Adam had been asleep by the time Nick dropped me off the night before and when I went into the kitchen to get breakfast, he wasn’t anywhere in sight. I knew he was probably still annoyed that I’d bailed on our date again and I promised to make it up to him.
As soon as Katerina’s killer was found.
After getting Boots his breakfast, I padded to the refrigerator and found a cup of yogurt. I grabbed a spoon and a bowl and went about throwing together a breakfast parfait with banana slices, granola, and a little chocolate drizzle on top. Just because. It was a nice little treat to boost an otherwise ordinary day. Or, at least what I hoped would be an ordinary day. I could use one.
“Good morning, Holly.”
I craned a look over my shoulder and spotted Katerina just as she transitioned from a transparent shimmer to a silvery silhouette on the other side of the door. “Morning, Katerina.”
She smiled slightly but continued to stare at me. “What? Is my hair that bad?” I asked, reached up to tame my frazzled locks.
Katerina shook her head. “No, you look great.”
Great was a stretch. In reality, I’d just rolled out of bed, tossed on a robe, and pulled my long, wavy hair back into a loose ponytail. I wasn’t wearing a swipe of makeup and likely had some rocking morning breath thanks to my past midnight dinner. Adam had been a little too liberal with the garlic in the spaghetti he’d left for me, and there were some things that an entire bottle of mouthwash couldn’t quite erase.
“What’s the plan for the day? Are Posy and Gwen going to take you out on the town?”
She shrugged and then floated down to hover over one corner of the farmhouse style table that dominated the eat-in nook of the kitchen. “I don’t know. I’ve been taking some time for myself.” She glanced up at me and added, “I mean, at least away from ghosts.”
“Oh? Is everything all right?”
“Not really.”
I set down my spoon and abandoned my breakfast to join her. I leaned back against the counter. “What’s going on?”
She dragged in a long sigh. Or whatever the ghost equivalent of sighing was, considering she didn’t have lungs. “I don’t want to be a ghost. I want to be alive again. This might work for people, ghosts, like Gwen and Posy. They seem to enjoy it. Gwen more than Posy, but Posy doesn’t seem eager to change or move on, as she says.”
“Do you want to move on?” I asked, tilting my head to one side.
She dropped her eyes to her interlocked fingers as they rested in her lap. “I don’t know. I’m scared to find out what’s on the other side. But I don’t want to be like this either.”
“You know, Gwen and Posy have both been ghosts a lot longer than you. I don’t know what it’s like, but I would imagine it’s something that takes time to fully settle into.”
Katerina nodded but didn’t look all that convinced. “Maybe if I could remember my old life, I would feel differently. I could compare and see all the ways that my new life as a ghost is better.”
My heart twisted into a knot in my chest, each beat aching a little more for the poor girl. I may not have approved of all of her life choices, but at the end of the day, I believed that she was a good girl who got caught up in a really terrible situation. She didn’t deserve some kind of eternal turmoil over things she no longer had the power to change.
“Holly?” She glanced up, her eyes large and hopeful. “Do you think you could help me remember? I know Gwen and Posy told you not to push me, but I want to remember. Please, tell me what you’ve found out about me. Everything.”
I chewed on my lower lip, turning over her request. “Katerina, are you sure? You could lose everything.”
“I already have,” she replied softly, looking back at her hands again.
The knot in my chest unraveled with a snap as my heart broke for the girl. “I have an idea. Around one o’clock I’ll be going to the coffee shop where I work. I have the day off, but I make potions on the side, and need to drop some off for a client. She’s a telepath, which means she can read other people’s thoughts and feelings. She might be able to help you get your memories back.”
Katerina smiled bright enough that her eyes shone. “Really? That would be great!”
“Okay. Meet me out front at one o’clock and I’ll take you with me.”
“Thank you, Holly! I knew you could help.”
I held up a hand. “We don’t know for sure.”
“Right. Well, you’re the only one willing to try. Posy and Gwen just keep telling me to wait it out, like it’s some kind of rain storm or something.”
I nodded, smiling slightly. “They mean well.”
“I know. But right now, that advice is the last thing I want.”
“I understand. We’ll see what we can do this afternoon.”
She clapped her hands and then faded from the room.
I watched the wall where she’d made her exit for a long moment, hoping that I could bring her some peace before the day was over.
Later that afternoon, I had Katerina wait outside while I went in to say hello to Cassie and Kirra. Cassie was cordial but I could tell things were still a little tense between us and I made a quick exit. I went outside to the patio, and grabbed one of the few vacant tables while I waited for my customer, Lucy, to arrive. There were a lot of tourists out enjoying the view as they slurped down iced coffee drinks and munched on pastries and cookies under the afternoon sun. Lucy arrived right on time and came over to my table, smiling from ear to ear. We went through a little small talk and then did a sly exchange; the vial of potion for a small stack of gold coins—haven currency.
“Thank you so much, Holly. You have no idea how much of a lifesaver this stuff is,” Lucy said, pocketing the vial of Permasmile Draught. “This morning, I overheard the monster-in-law thinking about Gordon’s ex-girlfriend, and wishing that he hadn’t broke things off with her all those years ago. I mean, for goodness sake, Gordy and I have been married for two years now! When is she going to give up and accept me?”
I flashed her a sympathetic smile. “How much longer is she staying with you?”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Two more months. Ugh. Then she’ll blessedly be all the way across the country. Although with my luck, I’ll still be able to hear her thoughts from her new place in Maine!”
I laughed softly. “Well, hang in there. I’ll have another batch ready for you next weekend.”
“Thanks, Holly. I wish I could block her out, but I’ve never quite mastered my ability.” She said it like it was more of a curse than a supernatural power. Which, I supposed, it was. At least when her mother-in-law was in town. “I’ve got Gordy mostly tuned out by now, but with new people, it’s hard.”
“So can you read my thoughts right now?” I asked, smiling at her.
She studied me, a look of intense concentration growing on her face the longer she looked. After a minute, she shook her head and blinked a few times. “No. Actually, I can’t. How are you doing that?”
I laughed. “I’ve been studying telepath spells lately. Thought I’d try it out.”
Lucy smiled. “Job well done! Why are you studying telepathy? If I might ask.”
I leaned in a little closer over the small bistro table. “This might sound crazy, but I’m trying to find a way to read a ghost’s mind.”
“A ghost?” Her lips quirked at the word, as though it were foreign to her. Lucy wasn’t from the haven system. She’d been adopted by humans when she was an infant and raised in the non-magic world. She was even married to a man who had no idea about her power. Her exposure to the supernatural world was quite limited and I wondered if she might not have known that ghosts really existed. Although living in Beechwood Harbor for the last couple of years, she’d have been bound to see Gwen flying through town at a clip, spreading gossip like a pollinating honey bee in spring.
“It’s a long story, but in a nutshell, I met a ghost on the beach about a week ago. Her name is Katerina and she still hasn’t remember
ed much about her mortal life. Normally, I would adhere to the conventional advice and let her remember things on her own, naturally. But, Katerina was murdered—”
Lucy gasped, quickly pressing her small hands to cover her mouth. “Oh that’s awful!”
I nodded. “The police located her body and are working to solve the case but I’m afraid they’re running low on leads and now it looks like her friend might be in danger as well.”
Lucy’s eyes pooled with tears. “How can I help?”
I smiled softly at her eagerness. “Well, Katerina is actually here. I was hoping you might meet her and see if there is any way you can access her memories.”
“I can certainly try. Like I said, I’m not in complete control of my abilities, but with a little focus, I’ll do my best to find something.”
We got up from the table and I led Lucy to the small, fenced off area at the far edge of the patio where a small water feature babbled to cover the sound of the air conditioning unit that was hidden behind the fence. Katerina was pacing back and forth, her hands twisting and wringing together. “Katerina, this is Lucy,” I said to her once she spun around again.
Katerina zoomed forward and stuck out her hand, an autopilot gesture that she realized a moment too late was completely pointless. “Right.” She frowned and linked her hands together again. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Lucy marveled for a moment and I smiled. Yep, Katerina was definitely her first ghost encounter. “You too, Katerina. Holly thought that maybe I could try and access your memories from before you—” Lucy stopped herself, her cheeks turning a brilliant shade of pink. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Katerina said, dismissing the matter with a wave of her hand. “Before I died.”
“Yes,” Lucy replied, her cheeks still blushing wildly. “Would it be okay for me to try?”
“Please do.”
I stepped back and let Lucy have some space to work. She met Katerina’s eyes and stared, just as she had tried with me minutes before. Time suspended, my heart not beating and my lungs not sucking in a breath as I waited.
Katerina’s eyes slowly closed and my heart hammered back to life. Was it working? Had they connected? Lucy’s eyes were also closed. It must have worked! I forced myself to squelch a victory whoop.
The minutes ticked on. Neither Lucy nor Katerina moved or blinked. I was beginning to get nervous that something had gone wrong, when all at once, Lucy gasped. Her expression wide and open, like a drowning victim finally getting a breath of air. She sputtered for a few moments and Katerina snapped out of her trance as well, except with less drama. For her, it was more akin to waking up from a nap. She blinked rapidly a few times, clearing the fog, and then locked onto Lucy. “You could see it too?”
Lucy nodded, her green eyes going darker. “I did. Can you remember anything?”
Katerina closed her eyes once more. A smile spread over her lips. “I can see my mother! She’s teaching me how to use my little toy oven. I made a little cake. It’s burnt but she helped me frost it anyways.”
Tears welled in my own eyes, thinking of my own mother and how she would have done the same for me. I quickly stored the memory away, not wanting to get sucked into my own reminiscing. For the moment, Katerina’s was more important.
“I can see Paisley and me, skiing at Mount Bachelor. It was our first trip away from home together. We thought we were so grown up, being able to rent our own hotel room and order room service and movies.” She paused, smiling at the memory. “We met two college boys on the slopes and they invited us to a party.”
Katerina continued for a while, pulling out random memories at various stages of her life. They all tumbled out, seemingly in no particular order. Some of the memories made her smile, but as she went on, deeper I supposed, the smile started to fade.
And the memories she pulled to the surface became darker.
“I remember my grandmother’s funeral. Everyone in black, gathered at the grave site. I picked up a handful of dirt and tossed it into the ground. My mother didn’t leave the house for a month after that.”
Lucy and I exchanged a forlorn glance. I wanted to speak, to pull Katerina away from the painful spots in her past, but I knew I couldn’t. She had to remember everything. It was what she had asked for. Besides that, I still needed her to access the memories about Bobby. Which, I had a feeling, were going to rise up soon. I had little doubt they would be counted among the darker moments in her past.
Katerina’s face twisted, lines gathered at the edges of her eyes as she squeezed them shut even tighter. “There’s a man. He’s tall, broad shoulders, dark hair. He’s yelling at me and I can’t make him stop. I’m afraid.”
I drew in a silent breath. This was it.
“Wait—he’s…he’s gone! I got away.”
Panic welled up inside of me, but I didn’t dare to speak. All I could do was wait. I threw a desperate look at Lucy and she closed her eyes. Katerina stopped speaking and I wondered if she was listening to something Lucy was telling her mind. If that was even possible. After another long pause, Katerina continued, “I can see the ocean. It goes on for miles and miles. The trees are tall and I can see the sun through the branches. It feels like magic.” Katerina smiled once again but it slipped just as quickly. “It’s going to be dark soon. I told him it was too late to go hiking! He won’t turn back for the car. We argue and—”
Katerina’s eyes popped open, glossy and bright.
She shifted them to me and whispered, “Holly, he pushed me off the cliff. I saw the man who killed me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I DIDN’T WANT to risk anyone overhearing our conversation, so we raced back to the manor where we could be sure that no one was listening. We gathered in a circle in the backyard, near my greenhouse. Once I knew it was safe to speak, the questions rushed out rapid-fire. “You saw him? What did he look like? Was it Bobby?”
Katerina closed her eyes again but she shook her head. “He’s walking ahead of me. I still can’t see his face. But he’s tall. The same one that was yelling at me. The one that I escaped from.”
It had to be Bobby.
I trembled, thinking back to the two occasions that Nick and I had visited him, alone, out on an isolated piece of property. Anything could have happened.
“Lucy, did you see his face?”
Lucy shook her head. “No. It was weird. I could more feel her memories than see them.”
My heart sank. “What was that part at the end? How did you guide her back to the right track?”
“I don’t really know how I did it. I just prodded at her subconscious. It was like we were connected and her mind could see mine.”
“Mind melding,” I breathed. It was just like what Grandmother Honeysuckle had told me about.
Katerina was wringing her hands again. “Does this mean you can catch him? The man who killed me?”
I gave her a solemn nod. “Katerina, I’m so sorry to tell you this, but it looks like your friend Jess was right, your ex-boyfriend Bobby was responsible for your death. Do you remember breaking up with him?”
Katerina opened her mouth but stopped short of saying anything. Then, with a start, silvery tears streaked down her cheeks. I’d never seen a ghost cry before and the sight ripped on my heartstrings. “I left him because he fought with Lou, the owner of the bar where I worked. Lou tried to get me to take out a restraining order, but I wouldn’t. I…I couldn’t. I was so weak—”
“No. No, no, Katerina. You were strong!”
She shifted her glossy eyes to mine. “I couldn’t let him go. And what happened? He pushed me off a cliff and made me into this—” her voice cracked as she gestured down at herself. “I’m a monster now.”
Lucy gave her a wistful smile. “Honey, let me tell you, I have a real monster living with me right now and you’re not even close.”
I smiled sadly at Lucy, silently thankful for her attempt at levity. “Kate
rina, you’re not a monster. You just—”
Before I could finish my sentence, she disappeared from sight.
I spun around, scanning the yard for any trace of her. “What the—”
“Is that normal?” Lucy asked.
“No. Not at all. Normally they shimmer and then disappear. I’ve never seen Posy or Gwen or any of the other ghosts I’ve met just…vanish.”
“Oh.” Lucy followed my gaze. “You don’t think I damaged her, do you?”
I brushed my hand along Lucy’s shoulder. “No. Believe me. You gave her the best gift. She might just need a little time to process everything.”
Lucy nodded but she didn’t look completely convinced. “Well, I better get back home before the monster-in-law calls up Gordy’s ex to come by for a picnic or something.” She rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the potion, Holly. I’ll see you next weekend.”
“Sure thing. And, Lucy, thanks for helping with Katerina. You helped more than you can know.”
She nodded and then made her way back to the stone pavers that led to the front of the manor.
“Katerina? Are you there?” I called out.
Nothing.
I sighed and hoped that wherever she had gone, she was okay. And that she would come back soon.
I decided to get some work done in the greenhouse while I waited. There were still a handful of daylight hours left, and in all the craziness at work, my garden had fallen low on my priority list. I gathered Boots and went to work. Seemingly in the blink of an eye, the sun was on its way down, and it was almost dinner time. I left the greenhouse, covered in dust, sweat, and soil, but I also wore the satisfied smile of a hard day’s work. I paused in the side yard and glanced up at the side of the house to see Adam’s bedroom window illuminated with the two lamps that sat on either end of his desk. Adam had been working on a project most of the day, but I figured he would come downstairs to eat soon. If there was one thing I could count on in this crazy world, it was Adam’s appetite.
Twice the Witch: A Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery (Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries Book 2) Page 17
