The Ghost and the Witches' Coven

by Bobbi Holmes

  “You think there will be a next time?” Brian asked.

  Walt laughed and then said, “Undoubtably.”

  Thirty-Nine

  The police cars drove away with the Parker sisters, while the tow truck took their van that they had parked in the garage. Before leaving, Danielle and Walt asked Finola if they could speak to her and her sisters. Finola agreed, inviting them inside. Unbeknownst to the Baird sisters, the spirits of Eva and Gavenia followed the Marlows into the living room. Walt and Danielle sat down on the love seat next to the sofa, while the spirits stood behind them.

  The Baird sisters sat down on the sofa. Finola spoke first. “I don’t know how to thank you. You saved our lives.”

  “I’m not really sure they would have killed you,” Danielle said.

  “How can you say that?” Ina asked. “I heard they left your husband and friends in the mountains to die.” She glanced to Walt.

  “Yes. But it is one thing to wave around what you think is a magic ruby, believing it will make everything you want gone disappear, including any consequences, and quite another to shoot someone and have to get rid of the body—without getting caught,” Danielle said.

  Finola looked at Danielle and Walt. “What I don’t understand, how did that gun fly out of Bridget’s hand like that?”

  “What are you talking about?” Kenzy asked. Finola then told her and Ina what had happened from the time Danielle walked in the house to when she untied them.

  When Finola finished, Danielle said, “I already discussed this with Brian, the police officer who untied you, and we would appreciate it if you say Bridget dropped the gun after being surprised when Walt and Brian came into the house, and Brian got to it before her.”

  Finola frowned. “I don’t understand…”

  “No, I don’t imagine you do. And if you repeat what you saw, that will be difficult for the police officers Brian works with to understand,” Danielle said.

  “What really happened?” Kenzy asked.

  “Have you ever heard of telekinesis?” Danielle asked.

  “Yes. The ability to move objects with one’s mind,” Ina said. “I’ve read about it.”

  “Walt has that ability, but it is something we would rather not broadcast,” Danielle explained.

  The Baird sisters frowned at Danielle in disbelief—all except Finola, who had witnessed the gun flying from Bridget’s hand to Brian’s. Danielle glanced at Walt and said, “Move something, please.”

  The next moment the Baird sisters gasped when a magazine floated up off the coffee table and then fell in Ina’s lap.

  “Uh…okay…” Ina muttered, gingerly picking up the magazine by one corner and tossing it back to the coffee table as if it had a major case of cooties.

  “Earlier you claimed Gavenia was here, that you could see her,” Finola said.

  “Yes. Another thing about Walt, he is a psychic medium. So am I. Which means we can see spirits,” Danielle said. “The reason I’m here, Gavenia’s spirit—or ghost—jumped in front of my car when I was driving from the police station to Marlow House. She knew I could see her, because she was the one who saw you drop the necklace the day we first met. She couldn’t return it to you, because you can’t see or hear her.”

  “I don’t understand,” Kenzy said.

  “The story about Gavenia’s daughter seeing her mother after her death. It wasn’t because Gavenia was a witch and had somehow cheated death. It was because her daughter was like Walt and me, mediums, who could see her mother’s ghost. Instead of moving on, as most spirits do, Gavenia stayed with her daughter.”

  “But others saw her too,” Finola said.

  “True. It seems mediums run in your family, but apparently it has skipped a couple of generations, because I know the Parkers can’t see ghosts, and neither can you, considering there are two sitting in the room with us,” Danielle said.

  “Two?” the sisters chimed in unison.

  Walt glanced to Danielle and shook his head. “No reason to complicate matters and mention Eva.”

  “What? I’m a complication now?” Eva asked with a faux pout.

  Danielle shrugged, and Kenzy asked, “Who’s Eva?”

  “That’s not really important,” Danielle said. “I have a few questions I’d like to ask.”

  “Considering I believe you saved our lives, ask whatever you want,” Finola said.

  “Have you always known the Parkers are distant cousins?” Danielle asked.

  “No. Not until this morning,” Finola said. “Our grandmother told us about her great-aunt Helena. She was the oldest daughter, and by tradition would have been the one to get the White Hawk necklace and be the keeper of the Leabar. But she ran away with a boy her parents didn’t approve of and didn’t return until years later. By that time both her parents had died.”

  “What is the Leabar?” Danielle asked.

  The sisters exchanged glances, and Gavenia said, “It simply means book.”

  “Book? It means book?” Danielle said.

  “You speak Scottish Gaelic?” Finola asked.

  “Um…no. Gavenia just said it meant book,” Danielle explained. “But I assume it is more than just any old book.”

  Ina sat back in the sofa, crossing her arms over her chest and said coolly, “If Gavenia is really here with us, and you can talk to her, then you really don’t need one of us to tell you what the Leabar is.”

  Danielle looked to Gavenia.

  “I taught Blair all that I knew about herbs and potions so she could teach her children. But over time, I don’t recall exactly when, they began writing it down. I suppose that was the first Leabar,” Gavenia explained. “When Leona and Helena’s mother was just a little girl, there was a house fire, and they lost everything, even the Leabar. So their mother—the last one who was able to see and hear me—she recreated it with my help.”

  Danielle looked to the sisters and repeated all that she had just been told.

  “How did you know all that?” Kenzy asked.

  “I told you, Gavenia is here. She just told me.”

  When they brought the Parker sisters into the police station and marched them down the hallway while handcuffed, Heather stood near the open doorway of the chief’s office, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned back against the wall. The chief had said she could go home and take that shower now, but after hearing they were bringing the Parkers in, she didn’t want to miss it.

  Seeing the expression on their faces as they walked past her and saw in person she had survived made Heather feel delaying the shower well worth it. The chief had also told her she could watch the interrogation through the two-way mirror.

  Brian Henderson was one of the last to walk by in the parade of people who streamed down the hallway with the Parkers. He stopped by Heather, allowing the others to continue down the hall.

  “The chief tells me you want to watch the interrogation,” Brian said.

  “You bet I do,” Heather said.

  “Then come with me. I’m going to the observation room now.”

  She looked up into Brian’s face. “Aren’t you going to be part of the interrogation?”

  “No, I’m sitting this one out.”

  Alone with Brian in the office, Heather stepped up to the two-way mirror and looked into the interrogation room. It was empty save for a large table surrounded by chairs.

  “I thought they’d already be in there,” Heather said.

  “They’re checking them in, and they’ll be interviewing them one at a time,” Brian explained. “I imagine the chief is trying to delay it a little. A team is going through their house at the moment, looking for evidence. He probably would like to see what they find before he starts.”

  “I don’t know why he needs any more evidence. He has us,” Heather said, still staring through the glass. She felt Brian now standing at her side. When she turned to look at him, she found him standing closer than she had expected. His eyes stared into hers.

  She fro
wned. “What are you looking at?”

  “You.” He smiled.

  She wrinkled her nose. “Do I stink?”

  He laughed and then leaned even closer, his nose taking a sniff along her neck before he pulled back again, flashing her a smile. “Not bad. You smell like the outdoors.”

  “Like a skunk?” Heather asked.

  “I was thinking pine trees,” he said.

  She frowned. “Are you hitting on me?”

  “I don’t know. But you did kiss me,” he reminded her.

  “I did not! You kissed me,” she insisted.

  “Why would I do that? You are too young for me,” he said.

  “I’m older than Darlene was,” she said.

  “You are quirky,” he said.

  She laughed. “I concede to that observation.”

  Without a word, he leaned closer and kissed her lips. When the kiss ended, he pulled back and looked at her.

  “Why did you do that?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know. But I have been wanting to try it again.”

  “And?” she asked.

  He kissed her again. When the kiss ended, she asked, “Well?”

  “I’m not sure,” he whispered, and kissed her again. She returned the kiss, but abruptly shoved him away when snowflakes began falling from the ceiling.

  “Eva is coming,” she said.

  Brian quickly stepped back from Heather.

  “You know, we can’t tell anyone about this,” Heather hurriedly whispered before Eva arrived.

  “Why?” he asked.

  Heather rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You might as well tell Joe that Walt used to be a ghost and can talk to animals.”

  Eva appeared the next moment, ending their discussion.

  Bridget sat alone at the table in the interrogation room, her hands folded on the table in front of her as she looked down. She had just told Joe Morelli how she had gotten the ruby and why, contradicting the story Mrs. Stewart had given the chief. The ruby ring sat on the table, sealed in a plastic bag.

  Distraught learning the spell had not worked and not understanding why, she had forfeited her right to an attorney and confessed why they wanted to vanquish the Bairds.

  “You did this all because you wanted some spell book?” Joe asked.

  Bridget looked up to Joe, her eyes red rimmed. “By rights, it belongs to me. Those spells are priceless; they have been handed down in our family for four centuries.”

  “What kind of spells? Do they involve rubies?” Joe asked.

  Bridget frowned. “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?” Joe asked.

  Bridget shook her head. “No. I’ve never seen the book. My sisters, mother, grandmother, none of us have ever seen the Leabar. We’ve only heard stories about it. About the great magic.”

  A knock came at the door. Joe answered it. On the other side, an officer held something in his hand. He handed it to Joe, who returned to Bridget after shutting the door. He placed the item on the table—it was a spell book.

  “Like this spell book?” Joe asked.

  Bridget looked at the book and shook her head. “No. Where did you get that?”

  “From your house.”

  “I don’t understand. The other spell from it worked. Why didn’t the last one?” Bridget asked, speaking more to herself than Joe. She reached out; her right hand gently stroked the pentacle engraved on the book’s leather cover.

  Eva stood on the other side of the mirror with Brian and Heather. The three watched.

  “What did he just put on the table?” Eva asked.

  “Some book,” Heather said with a shrug.

  “I’m going to take a closer look,” Eva said, moving through the mirror to the table in the interrogation room.

  “We just lost Eva,” Heather announced. “She’s checking out that book.”

  “Must be interesting, just going wherever you want—through walls,” Brian muttered.

  “What the—?” Heather blurted.

  Brian glanced to Heather. “What is it?”

  “It’s Eva.”

  “What about Eva?” Brian asked.

  “I don’t know what the deal with that book is, but Eva just got a close look at it and is now laughing like she just heard the funniest joke in the world.”

  Forty

  “I promise not to dump this one on you,” Walt joked as he handed Brian a cold beer. Brian understood it was a reference to the beer Walt had dumped on him at Ian’s bachelor party—when Walt was still a spirit. Brian didn’t imagine Walt cared if anyone overheard him, considering the guest list for this evening’s gathering. After handing Brian the beer, Walt headed across Marlow House’s living room with a beer for Ian.

  Brian’s cousin Kitty had left for home that morning, and Danielle had called him that afternoon to invite him for dinner. She claimed it was a last-minute affair; they wanted to celebrate their safe return. It had been four days since the Parkers’ arrest. He had expected to see Joe and Kelly here; after all, Joe was involved in the Parkers’ arrest, and he lived with Ian’s sister, Kelly. But Joe and Kelly were not here.

  Ian and Lily were on the guest list. They were currently standing on the other side of the living room, talking to the chief while Ian held Connor. Brian wondered if the chief would have brought Evan tonight and left Eddy with his sister had they not been with their grandparents.

  Chris arrived minutes after Brian and had mentioned Heather would be there shortly. They had just gotten off work, and she wanted to go home and change first. After being shown into the living room, and before being handed the beer, Danielle headed to the kitchen to get some appetizers, and Chris went with her to help.

  Brian was about to take a sip of the beer when Lily showed up at his side. “So, are you processing all this?” she asked.

  “I assume you mean the ghost thing?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” Lily glanced over to where her husband stood, still talking to the chief. “It wasn’t easy for Ian. We sorta broke up over it.”

  “Really?”

  Lily looked back to Brian and nodded. “Yep. But I understand. Ian has spent most of his professional life as an investigative reporter. He’s seen his share of cons. So it took more than floating wineglasses to convince him.”

  “What about you? What convinced you?” he asked.

  “You mean to believe that Danielle could see ghosts, and Walt haunted this house?” Lily grinned.

  “Yes. What happened that made you finally believe it?” he asked.

  “What happened? Danielle told me,” Lily said.

  “That’s it?”

  Lily nodded. “I know Danielle. I trust her. Plus, the idea of someone having the ability to see spirits didn’t seem that crazy to me.”

  Brian glanced from Lily back over to the corner where Ian and the chief stood talking, with Connor now on the floor by their feet, playing with a small toy. About to take a drink of the beer, he paused mid sip, his eyes wide, and he sputtered, “Ahh…the baby…”

  Lily glanced over to Connor and then smiled. She watched as her son drifted up from the floor and began floating around the room.

  “Oh, that’s just Marie,” Lily said.

  “Marie? You can see her?”

  “No. I can’t see ghosts any better than you,” Lily said with a snort. “But I know the only spirit here able to harness her energy like that is Marie.”

  “Doesn’t that make you nervous? Him flying around? What if he falls?” Brian asked, his eyes still on the baby.

  “Nah, no more dangerous than anyone holding him—probably way safer.”

  “But doesn’t it scare him? Just hanging in the air like that?” Brian asked.

  “Oh, Connor can see Marie. He doesn’t understand she’s a ghost, or that other people can’t see her,” Lily explained. “From Connor’s perspective, no different from me carrying him.”

  “Really?”

  Lily gave a nod and let out a sigh, looking back to her s
on; she watched him seemingly float around the room. “Really. But it is going to be difficult once he gets older and starts talking. Not sure how we’re going to explain who Marie is to Kelly.”

  “No kidding,” Brian muttered, taking another sip of beer.

  Brian now stood with the chief while Ian and Lily were on the other side of the room, talking to Danielle. Chris stood at the bar, talking with Walt, and Heather had not yet arrived.

  “We haven’t really discussed this,” the chief told Brian.

  “I assume you’re talking about the ghost and Walt thing?” Brian asked.

  The chief grinned.

  “At least I understand why you didn’t want to find out who had been tampering with old fingerprint cards,” Brian said as he took a drink of his beer.

  “Couldn’t really tell you the truth, could I?”

  “When did you learn about it all? Did you always know, because of Evan?” Brian asked.

  The chief shook his head. “No. For the longest time, I just assumed Evan had bad dreams and an overactive imagination. Figured it had something to do with losing his mother. I learned about Danielle’s gift first, after she spoke to my grandmother’s ghost.”

  “Do you think it is a gift?” Brian asked.

  “Sometimes. Sometimes a curse.”

  They gathered around the dining room table for dinner. Walt sat at one end of the table, with Danielle at the other end, facing him. To Walt’s right sat the chief, Lily, and Ian. To Walt’s left sat Chris, Heather and Brian. The first course had just been served, a green salad and rolls. They ate and discussed recent events.

  “With how hectic everything has been this past week, I still don’t understand. What was the deal with that spell book?” Lily asked.

  “Which spell book?” Danielle asked. “There were two of them. The Leabar, the one with the recipes for herbal medicine, handed down by Gavenia, and the other spell book, the one they used to steal Heather’s magic.”