."
Jessica leaned forward slightly and began to stab at the pancakes half-heartedly. It seemed as though we'd both lost our appetites. "He did seem pretty hurt," she finally said.
I sat up and put my hands down. "I know." I watched Josh as he took his coffee from Hal and then turned and left without so much as a glance back at Jessica and me. I turned my attention back towards Jessica. "Is it crazy that I feel guilty? I shouldn't feel guilty, should I? Not if he is a murderer."
Jessica shrugged. "Depends on how much you trust your own visions."
"Oh, I don't know." I put my head back in my hands again and ran my fingers through my hair. "I don't know what's going on." I sat up again and stared straight at her. "But there's another instinct of mine that I've got to trust." I lowered my voice and leaned forward. "And it's got nothing to do with being a witch. I've got to trust my human instincts. I just don't think Josh did it."
Jessica raised her eyebrows and leaned back. She crossed her arms.
"Well then," she said. "Looks like we're going to have to go clear your man's name."
***
"Where the heck is he going?" Jessica asked as we pulled up in front of the Citizen's Brigade building. "Dressed like that, I mean."
I craned my neck to see what she was looking at. Coming down the stairs of the building was Jim Beasley, dressed head to foot in formal wear.
It was 8.30am on a Tuesday morning, so there wasn't a lot of call to be dressed like that. He adjusted his tie and cufflinks before he trotted down the steps towards a waiting car.
I frowned. "Maybe he's going to a super fancy breakfast?"
Jessica stopped and stared at me. "Zelda," she said quietly, "can you use it? Can you use your power on him?"
Even though we were cramped tightly together in the car, I still tried to back away from her as I shook my head. My back was pressed into the door handle and I gripped the dash. "You can't ask me to do that, Jessica.
Not on him. He...you know what he's capable of. I can't use my powers anywhere near him."
Jessica sighed softly, but she nodded her head. "I understand." She turned the key in the ignition and put the gearstick into drive. "I guess we're just going to have to follow him, then."
***
After we had trailed Jim Beasley for a few miles, it started to become obvious where the car was headed. "There's only one thing out this way," I said, clutching the hand grip as we drove around the windy roads.
"The graveyard," Jessica replied.
I gulped. "What is he doing out at the graveyard at 8.30 on a Tuesday? Early morning funeral?"
"Must be," Jessica said, but she didn't sound so certain.
The road that lead to the Castlerock graveyard was usually quiet unless there was a service on. There were cars trailing behind us, so I knew something was going on.
Jessica glanced in the rearview mirror. "At least we'll be able to trail him without looking too conspicuous."
I murmured a noise of agreement, but I wasn't so sure. If this was a funeral for one of Jim Beasley's friends or accomplices, we were going to look very conspicuous indeed. Jessica turned her car in to the graveyard parking lot. "Let's stay here," I said, reaching out to grab her arm.
"There're plenty of people around," Jessica replied, frowning at me.
"Surely we can join the crowd?"
I shook my head. "We're not dressed for a funeral, for one thing, Jessie. For another, once Jim spots us, he's going to realize we're not invited guests."
"Do funerals require invitations?"
I sighed. "Please, let's just stay here for a minute. Find out what's going on first. If this is a priv
ate moment, maybe we shouldn't even be observing it."
Jessica raised an eyebrow. "You've changed your tune. Never thought you'd show respect towards Jim Beasley."
I sat back in my seat and shivered. "It's not that," I muttered. "I don't like the feeling I'm getting around here."
Jessica dragged her eyes away from Jim Beasley and looked back at me. "What kind of feeling is this? A witch feeling? Or a mortal feeling?"
"Both."
We both turned our heads back to watch the gathering crowd move and head, in a pack, away from the parking lot and over towards an empty patch of grass at the back of the graveyard.
Jessica squinted and leaned forward. "I can't see any open graves over there—no sign of a burial taking place."
My shivering got worse as I watched them go. "Jessica, I think we ought to get out of here."
"What is it, Zelda? What's freaking you out so much?"
"I don't know. I just want to go, Jessica. Please."
She gave me a long look and licked her lips slightly as though she were pondering what to say. "Zelda, do you want to get this guy or not? If you're getting such a strong negative feeling, isn't that a sign that something is up? That he's doing something wrong? Come on, I think we should get out of the car and fol ow them."
Getting out of the car was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted to stay in the car, and I wanted that car to start its engine and get us the heck out of there. I closed my eyes and pressed my head against the head rest.
Jessica was right; something was going on, and we needed to find out what it was. This was no time to run away.
I had done enough of that. It was time to stop running away because Jim Beasley and his goons scared me.
"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath as I reached my hand out for the door handle. "Let's go."
***
We crept behind the group slowly, trying to remain invisible as we trailed them towards the back of the graveyard.
Jessica had been right—there was no open grave, and no burial was taking place. So what the heck were these people up to?
I reached out and grabbed Jessica's arm. "Wait," I whispered to her.
"What is it, Zelda?"
I took a step backwards, and then another one. Al I wanted to do was turn back towards the parking lot and run. Jessica followed after me with her look of confusion growing stronger.
"Jessica, this is what I read about on their website," I said, pointing towards the crowd. "It's not a ceremony for grief. It's a celebration ceremony."
"What are you talking about?"
"Look at them, Jessica."
She turned around and we both watched as Jim Beasley stood in front of the waiting crowd and began to address them. I shook my head in shock.
I knew— or had read, at least—that they performed these sick "celebration funerals" for the witches they had disposed of, but I never thought they'd have the nerve to perform one at an actual graveyard. So much disrespect for both the dead and the living, for the mortal and the supernatural alike.
Jessica was frozen as she listened to Jim Beasley's chilling words. "We come here to celebrate, today, another great loss to our town! Another witch, gone. We will not tolerate any more of these vile creatures living amongst us. And today proves that."
The rest of the crowd began to clap and cheer, and Jessica took a step backwards until she was right next to me. "Come on, Jessica, let's go," I whispered to her frantically.
She nodded. "We need to get out of here!"
Jessica and I each moved backwards, but before we were far enough away, Jim looked up and his eyes fixed right on me. Jessica grabbed my arm.
"Zelda, run!"
Chapter Four
Back at the station, Jessica wrapped a blanket around my body. "I'll go make you some cocoa," she said. I nodded even though I didn't really need cocoa at that moment. I felt like getting out of town and never returning.
There's a reason I'd barricaded myself off from this town and people like Jim Beasley.
"Hi, there," a voice called out, and I looked up.
"Josh."
He gingerly took a step into the room. "Hear you guys got into a bit of an altercation."
I frowned. "What did Jessica say?"
"Not too much. Just that you were surveil ing a suspect and things got a little dicey. She told me you tripped and fel ." He nodded down at my ankle. "Is it feeling okay?"
I stared at him for a few seconds, wrapping the blanket more tightly around my shoulders. Poor Josh. I'd assumed the very worst of him when it was Jim Beasley who'd been behind Helen's death all along. I smiled at him.
"It's fine," I said. "I'm feeling much better now. Thank you."
He cleared his throat a little before he came to take a seat beside me.
"You know, Zelda, I was stil hoping we could go out for that dinner date sometime."
I looked at him for a second, at those large, yellowish-brown cat eyes before I turned my head away. "That sounds wonderful Josh, but..."
He sighed. "But you don't want to go out with me. Figures. You're a beautiful, intelligent woman, and I'm just a rookie cop."
"It's not that, Josh. I just don't know how much longer I'm going to be in town for."
"Oh." He was quiet for a moment while he swung his feet back and forth. "I see."
I jumped up and winced as I landed on my ankle. "Excuse me. I just need to go to the bathroom."
"Zelda, wait." He looked up at me with sad eyes. "Do you real y have to go?"
"Yeah, I'm kind of bursting here."
"No, I don't mean the bathroom. Do you real y have to leave town?"
I stared at him for a moment, turned my head down, and left the room, hobbling away on my twisted ankle.
***
As I hobbled back to the room, I wondered if Josh would still be in there, waiting for me to return. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to be waiting for me or not. I wanted to see him, wanted to say yes to his dinner invitation, but after everything that had happened...
Even now that I knew Josh was innocent, the other facts still remained: Castlerock was no place for a witch like me to live her life. A normal life, with romance and boyfriends was out of the question.
I stopped right before the door as I heard Josh's voice. He was speaking to someone.
Jessica. And she sounded angry.
I leaned against the wal and turned my head, trying to listen to their conversation. I heard Jessica whisper to Josh. "I'm watching you, Josh. I know what you've done to Helen. And I'm going to prove it. Zelda is going to find out the truth about you."
I slunk back and pressed my body even harder against the wal .
I needed to get out of there.
Without thinking about what I was doing, I began to stumble through the main part of the precinct as I headed towards the front entrance. I didn't even feel the pain in my ankle as I went. Al I could think about was that conversation.
I needed fresh air. I needed to get away from Josh and Jessica. Even the people I thought I could trust turned out to be liars. Or worse.
Blindly, I pushed past police officers and staff as I headed to the door.
I felt as though I would faint if I didn't get some fresh air quickly.
Someone banged into me, and I screamed out an "ouch" as I stepped backwards and landed hard on my ankle. I reached over to rub it and then groaned as I looked up to see Harry standing there, glowering down at me.
"What are you doing here, Zelda?" Harry asked. "I thought you said you weren't working with Jessica." He shook his head and crossed his arms.
"Yet I keep seeing you hanging around here."
I stood up straight and stared at him. "What are you worried about, Harry? Worried I'll make the precinct a laughing stock like I did last time?"
He stared at me for a few seconds, looking like he was suppressing a laugh. Finally, he threw his head back and let out a little snort. He brought his head back down and shook it, looking at me in disbelie
f. "You think that's what happened? You think we don't want you around here because you made us look a bit sil y? Zelda, it's because a killer almost went free because of you."
He stopped and stared at me, daring me to say something in response.
I took a step backwards. "That's not true, Harry. That case was solved, and I helped."
"Come on Zelda. You're lucky no one was hurt. You're a charlatan, and a fake, and no one wants you back at the station. Your skills are not wanted here!"
"Oh yeah?" I yelled back at him. "Then why did Jessica bring me in to work on the Helen Blackmore murder case?"
Harry stopped and pulled a face. He shook his head gently and lowered his eyes, like he had no idea what I was talking about. "What Helen Blackmore case?"
I rolled my eyes. "I know you don't want it getting out to the press, Harry, but I know about it, okay. That's why I'm here, to find out who killed Helen Blackmore."
Harry brought his hand up to his mouth before he slowly rubbed his chin. "Zelda, there's no Helen Blackmore case. I don't know what bulldust Jessica has fed you, but there's no current murder investigation regarding anyone in this precinct, let alone that old witch." He pushed his hands into his pockets and pushed past me. "Now, I've got to go back to the real police work. Enjoy your afternoon, Zelda."
I just stood there in shock.
Chapter Five
"Come on, Milly, we're getting out of here." I picked the small cat up and held her up to my face. "And you're coming with me."
I placed her gently back on the ground and turned back to my bags. I had two of them ful already and another one-half packed. I looked around the kitchen. There wouldn't be time—or space—to bring everything. I wouldn't be able to fit a cauldron in the back of a taxi cab.
I walked over to the stove and looked down at the darn thing. "Let them find it," I thought. "Let Jim and his cronies find out the truth about me.
