Annie’s face crumpled as she dissolved into tears.
“It’s okay,” I said, reaching for her so I could draw her in for a hug. “It’s good to talk.”
Annie shook her head. Her body was trembling. I turned to Marcus for help. He immediately swooped in and gathered her up in his arms. He sat down on one of the open chairs at the table and rocked her while she cried.
“It’s okay,” he said. “We won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“He’s right,” I said. “Everyone here wants to help you. We need you to speak if we’re going to do it, though.”
“That’s right, Basil,” Aunt Tillie said, touching the top of the girl’s head as Marcus swayed with her in his arms. “Tell us what happened.”
It’s funny. I don’t remember Aunt Tillie being particularly sweet when we were children. There were times, though, and it was usually when we’d done something wrong and were in trouble with our mothers. She was the one who swooped in with a hug – and usually a reward – to make us feel better. What can I say? The woman does like her mayhem. She was often the one who encouraged us to be naughty. Now? Now Aunt Tillie was bolstering Annie the best way she knew how, and I couldn’t help but be thankful for it.
“So, Basil, tell us what you remember,” Aunt Tillie prodded.
“I don’t like the name Basil,” Annie said.
“Well, if you want me to stop using it, you have to tell me what you remember,” Aunt Tillie said. She was back to being herself, and I couldn’t help but be thankful for that, too. If anyone could push Annie into talking, it was her.
“I don’t know what I remember,” Annie admitted, her lower lip trembling. “I … it’s all fuzzy.”
“Okay,” I said, keeping my voice level. “Let’s talk about home. Do you remember being home with your mother?”
Annie nodded.
“What’s the last thing you remember about home?” I asked.
“I remember Mommy picking me up from school,” Annie said. “She seemed sad. She said we were leaving. She said we were going to move to a new place. She had a bunch of my stuff in the car.”
“That’s good,” I encouraged her.
Marcus rubbed her back. He was still rocking her, but the movements were deliberate and slight. He was lulling her into a feeling of safety.
“Did you drive straight here?” Landon asked.
“We drove a long time,” Annie said. “We had a new house. It was by itself.”
“By itself?”
“There were no other houses around like before,” Annie said. “It was just our house.”
“How big was the house?” Chief Terry asked.
Annie shrugged.
“Was it as big as this house?” I asked.
Annie shook her head.
“Was it a lot smaller?”
“There were only two bedrooms,” Annie said. “One for me, and one for Mommy.”
“How long were you in the house?” Bay asked.
“I don’t know,” Annie said.
“Did you spend a few nights there?” Bay tried again.
“Yes,” Annie said. “I was scared because of the trees by the house. Mommy slept in my room with me.”
“That sounds like a good mommy,” I said.
“I want my mommy,” Annie said, breaking off into another crying jag.
I licked my lips. We needed more information, but I wasn’t sure how hard to press Annie. I didn’t want her to forget how to talk again. “Did your mommy put you in school here?”
Annie shook her head. “I’m on summer vacation. She said I would go to a new school in the fall.”
Crap. That made sense. Annie would have only missed a few weeks of school when Belinda decided to move. That must have been part of her plan.
“Do you think your house is close to here?” Bay asked.
Annie shrugged.
“We should check with everyone that has rental property,” Chief Terry said. “If Belinda bought a house, we would have found that when we ran her financials. I think she was living off cash, but she couldn’t buy a house with cash.”
“That’s a good idea,” Landon said.
“Do you remember going somewhere with your mommy?” I asked.
Annie’s face was anguished. “I don’t remember.”
“It’s okay,” I said.
“It is,” Marcus said, increasing his rocking pace. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I want my mommy,” Annie wailed. “I want my mommy!”
Well, that was one thing we could all agree on. We all wanted her to have her mommy. I could only hope we weren’t too late.
Seven
“Well, at least she’s talking,” Landon said. He was standing in the archway between the dining room and lobby watching Mom and Winnie dote on Annie at the rectangular table.
Dinner had been tense. Everyone had gone out of their way to make Annie feel comfortable – even Aunt Tillie – and the girl had slowly come out of her shell. She was insistent on remaining close to Marcus and me, so we settled on either side of her and urged her to eat.
Finally, with the introduction of a red velvet cake, Annie agreed to let Mom, Marnie and Winnie take care of her. She looked exhausted, but she was fighting every attempt to get her to go upstairs and sleep.
“We need to find Belinda,” Bay said. “She’s the only one who can answer our questions.”
“She was obviously scared of something,” Landon said. “Why else would she pack up everything, pick up the kid from school, and then flee the state?” He turned to Chief Terry. “Has anyone checked her phone records?”
“On what authority?”
“The authority that her child was found wandering country roads alone,” Landon said.
Chief Terry sighed. “No one has reported her missing.”
“Annie has,” I challenged.
“Annie can’t remember what happened,” Chief Terry countered. “For all you know, Belinda tossed Annie out of the car and drove away.”
“Then she committed a crime,” I pressed.
“I’m not arguing with you, Thistle,” Chief Terry said. “I happen to agree with you. Everything we’ve found out about Belinda Martin seems to imply that she’s a good mother. She doesn’t sound like the type of mother who would just abandon her child. I still have to work within the confines of the law.”
“He’s right, Thistle,” Landon said. “There’s nothing he can do. We’ve circulated her photograph to other law enforcement agencies in the area. We’ve contacted Annie’s next of kin. What more do you want?”
“Yeah, and did you see Annie’s reaction when we mentioned her grandparents coming?”
Landon cracked his neck. “Yeah. That wasn’t good.”
“We need to find out what’s wrong with the grandparents,” I said.
“I’ll find out about the grandparents,” Aunt Tillie said, breezing into the room from the front door of the inn.
Landon shifted. “Where were you?”
“Outside,” Aunt Tillie said. “I like to take a walk after I eat. It helps with the digestion process.”
Landon narrowed his eyes. “Since when?”
“Why are you always such a pain in my posterior?” Aunt Tillie asked. “Last time I checked, I was an adult. That means I can wander around outside as much as I want.”
“Yes, but I don’t trust you,” Landon said. “I know when you’re lying.”
“Because her lips are moving?” I have no idea why I don’t just shut up sometimes.
“You just took Bay’s spot on the top of the list,” Aunt Tillie said.
I groaned. “I didn’t mean it.”
“Oh, you meant it.”
“Oh, fine,” I said, giving in. “Just don’t mete out any revenge until everything is settled with Annie. We don’t want to terrify her.”
“I’m not stupid,” Aunt Tillie said.
“You’re not stupid,” Landon agreed. “You are sneaky and vindictive, though.”
Aunt T
illie stuck her tongue out at him.
“Why can’t you put him on top of your list?” I whined.
“He’s got his own list,” Aunt Tillie replied.
Bay was getting sick of our arguing, so she interrupted. “How are you going to get Annie to tell you about her grandparents?”
“I’m going to ask her.”
“Nicely,” I stressed. “You’re going to ask her nicely, right?”
“Of course I am,” Aunt Tillie said. “I’m always nice.” She turned on her heel and flounced out of the room.
“Does anyone else think it’s a bad idea to let Aunt Tillie question Annie?” Clove asked.
“I love how you always wait until she leaves the room to trash talk her,” I said.
“That’s why I’m usually the one who escapes when you two get cursed,” Clove retorted.
“Yes, everyone loves a coward.”
Marcus grabbed my hand. “Now is not the time for this,” he said.
I hate it when he’s right.
“So, what should we be doing now?” I asked.
“We finish what we started this afternoon,” Bay said. “Everything is still up on the bluff, right where we left it.”
I nodded. “That seems to be our only option.”
Landon shifted so he was facing us. “I’m going with you.”
“Why?” I didn’t want to perform like a monkey for his amusement.
“Because, if you find a trail, you’re going to need someone to go with you when you follow it,” he said. “You might need someone to … .”
“What? Protect us?”
“Call for help,” Landon corrected. “We don’t know what you’re going to find.”
I sighed. He was making sense. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“I’m coming, too,” Marcus said, following us as we moved toward the front door of the inn.
“Why are you coming?” I asked.
“I just want to be there with you,” Marcus said, his smile warm as he gave me a quick kiss. “We’ve been apart for days.”
“Oh, you two are just so sweet,” Bay teased.
Landon tugged on her arm. “You’re going to be sweet to me when all of this is over and done with.”
“I’m always sweet to you,” Bay protested.
“You’re going to be sweeter than that,” Landon said. “I’m going to want outfits.”
“OKAY, so what do we do?” Marcus asked, looking around the bluff dubiously.
I snapped my fingers to ignite the candles. It was a calm night, and when they flickered to life, they showed no signs of going out. “You and Landon stand over there,” I said. “We need to be able to concentrate.”
“You have to be quiet,” Bay cautioned. “This spell is tricky because we don’t have anything of Belinda’s to anchor it.”
“What does that mean?” Landon asked. He was curious about our magic, especially since Bay had put on a little show for his benefit a few weeks before, but I could tell he was still leery.
“If we had something of Belinda’s it would be easier,” Bay replied. “The only thing we have of hers is Annie, and she can’t see this.”
“Is it going to be scary?” Marcus asked.
“From your perspective, it’s just going to look like a small light show,” I said.
“Like what happened at the Dragonfly during the fake séance last week?”
I nodded.
“Well, that wasn’t so bad,” Marcus said, relaxing.
“Until the real ghost showed up,” Landon grumbled.
“We’re not using the same kind of magic,” Bay soothed.
“I said I was cool with this,” Landon said. “I’m not backing out. I want to see. Don’t worry.”
Bay smiled. “I’ll wear an outfit.”
Landon’s eyes lit up. “I want to pick it out.”
“Fine,” Bay said. “If I look like a strip of bacon when you’re done, though, we’re totally breaking up.”
Landon broke into a grin. “Hey, now that you mention it … .” He gave her a quick kiss. “Get to work, woman. I don’t want to put too much pressure on you, but we’re running out of time.”
“Right,” Bay said, snapping out of her reverie. “Let’s do this.”
We returned to our spots from earlier this afternoon and settled back in our circle, knees touching knees as we crossed our legs, and joined hands. Bay started first again. Clove and I joined her moments later, our power jumping with excitement as we let it out to play.
“That is awesome,” Marcus murmured.
Landon shushed him.
I pressed my eyes shut, forcing myself to concentrate even though having Landon and Marcus watch us felt strange. After a few minutes, the feeling drained away and I was lost to the flickering magic.
The spell was more powerful now. I had no idea if it was because we were more dedicated, or if the ticking bomb that accompanied Annie’s grandparents and their arrival was propelling us. It didn’t matter.
“I’m not sure we’re strong enough,” Bay murmured. “It’s like the magic wants to be let out to play, but there are walls in the way.”
“Of course there are walls in the way,” Aunt Tillie said, climbing the hill with a huff and a glare. “Why did you have to come up here?”
“It’s pretty,” Clove said.
“Yes, but I don’t like to climb the hill,” Aunt Tillie said. She moved over to us and wedged herself between Bay and me. “Move over.”
“What are you doing?” Bay asked, shifting.
“I’m fixing your circle,” Aunt Tillie said. “It’s not strong enough for what you’re trying to do.”
“It might work,” I said.
“It won’t,” Aunt Tillie said. “It won’t work until you three stop screwing around and really give in to what you are. You’re not ready yet, and we don’t have time for you to get ready.”
Landon was leaning against a nearby tree as he watched the scene curiously. “Why aren’t they ready?”
“Because they’re scared,” Aunt Tillie said.
“I thought they were strong?”
“Of course they’re strong,” Aunt Tillie said. “I raised them to be strong. They’re not ready to give in and let the magic take over. It’s because they’re strong that they fight it. That’s not a bad thing.”
“But they need you for this?” Landon asked.
“I’m the mightiest witch in the land, boy,” Aunt Tillie said. “Everyone needs me.”
I fought the urge to giggle. She does have a way with people.
“Okay,” Aunt Tillie said, joining hands and entering our circle. “Now I’m going to show you how to do a locator spell.”
“We’re all ears,” I said.
“And eyes,” Bay added.
Clove’s stomach picked that second to growl. “What? I didn’t get dessert.”
“Focus,” Aunt Tillie snapped, her gaze fixated on the swirling lights in front of us. “Annie says she doesn’t even know her grandparents. That can’t be a good thing. We need to do this, and we need to do this right. Envision what you want.”
We were all quiet for a moment, everyone doing as they were instructed.
“Stop thinking about the cake, Clove,” Aunt Tillie chided. “It will be there when we’re done.”
“I wasn’t,” Clove protested.
I shot her a look.
“Okay, I was,” Clove admitted. “I’ll do better.”
Once Aunt Tillie infused her magic with ours, the tendrils of colorful light exploded into the air. At first, each tendril went in a different direction. The lights climbed into the night sky before arcing back inwards and colliding into a big ball of light with a spectacular splash.
The freshly joined light hovered above us. Unmoving.
Aunt Tillie got to her feet, seemingly nonchalant, and brushed the dirt from her pants. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Landon arched an eyebrow. “Where are we going?”
“Wherever the light
takes us,” Aunt Tillie said.
“And what if we have to walk miles to find our destination?” Landon asked. “Do you think you can walk that far?”
“Who said anything about walking?” Aunt Tillie rolled her eyes as she reached over and flicked Landon on the ear. “You’re driving.”
Landon sighed. “Let’s go.”
When we got to his Explorer, Landon piled everyone inside. It was a tight squeeze, but with Marcus in the front seat with Landon, the four of us managed to wedge ourselves into the back seat, Aunt Tillie sitting on half of my lap and half of Bay’s. Landon paused as he was rounding his vehicle and peered into the rear hatchback. He swore under his breath as he jumped into the Explorer.
“I knew you were up to something,” he said.
“I have no idea what you’re insinuating,” Aunt Tillie sniffed.
“I had your wine in the back,” he said. “It’s gone.”
“Huh,” Aunt Tillie mused. “That’s just awful. You should probably report the theft. Stealing from law enforcement has to be the lowest of the low.”
“We’re going to talk about this later,” Landon promised.
“I can’t wait,” Aunt Tillie said. “I love a good cockfight. All that preening and posturing is good for my skin.”
“I just … .” Landon shoved his key into the ignition. “You’re definitely dressing up like bacon, Bay. I’ve earned it.”
Eight
“How are we going to explain this if someone sees us?” Marcus asked, peering out the front window so he could keep his eye on our speeding ball of light.
“I plan on telling people I was seduced by evil,” Landon said, sending a reassuring wink to Bay in the rearview mirror.
“Watch yourself, fresh mouth,” Aunt Tillie said.
“Who says I was talking about Bay?” Landon teased. “I’m going to blame you.”
“You’re going to tell people I seduced you?” Aunt Tillie was nonplussed.
Landon scowled. “No.”
“That’s what seduced means, dim bulb.”
“Just … focus on your ball of light,” Landon instructed. “It’s not going to do us any good if it dissipates before we get to our destination.”
“Young man, my spells don’t dissipate,” Aunt Tillie said. “Turn right at the next road.”
A Witch of a Time Page 13
