“Our mistake was going to the ghosts and fighting them on their turf,” Aunt Tillie explained. “That’s where they’re strongest, so of course they won when they had home field advantage.”
“So what are you saying?” Thistle asked, ripping a slice of bacon in two, her expression thoughtful. “Do you want to bring them here so we’ll have the advantage?”
“Yes.”
“Absolutely not,” Mom said, shaking her head. “Why would we call ghosts to this property? Annie is here. That can’t be safe.”
“The house is warded,” Aunt Tillie reminded her. “Annie will be in the house and perfectly safe. We’re not calling the ghosts to the house.”
Mom’s face was blank. “Then where?”
“The bluff,” I answered, things coming together in my head. “Aunt Tillie wants to bring them to the spot where we’re strongest.”
“You’re smarter than you look, Bay,” Aunt Tillie said, nodding approvingly. “That’s exactly what I want to do. If we perform the ritual here we can draw the ghosts to us and then help them cross over on the bluff. We’ll draw a circle and open a door, so to speak.”
“How will that be any different from what happened last night?” Landon challenged. “I mean … other than the fact that we won’t have to jump into the lake to save ourselves, that is?”
“It will be different because we’re the strongest witches in the land and our power base is that bluff,” Aunt Tillie explained. “We have several generations of witches who were born and died here. Their power feeds us, just like the added power from the tanker fuels the ghosts.”
“There’s a reason the ghosts kept trying to get Annie to go to the tanker,” I explained. “That’s where they’re most powerful. They thought they could control her there.”
“We’ll call the ghosts here and have a much easier time controlling them,” Aunt Tillie said.
“What if that doesn’t happen?” Landon wasn’t quite ready to capitulate. “They surprised you last night. What if they surprise you again?”
“We can’t deal with a problem until it’s in front of us,” Aunt Tillie explained. “We’ll be better prepared this time.”
“We’ll also have more witches,” I added. “By calling the ghosts to us, we can add Mom, Marnie and Twila to the mix.”
Belinda balked. “What about Annie?”
“She’s safe as long as she’s inside the house,” Thistle replied. “Marcus, Sam, Landon, Maggie and Richard will be inside with you to make sure nothing happens.”
Landon immediately started shaking his head. “I’m going to be with Bay. Everyone else can stay inside the inn, but I’ll be outside with you.”
“What good will that do?” Thistle challenged. “You’re not magical. You can’t fight the ghosts if they attack.”
“I don’t care,” Landon said. “I won’t be away from Bay. That’s a deal breaker for me.”
“So we’re agreed,” Aunt Tillie said, resting her hands on the table. “At sunset tonight, we’re going to take out the ghosts. Does anyone have any questions?”
Thistle raised her hand. “Are you going to scare the ghosts with the dragons?”
Aunt Tillie’s smile was serene. “The dragons will be victorious on multiple battlefields today. I have no doubt of that.”
Sadly, I knew from past experience that she was probably right. “Okay,” I said. “We have a plan. Now we have to work it.”
THIRTY-ONE
“I ’m going to be haunted forever,” Chief Terry said, leaning back in his desk chair and clasping his hands behind his head. “I’m not joking. I’m traumatized.”
“I’ve been considering having my eyes removed,” Landon said, playing with the cap of his water bottle as he sat across from Chief Terry.
After breakfast – which seemed to go on forever because Mom would not stop talking about the leggings – we didn’t have anything to do with our morning, so Landon suggested going into town and working on the arson case. He offered to leave me at the inn – although I don’t think his heart was in it – but I declined. Sitting at the inn with nothing to do but stare at dragons seemed an absolutely terrible way to spend a day.
“If you have your eyes removed, you’ll never be able to see me again,” I teased. “Won’t that make you sad?”
Landon didn’t immediately respond, instead looking me up and down. “You’re the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said after a few beats. “The dragons are the most horrible. Bay, they’re fresh in my mind. I think they could consume me.”
“I think they’re trying to consume something else. I’m definitely going to have nightmares,” Chief Terry complained. “Seriously, what is that woman thinking?”
“She’s thinking that she wants to bully my mother and aunts into doing something they don’t want to do,” I supplied. “She’s gotten away with torturing them for years, and she seems to enjoy putting together the wackiest outfits to force their hands. That’s what she’s doing now.”
“Do you know what she wants?” Landon asked.
I shook my head. “Whatever it is must be big. She’s pulling out the big guns … er, dragons … to get at them. She’s wearing them down with very little effort. She told me the other day that the leggings got increasingly worse and she wasn’t kidding. She also said this was merely payback because they were picking at her outfit choices, but I’m not sure I believe that. I think she definitely wants something.”
“If I were Winnie, I’d pretend I didn’t notice the dragons and let her wear whatever she wants,” Chief Terry said. “Eventually she’ll stop acting up if people don’t give in to her.”
“Yes, but people always give in to her,” I pointed out. “She knows exactly what buttons to push.”
“And dragons to slay,” Landon added.
“You’ve got to let the dragons go,” I said, grabbing his hand. “Your brain will explode if you keep thinking about them.”
“It’s worse than that, Bay,” Landon said. “I’m afraid I’ll never be able to touch you again because when I do … I’ll see dragons.”
I bit the inside of my lip to keep from laughing. “Are you saying we’re going to live a celibate life from here on out?”
“That sounds good to me,” Chief Terry said dryly. “I think that’s the way you should plot your future. Celibacy and twin beds are the way to go.”
Landon made an exaggerated face as he rolled his eyes. “You’re quite the ray of sunshine, aren’t you?”
“I like to think of myself as a realist,” Chief Terry said. “Speaking of that, last time I checked we came here to discuss how we should approach the arson case. Does anyone have any ideas?”
“I still think the culprit feels young,” I insisted. “I know Noah thinks I’m an idiot for believing that, but I can’t stop myself from feeling that way. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“You know the statistics, so I’m not going to bring those up again,” Landon said. “Can you explain exactly why you believe it’s a young person, though? I don’t get it.”
I held my hands palms-up and shrugged. “It’s just a feeling I got when I was in the unicorn store,” I explained. “Unicorns are juvenile, and for a moment I felt this weird sense of … childish glee … when looking at the smashed unicorns on the floor. Someone enjoyed ruining Mrs. Little’s happy place. That’s the first thing that popped into my head, and I still believe it today.”
Landon pushed a strand of hair behind my ear, his expression thoughtful. “I’m not sure I can see that. I don’t pretend to be psychic or anything … .”
“I’m not psychic,” I said hurriedly.
“No, but you get gut feelings that often turn out to be true,” he said. “I’m not saying I believe one way or another, but I will always have faith in you and your intuition.”
“Oh, you’re so cute.” I moved to climb from my chair so I could sit on Landon’s lap, but Chief Terry stopped me with a firm shake of his head and I plopped back in m
y chair instead. “I’ll show you how cute you are later.”
Landon’s smile was so wide it threatened to overshadow his handsome face. “I’m looking forward to that.”
“Now I want to be blind because of the dragons and deaf because you two are so schmaltzy,” Chief Terry intoned. “It’s not a fun combination.”
“You’ll live,” I said, refusing to feel sorry for him.
Landon dissolved into laughter, not stopping until the sound of a man clearing his throat by the open office door caught his attention. I glanced over my shoulder and swallowed my disdain when I saw Noah Glenn standing behind us. Great! He was the last person I wanted to see. This day really was going down the toilet quickly.
“Am I interrupting?” Noah asked.
“Of course not,” Chief Terry lied.
“You’re totally interrupting,” I said. “But we’re used to it.”
Noah ignored me. “I’m here for the briefing.”
Chief Terry’s face went blank. “What briefing?”
“The one you said we would have today because you were too tired yesterday.”
“Oh, that briefing,” Chief Terry said, causing me to swallow my giggle as his lips twitched. “We were just discussing the case.”
“You were discussing the case with a civilian present?” Noah’s pointed gaze landed on me.
“Oh, knock it off,” Landon snapped. “She’s part of the team. She’s not doing anything and she’s certainly not hurting you. Why do you have so much attitude where she’s concerned?”
“Because she’s not a trained agent, yet you treat her better than me,” Noah answered.
“She’s not treated better than you,” Landon protested.
“Yesterday you kissed her fifteen times when you thought no one was looking, rubbed her shoulders when she was at a crime scene and called her ‘sweetie’ eight times when we were going through old fire files.”
Landon stilled. “You counted?”
“I did.”
“I’m not sure what I should do with that information,” Landon admitted. “Do you want me to kiss you and call you sweetie? If so, we’re probably going to have to go to couples therapy or something, because I don’t really see that happening.”
Noah was scandalized. “That’s not what I want.”
“We’re trying to help you here, son,” Chief Terry interjected. “What is it that you want?”
“I want to be a professional and solve this case in a professional manner,” Noah snapped. “Having a civilian present … and holding the hand of the lead agent while we’re supposed to be conducting a briefing … is not professional.”
I instinctively released Landon’s hand and forced a smile as I stood. “You don’t have to worry about me being professional,” I said. “I’m going to take a step back and let the three of you be professional and stay out of your way.”
“What? Why?” Landon did his best not to sound whiny … and failed.
“Because Agent Glenn is right,” I said. “You have a job to do. I do, too. In fact, I haven’t checked in at the newspaper office in days. I’ll do that while you chat about the arsonist.”
“You don’t have to leave,” Landon offered.
“Definitely not,” Chief Terry agreed.
“It’s fine,” I said. “You said yourself that my instincts don’t back up the statistics. I can’t fight the feeling that a young person did it. You guys don’t think that’s possible. I’m just getting in the way.”
“Finally someone agrees with me,” Noah muttered, sighing as he took my vacated seat.
“Fine,” Landon said after a beat, his expression unreadable. “Do you want to meet up for lunch?”
I didn’t miss Noah’s exaggerated eye roll. “I’ll have lunch with Clove and Thistle at Hypnotic. I’ll see you for dinner.”
“Just head straight out to the inn,” Landon said, tossing me his keys. “You can take the Explorer since I drove. Chief Terry is having dinner with everyone so he can take me back.”
I eyed the keys with wide eyes. “You’re going to let me drive your vehicle?” That had never happened before.
Landon snickered. “You can drive anything of mine you want.”
“Oh, I’m going to kick the crap out of you,” Chief Terry complained.
“Just don’t attach a plow to it and let Aunt Tillie take control,” Landon said. “Other than that … be safe. I’ll see you in a few hours. Hopefully by the time we’re together again we’ll have some answers to share.”
That would be a nice change of pace.
THE WHISTLER office was empty when I let myself in. It wasn’t exactly surprising. Even though Brian Kelly owned the business, he spent very little time in his office unless he was trying to woo potential advertisers. Because Hemlock Cove’s advertising base is pretty much static, there isn’t much growth to capitalize on. That didn’t sit well with Brian, but because I dislike him immensely, that isn’t something I spend much time worrying about.
I unlocked my office door and sat in my chair as I waited for my computer to boot. I was lost in thought, the reality of how difficult tonight’s séance would be and the evasive nature of the arsonist warring for top billing in my cluttered mind. I was so out of it I didn’t notice Viola pop into view until she floated in the middle of my desk, giving me no choice but to focus on her.
“Good morning,” I said, tamping down my irritation. I was used to ghosts in the newspaper office – Edith lived here for decades until she passed over a few weeks ago – but this was the first time since that day Viola had appeared at my place of business.
“Is it morning?” Viola glanced out the window. “I lose all track of time now that I’m dead. Is that normal?”
How was I supposed to know? “I’ve never been dead,” I replied. “I don’t know what’s normal.”
“So … what are you doing?” Viola asked.
“I’m going to check on the layout options for this week’s edition and read through the stringer copy that was emailed to me,” I replied. “What are you doing?”
“Well, I was hanging around your cousins’ store and bothering the one with the strange hair like you told me to do,” Viola replied. “She kind of lost her temper and threatened to curse me into a vortex. I don’t know if she can really do that, so I ran away.”
I snorted despite my irritation. “That sounds just like Thistle,” I said. “For the record, she can’t do anything of the sort. You’re fine, and you’ll stay here as long as you want to stay here.”
“But you still think I should move on, don’t you?”
I shrugged. “That’s really not my decision to make,” I replied. “You know who killed you and why. You chose to stay anyway. That must mean you have a reason.”
“I like the idea of haunting people.”
For some reason, Viola’s answer was so simple I could do nothing but smile. “I think Aunt Tillie might do the same thing when she goes,” I said. “Granted, she has someone on the other side she wants to see, but she might hang around just to bug us for a bit. That’s how she gets her jollies.”
“Tillie is strong enough to bring the people she loves back to this side of the wall so they can haunt you guys together,” Viola said.
“She is indeed,” I agreed, picturing the dragon leggings and internally cringing. “So other than bugging Thistle, what have you been up to?”
“A little of this and a little of that,” Viola answered. “Did you know that Margaret’s unicorn store burned down?”
“I did. Someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the front window.”
“Do you know who did it?”
I shook my head. “No, do you?”
“Well … .”
I wasn’t expecting an answer, so Viola’s response caught me off guard. “Do you know who did it?”
“I didn’t see it happen, if that’s what you’re asking,” Viola replied. “I have been watching Margaret, though. She seems a little … deranged.”
“What else is new?”
“Yes, but she seems even more deranged that usual,” Viola said. “She thinks Tillie did it. I heard her talking to Agnes Newton over coffee this morning, and she was adamant Tillie did it. Then she started gossiping about someone having financial trouble and how she was going to lose her house, but then she went back to Tillie. She’s obsessed with Tillie.”
“I already know that,” I said. “For the record, Aunt Tillie didn’t do it. She was with Thistle and me when the incident happened.”
“Oh, I know Tillie didn’t do it,” Viola said. “She would much rather take on Margaret in public and not cause any lasting damage that isn’t psychological. Arson’s not really her style.”
“That’s true,” I said. There was something about Viola’s demeanor that caused the hair on the back of my neck to rise. “Do you have a suspicion about who did it?”
Viola nodded, causing my stomach to flip. “I saw someone putting containers of lighter fluid – or maybe it was kerosene, I can’t be sure – in the trunk of a car.”
I leaned forward, intrigued. “Do you know who it is?”
“I don’t know her name.”
I stilled, surprised. “Her?” Landon had insisted that arsonists were almost always men.
“It’s definitely a woman,” Viola said. “My memory isn’t great. I recognize the woman’s face, but can’t put a name to it. Things have been better with my leaky memory since I died – huh, I never thought I would say that – but I still can’t put a name with her face.”
“Do you know where she is now?”
Viola nodded again. “She’s at the bakery.”
“Then let’s go,” I said, grabbing my keys. “You can show me the car and then I’ll turn over the information to Chief Terry.”
“I don’t have anything better to do with my day. Why not?”
“ARE YOU sure?”
I stared at the older model Buick in the Gunderson Bakery parking lot and shook my head. This had to be a mistake.
“I’m sure,” Viola said. “Whoever owns this car has a trunk full of lighter fluid.”
I glanced around to make sure no one was looking in my direction. While I wasn’t a child any longer, the idea of being caught talking to a ghost wasn’t high on my to-do list. I also didn’t want Kelly Sheffield to catch me staring at her car.
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