by Zoe Arden
"No!" Terri screamed, rising from her chair. "No more questions. You need to go." Warthogs. She was mad.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"
"I told you I didn't want to talk about this! Just get out now! Please!" Even when she was mad, she was still polite.
"I don't suppose we could keep this conversation between us?" I asked hopefully.
"OUT!" Polite Terri was gone. Angry Terri had taken her place. I decided I'd better go before I saw an even worse side that I didn't want to see.
She opened the door, and I stepped out. The sun hit my eyes, sending white splotches of light across my field of vision. I looked around for the shadow I'd seen earlier, saw nothing, and hurried down the stairs. If Terri was this mad, how mad was Colt going to be when he found out what I'd just done?
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CHAPTER
TWELVE
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P.A. systems, microphones, and loudspeakers weren't common everyday usage in Sweetland Cove, so when I heard Mayor Quinn Thomas talking through a microphone, it caught my attention. It was hard not to. His voice was loud without a microphone. With one, he became almost impossible to ignore. I stopped and just listened for a minute. He was giving a speech.
Snippets of things like "bravery" and "united" made their way through the air.
I veered toward the direction the sound was coming from. It was hard to miss. Hundreds of people were veering down the same path I was. Hundreds more had already set up camp around the town square, where Mayor Thomas was situated. An impromptu stage had been set up sometime late this morning. It hadn't been here when I'd passed by on my way to Colt's, so it must have been put up within the last two hours.
There was a long banner that ran the length of the stage, undoubtedly strung up using magic, just as the stage had been. The banner read: MAYOR FOR ALL.
Mayor Quinn Thomas stood in the middle of the stage, flanked on either side by a man and woman I didn't recognize. He was holding an actual microphone, probably because this was such an open spot to tourists he didn't want to risk increasing the volume of his voice with a spell. The setup of the stage could have been hidden, made to look non-magical. But making your voice sound like a bullhorn without actually holding a bullhorn might draw a few raised eyebrows.
The mayor had the attention of everyone in the crowd. "I want to assure Mr. and Mrs. Sessler that Rachel's death will not be in vain. Her killer will be brought to justice."
There was a round of applause. Mayor Thomas shook the Sesslers' hands and they each took a seat behind him on the stage.
"There is no justice without justice."
I cocked my head to the side and wondered if I was the only one that thought that didn't quite make sense.
"Heavenly Haven is our home. Not just Sweetland Cove. We want it to be safe."
Another round of applause.
"We share this island with another town. A town not everyone here cares much for." There were a few boos. "Mistmoor Point is a part of Heavenly Haven just like Beggars Forest or Whisper Crossing. It is not fair to call one place home while shunning the other."
There was scattered applause this time.
“Ava!"
I turned to see Trixie and Eleanor coming toward me with Sheriff Knoxx. He was frowning.
"Hi," I said, glad to see them. "Do you know what's going on here? Why is the mayor making a speech?"
"Some big secret," Trixie said.
"Do you think this is what Rachel Sessler was talking about when she said the mayor was going to unveil a surprise?"
Eleanor nodded. "I'd bet on it."
"Where's my dad?"
"Watching the bakery," Eleanor said. "He's not the mayor's biggest fan. Thinks he's too ego driven, but I wanted to see what was going on."
Sheriff Knoxx was surveying the crowd, his arms folded across his chest. Eleanor looked over at him.
"Zane, relax. It's just a speech."
"It's not just that," he said. "But now that you mention it, I would appreciate a little advance notice from the mayor's office about assemblies being held in the town square. That way, I could have my men out here keeping control of the situation."
Otis Winken and Elwin Muster came walking up just then. "Hello, Sheriff," Otis said.
"Otis, Elwin, I told you to split up and patrol the area."
"Yes, sir," Otis said, "but I thought you should know that Elwin and I have been talking, and we're pretty sure that neither one of us took that book you asked about." My ears perked up. I'd forgotten all about the book I'd taken from the evidence room, Forgotten Spells and Lineages.
Had I gotten Otis and Elwin in trouble?
"Um, Sheriff Knoxx?" I said before my throat ran completely dry. He looked at me, waiting. They were all looking at me. "Never mind."
Sheriff Knoxx grunted and turned back to Otis. "Fine, Otis. That's fine. Why don't you ask Tadpole when you see him?"
"Oh, Tadpole wouldn't take nothing that didn't belong to him. Would you, Tadpole?"
Tadpole poked his head out of Otis's pocket, wrinkled his nose, and slipped back inside.
Sheriff Knoxx sighed.
"Otis, that book can be dangerous. Forgotten Spells and Lineages has dark magic in it. Do you both understand that? We need to find it."
Otis and Elwin nodded while my insides tumbled. "Maybe it's sitting on a desk somewhere," I suggested. "You never know."
"We checked the desks." Sheriff Knoxx was getting more irritated by the minute.
"Yes, but maybe it's under a pile of papers. Or in the bathroom. Or... or..."
I was saved by a round of gasps from the crowd around us. We turned back toward the stage. Mayor Thomas was in full bloom. He pounded his fists on a podium and rolled his shoulders back as he shouted at the crowd.
"I will not let Heavenly Haven fall to pieces because Mistmoor is unable to select a new mayor. Mayor Singer would not have wanted that! Rachel Sessler would not have wanted that! I do not want that!"
There was a ripping round of applause from all around us. Eleanor and Trixie exchanged a worried look.
"That is why I am happy to announce that one of my most valued staff members—Rachel Sessler, who is missed by my administration every day and whose guidance and input was invaluable to me—solved the problem at hand before her death. Rachel found an old law in Heavenly Haven's constitution."
"What law is he talking about?" I asked my aunts.
"I have no idea," Eleanor said
"I have a bad feeling about this," Sheriff Knoxx said.
Mayor Thomas gave the audience a second of silent suspense before continuing. "It is called the "Mayor-for-All Rule, and I shall read directly from it now."
He cleared his throat. "If either Mistmoor Point or Sweetland Cove is without a mayor for ninety days, the mayor who is employed in either place at the time of the ninetieth day may preside over both towns."
He waited for that to sink in. The people in the crowd looked at each other, confused. I heard a lot of questions flittering through the air.
"What does that mean?" someone shouted.
"How long has Mistmoor been without a mayor?" asked someone else.
"Huh?" asked several people.
The murmur of confusion ran in a wave from one end of the crowd through the other.
"In other words," Mayor Thomas said now, a smile beaming across his face, "Mistmoor Point has two weeks to decide on a new mayor. If they fail to do so, then I will be invoking the Mayor-for-All Rule."
I looked at Sheriff Knoxx and my aunts. Their faces mirrored my own shock. "Did Mayor Thomas just say what I think he did?" I asked them. "Is he trying to take over Mistmoor Point?"
"That's exactly what he said," Sheriff Knoxx replied, his lips pressed tightly together. "And if I know Mistmoor, there's no way they'll let that happen."
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CHAPTER
THIRTEE
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Colt was back. He'd texted me when he'd gotten home last night. Either his mom hadn't said anything to him about our little meeting, or he'd been too tired to argue with me about it. Either way, it didn't mean things wouldn't change. For all I knew, his mom was talking to him about me right now. Whatever she said, I probably deserved it.
Dean Lampton hadn't given Colt any new information at headquarters. Rachel Sessler's killer and Russell's were one and the same. That was all they had to go on right now. I thought Dean knew more than he was letting on. Call it witch's intuition, but I wanted to talk to Colt about it when I had the chance. Provided that we were still on speaking terms, of course.
My first stop before Mystic was the sheriff's station. I'd arrived prepared with an elaborate story about wanting to talk to Sheriff Knoxx about the upcoming wedding between him and Eleanor. I was going to be a bridesmaid and wanted to know what color the sheriff's tie was going to be, or would it be a bow tie? I needed to know so that I could make sure all the bridesmaids' shoes would match. If it was a bowtie, then I wanted to get matching bows for everyone's hair. At least, this was my story.
Turns out, it wasn’t needed. Sheriff Knoxx was out, and Otis was busy in the back. Elwin said something about "paperwork," but I didn't think Otis did much paperwork. That was more Sheriff Knoxx's territory. I was pretty sure I detected the faint stench of skunk wafting out of the back rooms somewhere. That would explain the sheriff's absence, as well as the "paperwork" Otis was taking care of. He was probably giving Tadpole a bath, or maybe a stern talking to.
I talked to Elwin for a bit, waiting for the right opportunity to put my plan into action. It didn't take long. Elwin was tired, and his eyes kept shutting. It was during one of these intermittent and extended winks that I slipped Forgotten Spells and Lineages under a stack of papers on Sheriff Knoxx's desk. I tried to make it look as casual as possible, like it had been accidentally set there instead of intentionally hidden. Then I slipped outside before Elwin could open his eyes again.
I placed a mental check next to the first item on my list and hoped the next thing went as smoothly. I texted Colt, asking him to swing by when he had the chance. I needed to talk to him about Dean Lampton.
The Mystic Cupcake was in full swing when arrived. Lunch hour was on. Eleanor looked up when I walked in. She was holding a cranberry no-more-crybaby scone in one hand and a cherries jubilee tart in the other.
"It's about time!" she yelled.
"Sorry."
I walked behind the counter and grabbed an apron.
"We're out of thrill seeker extract, peppermint peppy bars, and I need you to melt some more Venus chocolate for me before we run out."
"No problem."
I sucked in some oxygen, trying to energize my brain for a long, busy day, and headed into the back. I let myself sink into the work, not worrying about the rest of my mental list right now. I would talk to Colt later. As for finding out more from Dean Lampton, I was still working on that one. I figured that I was an expert mood-extractor, and somehow that had to translate to extracting information from sources that didn't want to give it, like the head of the Council on Magic and Human Affairs.
An hour went by, then two. A new mental list had formed in my head. Eleanor's list. Thrill seeker, done. Peppermint peppy bars, done. Venus chocolate, done. I was just about to sit back and take a short break when Colt walked in.
"Hi!" I said, jumping up to greet him. I was halfway to wrapping my arms around him when I registered the look on his face.
Uh oh.
He folded his hands together and took a deep breath. "Ava, please tell me that what my mother just told me isn't true. That she's just being her normal, crazy self." Warthogs. I'd been right to worry. His mother had given me up.
"Um... what did your mother tell you?" I tried to look innocent and failed miserably.
"She said that you came to see her yesterday when I wasn't home. That you asked her—no, berated her, about my father's death."
"Berated?"
"It means to scold or criticize."
"I know what it means," I snapped. "I wouldn't say I berated anyone. I just asked her a few questions."
Colt's jaw dropped open. "You mean it's true?"
"I was just trying to help."
"How? By making my mother cry? She was hysterical this morning!"
"I'm sorry. I told you to talk to her and you wouldn't."
"So, you had to go and do it for me?"
"Colt, I know you're mad, but listen to me. I was right. There's a discrepancy between the way you remember things and the way your mother does."
"What are you talking about, Ava? You're not making sense. What discrepancy?" He was angrier than I'd ever seen him but he was still in the room. I had to explain myself before he freaked out completely and left.
"You told me that your father was drained of blood. She told me that his body was found in pieces."
"Pieces?" Colt's face turned from red to pink to white.
"Exactly. That's why it took them two days after your father's death to even tell your mom that he was dead. They were looking for the pieces first."
"I think I'm gonna be sick," he said.
"Why would your mom tell you he was drained of blood? Those are two completely different things."
"She didn't tell me that. Dean did."
My eyes lit up. "I knew it! See, he's hiding something. I know it!"
"Or maybe Dean just didn't want to tell a twelve-year-old boy that his father had been ripped to shreds. If my mom backed him up, it was for the same reason."
"But why would a vampire even rip anyone to pieces? Do you know how much blood you'd lose that way?"
"You're trying to rationalize the murder of my father. Who knows why a vampire would do that? Maybe he wasn't feeding. Maybe he was just mad."
"Colt, I don't think you're looking at this objectively. I know it's your dad, and I'm sure that's hard to do, but you need to try."
"No, Ava, you need to try to understand that this isn't just some true crime story you're reading about on a website. This is my life you're talking about. My mother. My father. Me."
"That's why I want to help. You need to talk to Dean Lampton again."
"No, Ava. I'm not talking to anyone. In fact, I think, for right now, that should include you."
My heart skipped a beat. "What does that mean?"
"That means I need time to think."
"About us?"
"About everything."
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CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
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I woke up before dawn and slipped out of the house. Rocky opened one eye and looked at me as I shut the door and ran for the ferry. I was taking the first one out this morning so I could get back this afternoon. I didn't want to stay too late on the mainland.
I stood at the railing and looked out as the boat set sail over the wide blue ocean. Heavenly Haven looked so beautiful from a distance. I sometimes forgot just how beautiful. Tall, dark green trees rose toward the clouds. Shades of orange and pink and yellow reached up between them.
There were no messages from Colt, despite the many that I'd sent him. How many ways can you say you're sorry?
I'm sorry.
Sorry.
Sorries.
Please forgive me.
Sorry with a cherry on top.
I'd come up with about fifty before deciding it was overkill. My texts were probably doing more harm than good at this point. I'd just have to let him cool off and try again.
The ferry docked just as the sun hit the sky, filling it with soft shades of yellow and orange. I hailed a cab. Florida wasn't nearly as foot-friendly as Sweetland Cove. The Council on Magic and Human Affairs building wasn't far. It sat out i
n the open, where thousands of humans probably passed by it every day without blinking an eye.
It was four stories tall and blended with the buildings around it. The sign out front read, Plungers Inc. It was billed to the humans as a plunger manufacturer, assuming that would be enough to keep most people away. After all, who would actually be interested enough in plungers to check things out inside? If they had, they wouldn't have found anything worth repeating, anyway. The rooms all appeared like any normal office building. There was a makeshift warehouse downstairs where actual plungers sat on a conveyor belt, on call in case they needed to be put to use.
The only part of the building that might have tipped someone off that there was more going on than met the eye was the security detail. There was an awful lot of it for a plunger manufacturer. Most of the wizards and witches were dressed in plain clothes, but they all walked with an earpiece and a certain amount of tension in their shoulders that gave them away as security staff.
The security gate itself looked fairly standard. A man in a security uniform stood behind a desk with a clipboard, looking bored.
"Hello," he greeted me when I walked in. I could see him searching my eyes for the little flecks of gold that gave away a witch or wizard every time. Most people didn't see them; you had to have a trained eye.
I looked up and saw a security camera zoom in on me. Second and third cameras shot discreetly out of the walls and filmed me from all angles.
"How may I help you?" the guard asked. His name tag read David.
"I'm here to see Dean Lampton," I told him.
The smile never left his face.
"Are you expected?"
I bit my lip. "No, but I'm sure—"
"Name?"
