“I will,” I say. I can feel him watching me as I make my way to the middle of the tent.
I’m trying to decide where to go first—the fire, to gather up Silas and Cora, or the dance floor, to gather up Annie and Marley—when Turkey gets my attention.
“Don’t freak out or anything,” he transmits. “But Chris is headed your way.”
I expect my stomach to constrict into a tight knot. I prepare sweaty palms and pounding heart.
But nothing happens.
I feel calm, cool and collected. Really. I’m not just saying that. I truly feel as cool as a cucumber.
I turn slowly and spot Chris, who is indeed headed in my direction. Surprising myself, I wave.
He hesitates, and then waves back.
“Hi Penny,” he says, as he nears.
“Hey,” I say. My tone is neutral. If anything, it veers towards friendliness rather than anger. Wow! Something really has changed inside of me. I’ve matured.
“Are you doing okay?” he asks. He looks like he truly cares. There’s concern in his blue-grey eyes.
Maybe it’s because I went off the deep end the last time we broke up. I find that I think it’s sweet of him to ask.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I say. “Thanks for asking.”
He nods.
We stand in silence for a moment, each surveying the scene.
“What do you think?” I say, as we look over all of the people. “Are we going to see some action tonight?”
Chris is dressed in his police uniform. His gun is in its holster, at his hip. He touches it once as he answers. “I don’t know,” he says. “We found one of the guys that was in Raul’s room that night. Actually—he found us. He came into the station, just this afternoon. He said he knew you. Silas Switchback.”
“Right. I just met him,” I say. “He seems like a good guy. He’s here tonight, with Cora.”
I am not going to bring up the fact that Silas is a werewolf. We all know how Chris reacts to that statement. I let it slide for now, and Chris continues. “He said that he was traveling with Raul, and that was why he was in Raul’s room that night. He let us fingerprint him... his prints weren’t a match.”
“So that leaves the other guy,” I say. “The one with the white hair, pulled back in a ponytail. Everyone else has been eliminated because their fingerprints don’t match.”
Chris nods.
“Right. It’s just the man with the long white hair that is left. But I have a feeling he left Hillcrest.”
“You think so?” I say. My eyes travel once again to the dark woods that border the yard. I’m looking for flashes of white.
“Absolutely,” Chris says. “Why would he hang around? He came to our town because he had some unfinished business with Raul Rivera. Maybe we’ll never know what. Now that it’s done, the white-haired man would want to get as far away as possible. We’ve put out search warrants across the country.”
“Brilliant,” I say flatly, thinking of police departments all over the U.S. looking for a man who, most likely, is lurking in the woods just fifty feet from us as we speak.
“We released Marty,” Chris says.
“You did?” I ask. “Why? He broke into the inn.” As I say this, I feel the tickling sensation of curiosity flutter in my gut. Why did Marty break into the inn, on the night of Raul’s death?
Chris nods. “It turned out, he had permission from the Fish and Game department to investigate the inn. Marty used to be a special agent—”
“A special agent with the Fish and Game department?” I say. “No way!”
“Way,” Chris says. “He would conduct undercover raids and whatnot—exposing criminals who were harboring endangered species.”
“Wow,” I say. “That sounds serious. I’d never guess Marty did something like that in a past life.”
Chris nods. “When Dawn and Neville told him about the wolf sighting, he contacted his old head of department. They gave him special permission to investigate the case by breaking into the inn. He wasn’t sure if Dawn and Neville were involved, so breaking and entering was necessary.”
“He was only in the inn for a few minutes,” I say. “What happened in there?”
Chris furrows his brow. He looks puzzled. “Marty reported that when he went into the inn, he quickly checked for the wolf that Neville had spotted. He used some kind of thermal imaging camera to check for bodies in Raul’s room. He only saw one body—Raul’s—so he knew that the wolf wasn’t present. Once he saw that the wolf wasn’t in Raul’s room, he left the inn. Just in time, too.”
“Because the other two men came in right after him,” I say. “Hunh. So, what was he going to do if the wolf was in there?”
“Arrest Raul for harboring an endangered species,” says Chris. “It’s illegal to keep a wolf as a pet in Colorado. If the wolf was present, Marty said he was going to remove it from the premises and take it to a wolf sanctuary.”
“How?” I say, thinking about this new information. “I mean, wolves can be dangerous, right? Especially if they feel threatened. He couldn’t just waltz in there and scoop a large wolf up and carry it out of the room.”
“No,” says Chris. “He was probably going to taze it or something. Maybe shoot it with a sedative dart. I’m not sure”
“Hm,” I say. “There’s more to Marty than I thought. How long was he doing his work for the feds? This special services thing?”
Chris shrugs. “I didn’t ask. I figure a long time. He went on for a while about how stressful it all was. He got out of the business, and moved to Hillcrest so that he could live a simpler, more peaceful life.”
“That’s one good thing about Hillcrest,” I say. “It is peaceful. Well... maybe I should take that back. Hillcrest used to be peaceful.”
“Our town is changing, isn’t it?” Chris says, rocking back on his heels.
“Yep.” I say. “And it might change even more in the future.” I’m thinking about the portal to other magical realms. I’m also thinking about how Sarah could sell land to Powder Paradise. I keep my lips sealed on both of these fronts. Now’s not the time to get into either of those topics. I need to wrap this up with Chris, and get my coven together, pronto.
After a beat of silence Chris says, “I guess we need to just be thankful for how it is now. There’s no use resisting change, I suppose.”
“It’s inevitable,” I say.
Just like that, it feels to me that we’re talking about us. Things did change between us. We couldn’t fight that. We just had to accept it.
“Hey,” I say. “If things get crazy tonight, I just want you to know that I’m here for you,” I say. “I know we haven’t exactly seen eye to eye on this investigation, but I still want us to be on the same team.”
Chris looks at me. He nods.
I nod back. We lock eyes for a moment, and then both look back out to the fire.
More people have arrived. I spot a silhouette that I recognize. “Speaking of Marty Stevens...” I say, pointing.
“Oh yeah,” Chris says, looking in the direction I point. Marty is sipping a beer. He’s joined the group of men gathered around Mayor Haywater.
Seeing the Mayor gives me a thought.
“Chris,” I say. “You know how Mayor Haywater usually gives his speech about the birthday of the town?”
“Every year,” says Chris.
“Do you know what time he’ll give it?”
Chris nods. “Rebecca gave the department a schedule of events. The speech is supposed to start at seven-fifteen.” He glances down at a hefty watch on his wrist. “That’s fifteen minutes,” he says.
Fifteen minutes! Shoot. I really need to gather up my coven.
“I gotta go,” I say to Chris, as I back away from him. “I think Marley needs me.”
I look over at Marley, who’s still dancing away happily with Annie.
“She looks fine to me,” Chris says.
“She’s not,” I say. “She wants to talk to me. I can s
ense it.”
Chris still looks confused so I add, “It’s a girl thing. Don’t worry about it.” I take a few more steps backwards. “Hey, I’m glad we got to talk. That was... nice. Thanks for filling me in on the Marty front,” I say.
“Any time,” Chris says. “I’m... I’m glad too. That we talked. Like you said—we’re on the same team.”
“Team Hillcrest!” I say awkwardly, then I lift my fist into the air.
Chris gives an embarrassed laugh.
Well. I’ve grown up, over the course of this day, but I guess I’m still as awkward as ever.
Maybe someday, I’ll banish that part of me.
Or, on second thought, maybe I won’t.
I smile to myself as I turn and begin booking it towards Marley and Annie.
As I approach them, I start dancing a little bit, just to fit in. I dance right up to them and then say, “Ladies! There’s only fifteen minutes until Mayor Haywater’s going to take center stage. We’ve gotta be ready to defend against an attack!”
“I’m ready!” Annie says, shimmying her hips side to side. She waves her arms in a kind of hula girl, luau dance move. She has a bright scarf wrapped around her bald head, and she’s finished off the bold look with big, golden chandelier earrings. They sparkle as she moves. “I’m in the zone!” she adds.
“You are, girlfriend!” Marley says, and then she gives a little hoot and starts mirroring Annie’s dance moves.
All of this dancing is getting my blood flowing. Don’t warriors dance before battle? I’m not an anthropologist, but it sounds about right. Maybe this is the best way we can prepare for the show-down that’s about to occur.
But then again—“Annie, Marley,” I say, just as the song ends. “We should probably position ourselves along the perimeter of the yard, and keep our eyes out on the woods. I’ve been thinking about the Banishing Spell, and I think it’s our best shot, even though today’s practice session didn’t exactly go as planned.”
“You think we can pull it off?” Marley asks. She follows my lead as I make my way off of the dance floor.
“Yes,” I say confidently. I turn to face Marley and Annie. “I know we can. I did some more practicing this afternoon. It just takes focus. It’s all about your thoughts, while you’re working the spell. You have to get into this kind of mental space where all that seems to be happening is the spell you’re casting. Your mind can’t wander off to other stuff.”
“Ah!” says Annie. “Focus.”
“Yes!” I say. “Hocus pocus focus!”
“Hocus pocus focus!” repeats Marley gleefully.
“Exactly!” I say. “Let’s go get Cora and Silas.”
Annie makes a smooching sound. “You mean the two love birds?” she says.
Marley laughs. “They totally clicked, didn’t they?”
Annie giggles too. “I think he had her heart the moment he knelt down and held the dust pan for her,” she says.
I can’t help but laugh along. “In Cora’s book, that’s better than a proposal,” I say.
“The man of her dreams,” says Marley.
When we reach the two, it’s clear that our suspicion of a blooming romance is spot-on. The two are actually holding hands! Cora is practically glowing.
I explain my idea about spreading out around the perimeter of the yard, and everyone agrees it’s a good strategy. “Turkey is watching too,” I say, pointing over towards the tent pole where my bag is positioned. I can see Turkey’s cute little pointed ears, poking out of my bag. His eyes glow green in the night.
As I look at him, I hear his voice float into my mind. “I haven’t seen the white wolf yet, Penelope” he says.
“Keep up the work!” I return. Boy, I really love my cat.
Before we can spread out and take our positions, Silas speaks. “What should we do if we see him?” he asks.
“Hmmm... good question,” I say. “We can’t really cry wolf, can we? We’re going to have to try to deal with him quietly. In private if possible.”
“We need some kind of super cool secret code word,” Marley says.
“Or sound,” muses Annie. “I knew I should have brought my penny whistle.”
“How about we clap?” suggests Cora.
“Or—we could howl,” Silas says. “Just once. Like this.” He forms his lips into a circle, and then emits a soft “Ooooow oooouuuuwww!”
It gives me chills up and down my arms.
“That’s perfect,” I say. “When we hear a howl like that, we’ll all move in that direction. We’ll head into the woods and stop Zeke before he even makes it out into the yard. We’ll perform the Banishing Spell as quickly as we can. Oh! I almost forgot—here, everyone, take some ash and get your palms ready.”
I reach into my sweatshirt pocket and pull out my container of ash. For a few minutes, we form a tight little circle and paint each other’s palms. Soon all of us witches-in-training have dark spirals on the center of our palms.
“Okay,” I say, wrapping my arms around Marley’s shoulder. Annie loops her arm around my other shoulder. Cora and Silas join the group huddle. I feel like we’re some sort of oddball soccer team, getting ready to run out onto the field for our playoff game. “Everyone has the poem memorized?” I ask.
“Locked and loaded,” Marley says.
“Down to the very last syllable,” says Annie.
“Of course,” says Cora.
“Good,” I say. “It’s all about our thoughts. Stay focused.”
“Like you said, coach,” Marley says playfully. “Hocus pocus focus.”
“That’s right. Hocus pocus focus!” I say. With that, we break up.
I find a spot on the edge of the woods, near the bandstand. It’s parallel to the stage, but about fifty feet away from it. From my spot next to a tall pinion pine tree I peer into the dark, shadowy forest, scanning for any flashes of white fur.
I hear the crowd in the yard hush, so I pull my eyes away from the forest and look over my shoulder, towards the stage. Rebecca is walking into the middle of the stage with a microphone in her hands. Dawn and Neville may have had to deal with a murder in their hotel this week, but at least they got their sound system straightened out. No bullhorn this year!
I look back to the forest as Rebecca begins to speak.
“Citizens of Hillcrest,” she says primly. “Thank you for supporting the Hillcrest Historical Society this evening. As you know, we pride ourselves in keeping accurate records of the history of our special little town. We couldn’t do this without your support, and it does not go unnoticed. We hope that you have fun tonight—but not too much fun! Drink responsibly, people, and don’t sit too close to the fire. Lastly, don’t forget to make a donation. Thank you!”
An applause erupts from the crowd, and there’s even some hooting and hollering. I think it has more to do with the access to booze than the accurate record-keeping that the Historical Society’s been doing, but that’s just my humble opinion.
My eyes flit back and forth between the trees in the woods. A movement catches my eye, but I realize quickly that it was just a bird. Keep watching, I tell myself. Be patient.
As the applause dies down, Rebecca continues. “And now, without further ado, I’d like to bring up onto the stage Mayor Haywater!”
More applause.
I glance over my shoulder, and see Mayor Haywater step out onto the stage and reach for the mic that Rebecca’s passing to him.
“Thank you, thank you!” he says. “What an honor it is to be here, celebrating the birth of our community.”
I turn back to the forest, and do a quick scan.
Still nothing.
I can hear Mayor Haywater’s voice, behind me, being pumped out through two large speakers on either side of the stage. It floats out over the hushed crowd. “You know, when I was a young boy, I sometimes used to resent this town. I wished for something more. Now that I’m older, I—”
I feel a tap on my shoulder, and it draws my attention
away from the mayor’s speech. I whip around, placing my hand on my chest as I do so.
Max Shire is standing right behind me.
“Max!” I say, as my chest rises up and down rapidly. “You scared me!”
“My apologies. I should have realized you’d be so jumpy,” Max says with a smile. Moonlight glistens off of his white teeth and fangs. “I saw you over here and I simply couldn’t resist. How is the werewolf hunting going?”
“Okay, I think,” I say, as I look away from Max, and back out into the woods. I feel my heartbeat speeding up. Max is standing awfully close to me.
There’s this thing that happens, when Max stands close to me.
I start to feel kind of lightheaded and frazzled. It’s not exactly the best state of mind for fighting werewolves; I’m fairly certain of that.
I can’t get distracted, now. I have to focus.
“Max,” I say. “Do you think we could... um... talk... later? I mean, it’s hard for me to think straight when—”
“When we’re together?” Max supplies.
“Um, yes. When you’re around. I don’t know why, but—”
“I know why,” Max says mischievously.
Just then I spot a flash of white fur out of the corner of my eye. I turn my head, trying to keep it in sight. It was a tail. A wolf tail—pristine, snowy white.
The Lux wolf. Zeke. He’s here.
“Ooooww... Ooooouuuuwww,” I call out.
“I’ve never heard you do that before,” Max says. “That was quite enticing.” His voice is so deep, and so close to my ear that for a moment I feel myself swooning. Then, as I catch sight of the silhouettes of my coven, running along the edge of the yard towards me, I snap out of it.
“Max, we’re going to go work the Banishing Spell. I’ll talk to you after,” I say.
“Happy hunting,” Max says with a smile. He steps back, fading into the dark shadows of the yard just as Marley breathlessly approaches from the right. Annie is just a few steps behind her. Cora and Silas join us from the left.
“I just saw him!” I say. “He was heading that way!” I point into the woods.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Cora asks. I can hear it in her tone. She’s nervous. I see Silas reach for her hand.
The Case of the Banishing Spell Page 17
