“There’s no reason to hide,” Bay said dryly, her eyes momentarily flicking to the stone before focusing on me. “I know you’re there, Charlie.”
I felt unbelievably embarrassed to be caught eavesdropping on a private moment. It was none of my business that Bay enjoyed conversations with dead relatives. I did the same with my parents. I didn’t believe they talked back to me, but that hardly made Bay crazy. Although … everyone who worked at the resort said the whole Winchester clan was crazy. It was certainly possible that she was battier than a vampire stuck in a belfry, but she didn’t appear that way to me.
“I’m sorry,” I offered lamely, poking my head out from behind the tree. “I was walking by and saw you. I thought I’d see what you were doing. Then I realized you were talking to … someone you lost … and I thought I should give you some privacy.”
“This is my Great-Uncle Calvin,” Bay said, gesturing toward the stone. “That’s my grandmother over there. Her name was Ginger.”
“Oh, well, it’s a beautiful cemetery.”
“It is,” Bay agreed, dusting off the knees of her jeans as she stood. “We generally do a spring cleanup as a family but I was passing by and thought I’d pick up the bigger pieces and get them out of the way. The wind blows through here in the winter and a lot of candy wrappers and empty bottles find their way through the fence.”
“That’s nice.” I studied the headstones. “Did you know your grandmother?”
Bay shook her head. “She died before I was born. Aunt Tillie is our grandmother. Always has been.”
“I guess that makes sense. Is Ginger her sister?”
“Yes. They were very close.”
“Just the two of them?”
Bay chuckled, clearly amused by my discomfort. “They had a half-sister – Willa. They were raised to believe they were full sisters, but it turns out they weren’t. They were never close with Willa. I guess it wasn’t hard to sever the ties once the truth came out.”
“It must’ve been hard on Willa.”
“You would think so, but … no.” Bay tied the end of the bag so none of the garbage could escape. “What are you doing out here? I thought you were going to find Millie.”
“I was looking for her when I ran into Phyllis Grimes.”
Bay eyes widened. “Here? In town? What did she want?”
I related my conversation with the woman, including Thistle’s appearance. There was no sense holding anything back because Thistle would tell Bay everything. Even though I remained suspicious of the Winchesters, I didn’t believe they had anything to do with Penny’s death.
“Thistle is right about the ties between that group,” Bay noted. “I’ve been conducting a little research myself. I pulled an old high school yearbook and put it in my car. I plan to show the photos to Landon later.”
“Where is Landon?”
“Investigating with Chief Terry. He really didn’t say where they were going.”
“I’m surprised he let you out of his sight,” I admitted. “He seems keen on keeping you close. It’s kind of … sweet.”
“I thought you were going to say that it was kind of overbearing.” Bay’s grin was soft but earnest. “I told him I had work to do at the office. That wasn’t a lie, but he does like to hover occasionally. He thinks I find trouble.”
“Do you?”
Bay nodded. “I find it, it finds me. Sometimes I’m at fault. Sometimes I’m not. Sometimes Thistle is at fault. A good fifty percent of the time Aunt Tillie is at fault. Still, trouble seems to find us no matter who is at fault.”
“It seems to be finding me, too, right now,” I admitted, chewing my bottom lip. “Jim Green is in town, too. He followed me when I left the magic shop and then went into the bakery to cover his tracks.”
“Did he say anything?”
“I followed him into the bakery and confronted him, so he didn’t really have a choice,” I replied. “He claims he only came to town for coffee, but I don’t believe him.”
“What do you believe?”
“I think there’s something weird about that whole group,” I confided. “They all went to high school together. Three men from that class were sleeping with the same woman. A fourth member from that class was married to one of the men, and she keeps insisting he is no cheater even though everyone knows he is. It’s all too … weird.”
“Weird is an apt word.” Bay chuckled as she shook her head. “I thought you were leaning toward the probability of Bigfoot killing Penny.”
“I know you guys think it’s a joke, but I saw something the other night and I swear it was too tall to be a man,” I said. “I don’t know if it was Bigfoot, but it seemed too slim to be a bear. It reminded me of Chewbacca from Star Wars.”
“I thought you couldn’t see hair,” Bay prodded.
“I couldn’t, but … I saw something.”
“I believe you.” Bay’s response was simple and succinct. “There are many things in this world that we can’t explain. Whether Bigfoot is real or merely a figment of the public’s imagination doesn’t mean there’s nothing out there.”
“Do you believe in the paranormal?”
Bay nodded. “Don’t you?”
“I wouldn’t have joined the Legacy Foundation if I didn’t.” I rolled my neck, enjoying the way my joints popped. I had a chance to push Bay. Did I dare? Oh, what do I have to lose? “What are you?”
The question was barely a whisper. Bay raised her eyes to mine when she heard it. “What are you?”
“I’m just a person,” I replied. “I graduated from college and joined the Legacy Foundation soon after. That’s my complete and total life story.”
“No, it’s not.” Bay crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at me. “I understand the urge to protect yourself. People attack what they don’t understand. You don’t have to be afraid to tell me what you are.”
“I’m not afraid … .”
Bay cut me off with a shake of her head. “I see it. You need something to bolster your courage.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“Losing the people I love.”
“I don’t have anyone to love,” I pointed out. “I’m alone.”
“You’re not, but you can’t see the truth of that yet because you’ve been alone for a long time,” Bay countered, heaving a sigh. “Do you really want to know what I am?”
I nodded, my heart rate increasing. “Yes.” Was she really about to tell me?
“Okay then, I will confide in you even though it’s a leap of faith,” Bay offered, wetting her lips. “I’m not a normal human being. You’re right about that.”
“What are you?” My mouth was suddenly dry. I barely managed to croak out the words.
“I’m a witch.”
And just like that my excitement faded. “Yeah. So is everyone in the town.”
“Oh, you misunderstand,” Bay cooed. “I’m a real witch. My entire family consists of real witches. We can perform magic, curse those we don’t like or agree with, even control the weather on rare occasions.”
“You’re not serious?”
Bay nodded. “Your turn. What are you?”
“I have no idea,” I admitted, staring at my hands. “Have you ever seen Carrie?”
Bay widened her eyes. “Yes.”
“I think I might be Carrie.”
Bay chuckled, the sound taking me by surprise. “Why don’t you sit down and we’ll go over this from the beginning. I doubt very much you’re Carrie.”
“I think you’re wrong. The only difference is that no one has ever doused me in pig’s blood.”
“Why don’t you tell me your story and we’ll go from there? Let’s not get dramatic until it’s called for. Criminy, you remind me of Aunt Tillie. She would love to be Carrie, though you seemed terrified by the prospect.”
I couldn’t tell if the comparison was meant to be a compliment.
Twenty-Seven
“So … you’re a witch?”
/> I followed Bay to a metal bench and sat, my mind working at a fantastic rate. I knew something was different about the Winchesters, yet … this answer seemed somehow too simple.
“I am.” Bay bobbed her head as she rested her hands on her knees. “All of the women in my family are witches.”
“You have powers?”
“We have different gifts,” Bay clarified. “As for powers … well … it’s not like you see on television. Except for Aunt Tillie, of course. She lives her life by what she sees on television, so she often seems like a soap opera character.”
I chuckled despite the surreal situation. “What can you do?”
“I can talk to ghosts and cast the occasional spell,” Bay replied, choosing her words carefully. “We can do a little magic here or there, but we don’t make it part of our normal lives. I’m nowhere near as strong as Aunt Tillie. Most of the spells I cast need power boosts from my cousins.”
“Like … what?”
“We call to the four corners,” Bay explained. “That’s how our line has always worked throughout the years. We’re no different.”
“Do you mean directions? You call to the corners of the north, south, east and west?”
Bay looked impressed. “How do you know that?”
“I conducted a lot of research on the supernatural in college. I remember reading something about it,” I replied. “I tried to perform the spells in the book, but they didn’t work.”
“Did you try the spells because you suspected you were a witch?”
I shifted on the bench, finding it impossible to get comfortable. “I tried them because I didn’t think I fit in and I was desperately looking for reasons for my odd detachment.”
“You protect yourself, and that’s probably wise,” Bay noted. “We won’t hurt you. We can generally tell when someone is evil, and you’re not evil. I’m not sure if you’ve been worrying about that, but people aren’t born evil. It’s your heart that decides what you will or won’t be, and your heart would never let you become evil.”
“I … um … tell me about what you can do.” I wasn’t ready to admit my abilities until I saw proof of what Bay told me. I inherently trusted her – I probably always had because I sensed the goodness within – but I was understandably leery. “What kinds of things have you done?”
“Well, when we were little Aunt Tillie would take us on adventures. Those adventures almost always had something to do with her meting out vengeance on people.” Bay smiled as her memories pushed to the forefront. “She enjoyed messing with Mrs. Little quite often. That often involved a spell or two. The Christmas after our fathers left I was in a bad mood because of … well, a lot of things … and she made it snow to save Christmas that year.”
“She can control the weather?” That sounded unbelievably fantastical.
Bay nodded. “She’s done it on more than one occasion. I’ve seen her bring lightning storms down on people threatening us on more than one occasion.”
“Did she kill them?”
“A few. They were all bad people, so don’t worry about that. We seem to attract a certain type of enemy. Aunt Tillie doesn’t play favorites with her enemies. She enjoys smiting them no matter what they’ve done.”
“What about your mother and aunts? What can they do?”
“They have their own blend of magic,” Bay replied, her expression wistful. “They’re all kitchen witches. Clove, Thistle and I tend to be elemental witches, drawing our magic from the earth and air. Mom, Marnie and Twila focus their energies in the kitchen. That doesn’t mean they can’t conjure a spell when necessary. I believe they did it more often when they were younger.”
I bit my bottom lip as I ran the information through my head. “And you can talk to ghosts?”
“That’s also a family gift.” Bay’s smile turned strained. “It’s not exactly a comfortable gift, but I’ve learned to live with it.”
“Is that what you were doing today? Talking to ghosts, I mean.”
“I was here to clean graves because I do some of my best thinking when I have a secondary task to focus on,” Bay explained. “I sometimes have a conversation with Uncle Calvin when I’m here. He only seems to talk to me when I’m alone.”
“He was Tillie’s husband?”
“Yes. I never met him in life. However, we’ve had some marvelous conversations. He was a good man. I often think he had to be a saint to marry Aunt Tillie. He really loved her.”
“Was he talking to you today?”
“We had a brief conversation,” Bay replied. “He doesn’t talk to me often. I don’t believe he’s on this side. He manages to drift over occasionally, but he lives in a better place. Most ghosts who remain behind do so because they have unfinished business. They only stay until that business is settled.”
“Do you help them move over?”
“When I can. It’s not always possible.”
“Have you seen Penny’s ghost? I know you’ve been looking. I watched you at her apartment. You seemed to be searching for something, although at the time I couldn’t figure out what. I saw you at the resort staring out into nothing, too. You were looking for her, weren’t you?”
“I was,” Bay confirmed. “Sometimes when people are killed they remember exactly what happened and point us in the right direction. Other times the truth of their death is so traumatizing that it takes time for answers to come. I was hopeful Penny was still around, but if she is, I haven’t seen her.”
“You don’t believe Bigfoot killed her, do you?”
“No. I don’t think you really do either.”
“I saw something,” I protested.
“You saw a shadow in the dark,” Bay clarified. “I also saw your reaction when Jack mentioned the falling branch and how high up it was. I saw that branch. It wasn’t ripped from the tree. Well, I mean it was, but a physical being didn’t do it. Magic did.”
I balked. “How can you possibly know that?”
“I’ve sensed something in you from the moment we met,” Bay admitted, tilting her head to the side as she regarded me. “You’re powerful in a different way from us. There’s power inside of you. There’s no sense denying it.”
“I … does Landon know about all of this?” I had no idea why my mind immediately flew to him. He was such a straight arrow that I had trouble wrapping my head around the idea that he could deal with something this freaky.
“He knows,” Bay confirmed. “I couldn’t keep something like that from him. We were drawn together because we both chased the same case. When he initially found out about the Winchester witch gene he took a step back. I won’t deny that it hurt.”
“That’s what you guys were talking about,” I murmured. “That’s why you were upset.”
“I wasn’t really upset,” Bay clarified. “I was … all right, I was upset. Still, Landon came back. He needed time to think. There are people out there who will not only accept you for what you are but love you despite it.
“That’s the key, of course,” she continued. “You want to be wary of people who want to be close to you because of your abilities. They are not to be trusted. That’s originally why we weren’t fond of Sam. We thought he wanted to be close to Clove only because she’s a witch.”
“You obviously got over that,” I pointed out.
“We have. Sam came to town because he researched the Winchester witches and wanted to get to know us. He fell in love with Clove because she’s Clove.”
“And what can she do?”
“Whine and complain.” Bay smiled. “She has certain cognitive abilities. “If you want to talk to her she can share that information. It’s not my place. I feel comfortable talking about my abilities, but I won’t gossip about my cousins.”
“And Landon really understands?”
“Landon is a unique individual who loves with his whole heart,” Bay answered. “He understands and looks past the magic. He isn’t always happy about the trouble it brings, but a good man will always
follow his heart.”
“Hmm.” I tapped my lip as I considered the statement. “I always thought I would have no choice but to be alone. I didn’t think people would understand. But there are times I can’t hide the things I can do.”
“And what can you do?”
“I … um … see things sometimes,” I admitted. It was hard to grit out the words, but I immediately felt better after I did. “I can sometimes see the past or the near future when I touch things. I saw you when I touched Mrs. Gunderson the other day. That’s why I tried to touch you later. I wanted to get another flash.”
“That was odd, but I figured maybe you rolled that way.” Bay’s smile was impish. “What did you see when you touched Mrs. Gunderson?”
“I’m not sure. It’s what made me suspicious of you guys. Well, to be fair, I was suspicious before I saw the flashes. The images sent my curiosity into overdrive. I saw you as a little girl. You were in this cemetery with Terry. He cried and hugged you.”
“That was probably the day I talked to his mother after her death,” Bay mused. “I told him what I saw. He believed me, although he never wants to talk about it. He likes to pretend he doesn’t know about us. We let him because it’s somehow easier.”
“I also saw you and Landon,” I offered. “He was upset, screaming your name. You were fighting some monster. I think it was made of mist.”
Bay leaned forward, intrigued. “Really? I wonder if that was Floyd.”
Something clicked in my head. “It had to be! I heard Tillie yelling, ‘I’m coming for you, Floyd.’ I wasn’t sure they were part of the same memory.”
“They were. Floyd was an angry poltergeist. We gave him what he deserved in the end.”
“So … he’s gone?”
“More than a year now,” Bay confirmed. “So you see flashes of the past and future. That’s a cognitive gift. You can move things with your mind, too. I’ve seen you do it.”
Admitting to the psychic flashes was one thing. Admitting to the other was quite another. “I … .”
“It’s okay.” Bay rested her hand on mine to soothe me. “I won’t tell. It’s okay. I know about having a secret. I know how hard it is to deal with something you can’t control.”
Witchy Dreams Page 72