High Priestess

by Wendy Hewlett

  She threw the car in reverse and shot out of the driveway with the tires squealing. Jaxon chased her out of the driveway, yelling at her to stop. When she shoved it into drive and slammed her foot down on the accelerator she saw him out of the corner of her eye darting back to his truck. She had a few seconds head start to try to lose him which wasn’t an easy task in their small town. She weaved back and forth through some of the side streets and when she was sure he wasn’t right on her tail, she shot up an alley and parked behind a big delivery truck.

  She dropped her head to her forearms crossed over the steering wheel. This couldn’t be happening. She loved her job, but she didn’t see how she could manage to put in the hours she did with a baby to look after, especially if she was going to have to do it on her own. And she would be on her own. Riley would never take her back now. Her pregnancy and then her child would be a constant reminder of her betrayal.

  Then there was Jaxon. Even if his reaction to the news of her pregnancy had been positive, the simple fact was she didn’t want him. Eventually, he would grow to resent her. She stabbed her fingers into her hair again, fisted her hands in it and barely contained the urge to let loose a rip-roaring primal scream.

  He’ll come around, darling angel. He just needs some time to let the news sink in.

  Ena’s voice reminded Raven she had a case to solve. She needed to put all thoughts of the tiny little life growing inside of her aside and focus on finding Ena’s killer. But first, she needed to head to the bank to find out what was happening to the trust fund money. Ignoring Ena’s words, she picked up the envelope sitting on the passenger seat and rifled through the papers for the banking information. It wasn’t even her bank that the account was set up in, but it was in her name. The address was Adara’s, but that could be because it was Raven’s address when the account was opened just prior to her eighteenth birthday. But, why would Adara go all the way into Huntsville to open the account when she could have done it in Solstice and why hadn’t she told Raven about it?

  It was then Raven caught sight of the amount of the monthly deposits. She rubbed her eyes and then looked at the figure again, sure she had mistaken the amount. The figure on the page didn’t change. Fifteen thousand dollars was deposited on the twenty-first of every month. Fifteen thousand? All she could think about was nearly starving to death while she was going through the police college and then the sacrifices she made to scrape up enough money for a deposit on her cottage. Fifteen thousand a month worked out to one hundred and eighty thousand a year for nearly nine years. That would bring the total up to around one point five million dollars. This didn’t make any sense. Adara wouldn’t have let her suffer through college and saving for her house if she knew about this money. Not only that, but Adara was on a fixed disability income and Raven had never known her to spend beyond her means.

  On the drive to Huntsville, Raven’s thoughts bounced back and forth between the money and the pregnancy test. Those pregnancy tests weren’t a hundred percent accurate, were they? It could be a false positive. There was no reason to get all freaked out until she could confirm without a doubt that she was pregnant. The only way to know for sure was to make an appointment to see a doctor and for some reason she wanted that doctor to be Dr. Simone Wagnar. She hadn’t seen Simone in that capacity for years, but she didn’t have a regular physician and she didn’t want to go to the walk-in clinic and have a stranger examine her, especially if she ended up with a male doctor.

  As soon as she pulled into a parking spot in front of the bank, she called Simone’s office to make an appointment. She was hoping to get an appointment next week or the week after, but the receptionist said Simone was in urgent care the next morning and would fit her in. That meant she had less than twenty-four hours before she had to face the reality of her condition. Twenty-four hours to pray that there wasn’t a tiny life growing inside her. Until Simone told her she was preggers, she was going to go about her life as if she wasn’t.

  Raven gathered the legal documents pertaining to the disbursement of the trust fund and made her way into the bank. Instead of lining up for a teller, she went to the customer service desk and asked to speak to someone about her account. She was asked to take a seat and settled herself into a hard, straight-backed chair against a wall. She hoped to hell they didn’t make her wait too long because she didn’t want to sit there alone with her thoughts. As much as she tried to put it out of her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about what she would do with a baby, besides the obvious. She couldn’t picture herself with a big, pregnant belly or, good Lord, delivering a Jaxon sized baby. That thought had her squeezing her thighs together and wincing. What the hell had possessed her to have sex with a man? Damn you, Jaxon Lang.

  “Miss Bowen?”

  Raven’s eyes focused on the young man standing in front of her. He didn’t look like the banker type. He looked like a high school jock with his wide shoulders and thick neck. His dark hair was styled to perfection in the latest shaved sides style. “Yes?”

  “Are you okay? Would you like a glass of water or something?”

  Did she look that bad? She knew the colour had drained from her face because she felt it, like gravity forced all of the blood in her body to drain to her legs. She wasn’t too sure if she could get to her feet without passing out. Her hand went to the hollow of her throat. “No, I’m fine. Thank you.”

  He nodded then waved his hand in the direction of a row of glass walled offices. “Right this way, please.”

  Raven followed him to his office and took a seat across the desk from him.

  He folded his hands on the desk and said, “What can we do for you today, Miss Bowen?”

  “It’s Detective Constable Bowen, actually.” She didn’t know why she said that. She didn’t like being called Miss Bowen. For some reason it felt like an insult.

  “Of course, I’m sorry. I’m Brian.”

  Raven slid the papers across the desk to Brian and explained that she wanted information on the account named in the document.

  “Sure. Have you got your debit card with you?”

  “No, sorry. I haven’t got one.”

  Brian smiled. “How about a photo ID?”

  Raven slid forward and reached into her back pocket for the black leather wallet she kept there. She opened her badge and O.P.P. ID and slid it across the desk to join the papers.

  “Wow,” Brian grinned. “I’ve never actually seen a police badge. It’s nice. Shiny.”

  Really? Shiny? This guy got his vocabulary from the same place Mick did. Raven pasted on a smile then returned the wallet to her pocket.

  “Okay, let’s bring up your account then.” He tapped away on his keyboard and then turned his monitor so Raven could see it. “Looks like your balance is just under two million dollars.”

  That was a lot more than she expected. She frowned as she looked at the screen. “Can you bring up the account activity for say…the past year?”

  Brian tapped at his keyboard again. The $15,000 monthly deposits plus interest were the only activity.

  “Is it possible to get a printout of the account activity dating back to the time it was opened?”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

  It took a while because Brian had to bring the lists up year by year for the past nine years, but Raven walked out with the printouts dating back to when the account was first opened and a shiny new bank card. The only activity during that whole time were the deposits and the interest accrued. So, Adara had opened the account in Raven’s name and then just left it alone.

  Raven’s next stop was Adara’s place. The whole way there she tried to keep her mind off of what might be happening in her belly and focused on Adara and the stuff she’d been keeping from her all these years. She tapped her knuckles against the kitchen door before letting herself in.

  Adara sat at her kitchen island with her Book of Shadows open in front of her. She smiled at Raven, closed the massive book and slid off her stool. “
I’ve been trying to call you. Are you okay?”

  Adara wasn’t her usual bright self this afternoon. She stood there nervously wringing her hands, her eyes wide open and sad. Guilty perhaps?

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve silenced my phone.”

  “Ah, yes. The media have been calling here looking for you as well. I’ve had to turn my ringer off. If you’re trying to get hold of me, let it go to voice mail and let me know it’s you. I’ll pick up.”

  Raven nodded and shoved her hands in her jeans pockets leaving her thumbs hooked out over the edge as she rolled back on her heels. “Can we talk, Adara?”

  “Yes, of course. Would you like a coffee?”

  Would she ever. But she couldn’t have caffeine until she knew for certain if she was pregnant or not. “Uh, no thanks.”

  Adara’s eyebrows shot up. It wasn’t like Raven to turn down a coffee. Instead of leaving Adara suspicious, Raven said, “I just had one.”

  “Well, why don’t we go into the parlour then.”

  Raven followed Adara to the front room and waited for Adara to settle in her favourite chair by the fire. It was a comfortable room with a large screen TV hanging over the fireplace, thick carpeting in a faded blue. The sunlight speared through thick slatted blinds in a bay style window. The couch and the chair were thickly cushioned in a cream colour, the walls decorated in a pale yellow that added to the room’s warmth. Raven had spent so much time in this room over the years it still felt like home. She took her usual spot on the couch, but instead of sinking into its comfortable depths, she perched on the edge and ran her hands down her jeans. Where to start?

  “I know you’re upset with me,” Adara said. “And you have every right to be. I did take you in at Ena’s request, but I would have done it anyway, Raven. You’re as much a daughter to me as you are to Ena. I love you as my own.”

  Raven let out a long sigh. She felt like an idiot for doubting Adara, the one person who’d always been there for her, the one person who provided a safe home for her. Adara never had strange men coming and going like there was a revolving door at the entrance. It had just been Adara and Raven. Adara saw her, whereas Ena rarely did. “I know. I love you, too.”

  Adara’s hand covered her heart as her eyes pooled. “I was so worried. I don’t want you to hate me, Rave. All I’ve ever done is try to look out for you.”

  “Can you tell me about the trust fund?”

  Adara’s eyes widened again. “Trust fund? Oh, yes. My goodness, I forgot all about that.”

  “You opened an account in my name for the payments to be deposited into.”

  “Yes. I opened the account and then forgot about it. Although they do send a statement every month. I have them all in my files, if you want them.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

  “You were still so angry at your mom, I knew you wouldn’t want anything to do with it. So I just did what I was told and let it be.”

  “You were reporting back to mom about me the whole time, weren’t you?”

  Adara broke eye contact and stared out the window. Raven waited for an answer. She wasn’t about to let Adara off the hook, but she gave her a few moments before she prompted her again. “You were, weren’t you?”

  With a heavy sigh, Adara returned her gaze to meet Raven’s. “She was my best friend, honey. Always. She loved you with all of her heart, so of course she wanted to know how you were doing.”

  “But, you never encouraged either of us to try to resolve our differences.”

  Adara pursed her lips and looked away again. When she turned back, her eyes were glistening and a fat tear rolled down her cheek. “I didn’t want to give you back, Rave.” She sniffed. “I couldn’t stand to lose you.” Adara dropped her face into her hands and wept.

  “Is that why you didn’t tell me about Kiran? You were afraid to lose me to him, too?” If that were the case, would Adara go so far as to put a spell on her to sleep with Jax to break her and Riley up? Was she jealous that she was spending too much time with Riley and not stopping by as much as she used to?

  “Oh, dear Goddess.” Adara let out a long wail as if she were in great pain. “It wasn’t my place, Rave. I’m so sorry for what I’ve put you through. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you and I felt it was Ena’s place to tell you. Do you understand?” She pulled a tissue out of her sleeve and blew her nose then continued to weep into her hands.

  Raven took a deep breath then huffed it out. Adara had no family of her own aside from Ena, Raven, and the coven, so Raven could hardly blame her for wanting to keep her as her own child. She moved to the arm of Adara’s chair, wrapped her arms around her and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “It’s okay. I didn’t want to lose you either.”

  * * *

  Raven left Adara’s berating herself for doubting the only person she’d been able to count on. Why Ena was suspicious of her best friend and the sweetest person Raven knew was beyond her.

  She was the only person with access to my house and she was in my house every morning for the last month of my life. She could very well have put poison in the Chalice.

  Raven got into her car and slammed the door, fisting her hands tightly around the steering wheel and growled through gritted teeth, “She was your best friend, loyal to you for your entire lives. She took in your daughter and kept her safe, which is more than I can say for you.”

  You really know how to hurt someone, Rave. I know I failed you. It’s my biggest regret in life. I tried so hard to get you to talk to me back then. If only you’d told me at the very start, I could have protected you, sweetheart.

  “He would have killed you.”

  No. I would have killed him. Had I known what he did to you, I would have killed him.

  Raven’s chest tightened in that uncomfortable way that was beginning to feel familiar. The ferocity in Ena’s voice, the raw emotion as she spoke had Raven wondering if she had prolonged her own suffering by not opening up to her mother. All she wanted back then was for Ena to wrap her in love and stop the abuse, but she hadn’t been able to risk Gregor killing Ena.

  You didn’t hate me after all. You loved me too much to risk him hurting me.

  The ferocity was gone and in it’s place was the soft, loving coo of a mother. Raven fisted her hand over her heart trying to absorb the pain. “I’ve never hated you. I resented you for not protecting me, for not seeing what I couldn’t tell you.”

  I’m so sorry, my sweet angel. I’m so sorry.

  Ena’s voice shook as she spoke then there was only silence. Raven dropped her head and rested her forehead against the steering wheel, admitting to herself for the first time that what Gregor did to her wasn’t entirely Ena’s fault. Her resentment caused her to blame Ena and judge her for her beliefs. Ena was entitled to practice witchcraft and dedicate herself to the Wiccan religion. Raven had no right to judge and condemn her for that.

  A tap on the window jolted her out of her reverie. Her head shot up to see Adara staring in at her, concern drawing her eyebrows together.

  “Raven? Are you okay, sweetie?”

  Raven stuck her key in the ignition and turned it enough to allow her to roll down her window. “It’s okay, Adara. I was just thinking.” How long had Adara been watching her? Had she witnessed her talking to Ena? Had she been close enough to hear?

  “Are you sure? You look upset.”

  Forcing a smile, Raven said, “Yeah, I was just thinking about a case I’m working.” She didn’t know why she was lying. She never lied to Adara.

  “The Emily McMurtrie case? I thought that was solved.”

  “Yeah. Just tying up loose ends.” She reached out and took Adara’s hand. “Everything is okay. Really.”

  Adara smiled and squeezed Raven’s hand before releasing it. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?”

  “Of course. You’ve always been the one person I could talk to. That’s why I came here, Adara. I couldn’t stand for there to be any a
nimosity between us.”

  Adara’s eyes lit up and she smiled brilliantly. “I love you, sweetie.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Raven started the car as she watched Adara walk back into the house. What Ena said about Adara being the only one who had access to the house swirled around in her mind. Was that why she found it necessary to lie? She was letting Ena cause her to doubt Adara again. Was Ena manipulating her? Was she jealous of Raven’s relationship with Adara?

  Of course I’m jealous of your relationship with Adara. I have been since the day you left home, sweet Angel. But, that’s not why I want you to be wary of her.

  Raven reversed out of Adara’s driveway and began to drive towards town with no particular destination in mind. She just didn’t want Adara to catch her talking to Ena again. “Who delivered the chalice and the flowers?” She needed to track down the delivery to prove the chalice had been there and was missing.

  I don’t know. They were left on the back porch one morning. It was Adara who found them there and brought them in.

  “They were left outside the kitchen door?” That was odd. Any deliveries would have been left at the front door unless whoever made the delivery knew Ena. “Were they cold? Could you tell if they’d been sitting out there for long?”

  The chalice was in a gift bag. I opened it right away and I don’t remember it feeling cold.

  Raven pulled the car to the side of the road. “What did you do with the gift bag?”

  It should be in the cupboard in my office. I keep all of my wrapping paper and gift bags in a bin on the shelf in there.

  Raven waited for a break in traffic then pulled a U-turn and headed for Ena’s house. “Don’t disappear on me. I need you to identify the bag.”