Batter and Spells

by Zoe Arden

  "Fine by me," I said, my stomach grumbling. I suddenly realized how tired I was.

  We turned to go when an alarm suddenly blared across the entire building, hurting our ears. It was as loud as a 747 and drowned out anything that anyone might've been trying to say. Sheriff Knoxx, Colt, and Lincoln suddenly appeared, guns and supercharged wands drawn, frantically scouring the ground.

  "Shut that thing off!" Sheriff Knoxx yelled to Otis.

  Otis ran for the alarm, fumbling with the controls. A moment later, the alarm stopped.

  "What was that about?" Eleanor asked.

  "Did you see him?" Colt demanded of us.

  "See who?" I asked.

  "The assassin. He came this way."

  "What do you mean, he came this way?" I asked. "I thought he was with you."

  "He was." Colt shot Lincoln and Sheriff Knoxx a look.

  Sheriff Knoxx's face was more tired than I'd ever seen it. His eyes were steely and red, ready for action despite his fatigue. "He escaped"

  Suddenly, I was wide awake.

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  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-TWO

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  The whole island had gone crazy. Rumors were flying about Tazzie, Thaddeus, and Mayor Thomas. They were calling it a "love triangle for the ages." Tazzie and Mayor Thomas still denied any involvement with each other, but the picture that Hadley Miner had brought to the police had leaked to the press.

  People were suddenly less concerned that Thaddeus was dead than they were with his relationship to the two most prominent suspects in the case. Though there was absolutely no proof of it, the general consensus was that Tazzie Singer was having an affair with both Mayor Thomas and Thaddeus Black. She had Thaddeus killed not only to win the election, but because he wouldn't leave her alone when she tried to break things off with him.

  There was a second, though smaller, faction of the population who thought the opposite. That Mayor Thomas had hired the assassin to kill Thaddeus because he was jealous of Tazzie's affair with him. He wanted Tazzie all to himself. Now that Thaddeus was dead, she still didn't want him, and so he had decided to frame her for Thaddeus’ murder by paying the assassin extra to say she'd hired him.

  If you believed the first story, you were angry with Tazzie. If you believed the second story, you were angry with Mayor Thomas. Some were angry at both, some people were angry at everyone, including the sheriffs for letting the assassin escape.

  They still couldn't figure out how he'd done it. They'd put him in the jail cell and shut the doors. He'd asked for some water and when they'd returned with it, he was gone. I supposed that it was all part of being an assassin.

  Sheriff Knoxx, Lincoln, and Colt had just enough time to see the assassin's foot as he ran around a corner and completely disappeared. No one had even gotten his real name. Every time they'd asked, he'd give them the name of a celebrity. He'd first told them his name was Mickey Mouse, followed by Sleeping Beauty. The last name he'd given them before escaping was Conway Twitty. It was a mess, and it made everyone involved look bad.

  "I can't believe Tazzie's in jail," I told Eleanor as we worked on a fresh batch of blueberry optimism cupcakes. They were my idea. I thought Sweetland Cove could use a little optimism right now.

  "I know. They should never have arrested her. Zane really has gone too far this time."

  I hesitated. "You know, Aunt Eleanor, Sheriff Knoxx is just doing his job. I think, maybe... you could give him a break." I held my breath, waiting for her reaction. "I mean, it can't be easy to have everyone mad at you all the time, and when you're a sheriff, someone's always gonna be mad at you about something. Right?"

  Eleanor looked like I'd slapped her. I hoped I hadn't just made a huge mistake. I ignored the look she was giving me and busied myself with mixing some new mood extracts. I tried not to notice the way Eleanor had suddenly started slapping her dough against the table like she was taking her anger out on it instead of me.

  Trixie was out front with my father and Melbourne, who was making a rare public appearance. Trixie had begged, pleaded, and finally demanded that he leave his house. He was grumpy, moody, and glared at everyone, but at least he was out somewhere, no longer a hermit. His pale vampire skin was the same as always, and his dark hair looked washed and combed. Last time I'd seen him, he'd look like he'd been run through a dishwasher.

  "Nothing's wrong!" he snapped at anyone who dared to ask. Those of us with any brains stopped asking.

  I knew he just missed his coffee shop. I wondered if William Carney would ever give it back. There was no compelling legal reason for him to let Melbourne run it again. It had legally been signed over to William months ago but Melbourne seemed lost without it. Maybe I could talk to William; we'd always gotten along well enough. He might listen to me.

  Melbourne wasn't the only significant other helping out today. Sadie, who was fast becoming my dad's girlfriend instead of just "someone I'm sort of seeing," as he had initially put it, was helping out, too. It was her day off from the hospital, and she had volunteered to help us since we'd been so busy the last couple of days. She just wanted to spend time with my dad, which I thought was sweet.

  I still couldn't believe how packed we were. Sweets n' Treats had taken a hit in their business the last few days. Lottie Mudget had gone down there to give them a second chance after finding that Band-Aid in her sugar cookie and had gotten seriously ill eating a chocolate pecan peppy brownie. It turned out that Wilma Trueheart's peppy extract was contaminated. It hadn't just been Lottie who had gotten sick; it had been a half dozen other people from Sweetland. Dr. Wallace had to shut the place down for a day while the Witch's Council sent in a team to investigate.

  Wilma's bakery had reopened the next day, but if our business was booming, hers must have been nonexistent at this point. I brought out a tray of marble fudge fidget cake and set it on the counter.

  Lottie Mudget shouted to Eleanor, "I'll take one of these, too. Add it to my order, please."

  Her hand shot out like a bolt of lightning and grabbed the largest slice off my tray before I could stop her.

  "Mmmm, looks delicious." She shoved the whole thing into her mouth. "It is delicious. Simply perfection." She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and eyed the rest of the marble cake like it was Christmas dinner. I didn't mention the fact that just a week ago she'd been busy stuffing her face at Sweets n' Treats, declaring them to have the best pastries ever.

  There was a lull in the lines, and Lottie took the opportunity to spread some gossip.

  "Did you hear about Kayla Singer?" she asked.

  I'd been on my way to the back but paused at the mention of Kayla. I didn't know her well, but Tazzie's daughter had always struck me as an extremely nice person.

  "What about her?" I asked.

  "She's taking her mother's place in the election. She's actually running against her own boyfriend now, can you believe that?"

  Since Tazzie had been arrested, she'd been forced to drop out of the election, leaving just Grayson Redfern, Amanda Hollyberry, and Hadley Miner. With this new edition of Kayla Singer, it was a four-person race again. I had no idea who might win with these candidates. Last I'd checked, Grayson and Amanda were neck and neck. Hadley had a slight advantage simply because she'd been Mayor Herbert Singer's official secretary. People recognized her and respected her for the job she'd done for him.

  "Who do you think's going to win?" Sadie piped in. She had short hair and dimples. I thought she looked good standing next to my father, her arm linked in his. She always looked so happy to be with him, and he looked happy to be with her. She was the first woman he'd dated since my mother's death more than twenty years ago.

  "Hadley Miner," Lottie said without blinking an eye.

  The door chimed, and Sheriff Knoxx walked in just as Eleanor stepped out of the back with the finished blueberry cupcakes. She almost dropped them when she
saw him and started blushing like a school girl.

  "Hello... Zane," she said.

  "Eleanor," he said, nodding. They looked at each other a long moment while the rest of us kept quiet, even Lottie.

  "I have some fresh peanut butter dream bars in the back if you'd like one," Eleanor said out of nowhere.

  Sheriff Knoxx's eyes lit up. "Thank you, I'd love that." He followed her into the back, and I stayed out front. I wanted to give them some time together. When they were gone, our conversation continued.

  "What makes you think that Hadley is going to win?" asked Melbourne. Trixie beamed, thrilled that he had actually spoken. He was participating in a real conversation with someone other than herself. It was a good first step toward coming out of his shell.

  "Word on the street is that Hadley is a sure thing," Lottie said. "She knows the old mayor's routines and is planning on coming out with a plan to bridge the gap between Mistmoor Point and Sweetland Cove. She wants to work to unite us, just like Mayor Singer did when he was alive."

  "Yeah, but Tazzie wants the same thing," I said. "So do Grayson and Amanda."

  "Yes, but Hadley actually has a plan. All the others have is talk."

  I frowned, not certain I quite believed everything Lottie was saying. I'd heard Amanda Hollyberry's speech on the radio the other day and it seemed to me like she, at least, had very detailed plans about improvements she wanted to make to Mistmoor and how to do them, including making our two towns friends again.

  I thought that the amount of cooperation between Lincoln's sheriff's station and Sherriff Knoxx's should go a long way to helping fill that gap everyone was talking about. But then, the sheriffs had always gotten along. Colt said law enforcement had to stick together, especially on a tiny island like this.

  The back door suddenly burst open, and Sheriff Knoxx hurried through it. "Sorry," he said when he almost knocked my father over. "I've got to go. Otis just radioed. Hadley Miner's been attacked."

  "Attacked!" Lottie cried. "By who? Is she okay? Tell me everything." She leaned in, eager to be the first to get this information. How jealous her friends would be that she was the first to know about this.

  "No time, Lottie," Sheriff Knoxx said. She pouted at him but he ignored her.

  Eleanor ran after him. "Wait, don't forget your peanut butter dream bars," she called, handing him a box. He kissed her gently before running out the door. Despite the urgency of the situation, he was beaming. When he was gone, we all turned to Eleanor, who was still blushing.

  "The wedding's back on," she said, then returned to the back as if nothing had happened.

  Trixie and I looked at each other, smiling. For once, a piece of good news had come our way.

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-THREE

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  The reporters were still outside Colt's apartment, though it had definitely died down. Instead of the front lawn being covered with them, there were now only five or six hangers-on. The hardcore reporters who were either too dedicated or too desperate to leave, depending on how you looked at it.

  I knocked on Colt's door, wondering if I should have called first. When he opened his door and smiled at me, I was glad I hadn't. He might have told me not to come, and I wouldn't have wanted to miss that smile for anything. I hugged him tightly. We'd barely had a moment alone together since all of this madness with the assassin had started. The craziness with his father's trial and release to Colt's custody had only made things worse, though I would never have said that out loud. I liked Russell too much to say anything that might hurt his feelings.

  "Hi," Colt said as we sank against each other.

  "Hi," I breathed. I could tell from the way he kissed me that he'd missed me as much as I'd missed him.

  From the back, Russell cleared his throat. He smiled awkwardly and rose from the couch. I'd almost forgotten he was here. I peered around Colt's large frame.

  "Hi, Russ," I said, smiling and walking over to give him a hug. I wanted to make sure he knew there were no hard feelings. The last time we'd seen each other, Vlaski had still been alive and things had been... strange. But I didn't blame Russ for that in the slightest. Well, not anymore.

  "Hi, Ava," Russell said.

  I had to remember to ask Colt how his mom felt about this whole situation. It must have been so weird knowing that your husband was alive when you'd buried him years ago. I hoped she was handling it all okay.

  "I can go into the bedroom," Russell said.

  "No, don't," I said. "I mean, not on my account. I just came by to say hi. To both of you."

  Russ lifted his eyebrows skeptically. His smooth, white skin reflected the sunlight beaming in through the windows.

  "I did," I said, blushing.

  I actually had come to see Colt more than Russell. I wanted to get his take on the Tazzie situation. Did he really think that she had hired the assassin? Did they have any leads on where the assassin had gone to? I thought Colt might be more open to sharing information with me if he wasn't surrounded by Lincoln or Sheriff Knoxx. I knew Sheriff Knoxx had a look that he could give a person that would instantly make them shut their mouth.

  "Ava," Colt said, smiling and brushing the hair from my eyes. "I don't have anything to tell you that you don't already know."

  "What do you mean?" I asked innocently, putting on my best doe eyes for him.

  "You know perfectly well what I mean. You look at me like that and you think I'll spill, but the truth is I don't have anything to spill. We don't know where the assassin is, and I still have no idea what to think about this whole situation."

  I sighed and plopped into an oversized chair.

  "Want some coffee?" Colt asked.

  "No, thanks. I think I'm gonna try my luck at Coffee Cove later. You might not know anything, but that doesn't mean no one else does. Lucy likes to gossip with the best of them. And William Carney knows everything that goes on around this island."

  I let out a sigh.

  "Has anyone talked to Mayor Thomas lately?" I asked.

  Colt sat across from me, next to his dad. "No."

  Russell said, "I thought Mayor Thomas went into hiding after the Witch's Council decided to recall him." He looked confused.

  The Witch's Council and the Council on Magic and Human Affairs were both powerful organizations with overlapping duties. However, the Witch's Council generally handled things local to Heavenly Haven, while COMHA handled things not just related to Heavenly Haven, but throughout the whole witching and wizarding community.

  Colt pressed his hands to his temples. "Yeah, Dad. Thanks. We're trying not to spread that around."

  "Oh. Sorry." Russ looked embarrassed but the color of his cheeks never changed. I guess it was hard to blush when you were a vampire.

  "Wait," I said, sitting upright. "What are you talking about? You mean that no one's seen Mayor Thomas? In how long? And when did the Witch's Council officially decide to recall him? I thought that was just talk. I thought you told me you didn't have any new information." I glared at Colt, the little sneaky liar. Too bad he looked so adorable when he blushed, it prevented me from staying angry with him.

  "Well..." Colt said, searching for something to say that wasn't going to get him in any more trouble with me. I batted my lashes at him and alternated between scowling and pouting. "Fine," he said, sighing loudly. "No. No one's seen Mayor Thomas since Tazzie was arrested. The Witch's Council is making their announcement late this afternoon. No one else knows about the recall yet. Well, except Mayor Thomas and his staff."

  "Why does your dad get to know about all this but I don't?" I didn't mean to offend Russell, but I wanted to know why I was being kept out of the loop.

  "Because he was here when I found out," Colt said, frustrated.

  "So? I won't tell anyone."

  Colt shot me a look. "Ava, you can gossip almost as well as Lottie Mudget
when you want to."

  My jaw dropped open. "Investigating is not the same as gossiping. They are two completely separate things." I folded my arms across my chest and made my best "you're in trouble now" face.

  "You're right," Colt said almost immediately. "I should have told you." He looked at his hands, and I knew my angry face had worked its magic over him. His father looked sympathetically in his direction. I could tell that he knew better than to try and hide things from the woman you're dating. Colt, apparently, was still learning.

  I decided to let him off the hook. This time. "It's okay," I told him. "I understand. I'm sure Sheriff Knoxx doesn't want you spreading things around. So if Mayor Thomas is in hiding, then who's running the office?"

  Colt lifted his eyes to mine and shook his head, groaning. "Megan Lockwood."

  "What?!" I screeched, jumping out of my chair. "You can't be serious! Are we talking about the same Megan Lockwood? Lucy's sister?"

  "That's right."

  "How can she be running anything? She just started working for him. She's like, nineteen years old. She's supposed to be in charge of all of Sweetland Cove? Does Lucy know about this?"

  Colt shrugged. "No idea. It's not really my business. I've got enough to do trying to track down this assassin."

  I started pacing the room. I was definitely gonna have to talk to Lucy about this. How could she not tell me Megan was in charge of Sweetland Cove right now? The thought was terrifying. I mean, Megan made a decent cup of coffee, but what did she know about politics?

  "Any luck with the assassin?" I asked.

  "Not so far."

  "Would you tell me if there was?"

  Colt smiled. "Maybe."

  Colt's phone rang just then. He picked it up just as mine rang, too. I stepped off to the side to answer it. It was Trixie.