A Witch Before Dying (Wicked Witches of the Midwest Book 11)

by Amanda M. Lee

  Landon shook his head. “Chief Terry has master passkeys for all of the businesses in case there’s an emergency.”

  “Did you tell him that we were in there the other night?” I couldn’t help but worry that Landon would admit we broke the law, and Chief Terry would have no choice but to arrest me.

  As if reading my mind, Landon snickered. “Don’t worry about that,” he said, squeezing my shoulder. “I didn’t mention your late-night excursion. If Scarlet is truly missing, though, I’ll have to.”

  “Why?” I hated how whiny I sounded.

  “Because we’ll have to process the building and there’s a very good chance that our fingerprints will be everywhere,” Landon replied. “It probably won’t come to that, but … .”

  “Oh, well, great,” I muttered, throwing my hands in the air. “I don’t think I’ll do well in prison. I’ve seen Orange is the New Black. Someone will make me her wife and it won’t be pretty.”

  Landon’s lips quirked. “You’re so dramatic sometimes. You’re not going to prison. If we need to make up a story about why we entered, we’ll do it. Right now we’re in a holding pattern. Scarlet isn’t there and, if I had to guess, she hasn’t been there since we saw her at the festival yesterday.”

  “So … where is she?”

  Landon held his hands palms out and shrugged. “We have a couple of possibilities but we’re honestly not sure right now.”

  “What possibilities?” Thistle asked, pouring a mug of tea as she rubbed the side of her face. She’d physically been up for hours, but mentally she was dragging. None of us were morning people, but she was positively the worst.

  “Well, for starters, she could’ve thought that Bay had enough information to ruin things for her in Hemlock Cove so she ran,” Landon replied. “Her car is missing, but she seems to have left all of her belongings behind. I don’t see why she’d do that given the fact that Bay only messed with her a little bit. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, though.”

  “Maybe she thought Bay found out something else that she did in Grand Rapids,” Thistle suggested. “Maybe there was more to find and we simply didn’t realize it.”

  “That’s another possibility,” Landon conceded. “Maybe Scarlet’s rap sheet is more extensive than we realized. We have a call in to the police down there. Because of that possibility, I want you three to be extra careful. If you see her, don’t approach her. Call or text me, tell me where she is and give her a wide berth.”

  “You said you didn’t think she was a threat,” I protested.

  “That was before she pulled a disappearing act over something that should’ve been relatively minor,” Landon argued. “A grifter would’ve jumped at the chance Mrs. Little gave her last night. That means something frightened her away.

  “I have no idea what’s going on here, but if Scarlet was frightened enough to run after what Bay said, she must be hiding something bigger,” he continued. “We don’t know what that is, but I’m not willing to risk any of you to find out.”

  “Ugh. He’s so bossy,” Thistle complained.

  “Welcome to my world.” I feigned annoyance, but flashed Landon a smile to let him know I understood. “There’s another possibility you haven’t mentioned.”

  Landon held my gaze. “And what would that be?”

  “That she killed Adele Twigg,” I replied. “I know you’re leaning toward an intimate connection leading to the murder, but maybe Scarlet killed Mrs. Twigg as a way to point the finger at us.”

  “I don’t understand,” Landon admitted.

  “Think about it,” I prodded. “Mrs. Little brought Scarlet to town. She wanted Scarlet to throw us off our game. As much as I dislike Mrs. Little, I hardly think she’d be party to murder. That would reflect badly on the town, and that’s the last thing she wants.

  “Maybe Scarlet is unbalanced,” I continued. “Maybe she misunderstood what Mrs. Little wanted. Heck, maybe she decided it didn’t matter what Mrs. Little wanted and killed Mrs. Twigg.

  “We already know she has access to at least one witch book,” I said. “Maybe she got those symbols from another. Thistle found out that the words spelled ‘witch.’ Scarlet might’ve thought that would be enough to point the police in our direction.”

  “I’m not going to argue with you, because it never goes well with me, but I’m not sure I buy that Scarlet is crazy enough to kill Adele Twigg in an effort to frame you guys,” Landon said. “I mean, why did she pick Adele? Was it due to convenience? There had to be other people who were more convenient.

  “Plus, why strangle her?” he continued. “That’s reserved for people you really hate. If she wanted to kill someone and blame you guys, why not go the easy route and stab her or smack her over the head? When you strangle someone, you’re often looking them in the eye and watching the life drain from them.”

  He had a point. Still … . “I think something bigger is happening here. We’re missing the big picture.”

  “Okay, but I don’t think that big picture involves Scarlet being a murderer,” Landon said. “I’m not ruling it out. You’re right about something big going on. We have a murderer in our midst, so I want you to be careful when you’re running around today.”

  I stared at him for a long moment. “You’re not going to try to force me to promise to stay in Hypnotic or the newspaper office all day, are you?”

  Landon smirked. “No. Why? Did you think I would?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. You don’t have much of a sense of humor when danger is afoot.”

  “And that won’t change,” Landon said. “Still, you’re an adult. You can take care of yourself.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since I have faith you understand that you’ll be hurting me if something bad happens to you,” Landon replied. “You see, the thing is, I’ve come to the realization that you don’t worry about yourself nearly as much as you do others. It seems to be a Winchester genetic trait.”

  “I wouldn’t get too smug,” Thistle said. “You have that trait, too.”

  “I do, which is why it took me so long to recognize the trait in Bay,” Landon conceded. “She cares about others more than herself. If I expect her to be careful, I need to remind her that she’ll be hurting me if she does something stupid.”

  I pursed my lips. “You’re fighting dirty.”

  “Whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

  “Fine.” I huffed. “I promise to be careful and think about your well-being first and foremost.”

  “You don’t have to go that far.” Landon leaned over and gave me a firm kiss. “Just be careful. It’s important.”

  My cheeks warmed at the earnest expression on his face. “I’ll be careful.”

  “Great.” Landon turned his attention to Thistle and Clove. “You be careful, too. I have no idea if Scarlet Darksbane is involved in Adele Twigg’s murder, but I’m starting to think there’s a good chance that she’s dangerous. Do not approach her when you’re alone.”

  “You already told us that,” Thistle said dryly.

  “Yes, but you have a tendency to hear only what you want to hear,” Landon pointed out. “You two are important, too.”

  “More important than bacon pancakes?” Thistle teased.

  “Only Bay is better than those pancakes. You’re a close third. For now, we’re going to be searching the area. I’ll be in touch if we find something.”

  “I’ll meet you down at the festival at noon,” I offered. “We can get lunch together before the big show begins.”

  “That sounds like a plan.” Landon ran his hand over the back of my head. “Be good. Be safe. Don’t do anything stupid.”

  “Would I do that?”

  “Only every day of your life.” Landon gave me another kiss. “If you find anything, text me right away. This situation has me on edge.”

  “You and me both.”

  LANDON WASN’T GONE FOR more than ten minutes before Aunt Tillie appeared in the doorway. She was b
undled in what looked to be a faux fur trench coat and she had earmuffs on under her combat helmet.

  “You look like a crazy Russian madame,” Thistle announced, shaking her head. “Where did you get that coat?”

  “I found it online,” Aunt Tillie replied, unruffled. “I like it.”

  “How did you manage to find one so short?” I asked. “Is it petite?”

  “It’s the largest children’s size.”

  Oh, well, that explained why it looked so ridiculous. “At least you’ll be warm,” I said. “Have you heard any gossip while you were out and about?”

  “Scarlet is still missing, and the cops haven’t made an arrest in Adele Twigg’s murder,” Aunt Tillie replied. “It’s pretty much the status quo.”

  “Yeah? Landon thinks we’re close to breaking the case. Hopefully we’ll have more information by the end of the day.”

  Aunt Tillie offered up a dismissive wave. “I know you think that Landon can do no wrong and he’s smarter than the average cop, but he doesn’t know what’s going on. Do you want to know why he doesn’t know?”

  “Not if you’re going to say something insulting.”

  “He doesn’t know because it doesn’t make sense,” Aunt Tillie said. “We’re missing a piece of the puzzle.”

  “Actually, Landon pointed that out himself,” I said. “He’s out looking for it right now.”

  Aunt Tillie snorted. “He was at the bakery when I walked past. He had a doughnut and coffee. I know he ate his weight in bacon pancakes this morning, so the fact that he can add a doughnut to the mix says a little something about what a glutton he is.”

  “He’s probably there questioning Mrs. Gunderson,” I protested.

  “He doesn’t need a doughnut to do that,” Aunt Tillie countered. “You’d better rein in his eating habits if you want him to live a long life. He’s worse than a teenage boy with a credit card and access to a pizza shop.”

  She had a point. “Just … leave him alone,” I ordered. “This case has everyone worked up.”

  “Are you worked up?” Aunt Tillie met my gaze. “Are you worried about what’s going to happen?”

  It was a hard question to answer. “I think something is going to happen,” I admitted after a beat. “I have no idea what, but I’m antsy.”

  Instead of making fun of me, which was her way, Aunt Tillie merely nodded. “You’re probably right. Whatever it is, it’s going to seem simple when we finally find it. We’ll wonder why we didn’t see it before.”

  “So what do we do?” Clove asked. “Landon doesn’t think that Scarlet’s disappearance has anything to do with Adele Twigg’s murder. It seems a really random coincidence to us, but what if he’s right? What if we’re dealing with two completely separate things?”

  “I guess that’s possible, but I don’t buy it,” Aunt Tillie said, serious. “Hemlock Cove is tiny. What are the odds we have two entirely unconnected crimes happening at the same time?”

  “I don’t know, but I guess we’ll find out.” I rolled my neck. “Do you still plan to out Scarlet if she shows up at the festival?”

  “Absolutely.” Aunt Tillie brightened considerably. “I’m going to out Margaret for being an itchy jockstrap at the same time.”

  I made a face. “You can’t call her that. People will think you’re a bully.”

  “You let me worry about being a bully,” Aunt Tillie chided. “You need to worry about … whatever it is you’re worrying about. I’m guessing that part of your day will consist of interviewing people about the festival.”

  “You’ve got that right,” I agreed. “I need to go grab a notebook and a camera from the office.”

  “Why don’t you do that while we talk strategy,” Aunt Tillie suggested. “We’ll want to take down Margaret at the same time we eviscerate Scarlet.”

  “If Scarlet even shows up,” I countered. “She could be out of the state for all we know.”

  “She could be,” Aunt Tillie agreed, “but I don’t think so. I think she’s planning something. She pulled back last night because she realized we had dirt on her. She’ll try to find a way around that before resurfacing.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I’m omnipotent.”

  Thistle snorted. “Only in your imagination, you old bat.”

  “Hey!” Aunt Tillie extended a warning finger. “Just because we’re up to our necks in other enemies doesn’t mean I won’t smite you. You’re officially on my list.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Thistle didn’t look remotely worried. “You should get the stuff you need, Bay. We’ll all go to the festival in another two hours. It’s probably best if we stick together.”

  “You’re right.” I grabbed my coat from the back of the couch. “I shouldn’t be more than fifteen minutes or so. When I get back, we’ll talk strategy.”

  “We’ll be talking strategy while you’re gone,” Aunt Tillie corrected. “You can catch up when you get back.”

  I knew exactly what she was doing. She wanted to drown out the voice of reason – me! – before I had a chance to launch a good argument. That’s why she wanted me out of the building while she moved on Clove and Thistle. Unfortunately, I really did need to run to the office.

  “Fine.” I blew out a sigh. “Don’t settle on anything until I get back. I won’t let you outvote me if I don’t like what you have planned.”

  “This is a democracy, young lady,” Aunt Tillie reminded me. “We’ll vote how we vote.”

  “Whatever.”

  I WAS RELUCTANT TO LEAVE Hypnotic because I knew Aunt Tillie would manipulate Clove and Thistle to get what she wanted. It was better to get my errand over with now rather than later, though.

  The town was bustling as I moved through the downtown area, raising my hand to wave at friendly faces and taking a moment to admire the way Landon looked as he stood next to Chief Terry at the edge of the festival grounds. He didn’t look in my direction, his gaze intent on the big tent at the center of the hoopla. He was agitated. I could practically feel it. Much like me, he knew we were running out of time, and he didn’t like it in the least.

  I used my key to unlock the office door, pulling up short when I caught sight of scuff marks on the wooden floor by the entryway. Someone had been inside, and from the looks of the small boot treads it was a woman.

  I raised my eyes, confused, and locked gazes with Scarlet Darksbane. She sat behind the front desk, her eyes wide, and rested her hands on the top of the wooden surface.

  “It took you long enough. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you?”

  Well … crap!

  Twenty-Nine

  Scarlet wasn’t the one talking. In fact, now that I looked at her more closely, she appeared shaky and terrified. The voice came from behind me, and I turned to find Tess standing close to the door with a gun in her hand.

  Well … this was even worse than I initially envisioned.

  “How’s it going?” As far as greetings go, it wasn’t my best offering. I was so flummoxed I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “How’s it going?” Tess was amused. “You don’t seem surprised to see us. Why is that?”

  I flicked a quick look to Scarlet, but she was so ashen and uneasy that she didn’t look in my direction. She was too busy focusing on the gun.

  “I had a feeling you were involved,” I answered. “Once we found out you were sleeping with Arthur things made more sense. Plus, well, your reaction to what we said yesterday was downright weird. It was obvious you had a hand in Adele’s death.”

  That was an outright lie, but I figured it would be better to play a hunch than admit we were still scrambling for information.

  “How did you find out I was sleeping with Arthur?”

  I licked my lips, unsure how to respond. “Well … .”

  “Did Arthur tell you?” Tess barreled forward, not waiting for me to answer. “It would be just like him. He’s such an idiot. He actually thinks we have a future. Ca
n you believe that?”

  I couldn’t believe a lot about this situation. “Arthur didn’t tell me.” I decided to tell the truth. Either Tess would think I was crazy or be afraid. Both outcomes had certain advantages. “Adele told me about the affair.”

  “Adele?” Tess’s eyebrows winged up. “Adele told you about the affair after knowing you for twenty minutes? How is that even possible?”

  She didn’t understand. Not yet, at least. “I didn’t really talk to Adele that night at the meeting,” I countered. “She told me after.”

  “After? After what? She was dead later that night.”

  “By your hand, right?” I licked my lips. “You needed help. I’m guessing Arthur wasn’t your help. That leaves Greg.”

  “Yes, it’s been a busy couple of days,” Tess confirmed. “Greg and I planned to take out Adele from the beginning. We’ve been together for years, and after spending two months with the Twiggs we realized how we could fix things to our advantage. We grew up together, and the troupe offered us the life we’d always dreamed about.”

  That explained part of it. The rest remained murky. I needed to figure it out, keep Tess talking, and buy time until Aunt Tillie and Thistle realized I’d been gone too long. They would alert Landon and he’d come looking for me. That’s what I hoped for, but to get there I needed to keep Tess focused on the conversation.

  “So you and Greg joined the troupe together but agreed that you should seduce Arthur on your own,” I said as I tried to muddle through the information. “You wanted Arthur to fall in love with you because you thought he might divorce Adele and hand over the reins to the troupe. Once that was handled, you could’ve kept your relationship with Greg going behind Arthur’s back.”

  “Something like that, but you almost ruined everything by bringing it up at dinner the other night,” Tess said. “Luckily Arthur was too drunk to notice. That wasn’t exactly the plan, though. Ultimately it didn’t matter. When we first started we thought Adele and Arthur had a real relationship. After a few weeks of watching them it became clear that Adele wanted a real relationship, but Arthur wasn’t keen on that because he had a wandering eye.”