by Falls, Bella
Of course she wanted to leverage the help she could provide us in order to force us to give her access to our lives. And more importantly, the family vault where we kept all of the most powerful objects safe and out of the use of the public at large until we could locate the proper witch or supernatural being to sell them to.
My father didn’t intimidate easily, and he maintained his cool better than the rest of us. “I didn’t call and invite you here to have you force us into your organization and under your thumb. We called you out of respect because no matter what becomes of the investigation, it could affect the entire magical community in the area. Especially with that new deputy who doesn’t seem to take orders well.”
Ebonee leaned back in her chair and crossed her long legs. She took the few moments she drank more of the tea to compose herself. “I’ll have someone from the coven do more research on him. The more we find out about his background, the better chance we might have to find ways to exert control over him.”
“You’d risk outing yourself by spellcasting on a mortal?” I asked without thinking.
Our guest shook her head, giving me all of her attention. “There are measures I am willing to take to ensure the safety of our members that others have not been prepared to do in the past. Hence why I hold the position I do. However, there are other ways to manipulate or motivate a person’s actions that don’t necessarily require the use of magic. The same applies to mortals and witches alike.” Her cold smile sent chills down my spine.
Uncle Jo crossed his arms over his barrel of a chest. “The body’s been taken to the county morgue. They’ll find the wound in the back of the head where someone hit him from behind and caused the boy to lose his life. When they start looking into who did it, we might need some of that talent you’re speaking of to help move the investigation in the right direction.”
The coven leader sat up straight again. “Not to bring up a sore subject, but I guess I return to my original thoughts. You know what I desire from your family, and yet you insist you won’t give it. So, what would I be gaining if I helped?”
“I take it you’re saying you won’t do it for the good of the whole entire witch community,” I clarified.
Ebonee tilted her head a little to the side. “I’m saying that there needs to be fair trade in this affair. Otherwise, you and your family can flounder on your own since you don’t want to actually be an official part of that witch community you so blithely bring up.”
Dad stood up. “Cut to the chase. What’s the price for your help?”
The coven leader got to her feet as well, smoothing the non-existent wrinkles from her skirt. “What I’ve said before. Your family needs to officially become members. And I want full access to the magical objects you acquire in your picking and buying trips. That means notification of the purchases as well as full admission into where you keep them.”
The couch groaned under Uncle Jo as he pushed himself off it. “No deal. The door’s that way and feel free to let the screen door hit you in your crazy behind on the way out.”
Ebonee ignored my uncle and raised an eyebrow at my father. “Are you going to let him make the final decision? I would think carefully about that. There was once a time when you regarded me with a kind eye, Buck.”
“That was back when you were a sweet girl in her young twenties who hadn’t let her ambition grow too big for her britches.” Dad hung his head for a second, pursing his lips in consideration. When he glanced back at the lady, he held his chin a little higher. “We do need your help, but you’re asking for too much.”
Uncle Jo sneered at her. “Nice try, but you ain’t getting access to the family safe. And unless you ask the same of every single member of the coven, to be knee deep in all of their businesses, then you aren’t going to get any notifications when we buy stuff neither.”
The three of them broke into an argument about deals and payment. An idea blossomed in my head, but I had no desire to get into the fray. I waved my hand in the air and waited for them to take notice of me.
My father stopped talking and held up a finger in front of Ebonee’s face. “Hold on. My daughter has something she wants to say.”
I put my arm down, my mouth becoming dry as a desert with all eyes on me. Needing a second, I took a sip of the sweet tea before speaking. “You want all of us to join the coven, but you can see how that doesn’t sit well with all of my family. How about we negotiate for just one of us to join. Me.”
“You don’t have to do that, Ruby Mae,” insisted my uncle, although admiration sparkled in his eyes.
“Isn’t that what we do? Bargain or barter to get the best price? Ms. Johnson will finally have a Jewell in her coven and it will gain us better access to the magical community at large, especially when we need help. I just never joined out of family tradition.” I stuck out my hand to strike the deal.
Ebonee tapped her finger on her top lip in contemplation. “It’s actually not a bad suggestion. And I would be willing to accept your offer.” She extended her hand, and I slowly closed the distance between us. At the last second, she withdrew. “On second thought, there is one more thing I require while I still have the upper hand.”
“Aw, come on, lady,” exclaimed Uncle Jo.
My father’s patience ran out. “Spit it out, Ebonee. What do you want?”
A slow smile spread across her lips as her face resembled a cat who ate the canary. “Give me access to that crystal ball that has caused all of this mess in the first place.”
I let my hand drop to my side. “No deal,” I stated before my father or uncle could.
“That’s my price. Your entry into the coven and use of the crystal ball. If you need me to purchase it from you to make it official, I can pay whatever price you want to set for it.” She held out her hand to shake on her terms.
“Oh, I know what you can afford. I’m assuming you wouldn’t be shy in using a magical tool like a crystal ball to help you win more from playing lottery cards since you already like to break the rules in your use of magic now,” my dad accused. “Or would it not be good PR for your coven you rule with an iron will to know that you do what you want for your own financial gain?”
“You’ve got no proof,” she spat at him.
My father took his turn to gloat. “That you know of. It’s my daughter’s choice to join the coven. Either accept that as the terms of our agreement or you may take your leave.”
Ebonee stood up to his challenge and opened her mouth to say something back. But she closed it and backed away in defeat. Clearly, the threat to her reputation held a serious amount of power. “You win. For now.” She shook his hand, refused to touch Uncle Jo with a sniff, and turned to face me. “I will be in contact with you to set up your initiation.”
We all followed behind her to make sure she left our house. When I opened the door, the stranger from the night before stood in an awkward pose, about to knock on it.
“Deputy, what can we do for you?” I asked, closing the front door enough to block Ebonee from being an active part of the conversation.
The unpleasant man pulled out his small notebook from his back pocket. “I’d like to speak to Josephus Jewell.”
Pressing my luck, I offered a kind grin. “What for, sir?”
Deputy Caine took off his sunglasses and grinned, revealing the rows of his very white teeth. “Based on new evidence, I think he and I will be taking a trip down to the county jail.”
Ebonee chuckled behind me. In a lower voice, I heard her address my father again. “Buck, I think we’re going to have to renegotiate.”
Chapter Nine
W ithout giving a whole lot of detail, Deputy Caine carted Uncle Jo off in his county sheriff’s vehicle with intent to question him at the station. Showing a lack of compassion flowing in her icy veins, Ebonee used the immediate situation against us. Although Dad insisted that a deal had already been struck, he broke down and promised he would consider allowing her to legitimately check out the crystal ba
ll as a possible purchase. In exchange, she immediately contacted her lawyer who was also one of the best and most highly-trained witch advocates in the entire region of the state to help out our family.
Once she left the house, Granny Josephine manifested and joined my father and me in the living room. “They never should have let that woman climb the ranks of the coven. We’ve never had so much pressure to join until she snatched the crown for herself, and then all she wants is to have a way to order us around. You mark my words, she’s gonna aim for head of the entire state’s association of witches at the next convention. It was a good thing you lost interest in her long before she became what she is today, Buckley.”
The image of my dad being amorous with that frigid woman stopped me in my tracks while I cleaned up and placed the crystal glasses back on the silver tray. For the first time in a long while, I sent gratitude into the universe for my mother and father to have met when they did.
Dad surprised me with a quick hug. “You didn’t have to volunteer to join the coven, butter bean. I’ve got more than a few pieces of information she wouldn’t want shared that I could have used to get her to agree to help.”
Always turning down opportunities to play poker with him and his friends sounded like the worst decision now. It never occurred to me to stay out of things with Ebonee and let him play the game by himself. “Sorry, Dad.”
He rubbed my back and released me. “No, don’t apologize. It was actually a smart offer, and it could have appeased more coven members in the long run. Now that your uncle seems to be a person of interest, I’m not exactly sure what type of poker we’re playing anymore.”
A voice calling out from the front porch interrupted our speculation, and I went to go see who it was while Granny Jo cleared the tray of drinks into the kitchen and out of sight. Barney, the local policemen and warden from last night greeted me in plain clothes. “I hear I’m too late.”
“Come in, please.” I took the warding spells down and cleared the way to let him enter the foyer. “It’s Officer Whittle,” I announced.
“Send him back,” Dad answered.
Once Granny fetched a new glass of tea, she hovered in the corner to hear what the warden had to say. Barney spent a good chunk of time apologizing to all of us for not being able to keep the case strictly within the local police department.
“If it had been a simpler crime like theft, it might have been easier. But reporting a dead body meant it was only a matter of time before the county sheriff’s office took over.” He sighed. “We’re just not equipped to handle the bigger cases. I tried to recruit Mike or Jaleesa, the two wardens in their department, but this new guy jumped on the case like flies on a cow patty.”
When Granny Josephine wanted to know more about the deputy, the three of us recalled the details from the previous night. By the time we finished, even my ghostly great-grandmother was ready to hex him half way to Sunday. “That man wasn’t raised right.”
“Regardless of his upbringing, he’s already become a thorn in our side. Barney, do you have any clue why he came here harassing Jo?” Dad asked.
The policeman nodded. “That much I do know because I was able to dig up more information today. You know Jasper down at the Watering Hole? He told me over coffee and a donut this morning that some rude young man had shown up last night at his bar causing trouble. He was asking a lot of questions about a red-headed girl and then ranting about how she liked to steal from others.”
“Did someone tell him where to find us?” I complained.
Barney set his iced tea down. “According to Jasper, everyone gave him false information. You’re a local, and no one was going to lead him directly to you since he gave off a vibe that he might try to hurt you if’n he found you.”
“Then how did he end up on our property?” Granny Jo pushed, her corporeal form wavering with palpable irritation.
The warden slumped in his chair. “That’s why I wanted to come by myself, but I got here too late. The one who clued the young man in to who you actually are was Jo himself.”
My great-grandmother and I protested at the same time, but Dad’s eyebrows furrowed so deep, it seemed they became connected into one. “I told him not to go down to the Hole last night but he said he needed to blow off some steam. Let me guess, he and the young man got into an argument, and Jo ran his mouth a little too much.”
“That’s about the gist of it. He gave the family name, where you were located, and practically dared him to do something, Jasper said. Now, sometimes my friend can exaggerate things a bit, but in this case, he swore that most of the other regulars would back him up.” Barney glanced around at us one at a time. “I’m truly sorry to be the bearer of this news.”
Dad’s face turned from a bright red to a blistering purple. It unsettled me to see the one person I considered my emotional rock look like he might lose control. A curse word erupted out of him and he knocked a small bud vase off a nearby table. After it flew through the air, it hit the wall and shattered.
I expected Granny Jo to scold her grandson about his behavior and breaking something out of anger. Instead, she kept her gaze focused on the policeman. “You’re not done telling us everything, are you?”
Unable to maintain eye contact with the ghost, Barney lowered his head. “No, ma’am. Supposedly, Jo and this Croy guy got into an altercation. Jasper swears the stranger started it and tried to hit Jo, who moved out of the way of the punch. The young man stumbled and hit his head on the edge of the bar.”
Trying to picture the incident in my mind, it occurred to me that we might have just heard how the cut above the left eye where Luke took the drop of blood from happened. Still, since it didn’t sound like Uncle Jo did anything, it made no sense for the deputy to come after him.
“Why did my uncle get taken in for questioning if he didn’t actually touch him?” I asked.
Barney crossed his arms. “I’ve got more interviews to do, but in my experience, different people see different things. And it’s possible one or more of the witnesses might have thought your uncle assaulted the boy. Also, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who went snooping around for information. That Caine fella is hellbent on being the one credited for solving the murder.”
“So, it’s officially been declared a murder?” Dad spoke in a calm tone although his clenched fists indicated his struggle to maintain control.
“He’s calling it a murder.” The warden’s feet shuffled where he stood. “But Buckley, based on what y’all showed me last night, he’s not wrong. And if he finds a way to twist the truth about Jo to suit his needs, then he could make a decent case to arrest your brother. Have you got any plans in place on how to prepare for what’s coming?”
Dad’s frown deepened. “We were working on getting Ebonee’s help right before the deputy showed up. Although it pained me to ask for her assistance, she’s already got William Daniels down there to serve as Jo’s lawyer.”
For the first time since he showed up, relief relaxed Barney’s expression. “He’s a good lawyer and a smart witch’s advocate. Maybe he’ll be able to help y’all navigate these rocky waters.”
“It would be nice to know what we’re dealing with. How are we supposed to make plans when we don’t have a single clue what’s going on?” Granny Jo complained.
I snapped my fingers. “But we do know a lot. We’re just not thinking straight with all the chaos. First, we know that Croy was after the crystal ball. And if he was running his mouth to others about what he wanted, then we need to come up with an appropriate substitute for the deputy to accept as the desired object.”
“What, like convincing him it was another one of our non-magical valuables he wanted to steal? That might be easy?” my great-grandmother admitted.
“Or we can make it simple and find a crystal ball that has no powers whatsoever. I’ll contact Crystal and see if she’s got anything lying around at her Boro Girl Boutique we could use. If we show the deputy a worthless item, maybe h
e’ll think that Croy was a little off in trying to steal it back.” Excitement raced through me the more my idea sounded like the viable beginnings of a plan.
A slight smile broke my father’s bad humor. “Good thinking, butter bean. What else do we know?”
I went through everything from the night before in my head. “Croy somehow got into the storage barn in the first place. He shouldn’t have been able to get past the spelled lock let alone step foot across that threshold. We’ll need to inspect the place to figure out what went wrong.”
Barney cleared his throat. “Well, I don’t think the alcohol on Jo’s breath escaped anybody’s notice. If he was the last one to leave the barn, then maybe he forgot to reset all of your wards.”
“Which is a good possibility,” Dad complained. “But Ruby Mae’s right. We should take a closer look. Because if a mortal human found a way to break in, then we have a lot more things to worry about.”
My spell phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out to check. A text from Luke asked how things were going today, and I started to answer him back but stopped when I thought of another important point. “You know, Luke did say that Croy wasn’t exactly a nice person. If he has a clear history of having problems with anyone else, then maybe we can cast enough doubt on whether Uncle Jo was the only one to confront him at any point and time.”
Barney took out a small notebook from the front pocket of his uniform. “Now, that’s something I can work on. We know the victim’s name is Croy Miller and we have his last known address on record.”
In all of our talk about the dead man, I’d forgotten who he was to anyone else. “Has someone contacted Myrna?”
The policeman stopped writing. “And who’s she?”
“His grandmother,” I replied. “They’d been interacting for a while over the use of the crystal ball. And if anyone would know the most about a person’s character, I’ll bet it’d be his grandma.” Flashing a wink at my great-grandmother, I did a quick search on my spell phone. “Looks like she lives in Smooter.”
