by Raven Snow
“He made up some excuse to stay at a hotel between Lainswich and Tarricville. His wife thought he was seeing prostitutes, which he was. They’re in Tarricville, in case you were wondering. Anyway, I didn’t make any sort of connection between him and Seraphina until today.”
“But he wasn’t even working for her?” Flint was hung up on that part in particular, which he should be. It was sort of a big deal.
“I had decided to stake out the place today before I called you. I wanted to make sure he was staying here, and sure enough—”
“You should have called me immediately.” It troubled Rowen that he hadn’t.
“I wanted to have some answers for you before I did.” He pulled up his tablet and showed her the documents on it. “He was the one who helped her with the will last.”
“Then why have Cox read it?” asked Rowen, even though she was coming up with some good reasons already. “What if Smith tampered with the will and Cox stood to gain something from it?”
“That seems like a huge mess,” said Flint, and Rowen had to agree. What would give him cause to do something like that? It seemed like it was a whole lot of beating around the bush for a simple con.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out here.” Eric raised his eyes from the folder in his lap. “Any ideas?” he asked.
Rowen really wished they had been working together since the beginning. She supposed she had largely herself to blame for that. “We only have one option, don’t we?” She was already pulling out her phone. “We have to call Ben.”
Chapter Fifteen
“You heard me right.” Ben hadn’t looked up from his computer in at least a full minute. Rowen had been more or less arguing with him for that long.
“I really don’t think I did,” Rowen argued. She couldn’t have. Ben was the chief of police. He was a practical man with practical ideas.
“Do a séance,” he repeated. “I don’t have anything on Cox or Smith. I’ve looked at them extensively, questioned them, and tomorrow I’ll need to formally give them permission to leave Lainswich.” He finally looked up at Rowen and her male entourage. “Not that they can’t leave any time they want to at this point. They’ve been very cooperative.”
“And what if that’s an act?” Rowen pressed.
“Then it’s a good act.” Ben pushed back from his desk and stood. He toppled some folders in the process. That man’s office always seemed to be a cluttered mess. “Look, I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m just saying that you’re my best shot here.”
“What do you mean?” Rowen wasn’t used to hearing that. It felt like Ben liked to shoot her down a lot and caution her against doing anything stupid. Coming to him with this information had seemed like the smart move. Now he was telling her to investigate this on her own?
“Those séances of yours have worked in the past. You can’t convince me Seraphina wouldn’t come back for one.”
“But she didn’t answer last time—” Rowen began to go into why. She tried to explain that her house’s guardians weren’t cooperating, that they had made it difficult for her family to work with the powers they normally worked with.
“Then do an act,” Ben said, like the authenticity of the event didn’t make a difference. “Get one of them feeling guilty enough to confess.”
On Rowen’s left, Flint raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound like something an officer should say.”
“Who said anything?” Ben led them to the door. “I’m just escorting you out. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. You let me know if you find anything out.”
The door closed behind them before Rowen could say anything. “All right then,” she murmured, already formulating a plan in her head.
“Is that normal for him?” asked Flint.
“It’s become normal,” Eric answered with a shrug. “I think we might have worn him down with our methods. He usually tries to just stay out of it when things get too…in the Greensmith ballpark.”
“Is that good?”
“It’s worked out so far, I guess.” Eric looked to his wife. “Do we have a plan?”
“You heard him. Our plan is a séance.”
“You’re going to fake one?” Eric sounded genuinely surprised, maybe even a little disappointed, to hear that.
“I don’t plan to.” Rowen was ready to trust something she hadn’t felt in far too long. “I have a feeling that this will work.”
Flint made the call in the parking lot. “Hey, Cox,” he said as he leaned against the side of his car. “I’ve got a weird question for you.” He paused a moment as Cox, presumably, responded. “You’ve been in Lainswich for a while. You know the Greensmith’s deal, right?”
Rowen made a point to frown at him as he spoke. Their “deal?” What was that supposed to mean?
“They want to do a séance for Seraphina and were wondering if you would agree to be there.” There was another pause from Flint. “Come on. It should be fun. I’m going to be there. Believe me, you don’t want to miss one of these things.” Another pause. “Well, if you don’t want to go, see if Smith is up for it. She wants people who knew her there. It’ll be happening at this little shop called Odds & Ends. Have you seen the place? Her relatives own it. It’s a little New Age shop downtown.”
There was a little more banter before Flint put his phone away. “Well?” prompted Rowen. “Is he coming?”
Flint shrugged. “Hard to say.”
Rowen took a deep breath. She was tempted to call them back herself, but that wouldn’t do anyone a whole lot of good. She would have to wait and hope fate or something else moved things along in her favor. That was all she could do.
A whole lot of waiting wasn’t required. The store was empty when both Cox and Smith arrived, right on time. Cox looked curious enough. He was dressed in one of his suits and couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of the displays in the shop. “So your family really thinks they’re a bunch of witches, hmm?” He touched a large quartz crystal ball in the middle of a table. “That’s so interesting.”
“It’s not an act,” Rowen assured him, her eyes on Smith. He was standing behind Cox, also wearing a suit but looking very uncomfortable. Granted, that could have been because they had seen him in his boxer shorts earlier today.
Cox didn’t argue with her. “Is this the sort of thing your family does?” he asked Flint instead. “Séances?”
“We can,” said Flint, apparently surprising his coworker. Cox raised an eyebrow at him. “We also do a great deal of other things.”
Rowen led the way into the back, where they did tarot readings, other forms of divination, and the like. She had everything set up for them already. A Ouija board sat in the center of the table. There were chairs enough for all of them laid out. She hadn’t included any for her cousins or aunts. With any luck, they didn’t even know this was going on tonight. She had told Rose, but that was about it. Rose could keep a secret.
“Go ahead and take a seat,” Rowen told her guests. Cox and Smith took seats next to each other. Rowen sat down across from the latter, Flint and Eric flanking her own left and right. “I’m glad you could join me tonight.”
“What else do we have to do?” Cox gave a shrug like it was no trouble at all.
“Are there…” Smith made a general motion at the set-up before him. “Are there any rules to all of this?”
“A few.” Rowen put her hands forward to demonstrate how they should rest on the planchette. “You put your fingers here, very lightly.”
“There’s not enough room for all of us,” Smith correctly pointed out.
“We’ll just be sitting here as part of the circle,” Flint explained, indicating himself then Eric. “We’ll lend our energy.”
Cox smiled at the idea of that. He obviously wasn’t taking this seriously. Smith looked a little more uncertain. He kept his eyes downcast, and there was a frown on his face. Rowen didn’t want to look at him too long for fear of making him so nervous that he would leave. She was fee
ling more confident than ever that he had something to do with this.
“Everyone ready?” she asked. The lights were already dimmed and a calm silence had fallen over the room.
“Ready,” said Eric.
Flint nodded somberly and Smith shrugged. “Ready and waiting,” said Cox, putting his fingers down first.
Rowen let them all sit there with their fingers on the planchette for a few breaths. She let the air grow still around them. “Seraphina, are you still with us?” she called. She hoped she really got an answer this time. She had no intention of faking this. “Seraphina?”
It didn’t take long. The planchette gave an impatient jerk. “Lighten up,” Rowen warned the others around the table. “Literally. Don’t bear down on the planchette too hard.”
As soon as Cox and Smith let up on the planchette, it flew into motion. Both men were shocked enough that they let go entirely. Even Rowen felt inclined to let go of the wooden piece her fingers rested on. It seemed Seraphina had hung around after all. Apparently, she had a lot to say.
“H-O-W D-A-R-E Y-O-U,” Rowen read aloud.
Cox checked under the table. Smith kept his eyes on the board. “Seraphina?” he asked, staring.
“After… everything… I… did… for… you…” Rowen kept reading Seraphina’s words. She looked up at Smith to see what he thought of all this. He was speechless. Cox was still feeling around under the table. Meanwhile, Smith just stared.
“You… killed… me.” Rowen looked at Smith again, expecting him to accuse her of acting in poor taste or being the worst kind of trickster.
Instead, he began to push his chair away slowly. “I didn’t mean to,” he said.
“Liar.” Rowen noted that she had Cox’s attention now. He was looking from her to Smith then back again. It seemed that this was not something he had expected to hear tonight. “You… kidnapped… me.”
“I didn’t,” Smith blurted. “It was an accident. You just…you made me so mad!”
“Liar!” It was like Rowen didn’t even need to speak the words anymore. They just came from the air. “You were a jealous little worm! You always were! That’s why I didn’t want to be around you anymore! That’s why I didn’t want you as my lawyer!”
“But when I showed up—”
“You insisted on continuing to show up. You worked for free. I took advantage of that, you idiot. I didn’t owe you anything. It was easier to let you keep working than run you off, so I did. I regret it. I had a fling with Cox here, and it made you jealous. You thought we still had something.”
“We did!”
“We didn’t have anything! Cox and I never even had anything. Hello, Cox, dear.”
Cox cleared his throat and raised a hand in greeting. “Hello, ah, ma’am.”
Seraphina’s voice continued. “I was going through a divorce. Do you really think I was interested in something long-term? Cox was an exception and a silly one at that. I would have been in trouble had the court found out about that. Turned out I didn’t have to worry though. Turned out you were a jealous little so and so. You killed me, Smith!”
Smith stood abruptly, toppling his chair. “No! I loved you!”
“You thought you were so clever. You took me to Hawthorne’s home. He wasn’t using it after the heart attack. You drowned me there and dumped the body somewhere else to mask the crime. You staged all of it poorly on purpose. The struggle, the blood. It was all your doing.”
Smith looked around the table as if desperately trying to figure out how many people believed this. Unfortunately for him, Rowen got the feeling that they all did. Even Cox was putting some distance between them by scooting his chair closer to the other side of the table.
“You tried to hide everything.” Seraphina wasn’t finished yet, it seemed. “You tried to move some money from the will to Lydia Greensmith. You tried to make it appear as though everyone but you could be guilty. You tricked Cox. You had him help you with the fraud.”
“I—” began Cox, going pale.
“No hard feelings, Cox. You can keep that money. You would have been in the will had I ample opportunity to edit it. Smith took that away from me. He took that away from me!”
A blast of cold air hit the room, sweeping tarot cards and planters filled with herbs off tables. Glass shattered, dirt spilled. Smith got up and started to run, but Eric was already racing him to the door. He didn’t have to tackle him, only block his passage. He broke down in a heap. Cox just sat at the table staring at the whole scene while Flint gave him a self-satisfied smile.
“I don’t want your aunt to have all that money, but I did leave her some,” said Seraphina, her voice growing fainter as if from a great distance. “It comes with conditions.”
“Of course it does.” Rowen wouldn’t have expected anything less.
Epilogue
The weather was perfect for a ritual. The moon was out and large, throwing plenty of light on the backyard. The weather was cool but not too cool. The Greensmiths could go sky clad comfortably. There was no shivering or hugging oneself for warmth required. The whole family was there, save for Eric. He was inside with Flint, which was an entirely different sort of accomplishment for the Greensmiths.
There was a Stonewell in the house. He’d been invited in and everything. Not everyone was happy about it, but they all agreed that he had helped them a lot in recent days. His being there for a ritual seemed harmless enough. Though, it was because of him that Eric had decided not to join in. He and Flint had mutually decided not to make this anymore awkward for each other than it already was. They would stay inside while the women of the Greensmith family paid respect to their guardians.
It was nice having the guardians back. Rowen could feel them in the air. She could feel their protection and their guidance all around the Greensmiths. Already, she had sworn not to go too long without having a proper ritual. She was sure that her cousins and aunts had done the same. It was far too difficult being without them.
It wasn’t like the ritual took a very long time either. It wasn’t even ten minutes before they were finished. Everyone got their clothes back on and headed back inside for some mild festivities. Cake and wine was usually the protocol after a ritual like the one they just had. Flint and Eric were seated together on the sofa, watching a reality show. Rowen joined them there. “You guys want something to eat?”
Eric sat there fixated by the television. “After this,” said Flint, grinning when a busty housewife flung wine in the face of a woman half her age. “You were right telling me to give this show a chance,” he told Eric. “I’m sorry for doubting you.”
“See?” Eric looked at his wife. “How did it go, sweetheart?”
“Great. It seems the guardians really are back.”
“That’s good.”
“Better than good,” Rowen assured her husband. “They’re invaluable.”
“They really are,” Flint agreed. “I don’t know what I would do without ours.”
“Have they ever gone away?” Rowen couldn’t help but be curious. She had never experienced guardians just up and leaving before. She didn’t want a repeat incident of that if she could help it.
Flint hesitated as if considering the question. “There have been times when they were busy with something else,” he said after a moment. “I’m not sure they’ve ever just up and left.”
“It was unusual.” Rowen considered the situation. “They didn’t really speak on it. I was worried they might still have a grudge and make demands of us or something.” She wasn’t sure what kind of demands they might have made, but that seemed like a possibility. “They acted like they had always been there.”
“Could they have been?” asked Eric, sounding genuinely curious. He didn’t really know a lot about this subject to form opinions of his own. “Maybe you just lost track of them.”
Rowen laughed. “You don’t just lose track of your family’s guardians,” she assured him. “Unless…”
“Unless what?”
/>
“Someone is blocking you from them.”
“Who would do that?”
“I don’t know.” Rowen considered the question. “Obviously, my aunts and cousins would all say someone from the Stonewell family.” She flashed a smile at Flint only to find that he wasn’t smiling. “Sorry. That was in poor taste.” When he still didn’t respond, she took a deep breath. “Flint…You didn’t.”
Flint’s straight-faced innocence fell from his expression. He offered them both a sheepish smile. “I really didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Flint!” Rowen quickly lowered her voice. She didn’t want her family hearing that they had been right all along—that Flint really had been there only to stir up trouble. “Why?”
“I didn’t mean for it to coincide with a murder.” Flint held his palms facing out as if to show her just how innocent he was. “I just needed a very small distraction. I never intended for a big one.”
Even Eric was frowning at Flint. He had let them all down. “We trusted you, man. We let you into our home. What did you even do?”
Flint spread his hands. “It wasn’t a big deal,” he tried to assure them. It was hard to buy.
“That’s it.” It came to Rowen all at once. Maybe she had her family’s guardians to thank for that. “He needed to get into our home.” That Flint didn’t try to deny that spoke volumes.
“Why?” asked Eric, still sounding confused.
“It’s really not a big deal,” Flint insisted.
“They could have helped me solve a murder!” Rowen hissed. “How is that not a big deal?”
“I was confident you would solve it.”
“So, what?” Eric held up a hand, still looking quite puzzled. “Were you trying to draw out us solving this thing?”
Flint opened his mouth like he was going to deny that. Finally, he just spread his hands. “Like I said, I was confident you would figure this out before anything terrible happened.”
