by N. M. Howell
I checked the clock on my phone, and I only had 15 minutes before I had to be at the mayor’s office for our meeting. I shut my laptop and zipped it into my bag, then went downstairs for that dreaded coffee with Jordan.
He was sitting in one of the booths with two large to-go cups in front of him, with a pleased smile on his face. “I got you a pumpkin spice latte. Girls love those,” he said to me.
“Oh, thanks,” I said, glancing over at Mr. Bramley behind the counter. He shrugged at me and went back to fussing about behind the counter.
No, not all girls liked pumpkin spice lattes.
I pretended to take a sip. “Yum, delicious,” I lied.
He smiled, obviously pleased with himself.
“Ryan really likes you, you know,” he said conversationally. Ugh, really? That’s what he wanted to talk about?
“Okay. So why are you buying me coffee then?”
He shrugged. “We’re not that close.”
“Look, thanks so much for the coffee, but I really do have to go to this meeting.”
“Sure, no problem. Good luck with everything.” He sounded like he genuinely meant it. I smiled back.
“I’ll see you later. Going to go say hi quick to Mr. Bramley.” I got up and leaned against the counter. Mr. Bramley discreetly swapped my latte for an Americano and winked at me. Pumpkin spice and milk had no business being in coffee, if you asked me. I glanced back to make sure Jordan didn’t see, and I waved goodbye to both of them as I turned to leave. Ryan walked in right as I was walking through the door, and blushed furiously as we nearly bumped into each other. He smiled, then noticed Jordan sitting alone at the booth and frowned, putting two and two together. I didn’t have time for this, so I pushed past and muttered a quick “See ya.”
I sipped my Americano as I walked, deliriously happy for the caffeine fix.
Despite the haunted house being closed, the town was still decorated for the festival. Cobwebs hung from the street signs and lamp posts, and open coffins lined the sidewalk next to the benches. Lots of the shops had joined in the festivities, too, decorating the storefronts with Halloween decorations. It was October, so I guessed this wasn’t completely out of character. My favorite part was that at night, fog came spilling out of the flower boxes along the main street, giving the streets a really cool, graveyard vibe.
The mayor’s office was just around the corner, and Sheriff Reese and Mayor Scott were already sitting around the conference table at the back of the office waiting for me.
“Thanks for coming, River,” Mayor Scott said warmly to me as I sat down across from him. He yawned. It’s been a long two days for all of us, and this day was only just beginning.
“I’ve filled the mayor in on what we saw at the morgue,” Sheriff Reese told me. “He’s up to speed on the body. Now we just need to figure out who she is and the name of the sick freak who did this to her.”
“Jessica Sturgess,” I said to the two men. They looked up at me surprised. I opened my backpack and placed the printed out poster on the table. “She popped up when I was searching for missing children online.”
The sheriff reached for the paper, inspecting it closely. “Been gone since Sunday,” he said from behind the paper. “Went to Beacon Park High School, Haverhill. Anyone know where that is?”
“Just north of Boston,” Mayor Scott said. “My sister and her family live near there.”
“Boston?” I asked. “Why would the body of a kid from Boston turn up in Brimstone Bay?”
Mayor Scott shook his head. “I have no idea. What I’m more concerned about it making sure that this isn’t a recurring event.”
“We’ll see to that,” the Sheriff said confidently. “In the meantime, I’ll need to contact the local police in Haverhill and let them know we have something of theirs.” He sighed and took the printed poster as he left the office.
I stood to leave as well. Mayor Scott put his hand on mine and said, “River, just one moment.”
I sat back down, looking at him expectantly.
“Because of the grave circumstances and severe implications this will have on the town, JoAnn and I have agreed to call in for additional help with the paper.”
Um, what? He had better not been saying what I thought he was saying. I stared dumbly at him.
He continued, “I have full faith in your abilities as a journalist, but I think having the extra help will be a really good thing for you. You can lighten your load a bit, and you’ll have help from an experienced journalist for the next few weeks.”
“I don’t really know what to say to that,” I said flatly. I was fully capable of handling the situation myself.
“We wanted you to have a comfortable working relationship with the new journalist, so we called NYU and requested one of their more experienced students. Do you know Zack Brendon?”
I gaped at him in disbelief. “You’re effing kidding me?”
“I’ll take that as a yes?” he asked.
Zack Brendon was a TA in one of my investigative journalism courses. He was a total self-obsessed jackass who was way too full of himself for his own good.
“Yes, I know Zack,” I said through gritted teeth. “But this really isn’t necessary. I am perfectly capable of handling this myself.”
“I know you are,” he replied. “He’s not here to replace you, he’s here to help you. Think of it as a gift from me to you.”
I didn’t even know how to respond, so I just sat there staring at him. I shook my head. “Wait, you mean he’s here already?”
“Arrived first thing this morning.”
I stood up, pushing the chair back angrily. I know I looked childish, but I just couldn’t get over what was happening.
I turned to leave, and Mayor Scott added, “I’d like to review the story before it gets published.”
I nodded curtly and walked straight out of his office. Zack freaking Brendon, the absolute last person I wanted to see just then. My week just kept getting better and better.
10
I dreaded going to the office. It was the last thing on the planet I wanted to do right now - I walked so slowly, I might as well have been walking backward. No amount of coffee would have been able to get me through the next few hours.
I mentally prepared myself as I walked, doing my best to see the bigger picture. This was my first big journalist job, and the events of the day before were more serious than anything else that had ever happened in my town before, at least in recent memory. I understood where Mayor Scott and JoAnn were coming from, but that didn’t mean I needed to like it.
As I approached the office, I resigned to at least try to work amicably with Zack, then hope that before long he would be on his way back to New York. From what I remembered, he still had another semester left of his Master’s degree, so he wouldn’t be able to stay too long, anyways. That’s what I told myself, at least.
I could see a crowd of people through the second-floor window of our office, and figured JoAnn must have called a full staff meeting. There were two other part-time journalists working at the paper, but we rarely saw each other. Most of us preferred to work from home.
I swallowed my pride as I walked up the stairs. I put on a fake smile as I entered the office.
“River, glad you’re here,” JoAnn called. “You know Zack, right?”
I extended a hand to him as he walked towards me, but he ignored it and pulled me in for a big hug. I stood, rigid - a hug was the last thing I was expecting, and to be honest, I really didn’t feel comfortable with his arms around me.
“So good to see you, River,” he beamed at me as he released me from the hug. “I’m looking forward to working with you on these articles.”
“Nice to see you, Zack. How long are you in town?” I cut right to the chase. I didn’t want any unexpected surprises where he’s concerned.
“Not sure yet, probably a few weeks.”
I sighed. “Nice, well, I hope you enjoy it here. It’s certainly not New Yor
k.” I hoped he would get bored and leave before those few weeks were up.
“Nah I love it here. I grew up in a town not far from here, actually.” Damn, so much for that.
JoAnn called everyone around her desk, and we all pulled up our chairs. The office was tiny, and we didn’t have a boardroom or even a communal table. We also only had two desks, and would have to share desks if we all worked in the office at once. That was part of the reason why we preferred working from home.
“Now, I’m sure you’re all aware by now about the murder that occurred yesterday morning.” Looking around the room, I could see everyone had been kept up to speed.
“Zack and River will be covering the events surrounding the murder, and everyone else will resume their regular weekly assignments. I expect you all to offer Zack help when he needs it, as he is unfamiliar with the town and we are the only people he knows so far.” She smiled at him, looking absolutely radiant. Oh great, just what I need. My boss had a crush on her douchebag journalist.
Zack turned to me and said, “I’m going to go spend some time in the library. You good to meet up later and go over some notes? I have a few ideas for the direction of the articles.” Of course, he did.
I nodded. “Sure. Meet here this afternoon?”
We all left the office, and I was thankful that the meeting only lasted a few minutes. With any luck, the few weeks with Zack would be quick and painless, although part of me seriously doubted that.
I picked up another coffee on my way home, desperately needing to keep up my caffeine intake if I was going to make it through the rest of the day. My head was whirling with the events of the past 24 hours, and I really needed to pull myself together.
As expected, Soot was waiting for me at the foot of my bed when I got home. I collapsed on my bed, and he came up and curled next to my face. I scratched his ears and turned my face into his soft fur. “You always know how to make me feel better, don’t you?” He meowed.
I rested a few moments, then noticed a savory smell coming up through the floorboards. I took a deep sniff and sighed. “Ah, lunch!”
I picked up the cat and went downstairs to see what Mrs. Brody was cooking up. I wasn’t surprised to see Bailey, Jane, and Rory sitting around the kitchen table. They always seemed to congregate wherever there was food.
“Smells good, Mrs. Brody,” I said as I walked into the kitchen. She often left the door to her basement apartment open so we could come and go as we please. “What’s cooking?”
“Oh, hello dear,” she said warmly to me. “Just a pot pie, nothing special.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said. I hadn’t realized how starving I was. Your body could only go on so long, living off of nothing but coffee.
“How was the meeting?” Rory asked, and the room quieted as everyone else turned to look at me for news.
“We’ve identified the body.” I reached for a piece of bread in the basket on the table. I took a big bite and nearly swallowed it whole. “Some poor girl from around Boston.”
“Boston!” Mrs. Brody exclaimed. “How in the devil’s name did she get all the way up here?”
I shrugged. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
“It’s so sad,” Jane said. “So young.”
I nodded, taking another bite of bread.
There was a knock on the side door, and we all turned to see who the unexpected newcomer was. Everyone we knew was already there, pretty much. “Hello?” Mrs. Brody called out.
“It’s Roger,” a small voice said through the door.
“Oh, dammit,” I muttered. I totally forgot I was supposed to go see him today.
I sighed. “Come in, Roger,” I called to the door.
The door opened slowly, and a timid Roger came walking through. He joined us at the table. “My aunt said you were going to stop by, but I saw you walking home. I thought I would come see you here.”
I tried my best to smile. “No problem Roger, have a seat.” He looked around the room, beaming at the girls. Not one of us confirmed his suspicions of us being witches, but you could tell by his expression that he had already made up his mind. The poor kid had an obsession.
“Lunch is almost ready,” Mrs. Brody said, her voice echoing in the oven. “Hope you’re all really hungry.”
My phone began buzzing furiously in my pocket, and I saw four text messages come in from Riley.
I swiped the screen on and quickly read through his texts. He had spent the morning at the library on campus and was sending me his findings. I clicked on a link he sent and nearly dropped my phone when I saw where it led.
“Holy crap,” I gasped, eyes fixated on the screen. I scrolled down the page, ignoring the questions that came flooding in from everyone else around the table. After I had skimmed through the entire article, I turned the screen off and pushed my phone away from me on the table as if it were a bomb ready to go off.
“The symbol,” I said shallowly.
“What symbol?” Rory asked, reaching for my phone.
“There was a shape carved into the girl’s back,” I said. “It was some kind of symbol, but we had no idea what it meant.”
“And?” Bailey encouraged.
“And,” I continued. “I now know what it means.”
Rory tossed my phone back to me. “Unlock your screen. I want to see the symbol.”
I obliged and held up the phone with a screenshot of the symbol. It showed three circles and a cross.
“What does it mean?” Jane looked concerned.
Mrs. Brody had grown silent and stood frozen in the kitchen, her face pale. I suspected she knew what the symbol meant.
“According to the article,” I began, “it dates back to an order of witches in Salem. It was used to mark someone who was to be cursed.”
I placed the phone on the table so everyone could see the symbol on the screen. “The three circles symbolize the heart, the mind, and the soul. The X marks them as the next victim.”
“Witches did this?” Roger asked, looking shocked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. If it was, it certainly wasn’t anyone around here.” I glanced around the table at my housemates, each looking more concerned than the last.
“That was done by no witch,” Mrs. Brody whispered.
“How do you know for sure?” I asked.
“A symbol like that is meant to mark a victim, but nothing more. Once the deed is done, it is finished. There would be no reason to advertise their work after death. It makes no sense.”
I agreed. “You’re right. Not that I’m agreeing that there is anyone out there that would mark someone with a witch’s mark,” I eyed Roger. “But if such a thing did exist, I imagine whoever did it would want the evidence hidden, not broadcast to the world.”
“If it wasn’t witches,” Roger said shyly, “then whoever did it sure wanted to make it look like it was.”
I nodded to him. “Yes, you’re right.” The truth was even scarier than the alternative.
“If that is true, then what kind of person would want to pin this on witches?” Rory asked, her eyes full of fear.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But if that’s what happened, then no witch is safe.”
11
I sat sulking and feeling sorry for myself for a solid hour before Zack returned to the Brimstone Press office later that afternoon. Not only did I have to sit there stewing in my own dark thoughts for an hour, but the walk to work had been an absolute nightmare.
The details of the murder and the symbol found on the body had obviously spread like wildfire through the town. People were literally running away from me as I walked down the street. One woman actually screamed, picked up her small child and ran into a nearby store. So much for the town not believing in witches.
I was eager for this afternoon to be over so I could go back and visit Jessica at the haunted house. If the town was going to start suspecting witches were behind the murder, then it was absolutely crucial for me to get to the
bottom of this before any of us are deemed to be suspects. The Shadow Festival was allowed to continue, despite the haunted house being permanently closed, but since the incident, I haven’t sensed any other witches in town. They must have vanished after word got out about the murder. I don’t blame them.
My only comforting thought was that I was sure most people still really didn’t want to believe that paranormal beings were real. I hoped that the religious small town mentality held true, and if things took a turn for the worse, that people would realize how silly they were being, afraid of some superstition that stemmed from stories intended to scare children. I hoped, at least. The biggest problem here was Mayor Scott. If Sheriff Reese decided witches were actually behind this, and convinced Mayor Scott of the same, then I doubted it would be long before the mayor brought us in for questioning. And then boom, right then and there, our whole cover of secrecy would be blown.
I was so lost in my thoughts when Zack came in, that I hardly noticed the extra body in the room. He cleared his throat, and I jumped out of my trance with a jolt.
“Oh, sorry,” I muttered, mildly embarrassed. “Didn’t notice you there.”
“Wow, you must be really shaken up by the murder,” he said, taking a seat at JoAnn’s desk.
“Am not,” I said defensively, aware that I sounded like a stubborn child. “Was just thinking about the article we’re going to be writing.”
He sighed. “About that... I found absolutely nothing at the library that would be of use to us.”
“I could have told you that,” I said. “Luckily, I’ve got some information we can use.”
Realizing that I hadn’t even told Sheriff Reese or Mayor Scott that I learned what the symbol was, I quickly reached for my phone and texted the sheriff. Have info on symbol. Meet at my office?
He replied OK, and that was that.
“Sheriff Reese is on his way in. I’ll fill you both in at the same time,” I said, desperately trying to think of a way to present this information to them so as to not immediately implicate the witch community, or myself, more particularly. “Let’s grab a coffee while we wait.”
