“What do you know that I don’t?” Cass eyed her suspiciously.
“Why can’t I want my friend to come over and hang?” Izzy didn’t want to tell her about the war the gnomes were predicting. She did want Cass safe though. “We can pop some popcorn, binge some Netflix and gab like we used to.”
“It is Saturday night. I guess so, why not?”
“Excellent!” Izzy told herself it was probably nothing, but the gnome had spooked her. The sylph words backing him up hadn’t helped either. “Let’s get on. It’s late already. I don’t want you snoring before the first show even starts.”
“Me? Snoring?” Cass laughed. “I believe that would be you.”
“I don’t snore.”
“You do.”
Wren walked over to where they were good-naturedly arguing. “You guys are off?”
Cass nodded. “We’re going to watch some flicks and eat our weight in popcorn. Want to join us?”
“Not tonight,” Wren smiled. “Thanks for the invite though.”
◆◆◆
Less than an hour later, Cass settled on the floor with the popcorn. She watched Izzy yet again lean close and stare out the kitchen window.
“What are you expecting to see?’
Izzy looked guilty. “Nothing, just looking.”
“O-kayy…so what do you want to watch?”
“Strangers Things?”
“I was hoping you would say that!” Cass grabbed the remote and started tabbing through the shows until she found the one they agreed on. “Izzy?”
“Yeah?”
“You didn’t tell me everything earlier, did you?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“Because you keep hedging instead of answering my questions,” Cass paused then decided to plow on. “And you’re fidgety. That’s not like you at all. What’s wrong?”
Izzy sighed. “The gnome?”
“Okay, what about the gnome?”
“He looked so scared.” Izzy tried to explain. “He was shaking like a leaf. The poor guy, they sent him alone.”
“They? Who’s they?”
Izzy raised her shoulders showing she didn’t know. “Your guess is as good as mine on who told him to come. The other gnomes probably. I’m sure they have some hierarchy just like us.”
“That makes sense. How many are there?”
“I don’t know. I’ve met,” Izzy counted on her fingers, “With the little guy tonight, he makes the seventh I’ve met. No wait, the one at Maeve’s house was first, so eight altogether.”
“And the one tonight, he just told you to go home?”
“It was a little more than that,” Izzy confessed.
“Then what did he tell you?”
“He said war is coming.”
Cass grew wide-eyed as she listened. “War? Who is warring on who? And about what?”
“That’s all he said. War is coming. Oh, and my house is fortified.”
Cass nodded, “That’s why you wanted to get together tonight.”
“That and you’re my bestie. I always like to hang out with you.”
Cass smile wiped away as she appeared thoughtful. “We should have made Wren come too.”
“I couldn’t think of a way to make her come without giving away why I wanted her here.”
“You should have tried harder.”
“Well, call her now. The night’s still young.”
“How is the house fortified? Can she even come?
“I didn’t ask. I assume the gnomes have us surrounded.”
“Can you see them when you look out?”
“No. Haven’t seen a one.”
“Then how do we know they’re there?” Cass insisted.
“I trust them.”
“Fine, be that way,” Cass grumbled. She threw a piece of popcorn at Izzy who now had the remote. “Start the show already!”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Izzy
The banging at the front door woke Izzy into a semi-awake bleary-eyed state.
“Cass, someone’s at the door. Get up.”
“It’s your door, you get up.”
“Dammit!” Izzy sat up, then considered laying back down. The pounding started again. Dodger, in his cage, across the room in the kitchen began barking. “All I have to say is this better be important."
As she neared the door, she heard the sheriff’s voice command for someone to cease and desist immediately.
“What the hell?” Izzy opened the door less than an inch to minimize the glare of the morning sun in her face. “Is there a problem, sheriff?”
“Yes,” his voice snarled. The sheriff stood, his arm was wrapped around the top of his head in a defensive position, huddled close to the door. “But first, can you explain this?”
“This?” Izzy’s eyes were barely open, and in truth, she didn’t want to open them any farther. “I don’t know what you mean…” Her voice trailed off when to her horror she watched a volley of at least a hundred pine cones descend toward the sheriff’s position.
Vaguely, she registered the words, “Attack!”
Izzy yanked the door back, thrusting her body between the sheriff and the missiles shouting, “No, don’t! He’s a good guy. The sheriff. He keeps us safe. No attack…ABORT!”
Despite her command to desist, several cones still struck her and the sheriff. “You think it would be all right if I came in?
“Yes, yes, sorry.” Izzy motioned for the sheriff to enter.
Sheriff Pope and Izzy escaped the militant gnomes, slamming the door behind them. “You want to explain that?” he asked
“I really don’t. You wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“Try me.”
To avoid the sheriff’s glower, Izzy spun and moved toward the kitchen. “You’re testy in the morning. I’m not firing on all cylinders yet. Need coffee.”
“Cass, we have company. Up and at ‘em!” Izzy hollered a friendly warning as she walked past the living area. As Cass took up most of the couch, the sheriff followed Izzy into the kitchen. With quick movements, she retrieved the coffee beans, ground them and added water to the machine. Minutes later, she smelled the first whiff of salvation.
“I’m still waiting on an answer.”
“It was the gnomes.”
“Gnomes.” His look of disbelief had her turning back to the coffee pot and praying for it to hurry.
“Yep. Little guys. Crazy about war. They mentioned something about protecting me. I told you that you wouldn’t believe me.”
She took down two mugs from the cabinet out of habit. With a glance back, she noted the sheriff had made himself at home on a stool at her breakfast bar. “Coffee?” she offered. Her manners weren’t up to eloquent offerings, just grunts, and one-word questions.
Still looking more pissed than not, the sheriff grumbled, “I could use a cup.” She opened the cabinet again and retrieved one more mug from the cabinet’s shelf. “No talking until after coffee.”
The sheriff barked out a laugh. He’d seen caffeine deprivation before. Somehow on Izzy, it was more amusing than not. “Not a morning person I take it?”
“No talking,” she repeated.
A grin tickled the edges of his mouth as she poured the brew into three cups. Two of the cups she doctored with cream and sugar. The third, she picked up and carried over to place in front of him. Retracing her steps, she retrieved the sugar and creamer and plonked those in front of him as well. “Help yourself.”
“Cass, your coffee is ready,” Izzy called out to the still unmoving lump on the couch. She snagged her own cup, then leaned back against the counter and sipped. Eyes closed, she shut out everything and allowed the coffee time to do its job.
“Explain the gnomes to me,” he ordered once he thought a sufficient amount of time had passed.
Her eyes opened and glared at him. “Nothing more to say. Coffee time. No talking.”
“You have your coffee, and I don’t have all day.”
�
�What more do you want me to say. I can’t make them appear to you. They’re invisible.” Still irritable from the rude awakening, Izzy allowed herself to vent. “I can’t show them to you. No one can see them as far as I know. Even I couldn’t until recently.” Maybe that would shut him up, she thought.
“Invisible. Of course, invisible little guys that attack. And only you can see them. My bad,” the drone of his voice as he took in her answer was almost comical.
“You asked,” she reminded him.
“I did,” he conceded. “In the future, make sure your invisible little protectors don’t attack me. Do we understand each other?”
“It wasn’t me.” Izzy glowered right back. “But I’ll pass the message on if that makes you happy.”
“You do that.”
“Is there a reason you’re here at the glaringly bright time of day as,” she peered at the clock on her stove and winced a bit, “ten o’clock?” They had slept later than she’d expected. Still, it was Sunday, her only day off. She was allowed.
He sobered instantly. “Actually, yes. I need to ask you some more questions.”
“Fire away.”
“Where were you at around seven o’clock this morning?”
“Are you serious?” Izzy stood in front of him rubbing the creases left on her cheek from the imprint of her sofa’s arm. She combed her fingers through her hair to try to tame it some. “I was asleep.” She pointed into the living room. “Over on that couch. I think Cass and I both conked out around two or three.”
He noted Cass was stirring in the other room, yet still silent. Head bent to his notebook, he scribbled in it furiously. “The two of you have been together all night?”
Cass stumbled into the kitchen just as bleary-eyed as Izzy had been earlier. “Yes. I’ve been here all night.” Cass whined then turned to Izzy. “Please for the love of the Goddess, where’s the coffee?”
“On the counter over here,” Izzy pointed behind her.
“Thank you,” Cass managed the few feet over to where Izzy stood. The effort proved more than she was capable and Cass collapsed against Izzy, eyes closed, “Have I mentioned, you’re the bestest friend ever.”
Izzy’s lips tugged up on one side, she wrapped her unoccupied arm around Cass and patted her back. “I know. Now, if you could just remember that when you’re awake.”
The sheriff cleared his throat. Izzy lifted her head to him. Cass managed to flop her head back enough to give her attention as well.
“Did either of you go anywhere, at any point during the night?”
“We were at Agnes’ until about eight, I guess. Maeve’s before that. But after we came here, we stayed in and watched a movie. Sorry, I can’t report any wild and crazy times for you.”
He ignored her sarcasm and persisted, “Any phone calls? Texts?”
“Not that I know of. I didn’t call anyone or text them if that’s what you’re asking.” Izzy walked toward her phone on the counter. She pressed the button to light up the screen. “Whoa, five text messages and two missed calls.” Her fingers flew, tapping to see who had called.
The sheriff stood, holding out his hand, “Don’t click another thing, Isadora. I’ll need to take that before you do anything else.”
“Why?” Izzy stared down at the list of notifications, then back at the sheriff. “Is there a reason you think you have that right?”
“Other than being an officer of the law? Yes. Believe it or not, I’m just trying to help you. If I can corroborate you haven’t been using your phone, it might go a long way to exonerating you and your friend.”
She passed the unlocked phone to him. “This better be good, sheriff.” Arms crossed, Izzy watched while he clicked links and buttons on her device, making notes as he did. “Exonerate us from what?”
The sheriff didn’t answer immediately. When he looked up, his face was wiped of expression, divulging none of what he was thinking. He turned to Cass, “How about you?”
“My phone is out in the car. You couldn’t pay me to walk out there before coffee.”
A look of indecision crossed the sheriff’s face. “That’s fine. Just hand me your keys. I can retrieve it.”
Eyes pinched, Cass eyed him back. “No disrespect, sheriff. But, I don’t think so. I’ve watched too many shows where bad cops plant evidence where there was none. I’m not saying you would do that. But, I don’t know you. Do I? And last I checked, you weren’t talking either.”
“There was another murder this morning.” His blunt words were like body blows to the pair of women.
“What?!” Izzy shouted. Dodger startled at her scream and started barking again.
Izzy walked over to Dodger, popping the lock and letting him out. She needed him as much as he needed her. Dodger lunged out of the cage, racing up her arm. Only his tail was visible after he burrowed deep into her loose hair.
“What happened? Murder? You’re sure?” Cass took up the offense.
“Yes, this time, I’m positive it was murder. Blood splatter was fairly extensive. More smeared as someone, the perpetrator we imagine, left the scene through the victim’s foyer.”
Izzy didn’t want to ask. “Who?”
Sympathy hung on the sheriff’s face for a moment. “The victim was Ava Delgado,” he spoke the words quietly. Cass gasped. Izzy clutched the edge of the countertop.
“I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t stop the hurt, but I am sorry for your loss.”
“Ava? What happened? What do you know?”
“Your mother was the one who called it in,” he remarked to Izzy. She noticed he was watching her closely. But she didn’t know anything, so he was going to be hard-pressed to find any clues in her expression. “She’s down at the station now, being questioned.”
“Agnes is at the station, why? She just got out of jail.”
“She had an argument with the victim last night,” the sheriff argued.
“Oh please,” Izzy didn’t try to hide her irritation. “Even I’ve watched enough television to know that’s circumstantial evidence at best. I expected better of you, sheriff.”
“I didn’t say we are charging Agnes at this time. But, I would be remiss in my job if we didn’t question her.”
“It had to be Gideon,” Cass began thinking out loud. “He wanted all that blood.”
“Gideon? That’s a new name.”
“He’s evil. You should talk to him,” Cass nodded to herself.
The sheriff took out his notebook. “Do you have a last name?”
“I’m sure it was mentioned, but I don’t remember it.”
Izzy listened to their chatter, lost in her own thoughts. “Freeman, Free- something, dang it!” She rubbed her temples. “Freestone, I think that’s what she said.”
“She who?”
“Maeve, Maeve Matheson. We were at her house. She’s the one who introduced us.” The sheriff’s gaze swung back to Cass as she answered again. “Wait, if Agnes is at the station, why are you here?”
Izzy’s eyes widened, “Good question!”
“Agnes mentioned the reason she went to Ava’s this morning was because there was a hex on the front of her house. She believed Ava put it there.”
Izzy shook her head. “Ava wouldn’t do that. But then I would have said she wouldn’t have given a blood oath either. Still, I’m surprised Agnes would be ready to accuse her so easily.”
“Well, that was the initial statement she gave me. So, with justice being impartial and all that entails, I let my deputies take her to the station while I went to her house. Now I’ll admit, I am not sure what a hex looks like, but I didn’t see a thing that looked unusual to me.” When he looked up, Izzy thought she could see the signs of a man at the end of his rope. “I thought I might talk you into going over there with me. See if you could show me what she means.”
Izzy nodded. “I can do that. Did she mention what kind of hex? That would help.”
The sheriff’s expression went blank.
“Okay then
. We’ll make do. Give me ten minutes to jump into the shower and get dressed.”
“Me too!” Cass chimed in. “I want to go too!”
“It is not a field trip, ladies.” Izzy could tell the sheriff was using considerable restraint to keep himself from rolling his eyes.
“We’ll be quick.”
Izzy and Cass both left their mugs on the counter. Izzy was almost to her bedroom when she remembered Dodger.
She retraced her steps and whistled to get him to climb down off her shoulder. “I’m sorry, little guy.” She braced him on her arm tucked into her side while she petted him, then kissed his small head. “I know you just got out, but I don’t think the sheriff is going to let you come with us.”
“I am not.”
“See? It’s completely his fault.” Dodger reluctantly crawled back into his cage. “We won’t be long, I promise.”
The sheriff wasn’t sure if she promised that to him or the ferret. Hopefully, it was him.
◆◆◆
Thirty minutes later, the three of them stood in front of Agnes’ home. Not a thing appeared out of place. A crow sat watching them from the roof line as the sheriff took pictures. Izzy elbowed Cass and pointed to the bird.
“I saw it too,” she mouthed back.
Agnes’ car pulled in, maneuvered around the sheriff’s vehicle and into her garage. They heard her car door slam, and then the sound of heels clicking on the pavement.
“Did you remove it?” Agnes asked. “The sheriff needed to see it. To prove that it was there.”
“Nothing was here when we got here. I thought you were being questioned at the station.”
“They did. A complete waste of time! It’s obvious that I didn’t do it. Anyone with eyes can see that!” Agnes argued. “Now, let me look at the house again. It was there, right on the front door when I stepped out to get the morning paper. Who would go to the trouble to set a hex only to remove it just a few hours later? This doesn’t make any sense at all.”
“None of it does,” Izzy pointed out.
“What would the hex do?” The sheriff asked.
“Depends,” Agnes looked at the sheriff as she answered. “Hexes can be anything from a nuisance to downright dangerous. Usually, it’s hard to tell what you’re dealing with until it’s too late.” She grimaced. “This didn’t feel all that sinister, I’ll admit. I was careful to leave by the back door, so I didn’t trigger it. Lucky I saw it before I grabbed my paper.”
Marked: Thoth's Legacy ~ Book One Page 11