Witch Out of Water

by Amanda M. Lee

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it’s a gift.”

  “You might consider returning that particular gift for store credit.” He gave me another kiss. “Have fun. I hope Madame Selena answers whatever questions you have. As for the rest … we’ll talk tonight.”

  That sounded ominous. “Talk about what?”

  “How hot you are for me and why you feel the need to cover for that with inappropriate jokes.”

  Now it was my turn to scowl. “You make me tired.”

  “Right back at you.”

  I WAS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH my new guest, but I remembered my manners long enough to offer tea and cookies. Madame Selena accepted both with grace and a bit of gluttony.

  “These are very good cookies.” She shoved a full one into her mouth and smiled, continuing to talk even as she chewed. “May never had cookies this good.”

  “Oh, well … .” It took everything I had not to stare as the crumbs clung to her lips. “I got them at the market.”

  “Not much of a baker, huh?” Madame Selena winked as she slurped her tea. “May wasn’t a baker either. She always said she had better things to do.”

  I warmed to the conversation. “I don’t know a lot about May. Were you close?”

  “Um … I’m not sure I’d use that word.” Madame Selena held up her empty teacup and I obediently got to my feet and filled it from the pot I’d set on the small cart at the edge of the living room. “We were professional rivals of sorts. We respected one another. We realized there was enough room for both of us to operate without costing the other anything.”

  “That’s good.” I had no idea what else to say. “She hasn’t been around much. May, I mean. She’s here occasionally, but she disappears in the middle of a conversation … kind of like she gets bored out of nowhere or something.”

  “I wouldn’t take that personally.” Madame Selena’s smile was soothing as she accepted the fresh cup of tea I delivered. “May hasn’t been back very long. It takes spirits a long time to learn about their new abilities.”

  I widened my eyes. “Is that true?”

  “Yes.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” I grabbed my own teacup and sipped. “Do you know how it works? The ghost thing, I mean. Why she came back as a ghost at all?”

  “She made a choice.”

  “She chose to come back as a ghost?” I found the entire conversation illuminating. No matter what Galen thought, I believed that Madame Selena was going to expand my knowledge base exponentially. I basically knew nothing, so that wasn’t saying much. “Why would she do that?”

  Madame Selena shrugged, noncommittal. “Haven’t you asked her that?”

  That was a good question. “I guess not.” I leaned back in my chair, conflicted. “When I first realized she was in the house I freaked out a bit. I didn’t know ghosts were real until I found her in the kitchen. I didn’t know witches and shifters were real either.”

  “On Moonstone Bay it’s easy to forget that paranormal abilities and pagan traditions have been shunned in many places.” Madame Selena sounded like a wise woman. That didn’t stop me from worrying that Galen was right about her. Maybe she was nutty in a way that would be a hindrance instead of a help. “Here, the paranormal is … well … normal. Where you came from, the opposite is true. The ‘normal’ people on this island are the ones who stand out, if that makes sense.”

  It did. Er, well, at least in an odd sort of way. “That still doesn’t explain why May would want to be a ghost,” I pointed out. “Wouldn’t it be better if she moved on and settled … on the other side?” Even as I said the words I found myself wondering if there was an other side. Every long-standing belief I’d ever held was suddenly up for grabs. “I mean … what about Heaven?”

  Madame Selena pursed her lips as she regarded me. “I’m not one for getting into religious debates.”

  “That’s not what I’m asking you to do.” I meant it. “I’m simply wondering if … um … there’s anything out there beyond this world. I mean, if May didn’t come back as a ghost, what would’ve happened to her?”

  “It depends on what she believes.”

  That was … interesting. “I’m not sure I follow.”

  “A person’s belief system plays into their final resting place,” she explained. “For example, if you believe in the Christian faith and you’re a good person then you move on to Heaven. If you’re a bad person, you get a one-way ticket to Hell.”

  That sounded frightening. “Wow. Um … wow.”

  “Yes. There are even grim reapers who show up to collect souls.” Madame Selena sounded unbelievably knowledgeable. “That’s why we aren’t overloaded with ghosts. The reapers take care of it.”

  Huh. “If the reapers take care of it, why is May still here?”

  “Sometimes the reapers fail and a soul chooses to stay behind. Obviously May decided to stay behind.”

  “But … why?”

  “Perhaps she thought she had unfinished business.”

  “What would that business be?”

  Madame Selena’s eyes lit with mirth. “Have you ever considered, my dear, that her unfinished business is you?”

  The question threw me for a loop. “No. I … no. Why would I be her unfinished business?”

  “Because she lost her daughter and only had you left,” Madame Selena replied without hesitation. “True, she didn’t know you. My understanding is that your father didn’t allow that. You were still her flesh and blood. She left you the lighthouse. Part of her probably knew that you would come here. I’m guessing she wanted to stick around to meet you.”

  “I’ve asked her questions, though. I’ve pushed her on what happened with my mother. She doesn’t want to answer. She conveniently disappears.”

  “That could be because she’s weak.”

  “Or it could be because she doesn’t want to answer my questions,” I grumbled.

  “That, too.” Madame Selena beamed. “Only May can tell you what’s going on. You need to be firm and ask her.”

  “Okay.” I wasn’t convinced. “What else are we going to do today?”

  “I thought we would start with a long talk about the nature of being a witch.”

  That sounded unbelievably boring. “Sure.” I feigned enthusiasm. “I love long talks about stuff like that.”

  “Good. You’ve got quite a few in your future.”

  I ignored the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and kept my smile in place. “I can’t wait.”

  “Good. I have much to teach you. More importantly, you have a lot to learn.”

  “I guess we should get to it.”

  “Indeed. We’ll start with the dawning of magic and the appearance of the first witch. That was before Jesus Christ, so we’ve got a lot to go through.”

  Crap. This was so not what I had in mind when I went looking for a mentor.

  11

  Eleven

  Two hours with Madame Selena was about all I could take. I got Galen’s “nutty” reference fifteen minutes in but managed to hold on … although just barely. It was almost lunchtime before I started cracking. At that point, I lied about having an appointment and managed to show Madame Selena the door after a bit of wrangling and a lot of lying. She was much more interested in going through May’s magic books, but she finally left me to my non-existent appointment, offering up a wave and a promise to drop in again soon.

  I wasn’t looking forward to that.

  Because I was a paranoid individual, I worried she would hide in the bushes and watch the lighthouse to see if I really did have somewhere to be. I didn’t want to be caught lying so early in our relationship, so I changed my clothes, locked the lighthouse and headed to town. I searched the bushes for a hint of movement as I passed but came up empty. Instinctively I knew it was ridiculous to suspect Madame Selena of spying, but Galen said she was nutty, and I was starting to believe he was selling her condition – whatever it was – short.

  Lilac’s ba
r was quiet when I entered. She waved from behind the bar and I immediately headed in that direction, climbing onto a stool and accepting the iced tea she automatically offered with a smile.

  “Thanks. I almost wish I could toss some whiskey in this to get the day started with a bang, but I’m guessing that’s probably a bad idea, huh?”

  Lilac arched an eyebrow. “It depends. What sorrows do you want to drink away? You didn’t have a fight with Galen, did you?”

  I thought back to our morning interlude. “I don’t think ‘fight’ is the right word.”

  “What word would you use?”

  “Banter. We bantered.” And his huge ego somehow managed to double in size, I silently added. “It wasn’t a big deal. You don’t have to worry about it.”

  “Well, that’s good. At least I think it’s good.” Lilac’s gaze was probing. “You look … flustered.”

  I was fairly certain that wasn’t a compliment. “I’m fine.”

  “You still look flustered.”

  “I had an early-morning visitor.”

  “Oh, are you talking about May?” Lilac offered me a sympathetic cluck that I didn’t quite understand. “Did she see you and Galen doing the dirty?”

  “No,” I sputtered, wiping my mouth to clean up the sprayed iced tea. “Why would you even ask something like that?”

  “Word spread before everything shut down last night that Galen was spending the night at your house. I figured May was the only one who would dare interrupt you guys.”

  Huh. That was so not the answer I was expecting. “First, Galen only spent the night because he was too tired to walk home.”

  “Galen’s house is like a mile from the lighthouse.”

  “So?”

  “So he could’ve walked a mile in fifteen minutes and been totally fine no matter how exhausted he was,” Lilac replied. “I don’t think I believe the ‘he was exhausted’ excuse you seem to want to spin. There’s no reason to get all worked up. Everyone has a pool on when you guys are going to take things all the way. It’s fine.”

  I pressed the tip of my tongue to the back of my teeth as I worked overtime to calm my frustration. “You have a pool?”

  “Yes. That’s normal. Don’t worry about it.”

  Oh, why would I worry about that? Was she kidding? “I don’t want you guys taking bets on that. It’s … gross.”

  “Trust me. There’s nothing gross about it. We have to get our kicks somehow.”

  “Yes, well, nothing happened.” I had no idea why I felt the need to explain myself to Lilac. It was a high school reaction, and I wasn’t a fan of high school theatrics when I was in high school so I felt ridiculous for being mired in the conversation. “He slept. We woke up and had breakfast. That was it.”

  Lilac stared at me for a long moment. “Are you making that up?”

  “No.”

  “Ugh.” Lilac’s pretty face twisted into a scowl. “What is wrong with you? That man is a prime piece of steak, honey. I would be rubbing myself all over him at the drop of a hat if I were in your position.”

  There was no way I would admit to what really happened. Even if I knew Lilac better, I’d never own up to that. “What’s his deal?” I inclined my head in the direction of the man sitting at the end of the bar. I recognized him from the police station the previous day. He looked to be double-fisting shots of bourbon on the rocks this morning. “How long has he been here?”

  “That’s Gus Doyle.”

  “I know who he is.” I tugged on my limited patience. “He got in a huge fight with Henry Conner at the police station yesterday. They were threatening each other with guns and chainsaws.” That was a slight exaggeration, but that’s how I pictured a fight going down between the two feisty and feuding men. “I kind of feel bad because of what happened with Trish.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t feel too bad for Gus.” Lilac’s eyes were thoughtful as she flicked them to the sad-looking man. “I’m sure he’s feeling sorry enough for himself.”

  I was surprised by her reaction. “His daughter is dead.”

  “And this feud has been raging for decades.” Lilac licked her lips. “You said something about talking to Wesley yesterday. Didn’t he tell you what’s at the heart of this war?”

  “Kind of, but not really.” I searched my memory. “He just said that they were always fighting and hated each other.”

  “That’s true. Their fathers started the feud long before the two of them were born. They carried it on, though, and they were happy to do it.”

  I wasn’t sure what she meant by that. “Can you be more specific?”

  “Sure.” Lilac leaned closer. “Gus and Henry were both on the wrestling team in high school and they both insisted on being in the same weight class so they could wrestle only each other. We’re on an island, so there’s only one wrestling team, and the participants spend all their time going after the same people. When it came to Gus and Henry, the stories are legendary. Apparently there’s even talk of genital punching.”

  Lilac was so earnest I could do nothing but nod. “Okay. That’s … quite the picture you’ve painted. That’s not the stuff of lifelong feuds, though.”

  “I don’t think you understand how seriously some people take wrestling … or genital punching.”

  “There has to be more to it.”

  “Oh, there’s more to it.” Lilac risked a look at Gus and lowered her voice. “Gus also had an affair with Barbie Conner.”

  I furrowed my brow. “Barbie Conner?”

  “Ashley’s mother.”

  I ran the scenario through my head. “Wait … so Barbie Conner is Henry’s wife and she had an affair with Gus? That means she had an affair with her husband’s mortal enemy. That can’t be good.”

  “Oh, don’t get your panties in a twist, Esmerelda,” Lilac teased. “The only things more active than the feud over the years were the affairs. There are so many rumors about affairs between the Conners and Doyles that I have no idea which rumors are true.”

  Huh. I didn’t see that coming. “So Gus slept with Ashley’s mother. How did Henry take that?”

  “Not well. He and Barbie divorced when Ashley was close to graduating high school. They split custody, although I remember seeing Ashley with Henry more than Barbie over the intervening years.”

  “Is Barbie still on the island?”

  “Yeah. She lives on one of the side streets … Magnolia, I think. She bought a place of her own shortly after the divorce. She doesn’t participate in much town stuff. I think she fancies herself above it.”

  “You sound as if you don’t like her.”

  “I don’t like most of these people,” Lilac admitted. “Barbie has always been full of herself. She’s like a southern belle without the breeding or pedigree. It’s hard to explain.”

  “It sounds like it.” I rubbed my chin as I gazed at Gus. “Do you think it’s possible that Henry killed Trish as payback for Gus having an affair with his wife?”

  “I guess that’s a possibility,” Lilac hedged. “That was a long time ago. It wasn’t as if Henry was even in love with Barbie. They didn’t like each other at all. In fact, most people say that Henry was in love with Maureen but settled for Barbie when he couldn’t have what he wanted.”

  “And who is Maureen?”

  “Oh, sorry.” Lilac’s smile was sheepish. “I forget you’re not up on all of this yet. Don’t worry. You’ll catch up.”

  That was a terrifying thought. “Who is Maureen?” I repeated.

  “Maureen Doyle. Or, well, she used to be Maureen Doyle. She moved to the mainland when she split with Gus about five years ago. I hear she’s remarried and only sees Trish, like, once a year.”

  Wow. It was like being trapped in a soap opera. I had no idea what to make of it. “So, you’re saying Henry was in love with Gus’s wife and Gus had an affair with Henry’s wife.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “And now they’re all divorced and unhappy.”

  “I wo
uld definitely agree with that.”

  “And Trish Doyle is dead,” I added as an afterthought.

  Lilac sobered. “Yeah. That’s less funny.”

  There was no doubt about that.

  I LEFT GUS TO HIS drinking for thirty minutes before I decided someone needed to curb his reckless habits. Lilac tried talking me out of approaching him – although her efforts were fairly feeble because she was mildly curious as to how things would turn out – but I was determined to talk to the man.

  He barely lifted his eyes from the bottom of his glass when I took the open stool to his left.

  “Hi.” I hoped I didn’t sound too chirpy. “I don’t know if you remember, but I was at the police station yesterday.”

  Gus flicked his red-rimmed eyes to me. “I saw you.”

  “I’m Hadley Hunter.”

  “I know who you are. You’re May and Wesley’s granddaughter.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re also Galen Blackwood’s girlfriend, which came as something of a surprise because he’s never much showed an interest in having a full-time girlfriend before.” Gus was clearly drunk. His pronunciation meandered a bit and his face was flushed with color. “How did you manage to bring down the esteemed sheriff, by the way? My Trish had a crush on him for years, but he barely showed her any attention.”

  Ugh. This was not the direction I wanted the conversation to go off the bat. “Oh, well … .” I didn’t have an answer for him. From the moment Galen and I had met there had been a spark. It wasn’t love at first sight or anything – I don’t believe in that – but something chemical snapped off in both our brains. It was interesting … and a little daunting. “I don’t know. We just seemed to click.”

  “I think that’s how it is with people.” Gus didn’t seem especially bothered by my answer. “I’ve seen that happen with people before.”

  “Did it happen for you with Trish’s mother?”

  “With Maureen?” Gus’s eyebrows flew up his forehead. “No. It most certainly didn’t happen with Maureen. With her it was more of a Dumpster fire than anything else.”