by Paula Lester
Lila gave me a cool look, but she nodded. The movement made her glasses slip, and she shoved them up a fraction.
I sat down and took a big bite of bagel, chewing it up and swallowing before launching in. It gave me a couple of minutes to choose my line of attack.
But before I could say anything, Lila said, “Frankly, I’m surprised you aren’t in jail yet. I think it must have something to do with you being friends with that lawman.”
“Lawman?” I set down my bagel. “Are we in an old Western movie?” I knew it was snarky, but Lila seemed to inspire that trait in me.
Her mouth twisted, and for a second, I saw a hint of rage behind her eyes. But she quickly smoothed it over and smiled. Still, the expression was a little predatory for my liking. “Not a Western, but perhaps a thriller. Our Crone has been murdered, and no ascension has taken place. That means a murderer’s on the loose and something is drastically wrong with our ruling body.” Lila spoke softly, presumably because of all the people around. Most of them were witches, but some weren’t.
“I’m not in jail because I didn’t kill anyone. But that brings me to a question I wanted to ask the two of you. It occurred to me that you said you have been in town since Saturday, but that was before Marian’s death. Why did you come to Superior Bay?”
Lila’s eyes slid in Albert’s direction, and he gave her a tiny shrug. Lila looked back at me. “That’s really none of your business. Albert and I are free citizens, and we can travel to any town in the country that we’d like to. Why we do what we do is our business.”
“I see. That’s very interesting. In my experience, people who have something to hide are the same folks as those who don’t like to answer simple questions. If you’re in Superior Bay for any old, straightforward reason, like a vacation, it shouldn’t be a big deal for you to tell me that.” I knew I was pushing the woman, risking her blowing up and screaming at me, but then again, we were in a public place. That made me feel better about giving her somewhat of a hard time.
Lila’s jaw clenched. If I had to guess, I would’ve said she was biting her tongue. I smirked, feeling happy that I’d got her goat a little. With a shrug, I stood, grabbing my plate and mug. “Thanks for the company. But I’ve just seen someone else I need to talk to. See you around.” As I walked away, I could feel Lila’s eyes on my back, as though someone were pointing a laser gun right between my shoulder blades. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but I fought the slump that wanted to invade my posture, forcing myself to remain ramrod straight as I walked away from the unpleasant lady.
I resettled myself next to Crosby, who gave me a nod and sipped on his fruit smoothie. He tipped his glass, filled with swirling pink slush, toward me. “It’s really cool they started making these here,” he said. “It’s nice for an afternoon pick-me-up without having to resort to caffeine. If I have an afternoon coffee, I get jittery and can’t sleep all night.”
“A jittery, tired cop sounds like a bad thing. Stick to the afternoon smoothies.” I saw Julia behind the counter, looking stressed. “If she can keep the ingredients in stock, that is. I’ve never seen her so worked-up.”
His gaze followed mine to land on our friend. “Yeah, she’s usually so easy-going and nonchalant. This is definitely not like her. I’m a little worried.”
“She’ll be okay,” I insisted. “I think she just needs to set some clear boundaries with this new boss of hers. Once she does that, things should get better.” I brushed crumbs off my hands over the now-empty plate and leaned back in my chair.
Crosby tilted his head. “Why aren’t you at work?”
“I took most of the afternoon off.” I leaned closer, and, speaking just above a whisper, told him about the book and the reference to a Messenger.
“Interesting. And your aunt didn’t tell you anything about that?”
“Not a word. I’m not sure if it could have anything to do with Marian’s death or not.” I picked up my coffee cup, not having the same reservations about afternoon coffee as my friend. Graduate school had taught me to hold my caffeine.
“I wonder who the Messenger is and why we have seen no signs of her hanging around and watching things.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” I admitted. “I wonder if she’s keeping herself in the background on purpose. Like, maybe she’s scared.”
His eyebrows climbed. “You think this Messenger may be afraid for her life too?”
“It’s just a theory. Given that I know next to nothing about the Trio, the Messenger, or the Throne, it’s probably a theory that’s totally off.”
The bakery’s door opened, and Celeste breezed in. She stopped just inside and swept her gaze over everyone and everything. When she saw me, she came right over. “Hi, Willow.”
“Hi.” I watched her, feeling more than a little wary. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she had that exhausted look of someone who has been crying a lot and not sleeping well. But I couldn’t forget she’d accused me of killing Marian and let my guard down. “How are you?”
She shrugged. “Terrible. Not only is my friend gone, but no one else has ascended normally. The Guards are all in a tizzy, and Kressida spends most of her time locked up in her room in the penthouse. She says she’s researching what’s going on, but I wish I could see her more. I just feel so . . . abandoned.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes with a soft, blue handkerchief I hadn’t seen in her hand before.
“Do you want to sit with us?” I wasn’t sure if I was making a mistake, but pure human kindness drove my offer. She truly looked miserable and in need of some friendly contact with another person.
Her eyes fluttered in surprise. “Oh. Um. Sure. Thank you.” She sat next to me and glanced outside.
I followed her gaze and saw her Guard stood on the sidewalk, eyeballing everyone who went by with a fierce scowl.
Okay, that may drive away customers. But maybe Julia could use the break.
Crosby got to his feet. “Can I get you something? A drink or some food?”
“Oh. Well, that smoothie you have looks good.” She reached into a silver purse on her lap and pulled out some cash.
Crosby held up a hand. “No need. My treat.” He got in the line queued up at the counter.
Celeste bowed her head a little. “Listen, I wanted to apologize about accusing you of killing Marian the other day. I was distraught and confused.”
I liked the apology, but it didn’t really make sense. “Actually, it’s kind of natural you’d accuse me. I mean, you don’t really know me that well, and I was the only stranger around when it happened.”
She shook her head. “I realize now that you didn’t have time to kill her. There wasn’t long enough from when you headed to the bathroom to when you shouted for us. I don’t know who killed her, but they must have used magic to get in and out of that bathroom.”
I didn’t know what kind of magic would make that possible. Invisibility maybe? Teleportation? Levitation like I’d thought of the other day? Admittedly, my magical education was severely lacking, and I only had myself to blame for that.
Crosby returned with Celeste’s smoothie and sat back down. We spent a pleasant hour talking.
Celeste was really a lovely, fun person. Of course, everything she said and did was tinged with sadness and heaviness, but I could see through that to the fun-loving, friendly girl she was underneath. It drew me to her. It was easy to imagine us being friends, even though she was younger than me.
Reluctantly, I finally said, “I need to get going. I . . . have some things I need to talk to Aunt Dru about.” I’d been pondering during the entire visit whether I should question Celeste about the Messenger, but something was stopping me. For one thing, the bakery had gotten busier, filled with more magical and non-magical folk. It wasn’t a good place or time to talk shop.
“Oh. Okay.” Celeste looked sad. “Maybe we can do something later. I’ve had fun talking to you.”
I got to my feet, and Crosby followed suit. “That sounds great. I’
ll be in touch. See you later.” We headed for the door, leaving Celeste at the table alone. As we exited, I looked for Albert and Lila, but they were no longer at their table.
“Do you need a ride to the farm?”
I shook my head. “My car’s at the clinic.” I wondered if I should go back to the witch shop and read more from the special book. But I figured Aunt Dru could tell me about the Messenger quicker than I could learn by reading through that huge tome.
“Okay, well, call me if you learn anything helpful.”
“I will.”
Crosby leaned forward and gave me a quick hug.
I drew in a breath and held it, shocked.
It wasn’t as though we’d never hugged. The Four Musketeers often hugged on arrival and departure from each other. But Crosby hadn’t hugged me since he found out I was a witch.
He let go as fast as he’d grabbed me, turned, and headed toward his truck without another word.
I forced myself to look normal and walk the other direction, but inside, I was a flurry of emotions.
Even though it had been the fastest hug in the history of humankind, it had felt great. Warm. Familiar.
It had felt like home.
I thought about Crosby going to Detroit and realized I had a colossal problem.
Chapter 11
I MADE MYSELF NOT THINK about the situation with Crosby as I drove home. I needed to talk to Aunt Dru more about the Trio and find out what she knew about the Messenger. Using my mental energy to dwell on the situation with my best friend was not the right thing to do at the moment.
When I got to the farm, I could see my aunt in the sheep paddock, sprinkling small handfuls of hay around as the lambs hopped playfully. She had a smile on her face, and I didn’t want to interrupt her.
With a sigh, I got out of the car and started across the driveway. But the crunch of tires on gravel made me stop to see who was arriving. Maybe Crosby had come over to have a talk about moving to Detroit. I could only hope.
But it wasn’t Crosby’s old pickup truck pulling into the driveway. It was three unfamiliar cars filled with people. I had a flashback to when the Trio had shown up at the house, but these were not black Cadillacs. And it wasn’t Kressida, Celeste, Pence, and the others who stepped out of the cars into my driveway.
It was Lila, Albert, Victoria, Deirdre, and several other people I didn’t know but could only assume were also witches.
One person didn’t get out of one car. I could see them still in the back seat, but the window was tinted, and I could only make out their vague form.
I glanced over my shoulder, feeling nervous, and saw Aunt Dru headed our way. I didn’t know why all these witches were in my driveway, but I knew it couldn’t be good.
Lila strode over to stand directly in front of me, and I felt glad that Aunt Dru had arrived next to my right elbow before she got there.
“How can we help you?” I wanted to establish that this was our home, and she and her friends were intruding. They all gave off the energy of people there for challenge and conflict, not those who’d come by for a spot of tea and to say hello.
Lila’s eyes skipped from me to Aunt Dru and back again. “We’re here because we have decided you’re the most likely suspect in the Crone’s death.”
“I didn’t kill Marian,” I said quietly.
“You were in their suite when she died, and there were no other outsiders there.”
Aunt Dru bristled and stepped forward. “Willow isn’t an outsider. She’s only a newcomer.”
Lila narrowed her eyes at my aunt. “She wouldn’t be a newcomer if you had taught her like you were supposed to do. Like you were charged to do.”
What did that mean? It almost sounded like someone had placed me in my aunt’s care by the Trio or something.
But I didn’t have time to wonder much. Lila was still speaking. “The girl hardly knows anything about witches and even less about the Trio. Of course she’s a suspect in the murder—the Trio arrived and let you both know they were here to test her. It’s more than likely that you told her they could strip her of the power that she has and not deliver the rest to her. She probably wanted to eliminate that threat.” Lila shrugged. “It only makes sense.”
“My dear,” Albert said from just behind his wife, “I just thought of another scenario that may fit the bill.”
Lila shot a look at her husband that clearly said she was used to being annoyed by him. “What are you on about, Albert?”
“I’m only saying there’s another suspect standing in front of us.”
“You mean Aunt Dru? No way!” Now it was me who was bristling.
For a moment, no one said anything. Silence fell over the driveway except for the sounds of the sheep shuffling in the paddock, but even they were quieter than usual.
Lila sucked on her bottom lip and regarded us for a moment. Then she crossed her arms. “I suppose you’re right, Albert. Druida could be our culprit. I believe we have some more investigating to do.” She pointed a finger at my nose, and I had to strongly resist the urge to snap at it with my teeth like a Rottweiler. “Neither of you should leave town. We’re going to have a meeting about this and will let you know our findings.”
“Shouldn’t you leave the investigating to the police department?” I snapped.
All the visiting witches erupted into guffaws and cackles. “That’s funny,” Lila said. “Witches relying on human law enforcement—that’ll be the day.” She turned on her heel and headed back toward the cars, most of the witches following along.
Deirdre hurried to Lila’s side. “Can I still work on the party? I’d rather work on the party than some old investigation.”
“Of course, dear. We have to continue to keep up appearances for the humans in this silly little town.”
As the three cars pulled out of our driveway, Aunt Dru trudged toward the house. Her shoulders weren’t as high and straight as usual, as though she were wearing a heavy backpack. I wanted to follow her, to ask her about the Messenger and more about the Trio. But Juliet appeared beside me, nudging my hand with her nose. I smiled and kneeled down to pet her. “Hi, sweetie. How are you doing?”
She trained her big brown eyes on me. “Is that lady coming back here?” she asked in her soft, rumbly voice.
“What lady? Lila? The one who just left? She’s a meanie, isn’t she?”
But Juliet moved her head from side to side. “Not her. The one here before. She smells like you and Aunt Dru.”
I was stumped. “Who smells like us? What do you mean smells like us? Like, they use the same soap or something?”
But Juliet didn’t answer. Her gaze shifted toward the sheep, and in the next instant, she was gone, galloping across the grass after jumping the fence into the paddock. I didn’t know whether she’d heard some threat or couldn’t stand to be away from her charges any longer, but she would not answer any more of my questions right then.
I rose to my feet and started toward the house, wondering what my border collie could have meant. But my mind swiftly switched gears back to Lila and Albert and the others and their threats. If the group of witches decided Aunt Dru was responsible for Marian’s death, I realized they wouldn’t take their theory to the human cops and let them deal with it. No, it was much more likely they’d do what Aunt Dru had warned me the Trio could do to me and drain her power.
I couldn’t let that happen.
But what was I supposed to do?
I stopped on the porch and considered. It was only a moment before I realized there was nothing much I could do on my own. I needed help.
I hurried into the house and found my aunt in the living room, sitting on the sofa and staring at the wall. I sat next to her and spoke softly. “Are you okay?”
She glanced at me, as though my words had surprised her. “I’m fine, honey. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because Lila and Albert suspect you may have killed Marian. If they decide you did, could they have your power drained?”
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“They’d have to convince the Trio to order it,” she said. “There’s no Trio right now, so I guess they’d have to convince the Duo.” She snorted at her own joke.
“Okay. So, maybe we could pre-empt that? Talk to Kressida and Celeste ourselves and convince them you didn’t kill the Crone?” I suggested.
She patted my knee. “I don’t think we should get involved.”
“What? Why wouldn’t we get involved in trying to clear your name?”
“It would be too easy to step on toes,” she explained. “The Crux and the Key are stressed right now. I’m sure it wouldn’t take much to make them react. If we go bothering them now, we could trigger a reaction we don’t like.”
“So, you’re saying that if we try reasoning with them, they could get annoyed and find you guilty on a whim?” It seemed like, if that was the case, the entire system needed overhauling. Those women were in charge of all the witches in the district. They didn’t have the luxury of feeling stressed and being easily annoyed.
But if they did, there was really nothing I, a fledgling witch without all my power and very little control of the magic I did possess, could do about it. No, I had to work within the system for now, for sure.
“I was at The Witch Supply Store today, and I came upon a book about the Trio,” I said.
I felt her stiffen. She didn’t meet my gaze.
Her continued strange behavior made me frown. I felt myself losing patience with how she was acting. We were both in trouble, and I needed her to be forthright with me, not dodgy. “The book mentioned a fourth person—a Messenger. What do you know about that?”
She lifted one shoulder and let it drop again, still not looking at me. “Not much. No one knows much. The Messenger is a woman who watches and reports. That’s all I know.”
“Where is she? Why haven’t we seen her? Shouldn’t she be in Superior Bay if the Trio is here?”
