Familiars and French Roast

by Jinty James

  “Only because he seduced her!”

  “He did not!” Linda’s scowl became more ferocious.

  “When my grandmother found out that he was already married – with a child! – it was too late. She’d already married him,” Edith continued. “But her marriage wasn’t legal. She didn’t know what to do. If she went back home, she was sure it would all come out and she’d be shamed by everyone in the town.”

  “So she should,” Linda muttered.

  Edith glared at her. “Then Linda’s father left my grandmother and ran off with someone else.”

  “He did not!”

  “He did too!”

  Linda looked surprised. “He did? He didn’t stay with your grandmother?”

  “No.” Edith shook her head. “Grandma was so ashamed of it all, even though she thought he was single when she ran off with him. She couldn’t face everyone she knew and admit that she’d been living in sin, even though at first she thought they were legally married.”

  “When was this?” Suzanne asked.

  “Nineteen-fifty-seven,” Edith and Linda chorused.

  “What did your grandmother do?” Maddie asked, caught up in the story.

  “She stayed in Edmonds. She got a job at the telephone exchange, and a few years later she met my grandfather and they got married.”

  “Did he know about what had happened with my dad?” Linda asked.

  “Yes,” Edith replied. She sighed. “But Mom and I didn’t have a clue about any of this until a couple of years ago when it all came out at Grandma’s eighty-fifth birthday party. She’d had a few sherries and started talking about the past.”

  Linda stared at her. “And all this time my mother and I thought he was still living with your grandmother.”

  “Did you ever hear from him?” Edith asked timidly.

  “Nope.” The older woman shook her head. “He just told Mom he was running off with Edith – your grandmother – and there wasn’t anything she could do about it. The last we’d heard from a friend was that he’d settled in Edmonds with her.”

  “Wow,” Suzanne murmured.

  “So that was the weird vibe happening between you two last night?” Maddie asked gently.

  “Yes,” Linda replied. “I’m sorry, Edith. Even though it happened so long ago – I was five – things like that stay with you, even when you don’t want them to.”

  Edith nodded in understanding and smiled tentatively at Linda.

  “I’m sorry it all happened too,” she told the older woman.

  “And you two met for the first time this weekend?” Suzanne asked.

  “Uh-huh.” Edith nodded.

  “That is so … so … bizarre!” Suzanne shook her head in wonder.

  “I’m glad everything is okay now, though.” Maddie tried to inject some positivity into her voice.

  “Mrrow,” Trixie agreed. She’d been riveted the whole time.

  “Me too. And guess what? I think breakfast is ready, everyone,” Suzanne declared. “It looks delicious!”

  ***

  Edith and Linda helped out by taking some chinaware to the dining room.

  “We better give the deputy something to eat,” Maddie said, as she filled a bowl with granola and added some almond milk to it.

  “Is he still in the great room?” Suzanne asked.

  “I think so.” Maddie looked at the carton of milk. “Maybe I better check with him that he can eat nuts.”

  “Good idea.” Suzanne grinned at her. “You know, I’m not missing meat as much as I thought I would.”

  “Me either.” Maddie smiled back. “I’m thinking of making a salad sandwich for my lunch tomorrow.”

  “Snap!” Suzanne high-fived her.

  “Mrrow?” Trixie asked, the white fur furrowed between her eyes.

  “Don’t worry, Trix,” Maddie reassured her. “I have no intention of changing your diet. I’ll still give you plenty of meat.”

  “Mrrow.” The furrow disappeared on the Persian’s face and she looked relieved.

  “I’ll take the rest of the breakfast stuff in while you visit the deputy.” Suzanne loaded up a tray and headed out of the kitchen.

  “Are you joining us in the dining room, Trix?” Maddie asked.

  “Mrrow!” Trixie stayed by Maddie’s side as she carried a small tray to the great room.

  “Would you like some breakfast?” she asked the deputy, who was staring out the window.

  “Thank you.” He came over and took the tray from her, looking at the granola appreciatively.

  “I added almond milk to it,” Maddie told him.

  “My wife gives me that at home.” He smiled at her. “Thanks. I should be getting relieved soon, but I don’t think I can wait ‘til I get home for breakfast.”

  Maddie and Trixie left the deputy crunching on the granola.

  “I think we should check on Jenna. Don’t you?” she asked Trixie. “Then we can join the others in the dining room.”

  “Mrrow!”

  Trixie scampered up the stairs ahead of Maddie. She waited outside Jenna’s room until Maddie caught up with her.

  Maddie knocked softly on the door.

  No reply.

  She knocked harder.

  After a few seconds of silence, she stared down at Trixie.

  “Do you think she’s in there?”

  Trixie raised a paw and patted the door.

  “Do you think we should see if the door is locked?” Maddie frowned.

  “Mrrow!” Trixie’s turquoise eyes shone.

  “Okay.” Maddie felt a little doubtful, but she tested the doorknob. It turned, and Jenna’s bedroom door opened.

  “Jenna?” she called out, in case the soccer mom was in the middle of getting dressed.

  Silence.

  “Jenna?” she projected her voice.

  Nothing.

  “Mrrow.” Trixie sauntered into the room.

  “Trixie!” Maddie hurried in after her. “We shouldn’t be doing this.” But she’d already wondered this morning if Jenna was okay after her sleepwalking episode the previous night. Surely it wouldn’t be considered pushy – or snoopy – to make sure Jenna wasn’t lying unconscious in her room?

  Jenna must have woken up at some point though, because the door was unlocked.

  Trixie prowled around the bedroom.

  The bed was unmade – and empty. No Jenna.

  One pillow lay on the bed.

  Maddie bent down and looked underneath the single bed. Nothing apart from a couple of dust bunnies.

  She crossed to the armoire and hesitated. Should she open it?

  “Mrrow,” Trixie said encouragingly.

  “We really shouldn’t,” Maddie told the Persian. But the temptation was too great. She checked the doorway, but no one was there – Jenna or anyone else.

  Maddie opened the mahogany door.

  A couple of outfits that looked like Jenna’s were in there. Nothing more.

  “She’s not in there,” Maddie told her familiar, feeling a little silly. She just hoped the soccer mom was okay.

  “What are you doing in my room?”

  Maddie whirled around. Jenna stood in the doorway, her expression puzzled. She wore jeans and a green t-shirt.

  “Oh – hi.” Maddie flushed. “I’m sorry. The door was unlocked.”

  “I must have forgotten to lock it,” Jenna replied in a tight voice.

  “I came to check if you were okay and if you wanted to come down to breakfast or if you’d prefer a tray in your room and …” She trailed off as Jenna’s expression slowly changed to suspicion.

  “I’m perfectly fine, Maddie.” Jenna strode into the room. “I went for a walk, that’s all. After everything that’s happened this weekend, I thought some fresh air would do me some good.”

  “And did it?” Maddie asked, noticing the spots of color on Jenna’s cheeks.

  “Yes. Yes, it did.”

  “What’s the weather like?” Maddie asked curiously. “I ha
ven’t had a chance to go outside this morning.”

  “You should. The rain has stopped and the sun is trying to shine.”

  “You’re feeling okay after last night? You were sleepwalking,” Maddie explained.

  “I was?” Jenna clapped a hand over her mouth. “I haven’t done that for a while. That explains why the key to my bedroom was on the floor this morning. I only sleepwalk when I’m stressed, and this weekend …” she shook her head.

  “I’m sorry,” Maddie said gently, glancing at the bed.

  She stiffened as a thought hit her. Jenna had claimed she’d gone into Hailey’s room the night she was murdered to borrow an extra pillow because she needed two to sleep on. But there weren’t two pillows stacked on top of each other right now. Instead, only one lay on the bed.

  And there wasn’t a pillow in the armoire.

  If Jenna needed two pillows to sleep on, why weren’t there two pillows on the bed – or in the room?

  “Where is the extra pillow you borrowed from Hailey?” Maddie asked.

  “In the armoire.” Jenna gestured carelessly to the closet. “I couldn’t bear to look at it or use it after what happened to Hailey so I stuck it in there.”

  But there wasn’t a pillow in the armoire.

  Maddie slowly looked from the armoire to the single pillow lying on the bed and back again. She lifted her head to stare at Jenna, her heart hammering.

  Jenna’s eyes widened and she fled the room, her footsteps pounding down the stairs.

  “We have to catch her, Trixie!” Maddie raced to the staircase.

  The Persian overtook her, practically flying down the stairs as she tried to overtake the soccer mom.

  But Jenna ran as if her life depended on it – and it did.

  Maddie ignored the surprised gasps coming from the attendees in the dining room as she sprinted past.

  She had to stop Jenna from escaping – she just had to!

  Trixie scampered through the open front door into the parking area, Maddie close on her paws.

  Jenna dashed to a silver SUV.

  Maddie’s heart fell – she didn’t have her keys with her, so if Jenna was able to start her car, she’d get away.

  Trixie slowed down and circled Maddie.

  Suddenly, the new spell she’d read about last night in Wytchcraft for the Chosen popped into her mind.

  To stop your enemy from fleeing, raise both hands in the air and concentrate on making that person stay where they are.

  “Okay,” Maddie gasped, out of breath. Luckily, she didn’t have to recite any words.

  She raised her hands and stared at Jenna, who was opening the car door and getting in behind the wheel.

  Stay where you are. Stay where you are.

  Maddie focused on Jenna not being able to start the car.

  The engine turned over with a cough – again and again.

  Jenna hit the steering wheel in frustration, setting off the horn. A loud blare filled the morning air.

  “Maddie!” Suzanne reached her. “What’s happening? We all saw you race past the dining room – and Trixie and Jenna, too. Did she do it? Is she the murderer?”

  Maddie nodded, not wanting to shift her focus in case the spell stopped working.

  To her relief, the deputy ran into the courtyard and toward Jenna’s car.

  “Stop right there.”

  Jenna kept hitting the steering wheel as the engine continued coughing.

  “No, it’s not fair!” Her loud, wracking sobs reached Maddie.

  As the deputy escorted her from the car and handcuffed her, Maddie slowly lowered her hands.

  The spell had worked!

  “Mrrow!” Trixie looked up at her in approval. “Mrrow!”

  To Maddie, Trixie sounded as if she was saying, “Very good!”

  “Maddie, are you okay?” Autumn came up to her.

  “I will be,” Maddie replied. Her knees trembled and her arms ached but she knew it was temporary. She’d prevented Jenna from leaving!

  “I can’t believe Jenna killed Hailey,” Suzanne murmured.

  “Me either.” Maddie shook her head.

  “You don’t look very well, dear.” Autumn placed a hand on Maddie’s shoulder. “Why don’t we all go inside and sit down? We can talk about what’s just happened.”

  “Good idea,” Maddie murmured, hoping nobody had seen her standing out there with her arms raised. No one apart from Suzanne – and Trixie, of course – knew she was a witch.

  “Maybe we all need a cup of coffee,” Suzanne suggested.

  “Definitely,” Maddie agreed. “I think French Roast would be a good choice.”

  CHAPTER 8

  The deputy took Jenna back into the house to wait for backup.

  “It’s not fair!” Jenna wailed, over and over.

  Autumn looked distressed. Everyone had gathered in the great room to talk about what had just happened. Suzanne had made the coffee, while Maddie sat on a sofa and petted Trixie. Her legs and arms felt almost normal.

  Jenna had been read her rights – and had continued to sob throughout.

  “Can I give her a cup of coffee, deputy?” Autumn asked.

  “Okay,” he said. “But don’t make it too hot – just in case she tries anything.”

  “I wouldn’t,” Jenna cried.

  “Here you are, dear.” Autumn offered a cup to the soccer mom. The deputy had handcuffed her in the front, so she was able to hold the cup and drink it.

  “Thank you,” Jenna whispered, taking a sip. “I’m sorry I ruined your weekend.” Her weak attempt at a smile became a grimace.

  “I would suggest it might help to talk about it, but I don’t want to jeopardize your case, Jenna,” the group leader said.

  The other ladies murmured agreement, including Maddie and Suzanne. Maddie would have loved to have known why Jenna had killed her friend, but Autumn was correct. It was Jenna’s right not to speak.

  “I want to tell you,” Jenna said. “How can I plead not guilty when Maddie knows the truth?” She looked over at Maddie.

  “That’s between you and your lawyer, ma’am,” the deputy said, shifting uncomfortably.

  “Well, I will tell you.” Jenna squared her shoulders. “Because if the judge is a mother, then I’m sure she’ll understand my motives.” She sighed and shuddered. “I recently found out that Hailey was having an affair with my husband.”

  “But I thought she was your best friend!” Brenda gasped.

  “So did I,” Jenna replied sadly, clenching the coffee cup. “I picked up the phone extension at home to make a call one day, and I overheard her and my husband talking on the phone. She was urging him to take the kids and leave me. She said she’d dump her husband, and take her kids. And then they could all live together in a big house.” Tears trickled down her face.

  “We’ve been married fifteen years and have three kids. You saw the photos of them Friday night,” Jenna continued. “How could she think of doing that to me? It was bad enough she was betraying me with my husband, but how could she be cruel enough to want to take my children from me?”

  “I don’t know.” Linda shook her head, sympathy in her expression.

  “We’d already booked this retreat before I found out about the affair. And then I thought maybe this was a chance to change her mind about stealing my children. If I could show her how much I loved them, by telling everyone about them and showing off their photos, then maybe she would realize that what she was thinking of doing was so wrong. Even if I couldn’t stop her from running off with John, at least I’d still have my kids.”

  Autumn, Edith, Brenda, and Linda nodded in agreement. Maddie found herself nodding too. She peeked at Suzanne – yep.

  “But you heard what she said in front of everyone – that snide little comment when I was showing you my brag book.” Jenna’s jaw set. “And I thought, I’ve had enough of her trying to ruin my life. There’s only one way to stop her – and if I don’t want to lose my family, I have to do
it.”

  “How did she expect to be a good mother to five kids?” Jenna snorted. “At least a couple of times per week she’d call me and ask to pick up one or two of hers because she was busy getting a mani-pedi or a massage. Did she really think she’d be able to keep calling me to pick up her kids – as well as mine – to help her out when she took mine away from me in the first place?”

  “I’m so sorry, Jenna,” Autumn said, patting the soccer mom’s shoulder. “I wish I could find something positive in this situation to help cheer you up.”

  “But I do feel better now that I’ve told you about it,” Jenna replied. “I had no idea how much anger I’d bottled up since I first heard Hailey plotting with my husband on the phone.” She exhaled.

  “So you were in Hailey’s room that night?” Suzanne asked. “And you smoth …” her voice trailed off and an uncertain look crossed her face.

  “Maybe you better not answer that,” Maddie said.

  “Yes. I’m sorry.” Suzanne looked apologetic.

  “It’s okay.” Jenna put down the coffee cup. “Yes, I thought smothering her was my best option. I knew she slept with an eye mask on and that she was a heavy sleeper. All I had to do was hold the pillow over her face until she stopped struggling. And if by some miracle she survived, she wouldn’t know it was me because of her eye mask. I thought it was foolproof.” She bit her lip. “But somehow Maddie worked out it was me.”

  “It was the pillows,” Maddie replied. “You said you went to borrow one because you slept with two under your head but I didn’t see two stacked on top of each other when I was in your room checking to see if you were okay. And there weren’t any in the armoire.”

  “I thought it was a good excuse in case anyone saw me go to her room last night,” Jenna admitted. “I only sleep with one pillow.”

  “Did you take my phone?” Suzanne asked.

  “Yes.” Jenna nodded. “I overheard you and Maddie talking in the kitchen about a suspect list – I’d come down to get some orange juice. I hid around the corner and when you left the kitchen, I grabbed your phone. When I saw that you hadn’t singled me out on your list, I left it by the staircase. You were supposed to think that you’d dropped it,” she finished wryly.

  A noise at the front door alerted them that someone had arrived. The deputy went to the doorway.