The Ghost and the Witches' Coven

by Bobbi Holmes

  “Don’t tell me you haven’t checked it out yet?” Danielle teased.

  “Danielle!” Marie scolded.

  Walt chuckled.

  “Not them. But those witches who own Pagan Oils, I saw one of them on the pier last night, chanting like she was casting a spell. But she had clothes on,” Adam said.

  “Seriously?” Danielle asked.

  “Yeah. Carla told me who she was,” Adam explained.

  “So what’s this about your tenants getting asked questions?” Danielle asked.

  “The Pagan Oils article spiked people’s curiosity about witches, especially some claims made about magic and spells, and I guess those curious people started pestering the Baird sisters, assuming they were part of that group. I mean, really, what is the chance Frederickport has two witches’ covens?”

  “Exactly how many witches are in these covens?” Walt asked.

  Adam shrugged and said, “I’ve never heard about any other witches aside from the Baird sisters and Parker sisters. So, I assume, only three each.”

  “That’s hardly a respectable coven size,” Walt said with a snort. “I’ve always heard it takes a dozen witches to make a coven.”

  “I have no idea. But obviously the Bairds aren’t actively soliciting new members, considering their reaction to people asking them questions,” Adam said.

  “So that’s why they were so cranky?” Danielle asked.

  “I assume. They were bitching about it when they came in to pay their rent.”

  “Are they Wicca witches?” Danielle asked. “Or do you know?”

  “Oh god no!” Adam groaned. “And if you run into them again, whatever you do, don’t ask them that. They don’t have a great love for those who call themselves Wicca. I believe Ina called them wannabes.”

  “Which sounds a little like what the others said in that interview,” Walt said.

  “I didn’t read the article, but Mel did. She told me about it. Asked me if they were ‘my’ witches.” Adam smirked.

  “All I know, they’re witches with an attitude,” Danielle said.

  When Walt and Danielle finally left Adam’s office, Marie tagged along with them.

  “I thought you’d stick around with Adam for a while,” Danielle said when they were outside.

  “I enjoy seeing Adam, but frankly, it’s rather boring just staring at him. It’s not like we can chat. If someone was in there with him, I could at least eavesdrop on a conversation,” Marie explained.

  “We’re going to Lucy’s for lunch,” Walt said. “You’re welcome to join us.”

  “Thank you, Walt. I’ll meet you there. But first, I’m going to stop by Pagan Oils. I’m curious to see the other witches. I don’t think I’ve ever seen actual witches before today,” Marie said.

  “You do know there really are no such things as witches, don’t you?” Danielle teased.

  Marie stopped and looked at Danielle. “You think so?”

  Danielle shrugged. “Well, sure, I guess people can call themselves witches, like with the Wicca religion. But not witches with spells and magic or flying around on brooms.”

  “Oh, Danielle,” Marie said, letting out a sigh. “There is so much you don’t understand. To be fair, I didn’t understand until I became a ghost.” Marie vanished.

  Danielle frowned at the abrupt departure. “Well, that was kinda rude.”

  “Let’s go to lunch,” Walt said, reaching out and taking Danielle’s hand.

  Danielle looked at Walt and asked, “What Marie said about witches and what she now understands since becoming a ghost…when you were…you know…did you learn anything about witches you haven’t told me?”

  Walt smiled. “Danielle, I spent close to a hundred years in Marlow House. I didn’t get out much. And if there really are witches, none ever came to visit me.”

  Nine

  After the Baird sisters left Adam’s office, they started back down the street to their car, again passing Pagan Oils. The youngest sister, Kenzy, wanted to look in the window.

  “We’re not going in there,” Finola called after Kenzy. No longer walking, she and Ina watched their younger sister head up to the store window.

  “It won’t hurt to just look,” Ina said.

  “I’m not sure about that, considering who owns the store. And did you watch their YouTube video I told you about? I can’t believe the nonsense they came up with,” Finola grumbled.

  Ina chuckled at her sister’s annoyance yet didn’t let that keep her from joining Kenzy. She hurried to the window while Finola waited on the sidewalk, hands on hips, impatiently watching them.

  Several minutes later Ina called out, “Finola, come here. See this!”

  “I don’t want to,” Finola shouted back.

  Ina turned to Finola. “Fi, come here.”

  Finola grumbled and dropped her hands to the sides of her body, her purse hanging from one shoulder. She reluctantly made her way to her two sisters.

  “What is so important that I need to see?” Finola sounded bored.

  “You will not believe this, but look.” Ina pointed inside the store to a display pushed up against the window. Finola looked inside. What had caught her sisters’ attention was a necklace display. Leather strap necklaces, each with a small whalebone carving.

  What the sisters found uncanny was the necklace closest to the window, a carving of a hawk. One would assume whoever had carved that charm had also carved the one hanging from Finola’s necklace. The other charms in the necklace display were of other animals: a bear, a fish, a deer, a dolphin, a horse, and a whale. As far as they could see, there was only one hawk.

  “That is impossible,” Finola muttered, getting closer to the window.

  “It looks just like the White Hawk,” Kenzy whispered.

  Finola stared in disbelief at the small hawk carving in the window.

  After a moment she lifted her gaze, looking farther into the store. She spied a woman standing behind the counter. The woman’s gaze met Finola’s, and the two stared at each other, trancelike.

  Finally, Finola stepped back abruptly and said, “Let’s get out of here. Now.”

  Davina cursed when Finola turned and walked away from the store to the sidewalk, taking her sisters with her.

  “They saw the necklace,” Aileana said. “She was looking right at it. I thought for sure that would bring her in here.”

  “I wish they didn’t need to come to us, that we could just approach them. It would make things easier,” Davina said. “I thought for certain that when we opened the store, they would come in. And when that didn’t happen, I was certain the article would bring them here. And now this. They look at the hawk and just leave!”

  “Maybe it’s all working; we just need to be patient. We’ve never been good at waiting,” Bridget said.

  “What do you mean? We’ve been waiting our entire lives,” Aileana said.

  “Which means I’ve been waiting longer than both of you, since I’m older. And they came to our doorstep. I suppose that is some progress. We just need to get them to step inside. Let them think about the white hawk, and they’ll be back,” Bridget said.

  “And if they don’t come back?” Ina asked.

  Bridget let out a deep breath and looked at her sisters. “Actually, I have been giving that a great deal of thought, so I came up with a contingency plan. In fact, I’ve already put it in motion.”

  Davina frowned. “What in all the heavens are you talking about?”

  “Remember the other option, using the spell to vanquish the coven standing in our way?” Bridget asked.

  “Um, yes, but I seem to recall something about getting our hands on a high-quality ruby a little out of our price range. Unless you’re considering a jewel heist?” Davina asked.

  “No. but I took another look at the attraction spell. And I thought, why not?” Bridget said.

  “What, you honestly think a high-quality three-carat ruby is going to drop out of the sky?” Davina asked.

/>   “And you no longer have faith in spells?” Bridget asked.

  “No, it’s not that. But how I read that spell, all that would happen, it would put whatever you’re looking for in close proximity. Like reading tomorrow about a sale on a three-carat ruby at a nearby jewelry store. We still have to buy it.”

  “Maybe not,” Bridget said. “We can at least try.”

  “Let’s say a ruby drops out of the sky and lands in our hands. How do we know the vanquishing spell will work? At least with the other one, no one will be the wiser if it doesn’t work. With the vanquishing spell, we could have serious consequences if it backfires,” Davina reminded them.

  “Not if we try it out first on another witch, get the kinks out, so to speak,” Bridget said. “Of course, it has to be a blood witch.”

  “Are you suggesting we kill an innocent witch?” Davina asked.

  “Isn’t that a bit of an oxymoron,” Bridget countered. The three sisters laughed.

  When they finally stopped laughing, Aileana said, “While that all sounds promising, this means we have to find not only a blood witch—but a ruby large enough for the spell to work.”

  Bridget grinned. “You will be happy to learn last night while you two were sleeping, I went down to the pier and cast the attraction spell, asking for the ruby and for a sacrificial blood witch. One way or another, the Leabar will return to its rightful place—with us.”

  Before her sisters responded, the door opened, and several new customers walked into the shop. Following them was the spirit of Marie Nichols.

  No one could see or hear Marie Nichols as she wandered around the odd little shop, checking out the merchandise. She resisted the temptation to pick up any of the items to get a closer look, not wanting to freak anyone out. Yet, once she thought about it, she figured it might actually help the little business. Once word got out about merchandise literally floating off shelves or racks, it might bring in new customers. Marie chuckled to herself at the thought.

  The people she had followed into the store now stood at the counter, asking one question after another of the three women who were already in the store when they had arrived moments earlier. Marie wandered to one wall and looked at the shelves lined with tiny glass bottles. They reminded her of the essential oils Heather kept and frequently used.

  Marie stepped closer to the shelves so she could get a better look. While she no longer needed glasses to see clearly, it didn’t mean she could read a label from across the room. “Angelica root, bergamot, birch sweet, cajeput, clove bud, lemon grass,” Marie muttered as she read some labels. Pivoting from the wall, she spied books on the other side of the store, along with a barrel filled with small straw brooms. Moving closer to the barrel, she didn’t imagine a proper witch could fly on one of those things—too small. Next to the barrel the sign read “besom” along with a price.

  Marie then noticed a display of necklaces by the window. She went to have a closer look.

  The server set the plate with a cheeseburger and fries on the table in front of Walt, and the one with a turkey sandwich and coleslaw on the table in front of Danielle.

  “Will there be anything else?” the server asked.

  Danielle looked over her plate and then glanced up to the server and smiled. “No, I don’t think so.”

  Walt had already picked up his burger. The server flashed them both a smile and then walked away.

  “That looks yummy,” Marie announced when she appeared the next minute, sitting next to Danielle and across from Walt.

  “How was Pagan Oils?” Danielle asked, picking up half her sandwich.

  “I know why they call it Pagan Oils; they have an entire wall with those oils Heather uses.”

  “Essential oils?” Danielle asked.

  “Yes. I read the labels, and some of them I never heard of before,” Marie said.

  “Eye of newt oil?” Walt snickered before taking another bite.

  “I didn’t see that, but they had some interesting witch paraphernalia.”

  “Witch paraphernalia?” Danielle chuckled.

  Marie shrugged. “Not sure what else to call it. Do you know they have a YouTube channel? I saw a brochure on it, thought you might be interested. I was going to bring you one, but I didn’t think that would be a terrific idea. Oh, I also know where that snotty Finola woman got that necklace.”

  “Pagan Oils?” Danielle asked with a frown.

  Marie nodded. “Yes, they have a rack of them, all different little animals. Including one that looked just like that woman’s. Although, the leather cord was a little different, so I suppose she might have bought it somewhere else.”

  “I don’t know what the point of her lying about the necklace being some family heirloom was all about.” Danielle then asked, “Any whales or dolphins?”

  “Yes,” Marie said. “If you go to the store, the display with the necklaces is by the window.”

  Walt set down his burger and looked at Danielle. “You want to see what they have?”

  “Yeah.”

  Marie glanced at the wall clock. “I need to get going. See you two later.” She vanished.

  “Darn, I wanted to ask her about the witches,” Danielle grumbled. “Why does she keep disappearing like that?”

  Brian Henderson opened the door to Lucy’s Diner, letting his cousin enter first. He followed her inside while looking for an empty booth or table. When doing so, he spied Walt and Danielle Marlow. A moment later, he stopped by their booth with Kitty by his side.

  “Afternoon, Walt, Danielle,” Brian greeted them.

  Danielle smiled up at the pair and then looked at the woman at Brian’s side and said, “Is this your cousin?”

  “Kitty, this is Walt and Danielle Marlow. I believe I mentioned them,” Brian introduced.

  Walt stood briefly to greet Kitty while Danielle laughed and said, “I bet you did.”

  They exchanged a few more words before Brian and Kitty excused themselves to sit at a booth on the other side of the restaurant.

  “So that was the infamous Walt and Danielle Marlow?” Kitty asked after she sat down.

  “In the flesh,” Brian said, picking up a menu and handing it to his cousin.

  “He seemed rather—I don’t know—old fashioned,” Kitty said with a smile as she opened her menu.

  “Old-fashioned, how?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. Something about his manner, his way of dress. And I can tell he’s an author. Not that I’ve ever met one before, but he looks like I would expect one to look like. I’m almost surprised he wasn’t smoking a pipe.”

  “It irritates Joe, how Walt dresses.”

  “Heavens, why?”

  “His girlfriend has been trying to dress him up like Walt. I guess she likes it.”

  “There is something about a man in tailored clothes. But they are an attractive couple. I can’t believe you arrested her for murder.”

  Ten

  Brad Stewart stretched lazily on the worn sofa, his feet propped on the battered coffee table, while using the remote to channel hop. When his father had purchased the property from his cousin, the house came with some furniture. They had intended to toss it out before demolishing the building, but none of that was happening now.

  “Where are the truck keys?” Kathy asked.

  Brad looked up at his sister, who stood over him with her hand out. She wore a baggy pair of jeans and a blue sweatshirt.

  “Where are you going? Slumming it? Mom would love that outfit.”

  “Yeah, well, Mom is not my favorite person right now, and these clothes are comfortable. Keys.”

  “I was planning to go get some beer.”

  “Then you take me, drop me off at Pagan Oils, and buy your beer. You can pick me up when I’m done.”

  Brad turned the television off and tossed the remote on the coffee table. “Why are you going there?”

  Kathy shoved a hand into her jeans pocket and pulled something out and showed her brother.

  S
eeing what Kathy held, Brad sat up abruptly, putting his feet on the floor. “What the hell are you doing with that?”

  “I took it from Mom’s jewelry box.” Kathy shoved it back in her pocket. She sat down on the sofa next to her brother.

  “I figured that. You aren’t planning to hock that thing, are you? Mom will skin you alive if she finds out.”

  “No. I’m not planning to hock it.”

  Brad let out a sigh of relief. “Good. You had me worried there.”

  “I’m giving it away.”

  “What? Are you nuts?”

  Kathy looked at her brother. “I know you think this whole witch thing is crazy. But we need Dad back to get Mom under control. I don’t plan to keep slumming it. Not when our family is still rich. Even after the settlement to the Jenkins family, we still have plenty of money. And we’re entitled to it. We were the ones over here getting rid of all the dead bodies, not Mom. What has Mom done beside spend Dad’s money?”

  “What does Mom’s ring have to do with any of that?”

  “The website I told you about. It talked about a spell to destroy a witch. It didn’t say what the spell was exactly. That’s too dangerous for them to post online.”

  “Yeah, right,” Brad muttered.

  “Only another witch can do the spell, and it requires a ruby—one at least three carats in size. And it has to be excellent quality. Mom’s is three and a half carats, and we both know what Dad paid for this sucker.”

  “So you plan to get the witches to off Donovan? Don’t tell me, hit-men witches?”

  Kathy let out a huff in annoyance. “It’s not like an actual hit. It’s safer.”

  “Safer how?”

  “They make her not just disappear, but all memory of her disappears too. So it’s not like someone is going to arrest you for murder or anything.”

  “And why would these witches do this for you?”

  “Because I’ll let them keep the ruby. According to the website, whenever a witch uses a ruby in a spell, the ruby absorbs power witches can use later. They’ll be happy to do it for me.”