Witch Way Box Set

by Jane Hinchey

  “Just your appetites.”

  Jenna snort laughed. “We can definitely do that.” We bid farewell to Andi and made our way back outside.

  “What should we do?” I asked the others. “Wait until this evening or…?”

  “Time is not on our side,” Jenna pointed out. “Let’s head into town.”

  “What about Gran and Blake? Take them with us?”

  Remy frowned. “They’re both resting. Let’s leave them to get their rest. Bandit and Archie will be here too. They should be fine.”

  I slipped a note under Gran's cabin door and the three of us piled into the Land Rover to head back into town.

  “So…” Jenna waited until I was trapped in the car with no exit before she pounded. “Did you call Jackson?”

  I nodded. “I did.”

  “And?” she prodded.

  “And nothing. He said he had something to tell me when I get home.”

  She snorted. “So, he rings you to tell you he'll talk to you later. That makes no sense.”

  “I don't think he realized how crazy things were here.” It only felt right that I defended him, a little.

  “You know,” Remy commented, “when a man acts that way, it's usually a matter of the heart.”

  Jenna gasped. “Do you think he's broken up with Liliana?”

  “Why would he do that?” My words were automatic, no thought behind them.

  “Duh, because he likes you. And you like him. Admit it, you always have.” Jenna crowed with delight.

  “It might not be anything like that at all,” I felt compelled to point out. “Maybe he and Liliana are engaged, and he wants to tell me himself.”

  “Oh, shit,” Jenna said. “That could work too.”

  “See? No point speculating,” I told her.

  “Remy, you seem to know Blake pretty well. What can you tell us about him?” Jenna switched gears so fast my head spun.

  Remy raised one shoulder in half a shrug. “Not much. He's friends with my boss. Whenever he's in Australia he calls in to check up on the Bureau, other than that I don't see that much of him.”

  “What do you mean, check up on the Bureau?” Jenna frowned.

  “His grandmother founded the Australian branch of the Bureau. Professor Elizabeth Tennant. She was pretty badass.”

  “Blake is a member of Bureau?” I hadn't known that—although it made sense that he was. It would explain a lot of things.

  But Remy was shaking her head. “Nope. Not in the capacity you're thinking. The by-laws state a member of the Tennant family has to have a seat on the board and that's as far as Blake's involvement goes. Seb keeps him up-to-date with what's going on operationally, but Blake isn't an agent. He consults for us as a lawyer as and when we need it.”

  I remained silent pondering what Remy had just revealed. Blake's family were powerful. And obviously had connections around the world. It made it even more absurd that someone at his level would come to Whitefall Cove to represent Gran. And despite my best efforts I had unearthed no connection between Blake and my father, though Dad must know Blake to have called him when Gran was arrested.

  Jenna sighed. “There's something attractive about a tall, dark, mysterious man.”

  Blake was all of those things, but I was starting to think Gran was right in her assessment. Blake was too secretive for me. Every question I asked was dodged, or half answered. I needed a man who would be truthful and honest. Although I liked to think Blake wasn't hiding the truth to be deliberately deceitful, maybe he thought he was protecting me, but still, after being lied to by Simon for over a year, I was leery of pursuing a relationship with a man who I knew was hiding something from me.

  We arrived at the hotel, pulling me out of my musings.

  “She's here.” I followed the others to the bar. Settling myself on a bar stool, I waited for Kaylee to finish serving a woman further down.

  “Oh, hi, ladies.” Recognizing us, she smiled. “What can I get you?”

  “Beers?” Remy asked Jenna and me. We nodded. “Three beers.”

  “Will have to be stubbies.” Kaylee nodded to the beer taps still covered by a tea towel. “Taps are out.”

  “That's fine. Tooheys if you have it.”

  “Coming right up.” Kaylee expertly flicked the lids off of three bottles, then placed them in front of us along with three glasses.

  Remy paid, then before Kaylee could move away, said, “Actually we'd like to talk to you if you have a minute?”

  Kaylee looked surprised but nodded. “Oh. Sure. I guess.”

  “You discovered Tamir's body when you went to clean his cabin, right?”

  “That's right.” She nodded, her ponytail swinging.

  “So where were the cleaning supplies?”

  “What?” She frowned.

  “There were no cleaning supplies in Tamir's room. Now I'd imagine if I discovered a dead body, I'd probably drop what I was holding. And from memory, you screamed. Loudly.”

  “I... err....” she stuttered, eyes darting away, “I don't know what you mean.”

  “It's only a matter of time before the police come to the same conclusion,” Remy drawled. “Even faster if I go across the street and tell Mick myself.” Remy moved as if to get up and do exactly that.

  “No, wait!” Kaylee grabbed her wrist, preventing her from leaving. “Okay look.” She dropped her voice, glanced around to make sure no one else could overhear. “The truth is, I wasn't there to clean. You're right.”

  “Why were you there?” Jenna asked.

  Tears pooled in Kaylee's eyes. She sniffed. “Tamir and I were seeing each other. Only we were keeping it secret. My dad had already warned Tamir off. He'd seen him looking at me.”

  “Sooooo, you went to his cabin to hook up?” Jenna pressed.

  Kaylee nodded. “Tamir said they were going to the caves first thing, and that I was to meet him in his cabin when he got back. He said he'd tell the others he was tired and needed a rest, that they'd buy it too because he looked tired, he had shadows beneath his eyes.”

  “And he was tired because the two of you....” Remy trailed off, eyebrows raised.

  Kaylee nodded. “We spent the night together. Didn't get much sleep.”

  “So why meet up again so soon, if you'd already spent the night having all that sex?” I asked.

  “Because Dad is due back today and it would be harder for us to meet up. Mom doesn't notice, but Dad? He’d know. Plus… it’s my birthday. He said he had a present for me.” She looked from me to Remy to Jenna, her eyes beseeching. “Please don't say anything.”

  “We're going to have to Kaylee,” I replied, “It's a police investigation and if Mick is going to find Tamir's killer he needs to know the truth.”

  “Dad is going to kill me.” She wailed, tears splashing down her cheeks.

  I patted her hand. “I'm sure Mick will be discreet. You're an adult. You weren't doing anything illegal.”

  “I guess.” She wiped her face and dragged in a shuddering breath. “So....you think I should tell Mick myself?”

  “It would be better coming from you.” Remy nodded.

  Bowing her head in resignation, Kaylee blew out a breath. “Fine. I'll do it after my shift.” Then she walked away.

  I took a sip of beer. “Well, I didn't see that coming. Although now that I think about it, the night we arrived, Tamir was playing pool, and I saw Kaylee touch his leg. I didn't really think any more of it.”

  “I don't think any of us did.” Jenna took a gulp of her drink, resting her elbows on the counter. “I wonder if Omar knew?”

  “And Kaylee's dad,” I said more to myself than the others. “He'd already warned Tamir away. Was it a father’s intuition? Or did he know more?”

  “But if he really was concerned that the two of them were sleeping together wouldn't he have told his wife? Warned Andi to keep an eye on them? And why was it such a big deal, anyway? Like you said, Kaylee's an adult and Tamir, okay, he was older but not by muc
h, a few years.”

  “An overreaction on Dads’ behalf, do you think?” Remy said.

  I nodded. “Could be. I'm keen to talk to Colin—he's been absent in all of this, leaving Andi to handle everything, and considering these tours of his are only an hour away that's no excuse not to come home.”

  “Definitely weird,” Jenna agreed. Then she gasped and turned to us, her eyes wide. “What if it's him? Colin. You said it Remy—he's been absent throughout all of this. What if he is holding Harper's parent's somewhere?”

  I nodded in agreement. “It's definitely odd you don't come home despite one of your guests being murdered.” A sense of foreboding danced up my spine. Tonight was the blood moon. If our suspicions were correct, whoever had my parents planned to sacrifice them tonight in the belief they'd become immortal, oh and let's not forget the part about great riches. Maybe they thought it'd show them where the copper pyramid was and the scroll. “Whoever doesn't turn up tonight,” I said, talking to myself, “is the killer.”

  “What's that?” Jenna asked, and I jumped.

  “Sorry, I was thinking out loud,” I admitted.

  “No, but you're right. You said whoever doesn't turn up tonight—I assume you mean to Kaylee’s birthday barbeque—is the killer.”

  “They'd be getting ready for the ceremony. Their final sacrifice,” I said.

  “The most important one though, it has to be perfect,” Remy cut in. “At the stroke of midnight. Under the rays of the blood moon. They'd have to control your parents and bring everything they needed, like a couple of hearts, candles, the glyphs.”

  “Wait! You said midnight? But… I need to cast Blake’s spell at midnight. I can’t be in two places at once.” Panic was starting to rise.

  Jenna clasped my hand. “Take a breath. Does Blake’s need to happen tonight? Does it have to be a blood moon or just midnight?”

  I sagged in relief. “He just needs it to be midnight,” I said.

  Jenna smiled. “There you go, he’ll just have to wait until tomorrow night. It’s all good.” Then Jenna’s smile slipped. “Now back to what Remy said. How would you subdue two adults? Drugs?” She swiveled to check out the patrons in the bar. “I wonder who you'd go to for drugs in this town?”

  My beer hit the bar with a thunk. “You're right! They would have to be drugged. Mom and Dad are both very healthy, active, and strong people. They wouldn't go down without a fight. And they most certainly wouldn't cooperate in such a hair-brained situation.”

  “Right.” I finished my beer in one long swallow. Wiping the back of my hand across my mouth, I told them, “Here's what we do. Jenna, I want you to ask around and see where you can score some drugs. As far as these people know you're just an American tourist. You could totally sell it that you're bored and looking for a buzz.”

  “And what will you be doing while I'm trying to score?” she asked.

  “I'm going to talk to Mick, fill him in on what we've discovered so far. Remy, can you see what you can find out about Colin? Where his tours go, what he does when he's not conducting a tour, any gossip that we probably wouldn't otherwise hear out at the trailer park?”

  “Let's do this!” Jenna grinned. We all fist bumped and then went our separate ways, agreeing to meet at the Land Rover in an hour.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I've got a lead.” Remy was practically hopping from one foot to the other when we met at the Land Rover an hour later.

  “Oh?” That was good news since my meeting with Mick had been a bust. He'd already figured out that Kaylee hadn't been at Tamir's cabin to clean it and he had her on his list of suspects to interview again.

  “Apparently Nigel is in town, and he's really pissed off about something.” She folded her arms and nodded her head in a what do you think about that gesture.

  “I don't get it. How is that a lead?”

  “Because Mrs. Butcher was filling up her car at the same time as Nigel was refueling his Ute—and let's not ignore the fact that we didn't know he had another vehicle! Where was he hiding that? I thought he only had the four-wheel drive he used to take us to the caves? Anyway, that's not the point. Mrs. Butcher said he was muttering and cursing under his breath. About Colin!”

  That caught my interest. “What was he saying?”

  “Something like ‘That no good son of a bitch, I'm done saving his sorry ass.’”

  “How long ago was this?” Pulling out my phone, I texted Jenna: Get here NOW!

  “Not long. Ten minutes tops. Why?”

  “We need to follow Nigel. I think he's going to Colin.” It was a mad guess, but my gut told me I was right.

  “But he'd have gone by now,” Remy pointed out.

  “Exactly. Which means we need to leave right now. Get in. This is a one road town. He either went east or west. We'll swing into the service station and ask.”

  “What about Jenna? We can't leave her behind.”

  “I'm here!” Jenna came rushing out of the hotel. “What's up?”

  “Get in. I'll explain on the way.”

  Climbing into the Land Rover, I was still pulling on my seatbelt when Remy gunned the engine and pulled out with a spin of tires. I grinned. “I like your style.”

  “What's happening?” Jenna asked. I filled her in on what Remy had learned, and what had transpired at the police station. “How about you? Any word on where you can get drugs in this town?”

  “Well, here's the interesting part.” Jenna leaned forward from where she sat in the rear seat and held onto the back of my seat. “There isn't a drug scene. The town is pretty clean. Word is if I want to score, I'd have more luck in Darana.”

  “Probably not enough business for someone to set up shop here,” Remy agreed.

  “But definitely easy enough to do,” I said, “especially for someone who is on the road constantly.”

  “Geez, you don't think it's Colin, do you?” Remy snorted in disbelief. “Wouldn't that be funny! Not only is he smuggling drugs, but he's dealing in black magic too.”

  “You know that isn't such a stretch.” I looked out the windscreen as Remy swung into the gas station. She jumped out, leaving the engine running.

  “You've got a point,” Jenna agreed. “If he's messing around with drugs it may have triggered a psychotic break. Some people are more susceptible than others, so maybe he takes a hit of cocaine and his mind creates this whole new world of immortal goddesses and vast treasures that are just his for the taking. All he has to do is kill a few people, and it's all his.”

  “And he's on the road a lot, he's his own boss, the tours could be the perfect cover.”

  “Do you think Nigel is involved in the drugs too?” Jenna wondered out loud. “He doesn’t seem the type. But then they never do.”

  We both watched as Remy came hurrying back. I was shaking my head. “I agree, he doesn't seem the type, but then that's why he'd be perfect. Who would suspect him?”

  “He headed west,” Remy said, climbing in and slamming the door.

  “Towards Darana.” I nodded. The two towns were close enough you could do a roaring drug trade in both. But what if we were wrong? What if Colin had nothing to do with drugs and nothing to do with my parents' disappearance? Everything we'd discovered so far was circumstantial.

  “Keep your eye out down the side roads,” Remy instructed. “He may have turned off. Most of the roads are dirt, so you'll see the remnants of a dust cloud.”

  “Will do,” I said. “I'll do this side, Jenna you do the right-hand side.”

  Jenna unclicked her belt and slid across the back seat until she was behind Remy, then re-did her seat belt, her gaze glued to the side window.

  Nothing. We didn't see any sign of Nigel having turned off the main highway and here we were driving into Darana. It was bigger than Arrowstrand. The sign as we hit the city limits said Darana had a population of just over three thousand.

  “Where could he be?” I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I tried to put myself in the shoe
s of a man I'd never met and didn't know that much about. It was an uncomfortable fit. “Nigel is looking for him... why? Why not phone him? Why drive all the way here?”

  Jenna snapped her fingers. “Because his phone is off. Or the battery is dead. Or he's out of range.”

  I nodded. “So their communication is cut off. Which may explain why Colin didn't return home when Tamir was killed. Because he doesn't know. Although I'd imagine the local grapevine between Arrowstrand and Darana would work pretty well. Word should have reached him by now.”

  “Out of range then? He's not in town. He hasn't heard the gossip,” Remy said.

  “Did we miss it? Did Nigel turn off, and we missed the dust cloud because it had already subsided?” Jenna huffed, flopping back against her seat, disappointment clear on her face.

  “Let's do a drive through, anyway,” I suggested. “Keep your eyes peeled for Nigel's Ute.”

  We spent the next hour driving aimlessly around Darana, but there was no sign of Nigel or his Ute. Remy pulled up beneath a tree at a park on the outskirts of town. “It's a bust.” Her frustration was equal to my own. Time was running out. I could practically hear a clock ticking in my head as the seconds counted down my parents impending death. Needing to stretch my legs, I opened my door and was halfway out when Jenna squealed, “Oh my god! Is that him?”

  “It is!” Remy yelled. “Hold tight!” The Land Rover was already moving as I swung my legs back in and I slammed the door.

  Jenna was pointing, her finger jabbing the glass. “He came from down there!”

  Nigel's Ute was at least two hundred meters away and he'd turned from a side street onto the main highway leading out of town. “He's heading back to Arrowstrand,” Remy said.

  “Which means he found Colin and delivered his message!” Jenna was bouncing up and down on the back seat and I couldn't hide the grin that tugged at my lips.

  “Hang back Remy,” I urged. “Don't let him see us.” She eased her foot off the accelerator, and we watched as Nigel was soon a speck on the horizon.

  Flicking on her indicator, she turned down the street he'd just come from. “This may be where the trail goes cold,” she warned.