by Blythe Baker
“But why does it matter what they think?” Bliss asked.
“Because there’s nothing I can do to prove that it’s not my fault,” I said. “The circumstances are against me. Anyone with any sense would question me.”
Bliss shrugged. “If it’s not true, it’s not true. That’s all that matters.”
“The other thing that worries me is that a Gifted ended up dead this time…” Aunt Candace said, folding her arms. “The other deaths had Gifted involved, and I know you had a hard time covering up the truth about their part in it.”
“Dr. Valerio and Cain Blackburn helped me with that…” I said.
“But it’s as if something wants the Gifted to be exposed,” Aunt Candace said.
That was a chilling thought. “I hope they listen to me about the music box,” I said. “About not opening it. Otherwise…well, they’ll have a hard time explaining it, won’t they?”
Bliss nodded. “And such a talented spell singer…Ruth may not have been the most well-liked person, but she was talented. And honestly, I did like her. She was always nice to me.”
I decided to hold my tongue, wondering what exactly Ruth wanted from Bliss if she was so nice to her. I didn’t think it was the time to explain how manipulative she was.
“The magic has definitely shifted, though,” Bliss said in a soft voice. “The council of eleven has mentioned as much. They realize that something’s different, and…I’m sorry, Marianne, but I don’t think your secret is going to remain a secret for very much longer.”
I stared at an old water ring on the wooden table. I wondered if I’d ever forget the sight of those bodies, or ever be able to move past the fear that was sticking to me like sap right now.
I swallowed hard.
All I knew was that I never wanted to have a reason to call Sheriff Garland ever again… But I sensed that was probably nothing more than wishful thinking.
8
Bliss and Aunt Candace tried to convince me to stay the night, but I refused. I knew they understood that I was just putting on a brave face, but I claimed that all I wanted was to curl up in my bed and forget about the day.
“Besides, I have to go into the antique shop early tomorrow,” I said. “I should try and get at least some sleep before I’ve gotta get up and get ready.”
Athena grudgingly hopped back into my backpack so I could walk through the lobby without getting any strange looks from some of the guests. It was sort of a waste, though, since the only person out there was Mr. Terrance, diligently manning the check-in desk.
Sleep didn’t come easily that night, which meant that for the second night in a row, I spent more time staring up at my ceiling than the inside of my eyelids. Eventually, I dragged my phone to my bed, found a movie that I’d watched a hundred times before, and turned it on. The dialogue between the characters was just enough to distract my brain, filling my mind with images other than dead bodies, and I was able to doze off.
When my alarm went off, it felt like I’d just fallen asleep. Groggily I opened my eyes and ran my fingers through the blankets until I found my phone, buried somewhere near my knee.
I turned it off and rolled over, sleep just on the fringes of my consciousness.
You slept like a rock last night, Athena said. Her voice in my mind was followed by the gentle appearance of her paws on the blanket. She slowly made her way over to me, the sheets tugging ever so slightly as she crossed over the bed.
“Mr. Cromwell said I didn’t have to come in early,” I said, pulling the comforter back up over my shoulders and burying my head.
Yes, but you told him it would be good for you. Remember? You said it would help take your mind off everything, she said.
I groaned unabashedly like a child. “I don’t want to.”
The blankets suddenly started moving off my shoulders, exposing my face to the cool morning air inside the cabin.
You’re going to feel worse if you stay cooped up in here all day, Athena said.
I glowered as I rolled over toward her. “What’s wrong with taking a rest day?”
Come on, just get up, Athena said, dipping her head to pick up the comforter in her teeth again, dragging it away from me. I promise you’ll feel better after you take a shower.
Cold and irritated, I pulled myself out of bed. My limbs were heavy like lead, and my mouth was dry like sandpaper. Muttering, I stepped into the shower and turned it on as hot as I could make it.
I stood under the stream until I was able to think more clearly. Memories of the day before came back to me, and I rubbed my temples as a headache started to creep up the back of my skull.
The fight with Ruth at the shop. Falling unconscious, and waking to find her and the music box gone. Going to see Cain and hearing about the box. Hearing from Sheriff Garland about the results of the DNA test, confirming that it was indeed my mother’s blood on the baby blanket. Going to Ruth’s house to confront her about the records and the box, finding her dead. Staying up well after midnight with Aunt Candace and Bliss, discussing everything, and having a mental breakdown.
I stared dumbly at a cracked tile on the shower wall.
No wonder I was so exhausted. That had all happened in one day.
I toweled off and pulled on some warmer clothes; the forecast said that it had almost hit freezing temperatures the night before, which meant it was going to be a cold day.
I stepped out into the living room a few minutes later to find Athena standing on the kitchen counter, a bag of coffee beans toppled over onto the floor, the contents halfway across the cabin.
I tried to make you some of this coffee you like, she said, her tail swishing. But the bag ripped when I was trying to dump it into the pot.
I sighed, but where frustration might have grown at one point, I only found numbness. “That’s okay,” I said, turning back to the closet where I kept the broom. “I’ll take care of it.”
I wanted to help with something, Athena said. I never realized how infuriatingly useless I am.
“You are not useless,” I said with a glance over my shoulder at her, sweeping some beans out from underneath my small table. “Far from it.”
Well, I’m not exactly the greatest at being able to help you make breakfast, she said. I was able to at least pull that box out of the cupboard. The one with the things you put in the bowl?
I looked over at the table, and saw a cereal box in one of the chairs. Tiny teeth holes filled the corner, but it drew a smile to my face.
I couldn’t open the fridge. Maybe we could tie a rope or something to the door so I could pull it open? Then I could get you the milk. I don’t know if I could open the milk or not. Maybe if I bit some holes in it –
“Athena…” I said, setting the dust pan down and walking over to her. I gently placed my hand on her head and ran my fingers over her silky fur. “Your presence is more help than you will ever understand. Though I do appreciate you trying to help me get breakfast ready.”
Her dark gaze stared up at me for a few seconds before she gave in to the pets. Her eyes closed, and a soft purr-like sound emanated from her chest. Well…I just wanted to make your day a little easier. I know how hard it’s been lately.
I knew she’d hate it, but I bent over and wrapped my arms around her, holding her close to me.
“Thank you…” I murmured into her fur.
She squirmed for half a second, but then gave in. I’m not sure why you’re getting emotional. I spilled your coffee all over the floor.
“It’s the thought that counts, Athena…” I said.
Feeling significantly better, I cleaned up the rest of the coffee, made myself a bowl of cereal, making sure to pour a small saucer full of milk for Athena, and finished getting ready for the day. I grabbed a jacket and pulled a bowl of leftovers out of the fridge, and Athena and I were out the door before the sun had even reached the horizon.
The roads were quiet this early in the morning. I only saw a few cars, and figured that most of them were
either factory workers or people who worked at the hospital during night shift, and were on their way home.
The other possibility was that they were vampires, heading home after a night out on the town. That thought was a little more chilling. There was still so much about the vampires that I just didn’t know. I only knew Cain and what he told me. There was a large part of me that wanted to trust him, but I wasn’t sure if I could. It wasn’t that he’d led me astray before…in fact, he’d saved my life once. That was more than enough for me to trust him. But he was a vampire…and he was awfully secretive.
I chewed on the inside of my lip. “So…” I said, glancing over at Athena in the passenger seat. She’d curled up in a small ball again, I could see the steady rise and fall of her chest. How could she fall asleep on such a short car ride?
She opened an eye and looked up at me. What’s on your mind?
“Well…I was just thinking about Cain,” I said, glancing over my shoulder as I changed lanes. “I wonder what he’s going to think about Ruth’s death.”
I imagine he’s going to be startled just like Bliss and your aunt were, Athena said. A Gifted being killed is no small matter.
“Right…” I said. “But he has more than that to be concerned about. Ruth took the music box that had been stolen from his family just yesterday morning. Then I went to talk to him and tell him about it…and then she winds up dead?” I shook my head. The light up ahead had just turned yellow, so I eased my foot on the brake. “It’s just…weird.”
Athena lifted her head, opening both eyes. That does seem like a rather strange coincidence, doesn’t it?
“I’m telling you, none of these things that keep happening are coincidences,” I said. “So I – ”
My words caught in my throat, and I was glad that I’d come to a stop.
What is it? Athena asked, a note of worry in her thoughts. What’s wrong?
“Athena…” I said, slowly, deliberately. “I just had a thought…”
My heart started to race, and my mind did everything it could to contradict itself immediately. But that didn’t matter. The thought had been born, and now it was all I could focus on.
Well? Athena asked. What are you thinking about?
“I don’t know why I didn’t consider this yesterday…” I said as the light turned green, and the car in front of me started to slowly meander forward. “Cain…what if he was the one who stole the box back from Ruth’s home?”
Athena was quiet for a few seconds, considering my comment.
“I mean…no one else knew about the stolen box, right?” I asked, my mind racing as I put the pieces together. “He was the only one I’d told, because I knew it had belonged to his family at some point. His sister, he said. What if he broke into Ruth’s house and killed her to get the box back?”
Those are some pretty serious accusations…Athena said. Do you really think Cain would kill someone for that music box?
“I…I don’t know,” I said, trying hard to keep my focus on the road. Fear was trickling down my spine like someone had left an ice cube to melt at the base of my neck. “I mean the way he was talking about Ruth yesterday, it was obvious that he didn’t really care for her.”
But not liking someone is not the same as hating them so much you’d kill them, Athena said.
“That’s true,” I said as we crested the hill where the antique shop sat waiting. “But the music box…it was something important to his family. He was…he was angry when I told him she’d stolen it.”
Still…enough to kill her? Athena asked.
“Maybe it was an accident…” I said.
I pulled the car into the parking lot, my heart pounding.
Cain Blackburn…
I didn’t want it to be true. I wanted with every fiber of my being to be able to dismiss it. I wished that something obvious would come to mind to refute the whole possibility.
But nothing came.
Athena pushed open the backpack with her snout, and crawled inside without being asked. We probably shouldn’t keep Abe waiting, she said.
I hesitated, wanting to discuss this new theory more, but she was right. I promised to help Mr. Cromwell, and I needed to keep that promise as best I could.
I shouldered my backpack and headed out of the car. The air had a definite bite to it, tearing all the way through my sweatshirt.
I hunched in on myself against the colder air this high up in the valley, closer to the mountains, and hurried to the front door.
I unlocked it and hopped inside, closing the door quickly behind myself.
The bell over my head rang, and the wind ceased.
“Good morning, Marianne,” I heard from the back of the store. “I wondered if that was you who pulled up outside.”
I pulled the backpack off my back and gently set it down on the ground. Mr. Cromwell was behind the shelves, so he didn’t see me unzip it and allow Athena to slip out.
She ran toward the shadows beneath an old piano, and soon I saw her dark eyes staring up at me from underneath it.
I pulled my backpack on again and headed toward Mr. Cromwell.
I found him behind the front desk with the door into the storage room wide open, the light from inside spilling out into the dim shop.
“Good morning. Mr. Cromwell,” I said. I caught the faint scent of coffee, and it warmed my chilled bones. “I’m surprised to see you up and at ‘em so early this morning.”
He was peering into a cardboard box on one of the shelves, and he turned his face to grin at me. “Well, I couldn’t sleep all that well last night, so I just decided to get up and start looking for those candle sticks.”
“Oh, right…” I said, leaning against the door frame. “Who were those for again?” I asked.
“Mr. Blackburn,” Abe said, lifting a stack of yellowed doilies out of the box and looking beneath them. “He was looking for a particular style for his new dining set. Something from the19th century.”
“How do you know that you have them?” I asked.
“Oh, I called in a favor to a friend in Oregon who owns another antique shop almost…heavens, eight months ago. He said he had them, and then sent them. They arrived before you had moved into the area, and I’d spent some time in the hospital. Needless to say, I forgot about them, and they ended up getting buried underneath a lot of other deliveries we’ve received over the months,” he said.
“I see…” I said. “Well, how about I start back here? I’ll grab the stepladder.”
I spent a few minutes inside my own mind while I looked through boxes for those candlesticks. They were for Cain.
I didn’t like the idea that I could see him as a murderer. The problem was, I liked Cain. I really liked him. He was kind to me, regardless of the fact that he was a vampire, and I found myself thinking about him a lot. I knew he was strong, and influential, but I’d never been afraid of him.
I swallowed hard as I realized that just because I’d never been afraid of him, it didn’t mean that I didn’t think he was capable of killing someone…
“Um…Mr. Cromwell?” I asked, looking down from the top of one of the shelves. The dust was thick and coated my fingers, and made me sneeze at least a dozen times, but I was more concerned about the thoughts running through my head.
“Yes?” he asked, sticking his head back into the store room. He’d stepped out to look in the locked counter at the back where he kept all the valuable items.
“How well do you know Mr. Blackburn?” I asked.
He regarded me with a curious expression. “Well…” he said, scratching his chin. “He’s been a customer for a long time. He and his family, of course. He looks just like his father…”
My cheeks burned as I looked down at him. So he didn’t know that he’d been doing business with the same man over and over.
“Apparently, he’s actually the seventh Cain in his family’s history,” Abe said. “It’s remarkable, each generation always having a son. Well, anyway…Cain is very m
uch like his father. Quiet, polite, respectable.”
“Do you know much about him personally?” I asked.
“No, I don’t, really. I know that his family is quite wealthy, but they certainly keep to themselves,” Abe said. His brow furrowed as he stared up at me. “Why do you ask?”
I sighed. “Well…I found a necklace in that music box yesterday, and it had the name Rebecca Blackburn on it,” I said. “So I went to speak with Cain Blackburn and told him about it and the box, and…”
Mr. Cromwell nodded. “I see…so that box once belonged to the Blackburn family.”
“Cain said that it was stolen,” I said.
Mr. Cromwell looked affronted. “Really?”
“Yeah…” I said. “And what’s worse is…I don’t know if you’ve heard…”
“If you’re talking about what happened to Ruth, then yes, I’ve heard,” Mr. Cromwell said with a heavy sigh, leaning on his cane. He shook his head. “I read about it in the paper this morning.”
I frowned. “Yeah…”
Mr. Cromwell scratched at the back of his neck. “It’s tragic…she may not have been the nicest woman, but she didn’t deserve to die so young.”
I frowned. He said that in an awfully cool tone…
“I gotta be honest, kid…I’m worried the police might come around to the shop at some point,” Abe said in a heavy voice. “This was one of the last places she was seen alive, so I’m sure they’re going to want to question us.”
My heart skipped. “You think they’ll come around here asking about the music box?” I asked.
“I imagine they will, yes,” he said. “Which means they’ll want to ask you about what you were meeting about.”
I swallowed hard. I knew that Sheriff Garland already knew about my involvement, but he’d written me off as innocent. Mr. Cromwell didn’t know that, though. And I didn’t feel like telling him that I’d been at Ruth’s house the night before…or that I’d been the one to find the body.