“Because something bad is about to happen.”
“What?”
I never got a chance to answer. The roar of the gun was so deafening it forced me to cover my ears, and the cloud of shimmering light hit me full on. I wanted to scream, warn him to flee for his life, but my voice was drowned out by the shimmering.
For a time all I saw was light. I couldn’t stand it, so I screamed and lashed out with everything inside of me. Whatever I managed to tap into – and I had a feeling it was magic – lumbered away from my chest and smacked into the shimmer, causing it to explode into shards.
I gasped for breath as the light returned to normal and the buzzing in my ears dissipated. I took stock of myself, relieved that I couldn’t find a bullet wound. “I need to call Galen,” I gritted out. “I need … Galen needs to know.”
When Gus didn’t respond I turned to him. It only took a second to realize why he hadn’t said anything. He would never say anything again. His eyes were wide and sightless … and fixated on the sun … and there was an ugly wound spreading fresh blood across his chest.
He was dead.
Something very bad had just happened.
Very, very bad.
22
Twenty-Two
I sat on the beach a long time, perhaps in shock. No, definitely in shock. I remained a few feet from Gus, doing my best not to stare into his lifeless eyes. I knew I should call someone, but I was too far gone to find my phone or remember a number.
Someone else must have called, because people started swarming the beach a few minutes later. Two were emergency paramedics who breezed by me and went straight to Gus. I could hear their words, understand them even, but they barely registered.
“Shot in the chest.”
“Looks like he died instantly.”
“I wonder where he was shot from.”
“Probably lucky whoever it was didn’t go for both of them.”
I wanted to say something – at least tell them to shut up – but I couldn’t find my voice.
Galen was the third to arrive. Instead of going to Gus, he walked straight toward me. “Hadley?”
I shifted my head in his direction, although I didn’t make eye contact. “Gus is dead.”
“I know.” Galen hunkered down in front of me, giving me no choice but to look at him. “Honey, were you hit?” He turned his eyes to the paramedics. “Have you looked her over?”
“She’s got a little blood on her shoulder there from the splatter,” one of the paramedics replied. “As far as we can tell, Gus was the only one hit. We didn’t want to approach her in case she freaked. She’s been shaking her head and kind of staring into nothing.”
“She looks fine,” the other paramedic said.
“Oh, well, thank you for your astute medical opinion,” Galen drawled, moving his hand to my hair. His voice turned soft and sweet. “Hadley, I need my men to go over the beach and the paramedics have to take Gus away. Would you please come inside with me?”
“Sure.” I felt detached and wobbly as I got to unsteady feet. “We were just talking when it happened.”
“Okay.” Galen placed his hand to the small of my back.
“I think he was trying to work out some things, maybe even hurt himself. He looked so sad, but … someone else did it for him.”
“Yes, well, we’ll figure that out. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried. You’ll find who did it.” I believed that. Faith didn’t stop me from getting wretchedly sick, though. Suddenly, I dropped to my knees on the sand and vomited, my stomach turning itself inside out as I struggled to maintain control of … well, something.
“Oh, honey … .” Galen sounded upset as he knelt behind me and rubbed my back. “Get it out.”
“I don’t even know why I’m sick.” I used the back of my hand to wipe my mouth. “It’s weird. I shouldn’t be sick.”
“You can be whatever you need to be.” Galen kept rubbing. “Tell me when you feel good enough to walk again. I really do want to get you back inside.”
“Okay.”
“In fact, if you’re done throwing up, how about I carry you?” His eyes brightened. “That way you won’t have to walk.”
Something about the way he said it – the look of excitement on his face – snapped me back to reality. “You can’t carry me in public!” I was incensed. “I can walk on my own two feet.”
Instead of being insulted, Galen chuckled. “Well, at least you’re sounding a little more like your regular self. I’m glad. As much as I’d like to play the hero and carry you, I’m much more excited to hear you yell at me.”
I wiped my mouth one more time and slowly got to my feet. “Me, too.”
“Finally something we agree on, huh?”
I DISAPPEARED UPSTAIRS to brush my teeth and change my clothes, leaving Galen to question his deputies in my kitchen. When I returned, I found a bottle of water on the counter and Lilac and Booker standing close to the table, their heads bent toward Galen as they whispered.
“None of that,” I ordered, my temper flaring. “I don’t want you guys talking behind my back.”
Booker, a master at covering his emotions, merely stared back. “What makes you think we were talking about you?”
Lilac, who always blurted out whatever came to her mind, couldn’t resist. “We’re so sorry.” Her eyes filled with tears. “We’re all so worried about you. Galen said you were acting like a zombie when he showed up … and then you puked. Both of those things sound terrible.”
“Ugh.” Galen slid Lilac an annoyed look as he slipped around her and walked toward me. “Don’t listen to Lilac. That’s not how I phrased it.”
“No?” Now that I had settled a bit, I was in the mood to fight. “What word did you use?”
“I said you were quiet, and that concerned me.”
“You said ‘zombie-like,’” Lilac argued. “I remember exactly what you said. You said ‘Hadley was acting zombie-like and I thought she might have lost her marbles all over the beach so I need you guys to get over here.’ I was very worried.”
I didn’t want to laugh – it seemed inappropriate given what had happened on the beach thirty minutes ago – but I couldn’t stop myself. “Well, at least people care enough to worry I’m losing my marbles.” I rubbed my forehead, a rare tension headache brewing. “I need to sit down.”
I grabbed the bottle of water from the counter and slid into one of the chairs at the table, my temper threatening to come out and play when I saw the worried looks Galen and Booker exchanged when they thought I wasn’t looking.
“Stop that,” I hissed finally, extending a warning finger. “I won’t fall apart. And, contrary to popular opinion, my marbles won’t spill out all over the beach.”
“Of course they won’t.” Lilac made a sympathetic clucking sound as she sat next to me. “We’re in the kitchen now. If your marbles spill, it won’t be out there.”
“I don’t think that’s helping, Lilac,” Galen complained, moving to the open chair to my left and drawing my attention to him. “How are you feeling?”
“Annoyed.”
“That’s good. I like it when you’re annoyed. It makes my blood run hot.”
“Well, as long as you’re happy.” I offered a tight smile as I twisted the cap off the bottle of water. “Do you have any idea who did this?”
“No.” Galen shook his head. “We’re still working on it. We believe the shot came from a spot down the beach, close to that stand of trees near where we took off our shoes before wading the other night. Do you know the one I’m talking about?”
I dully nodded. “Yeah.”
“Did you see anyone hanging around those trees before it happened?”
“If I had, don’t you think I would’ve said something?”
“I think you were in shock when I first got here.” Galen was calm as he rested his hand over mine. “I’m not sure you remembered anything at the time.”
“I remember everythin
g.” That was mostly true. “You don’t have to treat me as if I’m breakable. I’m not going to break.”
“It’s okay if you do,” Lilac offered, her eyes shining with sincerity. “What you saw out there … anyone would break because of that. It’s okay.”
“Well, I won’t.” I was firm. “I’m fine.”
Galen squeezed my hand. “Okay. Tell me what you remember.”
“Starting when?”
“Um … how about when we separated after breakfast?”
“I tracked down Booker at the tourism center and bugged him until he gave in and told me what he was,” I replied dully. “He wasn’t happy, but he did it. Then I went to the grocery store. I bought steaks for dinner tonight – mushrooms, onions, potatoes … you know the whole yummy pile of things we’d need because I thought we could grill. I got stuff for breakfast … and I even bought you a razor and toothbrush in case you forgot what I’d said this morning.”
Galen tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I didn’t forget. Thanks for that. It might come in handy tonight. Then what happened?”
“I came home and put the groceries away,” I answered. “I called for May because I had questions about cupids, but she didn’t answer.”
“Oh, can we not talk about that?” Booker made a face. “There’s a dead body outside. Let’s focus on that.”
“Leave her alone,” Galen chided, his expression darkening. “I told her to tell me everything. That’s what she’s doing.”
“Oh, you just want her to say something goofy about what I told her,” Booker grumbled. “I know how you are.”
“Yes, I want to turn Gus’s death into open season for jokes about you being the island’s resident sex maniac,” Galen drawled. “That’s exactly how I roll.”
“Knock it off,” I ordered, annoyed. “We’re talking about me right now, not you guys and your complicated relationship.”
Galen sobered. “I’m sorry. Continue.”
“I decided to go to the third floor because I needed a book,” I volunteered. “I remember the room felt off, like someone had been there and changed things while I was gone.”
Galen straightened his shoulders. “Wait … what?”
I nodded. “I thought for sure someone had been in the room. Things seemed off.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“Because nothing was missing. I thought some of the herbs were out of place and that maybe someone had opened the Book of Shadows. But nothing was missing. It was a feeling I had no proof to back up. I mean … I’m not even sure of everything that’s in that room. I haven’t conducted an inventory or anything.”
Galen opened his mouth to say something and then apparently changed his mind. “Okay. We’ll talk about that later. Tell me what happened next.”
“I went downstairs to grab a banana and bottle of water.” I searched my memory for the proper chain of events. “I went out to the patio because I was going to take a break from researching.”
“What were you researching?”
“Cupids. I can’t wait to see you ride a dolphin, by the way, Booker.”
Booker scowled. “I knew telling you was a mistake. I just … knew it.”
Galen snickered. “I’m happy you told her. I was getting sick of fending off questions.”
“You should’ve told her. It would’ve saved time.”
“That’s what I said,” I interjected. “He said it wasn’t his secret to tell.”
“And I stand by that.” Galen moved his hand to the back of my neck and rubbed at the tension there. “So, you were upstairs researching and decided to come downstairs on a break. What happened then?”
I shrugged. “Not much. I saw Gus walking the beach and went out to talk to him. He was distraught, talking about Trish and how his life was essentially ruined. I think he was going to kill himself. Er, well, I think that was the plan … although I’m not sure how I know that. I think I might’ve picked up a stray thought from his brain or something. Either way, he didn’t do it. Maybe he was trying to gear himself up for it or something.”
“He had a gun in his pocket,” Galen noted.
The information took me by surprise. “He did?”
Galen nodded. “A small handgun. It was loaded. If you think he was considering killing himself, it’s a fairly good bet that he was.”
“Someone beat him to it, then,” Booker mused, taking the remaining seat at the end of the table and rubbing his chin as he ran the scenario through his head. “Someone had to be watching what was going down on the beach and decided to act at a certain time.”
“Do you remember what was happening right before the shot was fired?” Galen asked gently.
“I … .” I broke off, my memory clicking firmly into place. “I remember thinking that something bad was going to happen. I remember trying to get Gus to run … but he wouldn’t.”
Galen’s eyebrows flew up. “You knew something bad was going to happen?”
“It was as if I had an inner danger alarm in my head and it was screaming at me to get out,” I replied. “At first it wasn’t easy because of the shimmering.”
“Shimmering?”
“What? Oh, the water was shimmering.” I shook my head to dislodge myself from the reverie. “I don’t know how else to explain it. The water was shimmering, like there was a floating cloud and it was heading my way. I felt kind of dreamy while it was shimmering, but it was as if I knew somehow – like really deep down – that it shouldn’t be shimmering and I managed to break through. I’m not explaining it very well.”
“You’re doing fine.” Galen patted my hand and flicked his eyes to Booker. “What do you make of that?”
“It sounds as if someone tried to put her under a spell,” Booker replied without hesitation. “If I had to guess, I think whoever did the shooting wanted Hadley out of the picture for the deed, perhaps so she wouldn’t fight what was about to happen.”
“Or maybe it was something else,” Lilac suggested. “Maybe someone tried to put Hadley under a spell because he or she wanted to frame her for Gus’s death. I mean … Hadley somehow slipped through the cracks. That’s amazing, by the way, for a novice.” She beamed at me.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t return the smile. “Wait a second … are you saying that you think someone hid in the bushes, tried to put a spell on me, shot Gus with the intention of framing me for murder and then managed to escape without anyone seeing him or her?”
“I think that’s it in a nutshell,” Galen replied. “You were out of it when I arrived. At first I thought it was simply because of Gus’s death. That would be enough to drive anyone around the bend. Now I think it was more than that.”
“It was the remnants of the spell,” Lilac said, nodding. “I’m sure you’re right. When whoever it was realized Hadley was free of the spell they had to run because it was either that or get caught. Finishing the frame job wasn’t an option because Hadley was conscious … and possibly a real threat.”
I balked. “I’m not a threat.”
“Oh, really?” Booker challenged. “That story about you throwing an ax-wielding assailant out of a second-story window has made the rounds on the island. I’ve been asked about it at least three times. Whether you like it or not, you are a threat … and people know it.”
“I’ve been questioned about it too,” Galen admitted ruefully. “People are curious about Hadley. That first show of power could’ve been a fluke, though, and our culprit might’ve thought she couldn’t pull it off a second time.”
“The shimmering she described, that sounds like a powerful spell,” Lilac argued. “I think there are only two or three people on the island capable of casting a spell like that. I mean … she might be one of them eventually, but that’s a large bit of magic.”
They were talking around me as if I wasn’t present, and it was driving me insane. “You guys know I can hear you, right?”
“You have a very strong presence that’s hard to forget,” Gal
en drawled. “Of course we know you’re here.” He patted my hand and gave my fingers a squeeze. “It’s just … you shouldn’t have been able to break that spell. You’ve barely tapped into your magic. My guess is you did it instinctively – because that seems to be how you do everything – but what you managed to accomplish today is fairly amazing.”
“Yes, she’s a true goddess amongst men,” Booker drawled, annoyance dancing across his handsome features. “We need to focus on the individuals who could pull this off. One of them clearly has a grudge against Hadley … although, for the life of me I can’t figure out why. What benefit would anyone find in framing her for murder?”
“Maybe someone wants to buy the lighthouse,” Lilac suggested. “It is a prime piece of land.”
“So soon after Ned failed at the endeavor?” Galen didn’t look convinced as he shook his head. “No, this is about something else. Who could weave the bit of magic Hadley described?”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but those witches out on the north shore might be able to,” Lilac replied.
“The ones from that hippie commune who refuse to shower and shave their pits?” Booker made a face. “Why would they possibly leave La-La Land and come to town to kill Hadley? They haven’t even met her.”
“They’re feminists,” Lilac argued. “Feminists don’t shave their pits.”
I didn’t point out that was stereotypical … and often altogether wrong. It didn’t seem like the time.
“Who else could cast the spell?” Galen persisted. “I mean … who here has enough magic to do what was done today?”
“Off the top of my head the only one I can absolutely say without hesitation is capable of doing what Hadley described is Madame Selena,” Lilac replied. “I have no idea why she’d want to attack in this manner. I mean … it’s not like her.”
“No, it’s not.” Galen’s eyes were thoughtful as they snagged mine. “But she is a nut.”
“Oh, she’s the nuttiest of the nutty,” Booker agreed. “That doesn’t explain why she’d go after Hadley. What’s her motive?”
Witches Just Want to Have Fun Page 48
