Luckily, Beth happened to know another witch that she could turn to for help. She got into her car and started driving across town with Trevor.
As they made their way over to the north side of town, Beth’s mind was racing, but she didn’t say a word. It was tough to bottle up over three decade’s worth of resentment, but she did her best to find a way. After all, as much as she wanted to blow up at Trevor, doing so wasn’t going to get him to leave town. So, she quietly seethed in the driver’s seat.
Even though Beth didn’t open her mouth, the car ride was far from quiet. While there were many things that Trevor could have said, he actually remained tightlipped as well. That was highly surprising, given all the different ways he could have apologized for walking out on his family.
Instead of Trevor begging for forgiveness, the only noise in Beth’s car came from her phone. It was ringing like crazy. But Beth didn’t pick up her phone.
That prompted Trevor to stare at Beth with confusion in his eyes.
“Aren’t you going to answer that?” he asked.
Beth shook her head. “I’m trying not to.”
Trevor shrugged. “Why?”
“Because it’s our daughter.”
Trevor’s eyebrows rose. “Oh.”
“I’m just going to let it go to voicemail.”
“That’s probably for the best.”
When Beth didn’t pick up after the third ring, her phone finally went silent. At least for a few seconds.
Just as Trevor started to breathe a sigh of relief, Beth’s phone began ringing again.
Beth took a quick glance at the caller identification screen. “It’s Meg.”
“She’s awfully persistent,” Trevor said.
“She sure is. Our daughter isn’t the type to give up easily on things.” Beth shot a glare at Trevor. “Unlike someone I know.”
Trevor avoided eye contact by looking down at the ground.
Beth grimaced as her phone continued to ring. “Meg is actually so persistent that she’ll just keep calling until I pick up. Which means I’m going to have to take this.”
Beth pushed the answer button on her phone. Before Meg had a chance to fire a few questions at her, Beth made sure to get the first word in.
“Honey, I’m sorry for running out on you back there, but something important came up,” Beth said.
“What is it?” Meg asked.
“There is just something that I need to do really quickly. Don’t worry. It won’t take more than a few minutes. Just hold things down for me at the shop and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“This has something to do with that man you were talking to, doesn’t it?”
Beth winced. “Yes.”
“Who is that man?”
“Just someone from the past.”
“Does he have a name?” Meg asked.
“You don’t know him.”
Meg became audibly annoyed. “Why aren’t you telling me what’s going on?”
“It’s not worth concerning yourself with.”
“But Mom—”
“Look. I really have to go. I’ll explain it all to you later, though, all right?” Beth then hung up the phone before Meg had a chance to reply.
Once the phone line was clear, Beth let out a huge groan. She then ripped into Trevor.
“I hope you’re happy,” she snapped. “I just lied to my own daughter all because of you. It would break her heart if she knew her father was in town and didn’t want to see her.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to see her—”
Beth held her hand up. “I don’t want to hear excuses. I just want you out of my life.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s get this over with.”
As Beth continued driving, Trevor looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
Chapter Seven
A few minutes later, Beth’s car arrived at Pamela’s street. Beth pulled into the driveway of a blue Victorian-style home and put her car in park.
Trevor’s eyebrows knitted as he stared at the house. “When did you move?”
“This isn’t my house,” Beth said.
Trevor bit the corner of his lip. “Whose house is it then?”
“A friend.” Beth then opened the car door. “Stay here,” she said.
Trevor remained in the passenger seat while Beth got out of the car and approached the blue house.
When Beth reached the front door, she rang the bell.
A few seconds later, Pamela opened the door.
“Beth. What are you doing here?” Pamela asked.
“I hate to show up here unannounced, but I was wondering if I could ask a small favor of you,” Beth said.
Pamela’s nose crinkled. “What kind of favor?”
“Have you ever performed a séance spell?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Then you know it’s a two-witch spell,” Beth said.
“It certainly is.”
“With that in mind, I was wondering if you could help me cast a quick séance spell,” Beth said.
Pamela’s eyebrows knitted. “I’m confused. Why didn’t you ask your daughter?”
“I would have, but she’s busy at work.”
“Oh.”
“So, can you help me? I know it’s a lot to ask. And I’m sorry about that.”
Pamela stared deep into Beth’s eyes.
“You must really be desperate if you can’t even wait until your daughter is done with work to cast this spell,” Pamela said.
Beth nodded. “I sure am. This is kind of time-sensitive.”
“In that case, let’s not waste any time.”
Beth’s eyes widened. “Hold on. Does that mean you’re going to lend me a hand?”
Pamela nodded.
“Thanks. I owe you one,” Beth said.
Chapter Eight
In an effort to avoid a flurry of questions, Beth introduced Trevor simply as an old friend rather than explaining their messy history. Pamela then invited Beth and Trevor inside her home. The living room seemed like the best place to cast the spell, so that was exactly where they headed.
Beth instructed Trevor to keep a safe distance. He followed her orders.
“By the way, we’ll only be able to hold the spell for a couple of minutes, so you can’t afford to waste any time. Got it?” Beth asked.
“I understand,” Trevor said.
Beth then took a seat on the floor across from Pamela. From there, the women closed their eyes and began chanting.
A few seconds later, a glowing blue ball of light materialized between Beth and Pamela. Shortly after that, a figure emerged within the ball of light.
Trevor immediately recognized the figure. It was his deceased brother, Mike.
Understandably, Mike was disoriented. His forehead wrinkled as he looked at Beth, Pamela, and Trevor.
“Where am I? And what are you doing here, Trevor?” Mike asked.
“This is a séance,” Trevor said.
“Are you serious?” Mike asked.
Trevor nodded. “It’s so good to see you again. I’ve missed you so much.”
“I have missed you too,” Mike replied.
“That said, we only have so much time. And there’s something I need to know.”
“What is it?”
“How did you really die?”
Mike threw out his arms. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Trevor shook his head. “Not to me. Can you please answer my question?”
“I hung myself.”
Trevor grimaced. “So, the medical examiner was right? You really did kill yourself?”
“Why is that so surprising to you?”
“I thought someone else might have killed you. And staged the scene to look like a suicide.”
“That’s crazy.”
“You say that. But it doesn’t make any sense to me why you’d want to take your own life. I mean, you had a loving wife. And a great job. So, what reason did you have to want to kill yours
elf?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Mike, I put this séance together specifically to get answers. I need to know the truth.”
“I know you always looked up to me. But I wasn’t the man you thought I was. And my life wasn’t nearly as happy as it appeared to be.”
Trevor squinted. “What are you talking about?”
“Michelle and I had been having marriage problems for a while. To the point where it seemed like divorce was inevitable. Of course, the stress of my job wasn’t helping our marriage any. I was overworked, underappreciated, and constantly on the verge of having a nervous breakdown.”
“I didn’t know that. This is the first time you’ve mentioned any of those things.”
“Because I kept them hidden. I didn’t want to admit that my life was coming apart at the seams.” Mike took a deep breath before continuing. “Anyway, everything came to a head last Tuesday. My boss called me into the office and told me the company was downsizing. That after all the hard work I had done over the last seventeen years, I was being laid off.”
“That’s awful.”
Mike held his pointer finger up. “My misery didn’t stop there. When I got home that evening, Michelle told me she was leaving me.”
“No way.”
“I tried to reason with her. I begged her to stay. But her bags were packed and her mind was already made up. When she walked out the door, I poured myself a drink. By the time I had finished my fourth shot, I had convinced myself that I had no reason to go on. I didn’t want to live anymore. It was just too painful. So, I hung myself.”
“I wish you had called me. I wish you had told me. I would have dropped everything to be there for you.”
“True. But that wouldn’t have saved my marriage. Nor would it have gotten my job back,” Mike said. “Either way, there’s no going back now.”
“There sure isn’t.”
“Which is why, instead of continuing to focus on the awful way my life came to an end, let’s talk about you.”
Trevor’s nose scrunched. “What about me?”
“Take care of yourself, all right?” Mike said. “After all. You don’t want to end up like me, do you?”
Chapter Nine
Mike had given Trevor a lot to think about. It was no surprise then that Trevor became very pensive the moment the séance ended. While Trevor wrestled with his thoughts, Beth thanked Pamela for helping out with the spell.
After saying a quick goodbye to Pamela, Beth walked back to her car with Trevor. Once they had both taken a seat in the sedan, Beth started driving back to downtown Enchanted Bay.
For the first few minutes of the drive, Trevor stared out the window, completely speechless.
Just as Beth was about to break the silence between them, Trevor let out a groan and vented his frustration.
“I’m such a fool,” he said.
“Trevor, your brother came out and said that he did his best to hide his feelings from you,” Beth replied. “It’s not fair to blame yourself for being in the dark.”
“That’s not what I’m getting down on myself about,” Trevor said.
“Are you frustrated because you had convinced yourself that something else was responsible for your brother’s death?”
Trevor shook his head.
Beth squinted. “Why did you call yourself a fool then?”
“Because that’s exactly what I am. I walked out on you when you were pregnant. I didn’t say a word to you for over thirty-four years. Then I just showed up in town this morning, looking for a favor. If that’s not foolish, then I don’t know what is.”
“I can’t disagree with that.”
“You know, you had every right to send me packing. Yet you helped me out instead.”
“Trevor, is this your convoluted way of saying thank you?”
“No. This is my clumsy way of saying I’m sorry. You deserved so much better than the way I treated you.”
Beth stared him down. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
Trevor took a deep breath before replying. “You may not believe me, but I feel terrible about what I did. I mean, if I could go back in time—”
She cut him off. “You’d what? Do things differently? You’d not walk out on me? You’d actually be a father to your daughter?”
Trevor nodded. “Something like that.”
“I’d like to believe that. Really, I would,” Beth said.
Trevor squinted. “But you don’t?”
“It doesn’t really matter what I believe because there’s no going back. You can’t change what happened.”
“True. I can apologize, though.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little late for that?”
“Isn’t it better late than never?”
“Maybe in your mind it is. To me, there’s no apology in the world big enough to make up for what you did.”
He took a deep breath. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Honestly, now that I’ve done this favor for you, there’s only one thing I want in return,” Beth said.
“What’s that?” Trevor asked.
“For you to leave town as soon as possible.”
“Fair enough.”
Beth snarled. “Fair? After everything you’ve done, it takes a lot of nerve to say that word around me.”
“Sorry. I just can’t seem to stop putting my foot in my mouth today.”
“In that case, why don’t you just stay quiet until we get back to your car?”
Chapter Ten
Trevor followed Beth’s suggestion. They both remained silent until they reached the center of town.
When Beth’s car approached Trevor’s vehicle, remaining quiet was no longer an option. Especially when they spotted Meg leaning against Trevor’s sedan.
Beth’s stomach began to turn. This was the exact scenario that she was trying to avoid. So much for flying under the radar. Beth was going to have to tell her daughter something. While normally the truth was the best option, in this case, it was just so messy.
As Beth wrestled with her thoughts, Trevor squirmed in his seat.
“Is that who I think it is?” he asked.
Beth nodded. “It’s our daughter.”
Trevor became really tense.
“Let me do the talking,” Beth said.
Trevor looked relieved to hear Beth say that.
A few seconds later, Beth and Trevor both got out of the car.
Beth opened her mouth to try and get the first word in, but Meg wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on here?” Meg asked.
“I was just helping out an old friend,” Beth said. “A better question is, what are you doing here? You didn’t leave the shop unattended, did you?”
Meg shook her head. “I called Nicole and asked her to come in early. Don’t worry, the shop is fine.” Meg then switched her focus elsewhere. “Now, who is this old friend exactly? And why did you run out on me instead of introducing us?”
“It’s not important. He’s just leaving.” Beth looked at Trevor. “Aren’t you?”
Trevor nodded. “Yes. Your mother just did me a quick favor. That’s all.”
Meg stared deep into Trevor’s eyes. “There’s something more to this. Something you two aren’t telling me. Something big.”
“Honey, you’re getting worked up over nothing,” Beth said.
Trevor grabbed his car keys from his pocket. “I really should be going. Thanks again for the help, Beth.”
“Have a safe trip home,” Beth said.
Meg folded her arms. “Mom, aren’t you going to at least introduce me to your friend?”
Beth reluctantly replied, “Sure.”
Meg outstretched her arm. “I’m Meg.”
Trevor shook her hand. “I’m Trevor.”
Meg bit her lip. “I don’t remember my mother ever mentioning being friends with anyone named Trevor.” She scratched her chin. “Except—”
> Before Meg could finish that sentence, Beth spoke up. “Trevor really does need to be going.”
As Meg stared deep into Trevor’s eyes again, she got a strong feeling in her gut.
“Wait a minute. Are you my father?” Meg asked.
Trevor’s face went pale. He didn’t say a word. Mostly because he was shocked that Meg had been able to put the pieces together so quickly.
He had to say something, though. Meg wasn’t about to just let Trevor get into his car without answering.
Trevor opened his mouth to reply. He wasn’t able to get his response out, however.
Meg spoke up first. “You are, aren’t you?”
While Trevor had trouble untying his tongue, Beth’s heart sunk. Things had gone from bad to worse. She just wanted this nightmare to be over. If Trevor knew what was good for him, he would just play dumb.
Thankfully, that was exactly what he did. “Where did you get that idea?” he asked.
“It’s just an instinct I have,” Meg said. “And I have great instincts. Now answer my question. Are you my dad?”
Beth prayed that Trevor would just lie. It would spare Meg so much pain. And it would bring a merciful end to this conversation.
Unfortunately, Trevor folded under the pressure and told the truth. “Yes. I’m your father.”
Chapter Eleven
Meg’s jaw dropped as she processed the news. Growing up, she wondered what she would say to her father if she ever ran into him. Now that he was actually in front of her, she was having a hard time coming up with the right words to say.
After a number of seconds of silence, Meg was able to compose herself long enough to ask her mom if she could speak with her father alone. Beth was reluctant to step back. She was horrified that their conversation would end in heartbreak. At the same time, she knew how persistent Meg was about getting her way. Instead of putting up an argument, Beth respected her daughter’s wishes.
Once Meg and her father were alone, Meg immediately put the pressure on Trevor.
“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?” she asked.
“I’ll bet you have a number of questions for me,” Trevor replied.
Witch Cozy Mystery Nine Book Set Page 59
