by Falls, Bella
“That’s the thing,” started the warden. “I came here to warn you—”
“That we have to figure out how to hide how magic is or isn’t involved. We know,” interrupted my father.
The police officer waved his hands in front of him. “No. I mean, yes, this will be tricky to figure out how to handle on both magical and mortal fronts. But you have a bigger problem on your hands.”
“What could be a bigger problem than a dead human found on witch land?” I asked in exasperation.
The faint glow of headlights and the roar of another engine shut my mouth. A dark SUV pulled up beside Barney’s car, dwarfing it in size. When the door swung open, I could just make out the county sheriff’s department logo plastered on it.
“Him,” Officer Whittle exclaimed, pointing at the man sliding out of the vehicle. “He’s gonna be your problem.”
Chapter Seven
T he man stood at least as tall as Luke but with a brawny frame. In the dark, it was hard to pick out the details, but the intensity of his eyes was hard to miss. Once he got what he needed from inside the SUV, he surveyed us without further acknowledgment until he covered the few feet to the storage barn.
Ignoring the rest of us, he addressed his fellow law enforcement officer first. “I assume you’re Officer Willett who called whatever this is in.”
“Whittle, sir,” corrected Barney. Next to the hulking younger deputy, the warden seemed to shrink a little.
“Officer Whittle. Right.” The newcomer took out a small notebook and wrote in it. “And what have you assessed since your arrival here?”
My father interrupted the two of them and stuck out his hand. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting. My name’s Buckley Jewell. And you are?”
The deputy kept a passive face, a twitch of his mustache the only reaction that gave any clue to his impatience. “Waiting to hear from this officer any information he’s ascertained so far. I’ll be interviewing the rest of you in a moment. Please wait where you are.”
Hearing a stranger scold my father did nothing for my temper. The heat of indignation and disbelief rose in my cheeks, and if we weren’t dealing with a non-magical being, I’d allow a little fire power to sizzle in my veins. I clenched my fists until my fingernails dug into my palms to remind myself to behave.
Uncle Jo stepped up, his large presence almost a match for the deputy’s. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding. There’s a way things are done here, and having you already involving yourself doesn’t fit the protocol we’re used to.”
The man turned to face off with my uncle. “What you’re used to doesn’t matter. A crime has been reported, and I’m here to check things out. And if you don’t want to be taken in for obstruction, then I suggest you take a couple steps back and let me do my job. And if you stumble because of the alcohol I can clearly smell on your breath, then I’ll book you for drunk and disorderly as well.”
Uncle Jo’s face reddened as he pursed his lips. Although it concerned me that the hotheaded newcomer might take issue with the evidence of his drinking tonight, it satisfied me to know I wasn’t the only one struggling to keep from conjuring a little hex to cast on the new deputy.
My father approached and stood next to his brother, holding out his phone. “And I suggest you talk to your boss first before you say another word.”
The man glared at my dad for a few extra beats before giving in and snatching the phone. “Caine here.” Once he heard the county sheriff’s voice, he straightened to attention. “Yes, sir, I did come onto the family’s land. I heard the report that was called in and was nearby. No, I do not know what it means that it’s Jewell land. What do you mean they’re not under our immediate jurisdiction?”
“Sounds like the newcomer is getting a quick lesson on your family,” Luke whispered in my ear. “You’re not going to be able to keep the sheriff’s department out of this forever.”
“I’m pretty sure Dad and Uncle Jo know that. But for now, we need to try and keep at least him from knowing too much too soon until we have a plan in place.” I nodded my head at the deputy.
Buddy appeared out of nowhere, taking his time to inspect the stranger. His tail twitched back and forth while he stared up at the law man. He meowed once and waited for the deputy’s response. When the newcomer stuck his foot out to move the cat out of his way, Buddy hissed at him and swatted at the leather of his shoe. Then he promptly plopped down on his behind and licked his nether region out of spite.
While watching the deputy’s face melt into an expression of disgust, my funny bone got tickled by the absurd battle between mustaches. Of course, our barn cat won that fight hands down as his legs spread akimbo while he did his business. When I didn’t stifle my giggle at the obscene spectacle, the deputy glared at me again and turned his back on all of us.
Luke chuckled. “Remind me to reward Buddy with a big fat fish. That man does not give off a good first impression to man nor beast.”
A slight whine flavored the man’s voice at the end of the conversation with the sheriff. “Yes, sir. I understand. I will. Goodnight, sir.” He handed the phone back to my father. “I’m being made to accept that this strip of land from the main road all the way to the water is actually its own township, and that for now, the county sheriffs will rely on the nearby Cedar Point’s police department to handle the situation.”
I couldn’t help but take a little pleasure in the pain it caused the deputy to say every word. “Welcome to Jewell, North Carolina.”
He glared at me through narrowed eyes. “I’ve never encountered such a backwards concept in my life. A family plot of land that stands outside the law? Makes me wonder exactly what you’re hiding. And how you managed that arrangement.”
Uncle Jo crossed his arms. “Being the fact that you’re learning about us for the first time, I’m assuming you’re new in town, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on your manners.” He jabbed a thumb in Dad’s direction. “This is my brother Buckley Jewell, as he said before. That there is my niece Ruby Mae Jewell standing next to her boyfriend Luke. I’m Josephus Jewell. And you are?”
The deputy could no longer hide the strain of the situation from his face. He lost some internal battle and held out his hand. “Deputy Sheriff Marshall Caine.”
My uncle accepted the offered grasp and pumped his hand once. Neither let go of the other as they faced off in a pissing contest of who was stronger. Or more stubborn.
In the end, neither backed down until my father elbowed Uncle Jo in the ribs. “Well, Deputy Caine, I think you can understand if we get back to working with Barney.”
The deputy raised his eyebrows. “You mean, Officer Willet.”
“Whittle,” I corrected.
“Right.” Deputy Caine turned and retreated back to his SUV. “Officer, will you join me for a moment?”
Leaving the two law enforcement agents to confer with each other, my father and uncle joined Luke and me. “When did you know to call the sheriff?” I asked my dad.
“I pulled up the number the second he dismissed Barney.” Dad shook his phone for emphasis. “I hit send to make the call when he revealed his true nature. We might have bought ourselves a day or two, but I suspect we’ll be bumping heads with him again sooner than we’d like.”
The headlights of the SUV shone bright in our eyes, and we shielded them when he clicked on the high beams out of sheer vindictiveness. Waiting until he drove down the long dirt driveway, none of us spoke a word until we could see the vehicle head away down the two-lane highway.
Barney joined us in our displeasure at the interaction. “He hasn’t been in the department for very long, and already he’s getting a reputation of being too hungry and aggressive. He’s not one who’s going to easily fall for whatever explanations we can give, and it’s gonna be hard to hide our special community from someone who is automatically suspicious of everything and everyone.”
“Then I guess having a dead body in our
storage barn is going to be a special challenge,” exclaimed Uncle Jo.
The warden massaged the back of his neck and whistled. “You got blessed tonight that Buck had the foresight to get the sheriff involved. If Caine had caught a whiff of that, there’d be no getting rid of him.” He scratched his grizzled chin. “Well, you better get me up to speed so I can help you figure out what the best course of action is.”
By the time we went through as much as we knew and showed the local policeman Myrna’s grandson still lying where we left him on the ground inside the storage barn, the first red rays of dawn streaked the dark sky. Although Luke didn’t need to take shelter from the sun, he preferred not to be out. As much as I wanted him to come back with me to my place, he didn’t need to do any more favors for us Jewells.
“You get some sleep and I’ll fill you in on what happens later.” I stood on my tiptoes to give him a short kiss goodbye. The tips of his fangs pressed into the soft flesh of my lips, and he withdrew his touch. When he tried to pull away from me, I yanked him in close to hold him.
Luke leaned his forehead against mine. “I guess I underestimated the effects even the smallest amount of blood might have on me. I’m sorry, love.”
Without hesitation, I placed my mouth over his and kissed him hard enough to make him forget himself. He deepened the embrace and held me tight against him until my father cleared his throat to remind us we weren’t alone.
With a final peck on my mouth, one for my nose, and a last kiss on my forehead, Luke let me go. “Make sure you get some rest, too. You won’t be good for anything if you stay up worrying.”
I assured him I would even though I knew it was my duty as a Jewell to figure out what to do about the man who lost his life while trespassing to try and steal from us. With one last goodbye, he left in a blur to get to his parked car outside of my place. The roar of the engine of my boyfriend’s classic Impala cut into the stillness of the early morning air. The car rumbled as Luke drove past us and down the dirt road to go home.
It took me a few seconds to sense my father standing next to me as I watched Luke leave. “He’s a good man,” Dad stated. “You chose well, although I don’t know why you couldn’t have picked a regular person. No matter what he seems to you, don’t ever forget that he’s something else. Something more. And someday, that might bring trouble to your doorstep.”
“Says the man who asked him to break his personal code and found out nothing more than what we’d already guessed,” I fired back at him.
My words shut him up. I waited long enough for him to get my point before I bumped Dad with my shoulder. “What do you think we should do? As powerful as we are, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be able to hide a dead body at this point. No telling who else knew he planned on coming here or what he was after.”
“Or if he was alone.” Dad raised his head and gazed at the changing color of the sky. “Let Barney handle the police side of things for the moment, which means we’re about to have a whole lot more people here this morning. But your uncle and I can handle all of them. You should go to your place and get some sleep while you can.”
“But I can stay here and help,” I protested, not wanting him to treat me like a child but as an adult ready to stand by her family’s side.
My father wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. “Get going, butter bean. You’re gonna need your rest for what will come next.”
After he let me go, I pressed him to clarify. “What comes after all that?”
He lifted his phone out of his pocket. “The next call I’m about to make is to the regional coven leader.”
At the mere mention of that witch, I hurried off without looking back. “Come fetch me when she gets here,” I called out over my shoulder.
Grits and ghosts, it didn’t matter how much sleep I could manage to get between now and when she arrived. Nothing could prepare me to handle the coming storm that Ebonee Johnson would bring.
Chapter Eight
I threw my arm over my face to fight against the bright sun blazing through a crack in the curtains of my bedroom window. It took me several minutes and multiple yawns to pull myself out of the disorientation of a deep sleep. Unsure of the time, I patted my hand on the bedside table to locate my spell phone, knocking a few unseen knick knacks around until I found it. Bringing it close to my face, I opened one eye to check the time.
“Holy hexes!” Not only was it late into the morning long after I figured I’d be needed but I also had a bunch of missed calls and a gazillion messages I clearly hadn’t heard.
In an attempt to hustle, I leapt out of bed. The sheet wrapped around my ankles, and I crashed to the floor, bruising at least one of my knees. The spell phone vibrated from where I’d dropped it, and I rushed to find it before the call dropped.
I didn’t even look to see who it was. “Hello?”
“Where have you been? I’ve been calling you on and off for over an hour,” Uncle Jo yelled in my ear.
Wincing, I did my best not to shout back at him. No need to start a fight before coffee. “I’ve been sleeping and guess I turned off my phone’s sound.”
“Well, get your behind dressed and get over to the house. Ebonee should be arriving any moment.” Without waiting for my response, my uncle hung up.
If I hadn’t overslept or woken up earlier, I could have gotten gussied up for the Crystal Coast Coven’s leader, but since I didn’t even have time to jump in the shower, I could only throw on the nearest clothing I could grab and throw my hair up in a messy bun on top of my head.
I hopped on one foot after the other, shoving each of them into my cowboy boots by the door. Once I got them on, I ran outside, slamming the front door behind me but not taking the time to lock it. Most days, I enjoyed the walk from my place up to the white farmhouse, but this morning the distance seemed to double as I tried to arrive before the Ebonee did.
Her expensive car parked out front punctuated my tardiness, so I snuck around to the back door into the kitchen. My ghostly grandmother greeted me with a hand on her almost-invisible hip and a click of her tongue.
“That’s what you chose to wear?” she asked, pointing the wooden spoon in her hand at my attire.
Taking a careful look at what I threw on for the first time, I groaned at the stained t-shirt with a cartoon cat wearing a unicorn horn under a rainbow with the word Meowgical underneath it. No doubt the haughty woman waiting in the other room wouldn’t approve of my cutoff jean shorts with frayed ends either.
Unless I wanted to waste magical energy to conjure a mega glamour spell, nothing was going to change in the next few seconds. “It is what it is.”
“Here. Take the drinks into them.” Granny Jo motioned for me to take the silver tray of crystal glasses filled with ice and the matching pitcher sweet tea into the living room.
“Why haven’t you done it?” I asked. “I don’t think the coven leader objects to ghosts in general.”
“Are you crazy? I’m not putting myself in her direct line of fire if I can help it,” she replied. “But I sure as heck am willing to do it to you. Now, git.”
She waited for me to pick up the tray and shooed me out of the kitchen. Hoping the drinks would distract our guest, I rolled my shoulders back as best I could and entered the lion’s den.
The crystal tinkled on top of the metal with each step, and the conversation I walked in on stopped. I regretted my shorts when I bent down to place the tray on the coffee table in the middle of the room.
“Good morning, ma’am,” I greeted the lady sitting at attention in the chair opposite the couch. “Sorry I’m late. May I pour you some tea?”
She brushed her multitude of black braids off her shoulders and held me in her judgmental gaze. “It’s just passed over into afternoon, and I would think on a day after the night you just had, you would have been here before me. And possibly in a better state than your appearance demonstrates. But, yes. I would like some tea, thank you.”
After I handed h
er the glass that I forced myself not to spit into, I filled three more and handed one each to my father and uncle. Since the two brothers took up most of the space on the couch, I pulled the extra chair sitting against the far wall closer. The sweet tea I sipped tasted good, but I wished I could get some coffee in me before too long.
“As I was saying,” Ebonee continued, setting her glass down on a coaster on the nearby antique side table, “We’ve been questioning the safety of your family’s acquisition of magical goods all along. Especially in the manner of storage once you obtain each item. As far as we in the coven know, we’re just supposed to trust that you can keep them out of the hands of undesirables, thus protecting the witch community at large. But clearly, based on the mess that is now in the hands of the local law enforcement, that status has changed.”
Uncle Jo uncrossed his ankles and leaned forward, holding his forefinger up to shake at her. My father placed a hand on his brother’s arm to keep him from saying something that might make matters worse and spoke first. “We’ve been through this many times before, Ebonee. While I know you’ve been wanting in on our secret hiding place for ages, it’s really none of yours or the coven’s business. Our family’s been around a lot longer than either of you, and we’ve been doing the same job over the centuries.”
“But you can’t say you’ve always run things perfectly.” She cast the same gaze of discrimination on my father. “There have been break-ins before. You’ve lost items and had to find them again. If we ran through all of your family history, I’ll bet we could come up with a lot of examples of why I don’t think it’s wise for you to continue to act with such autonomy.”
Uncle Jo snorted. “We’re not joining the coven.”
“Then why have you summoned me here? Isn’t it to ask for our help in assisting you to cover up a dead body?” For someone who seemed so composed, it took me by surprise that she revealed the proverbial cards she held before all bets were made.
