“Oh, that doesn’t sound fun at all,” Landon said, extending his hand so I could take it. “I’m sure Chief Terry has an officer who can deliver it. I have more important things to do.”
Kelly was incredulous. “Her?”
“There’s also bacon and cake,” Landon said. “She’s the main draw, though. Now, come on, sweetie. I believe I promised you ice cream.”
That sounded like the perfect end to a long day.
THIRTEEN
“Do you want to tell me about your friend?”
Landon refrained from asking me about my interaction with Kelly until we returned to the guesthouse. It was dark inside, indicating Thistle and Marcus had already retired for the night, so I kept my voice low as we moved toward my bedroom.
“There’s not much to tell,” I said, shrugging out of my hoodie and hanging it over one of the chairs at the edge of the room before kicking off my shoes. “Kelly and Lila were friends. We didn’t really spend any quality time together.”
Landon was well aware of my history with Lila Stevens. He met her before she was arrested for complicity to theft, and then he got a chance to see a younger version of her up close and personal when we spent time trapped in Aunt Tillie’s memories a few weeks earlier. He hated Lila on principle, which was only one of the reasons I loved him. He’s the most loyal person I know.
“I kind of figured that out on my own,” Landon said, tugging his shirt over his head before unbuttoning his jeans. “Was she mean to you?”
“Define mean.”
“Bay, this will go a lot faster if you just tell me,” Landon prodded. “I already know something happened. I’m assuming she was mean to you.”
“Most of the kids were mean to me,” I replied. “They thought I wandered around talking to myself when I was really talking to ghosts. It wasn’t easy, but I survived. Kelly doesn’t mean anything to me, and she was nowhere near as bad as Lila.”
Landon pursed his lips as he regarded me. “I don’t like people being mean to my Bay. I’ll be mean to her when I see her next.”
“Do you anticipate that being soon?”
Landon shrugged. “I have trouble believing that fire started by accident.”
“Fires don’t generally fall under the purview of the FBI.”
“Oh, baby, I can make anything fall under the purview of the FBI,” Landon teased. “If it keeps me in town an extra few days, I am more than willing to become an arson investigator.”
“I guess I can live with that.”
“Good,” Landon said, jerking the covers back on the bed and pointing to the mattress. “Now climb in. I want to show you something else that falls under the purview of the FBI. I think you’ll be impressed.”
Something told me he was right, and I couldn’t stop giggling as he chased me into the bed.
“Prepare to be amazed,” Landon said. “I’m an excellent investigator.”
“You could totally do it for a living,” I agreed.
“You’ve got that right.”
I WAS in a good mood when we made our way to The Overlook the next morning for breakfast. I slept hard, and when I woke I was refreshed and rejuvenated. Landon glanced at his phone a few times as we walked, but didn’t say anything. I wasn’t keen on prying until he did it a fourth time, and then I couldn’t help myself.
“What’s going on? Has something bad happened?”
“What?” Landon was caught off guard as he held open the back door so I could enter. “No, sweetie. Nothing is wrong. Er, well, I guess something is wrong. Chief Terry called in a state fire inspector last night. Apparently accelerants were used on the booth. I’m not exactly surprised by that.”
I lifted my eyebrows. He might not have been surprised, but I was. “That means someone purposely burned it down.”
Landon nodded. “That’s exactly how it looks.”
“But … why would someone burn down a festival booth?” I asked. “Seriously, that was all fake stuff. There couldn’t have been more than a hundred dollars in merchandise ruined. The festival committee owns the booth, so that money doesn’t come out of Kelly’s pocket.”
“I have no idea why someone would purposely burn it down,” Landon said. “Chief Terry is coming out for breakfast, so we can ask questions then. I’m not sure he has more information than what he has already shared, though.”
I cocked my head to the side as I considered the statement, stopping in my tracks when I caught sight of Aunt Tillie sitting in front of the television. She was watching a morning news roundtable discussion and was dressed in a terrifying set of leggings. Seriously, those things should come with an age limit.
“Where did you get those?” I asked, confused.
“What are those?” Landon interjected, narrowing his eyes. “They look like giant pool balls.”
“I’ll have you know those are planets,” Aunt Tillie said, making a face. “It’s the solar system.”
Landon leaned his head to the side and stared at the leggings. “Oh,” he said, realization dawning. “Now I see it. Earth kind of disappeared beneath … it kind of disappeared somewhere in there.”
I knew exactly where he thought Earth disappeared to but decided to keep the observation to myself. “Did you hear there was a fire at the festival last night?”
“I did,” Aunt Tillie confirmed, bobbing her head. “I heard that Kelly Charlatan’s booth burned down. I’m guessing that was karma.”
“And lighter fluid. Her name is Sheffield, by the way.”
Aunt Tillie stilled. “Someone purposely burned it down?”
“That’s what it looks like.”
“It’s still karma,” Aunt Tillie said, shaking her head. “As for the name, I think Charlatan fits her better. She always was a nasty piece of work. I think she got away with a lot of things because I was always so focused on Lila.”
“Landon met her last night and didn’t like her either,” I supplied. “She flirted with him.”
“He’s too smart to fall for that,” Aunt Tillie said.
“Oh, I think that’s the nicest thing you ever said to me,” Landon said. “You must be in a good mood today.”
“Of course I’m in a good mood,” Aunt Tillie said. “I’m ruler of the universe. See.” She shifted her position and pointed so Landon had no choice but to look at her crotch – which is where Venus was strategically located – and he immediately looked away.
“Oh, holy planets,” Landon whispered, staring at the ceiling. “I think I might be scarred for life.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing and Aunt Tillie adopted a suspicious look.
“What did he just say?” Aunt Tillie was clearly spoiling for a fight.
“He said he’s starving and wants his bacon,” I replied, pushing him toward the door. “Is everyone else here?”
Aunt Tillie didn’t look convinced, but she nodded anyway. “Yeah, they’re all in the dining room. Clove is in a mood.”
“Sam’s parents arrive today,” I said. “She’s a nervous wreck.”
“I don’t see why,” Aunt Tillie said. “Clove is a catch. Sam’s parents should feel lucky she’s dating him.”
“Now that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said,” I pointed out, grinning. “It seems as if you’re in a mood today, too. You’re in a good mood, though.”
“Don’t get used to it,” Aunt Tillie said breezily. “I think the power of ruling the universe is going to my head.”
“And now the sight of the universe is going to cause mine to explode,” Landon said, pressing his hand to the small of my back. “You need to save me from the visual.”
“I’m on it.”
I led Landon through the kitchen and into the dining room. The food was already on the table. Mom looked annoyed.
“You’re late.”
I returned her scowl with one of my own. “Like two seconds,” I said. “We were talking to Aunt Tillie.”
“Oh.” Mom didn’t apologize, but she marginally re
laxed. “Where is Aunt Tillie?”
“She’s boldly going where no one has gone before,” Landon replied dryly, shaking his head to dislodge the memory of the leggings. “Trust me. You probably want her to stay in the kitchen.”
“Why is that?” Mom was understandably suspicious. Aunt Tillie was always up to something, and her wardrobe was generally one of the easiest things to deal with. “She’s been disappearing during the afternoons for four days now. Is she doing something illegal?”
“Technically I could probably arrest her for public lewdness if she leaves the house, but she’s not directly doing anything illegal,” Landon replied. “She is doing something that could end the world, though. At least my world. Yeah, she could definitely end my world.”
“What is he babbling about?” Mom asked, annoyed again.
“Aunt Tillie bought new leggings.”
Mom frowned. “Leggings? I told her that leggings weren’t appropriate for anyone over the age of thirty.”
“She probably took that as a challenge,” Thistle offered from the far end of the table. She sat between Marcus and Clove – the latter of whom looked remarkably pale – and she seemed to be enjoying herself as she waved a forkful of corned beef hash under Clove’s nose. “Are you really going to puke, Clove? If so, I think you should make a big show of it.”
“Leave her alone,” Marnie barked, her gaze falling on her daughter. “She’s nervous about meeting Sam’s parents. She can’t help herself. There’s no reason to be … well … you.”
“Yes, now that should be the new family motto,” Landon teased. “There’s no reason to be Thistle.”
“No one asked you,” Thistle shot back, making a face.
“Oh, good,” Chief Terry said, strolling into the room and taking a seat next to Landon. “I was worried I was going to miss the morning snark.”
“There’s no chance of that happening,” I said, moving my eyes to a morose-looking Annie as she sat between Marcus and Belinda. She looked positively miserable. “What’s wrong with you, Annie? You seem sad.”
“Did you see Aunt Tillie’s leggings, too?” Landon asked.
Annie tossed eye daggers in Landon’s direction. “Those are a sophisticated clothing item. You should be so lucky to wear them.”
“Uh-huh.” Landon didn’t look convinced. “Did Aunt Tillie tell you to say that?”
“She said that they were special pants and she didn’t care what anyone said about them,” Annie explained, crossing her arms over her chest. “She also said they were going to make people mad, and that made her more powerful and they were sophisticated. I don’t know what that word means, but it must be something good.”
Thistle snorted into her juice as Mom frowned.
“Now I’m really afraid to see these pants,” Mom muttered.
“You should be,” Landon said. “I’m scarred for life.”
“At least you didn’t see Uranus, because she was sitting,” I offered.
Instead of smiling, Landon scorched me with a murderous look. “Now I’m definitely going to have nightmares.”
“Don’t say I never gave you anything.” I patted his leg under the table and turned my attention to Annie. “What’s wrong? If it’s not the pants, it must be something else. Are you worried about starting school?”
“I already told you people I’m not going to school,” Annie snapped, taking everyone by surprise with her vehemence. Thankfully, all of the guests had already left and only family and friends were grouped around the table this morning. “I don’t need school. I hate school!”
“We’ve talked about this,” Belinda said, keeping her voice low. “You’re going to school.”
“If you’re worried about school, I think I have a fix for you,” Thistle offered. “How would you like it if Marcus and I dropped you off a few times a week? That’s about the time I have to head in to open the store.”
Annie may have been angry, but the idea of Marcus taking her to school obviously held some appeal. “Fine,” she conceded. “I’ll consider going to school. I’m not promising, though.”
“I thought you could stop by the stable after school as long as the weather holds, too,” Marcus said. “I know you want to learn to ride a horse. I thought I would give you some private lessons.”
I couldn’t help but smirk as Annie’s eyes widened.
“Really?” Annie acted as if he announced he was going to buy her a pony. “I … well … that sounds cool.”
“You have to go to school, though,” Marcus said. “Those are the rules.”
Annie heaved a dramatic sigh. She would make a marvelous teenager one day. “Fine. I’ll go to school.”
Marcus winked at her. “Good. I don’t like my women stupid.”
I opened my mouth to say something snarky about Thistle but I thought better of it when she shot me a slit-eyed glare. I automatically changed course. “Does that make you feel better, Annie? Are you in a better mood now?”
“Not really,” Annie replied, taking me by surprise. “I’ll never be in a better mood again if the ghosts don’t leave me alone.”
I stilled, my shoulders stiffening. “What do you mean?”
Annie didn’t immediately answer, so Belinda did it for her. “She won’t stop talking about ghosts,” Belinda supplied. “I think it’s just an elaborate ruse to get out of going to school.”
“It is not,” Annie protested, indignant. “Now that I know I get to spend time with Marcus, I want to go to school. The ghosts don’t have anything to do with Marcus.”
“What ghosts?” Mom asked, legitimately confused. “Where did you see ghosts?”
“She saw them the other night when the power went out,” I explained.
“I told her she imagined it, but she won’t listen to me,” Belinda said. “People don’t see ghosts, Annie. That’s stuff you see in movies.”
Mom shot me a worried look. All family sniping fell by the wayside. Belinda might not have realized that ghosts were real. The Winchester witches knew better.
I tried to keep my voice neutral as I flashed a warm smile for Annie’s benefit. “Have you seen the ghosts since the other night?”
Annie nodded. “They keep following me around. They’re talking to me.”
I glanced around the room but I couldn’t catch a glimpse of anyone but the living. “Do you see them now?”
Annie shook her head. “They’re hiding.”
“Why are they hiding?”
Annie shrugged. “I don’t know. They said they only liked me and that there were bad people here. They said I had to keep them a secret, but … I don’t like them. They frighten me.”
I didn’t blame her. “How many times have you seen them?”
“A lot,” Annie answered. “They were in my bedroom all night.”
“She has such an active imagination,” Belinda said, offering a nervous laugh. I could tell she was worried she would have to take Annie to a professional if the ghost talk kept up. The reality was much worse. Annie wasn’t crazy. She was gifted. Unfortunately, the gift landing on her shoulders was something of a curse. “I don’t know what to do with her sometimes.”
“You could believe me,” Annie offered, making a face. “I’m telling the truth!”
“I don’t think you’re a liar, Annie,” Belinda protested. “I think you have a very vivid imagination. I was the same way when I was your age.”
Something occurred to me. “Did you see ghosts, too?” Perhaps Belinda had an ability and didn’t realize it. If she was raised outside of a witchy family, she might not have understood what was happening.
“I never saw ghosts,” Belinda said. “I had invisible friends. I always thought I saw fairies, too. They turned out to be butterflies, but that’s the magic of childhood.”
I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed. “Oh.” I glanced at Landon. He looked as troubled as me. “Well, I’m sure everything will work out.” My heart rolled as Annie rubbed her cheek. I realized I missed
the dark circles under her eyes on first inspection. Could the ghosts really be keeping her awake at night? “We’ll make sure we figure out a way to keep the ghosts out of the house. I promise.”
Now I just had to make sure I could keep that promise.
FOURTEEN
“Bay, what are you going to do about Annie?”
Landon and I sat on the back patio enjoying the pleasant morning weather after breakfast. I could tell he was as bothered by Annie’s outburst as I was.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, leaning back in my chair and stretching my legs out in front of me. “What do you think I should do?”
“I don’t know how to answer that, sweetie,” Landon replied. “You’re the magical one.”
“Or the cursed one.”
Landon rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at me. “Do you really think you’re cursed?”
“I … .” I wasn’t sure how to answer. I didn’t want to sound like the main attraction at a pity party sideshow.
“Do you?” Landon prodded. “From where I stand, you’re amazing. I know it was hard for you growing up with your ability, but you’re an adult now. I don’t think you’re cursed. Could you snag me if you were cursed?”
I didn’t want to laugh because it was a serious situation, but I couldn’t help myself. “I guess not,” I conceded. “Living in Hemlock Cove allows me to run into some of the people who tortured me when I was younger. I guess I’m just feeling sorry for myself.”
“It’s okay to feel sorry for yourself,” Landon said. “I wish you would smack around your enemies instead of beating yourself up, though. I think it would be healthier. I’m not the boss, so how you deal with it is up to you.”
“You’re not the boss?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Huh, I seem to remember you saying differently last night.”
Landon’s cheeks colored as he chuckled. “I stand corrected. I’m rarely the boss. I only want you to be happy.”
“Do you think I’m unhappy?”
“I think something is bothering you and you don’t want to tell me about it,” Landon answered. “You’ve been … distracted … all weekend.”
Wicked Witches of the Midwest 9 Page 12
