“None.”
“Did she take any of her belongings from the house?”
“As I remember it, some clothes and a bag were gone, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she packed that bag. If someone wanted to cover up a death, that would be an easy way to do it. Especially years ago. Cops didn’t worry about missing teenagers back then like they do today.”
“Yeah.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Do you think Lorna could be a witch?”
“I don’t think her mother was a witch so I doubt she is. Still, now that you mention it, death does seem to follow her. But I’m not sure I believe she’s capable of the mayhem you’re suggesting.”
“I’m not sure I believe it either. Still, I have to check.”
“Well, have fun with that.” She tossed her cape over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes as they landed on Mrs. Little. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a different sort of witch to burn at the stake.”
I could do nothing but shake my head. “Don’t do anything that could open you up to a lawsuit. Mom will be mad.”
“I’m not afraid of your mother ... but don’t tell her I said that.”
I grinned. “It will be our little secret, even though you are a fink.”
“Watch yourself. You don’t want to join your cousin at the top of my list, do you?”
“Go forth and wreak havoc.”
“That’s the plan.”
Eighteen
I was still bothered by the witch rumors regarding Lorna’s family when lunch time rolled around. I met Landon and Chief Terry at the diner, but my mind wasn’t on the casual conversation and food.
“What’s your deal?” Landon asked after we placed our orders.
“What?” I drew my eyebrows together. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Exactly. You haven’t said more than two words since you joined us.” He gave my hair a light tug and smiled. “I like my women chatty.”
“Oh, geez.” Chief Terry rolled his eyes. “If this is going to turn into a scene from The Flirting Game, I’m out of here.”
“I’m just worried,” Landon countered. “What are you thinking?”
I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the news and needed an outside opinion, so I filled them in on my morning. When I finished, Chief Terry spoke first.
“I remember that,” he nodded while fiddling with the straw wrapper on the table. “I was in the academy when Diane disappeared.”
“Did you know her?” Landon leaned back and rested his arm on the back of the booth. I took the opportunity to slide closer to him, absorb some of his warmth. I had a few ideas, none of them good, which was making me cold all over.
“I knew of her. I wasn’t really her speed. She was wild, liked to party and hang out with a rough crowd. Even back then I was kind of a goody-goody.”
“I like that you’re a goody-goody.” I patted his hand and smiled. “If you weren’t such a good guy, Aunt Tillie would’ve completely skewed my moral compass when I was a kid. You saved me.”
“Oh, that’s kind of cute.” He beamed at me. “It’s a load of hogwash, but cute.”
“Now I’m going to puke,” Landon lamented, shaking his head. “I hate it when you guys do that surrogate-father-and-daughter thing. It makes me uncomfortable.”
“The only reason it makes you uncomfortable is because I know what a filthy mind you have and how you point it at my sweetheart.”
Landon was smug. “She’s my sweetheart now.”
“She’ll always be my sweetheart ... and don’t make that word perverted. I don’t like it.” Chief Terry shot him a warning look and then focused on me. “What do you think it means?”
“I don’t know.” That was the truth. “I was just surprised. I never gave much thought to Lorna’s family. I had no idea they were rumored to be witches. I thought that distinction belonged to my family alone.”
“Well, to be fair, the term ‘witch’ has been thrown around as long as I can remember,” Chief Terry countered. “Margaret is responsible for some of that. She thinks she can isolate and alienate people by calling them names.”
I could see that. “Do you think Leslie Merchant was a witch?”
“I ... don’t know.” Chief Terry hesitated before finishing. “I always found her weird. I would be lying if I said otherwise. I don’t know that I believe she was a witch. That’s hard to wrap my head around.”
“Yeah.” I tapped the side of my glass and leaned back in the booth. “What about the farm equipment accident?”
“That was before I was on the force here. I was still serving in Traverse City at the time.”
“You must’ve heard something about it.” I refused to let it go. “I’m not asking for the gory details, but Viola made it sound as if there was a possibility it wasn’t an accident.”
“Viola was always prone to histrionics,” Chief Terry muttered, shaking his head. “As far as I know, it was ruled an accident quickly. Leslie was in the field — they had a huge cornfield at the time — and the story goes that she thought she’d put the harvester in park and moved ahead of it to check something. The brake failed and ... she was killed quickly.”
I was horrified at the thought. “That’s just ... not the way I want to go.”
“You’re going to live forever,” Landon countered, his hand moving to my back. “I get what you’re saying. Did a mechanic prove the brake failed?”
“If I remember correctly he said that it stuck and then unstuck randomly. People believed she thought it was in park but it was really stuck, and that’s how she was caught unaware.”
“That’s just a terrible way to go.” I shook my head and pressed my eyes shut. “I don’t like that at all.”
“Join the club.” Landon was squeamish about certain things and that was on full display now. “I’m curious about the witch rumors. Can witches call birds?”
It was an interesting question. “Witches can use animals. We don’t. We tend to stay far away from animals. Chief Terry got us Sugar when we were kids and we loved him dearly until the end. Other than him, the only other pet we’ve really had is Peg and she’s a recent addition.”
“You don’t control your animals,” Landon pointed out. “Someone is controlling these birds. My guess is that it’s Lorna.”
“She’s the obvious choice,” I agreed. “I want to be sure, though. I just don’t feel certain that we’re on the right track. Something feels off.”
“How will you ascertain you’re on the right track?”
“I have no idea. I need to think about it ... and do a little research. I bet there’s more news to dig up on Diane.”
“I can run a search on her, too,” Chief Terry offered. “It’s possible she only hid her location when she first ran away. Maybe now that decades have passed she’s gone back to living in the open.”
“You’re assuming she’s alive,” I pointed out. “It’s possible she never went missing. She could’ve been killed and dumped somewhere. We can’t rule out that possibility.”
“No, I guess we can’t.” He rubbed his chin. “I’ll still see what I come up with.”
“It can’t hurt,” I agreed. “What was your meeting with Steve about? I figure it had to be big for him to come to town the way he did.”
Landon frowned and shifted on his seat. It was obvious he was uncomfortable with the question. His boss, Steve Newton, allowed him plenty of leeway when it came to doing his job.
“What?” I was instantly alert. “What happened?”
“I’m not supposed to tell you, but ... screw it.” Landon glanced over his shoulder to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. “Steve came to warn us that a formal request had been lodged with the home office.”
“I have no idea what that means,” I admitted.
“It came from Masterson. He requested that any questions be asked in a private location.”
“But ... .” I was officially flabbergasted. “I didn’t think you guys had questioned him yet.”
“We haven’t. Apparently he figured out it was only a matter of time and decided to head us off. Now we’re limited as to when we can approach him. We have to call his office and arrange a time convenient for all parties.”
The way his lips curved down told me what he thought of that suggestion. “So Masterson knows that you’re looking at him.”
“He at least knows that we’ll have to question him,” Landon corrected. “His relationship with Lorna puts him in a precarious position. He’s trying to make sure that he controls the information as best as he can. We were also warned that it would be unwise to spread the nature of his relationship with Lorna around town.”
“How is that supposed to work?” I challenged. “You guys are hardly the only ones who know.”
“He doesn’t realize that. My guess is he thinks he can keep this under wraps.”
“Good luck with that.” I sipped my iced tea and stared out the window. “Still ... everything we have seems to lead back to Lorna. I have trouble believing that’s a coincidence.”
“You’re not the only one,” Landon admitted. “We’re calling her in for a formal interview after lunch. We have no other choice.”
“What do you think she’ll say?”
“Probably nothing, but we have to do it.”
They did, and the fact that Lorna would be away from her home for an extended period gave me an idea about something I had to do.
ONCE I LEFT THE DINER, I HEADED to Lorna’s house, parking a full block away and behind a neighbor’s hedge so there would be no chance of her seeing my vehicle. Then I waited.
She left not long after. She was in her vehicle and didn’t as much as glance in my direction as she left. As soon as I was certain she was gone, I hopped out of my car and headed for the house. I had no idea if Nick or Dani was inside but I was determined to get close enough to figure it out.
“What are you doing?” Thistle stepped out from behind a bush just as I was about to head up the driveway, causing me to rear back and make a strangled sound deep in my throat.
“What are you doing here?” I challenged, my voice raspy as I fought to recover. “Were you hiding in that bush?”
She smirked. “Aunt Tillie sent me.”
“Aunt Tillie sent you here? Why?”
“She figured you were about to do something stupid ... and she wasn’t wrong. You’re going to break into Lorna’s house, aren’t you?”
I hated that Aunt Tillie knew me so well. “That’s the plan,” I admitted, rolling my neck. “I have to make sure Dani and Nick aren’t inside first.”
“They’re not. I saw them both leave from where I was hiding. We have a clear shot.”
“We?” I couldn’t help being dubious. “Why are you coming with me?”
“You need backup and I’m as curious as you are. Aunt Tillie gave me a brief rundown before sending me after you. She mentioned something about Lorna possibly being a witch and you being an idiot who can’t keep your nose out of Lorna’s business. Then she said she had to keep stalking Hazel and we were on our own.”
That sounded just like her. “Well ... awesome.” I flicked my eyes toward the empty house. “You’re sure Dani and Nick aren’t here?”
“I saw them leave myself.”
“Then I guess we should get to it.”
“Absolutely,” Thistle agreed. “Let’s invade Lorna’s privacy and find out if she’s calling birds to kill people for her.”
“I don’t think the birds are killing people.”
“Close enough.”
That wasn’t even remotely true, but I was too keyed up to argue. “Let’s go. The faster we get in, the faster we can get out.”
THIS WASN’T the first time we’d invaded someone’s home in an effort to get information. Yes, we knew it was wrong and there was every chance we could get caught — and good luck explaining that — but that didn’t stop us.
“Where should we start?” Thistle kept her voice low even though we were relatively assured we were alone.
“Probably Lorna’s bedroom and any office we can find are the safest bets,” I replied, glancing around the kitchen. I was hopeful Adam would return, but he didn’t seem to be hanging around today. “I doubt Lorna would keep anything in a high-traffic area, because people have been stopping by to share their condolences.”
“Good point.”
By tacit agreement, we headed toward the second floor. It took a moment to sort through the rooms, but it became obvious relatively quickly what we were dealing with.
“There’s no office,” Thistle noted. “There are two adult rooms.”
“His and hers,” I agreed. “Lorna and Adam weren’t sharing a bed. They were separated.”
“I thought maybe that was a lie, but I guess not.” We headed toward the master bedroom. “This looks like Lorna’s room.”
I nodded, my lips pursed as we invaded the mourning woman’s personal space. At first glance, the bedroom appeared normal. There wasn’t much furniture to riffle through. Basically a bed and dresser and that’s it. But for some reason, something beckoned me to the back corner of the room, where the closet was located.
“What is it?” Thistle asked when she saw me crossing.
“I don’t know.” My heart started pounding harder the closer I got to the closet, and when I finally arrived — after what felt like years rather than seconds — I took a long, steadying breath before throwing open the door.
There, eyes wide with fear, was Adam’s ghost. He huddled in the shadows looking terrified.
“I was wondering if I would see you again,” I said as I took him in. “I think you’re what I’ve been looking for.”
Adam’s gaze was earnest. The way he moved his chin told me he was trying to speak. The thread — or whatever it was — holding his lips together was too strong.
“Can I look?” My hands shook as I raised them and I felt Thistle move in at my back.
“Who are you talking to?”
“Adam,” I replied, frowning as my fingers went through him. He was a ghost, for crying out loud. How was I supposed to touch him and make things better?
“Is his mouth still sewn shut?”
I nodded, frustration rearing up. “It is, and I don’t know what to do about it. It’s not as if I can pull out the thread. It’s not really there. In fact ... I just don’t know.”
Thistle shot me a quelling look before moving closer. “I wish I could see him. Obviously, because his mouth is sewn shut he can’t talk. I won’t be able to hear him.”
“Nobody will be able to hear him.” I hated how petulant I sounded, but I couldn’t stop myself. “This is the worst.”
“It is the worst,” Thistle agreed. “But why can’t you just remove the thread?”
Apparently she’d decided to play deaf and dumb today. “I just told you that I can’t touch him. There’s no way I can remove the thread.”
“I didn’t say you could. Can’t you force him to remove it? You can’t touch the plane he lives on. He’s caught between two worlds. It seems to me that the only way to save him is to force him to save himself.”
“But ... how?”
She shrugged. “You’re the necromancer. You figure it out.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “But ... .” I frowned as I regarded Adam. He looked so fearful, pathetic even. ”I guess I could try.”
I shot him an encouraging smile. “This won’t hurt.” At least I hoped that was true. “I’m just going to ... .” I had no idea what I was going to do. This necromancer thing was new enough that I constantly felt lost. Still, I recognized I needed to try ... so that’s what I did.
The magic unfurled like a fern tendril in the spring. It was slow, felt mildly tedious, but there was strength in the attempt. Energy sparked in the back of my brain and before I realized what was happening I’d managed to make a connection.
“Can you hear me?” I asked without actually uttering the words. I was piping them directly int
o Adam’s brain.
He nodded, his eyes going wide enough to make me fear they might pop out of his head.
“Then here is what I need you to do.”
It was difficult to convince Adam to remove the thread. He fought the effort, but I exerted as much control as was necessary. I felt guilty about it — and then some — but he was the only one with answers. Finally, he managed to remove the thread, leaving gaping holes on his ghostly flesh. He gasped at the sudden freedom, and then looked at me appraisingly.
“How did you know I could do that?” His voice was dry and rasped.
“I played a hunch.” I glanced toward Thistle and she nodded at the unasked question. She could hear him. My powers allowed that if she was close when I questioned a ghost. “We need to know what happened to you, Adam. It’s important.”
“I ... .” The sound of a door closing on the main floor drew everyone’s attention.
“What was that?” Thistle hissed.
I hurried out of Lorna’s bedroom and into the hallway, racing toward the end of the stairs and positioning myself so I could look down without drawing attention. Dani was back, and heading toward the stairs.
Well ... crap.
I hurried back into Lorna’s room and pointed to the window. It opened out near a huge maple tree. That was our only chance of escape.
Thistle immediately started shaking her head but she knew as well as I that we had only seconds to act.
“I hate you for this,” she muttered as she tugged up the window and dislodged the screen. This was hardly the first time we’d been forced to sneak out a second-story window. “I mean ... I really hate you for this.”
I didn’t blame her. I turned to tell Adam to go to The Overlook — it seemed a safe place to meet — but he was gone. Apparently his fight-or-flight response kicked in and he took the opportunity to vanish. I couldn’t really blame him. I would’ve done the same if I could.
Ah, well, I would have to worry about it later. For now, the only thing I could do was escape.
Thistle climbed into the tree first, and I made shooing motions to get her to drop to a lower branch so I could follow. She did, but she wasn’t happy about it. Very carefully, very slowly, we made our way to the ground. Once our feet were firmly planted on solid earth, I turned to her … and whatever I was going to say died on my lips.
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