We didn’t have time to linger any longer. Charlie asked Henrietta a few more questions, then we left. But before Charlie got out of the car at her office, the three of us chatted for a few minutes.
“You going to have Hansen over to hear about the case?” Greer asked.
“I’ll see if he’s free later,” said Charlie evasively, clutching the binder to her chest. “I just can’t imagine what poor Henrietta has gone through. It’s so sad. I don’t have a sister, but to lose one would be awful. You two are like my sisters, and I just can’t even think about it,” she said.
“Talk to Paws about it,” said Greer. “He’s routinely plotting our demise.”
“That’s true. I suppose I can ask him,” said Charlie with a grin.
“We have to find Haley. I just can’t believe she ran away,” I said.
“Her sister said she was the nicest person in the world. Henrietta didn’t think she could possibly have any enemies. Well, two years later it sure looks like she did, and does. She doesn’t even want to talk to us in ghost form,” Charlie mused.
“Is there any chance that it doesn’t have anything to do with her death? Maybe she thought Lemmi was the knitting police come to collect on her bad stitches or something,” Greer mused.
Charlie looked disappointedly at Greer.
“There’s always a chance,” I pointed out, “but the only way we’re going to find out is by talking to her, and we can’t do that when the whole cemetery is protecting her against us.”
“We should try again soon. If they want to distract us, two can play that game,” said Greer.
“I like it. I like it a lot,” said Charlie. She got out of the car, but before she closed the door I told them both that Jasper was also probably coming over later. Deacon was still out of town, so he wasn’t on the guest list.
Only after Charlie had gone into the building did I remember that I wanted to ask her about the secret meetings she had gone back to investigating. Maybe I’d remember at dinner.
Greer also had stuff to do, which left me alone until dark. I needed to go check on all of the cats, but this time I decided to check on Duchess last. Then she could have my undivided attention.
She probably still wouldn’t like me.
By the time I got to Mayor Clabberd’s house, I was well aware that night had fallen. The mayor had the sort of lights on his garage that turned on automatically in response to movement. He had also left a light on in the living room to make sure the place didn’t look so deserted. Cats were fine in the dark, but since I wasn’t a cat, I appreciated it. I hurried for the side door.
The weather had turned colder again, and I wasn’t happy about it. I just kept telling myself that I had Jasper’s visit to look forward to once I got all my tasks finished.
Duchess was again not in the kitchen or anywhere else downstairs. I called her, shook her food, and put it into the bowl. Then I waited. I didn’t usually leave a pet sitting job until I’d seen the pet.
Just good policy.
Again, after going upstairs earlier and basically snooping in the Mayor’s stuff, I would have preferred not to have to go in search of Duchess. So I kept waiting.
After about ten minutes, I heard the tinkle of the bell and Duchess came trotting into the room.
Her bright blue eyes skated over me and then away. She had no use for me whatsoever. I was fine with that; she didn’t have to like me. I did prefer that she not be afraid of me, though.
The cat started eating her food while I waited. I didn’t dare go back upstairs.
She was nearly finished with her meal when the lights flickered. Only then did my slight jumpiness from earlier return, at the stark reminder that I was out here in a quiet part of Mintwood all by myself.
In order to comfort myself, I whispered that Jasper was coming over later. He was supposed to be at the farmhouse by now, in fact, and just as soon as I left here I could see him.
That made me feel good. I was looking forward to spending the evening with him and Hansen. We’d be able to talk about all things witch-related. It was about time we could have conversations like that together.
Besides, having a chance to speak to them before I spoke to Scarlett and Josephine again was important.
The lights flickered again. I sat up, and even Duchess took notice. Slowly I got to my feet. I had never drawn my wand in someone else’s house before, but before anything else I made sure that Duchess was all right. She trotted out of the room without so much as a backwards glance. Maybe by the time the mayor got home she would have let me pet her. I wasn’t going to hold my breath waiting.
I had just put my hand on the door handle to head to the garage when the lights flickered one last time.
Plunged into darkness, I tried to keep my cool and waited for the lights to come back on.
They did not.
Now might be a fair time to panic.
Chapter Eleven
Through the cheery kitchen window I saw a flicker of dark light. One flicker was followed by another, and another, and many more.
I knew exactly why the lights had not come on. I knew exactly how much danger I was in.
With my wand in my hand and my mind on the protection spells I had been practicing, I headed into the garage.
The tinkling from Duchess’s bell had long since faded upstairs.
I made it through the garage as quickly and quietly as possible. The garage had windows that gave a clear view of the surrounding grass and trees, and through those windows I saw a terrifying sight.
From every direction, dark ghosts were streaming through the woods around the house, at least a hundred of them gathering ominously. They were everywhere.
My heart was hammering wildly, but at least I didn’t see Wendell, or any other dark ghost that I recognized.
Without thinking, I moved quickly. If I hurried, maybe I could get to the Beetle in time.
Mind racing, I opened the door out of the garage and felt the cool night air hit my face. There were dark ghosts already coming for me. I gasped and slammed the door.
Frantically, I looked around the garage. Time travel would have been terribly useful just then, but unfortunately there was no transport machine to take me out of this mess. I wondered what the point of being a witch was if I could be trapped in a garage surrounded by a stuck-up cat and a host of dark ghosts.
Then inspiration hit me in a way that it never had during high school art class.
I raced to the garage door opener and pressed the button. As soon as the door had risen high enough, I slipped under it. The ghosts hadn’t yet figured out that that’s where I was; they were still massed at the side of the house.
I pressed the button again to close the door from the outside. I didn’t think the ghosts would want to go into the house, but you could never be too careful.
Then I ran like mad for my car. But just as I was getting to it, a ghost I had never seen before appeared, running toward me.
I used my shield spell and he shrank away from me with a hiss. I kept running, but there was no way I was going to make it into the car before the ghosts caught me. So I turned around and headed down the driveway instead.
There were too many ghosts spilling over the lawn for some not to see me getting away, but I couldn’t think of another option. I kept going until I was out of the circle of light, then, safely in the dark, I cut into the woods.
I was counting on them to expect me to keep going down the driveway to get to a busier road. I wouldn’t be safe until there were some other people around, instead of none.
The mayor lived in an out of the way part of town. Who knew how long it would take for someone to come, or how far I’d have to go?
I was breathing heavily as I crashed into the woods, alone. A few ghost mice scattered near my feet. A ghost chipmunk stuck his head out, chattering angrily, then disappeared.
“Good evening to you, too,” I muttered. “At least I didn’t bring Paws.”
I was car
eful not to go too far into the forest, lest on top of everything else I get lost.
Of course, given that I could talk to ghosts, it was likely that I could find some ghost creature to give me directions back to civilization, but it wasn’t worth the risk. Unless catastrophe struck, I planned on staying close to the mayor’s house and getting back to the farmhouse for the late dinner we were planning.
I thought wistfully that Jasper was probably already there. He and Paws were becoming the best of friends, so at least they’d have each other to talk to, and maybe my housemates and Hansen. No offense to Jasper and his wonderfulness, but I had the distinct impression that Paws was making friends with Jasper simply to spite me.
When I came across a tree with a big enough trunk, I slid behind it. Remembering the trip through the woods and down the stream with my fellow witches and Kingfisher, I tried to make myself as small and invisible as possible. With any luck, the dark ghosts would keep searching the road and then go back the way they’d come.
In short, they would have to go away without discovering where I’d gone.
I waited for what felt like an eternity. I waited so long that I thought it would surely be safe to go back to the mayor’s house by now. The dark ghosts had probably searched the countryside, flowed back to the mayor’s house, and still found nothing except the Beetle.
But still, I waited, I waited, I waited.
I checked my watch.
Nearly four minutes had passed.
Uncomfortable, I tried to sit down and settle in and stop being so impatient. In order to give the dark ghosts time to scour the area and then leave, I would need to wait a little longer than four minutes.
Then I thought I heard someone yelling.
In a rush I sat up and glanced around.
At first there was nothing, just the general crackle a forest makes.
Then I heard it again. A woman’s voice was yelling for me, and a chill ran down my spine as I realized who that voice belonged to.
The dark witch Betty was there. My friends and I had the misfortune to know her, along with the ringleader of their dark band, Ellie, who was trying to take Mintwood away from me.
It had been a while since I’d seen Betty. We had run into each other a couple of times at random, but the encounters hadn’t led to an out and out fight.
This time might be different, if only Betty were alone.
Fighting her alone would be one thing; I might hesitate, but then I’d probably do it, as with most things in my life. Fighting Betty along with hundreds of dark ghosts was something else entirely.
For that I needed help. And I was out here all by myself in unfamiliar woods.
“Did I see a witch run into the woods? Why would you run away if you could perform proper protection spells? Don’t you have your cute little wand? I thought you never left home without it,” Betty was yelling. Her voice sounded delighted and a little manic.
I frowned, leaned against the tree trunk, and closed my eyes. There was something strange about what she was saying, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Lemonia! Lemonia! Ellie was just hoping to speak with you! No need to run away and be afraid. Come out wherever you are. I’m sure we can work something out. Right after you hand over Mintwood. We’ll do all the compromising in the world after that.”
I covered my mouth with my hand to keep from scoffing.
“All you need to do is get up now, and we’ll leave you alone. That isn’t so much to ask, now, is it?” she cried.
Her voice sounded clear. She was nearby, but she wasn’t moving closer. I held my breath.
I was so distracted by trying to hide that I stopped watching the driveway. Suddenly a feeling took over and I knew I had to run. I glanced around the large tree I’d crouched behind, my eyes searching back in the direction from which I had come.
Dark ghosts were drifting through the woods, coming for me, smirking and smiling all the while. The cold wind skittered around them and buffered right through them.
They knew right where I was. And behind them followed Betty.
The second our eyes locked, she pointed and started to yell. The dark ghosts sped up. Knowing that where these four were, hundreds would follow, I jumped to my feet.
Using my wand, I cast shields between us, trying to spread the spell as widely and thinly as possible. That would at least throw a wrench in Betty’s plan of attack. Then I took off deeper into the woods.
In the darkness, not stumbling on trees, leaves, and other forest debris was easier said than done. The sharp, musky smell of the woods hit my nostrils as I sucked in air. I tried to run at an angle so that I would eventually come to the road.
“It was so nice to run into you. Don’t go away! We can chat if you stick around,” Betty yelled after me.
I ran even harder, and her voice started to fade into the distance. I was beyond grateful that the dark ghosts could only drift, not hurry.
Then I realized what had struck me about what Betty was yelling: it sounded as if she had come to the house not expecting me.
But then, what were they doing there?
Just then someone sprang out from the threes and grabbed me.
I screamed.
Chapter Twelve
Jasper instantly let me go. As his soothing voice filled my ears, I stopped screaming.
Still shaking so hard my teeth clattered, I searched his face with frantic eyes.
“Are you okay?” he breathed, taking his face in my hands. There was such concern in his mint eyes that I nearly went breathless again.
Instead I covered his hands with mine.
“Your fingers are so cold,” he murmured.
“I’m fine. I didn’t die of fright just now, so that has to be something,” I gulped.
“What’s going on?” His eyes searched my face again.
“Hundreds of dark ghosts swarming Mayor Clabberd’s,” I gasped. “They came out of the woods and surrounded the car. I’ve never seen so many. I had to fight my way out.”
He glanced behind me, his face tight. “Let’s go,” he said, taking my hand.
It was only now when I was safely away and had a moment to think that I asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Finding you. I realized that the mayor’s house was on my way from work. I thought I might stop and see if you were still there, since you said Duchess needed an extra lot of attention and care.”
“She does. I went to check on the Ivy cats first tonight because Duchess takes so long. I don’t want her to be afraid of me.”
“She has all the power when you care more,” said Jasper.
“That sounds like something out of a relationship manual,” I pointed out.
“I’m sure it’s in several, and sound advice to boot,” Jasper said with a grin.
“Relationships between humans and cats,” I murmured, almost smiling. Even though we were maintaining a casual conversation while walking as fast as we could, I was still shaking and cold.
I wondered if Jasper had read any relationship manuals. Not wanting to put him on the spot, I kept my wondering to myself.
We threaded through the trees, making our way back to Mayor Clabberd’s. Once we were walking down the dark road with nothing but Jasper’s flashlight, I pulled out my wand again. I felt better with it in my hand.
We didn’t see any cars coming, and no other houses could see this spot in the road. There was no way I was going back to the mayor’s house without being prepared to fight.
But the cozy house was just as I had left it. The outdoor flood light sparked on as we approached. The living room light was on. There was no sign of dark ghosts anywhere.
“They couldn’t have gone far,” I whispered. My heart had gone back to hammering terribly in my chest.
“Do you want to check on Duchess before we go?” Jasper asked. His brow was creased with worry, and I wished I could use my magic wand to smooth it away.
“Don’t need to,” I said, pointing.
Sure enough, the cat was sitting in the window, staring out at me with her large yellow eyes fixed on our movements. Maybe she thought we were large mice to catch, or maybe she recognized me as the annoying human who had come to feed her for two days in a row.
That would account for the dislike in her expression.
Then again, she was a cat. Who knew what she was thinking, other than perhaps the mayor?
“Where’s your truck?” I asked Jasper.
“Side of the road,” he said. “I barely remembered to put the thing in park when I saw you run into the woods.”
I took a deep, steadying breath. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Good idea.”
We climbed into the Beetle. The woods looked like one black mass behind the cheery little house, but I knew the forest was a lot more than that. Dark ghosts wouldn’t have gone far, but given how many of them there had been, there was no way I was going after them now. Especially not with Jasper Wolf with me.
I dropped Jasper off at his truck. Following close behind me, he drove it to the farmhouse.
The first priority was safety. Paws had said that to me once, before he realized that he’d rather live at the farm by himself.
By the time we got home, everyone else was already there. Hansen was helping Greer cook. Charlie had apologized all over herself but said she was too busy writing an article for the next day’s paper to help. She really hoped everyone would forgive her for not preparing the meal.
Oddly enough, Greer was fine with it.
“Did you decide to bring your own maple syrup to dinner?” Greer asked me.
“What are you talking about?” I frowned, then looked down at myself. I was covered in twigs and leaves and bits of sap that must have come from my flight through the woods. I shook my head and told everyone I was going to go clean up.
“Do you need any help?” Jasper asked the cooks.
I left without waiting to hear the answer. Upstairs, I showered quickly, put on a blue sweater and jeans, and went back downstairs with wet hair. Dinner was nearly ready by the time I got there, the food still safe from Charlie.
Mysterious Mintwood Murmurs Page 7