“Why?”
“Because … .” I couldn’t use ghosts as part of Aunt Tillie’s alibi. That wouldn’t go over well.
“Because I’m helping him decorate it and Aunt Tillie wanted to play pirate,” Thistle supplied.
Chief Terry didn’t look convinced. “Why really?”
“She was bored and wanted to show off her new leggings,” I answered.
“Yes, those are truly … something to behold,” Chief Terry said. I didn’t miss the fact that he kept his eyes above waist level so he didn’t accidentally see any of Aunt Tillie’s naughty bits highlighted by the leggings. “How long was she with you?”
“She woke me this morning by bouncing on the bed,” I answered. “Then we all had coffee in the guesthouse before going up to the inn for breakfast. After that we left immediately for the tanker. We were together the entire time.”
“Can you corroborate that, Thistle?”
Thistle slid a sidelong look in Aunt Tillie’s direction, her mind clearly working overtime. I could tell she wanted to mess with our mischievous great-aunt but the stakes were too dire. “We were all together,” Thistle confirmed. “Aunt Tillie couldn’t have done it because she was with us the entire time.”
“Well, they’re obviously lying,” Mrs. Little sputtered. “You know they’re lying. Tillie has been out to get me for decades.”
“While I don’t doubt that, I see no reason for Tillie to try to burn down your store,” Chief Terry said. “What’s her motivation? If she burns it down then she can’t make fun of you for selling porcelain unicorns.”
“Those are collectibles!”
“Ugly collectibles,” Aunt Tillie muttered.
“It doesn’t matter,” Chief Terry said. “She has no motive. This is the second fire we’ve had in three days. Why would she burn down the booth at the festival?”
“Because … .” Mrs. Little licked her lips as she racked her brain. “Oh, because they were selling love potions and that puts Kelly Sheridan in direct competition with Hypnotic. Kelly is behind on her bills, and she’s really been amping up production. I’m sure that drives Tillie crazy.”
Thistle snorted. “Hardly. Those potions are rose water and oregano.”
“And not the good kind of oregano,” Aunt Tillie said, referencing her pot field. She often lied and called it oregano when people asked.
“Don’t go there,” Chief Terry warned, shaking his head. “As far as I can tell, Tillie has no motive other than your longstanding feud. That generally takes the form of snide remarks and the occasional slap – or whatever it is Tillie is doing when she parades in front of your store and does her little dance. It’s never involved fire and accelerants.”
Mrs. Little refused to back down. “There’s a first time for everything.”
“Well, we’ll keep Tillie on the possible suspect list, but we’re going to look elsewhere,” Chief Terry said. “If that’s all … .”
“That’s not even close to all,” Mrs. Little seethed, turning on her heel. “I’m going to make all of you pay.”
“I’m looking forward to that,” Aunt Tillie called to her back. “We’ve already had to pay because that lip mole haunts us.”
Chief Terry waited until he heard the door slam. “Why were you really on the tanker?”
He knew us too well. He recognized the lie about Aunt Tillie wanting to play pirate.
“Because we think the tanker might be haunted and wanted Aunt Tillie to look around,” Thistle replied, matter of factly. Chief Terry knew about our witchy ways, but liked to pretend otherwise. “Something bad happened on Sam’s tanker in 1989, and the ghosts are still hanging around.”
“I didn’t hear that,” Chief Terry said, shaking his head. “She was really with you, though, right? You’re not making that up, are you?”
“She was really with us,” I said. “I’ll have bruises on my shoulders tomorrow to prove it, because we had to carry her down a ladder.”
“And she weighs a ton,” Thistle added. “I didn’t realize pure evil made a difference on the scale.”
Aunt Tillie narrowed her eyes to dangerous slits. “You’re on my list.”
Thistle ignored her. “She couldn’t have done it,” she said. “Whoever is doing this, it isn’t Aunt Tillie.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Chief Terry said. “We have an arsonist on the loose, and whoever it is seems to be getting bolder. Do you know what that means?”
“More fires,” I answered.
“We’ve been lucky so far. No one’s been hurt,” Chief Terry said. “How long do you think that lucky streak will last?”
That was a very good – and terrifying – question.
NINETEEN
I was lost in thought, pacing in front of the inn as I waited for Chief Terry to arrive for dinner shortly before seven. The fire at Mrs. Little’s store bothered me, but the visions I saw on the tanker haunted me. I couldn’t decide which problem I wanted to focus on, so I decided to obsess about both of them.
When a pair of headlights bounced off me and a vehicle swung into the lot I figured Chief Terry had finally arrived. That meant I could focus on the fire, which at least gave me direction. However, the figure I saw moving up the driveway didn’t look like Chief Terry. He was slimmer, long hair sweeping broad shoulders in the limited light. I recognized him right away.
“Landon?”
“Hey, sweetie.” Landon’s grin was lopsided as he opened his arms for a hug.
I readily threw my arms around his neck and gave him a kiss, backing up only when I got my fill of the embrace. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I feel so loved,” Landon teased, rubbing his thumb over my cheek. “Maybe I missed you.”
“You left just this morning.”
“Maybe I’m a pathetic sap,” Landon suggested, his eyes unreadable as they scanned my face. “What’s wrong?”
I don’t know how he does it, but he always seems to know when something is bothering me, even when I try to hide it. “I … there was another fire today.” It wasn’t the most auspicious of greetings, but I figured the fire was a safer topic.
“I know,” Landon said, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “Chief Terry called. They’re putting together a small arson task force. Two fires in such a small area is cause for concern.”
Hope gathered in my chest as something occurred to me. “Is that why you’re here?”
Landon nodded. “I’m the head of the task force. But because the task force consists of Chief Terry, Noah and me, that’s not saying much. I’ll take it because it means I get to stay here with you, though.”
That was both good and bad news. The idea of Landon being close always makes me feel warm and fuzzy. The notion of his dumbass partner – and I use that term in the loosest possible sense – being around while all of this was going on was disheartening.
Agent Noah Glenn was a gung-ho recent recruit with a lot of enthusiasm and a bad attitude. Several weeks ago he suspected Aunt Tillie of being a murderer and wanted her arrested. That fizzled – and the real culprit was dead – but my dislike remained. Aunt Tillie had an alibi for today’s fire, but if Noah fixated on her again … well … things were about to get uncomfortable.
“Noah?”
Landon smiled at my disgusted expression. “He’s staying at your father’s inn, so you don’t have to worry,” he said. “He wasn’t thrilled about coming back to Hemlock Cove either – trust me – so he had to be persuaded. Fires in a small town like this can get out of hand quickly.”
I was intrigued despite myself. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that two fires in a few days is quite the escalation for whoever is doing this,” Landon replied, opting not to gloss over the severity of the situation. “We need to be vigilant, because the next fire could really hurt someone.”
“Oh.” I ran my tongue over my teeth as Landon rubbed my back. “Mrs. Little accused Aunt Tillie of setting the fire.”
“I know.” Landon didn’t seem bothered by the accusation. “I talked to Chief Terry before heading over. He said you and Thistle supplied Aunt Tillie with an alibi.”
“She was really with us,” I protested, moving to pull away.
“I believe you,” Landon said, refusing to let me increase the distance between us. “I don’t believe Aunt Tillie would set a fire in the middle of the day anyway. She’d be far happier setting a mental fire and torturing Mrs. Little with the constant sight of her leggings than burning out her store. It’s okay.”
“I … .”
“What’s wrong, Bay?” Landon asked, his expression serious as he stared into my eyes. “Why were you out here?”
“I wanted to talk to Chief Terry,” I admitted. “I wanted to make sure he didn’t suspect Aunt Tillie.”
“Chief Terry is on his way, and he doesn’t suspect Aunt Tillie,” Landon said. “Bay, whoever is doing this could be a deranged individual. It could be someone who is legitimately mentally unbalanced. We simply don’t know.”
“What do your statistics tell you?” Landon had specifics on every sort of crime imaginable. He enjoys researching them as much as he loves bacon for breakfast. Er, well, maybe not quite. It was close, though.
“My statistics tell me that it’s a man and he’s probably in his twenties, thirties or forties,” Landon said. “I don’t like to focus on statistics to the detriment of everything else.”
“Are you here for the whole week?” The idea settled me. I had no idea why I wanted Landon close. The feeling of dread was back, though, and it plagued me from the moment we left the tanker. Something bad was going to happen.
“I’m going to be here until we catch whoever is doing this,” Landon cautioned. His smile was mischievous. “Somehow I expect I’ll be able to stretch out the paperwork to last through the week.”
I giggled as he poked my ribs and rested my head against his shoulder. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“I’m always glad to be back.”
We lapsed into comfortable silence for a moment and then I remembered something. “Thank you for the note and candy. It was really sweet.”
“Did you think of me when you were eating the candy?”
I answered without thinking. “Aunt Tillie stole the candy. She read the note before I got a chance to. She woke me up by jumping on the bed and stealing my treat.”
Landon stilled. “Why was Aunt Tillie in your bedroom so early?” He’s naturally suspicious by nature – it’s a product of his work – but I realized my mistake when it was too late to take it back.
“She … .”
“Bay?” Landon pulled his head back and locked gazes with me. “What is Aunt Tillie up to?”
Oh, well, that was a loaded question. “She wanted to see the tanker,” I said. It wasn’t a lie. “She thinks whatever Annie is seeing is coming from there. That was our goal for the day. We were going to help Annie. Then we saw the smoke and … it didn’t really happen.”
“Oh.” Landon openly relaxed as he cupped the back of my head. “Well, we’ll figure out how to keep Annie safe and happy while I’m here, too. I’ll multitask.”
It was a sweet offer, but I wasn’t sure what he could do. “Just as long as you’re here and Aunt Tillie isn’t a legitimate suspect, I’m happy.”
“I’m happy, too,” Landon said, pressing a soft kiss to my mouth. “I jumped at the chance to take the case. I told my boss it was because I hadn’t investigated an arson case in years. He didn’t believe me.”
Now it was my turn to smirk. “Does he think you’re a fool for love?”
“He thinks I’m a fool for you,” Landon corrected. “He made a few jokes and imitated the crack of a whip, but he was happy to let me go.”
I widened my eyes. “Does he really think you’re whipped? That doesn’t seem fair.”
“Oh, don’t do that,” Landon chided. “We all know I’m whipped. Pretending otherwise doesn’t make me feel more manly.”
I chewed on my bottom lip as I regarded him, conflicted. “Would it help if I told you that whipped men are hot?”
Landon flashed me a genuine smile. “It helps that we’re together,” he said. “As for the rest, I don’t care what other people think.”
That was a refreshing outlook and I smacked a scorching kiss against his mouth before pulling back. “I’ll make sure you get two desserts for such a stellar answer.”
“And that’s exactly why I don’t care what anyone thinks,” Landon said. “Bring on the pot roast and cake.”
“How did you know we were having pot roast?”
“I have a magic nose.”
“You have a magic everything,” I said, tugging him toward the house. “I’ll make sure you’re full and happy before we head to the guesthouse for the night, though. It’s the least I can do.”
“I think it’s going to be a great week, sweetie,” Landon teased. “The food is only part of it.”
“I’M NOT sitting there,” Annie snapped, her head swishing back and forth as she fought Belinda’s efforts. “I want to sit next to Marcus.”
It was a Monday, so the dining room was mostly empty of guests at The Overlook – which I couldn’t have been more thankful for given Annie’s mood. Worry over her continued meltdowns caused a hard pit of anger to form in my stomach. Belinda looked to be at her wit’s end.
“Annie, there’s no reason for you to act like this,” Belinda snapped. “You’re supposed to be a big girl. Big girls don’t act like this.”
Belinda’s words didn’t have their intended effect. “I don’t care,” Annie seethed, furious. “I want to sit by Marcus. I don’t want to sit by you. I hate you sometimes!”
The words were like a fist to the face for Belinda, and I didn’t miss the way her eyes rapidly opened and closed as she blinked back tears. I felt sympathy for both of them. Belinda was hurt because she thought Annie was acting out for no reason and being purposely hurtful. Annie was hurt because she was seeing things she didn’t understand and was terrified. I didn’t know what to do to help her. Thankfully, Aunt Tillie stepped in and solved the problem.
“Why don’t you sit by me, Annie?” Aunt Tillie asked, flashing a smile. “I would enjoy that.”
Instead of jumping at the chance to spend time with her favorite elderly witch, Annie made a face. “I don’t want to sit next to you,” Annie shot back. “I want to sit next to Marcus. Are you all deaf? Can you hear what I’m saying? I want to sit next to Marcus!”
Marcus’ eyes widened and he took everyone by surprise when he grabbed Annie’s shoulders and forced her to meet his even gaze. “Don’t talk to your mother like that,” he admonished, his voice low. “She’s trying to help you. You’re being rude.”
“But … .” Annie broke off, her lower lip quivering. “I want to sit next to you.”
“You can sit next to me,” Marcus said. “I would love to sit next to you. But I don’t like your attitude. Your mother loves you and doesn’t deserve to be treated this way.”
Annie’s expression was conflicted as she stared into Marcus’ somber eyes for a moment. Then she shifted her sheepish gaze to her mother. “I’m sorry.”
Belinda looked relieved but not entirely placated by the apology. “I’m sorry, too,” she said after a beat. “You can sit next to Marcus for dinner, but then you’re going to bed early. Do you understand?”
“But that’s not fair,” Annie protested. “I don’t want to go to bed early. I’m not tired.”
“Well, you’re going to bed early,” Belinda said. “I think you’re overwrought. I think sleep is exactly what you need to make you feel better.”
“I think I need you to shut up to make me feel better,” Annie exploded, causing everyone to suck in a breath.
Landon shifted his eyes to me, his expression unreadable. Annie was generally a sweet girl who always capitulated to her mother. Whatever was happening with the ghosts was getting out of hand quickly.
“What’s going on
here?” Chief Terry asked, strolling into the room. He looked confused when he saw everyone standing around the table. “Nothing happened to the roast, did it? I’ve been thinking about roast all day.”
“The roast is fine,” Mom answered stiffly. “It’s Annie. She’s … having a bad day.”
“Is that so?” Chief Terry’s eyes twinkled as he stared at Annie. He clearly didn’t understand the gravity of the situation. “I’ll bet some pot roast will make you feel better.”
“And I’ll bet you’re a real jerk if you think that,” Annie retorted, scathing disdain practically dripping off her tongue. “You’re a real jerk no matter what, though, aren’t you?”
Belinda’s mouth dropped open as dumbfounded disbelief washed over her. “That’s it!” she exploded, reaching for Annie’s waist. “You’re going to bed without supper. You … you … that was horrible!”
“You’re horrible,” Annie screeched, violently shaking her head as she tried to escape her mother’s grip. “You’re all horrible and I hate you all!”
“Annie, stop this,” Marcus said. He tried to help Belinda rein in Annie, but she was fighting the effort so completely that he looked worried about sticking his hands into the mix in case he inadvertently hurt her. “Why are you acting like this? This isn’t like you.”
As if on cue, Annie snapped her head up and squared her shoulders. Hatred flitted through the depths of her eyes. “This is me,” she said. “This is the new me. I … they’re here.”
The way she said it was eerie, as if we were stuck in Poltergeist and the television was about to eat us. Marcus appeared vexed by her words but I was instantly alert as I scanned the room. I knew exactly what she was referring to and I had no intention of letting anything terrible happen.
“Where are they?” I asked, moving my gaze from corner to corner. “Where, Annie?”
“Where’s what?” Belinda asked, confused.
“What is going on?” Chief Terry asked.
“Do you see anything?” Landon asked, keeping his voice low.
“No.” Even as I said the word something manifested in the corner of the living room. The man was short and portly. He couldn’t have been taller than me, which wasn’t saying much because the women in my family are short. He was as round as he was tall and he had a wiry gray beard. He wore a captain’s hat and blue pants, and his gaze initially landed on Annie before moving to me.
Wicked Witches of the Midwest 9 Page 17
