The Ghost and the Witches' Coven

by Bobbi Holmes

  Licking her lips anxiously, Kathy exchanged a quick glance with her brother and then looked back to her mother.

  “I…I don’t understand,” Kathy stammered.

  Mrs. Stewart opened her purse and pulled out her cellphone. Brad and Kathy watched as her finger made hasty swipes over the phone’s screen.

  “I guess you didn’t know, I installed some security cameras at the house after your father—well, after he went off to his little retreat.” The next moment Mrs. Stewart shoved the phone up to Brad and Kathy so they could see a video captured from one of the security cameras. It was of Kathy taking the ruby ring from her mother’s jewelry box.

  “I still don’t understand what happened,” Davina said for the tenth time. She sat with her sisters on Bridget’s king-sized bed, each one leaning against the headboard, while Bridget sat in the middle, the spell book opened on her lap as she searched through its pages, looking for answers.

  “Those police, they asked about Heather. Obviously, they didn’t forget she existed. That damn fingernail is proof of that! The spell didn’t work after all!”

  “It worked,” Bridget insisted. “I must have misunderstood. You saw it yourself. All traces of them vanished. It was like they had never been there. I don’t believe someone happened across them in the woods and set them free. And if that had happened, then they would have been back by now, wouldn’t they?”

  “So you’re saying the spell worked, just not exactly as you thought it would?” Aileana asked.

  “Yes. It got rid of them. I’m sure of that.”

  “Doesn’t this also mean when we vanquish the Baird sisters, people will notice they’re missing? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of doing all this?” Aileana asked.

  Still focused on the pages in the spell book, Bridget shook her head and said, “No. I think I just misunderstood. The spell did what it promised. But to take away any memory of Donovan, along with her physical being, I think it required more than the ruby—it required the ruby as it is now, enriched with Donovan’s powers.”

  “So when we use this on Finola, people won’t remember her, like they do with Heather Donovan?” Davina asked.

  “Yes. And to play it safe, we should probably deal with one sister at a time. That way, the ruby will continue to grow in power. Fortunately, we won’t need to drug them like we did Heather.” Bridget slammed the book close and tossed it to the end of the bed.

  “What now?” Davina asked.

  Bridget nudged Davina and said, “Get up.”

  Reluctantly Davina got up from the bed, followed by Bridget, while Aileana got up from the other side of the mattress.

  “Now we’re going to deal with the Baird sisters,” Bridget announced.

  “You don’t mean now, like right now?” Aileana asked.

  “Yes. According to the book, the spell we want to use on the Bairds works best close to sunrise. We need to get started now.”

  “Are you serious? It’s late. We drove all the way out to the forest and back tonight, and I’m exhausted,” Davina whined.

  “Unlike you two, I was quick on my feet tonight, coming up with an explanation for that damn nail they found. I don’t want the police to come snooping around again. And when we’re finished with the Bairds, we’ll have enough power to wipe the memories of Heather Donovan, Walt Marlow and Brian Henderson from the mind of anyone who ever knew of them or heard of them,” Bridget said. “And we will have the Leabar.”

  Mrs. Stewart sat on the sofa, her son on one side and her daughter on the other, silently listening to Kathy explain why she had taken the ruby. When Kathy finished with the telling, none of the three said a word, while Mrs. Stewart stared blankly ahead, considering all she had been told, her two children expectantly watching her.

  When Mrs. Stewart failed to comment, Kathy finally asked, “Mother? Say something.”

  Mrs. Stewart let out a deep sigh and asked, “You aren’t serious?”

  “I’m afraid she is. I told her it was a stupid idea,” Brad said.

  “Oh, shut up, Brad,” Kathy snapped. She and her brother began bickering while their mother sat between them. Their voices each increased in volume, and finally Mrs. Stewart shouted for them to both shut up. The room grew quiet, and Mrs. Stewart stood up and walked from the sofa. Brad and Kathy remained sitting, looking up at their mother.

  “I swear, Kathy Jane Stewart, you are crazy like your father’s side of the family!” Mrs. Stewart said.

  “I told her it was a stupid idea,” Brad repeated.

  “Oh, shut up, Brad,” both Kathy and her mother shouted. Brad slunk back on the sofa and remained quiet.

  “I want the ruby ring back. You have to go get it,” Mrs. Stewart told her daughter.

  “I can’t. They already used it to get rid of Heather Donovan.”

  “Are you seriously telling me you paid for a hit on Heather Donovan? And in this little transaction, they threw in Brian Henderson and Walt Marlow? Because on the drive over here, it was all over the radio about how those three went missing together. Please don’t tell me you are responsible for that,” Mrs. Stewart asked.

  Kathy shook her head emphatically. “No. I didn’t pay them to kill anyone. I…I just gave them the ruby to use in the spell to make Heather disappear. I told you it was for Dad. It was the only way to break the spell she had over him. Don’t you understand?”

  Thirty-Three

  Evan MacDonald and his older brother, Eddie, spent several weeks each summer with their grandparents, who had planned to come pick them up on Wednesday. Yet after one of Chief MacDonald’s officers and two notable Frederickport citizens went missing, Edward MacDonald’s in-laws offered to pick the boys up early on Sunday so he could focus on the investigation.

  Chief MacDonald arrived at the office early on Monday. He hadn’t heard from Chris and Danielle yet regarding the location of their missing persons. He had to leave that one to them, as he could not communicate with spirits, and the medium in his family had left with his grandparents the night before. According to the plan, when there was sufficient light, Eva and Marie would work with Danielle and Chris to figure out on a map where to pick up Walt and the others.

  The chief was on his first cup of coffee, sitting at his desk, when the front office called to tell him he had a visitor, Francine Stewart. While he knew her son and daughter were currently staying at the old Barr place, he hadn’t expected her to drop by. He told them to send her back, and a few moments later she walked into his office and sat at the chair facing his desk.

  MacDonald found Francine Stewart to be an attractive woman, yet suspected she was probably high maintenance. Tall and slender, she wore what appeared to be a designer pantsuit, and she looked as if she had just stepped from the beauty shop, with her impeccably coifed hair and manicured nails.

  “How may I help you, Mrs. Stewart?” MacDonald had always wondered how much she had known about what her husband and her children had been up to when they had kidnapped Walt and Danielle, almost killing them.

  “I want to report a stolen ruby ring. It’s very valuable.” She opened her purse, removed a photograph of the ring, stood up, placed the photograph on his desk before him, and sat back on the chair.

  “When did it go missing?” he asked, picking up the photograph and looking at it.

  “It was taken from my jewelry box at home,” she explained.

  With a frown, he tossed the photograph on the desk and leaned back in his chair. “Mrs. Stewart, that is out of my jurisdiction. You will need to talk to your local police department.”

  “I know who took it. And the people who have it are in your jurisdiction,” she said primly. “I don’t know their first names. But their last name is Parker, and they own a store in Frederickport called Pagan Oils and More.”

  Upon hearing the Parkers’ name, MacDonald sat up abruptly. “Can you please elaborate, beginning with who took the ring, and how you know the Parkers have it.”

  With a dramatic sigh, Mrs. Stewart d
ropped her purse on the floor beside her feet, sat back in her chair, and primly crossed her legs. “I’m not sure if you are aware, but my daughter, Kathy, is a troubled young woman, ever since her father’s breakdown. They were very close.” She then uncrossed her legs, setting both feet on the floor, and leaned toward the desk. “I hate to admit this, but mental issues run in my husband’s side of the family, and I’m afraid Kathy may have inherited more from her father than I hoped. Very unstable girl. In fact, when I leave here, she has agreed to check into a private hospital and get the help she needs.”

  “What does all this have to do with the missing ring?”

  Mrs. Stewart leaned back in the chair again and said, “Kathy took it and gave it to the Parkers. They manipulated her, exploiting her vulnerabilities to get the ring. They knew they were accepting stolen merchandise when they took it. In fact, they’re the ones who persuaded her to take it.”

  “How did they do that?” he asked.

  “I’m sure you’ve heard about my husband’s rantings since his incarceration, about Heather Donovan and how she’s a witch and cast a spell on him?”

  The chief nodded. “Yes.”

  “Unfortunately, dear Kathy believed her father. And she desperately wanted to help him. She read the Parkers’ advertisement in the newspaper for their store, and how they claimed to be witches. Foolishly, she went to them, asking if there was some way they could remove whatever spell Heather Donovan had put on her father. They said they could, but it would cost her. She told them she didn’t have much money. I’m afraid that’s true. I cut Brad’s and Kathy’s allowances after their father was committed; I just felt they needed to learn to stand on their own.”

  “So your daughter took your ring to pay them for removing the spell?” he asked.

  “Yes, but it was actually their idea. When she told them she didn’t have that kind of money, they suggested she come to me. She told them I would never give her the money, which was true. So they said something like, ‘I’m sure your mother has some jewelry of value. We’ll take that.’ And, in Kathy’s diminished capacity, she foolishly took the ring and gave it to the Parkers.”

  “How did you find this all out?” he asked.

  “Kathy didn’t realize I had installed cameras at the house. When I watched the recordings, I saw her take the ring. I confronted her, and she broke down and confessed it all. I just want my ring back. I won’t even press charges against the Parkers.”

  “Do you realize Heather Donovan has gone missing, and the last time anyone saw her, she was going into Pagan Oils?”

  “I heard something about that on the radio, driving in to Frederickport last night. But you have to understand, my daughter only gave them that ruby so they would remove a spell, not remove Heather Donovan.”

  After Francine Stewart left his office, Joe walked in a few minutes later. “Was that Francine Stewart?” Joe asked the chief. In response, the chief recounted his conversation with her. When he finished the telling, he showed Joe the photograph she had left behind.

  Holding the photo in his hand, Joe studied it a moment and then said, “I saw that ring last night. Bridget Parker was wearing it.”

  “What happened?” Brad asked when his mother got into the driver’s side of the car. He sat in the back seat while his sister sat in the front passenger seat.

  “I’d better get my ring back,” Mrs. Stewart said as she slammed the door shut and put on her seatbelt.

  “Do I really have to stay at that place?” Kathy groaned.

  “Yes. Fortunately, the insurance will pay for it. Consider it a little holiday, like your father.” She shoved the key in the ignition and turned on the engine.

  “What did you tell him?” Brad asked, leaning forward, sticking his head between the two front seats.

  “Exactly what I told you I would. And, Kathy, you need to thank your stars I put those cameras in. You do not understand what kind of trouble you could face,” Mrs. Stewart said.

  “What do you mean?” Kathy asked.

  “After talking to the chief, he obviously suspects the Parkers of having something to do with his missing people. If they find some evidence on those women, do you think they won’t hesitate to throw you under the bus for a plea deal, when caught?” Francine asked as she drove out of the parking lot.

  “I don’t understand,” Kathy said.

  “No. You don’t. Which has always been your problem. What motive did those women have to take Heather Donovan? They would probably say you paid them to get rid of her, and the ring would be proof of that.”

  “But I never told them to touch Walt Marlow or Brian Henderson!” Kathy argued.

  “Do you think anyone will believe you? They arrested your father because he tried to kill Walt Marlow, and Brian Henderson was one of the arresting officers. And it is entirely possible those women have killed the three of them, and if they tie you to something like that, then you could face the death penalty. So, young lady, you can thank me.”

  “But, Mom, now the police know I’m connected to all this! Why did you have to say anything to the cops? Is that ring really worth more than me?” Kathy whined.

  “Don’t be foolish, Kathy. No one is going to come after a mentally disturbed girl who paid some witches to cast a spell. Which is why you need to spend time showing you’re seeking mental help before this blows up. Sometimes, young lady, you have to get ahead of these things before they become a problem.”

  “I don’t understand. Why would they take Marlow and Henderson?” Brad asked.

  “According to what I heard on the news,” Francine said, “they were captured on a security camera going into Pagan Oils shortly after Heather Donovan. That was the last time anyone saw them. I suspect they walked into something they were not supposed to see. Probably Heather getting killed.”

  “I didn’t tell them to kill Heather,” Kathy said.

  “I thought you told me they promised Heather would disappear,” Mrs. Stewart asked.

  “Well…yeah…but I didn’t say to kill her. And they promised the spell would erase everyone’s memory of her,” Kathy said.

  “Do not repeat that to anyone. Keep to the story you just paid them to remove the spell Heather placed on your father. Nothing more. Unless, of course, you want to go to prison and face the death penalty,” Mrs. Stewart warned.

  Kathy quietly sank back in the car seat, crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest. She looked out the window as her mother drove the car down the road out of town. Brad sat quietly in the back seat. After about fifteen minutes, Mrs. Stewart asked, “Kathy, have you learned anything from all this?”

  Kathy didn’t answer immediately, but finally grumbled, “Yeah.”

  “What did you learn?” Mrs. Stewart asked.

  “Security cameras really suck,” Kathy replied.

  Thirty-Four

  Joe Morelli parked the police car along the sidewalk in front of the Parkers’ home. The chief assumed the Parker women were involved in the disappearance. Now Francine Stewart claimed the women promised to put some spell on Heather Donovan—or were they removing a spell? He wasn’t sure how all that worked. What he knew, too much crazy in this world.

  Since the chief believed the Parker women were involved, he didn’t want Joe going to their house alone or just with a partner, which was why two other police cars pulled up behind him. He noticed the van was not parked in the driveway, but it could be in the garage. He walked up to the house while the other officers waited by their cars. A minute later he rang the bell.

  Across the street, one of the Parkers’ neighbor stepped out onto her front porch and observed all the commotion. Wearing her bathrobe and clogs, her hair still wrapped in the toilet paper she used to preserve her hairstyle while sleeping, she hurried across the street to speak to the officers standing by their vehicles.

  “What is going on over here?” she asked when reaching them. “Police cars have been coming and going all weekend.”

  “Ma’am, please
go back to your house. It would be safer for you over there,” one officer said.

  “Why? They aren’t home, anyway. I saw them leave before daybreak this morning. Had to take my dog out and saw them driving away in that hippy van of theirs. All three of them. What are they doing over there, anyway? It’s drugs, isn’t it? I bet it’s drugs.”

  Up on the Parkers’ front porch, Joe rang the doorbell for the second time. When no one answered the door and he didn’t hear any motion in the house, he walked to the garage and looked in its window. There were two cars parked inside. But not the van.

  Ten minutes later, Joe sat alone in his police car, calling the chief. When MacDonald answered, Joe said, “They aren’t here. According to a neighbor, they all left together before daybreak. What do you want me to do now?”

  “Why couldn’t they have used duct tape?” Ina Baird asked herself. She had watched the YouTube video on how to break out of duct tape, but if there was a similar video on some trick to break free from rope, she hadn’t seen it. Tied to a chair in her bedroom, her ankles and wrists bound, she had stopped trying to wiggle free. Doing that had caused the ropes to tighten, and they now dug uncomfortably into her skin.

  The fact the intruders had not tried to conceal their identity did not comfort Ina. Plus, she knew who they were—their stalkers, the owners of Pagan Oils and More and professed witches.

  “What is this, some witches’ turf war?” Ina grumbled to herself. None of it made sense, from the time they awoke her after daybreak with a gun to her head and some squeaky voice telling her not to make a sound.

  But the most bizarre part was when one of those redheaded maniacs stuck a ruby ring in her face and said, “I warn you, we have this, so none of your witch’s magic will work. It’s fully loaded!”

  “Loaded?” Ina muttered. “I can guess who’s loaded.”