“Well, with a suspect list of one I don’t see that we need confirmation.”
“I still want confirmation.” I was firm on that. “I want to talk to her, lay everything out. If she denies it, we’ll be able to tell that she’s lying.”
“You think she’s going to admit it?”
“I think she wants to admit it,” I clarified. “If you can do as much damage as she has in a few days’ time, you want to take credit for it. She thinks she’s stronger than us.”
“You, maybe. She’s not stronger than me.”
I folded my arms over my chest and waited.
After holding my gaze for what felt like a really long time, she blew out a sigh and stood. “Fine. I’ll go with you. I’m in the mood for a fight anyway. Your mother confiscated my scooter.”
I would’ve been amused under different circumstances. “I can’t believe you allowed that.”
“I only allowed her to think she won. It’s in the basement. I’ll get it when I want it.”
That sounded about right. “So ... you’ll go with me?”
“I’ll go with you. This witch needs to be put in her place.”
“Then let’s do this. I’m ready to enjoy Clove’s big day.”
“I’m ready to bug the crap out of Hazel. Different priorities, same outcome.”
That was the only logical thing she was likely to say all day.
THE DRAPES WERE DRAWN TIGHT over the windows. Lorna didn’t answer the door when we knocked. Her car was in the driveway, though, and I was certain she was home.
“I say we kick in the door A-Team-style and give her what for,” Aunt Tillie announced. She was dressed for battle, combat helmet included, and her eyes were keen. She benefitted from a certain glow when a fight to the death was imminent.
“And I think we should knock again.” I shot her a pointed look and made to rap on the door. It opened a split-second before I made contact, revealing Dani’s curious face.
“Were you just knocking?” she asked. She looked confused.
“That would be us.” I shifted from one foot to the other, suddenly uncomfortable. I didn’t expect her to answer the door. “Is your mother here?”
“Yeah, she’s just getting up.” Dani pushed open the door so we could enter. “She’s in the kitchen. I’m actually glad you’re here. Maybe you can talk to her.”
“What’s wrong?” I was instantly alert, worry for Lorna’s children bubbling up. “Is your brother all right? You look okay.”
Dani arched a confused eyebrow. “I’m fine. My mother is the one falling apart. We’re supposed to make plans for Dad’s memorial service today, but she says she just wants to stay in bed. She thinks Nick and I should do it.”
“By yourselves?” I was almost as offended by that suggestion as I was by the fact that Lorna was killing people. Hurting others was one thing. Emotionally abandoning her children in this manner was another. “Where are you headed?”
Dani clutched the over-sized purse she carried tighter. “To the funeral home. Nick doesn’t want to go with me, so I guess I’m doing it myself.”
I felt sorry for her ... and yet relieved. Dani wouldn’t be in the house when we confronted her mother. “Where is Nick?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. He got a call from one of his friends earlier and seemed excited when he ran out. I don’t know where he went.”
“Excited happy or excited sad?”
“I don’t know. Just excited.”
I thought about the way Nick watched Masterson at the festival. I could guess which gossipy tidbit had garnered his attention. It was probably best that he was out of the house, too, even if he was being a ghoul.
“Well, I’ll talk to your mother.” I had zero expectations that Dani’s life was suddenly going to improve, but I wanted to reassure her all the same. “I’ll see if I can get through to her.”
“That would be great.” Dani sidled through the door, accidentally brushing against Aunt Tillie in such a way that she lost some color. “I’m sorry, Miss Tillie. I didn’t mean to run into you. I know you hate being touched.”
I cast Aunt Tillie a disdainful look. She was forever terrorizing the teenagers of Hemlock Cove. It was her way. “She’s fine,” I offered. “It was an accident. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’ll give you a pass for today, but don’t let it happen again,” Aunt Tillie ordered. She offered Dani a wink before sliding in front of me. “As for your mother, we’ll handle her. We have everything under control.”
“I hope that’s true. I don’t think I can take much more of her.”
After Dani left, I took the lead. I was more familiar with the house than Aunt Tillie. Dani had said her mother was in the kitchen, and that’s where we found her.
Lorna looked rough. That was the only word I could use to describe her wan countenance. Her hair was greasy and piled in a messy bun. She wore the same pajamas she’d been in when I interviewed her for the article about Adam and there was a waxy texture to her face that didn’t look entirely healthy.
“What do you want?” She looked despondent when she realized who was darkening her doorstep. “I told you everything I could for the story. Talk to other people if you need more.”
“We’re here to talk to you ... and not for a story,” I countered. I gave the woman a wide berth as I circled the table and positioned myself opposite her. “Did you hear the news?”
Lorna’s face was blank. “What news? I haven’t had the television on. I’ve been ... busy.”
Aunt Tillie leaned over so she was close enough to sniff Lorna – something I didn’t think was safe – but I’d learned long ago that I had zero control over my tempestuous great-aunt. “It smells to me as if you’ve been busy drinking. And not the good stuff. That’s bargain-basement whiskey if ever I’ve smelled it.”
Lorna shot her a hateful look. “Well, if you don’t like it you can always leave. In fact, I’m going to insist that you leave. I don’t have the energy to put up with you right now. I’m expected at the funeral home to plan Adam’s service, so I can’t do ... whatever this is.”
“We just ran into Dani,” I argued. “She said she’s dealing with the funeral arrangements.”
The laugh Lorna let loose was hollow. “Of course she is.”
“She said you insisted that she handle it,” I added. “I know you’re going through something, Lorna, but your children are struggling ... and badly. You need to step up for them.” I was taking a circular route to my verbal assault.
“Well, if Dani said I told her to do it, then I did.” Lorna leaned back in her chair, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy. “What do you want? I didn’t invite you here. In fact, I don’t want you here at all. I think you need to get out of my house.”
“We’re not leaving.” I refused to back down and pinned her with my bossiest look. I learned it from my mother ... and Aunt Tillie ... and, well, Marnie and Twila. Actually, every woman in our family had a patented bossy look.
“I could make you leave,” Lorna insisted. “I could call Chief Terry right now and have him haul you away.”
“Good luck with that.”
Lorna’s expression was defiant for a full ten seconds ... and then her face crumbled. “What do you want?” She sounded exasperated, on the verge of tears. “I’m not joking when I say I’m in no condition to deal with whatever it is the two of you want. I’m at my limit.”
I had trouble reconciling the woman I saw before me with the murderous witch I was picturing in my head. She was the only suspect, which meant she had to be a masterful actress. “Are you mourning Adam or Paul this morning?”
Confusion washed over Lorna’s face. “I ... what do you mean?”
“Paul Masterson,” I pressed. “He was found dead in his house this morning. It seems birds pecked his eyes out.”
“What?” Lorna’s eyes went wide. Yes, she was very good.
“No one knows how the birds got into his house. He was sitting in front of a steak
and somehow the birds got in, ripped out his eyes and left him to die. I found him because I was going to question him about his relationship with you.”
Lorna’s hand flew to her mouth and the fright reflected back at me was heart-rending. Something was off about this situation ... other than the obvious, that is. “You’re wrong. Paul isn’t dead. I just talked to him on the phone last night.
“He said everything was going to be okay and not to worry about people finding out about our relationship,” she continued. “He said he had Landon and Chief Terry in hand and they wouldn’t be able to spread the information. I told him you knew, but he didn’t seem worried that you would have the guts to print anything in the newspaper.”
“I’m not generally a fan of salacious gossip,” I countered. “I wouldn’t print the details of your affair without reason.”
“I’m guessing that Masterson’s death is a good reason,” Aunt Tillie noted. “I mean ... that’s two men you’ve slept with who have died in the same week, Lorna. You’re not having a good run of it, are you?”
“No. I ... .” She rubbed her forehead and then burst into tears. The torrent was so fierce I was caught off guard, forcing me to look to Aunt Tillie for guidance.
For her part, she looked equally perplexed. “Are you sure she’s our evil witch?” she asked after watching Lorna’s shoulders shake and her body convulse for a full thirty seconds. “She doesn’t seem evil.”
Oddly enough, I was having the same doubts.
“Witch?” Lorna sputtered, snot running down her lip. “You think I did this, don’t you?”
I exhaled heavily and debated my options. Finally, I just went for it. We were out of time for subtlety. “Whoever is doing this is a witch. There’s no doubt about that. We assumed because of your mother’s background that you were the witch in question. Now, though ... .”
“If you’re an evil witch, you should tell us now,” Aunt Tillie commanded, her voice full of authority. “If you’re not, we’re genuinely sorry for your loss and hope you ascribe to the ‘no blood, no foul’ rule.”
I wanted to sink under the table and hide. “Let’s handle the witch question first,” I suggested. “Are you controlling the birds?”
“No.” She shook her head emphatically. “I don’t understand why you would ask me a question like that.”
“Before your husband’s business exploded — something that has yet to be explained to my satisfaction — a flock of birds alerted over Hemlock Cove,” I explained. “They’re called harbingers.”
“I know what harbingers are.”
“Because your mother was a witch?”
Lorna nodded stiffly. “How did you figure that out?”
“It’s common knowledge in certain circles. Some of the residents in Hemlock Cove have long memories.”
Lorna’s gaze moved to Aunt Tillie. “Like you? How long is your memory?”
“If you’re asking whether I told her about your mother, I am ... to a certain extent,” Aunt Tillie replied blithely. “It wasn’t only me. There were others. I was always under the assumption that your mother was a witch for show and nothing more. If she had traces of the craft in her, they had to be minor. What’s happening now isn’t minor.”
“It doesn’t sound like it,” Lorna agreed, a thoughtful wave washing over her twisted features. “My mother was a witch, but not the sort you’re rumored to be. She didn’t do evil things. I can promise you that.”
“What about you? Do you do evil things?”
“Of course not.”
“I saw you on a bench at the edge of the square the day after Adam died,” I argued. “Birds were circling.”
“They were? I don’t remember that. I don’t remember much about that night. I was drunk, if you want to know the truth. I’ve been drunk since Adam died.”
“We can smell it,” Aunt Tillie offered.
I pretended she hadn’t spoken. “Birds attacked at the ritual last night, too. We managed to fight them off. Your mother died in a strange farm accident. Your sister went missing without a trace. All of those things put together make for a very dark story. I’m sorry, but ... I’m going to need more than your word that you’re not a witch.”
“Well, I don’t have more than my word,” she shot back. “My mother’s death was suspicious to me, too, but there was no one else around. I have no proof it wasn’t an accident. If I ever get proof, I’ll go after the individual responsible. My mother was a good woman.
“As for my sister, well, Diane was always hard to contain,” she continued. “She shared my mother’s gift, though it seemed to be enhanced. When my mother tried to control her, shut down the spells she was casting, she ran away. She hasn’t been back since.
“The magic skipped me. I’m not a witch. I don’t have any power.”
Aunt Tillie shifted on her chair. “Magic often skips generations,” she acknowledged. “Or it will bless one child and leave another bereft. There’s often no pattern or reason. That said ... what about your daughter?”
I jolted at the notion. I hadn’t even considered Dani.
“My daughter is another story,” Lorna acknowledged. “She’s evil all around. She always has been. That one was born bad ... and there’s nothing I can do about it. If you’re searching for an evil witch, look no further, because she’s the one you want.”
Ugh. That was so not what I was expecting.
Twenty-Six
I couldn’t comprehend what I was hearing.
“How long have you known that Dani is a witch?”
“Since she was five and set the curtains on fire when I wouldn’t give her ice cream,” Lorna replied, matter-of-fact. “That’s why all the curtains are flame retardant now.”
“But ... I’ve never seen her manifest.” I ran through the brief conversation I’d had with Dani. “I’ve seen her around since she was a little kid. She’s never exhibited any magical ability in front of me.”
“Did you exhibit your magical ability in front of others?”
“No, but ... .” She had a point.
“I wanted her to be a good girl,” Lorna offered. “I really wanted that more than you will ever know. I thought there was a chance I could fix things with her. Adam always refused to see what she really was, said I was overreacting and imposing my fears of my sister on her. But I always knew, deep down, that she was something to be feared.”
I was utterly flabbergasted and didn’t know what to say.
Aunt Tillie never had that problem. “What can she do?” She was all business. “You said she set the drapes on fire when she was a small child. Fire magic is rare in kids that age. Did your mother have fire magic?”
“I don’t know much about witchcraft,” Lorna admitted ruefully. “I was upset when I was a kid and realized that I didn’t have any magic. Diane was always my mother’s favorite because she was powerful.
“My mother didn’t hate me or anything, I don’t want you to think that,” she continued. “It was simply inevitable that she bonded closer with Diane. They had more in common.”
I stirred. “Why did Diane run away? You mentioned that your mother was trying to rein her in. That can’t be the only reason.”
“But it was.” Lorna insisted. “Diane always thought she could do whatever she wanted, hurt whoever she wanted, claim whatever boy she wanted. If she couldn’t do it with her natural charm she would use magic.
“My mother provided for us with her potions, love spells and the like. She understood that she was setting a bad example for Diane, but when you have children to feed, well, sometimes you have to make hard choices.
“She spent a lot of time talking to Diane, explaining the nature of magic and why it was never good to embrace the dark arts,” she continued. “Diane would always laugh with me afterward — we shared a room and she liked to talk badly about Mother — and said that she was wasting her potential. She said she wouldn’t be the same way.
“My mother made a few mistakes with Diane when s
he was small, laughing when she did something that wasn’t so nice simply because she used magic to do it. She was often tickled by Diane’s antics. As Diane grew older, she realized she’d created a monster of sorts and had no idea what to do about it.”
“I remember your sister,” Aunt Tillie offered. “She hid the fact that she had gifts well. I never saw anything in her that would suggest she was evil. I have to give her kudos on hiding her true nature.”
“We were aware of you,” Lorna explained. “Your family was held in high regard in some witch circles, including the coven my mother joined. Most witches knew enough to steer clear of you. The power that emanated from your family was otherworldly.
“Diane was a bit infatuated with you for a time, Miss Tillie. You probably don’t remember. She followed you around to try to catch you casting spells. She never could. As for your nieces, there was a time she tried to befriend them. She wanted Winnie because she believed she was the most powerful, but she would’ve taken any of them.
“They were a tight-knit circle, though, and you couldn’t separate them. Diane grew frustrated that she couldn’t make inroads and eventually wrote them off. She said they were weak compared to you and not worth her time.”
“It’s not that they’re weak,” I countered. “They simply have other gifts. They prefer to nurture rather than tear down.”
“Which is something that wouldn’t have appealed to Diane, even on a superficial level,” Lorna acknowledged. “She liked feeling powerful. She always wanted to be in charge.”
“I’m starting to think that’s a witch thing,” I noted. “There are very few witches who don’t want to be the boss. There’s still a line that shouldn’t be crossed, but she obviously crossed it. What was the final straw for your mother?”
“There was a boy ... Daniel Robinson.”
Aunt Tillie stirred. “Wait ... the Robinson boy? Did she do that?”
I was lost. “Who is Daniel Robinson?”
“He was a classmate of your mother’s,” Aunt Tillie replied, her brow furrowed. “He was a nice boy. He had a crush on Marnie for some reason, even though she didn’t give him the time of day. He asked her to some dance and she said yes because she felt sorry for him ... and, if memory serves, she wouldn’t have had a date otherwise.
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