by Paula Lester
“This is a tiny town. I feel like the locals are catching on something is different with us.” A woman at the table next to us stirred her coffee as she spoke to her male companion. She wore her medium-brown hair in a high bun at the very top of her head and cat’s eye glasses balanced near the tip of her nose, almost appearing to defy gravity when they didn’t fall forward into her cup.
“I think you’re right, Lila,” the woman’s friend said. “We may need to do something about it.”
Lila gave the man the side eye. “What could we do, Albert?”
He shrugged and twisted his own coffee mug between his hands. “We’ll have to have a meeting,” he said with authority. “Together, we should be able to figure something out.”
Lila’s eyes popped open wider. The movement of her facial muscles made the glasses teeter even more precariously on her nose. She finally pushed them up a tiny bit. “I know what we could do! We should organize a big party—a dance, maybe. Some manufactured reason we need to be here but also a fun thing. After all, technically, we are all on vacation. Might as well enjoy the time in this Podunk town. Even though we’ve been here since Saturday and I’m already bored out of my mind.”
I shifted in my seat, taking issue with the woman’s term. Of course, I was allowed to call Superior Bay a Podunk town, but I didn’t think anyone else should be able to. Especially when they weren’t from here.
The movement in my chair caught the couple’s attention, and their heads snapped over toward our table. Lila’s eyes widened even more when her gaze fell upon me. “It’s her,” she said in a shocked tone. “I really didn’t think we’d see her while we were here.”
Albert elbowed Lila. “She can hear you, you know. Don’t talk about her as though she isn’t here.”
I fought back the urge to explain to Albert that he was doing the same thing Lila was. Instead, I said, “Oh, I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to eavesdrop. But I couldn’t help but overhear you saying something about organizing a party. I think it’s a good idea, and maybe my aunt and I can help you.” I jerked my head in Aunt Dru’s direction.
Aunt Dru didn’t answer. She merely took a sip of her coffee and gazed at Albert and Lila.
The strange couple looked startled. “Druida,” Lila said.
Aunt Dru nodded. “Lila,” she replied flatly. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
Albert snorted. “Oh, come now, Dru. Surely, you haven’t forgotten so much about Lila’s character. She’s a busybody, through and through. There was no way she could resist coming to investigate the issue once she realized dear Kressida didn’t ascend as she should have.”
Lila glared at Albert. “Kressida is our great-niece, twice removed. Why shouldn’t I be concerned that she didn’t get her due? Besides, having an incomplete Trio negatively affects all of us. Everyone in the supernatural world should be concerned that there has been no ascension.”
“I’m sure it’s only a glitch. The ascension will occur soon.”
Aunt Dru sounded sure of herself, and I shot her a confused look. She hadn’t sounded so rock-solid when she’d mentioned the lack of ascension to me. In fact, her tone had been downright confused then. Why was she acting for Lila and Albert?
“I wish all of you hadn’t come,” Aunt Dru said. “It’s only going to confuse things and could be even more dangerous for us while we don’t have a complete Trio.”
Lila scoffed, sending her glasses pitching dangerously toward the end of her nose again. She shoved them back impatiently. “That’s easy for you to say—you live here and have a bird’s-eye view of what’s going on. You seriously can’t expect the rest of us to just sit back idly and hope for things to right themselves.”
Aunt Dru lifted a shoulder and let it drop again. She picked up her mug and stuck her face in the steam. “Nothing to be done for it now. You’re already here. I suppose your idea of creating some event as a cover to explain your presence is probably a decent one.”
“I can help! I love planning parties!” A young woman, probably no older than twenty, had bounced over to stand between our two tables. She had wavy blonde hair to her shoulders, a pixie-like face, and wore a lovely dark pink sundress.
I thought it was lucky for her that the day had warmed up a bit. It was late summer, bordering on early fall in Superior Bay, and the weather could be all over the place.
Lila regarded the girl, her expression softening. “That’s fine, Deirdre. You plan. Let us know if you need any help.”
Deirdre bounced some more. “Perfect! I’m going to ask that woman if this bakery can provide a big cake for the party. I had one of the cupcakes, and it was scrumptious.” She hurried away, heading for the checkout counter behind which Julia stood, wiping her brow with a handkerchief and taking a breather between customers.
I thought it was highly likely that Julia would make the cake, even though she was busy and harried by her new boss’s foibles. If there was one thing Julia had a hard time doing, it was saying no to someone who needed some special baked goods.
Lila stood and pulled on Albert’s arm. “Let’s go. I want to visit Kressida and see how she’s doing.” She slid her eyes to our table. “I’d also like to talk to the two of you more. Perhaps we could visit your farm later for a chat?”
“Perhaps.” Aunt Dru sipped coffee without saying anything further.
I felt the need to cover for my aunt’s rudeness, perhaps offering a time for Lila and Albert to visit, but I bit my tongue, reminding myself I knew nothing about these people. On the other hand, my aunt seemed to know quite a bit about them, and she wasn’t happy with their presence in Superior Bay. I decided it wasn’t my place to go around her.
Lila stuck her nose in the air and stalked out of the bakery. Albert took a last big gulp of his coffee and chased after her. I realized that the reason the woman’s glasses fit the way they did was probably because she walked with her chin so high in the air that gravity kept them on for her.
I snorted in laughter at my own internal joke, drawing a quizzical look from Aunt Dru.
I took the opportunity to ask her a question. “That woman seemed to know who I am, but to my knowledge, I’ve never seen her before in my life. And why did she say she hadn’t expected to see me here?”
Before Aunt Dru could answer, Deirdre bounced back to our table. “She said she’d do it!” Deirdre clapped her hands. It was only then that she seemed to realize Lila and Albert were gone. For a moment, she appeared flustered, but then her gaze fell on me. “You’re Willow Morgan. I’m surprised to see you here.”
My eyes narrowed. “How do you...”
But Aunt Dru interrupted. “It’s wonderful news that Julia will provide the cake for the party, Deirdre. You know, I think the perfect place to hold it would be City Hall, but you have to get permission from the mayor. I bet if you head to the city offices, you’ll be able to catch her. Superior Bay is a small town, and our mayor is often looking for something to do.”
My eyes narrowed even more, but now my gaze was trained on my aunt. What was going on? Why was she trying to stop me from getting more information out of Deirdre? And, for that matter, how in the world did Deirdre know who I was? Just like Lila had.
Deirdre’s head bounced up and down, causing her wavy hair to go springing in all directions. “That’s a great idea. Where are the city offices?”
“You just go two blocks to the north, turn east, and go, hmm, I think six blocks. You’ll see the large brick building on your right.” Aunt Dru smiled at Deirdre, who gave a brief wave and darted out the door before I could say anything more.
I turned toward Aunt Dru. “What was that all about?”
Someone cleared their throat, and I looked up to find another woman standing in front of our table. This one had raven-black hair to her waist and fine features, with a tall forehead and high cheekbones. “Imagine that,” she said. “I never thought I’d meet someone so powerful. I didn’t meet your mother, but my own mother did, and she told me stories
of her immense power.”
My mind raced, and I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t remember my mother very well, and yet, here in front of me was someone who knew something about her—apparently, more than I did.
Before I could think of anything to say, Aunt Dru chimed in. “Victoria, it’s nice to see you. How is your mother?”
Victoria kept her eyes on me as she answered. “As fiery as always. The only reason she isn’t here is because she was in the middle of a potion that couldn’t be left for more than a few hours. She sent me to see what’s going on instead. Of course, I jumped at the chance to meet Willow.” She stuck out her hand.
For a second, I did nothing. But a jab from my aunt’s elbow made me remember my manners, and I shook Victoria’s offered hand. “I’m sorry,” I stammered. “I’m at a disadvantage. You seem to know me, but I don’t know you.”
Victoria waved a hand dismissively. “Of course, you don’t know me. We’ve never met. I only know stories of you, and I’m not a powerful enough witch for there to be stories about me.” She laughed, and the sound was harsher than I would have expected it to be. “You, though. What your mother could do . . .”
Aunt Dru stood up so suddenly that the table rocked a little. “Victoria, have you tried the baked goods here? You really should treat yourself. Come, I’ll show you what’s the best.”
Before anyone could do or say anything, Aunt Dru had taken Victoria by the elbow and propelled her across the room toward the counter. I gaped like a fish. What just happened? What did Victoria mean about the things my mother could do? Why had Aunt Dru stopped the woman from speaking about it?
Things were getting stranger around here by the moment. My aunt was not acting like herself. In fact, she was being downright weird. Almost as though she knew something I didn’t.
I shook off the thought. That woman had raised me since I was three, and she didn’t have to do it. My parents disappeared, and she had stepped in. Without her, I would’ve ended up in foster care and then who knows what? There was no way I had the right to question her now. If she was acting strange, she had a darn good reason for it. I’d wait for her to let me in on it in her own good time.
Still, I had to admit I felt a bit uncomfortable about how she had been acting. Especially since the Crone was dead after Aunt Dru had shown concerns about the Trio being in Superior Bay—about them needing to judge me and my magical abilities.
I shook my head violently to get rid of the thought that was trying to creep in. No. There was no way my aunt had anything to do with Marian’s death.
How could she have? She wasn’t even at the penthouse when it happened.
But the window had been open. Could Aunt Dru levitate or fly or something? I’d never seen her do that, but what I knew of magic was limited.
When she returned to our table, Aunt Dru was clearly ready to go. She didn’t sit down again but grabbed her empty mug and mine to take them to the self-bussing area. “You ready, honey?”
I got to my feet. “Yes, I guess so.” I wasn’t ready. I wanted to stay and talk to more of the witches in the bakery. But it was obvious my aunt would not let me ask the questions I really wanted the answers to, anyway. She also would not allow the others to say what some of them really seemed to want to say to me. So, there was little I could do except go with her and hope I could get the answers I wanted later.
With a wave toward Julia, we exited the bakery and found ourselves on a street that wasn’t as busy as it had been before. It appeared, now, many of Superior Bay’s visitors had gathered into clumps, their heads together. I guessed maybe they were talking about the party Lila and Deirdre had started to plan. I wanted to insert myself into a group and listen in. After all, it wasn’t as though I knew very many witches. In fact, for my entire life, I’d only known one other than myself, and that was my aunt. Before the Trio had shown up in Superior Bay, I hadn’t really given much thought to there being that many others. It was as though a whole new world was opening up in front of my eyes, but I wasn’t close enough to enter it. My aunt was holding me back for reasons I didn’t understand.
I reminded myself that, though the world of witches was new to me, it wasn’t to her. If she was holding me back from diving into it head first, there were probably very good reasons for that. I needed to continue to follow her lead, as much as I wanted to indulge in my curiosity. Still, it was hard to walk past all the groups of witches, especially when their eyes seemed to follow me as we walked by.
As we headed back to the car, one thing was obvious to me. I still didn’t have a suspect list for the Crone’s murderer, and my aunt wasn’t being helpful. I pulled out my phone and texted Crosby, asking him if he could meet me out at the farm. Maybe together, he and I could develop a suspect list, so I could start to do some digging.
Otherwise, I had a feeling that, soon, more fingers were going to be pointing directly at me.
Chapter 8
CROSBY WAS AT THE FARM when Aunt Dru and I got there, sitting on the porch scrolling on his phone. He tucked the cell away and got to his feet when we drove up. I didn’t think he’d stand on the ceremony of rising if it were only me, but he had great respect for my aunt, and that always made me smile.
Usually, Aunt Dru would have told Crosby he looked skinny and gotten straight to work making him a meal or treat, but today, she merely smiled at him and walked into the house. She shut the door firmly behind her.
Crosby’s eyebrows darted upward. “Did you two have a fight or something?”
“No. But she hasn’t been acting like herself, that’s for sure. I think it has something to do with the Trio being here. And all the other magical people in town. Did you notice them?”
We settled onto porch chairs, and he nodded. “I didn’t know they were all magical until you just confirmed it, but I had my suspicions.” His facial features looked tense. Pinched. Like he wasn’t at all happy with the current subject.
I knew how he felt. Or, at least, I could guess. Crosby hadn’t taken the news that I was a witch all that well. Now, there were dozens like me descending on his hometown. It had to make him feel uncomfortable. “I’m sorry you have to deal with this. If it makes you feel any better, I don’t know much about these folks either.”
He shrugged. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s not ideal, since we’re dealing with a murder investigation, and having all these extra people in town may slow that down. But as far as them being magical . . . I guess I’m getting used to that idea. A little.” He grinned.
My heart seemed to un-squeeze a bit, and I realized it had been tight ever since Crosby had seen me work magic and reacted badly to it.
But there was still another subject causing angst between us. I didn’t want to broach it, but it felt like it could negatively impact us working on the murder investigation together. “I’m sorry about barging over to your house like I did. And asking that question. Can we forget I did that?”
He met my eyes, and something flickered there. But before I could identify it, it was gone. His gaze moved back out toward the paddock, and he shook his head. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I slammed the door in your face. It’s just that . . . well, there’s a lot to unpack in those feelings, you know? We’ve been friends for so long.”
I breathed in deeply, feeling a little better. “Yeah. So long.”
“Can we put a pin in that for now?” he asked. “You know, the thing about my feelings for you?”
“I think that’s a great idea. Let’s get through this murder investigation first.” But part of me didn’t want to do that. It wanted me to demand answers from my best friend.
To demand that he stay in Superior Bay and didn’t move to Detroit.
I fought that tiny piece of me down with the promise that I’d satisfy it later. After we dealt with the more pressing issue at hand.
“So, do you have any suspects yet? In Marian’s untimely death, I mean.”
“You mean, besides you?” He snorted. “No. I don’t. How about yo
u?”
I looked out at the paddock too, spotting Susie and her lambs lounging around. Juliet sat nearby, watching over the little family and all the other sheep out there too. “I have one idea. Kressida.”
“The auburn-haired one,” Crosby said. “Why her?”
“Well, I don’t understand everything about the Trio yet. Honestly, I understand next to nothing about it. But one thing I’ve gathered is that, when the Crone dies, the Crux takes her place. It’s called an ascension. The Key ascends to Crux too, and then a new witch rises to the position of Key. But none of that has happened. I guess that’s why all the out-of-town witches have shown up—to see what’s going on. Plus, Kressida wasn’t in the room with me when Marian died. At least maybe. She left to get some chap stick.”
The crunching of a car’s tires on gravel drew both of our attention to the driveway. Alyson’s car pulled up and parked, and she and Julia got out and headed up the stairs. Julia plopped onto a chair heavily, slouching, which was unusual for her.
My brow wrinkled in concern. “Are you okay, Jules?”
She gave a huge, heavy sigh. “Today was super busy. So many people from out of town and there were a ton of locals too—they all wanted to come in, get their stuff quickly, and get out. The out-of-towners wanted to have lengthy chats about Superior Bay. I ran out of half the things I needed and the other half, I have too much of. Today was just a mess wrapped up in chaos.” She sat a little straighter and ran her hands through tangled, red hair. “Then, Becky came in and had the audacity to ask me why we had run out of vanilla and whole milk. It was everything I could do not to scream in her face that the reason was because she doesn’t know how to order. I held my tongue and calmly suggested that she let me do inventory from now on, but she wouldn’t go for it.”
“Did you talk to Delilah yet?” I still wasn’t sure that was the best idea. Delilah was a murderer, after all. But Julia was probably right—Delilah Stoves had built that business from the ground up and must still care about it, even though she was hanging out in prison.
