Reaching out, I lightly touched a saucer. It began to spin, knocking into a tea cup hanging just beyond where I could get it. I had to force myself to stand very still and not try to save anything. All I could do was make it worse. My heart sank. This was one horrible dilemma.
“Haley! Haley! Where are you?”
First customer of the day was arriving even before opening time, but it was Rennie, so I used the remote to let her in.
“Stick to the space against the wall, Rennie,” I called to her. “We don’t yet have a plan for fixing this situation and….”
“Oh piffle, I can fix it. All it would take is a little household spell. Here you go.” She closed her eyes and sputtered a word or two and snapped her fingers. Poof! Suddenly there was a clear pathway between parts of the web and the tableware involved was back on the shelves. I gasped. What a relief! Though quite a few still hung along the sides of the room, swinging threateningly.
Rennie wrinkled her nose. “Darn. I guess I missed a syllable or two. But I got some of them.”
She came down the path she’d cleared and faced me, looking intense. “I need help, Haley. Please, please tell me you’ve seen my husband somewhere this morning. Have you?”
I was still standing there with my mouth hanging open. “Uh…Rennie. I didn’t know you could cast spells.”
She rolled her eyes and brushed it off. “Sure, who can’t? I’m half dwarf you know.” She scrutinized my shocked face and sighed. “Or maybe you didn’t. But you know now.”
“Uh…” I was still feeling a little overwhelmed.
But Rennie was a sight to behold, as usual. Her bright red hair stuck out at all angles, as though she’d just rolled out of bed, which was probably exactly the case. She wore a leopard-print leotard and tights that gave her the exotic aspect of a jungle cat prowling the byways of our humble town. She didn’t waste any more time on pleasantries. Turning on me in a flash, she grabbed me by my lapels and shook me.
“Come on, Haley! Have you seen my husband? Have you seen him anywhere?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.” I knew he did like his morning coffee. “Have you tried Grounds?”
“I’ve tried everywhere.” She looked on the verge of tears, then she caught sight of my new baker.
“Oh, hi Krissy.”
Krissy was standing there, staring at her as though she’d just seen something magic. And of course, she had.
But Rennie didn’t seem to notice. Her hands still on my lapels, she pulled me toward the front porch. “Haley,” she whispered hoarsely right in my face. “Haley, my husband has not been home for two nights.”
“Oh Rennie. I’m sorry. Where has he been?”
Rennie moaned, closing her eyes and then opening them again, very wide. “It’s that Inspector. He thinks everything we’re doing is wrong. Poor Chuck is scared to come home and meet the man. He’s still molting and…”
“He’s still what?”
She looked horrified. “Oh my gosh, what did I say? Uh…he’s bolting. That’s it. Whenever the Inspector comes to town, he bolts. Yes.”
I still had no idea what she was talking about, but I was hoping she could be coaxed into slowing down a bit. A little coherence was in order.
“Rennie, calm down. The Inspector isn’t going to bother the mayor anymore. He’s dead.”
She froze, totally in shock. “He’s….he’s what?”
“Dead. Someone killed him in the park last night.”
She swooned with agony. “Oh no! That must have been what the Sheriff kept calling about. I should have picked up.” She couldn’t stifle a loud sob. “Dead? Oh Chuck, oh my poor baby! Oh no!”
And before I could talk any sense into her at all, she ran off again, dashing across the street and disappearing into the park where early morning festival people were already straggling in to begin preparations for another day of celebration. I watched her go and felt a weird sort of sense of impending doom. What was going on around here? The night before it had been Krissy reacting to the death of the Inspector in a strange way. Now it was Rennie. I was beginning to wonder what sort of hold the man had held over these people.
I shivered at the thought of it and looked back inside where Krissy was working hard to protect us all from falling china, padding the floors and the stairs with pillows and comforters. I sighed, wondering what sort of reaction I would get from my grandmother if I told her about the Inspector’s demise. But surely Oliver had already done that, so she would know and be forewarned. She was a wily one, regardless. I had to smile, thinking of her. We were locked in this battle over spell-casting—but I couldn’t help but admire her. She wasn’t one to retire from the stage of life too soon. She was still ready to be in the arena. Good for her. Now if only she would leave me alone!
My cell phone buzzed and I gave it a glance. Shane was calling. I hesitated, but then went ahead and answered.
“Good morning, Buttercup,” he said.
I made a face at the phone but of course, he couldn’t see that. “This is awful early for a friendly call,” I commented.
“I have my reasons. Where’s Bentley?”
That woke me up. “Bentley? How would I know where Bentley is?”
“You’re his best bud, aren’t you?”
“Sometimes. But I haven’t heard from him since he left me sitting alone at the restaurant last night. Have you tried his house? His offices?”
“Tried them all. Can’t find the dude.”
“Why are you so intent on finding Bentley? Aren’t there any other vampires in town you could harass about this murder?”
There was a pause, then he said softly, “No, Haley. It’s no secret that the Council frowns on vampires. Your pal is the only one who’s been given permission to live here.”
“Seriously?” I could hardly believe that. Who knew these things were regulated?
“Seriously. So give me a call if you see him, okay?”
“Maybe.”
“Come on Haley. You can’t obstruct justice.”
“I’ve never done such a thing and don’t plan to. But I’m not sure it’s my role in this town to be an informant to the police.”
Shane made a sound of exasperation. “Why not? Don’t you believe in law and order?”
“Of course I do.”
“Okay, then tell me. Where is he?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“He hasn’t called you?”
“No.”
“Okay. Talk to you later.”
“Sure.”
Well, it was just the truth. But the whole time I was talking to Shane, I was staring at a folded note left on my porch. And I had a feeling my answers might be different after I took a look at that. So I waited until Shane hung up.
Sure enough, it was a note from my grandmother. There was something in there about Bentley, but I skipped over that and glanced at the rest. Actually, it was a detailed explanation of the spell I could use to tame the wild saucers currently suspended in the air in my café. Only I wasn’t going to use that. I looked out into the trees in the neighborhood. I was pretty sure Oliver was lurking out there. And I was even more convinced that Oliver would know where Bentley was.
“Hey, Krissy,” I called in through the front door as I shoved the spell into my back pocket. “Do you feel you have things under control here?”
“Sure,” she said. “Thanks to Rennie, we can at least let people in. And the cinnamon rolls are just about ready to frost.”
“Okay. I’m going to chase down that bird that was trying to bash in the window and see what his problem is. Okay?”
Krissy looked a bit puzzled by that, but she nodded. “Sure,” she said again.
As I took off toward the park, I heard the crash of something breakable smashing to bits inside the café. That made me gulp, but I kept going. I had to find out how Bentley was. That was now my first priority and I was starting to get anxious. I really wanted to talk to him before Shane found him.
>
I walked into the area of the park where the trees grew thick and wild. I suppose it was originally meant to be a natural habitat, but someone had looked the other way for too long, and now it was tangled and dense, blocking out all sunshine and most of the daylight, and just a little scary. Something told me I was more likely to find Oliver there, but once I’d stepped into the brambles, my heart began to beat a little faster. What if it wasn’t Oliver I met in here? What if it was something darker and more threatening? Every step was a crunch, every bit of gained ground included snapping branches. I stopped and tried to still my own breathing. My eyes were open very wide but it was too gloomy to see much. I turned slowly.
“Oliver?” I said, and my voice sounded shaky. “Oliver?”
No answer, but there was something that scurried over my foot. I just barely held back a scream. Then a big, hairy spider dropped right in front of my face, hanging from a silken thread as though to taunt me.
“Hey stranger, are you lost? You’re in the wrong part of the park. You’re not welcome here. Better go back.”
Okay, the words weren’t actually spoken, but that was the way it felt. And then, a rush of wings.
“You found me,” Oliver said calmly as he planted himself in front of me on a branch. “You’ve got dried leaves in your hair. And a bug on your nose.”
I jumped back a step, batting at my nose and my hair and glaring at Oliver.
“Never mind. I came looking for you because I need to know what happened with Bentley. Did you see him last night? Did you warn him?”
“I don’t know if I want to talk to you,” he said, looking sulky. “Are you going to hit at me with a broom like that Krissy did at your place this morning?”
“Oh.” He was feeling put out. Well, I couldn’t blame him. “Sorry. She doesn’t realize you’re…well, the way you are. I assume you shifted to human form before you let her in yesterday.”
“Luckily, I did. Otherwise I might have had a concussion.”
“She means well.”
“Oh sure. The ones who hurt you the worst are always the ones who mean well.”
“True,” I said, thinking of my grandmother. But no. There was no guarantee that she meant well, was there? “But listen. About Bentley…”
“Did you read the note from your grandmother?”
“Not yet. I’ve got it with me.”
“How about yesterday’s?”
“I glanced at it.”
He sighed. “What is the point of bringing you these missives if you refuse to consider their contents? Are you immune to words of wisdom?”
“Well when you put it that way…” I glared at him. “Things have been a bit hectic. I haven’t had time to analyze every word and placement of commas in order to glean fresh insights into my life and its meanings. Sorry. Now about Bentley…”
“Yes, I warned Bentley. He is in a safe place.”
I took a deep breath. “Good.” I bit my lip, realizing that my approach to Oliver seemed to be counterproductive. I certainly didn’t want to make an enemy out of him. Maybe I ought to try another way. Humility? Gratitude? Hmm.
“Listen, Oliver,” I said quickly. “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you how much I appreciate that you always seem to be around just when I need you most.”
He shuffled his feet on the branch, seeming almost embarrassed.
“I just want you to know that I’m truly grateful. Seriously.”
“I’m glad to be of service, Haley.”
“You’re a lifesaver.” I gave him a quick smile. “Okay, now tell me how I get to where Bentley’s hiding out. Is it far?”
“You want to see him?”
“Yes. Give me directions, please.”
He scratched his head, nearly falling off the branch as he did so. I was careful not to chuckle at the picture he made as he wobbled.
“Well, you take Main Street down to the junction with Traveler’s Road, take that down to the river, walk along the river about a mile, then turn into the interior and keep an eye out for a pile of rocks near a ….”
“Oliver! I’ll never find it!”
“Oh dear. Well, I could try to walk along with you, but I’m a bird and I’ve never actually walked that far.”
“I don’t have time to walk very far at all. I have to get back to help with the festival sales.”
He put his head to the side and stared at me. “Do you know any spells?” he muttered at me.
I shook my head, even though that was a lie. I had picked up a few over the last month or so. How could I help it? My grandmother was trying to indoctrinate me.
He sighed again. “Okay. We’ll have to do it this way.”
He spread his wings and suddenly he looked huge, his wings blotting out everything else, and flapping around me. I put up my hands and closed my eyes.
“Oliver! What are you doing?”
“Hang on,” he cried. “It’ll only take a minute.”
His wings seemed to envelope me with a sense of movement and the sound of wind roaring in my ears. Suddenly it felt like we were on some sort of tremendously fast roller coaster, the kind that makes you sure you’re about to die, the kind that takes away all your breath and makes you want to scream your heart out.
It wasn’t fun. In fact, it was terrifying.
Chapter 7
But it was over very quickly. I felt earth under my feet again, and though I had to reach out to stop myself from falling, I was okay. At least, I didn’t feel broken.
As I caught my breath and my vision cleared, I saw that we had landed out in the country somewhere, all rugged brush and pine trees, with the river in the background. And there was Bentley, standing at the entrance to a cave, his arms folded across his chest, his eyes cool, his mouth twisted in anger.
“I told you to give her a message, not to bring her to me,” he said evenly to Oliver. “Dumb bird.”
“Caw.” Oliver retreated to a small pine tree and sat on a branch looking like he didn’t approve. “She wants to speak to you.”
Bentley glared at me. “What do you want to do?” he asked. “Yell at me or haul me in for Deputy Sheriff McAllister to yell at?”
“What are you talking about?” I said in bewilderment. The last thing in the world I believed was that this man was guilty. Why was he talking like a guilty man? “I want to hear your side of this. I want to know what I can do to help you. Why are you mad at me?”
He closed his eyes and looked like he was trying to calm down. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Really. I just…” He shrugged. “This is pretty scary. Do you have any idea what people do to vampires in prisons?”
That was something I didn’t even want to consider. “No, and I don’t want to hear about it. We have to work on a way to prove that you’re innocent.” I stared at him, hard. “You are innocent. Right?”
He looked pained, then turned and looked back into his cave. I peeked over his shoulder and was amazed at what I saw. The inside wasn’t all rock and rubble as you would think. There was a huge, gorgeous chandelier and overstuffed couches and paintings on the wall. I gaped at it.
“Here’s my home away from home,” he said solemnly. “I’d invite you in, but you see, it’s a fantasy home. And I can’t be sure I can trust you in it.”
I was even more bewildered by the way he was talking. “What do you mean?”
He looked pained. “Haley, you know what the problem is. You can’t seem to commit. Are you a human? Or are you a super? If you’re a human, our friendship is on thin ice. If you want to finally admit that you’re a super and you’re ready to join us in full, great. Then we can go forward. But in the meantime, until you take one side or the other, it’s too dangerous for me to trust you. Don’t you understand?”
“No,” I said, feeling petulant. “I don’t understand.”
He sighed. “Okay. Let’s take a walk. Oliver can stay here and give us a warning if anyone comes near. But we can be out of his earshot. You can be open with me, and I’ll
tell you what I can. Sound like a plan?”
I nodded after a quick look at Oliver, afraid he’d be offended, but he just looked bored by it all.
“Is that okay with you?” I asked him. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. He rolled his raven eyes and looked off as though he could hardly wait for us to vacate the premises. With a sigh from me, we obliged.
We started off trudging along beside the river. I looked at Bentley. “Well?” I said expectantly. “What’s your alibi? Where were you? Why did you leave in the middle of our dinner? Where did you go?”
He looked at me and smiled, then looked out at the river without saying a word. I stared at him and stumbled. He reached out to steady me.
“Why are you hiding out here?” I asked him, getting more and more upset. “You should go in to the Sheriff’s Station and defend yourself. I’ll go with you.”
He shook his head.
I started to argue, but he stopped me. “Listen, Haley. I need a favor from you.”
I shrugged, ready to do just about anything for him. “Shoot.”
He gave me a mock frown. “Nothing that drastic,” he said.
I groaned, but at least he still had his sense of humor.
“I need you to go to my office, venture into my living area upstairs, and find a wooden box in which I keep some very important papers. Do you think you can do that?”
“Of course. Where do you keep the box?” I asked the question expecting to hear he kept it under a loose floorboard or behind a painting in a hole in the wall. But no. Bentley, as usual, had his own way of doing things.
“I keep it in the refrigerator. Right behind the vegetable crisper.”
I laughed. “What?”
He smiled at me. “It’s the perfect place. No one would think to look there. They would be certain my most important documents would be in the safe, down in my office. That’s why I keep it there. Hopefully, no one will ever guess.”
“I see. And I’ll bet it stays fresh there, too.”
“Exactly.”
I shook my head. “Of course I’ll get it for you. Do you want me to bring it here?”
That Old Witch Magic (Wicked in Moonhaven~A Paranormal Cozy Book 2) Page 7
