Deadly Desserts and Dark Secrets (Lainswich Witches Book 8)

by Raven Snow

  Sara began to nod again but then seemed to remember that her voice was being recorded. “I did,” she said aloud. “He was asking for help. Maybe he hoped a nurse lived here or something. It’s all a bit of a blur after that, when I realized it was my girl in the road.”

  “Where was Jessica Landis?” Margo asked when Rowen didn’t. She was too busy internally debating whether or not to apologize for her loss again.

  “In the road with her. She was trying to see if she was all right, but of course she wasn’t.”

  “Did you have any contact with Jessica after that?” asked Rowen.

  “Only at the trial. They said things normally don’t happen that fast, but I suppose they just wanted it all over and done with.”

  “I remember that.” Rowen glanced at Margo, sure she did as well. “The town was in an uproar.”

  “As well they should have been!” Sara shot back. “It’s a special kind of awful when a child is murdered.”

  It had been an accident. What had happened to Stephanie had hardly been a murder. Probably best not to mention that out loud, so Rowen kept it to herself. Sara was biased, and she was allowed to be. “You haven’t had any contact with her outside of that?”

  Sara raised an eyebrow. “Why would I?”

  “I don’t know. Some people feel like talking with the perpetrator in something like this is part of the healing process.”

  “What? Like I’m supposed to forgive them or some nonsense?” Sara shook her head. “Absolutely not. I’ll never forgive that woman.”

  “Fair enough.” Rowen looked at Margo again, passing the proverbial baton to her.

  “But you know where she’s being kept?” asked Margo.

  “Of course I do. There’s only one prison around here, isn’t there?”

  “Do you have any idea who might have wanted her dead?”

  “Plenty of people, I hope.” Sara sat up a little straighter. “I know I might look like a suspect, but if it had been me, I wouldn’t have screwed it up. I hope they try again. I hope it works next time.”

  The rest of the questions they asked didn’t turn up anything particularly interesting. Sara had a lot to say, but almost none of it was particularly helpful or illuminating. She wasn’t an especially pleasant woman to deal with, but Rowen supposed a lot of people who had lost children like she had weren’t. “Do you mind if we speak with your son?” she asked, once they were finished with their interview and being led to the door.

  Sara hesitated in leading the way down the hallway. “Why?”

  “We just like having more than one point of view on things like this,” Margo explained.

  “Why? Do you think I’m lying to you?” Sara’s brows came together. Her eyes narrowed.

  “No,” Rowen said quickly. “No, of course we don’t. We just find it valuable to have more than one person’s version of events in an interview.”

  “He doesn’t like talking about this stuff.” Sara still looked suspicious. “Besides, he’s probably busy with homework, so…” She motioned to the door, indicating that they had officially overstayed their welcome.

  Rowen headed outside, closely followed by Margo. They both waited until they had gotten to the car to discuss their thoughts. “That was disgusting,” blurted Margo. “That house was the sort of place they shoot reality shows in. I don’t think they’ve thrown anything away in years.”

  “I’m sure it’s hard to stay motivated to keep things tidy after a tragedy like that.” Rowen was willing to give Sara the benefit of the doubt. She had been through a lot.

  “I dunno. Something like this takes a lot longer than that to accumulate.” Margo made a sweeping motion at the lawn and the house. Maybe she had a point. “And I still want to talk to that kid. After what Terrance said and his mom not letting us talk to him, I feel like we need to have a word.”

  “We can’t do that.” Rowen looked back at the house. She could see Sara peering out at them, so she quickly started the car and threw it into reverse. “He’s her kid. She has the final say in whether we talk to him or not.”

  “Does she?” Margo didn’t sound so sure about that. “The kid looked, well, not like a kid so much as a teenager who’s gotta be around eighteen. Meaning he can decide whether he wants to talk to us or not and no one gets to be morally outraged by it.”

  Rowen wasn’t so sure about that, but it was tempting. “I’ll look into it,” she promised. “Until then, let’s get back to Rose. We’ve got plenty of material for more than a couple of articles here.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Somehow Channel 2 didn’t catch wind of the changes in the Rhonda Doolittle case until the Lainswich Inquirer published their articles. As soon as they had, it was like the floodgates opened.

  “Suddenly, Benji’s phone was ringing off the hook,” Willow told them. “He had to leave right away. He didn’t even get to stay for dinner. Poor thing. Maybe I should take some leftovers to work for him.”

  Rowen doubted he would be at work. Turning on the television showed them live footage of the Landis garage. Julia Martinez stood out front with a microphone, detailing how Stephanie Nielson had been killed by Tommy Landis’ wife. She explained that she was waiting for a statement from Tommy and that the Nielsons had graciously agreed to do an interview. They would be on television the following morning.

  “That Sara woman has a thing for interviews, doesn’t she?” Margo muttered, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched television with her cousins. Everyone was in the Greensmith family den. They needed to talk newspaper business, and right now newspaper business was mostly just seeing what Channel 2 was up to so that they could plan their next move.

  “I can’t believe they’re harassing that poor family again,” Rose said with a sigh.

  “Poor family?” Willow repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t they, like, kill a little girl or something?”

  “It was an accident!” Rowen reached over and swatted her cousin on the back of the head. Having met part of the Landis family and heard their side of things, she couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for them. They seemed like a fairly normal bunch.

  “Okay,” said Willow, swatting Rowen right back. “So, they accidentally killed a kid.”

  “Jessica Landis accidentally killed a kid,” Rose corrected. “The husband and the two kids had nothing to do with it.”

  “I can’t imagine,” said Aunt Lydia, sitting next to her daughter. “Losing a child, I mean. I can imagine having a mother that’s a murderer.”

  Tiffany reached over and gave Rowen a hug. “Don’t ever go into a busy street.”

  ‘I’m a little old for that, Mom.”

  “Well, just don’t get killed then.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “So, what now?” asked Margo. “And do I have to do it? Because I told my dad I’d go shopping with him.”

  “He’s supposed to work tomorrow.” Aunt Lydia gave a sigh. “Oh, that man does love to shop.”

  “Well, we have Billy Nielson, and we have Jessica Landis. Tommy Landis called the paper this afternoon. He said that Rowen gave him our card and that Jessica had agreed to an interview. So, we’ve got that.” Rose looked at Rowen as she spoke, indicating she was going to be the one heading up the interview.

  “Sounds good.” Actually, it sounded sort of tedious. Rowen wasn’t sure how much information they were going to get out of this woman. If she knew who was trying to murder her, she would have come out with it well before now. At least she would get to see Grammy. Say what you will about this case, it was letting her see her grandmother more often than she had in a very long while.

  “As for Billy…” Rose trailed off. She made a face like there was a bad taste in her mouth. “I’m not sure how I feel about that yet.”

  “Why?” Margo sounded annoyed. “He’s eighteen, right? We checked. We did the math.”

  Rose shook her head, doubling down on her decision. “He’s still in high school. Just turning eighteen
doesn’t make him an adult.”

  “That’s exactly what it makes him!”

  “Well, I don’t feel comfortable going against his mother’s wishes.” Rose wasn’t budging. “We don’t even know that he has valuable information. We would be no better than Channel 2. We might even be worse. I don’t see Channel 2 chasing down the children of the Doolittle family.”

  “No, they’re just going to terrorize those Landis boys,” grumbled Margo, getting huffy.

  “You can have the day off to go shopping with your dad,” Rowen said quickly, trying to break up the argument before it became a full-on fight. She didn’t need another Peony and Willow in the house right now. “I’ll go talk to Jessica with… um… Willow.”

  “Me?” Willow took her eyes away from the television, looking lost. “What did I do?”

  “You didn’t do anything, but you’re going to. You’re going to come to the prison with me tomorrow. We’re interviewing Jessica Landis.”

  “Oh. Yeah, sure. That sounds cool.” Willow turned back to the television.

  “Well, I guess that’s settled.” Margo actually sounded mildly offended she wasn’t necessary for anything. Maybe she really had turned over a new leaf as far as work ethic went. Not that Rowen actually knew what to do with her. Knowing her cousin, she would never feel satisfied working under Rose. She was the kind of woman who needed to be her own boss. Oh, well. Rowen would just have to worry about that later. Right now, there was murder business to take care of.

  Visitation hours at the prison started early. Rowen made sure to set two alarms just so she wouldn’t accidentally miss one. Both worked, succeeding in waking Eric as well. “Have a good day, Dear,” he murmured sleepily, rolling onto his stomach and burying his face in his pillow. He didn’t have anything scheduled today except some shoplifting thing Rowen wasn’t really necessary for.

  Rowen threw on some more casual clothes today. She seriously doubted Jessica would care if she was all dressed up, and Grammy would deem all that preening a waste of time when there were more important matters at hand. She chose a green blouse and formfitting pair of jeans, and headed straight for the Greensmith house.

  She considered just calling Willow and having her come out to her. In the end, she decided that would be uncool. Her family could be overbearing, but they meant well. She shouldn’t go out of her way to avoid them. Rowen headed on in and, predictably, found her family seated at the breakfast table.

  “Rowen!” Tiffany smiled upon seeing her daughter. She motioned her over, patting the empty chair on her left. “Hey there. You got time enough for breakfast with the family today?”

  “She doesn’t,” said Aunt Lydia, answering for her with a sigh. “None of our children have time for their mothers anymore.”

  Rowen rolled her eyes. “That’s not true. I visit all the time. All of us visit all the time or, ya know, still live here.” She hesitated. “But I don’t actually have time to stay today, though. We have to go visit Grammy. Who, I might add, is also part of the family! Where’s Willow? Is she ready?”

  “She doesn’t, um… live here anymore?” Aunt Nadine took a sip of her coffee.

  Rowen swore. “I completely forgot.”

  Aunt Lydia nodded. “Sometimes I forget that our babies have all moved away and left us all on our lonesome, too. Sometimes I think I can still hear them walking around upstairs.”

  Rowen heard someone walking around upstairs as they spoke. “Well, I’ve really got to go then.” She made a point to head upstairs first. Peony hadn’t bothered coming downstairs the night before. She actually hadn’t seen a whole lot of her lately. She and Willow had been fighting a lot longer than they normally did.

  The door to her room was closed. “Hey, Peony,” Rowen called, knocking on the door. “Can I come in?”

  There wasn’t a response at first. “Yeah,” Peony said, finally. “Yeah, come in.”

  Rowen opened the door. The first thing she was struck by was how empty the room looked without Willow. The sisters had always had one of the largest rooms in the house. They had to fit two beds in there and all their stuff. Without Willow, the room looked oddly barren. There were light spots in the carpet where her bed, dresser, and other furniture had been. Peony was seated at her desk near the window. She had her laptop open and Rowen caught a glimpse of apartment listings before she closed it.

  “Hey.” Rowen went to her bed and took a seat on the edge of it. “How’s it going?”

  Peony spun her chair toward Rowen. She gave a shrug. “It’s going, I guess.”

  “You and Willow still fighting?” Rowen was willing to bet that they were. Peony still seemed oddly down in the dumps. It was a depressing switch from her usual cheery, optimistic self.

  “I’m still mad at her, if that’s what you mean.” Peony leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “We’re not talking. I’m not sure that I would call that fighting.”

  “It’s gone on a while hasn’t it?” Rowen had seen the sisters fight hundreds of times. Usually, it only lasted a matter of hours. Someone took the other’s shirt without asking. One of them embarrassed the other in public. They bickered more than other members of the family, but they had always seemed closer for it. Rowen hadn’t seen an argument between them last more than a couple of days.

  “I don’t have to forgive her every time she does something stupid.” Peony was immediately defensive, like maybe she also thought this had gone on too long. “I don’t always have to be the one to apologize. I shouldn’t have to be.”

  “Do you not like Benji?”

  “I like Benji fine! Benji is nice. It’s not him I have a problem with.” Peony turned her chair back to the window. She looked out of it and gave a big sigh. “I just don’t think she should have moved in with him just like that.”

  Rowen considered what she was saying. “Oh.” She realized what Peony was angry about all at once. “Oh, you’re not mad she moved out with some guy. Well, you are, but that’s not the only reason you’re mad. You’re mad she didn’t move out with you.”

  “It’s not just that,” Peony shot back, but it seemed that Rowen had hit a nerve.

  “No,” Rowen said quickly, trying to make it clear that she didn’t think less of her for that. “I get it. You two are so close. I bet you had plans to move out together, right? And now you’re the last one of us still living here at home.”

  “That’s not –” Peony couldn’t even finish the sentence. She sank back further in her chair. “We talked about getting an apartment together for a while. I mean, I was in no huge hurry to move out. I know that might be weird, but I kinda like it here. I like living with a bunch of people and, I mean, it’s a big house. I like it here. I knew we would move out someday, but…”

  “That’s not weird. I like it here too. Sometimes I miss this place.” Rowen still preferred her home with Eric, but she got what Peony was talking about. This place was the only home she had ever known.

  “It doesn’t feel the same with everyone gone. I know Aunt Lydia complains a lot about it, but I guess I sorta feel the same way. The house feels emptier now. First Margo left, then you, then Rose and Willow. It’s just me and all our parents now. Grammy isn’t even here anymore.” Peony rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand.

  Rowen got to her feet and went to the desk chair. She gave Peony a hug because it was all she could think to do. “I’m sorry. I know that must feel terrible. I guess I never thought about how lonely it must be here.”

  Peony pulled away at first, but she eventually hugged her back. “I’m not trying to be all dramatic like Lydia. It’s just… I dunno…”

  “Have you talked to Willow about this?”

  “How could she not know how I feel?” Peony pulled away from Rowen. “I mean, she’s not an idiot. We lived together all our lives, and she didn’t even ask me how I felt about her moving away with Benji. She just told me it was what she was doing. I know she’s an adult now. We’re both adults, but… I dunno.
I feel like she should have talked about it with me first.”

  “Would you have told her she could go?”

  Peony didn’t say anything at first. She seemed to consider it for a long moment. “I dunno. How could I have told her no? I mean, I guess I would have disapproved. I would have tried to talk her out of it. I did try to talk her out of it, but she never asked my opinion or anything so I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

  Rowen sighed. “She should have asked you.” She thought better of that and rephrased it. “She should have discussed this with you. You know how Willow can be, though. Once she sets her mind to something, she just sort of does it.”

  “Yeah, but this is a big deal. This isn’t something small like us heading out to a party or something.”

  “You should talk to her about this.”

  “What would I even say?”

  “Just tell her how you feel.”

  Peony made a face at that. “She wouldn’t care.”

  “She’s your sister. She cares.” Rowen might not be as close to Willow as Peony was, but even as an outsider to their relationship she knew that much. “You have to talk to her.”

  Peony looked like she might cave. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but suddenly her expression hardened. “Why me? Why do I have to be the one that apologizes?”

  “I didn’t say apologize. I just said talk to her.”

  “Yeah, but she should come to me.” Peony looked more sure of herself as she actually said that. “Yeah, I’m tired of being the one to fix everything between us. She can do something about it if she actually wants to. You tell her that.”

  “I’m on my way to see her, so I will.” Rowen headed for the door.

  “Don’t actually tell her that.”

  “I’m going to tell her.” This whole spat between them was unnecessary. Rowen wasn’t going to let it go on much longer if she could help it.