Death of a Wicked Witch

by Lee Hollis

  “You haven’t given him your answer yet?” Hayley asked as gently as she could.

  “I’m still waiting for the right moment,” Gemma muttered, looking as confused as ever.

  Suddenly from upstairs, they heard Conner yelling and banging around.

  “What’s he doing up there?” Bruce asked.

  Gemma shrugged. “Beats me. He just went up to return a call from his manager.”

  They could hear the door to Gemma’s bedroom slam open. Conner came pounding down the stairs, still clutching his phone, trembling with excitement. “You’re not going to believe it! You just won’t believe it!”

  “Why don’t you try us,” Hayley politely suggested.

  Conner turned to Gemma and scooped up her hands in his. “I got it.”

  “Dracula?” Gemma gasped.

  Conner nodded. “Yup. I thought I gave a terrible audition and had zero chance of a call back let alone a full-blown offer. But the director loved me, and I guess it was a pretty huge battle with the producers, who wanted to go with a bigger name, but they finally relented and gave it to me!”

  Gemma whirled around to Hayley and Bruce. “Conner auditioned for a part in a revival of Dracula on Broadway right before we left for Maine! We didn’t even bother mentioning it because he thought he did so badly!”

  “You’ll be great as a vampire!” Bruce said light-heartedly before realizing that might go over as an insult and quickly adding, “I mean, Gemma says you’re a great actor who can play any role.”

  Conner seemed to blow right past it. “I’m not playing Count Dracula. Zachary Quinto, the guy from the Star Trek movies and a ton of other great stuff, is playing the title role. I play John Harker, the young lawyer whose fiancée, Lucy, has been bitten by a vampire and is in a sanitorium! They’re still looking to cast Van Helsing, the guy who drives a stake through Dracula’s heart in the end, but there’s a rumor going around they’re talking to Armie Hammer!”

  “I love him!” Gemma cried.

  “Let’s hope my arm is healed and out of this sling by opening night!” Conner exclaimed.

  “This is so exciting! Congratulations, Conner,” Hayley said.

  “Thank you, Hayley,” Conner said, still clasping Gemma’s hands tightly as he turned back and smiled at her. “Rehearsals start next week so I need to rebook our flights so we can be back in New York on Monday.”

  “Monday? But that’s the day after tomorrow,” Gemma said, a little taken aback.

  “Yes,” Conner said. “They just emailed me all the paperwork, and I can docu-sign everything from here tonight, but I have so much to do. Ed wants to sit down with me in his office first thing when I get back and go over all the details. He is planning to put out a press release once all the contracts are signed.”

  Gemma turned to Hayley and Bruce and said quietly, “Ed Glass is Conner’s manager.”

  They both smiled and nodded as Gemma slowly spun back around and looked Conner directly in the eyes, took a breath, and said, almost too quickly, “So is it really important that we both go back on Monday?”

  Conner’s eyes widened with surprise. “What?”

  “It’s just that I want to stay in Bar Harbor a little while longer and you’re going to be so busy preparing and everything...”

  Conner frowned. “Why do I get the feeling this isn’t about you wanting to stay in Bar Harbor?”

  There was an awkward pause.

  Hayley finally stood up from the couch. “Maybe Bruce and I should give you two some privacy—”

  “No, stay,” Gemma said urgently, flicking her eyes toward them, desperate for the two of them not to leave.

  Conner couldn’t help but notice. A lightbulb finally went off in his head. “You don’t want to marry me.”

  Gemma shifted uncomfortably. “I think the world of you, Conner...”

  She swallowed the words.

  He stared at her painfully. “But...”

  “But I’m not sure I’m ready for marriage. At least not yet.”

  “I see...” Conner’s voice trailed off.

  He stared down at the floor. Hayley felt so sorry for him. His shoulders sagged and he looked devastated. Then, he raised his head to face Gemma. “Tell me something. Are you not ready for marriage or are you not ready for marriage with me?”

  That one caught them all off guard.

  Hayley carefully studied her daughter, who was struggling with how to respond.

  Finally, Gemma slowly, gingerly withdrew her hands from his and whispered, “I don’t know...”

  “Okay,” Conner said, his voice cracking.

  “I think it’s probably best if I stay here while I sort things out,” she said before turning to Hayley and Bruce. “If it’s okay with you...”

  “Of course,” Bruce said. “You’re welcome here as long as you want.”

  Hayley could see Conner slightly shaking. He was trying his best to remain in control and not break down.

  “Honestly, this is a big deal. You’re on your way. I couldn’t be prouder of you, and what you’ve already accomplished, and what lies ahead for you, and I don’t want to be a distraction,” Gemma said.

  “You could never be a distraction, Gemma, that’s why I proposed to you in the first place. Because I love you, truly love you...” He let the words hang there for a moment. “I better go upstairs and call the airline.”

  Brokenhearted, Conner turned and trudged up the staircase. He wasn’t even halfway to the second floor when Gemma ran to hug her mother and began sobbing.

  Chapter 29

  Hayley was genuinely happy for Reverend Staples when she arrived at the Congregational church and walked in with Bruce, Gemma, and Conner to find the place packed with mostly just standing room only. Nobody wanted to miss the reverend’s final sermon and the official introduction of the new minister, Ted Lancaster.

  Hayley scanned the pews for any available space left to take a seat. “Looks like we’re not going to be able to all sit together.”

  “I’ll run up and see if there’s any room in the balcony,” Bruce said, then turned and trotted up a side staircase.

  Hayley turned to Gemma and Conner, who were standing stiffly next to each other, avoiding eye contact. They had barely exchanged a word all morning except for Conner to tell her that his travel had been rescheduled for Monday so he was all set to leave Bar Harbor tomorrow, quite possibly for good.

  “I’m going to go say hello to Ted. I’ll find you before the sermon starts,” Hayley said.

  “Okay,” Gemma said, forcing a smile.

  Conner grunted a reply, which was lost on Hayley, but she smiled at him, pretending she had heard what he had said. Then she made her way down the aisle, turned right, and headed toward the small administration office off the reception room. The door was closed but Hayley had been inside the office many times. It was a tiny space with two desks on opposite sides of the room, one for the minister, the other for his secretary/ organist. They usually scheduled their office hours separately, his on weekday mornings and hers on weekday afternoons to avoid crowding each other too much.

  Hayley knocked on the door.

  After a few seconds, the door swung open and a young woman, around twenty-one or twenty-two with straight auburn hair and freckles, appeared. She was rather dressed down for church, squeezed into a tight pair of jeans and wearing a halter top underneath a suede jacket.

  She stared at Hayley, disinterested. “My father’s not here.”

  Hayley instantly knew who this was. When she and Bruce had first double-dated with Ted and Trudy, Ted had mentioned having a daughter from a previous marriage, who was in her early twenties.

  But Hayley was blanking on her name. “You must be...”

  The girl wasn’t anxious to help her out, but as they both just stood there awkwardly, Hayley struggling to come up with a name, the girl finally got bored waiting for her to take a guess.

  “Alyssa.”

  “That’s right! Alyssa! Ted’s
daughter. I’m Hayley Powell. I’m a friend of your father and...” She stopped short, saddened by the realization that Trudy was truly gone.

  “Trudy,” Alyssa sighed.

  “Yes, I know,” Hayley said quietly.

  “My father is giving some kind of pep talk to Reverend Staples. He’ll be back soon.”

  “Didn’t I hear your father say you’re living in New York?”

  Alyssa barely offered a nod. “Yup.”

  Hayley remembered Ted complaining about his daughter dropping out of Boston College in order to move to New York and try to make it as a singer, but she decided against mentioning that part of their discussion.

  “My daughter, Gemma, lives in New York also. You two should definitely meet while you’re both here. She’s currently working for a catering company and studying to be a chef and hopes to one day—”

  “Good for her,” Alyssa said, cutting her off, not the least bit interested in hearing any more about Gemma.

  Hayley could only imagine how much Alyssa must take after her mother because, with the exception of the same nose and chin, she didn’t remind her at all of Ted, who was so charming and nice to be around. This girl almost relished her callous, obnoxious, and sullen personality.

  Hayley decided to try one more time. “I’m so sorry you were unable to make it up to Maine for your stepmother’s memorial service.”

  “Nobody bothered consulting me about my schedule so I had to blow it off,” Alyssa said with a shrug.

  “I’m sure it was for something important,” Hayley said, though highly doubting it.

  “I guess,” Alyssa said, scowling. She had no intention of being pressed into admitting her whereabouts.

  “It was a lovely service, everything Trudy would have wanted. I felt very lucky that I got the opportunity to get to know your stepmother even if it was for such a brief time—”

  “It’s nice Trudy made friends here, and I’m sure there were lots of tears shed at her funeral, but you really don’t have to recap everything for me because to be honest, Trudy and I didn’t get along all that well so I really don’t care.”

  “Oh, okay,” Hayley said, fuming.

  Ted suddenly appeared in the doorway. “Hayley!”

  A wave of relief washed over her at the sight of Ted. She hugged him and said, “I just came by to wish you luck. I heard you’re going to say a few words at the end of Reverend Staples’s last sermon.”

  “Nothing that will take away from his big moment,” Ted said, chuckling. “Just my own little tribute to him.” He then turned to Alyssa. “I see you met my daughter, Alyssa.”

  “Yes, I did,” Hayley said, struggling to refrain from further comment.

  “Honey, you better go take a seat out in front. We’re about to get started,” Ted said to Alyssa.

  “Why can’t I wait for it to be over here in the office?” Alyssa whined.

  “Because I’m just starting here and I don’t need my daughter being rude and disrespectful to the church and congregation.”

  “But it’s too crowded out there, there’s nowhere to sit.” She sighed.

  “I told you, sit with the choir. That way, you can sing a few hymns with them and use the vocal talents you quit school for. Didn’t Jennifer Hudson start out singing in a church choir?”

  “I don’t know, I don’t care, she’s, like, ancient.”

  “She’s still in her thirties,” Hayley gasped.

  Already bored arguing with her father, Alyssa grabbed her phone and buried her face in it as she pushed past Hayley and skulked out to find somewhere to sit.

  Ted gave Hayley an apologetic look. “She’s not always that difficult.”

  “I understand completely. It’s been a very rough time for both of you,” Hayley said, gently patting his back, although convinced that he was covering for his ill-tempered daughter and she was pretty much always that difficult.

  “I’m glad she’s here. I’m not good at being alone right now. I’m still in a complete state of shock. I wake up in the middle of the night, and I think of something I need to tell Trudy, and then I realize...” His voice cracked, and he was about to break down, but then seemed to manage to get his emotions back under control. “Anyway, it’s kind of strange. My mind’s been playing tricks on me lately. Do you know I actually thought I saw her last night?”

  Hayley’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

  “Isn’t that silly? I think of her so much I’m starting to believe I’m seeing her ghost.”

  “Where? Where did you see her?”

  “Last night I went to the Shop ’n Save to buy some stuff to make tacos for me and Alyssa, who had just arrived, and when I got back to my car in the Shop ’n Save parking lot, I swear I saw Trudy across the street. Just walking by. It was so weird. I put the grocery bag in the trunk and when I closed it and looked up again, she was gone. Am I starting to go crazy, Hayley?”

  “No, Ted, you’re not,” Hayley sputtered.

  He smiled at her, grateful she wasn’t treating him like he should be committed. Hayley considered telling him about the others like Mary Garber, Rosana Moretti, and yes, even her own daughter, Gemma, all of whom had sworn they too had seen Trudy. But what good would that do? Especially now when the only plausible explanation was that the spirit of Ted Lancaster’s dead wife was haunting half the population of Bar Harbor?

  Chapter 30

  By the time Hayley had made her way up the stairs into the balcony, Reverend Staples had taken his position behind his lectern, and had already launched into his final sermon at the Bar Harbor Congregational Church. Hayley spotted Bruce, Gemma, and Conner scrunched together, standing behind the last pew along with several others who couldn’t find any free space to sit down. What she found odd was that Bruce was between Gemma and Conner, almost as if to separate them and hopefully ease the tension between them. Gemma and Conner both looked miserable as if counting the minutes until the church service was over and they could finally go home.

  Hayley made her way through the crowd until she landed next to Conner and offered him a weak smile. Conner tried smiling back, but never made it past a slight upturn of the sides of his mouth, giving up quickly before actually showing any teeth. Then he flicked his eyes back to the reverend, who was at the moment reading down a laundry list of all the people he needed to thank for making his twenty-year run as minister such a resounding success. There were his deeply religious parents, who put him on the path to spiritual enlightenment early on in his life; his mentor, who trained him in a small country church in rural New Hampshire; a litany of teachers and advisors who shared valuable life lessons; his two grown children, their spouses and offspring; the entire congregation for their love and support—and of course generosity every Sunday as the donation plate was passed around. Everyone waited for him to get to his devoted wife, Edie, who had stood by him all these years, his best church spokesperson, the most important part of his life and work besides God. But he never got to her. After a brief pause, he took a sharp turn and started talking about how important it is to forgive those who have sinned against us.

  Hayley and Bruce gawked at each other, neither believing he had actually left his wife out of his speech. How could he possibly have forgotten Edie? How could anyone forget Edie?

  Hayley wanted to run to the front of the balcony and find where Edie was sitting in order to see for herself how the reverend’s wife must be reacting to the obvious diss, but she realized that would not be a good look for her, especially during a proper church service. However, Hayley did notice a few parishioners sitting in the pews in front of them, urgently turning and whispering to each other, all of them painfully aware of what had just happened.

  Reverend Staples, who at the moment was still blissfully ignorant of his massive faux pas, held a bible to his chest as he spoke. “‘For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespass
es.’ Matthew, Chapter Six, Verses Fourteen to Fifteen.” He then paused for dramatic effect.

  That’s when they heard from the peanut gallery.

  “Are you referring to me?”

  Reverend Staples looked up, surprised, and peered out into the congregation. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “What you were saying just now, I assume that was directed toward me?”

  It was Edie Staples.

  Everyone in the balcony leaned forward to get a better look. Edie was standing on the aisle in the second row from the front. Her back was to them, but Hayley could only imagine the furious look on her face.

  “Edie, I-I don’t understand—” Reverend Staples stammered.

  “Am I supposed to forgive you for neglecting to mention me during the hour it took you to thank everyone else for your success?”

  The entire congregation froze, watching the horror show play out in real time.

  Reverend Staples picked up a stack of index cards from the lectern and began to frantically rifle through them. “No, I’m sure I didn’t forget...”

  But as he shuffled through to the last card, his face reddening, his hands shaking, he stared at them panic-stricken as the awful truth finally sunk in that he had forgotten to include his wife. He then slowly looked up like a shy child viciously scolded by an intemperate teacher in front of all his friends on the playground. “Edie, I am so sorry...”

  “I forgive you,” Edie said sharply.

  Reverend Staples’s shoulders seemed to relax just a bit and his hands finally stopped shaking.

  “Like the Bible says, if I can forgive your trespasses, then God can forgive me. So I forgive you for forgetting to thank me just now.”

  “I think everyone here already knows just how important you are to me—”

  Edie threw her hands up in the air and addressed the ceiling. “But I’m sorry, Oh Heavenly Father, I cannot forgive my husband for his shameless behavior, constantly disrespecting me by flirting and fondling with that sandwich lady, the late Trudy Lancaster!”