Witching You Were Here (Wicked Witches of the Midwest Book 3)

by Lee, Amanda M.

  “I told you that I didn’t,” Edith said irritably. “I just know that he’s had a few phone calls where he mentions secret meetings somewhere on the outskirts of town.”

  Hmmm. “Next time, why don’t you follow him when he leaves the office?” I suggested.

  Edith cocked her head as she considered my request. “Okay, maybe I will. That might be fun.”

  “Then report back to me and tell me who he is meeting with.”

  “I’m not your slave,” Edith reminded me.

  “I know that.”

  “If I occasionally help you, it’s because I’m loyal and you’ve been nice to me,” Edith continued. Plus, I was one of the few people in town that could see her, so she didn’t have a lot of choice in whom she was going to interact with. I didn’t say that out loud, though. “I’m not your employee,” she reminded me.

  “Fine, don’t follow him then,” I said. “I just thought you might want to get those investigative reporter juices flowing again.” In truth, Edith had been the local Ann Landers – giving out pithy advice to housewives and teenagers. The way she told it, though, she was Hemlock Cove’s version of Walter Cronkite. I was just baiting her, quite frankly. I had no doubt she would take the bait. She always did.

  “No, I want to follow him,” Edith said hastily. “I just think you should ask me nicely.”

  “Please follow Brian and find out what he’s up to, Edith,” I said, never looking up from my laptop.

  “It would be my pleasure,” Edith said.

  When I glanced back up, she was gone. I could only hope she was on the job. I really did want to know what Brian was up to.

  After double-checking the budget, I reread the lead story one more time and then emailed it off to the paginator. With the threat of a blizzard looming later in the week, I figured it would be wise to try to get the paper locked early this week.

  I was shaken out of my menial task when my cell phone rang from inside the pocket of my coat. I rummaged around for it quickly, recognizing Chief Terry’s phone number on the caller ID when I pulled it out.

  “What’s up, Chief? You missed homemade cinnamon rolls this morning, by the way. They were awesome.”

  Chief Terry was a longtime family friend and he was a visitor for meals at the inn several times a week. The truth is, Chief Terry was the subject of an ongoing competition between my mother and her sisters. They were all convinced they were going to be the one to land him. For his part, he seemed to bask in the attention. I wasn’t actually sure what would happen if one of my family members actually managed to nab him. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be pretty. I think he knew that, too.

  “I didn’t call about food,” Chief Terry said gruffly. His voice sounded far away, like he was outside and near the water.

  “What’s going on?” Chief Terry may be the head of Hemlock Cove’s small police department, but he was also my best source.

  “I think I just found something that could change your weekly edition,” he said. “Are you still looking for something to bump the Gunderson remodel off the front page?”

  Was this a trick question? “Why, what do you have?”

  “We’re hauling in an abandoned boat that was found out in the channel a few minutes ago,” he said. “If you hurry, you should be able to get some decent photos.”

  “Where is it?”

  “It’s being tugged in now,” he said. “It will be here in a few minutes.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Down on the docks.”

  “I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I said excitedly. “What kind of boat is it?”

  “A big one,” Chief Terry said. “That’s all I know right now.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  “You don’t have any of those cinnamon rolls with you, by any chance?” He asked hopefully.

  “No, but I saw they had all the fixings out to make pumpkin pie tonight,” I said slyly.

  “I’ll be waiting for you,” Chief Terry said.

  I disconnected and grabbed my gear excitedly. An abandoned boat was definitely a better story than the Gunderson remodel. My week was looking up.

  Four

  Hemlock Cove, despite being a small town, has a lot of great aspects. The fact that it has mile-long beach access to Lake Michigan is just one of them. When I got out to the parking lot, I debated about driving to the docks but I quickly thought better of it. It would actually take me longer to drive there than it would to walk if I cut through the Wellington’s livery property – which I had every intention of doing.

  When I got to the livery, I saw that Marcus was working in the barn. I waved at him as I walked through the building. “Hey, Marcus.”

  “Hey, Bay. What’s going on? Nothing is wrong, I hope.”

  Marcus was exactly what you would expect to see when you imagine a farm hand. He is handsome, with his overgrown blond hair and bright and sparkling eyes. He is always dressed in denim and flannel and – since he has been seeing Thistle for the past few weeks – I know that he is all lean muscle and bronzed skin under his clothes. Let’s just say I accidentally walked in on them naked once – or maybe twice.

  “No, nothing is wrong,” I said hurriedly. “I’m just cutting through your property to get to the docks.”

  “What’s going on at the docks?” Marcus furrowed his brow.

  “They’re towing in an abandoned boat,” I said dismissively. “I’m just covering it for the paper.”

  “That’s big news for Hemlock Cove,” Marcus chuckled. “Well, at least when we don’t have a murderer running around.”

  I laughed at Marcus’ feeble joke, but suddenly I wasn’t feeling as excited about the abandoned boat. A sudden wave of dread washed over me, but I shrugged it off. This was my job, after all, and just because a boat had been abandoned in the channel that didn’t mean that dead bodies would follow. I hoped.

  It took me about five minutes to get to the docks. When I turned the corner that led to the lake access, I was surprised to see that there were a handful of cars parked at the end of the dock. One of them was Chief Terry’s cruiser, and another I recognized as belonging to one of his officers. I didn’t recognize the other two vehicles.

  Chief Terry was standing at the end of the dock waiting for me.

  “Is it here yet?” I asked.

  “No, it’s about five minutes out.”

  “What do we know?”

  “Right now? Just that a sixty-foot cabin cruiser was found in the channel by the marine patrol,” Chief Terry said. “When they couldn’t get anyone to answer them, they boarded the boat and found it was deserted.”

  “That sounds pretty ominous,” I said. “I’m not an expert on boats, but I would think that there had to be a pretty good reason to abandon a sixty-foot cabin cruiser. They’re pretty expensive, aren’t they?”

  “Let’s just say you and I are never going to be able to afford one,” Chief Terry said easily.

  I noticed that he was looking anywhere but directly at me. Something was up. “Were there any signs of foul play?”

  “I don’t know,” Chief Terry said. He finally glanced at me and then blew out a frustrated sigh. “I’m not technically in charge of the investigation.”

  “What do you mean?” A hard knot had started to form in the pit of my stomach. It was like I knew the answer, before he even uttered the words.

  “The feds are here,” he said warily.

  Crap.

  “They’re very interested in the boat,” Chief Terry continued. “And they’re not telling me why.”

  I swallowed hard. “Why would the feds be interested in an abandoned boat?” That wasn’t actually the question I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t find the words to ask that question just yet.

  “That’s a pretty good question,” Chief Terry nodded. His kind eyes met mine as I looked up warily. He knew what was bothering me. “Landon is in charge of the investigation.”

  There it was: The words I hadn’t wanted to hear. La
ndon Michaels was not only here, but he was in a position of power. Landon and I had met several months ago when he was undercover with a group of local drug dealers. He had saved my family from a particularly unpleasant demise. Then, several weeks ago, we had crossed paths again when a local businessman was murdered in town. Landon and I had been circling each other like two teenagers in heat for several weeks, but when Aunt Tillie caused a lightning storm to come down in the middle of the woods – and a killer had disappeared into thin air – Landon had taken a step back. A really big one. He had asked me for the truth, but I was too scared to tell it to him. I hadn’t seen or heard from him since.

  When Chief Terry saw the sudden sorrow wash over my face, he put his hand on my shoulder in an effort to comfort me. “He’s an ass. You don’t have to talk to him. I’ll give you all the information. If you want to leave, I’ll understand. I’ll come to the paper when I know more.”

  “Why did you call me here?” I said finally. “Especially if you knew he was here.” I wasn’t really angry with Chief Terry; I was just looking for any excuse to be mad at someone.

  “They showed up right after I got off the phone with you,” he said apologetically. “I was going to call you back and tell you not to come but . . . I didn’t know if that was the right thing to do. I was sitting here trying to decide what was the right thing to do when I saw you walking this way.”

  “You did the right thing,” I said suddenly. “I don’t care about Landon Michaels. I’m a professional. He’s a professional. We can have a professional working relationship.” I almost totally believed that.

  Chief Terry regarded me doubtfully. “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure,” I said defiantly.

  The bravado I had been feeling – or at least projecting – immediately fled me when I glanced up and saw Landon walking towards Chief Terry and me. Even from a hundred feet away he was an imposing sight. Shoulder-length black hair – which he refused to cut in case he needed to go undercover again – piercing blue eyes, broad shoulders, narrow hips and a set of dimples that could turn me into a puddle of goo in thirty seconds flat. He was walking towards us with a purpose. When he saw Chief Terry wasn’t alone, though, his pace slowed.

  I clenched my jaw grimly. The confrontation I hoped would never happen was about to happen. I mentally cursed myself for being in such a hurry to get to the inn this morning. I had let my hair air dry into a series of uneven waves – which were poking out from underneath my knit hat – and I had put on the bare minimum of makeup before I left this morning.

  What? I’m not shallow. I just would rather verbally crush him when I looked my very best.

  Landon paused when he was a few feet away from the two of us. He turned to Chief Terry first. “The boat is almost here. I thought you would want to be the first one on it.”

  Landon wasn’t an idiot – even though I had been calling him exactly that for the past month. The feds may have had more power, but he knew it was always a good idea to keep the locals happy and not tread all over them.

  Chief Terry turned to me, at a loss. I could tell he didn’t want to leave me alone with Landon, but he didn’t know how to voice those concerns without making me look like a whiny mess. I squeezed his arm reassuringly. “Tell me when I can come take some pictures,” I said.

  Chief Terry nodded and stepped around Landon. He stopped long enough to give him a warning look. He didn’t speak any words, but his message was clear: Make her cry and I’ll make you cry.

  When Chief Terry was gone, Landon turned to me warily. “How are things?”

  “Fine,” I said breezily. “Couldn’t be better.”

  “How are Thistle and Clove?”

  “They’re good,” I said. “Thistle is still out to get Aunt Tillie and Clove stayed home to drool over the new handyman.”

  “And your mom and aunts?”

  I couldn’t help but smile internally. He was going to run out of relatives soon. “They’re good. They made homemade cinnamon rolls this morning.”

  “And your Aunt Tillie? Is she still causing trouble?”

  “If by trouble you mean is she sleeping in the kitchen in an ancient recliner so my mom and aunts can’t throw it out, then yes, she’s causing trouble,” I said vacantly. “She’s more worried about them stealing her wine room than anything else right now.”

  “Her wine room?” Landon looked confused.

  “It’s basically a closet in the basement where she brews that wine you drank the night in the clearing,” I said. I immediately wished I hadn’t brought up the night in the clearing. Landon had interrupted us doing one of our witchy séances. He hadn’t seen anything, but he had known we were up to something.

  Landon didn’t seem bothered by the reference. “Yeah, that’s some strong stuff,” he laughed. “I’m guessing she doesn’t have a license to make that.”

  “Chief Terry lets her slide as long as she doesn’t sell it,” I replied.

  “And does she adhere to her end of that bargain?”

  No. “Of course.”

  “I think you’re lying,” Landon laughed. He paused when he realized the weight of his words. He had thought I was lying when I told him I had no idea what had happened down at the Hollow Creek either. He had been right. “I didn’t mean . . .”

  “It’s fine,” I waved off his concerns. “I am lying. She probably does sell a few bottles of it here and there. In fact, she’s about to embark on a wine-making contest with Marnie and Thistle. I’m hoping that keeps her busy and out of everyone’s business for the next week or so.”

  “Do you think that will actually happen?” Landon looked relieved that I hadn’t been offended by the lying comment.

  “Probably not. I can always hope, though.”

  We lapsed into an uncomfortable silence after that. Landon looked like he wanted to say something, but I couldn’t be sure. “I’m glad I ran into you,” he said finally. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

  “You have my phone number,” I reminded him irritably. “Although I can’t imagine what you would want to talk about. I’ve told you everything I know about what happened at the Hollow Creek.”

  Landon gritted his teeth. “I know that’s not true,” he said carefully. “I also know you obviously have a reason for keeping it secret.”

  I shifted my gaze. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Bay,” Landon sighed. “I know something happened out there. I know that your Aunt Tillie did . . . something.”

  “And what do you think she did?” I asked shrilly.

  “What do I think she did? I think she brought a storm down and vaporized a man.”

  Holy crap, there it was. In the days following the incident at the Hollow Creek Landon’s rational mind had refused to believe what he had seen with his own eyes. He had insisted that the suspect must have run into the woods when we were all distracted by the lightning strike. Now he obviously thought differently.

  “I don’t know anything . . .” I started and then stopped. I didn’t want to keep lying to him. I couldn’t tell him the truth, though. Instead, I just shrugged helplessly.

  “I know you’re protecting your family,” Landon said, glancing around to make sure someone wasn’t listening. “I also know that you’re not ready to trust me. Yet.”

  I pursed my lips to ward off the words I wanted to say. The truth was, part of me wanted to tell him he was crazy and run home to my mommy. The other part of me wanted to admit the truth and see how he took it. Instead, I did nothing.

  “You’re not going to say anything,” Landon pressed.

  “I don’t know what to say,” I admitted.

  Landon looked frustrated, but determined. “Why don’t we continue this conversation over dinner tonight?”

  My throat was suddenly dry. “I don’t know,” I said hesitantly.

  “Too soon?” Landon looked amused. “Or perhaps you want to see what Clove and Thistle think about it?”

  Well, that wa
s insulting. Like I couldn’t make my own decisions or something. Sure, it was true, but it was still insulting.

  “How about I give you a call instead?” he offered.

  “I guess that would be okay,” I said grudgingly.

  Landon smiled in relief. It was his full smile, dimples and all. “Good.”

  I glanced up when I heard footsteps on the dock. Chief Terry was returning. He didn’t look happy. “Everything alright here?”

  “It’s fine,” I said hurriedly.

  Landon looked at Chief Terry questioningly. “What did you find?”

  “Blood.”

  “Blood?” I asked in surprise.

  “On the deck of the boat. There’s blood.”

  “How much blood?” Landon asked.

  “Enough to call the coast guard out for an aerial search,” Chief Terry said.

  Crap. Maybe an abandoned boat in the channel did mean a couple more dead bodies were about to turn up after all.

  Five

  I stayed at the docks long enough to get pictures of the crime scene crews working on the deck of the boat – The Merry Minnow -- and then made a quiet escape. When I got back to the parking lot, I glanced back in the direction of the boat to see if I could get one final glance of Landon. I blushed furiously when I realized he was standing on the bow watching me leave. I raised my hand and waved at him goofily. I felt stupid as I was doing it. When Landon waved back, I couldn’t help but let a little rush of pleasure course through me. Yeah, I was a goner. No matter what Thistle and Clove said, I knew I was going to go on that proffered dinner date.

  Instead of returning to The Whistler, I made my way to Hypnotic instead. I wanted to touch base with Clove and Thistle – although I had my doubts that the former would actually make it into work today. I cursed myself for my co-dependence, but I knew I would seek their advice regardless. Landon had practically broken my heart when he left, I wasn’t sure that it was a wise idea to let him back in. I wanted to know what they thought, though.