Banshees and Babysitters

by Amanda A. Allen

Harper rose and followed. “I wish that I felt as renewed as you after we visit them.”

  “Let’s close the bakery and take Maeve to Bridget’s trees. We can look for insight, and help her. I feel like we’re failing her.”

  Harper nodded and said, “She’s more important than your ex.”

  “Grant is only important because it affects the girls,” Scarlett said.

  “I’m glad to hear you say that.” They crossed the street to the bakery, leaving the SUV behind, and got Maeve.

  “Let’s close,” Scarlett said. “Keeping the bakery open is too much with everything else. It’s slow after now anyway.”

  “Great,” Henna replied. “I’ll bake with the boys and get you caught up.”

  “Maeve can come with us and go back to the grove.”

  “Your Gram is on her way,” Henna said.

  “Then we better hurry out,” Harper said, winking at Maeve. She smiled for a second but grabbed her messenger bag in double time, and they left.

  Chapter 5

  The path of trees that had been woken by the lost druid Bridget had the flavor of her. Being here, among these trees, let Maeve feel that flavor of her sister. Bridget had been amazing. She’d done everything necessary to keep her sister out of foster care and in school. She’d provided for Maeve, and been drawn into a series of odd jobs until someone who should have been trustworthy took advantage of her and got her wrapped up in running drugs. That had ended in her death, but even then she’d saved her sister’s life.

  Maeve’s face was pale and the dark circles under her eyes were even more apparent. Scarlett found the spot where she’d first recognized that Bridget had woken the trees and found a friendly tree to lean on.

  “Hello,” she said to the tree, letting her head press against the bark.

  The leaves rustled in reply.

  “You look like you’re a tree sprite coming out of that tree,” Harper told Scarlett. Maeve crossed the path and sat down next to Scarlett, letting her head fall onto Scarlett’s shoulder.

  “I miss her,” Maeve said. Her voice was quiet, but it carried.

  “I know,” Scarlett replied, “I know you do. It’s ok.”

  She closed her eyes and let her consciousness drop into the trees and then followed the paths of the roots as they tangled together. As she did, she let her worries fade and let the trees pull her along into what could be and what was and the possibilities. It was a different kind of knowing. More difficult to interpret but capable of rolling out a path of opportunities. Scarlett’s awareness of the moment and her current concerns dissipated until she was lost to anything but the trees knowing.

  She felt the weight of someone in the future. Was it someone new? Why were they there? If it was a stranger, why did they matter? Everything spun in her mind like a fair ride gone askew, and she saw blurred face after blurred face. Dark flashes where faces should have been. The process went until she was sick and then it settled on Agnes. Something was wrong with her. She needed…something.

  “By the stars,” Scarlett whispered. “She needs us.”

  “Who does?”

  “Agnes.”

  “The B&B chick? We’re not humanitarians,” Harper said and Scarlett snapped her eyes open. She glanced at Maeve and saw she was crying.

  “Did you see something?”

  “Bridget. And a boy. And Quinton and Mom.”

  Scarlett’s breath caught in hearing Maeve call their mom “Mom” for the first time.

  “Gram is going to latch onto you so fast. This is her gift. And Scarlett’s. But Scarlett took off and learned from random druids, and you’re sucked in now, sistah.”

  Maeve glanced at Scarlett to see if she could believe what Harper was saying. Scarlett nodded once and then wrapped an arm around her sister. “How do you feel?”

  “Woozy,” Maeve said after thinking for a moment. “Do you think that seeing Bridget means she’s looking over me?”

  “I’m sure she is,” Scarlett said as she rose and started back to the car. She needed to get Maeve to their mom and then to Agnes who apparently needed them.

  The need of Agnes pounded against the back of Scarlett’s mind until she called Lex and sent him to help. Scarlett followed Maeve up to the door and she threw herself into Maye’s arms letting Scarlett witness that shocked joy in Maye’s face as soon as the girl reached out. Scarlett’s eyes burned and she opened her arms to her own girls.

  “Hey babies,” she said, squatting down.

  “Uh-oh,” Luna said, and then quickly added, “I didn’t do it. It was Ella.”

  “It was not,” Ella snapped, “It was Luna. I saw it.”

  Luna slapped at Ella who yanked back and went claws out, but Scarlett grabbed both of them and pulled them apart saying, “No one is in trouble.”

  “Why are you sad then?”

  “Um…well…your dad is in trouble. But Mommy is working hard to get him out of it because it was a mistake.”

  Ella’s face shut down and Luna’s eyes widened.

  “Will you be ok if I go and help and come back for bedtime?”

  “We’re sleeping outside,” Ella said in a wooden voice. Her eyes were the same moss-green as Scarlett’s, but they were dull with too much emotion for such a little girl.

  Scarlett tried to let it go, but she wanted to rage. Instead, she asked brightly, “Can you set up my sleeping bag?”

  Luna nodded solemnly. With a quick glance at Ella, Luna darted forward, wrapped her arms around Scarlett, and whispered, “Tell Daddy I’m sorry I got mad.”

  Scarlett’s eyes closed and she whispered, “You don’t have to be sorry that you were upset with him, baby. It’s ok to have big feelings. Even if they’re mad ones.”

  Luna curled into Scarlett’s neck and Scarlett lifted her daughter up, squeezing her tight as Luna wrapped her legs around Scarlett’s waist. Ella’s gaze looked on in envy and Harper scooped Ella up the same way. Scarlett reached out and tangled her fingers with Ella while they moved into the kitchen in a connected train.

  “Is it going to be ok, Mommy?” Ella’s voice was the merest breath. Scarlett breathed a little easier when Ella let that flash of her emotions out.

  “Yes,” Scarlett said, infusing her voice with confidence she didn’t feel. Maeve and their mother, Maye had followed and Maye started dishing up bowls of chili while Maeve reached out and took Ella’s other hand.

  “Will Daddy be ok?”

  “Yes,” Scarlett promised, hoping it was true.

  “Will he hate me?”

  Scarlett could see Harper clutch Ella closer and it took a moment for Scarlett to answer, but only because she was breathless with the pain of it.

  “No, never.”

  “But he hates us because we’re different than him,” Ella said. “We can do things he can’t.”

  “Sometimes,” Scarlett said, squeezing Ella’s fingers and Luna’s against her torso, “Grownups make bad choices that we regret. Or say stupid things. Daddy saying what he said is one of those things. He called us freaks, but he was trying to feel better about his bad choices. Sometimes we say things we know aren’t true because we’re upset. The only thing different about you is how wonderful you are.”

  “Does Daddy hate druids?”

  “No,” Scarlett said with conviction, and she made sure that Ella’s gaze met hers. “No, he doesn’t.”

  “Will you save him?”

  “Yes,” Scarlett said.

  “Will you see if he loves me before you let him come here?”

  Scarlett’s heart broke as she promised that she would. She left her food untouched, grabbed the keys to the SUV from Harper, and said, “I need you here.”

  “I got this,” Harper lied.

  “I got this too,” Scarlett lied back. She took a breath and said, “We’ve got this.”

  Chapter 6

  Scarlett pulled up outside the old Victorian mansion that was Agnes’s B&B. It was three blocks from Gus’s house and about half the size, but it
was lovely all the same. What kept Scarlett in the car was the sight of Jen standing on the sidewalk next to a pile of luggage, holding her baby’s car seat.

  Scarlett felt that flash of empathy again, but the sour gaze she got as she stepped out of the car made it difficult for her empathy to last. She glanced around and saw a druid girl sitting on the brick wall about 20 feet away.

  She didn’t say a word to Jen but walked over to the druid girl who had been watching over Jen. “What’s going on, Liza?”

  “She won’t let me help her,” Liza said. Her freckles were stark against her white skin and her cheeks were brilliant with anger. “She called me an evil freak and told me I was going to hell.”

  “Lovely,” Scarlett replied and then she crossed to Jen and jabbed her in the chest with a finger. “Are you stupid?”

  Jen’s mouth dropped and her gaze narrowed, but Scarlett jabbed her again before she could reply.

  “We both know Grant didn’t kill Muscato. Which means someone else did. And they’re not in jail. And you’re on the sidewalk with your baby refusing one of the FEW people who would help you.”

  Jen’s mouth gaped like a fish but before she could speak Scarlett jumped in again.

  “I don’t care if you don’t like us. We don’t want you here. So while you are here, you will contain rudeness, or I will teach you manners. Are we clear?”

  Jen considered too long and the east wind roared to life on the street. It was fall and thus storm season, and the east wind was far too ready to connect with Scarlett’s anger.

  “I assume that you aren’t evil since as much as I despise Grant I don’t think he’s entirely stupid.”

  Jen’s eyes narrowed on Scarlett’s face and she lost her shocked look and said, “You aren’t…you can’t just…look…”

  “Jen,” Scarlett said softly, “Please let us help you.”

  Jen took a deep breath, glanced down at the car seat where her baby was sleeping and glanced around. The sun was setting, the moon was high, and with the massive oak trees running down the length of the street made menacing shadows that were lengthening into true darkness. Or maybe those shadows weren’t menacing. Maybe what was terrifying as that they both knew a murder had happened here earlier that day.

  “Ok,” Jen said grudgingly. She had somehow managed to make her tone also conciliatory, so Scarlett ignored the spite and waved Liza over suggesting, “You should probably apologize.”

  Scarlett didn’t wait to hear it. She’d done what she could which was enough for her. She ran up the steps and found Lex drinking a cup of tea with Agnes. Lex’s glance was dark, and Scarlett blinked in the face of the anger. Had she done something? Surely he’d guess she;d come help Agnes?

  “Hi, Agnes,” Scarlett said brightly.

  Agnes rocked back in her rocker and the expression on her face was foul. Lex didn’t know Agnes, but Scarlett did. She was a sassy, flirty woman who hadn’t let anything slow down her willingness to flirt with anyone and everyone. Right then she was chewing on her bottom lip with her teeth gripping into her skin. Her gaze was narrowed and mean, and her expression darted around as if she expected someone to jump out and attack.

  “How are you?” Scarlett asked gently.

  “Good as can be expected. Why are you here sticking your big nose into everyone’s business again? Just like your grandmother.”

  Scarlett blinked and then said, “Something is wrong. We’re worried about you.”

  “Says the girl who’s showing up trying to save her ex. You trying to guilt him back into your bed? Too hard to raise those brats alone I bet. I’m surprised you haven’t dumped them on your mom and fled.”

  “Hardly,” Scarlett replied. She took a deep breath and didn’t see or feel anything amiss, but she knew that something was up. This was NOT Agnes.

  “Lex,” Scarlett said rubbing her brow. Maybe there was a feel in the air? What did he sense?

  His gaze avoided hers, but there was something in that too.

  “Are you all right? Lex?”

  “You know…you’re infuriating.” He sounded like a thunderstorm of anger and she took a step back without meaning to.

  “You’re a spoiled little princess,” he added, rising slowly to tower over her. He wasn’t nearly as large as her friend, Gus, but Lex was far larger than Scarlett.

  “Yeah,” Agnes said, cheering him on between cackles. “Yeah she is. Spoiled. Irritating. Stupid.”

  “I can see why Gus took off. Here you are obsessed with your ex even though he already dumped you once. What does it take to get it into your head? He doesn’t want you. Who would?”

  “Lex…” Scarlett said, taking another step back. She didn’t want to appear weak, but he was like a storm cloud. Scarlett reached out with her power and connected to the wind and trees outside. Those old Mystic Cove trees knew druids well and linking with them was easier. She was afraid it wouldn’t be enough if he decided to attack.

  “And then acting like you’re something special when it comes to these investigations. I’m the sheriff. I’m the one with the experience. You are just… In. The. Way.”

  Scarlett stared around the room looking for some reason why they’d be acting like this. Was this them? Was it some sort of truth…spell? Something that focused on the mean but true thoughts? Is this how he really felt?

  If so, she needed to know. If not…what was filling them with such antagonism?

  “Spoiled, chubby, baking mom who is too busy to even take her kids to soccer.”

  Agnes’s cackles punctuated each of the things that Lex said, and he knew exactly what to say to make her feel horrible. She’d been the one who told him how bad it made her feel to have to tell Luna no when it came to soccer. Or how Scarlett was trying and failing to save for a piano for Ella.

  She pressed her fingers to her forehead and had to wonder…why was this happening? Her senses were reeling and she said, “Well…”

  But she didn’t know what to say next. She hadn’t realized how much Lex had slid into the role of confidant and friend until he attacked. Was there something about her that made her so dumpable? First Grant, then Gus, and now Lex? But no…this had to be part of why Mr. Muscato had died. If someone had come after Mr. Muscato like this, how would he have reacted? He had been nasty old man. He might have attacked or prodded them on. It could have ended in death.

  And what was causing this behavior? Who was causing this? She darted a glance around the room. The settees were typical of the victorian era. The teapot was shining silver on a pretty wooden cart with delicate tea cups. The windows were covered with lacy curtains. Everything about this place was a typical bed and breakfast. Nothing seemed amiss.

  “I’ll go then,” she lied.

  And Lex’s snort was echoed by a mean cackle from Agnes.

  Scarlett left the parlor, opened the front door, and closed it. She waited for a few minutes to see what would happen, and she could hear them chatting…if you could call those quiet snarls chatting. She crossed her fingers and tip-toed past the parlor door to the stairs. She waited, but no one reacted.

  Scarlett made her way up the steps holding her breath and attempted one room after another. The only one that opened didn’t have luggage in it, but there was a cradle in it. This must have been Grant and Jen’s room. Scarlett shook her head at the sight and poked around until she heard a squeak in the hall outside.

  Oh goodness, she thought, and tried to tip-toe to the wall and press herself against it, but the door swung open wider. She crossed her fingers behind her back, flooded herself with power, and found herself gazing into beautiful green eyes.

  Instead of attacking, she pressed her finger to her lips and he nodded and then jerked his head to the hallway. She followed him out and down the hall into the room at the end.

  “Quinton? What are you doing here?” She whispered as she shut the door.

  “What are you doing here?” He whispered back. “I live here.”

  “The guy who was arrested
for killing Muscato was my ex,” Scarlett whispered.

  Quinton rented one of the shops in Scarlett and Harper’s building. He was also Harper’s crush. They were dancing around liking each other, but Scarlett hadn’t seen any evidence that they’d done more than exchange interested glances.

  “That doesn’t make sense,” Quinton whispered back. “Why would your ex kill Mr. Muscato? That can’t be right.”

  “I don’t think it is…but why do you not believe it?

  “It’s this place. It’s been weird, Scarlett. Like really weird for a while. Your ex just showed up this morning. Surely whatever caused Mr. Muscato’s death is connected to things being off?”

  Scarlett hadn’t realized that things had been amiss other than anyone housing Mr. Muscato. But…Quinton was smart. She was sure he was right.

  “I think they arrested Grant because his gun was used to kill Muscato.”

  “That only makes sense if haven’t been living here,” Quinton ran his hand through his hair and then said. “When I first moved here, I thought Agnes was amazing. But she changed. It took a while for me to see it. But she has been mean and nasty for weeks. And people come all happy and leave nasty. I wouldn’t be surprised if visiting here has caused divorces.”

  “How long has this been happening?”

  “Oh, I don’t know…”

  “Was there anyone new around when it started?”

  Quinton’s head tilted and he crossed to a wooden roll back desk and opened it up. He pulled out a leather bound journal and started flipping through it.

  “Is that a diary?”

  He nodded and ran his fingers through his deliberately disheveled hair.

  “Where are the ruffles on the edges and the tiny lock?”

  He glanced up, realized she was teasing, and blushed anyway.

  “It was about…3 weeks ago.”

  Scarlett sat down on the edge of his bed and tried to think back to what had been happening around then. She came up empty.

  “Do you think that Mr. Muscato was around then?”

  “Frank? Um,” Quinton turned back to the journal and said, “Yeah…I first noticed Agnes being sour towards the end of August. Frank had been here for about 10 days at that point.”