by Zoe Arden
2 3
* * *
The reporters were still outside Colt's apartment, though it had definitely died down. Instead of the front lawn being covered with them, there were now only five or six hangers-on. The hardcore reporters who were either too dedicated or too desperate to leave, depending on how you looked at it.
I knocked on Colt's door, wondering if I should have called first. When he opened his door and smiled at me, I was glad I hadn't. He might have told me not to come, and I wouldn't have wanted to miss that smile for anything. I hugged him tightly. We'd barely had a moment alone together since all of this madness with the assassin had started. The craziness with his father's trial and release to Colt's custody had only made things worse, though I would never have said that out loud. I liked Russell too much to say anything that might hurt his feelings.
"Hi," Colt said as we sank against each other.
"Hi," I breathed. I could tell from the way he kissed me that he'd missed me as much as I'd missed him.
From the back, Russell cleared his throat. He smiled awkwardly and rose from the couch. I'd almost forgotten he was here. I peered around Colt's large frame.
"Hi, Russ," I said, smiling and walking over to give him a hug. I wanted to make sure he knew there were no hard feelings. The last time we'd seen each other, Vlaski had still been alive and things had been... strange. But I didn't blame Russ for that in the slightest. Well, not anymore.
"Hi, Ava," Russell said.
I had to remember to ask Colt how his mom felt about this whole situation. It must have been so weird knowing that your husband was alive when you'd buried him years ago. I hoped she was handling it all okay.
"I can go into the bedroom," Russell said.
"No, don't," I said. "I mean, not on my account. I just came by to say hi. To both of you."
Russ lifted his eyebrows skeptically. His smooth, white skin reflected the sunlight beaming in through the windows.
"I did," I said, blushing.
I actually had come to see Colt more than Russell. I wanted to get his take on the Tazzie situation. Did he really think that she had hired the assassin? Did they have any leads on where the assassin had gone to? I thought Colt might be more open to sharing information with me if he wasn't surrounded by Lincoln or Sheriff Knoxx. I knew Sheriff Knoxx had a look that he could give a person that would instantly make them shut their mouth.
"Ava," Colt said, smiling and brushing the hair from my eyes. "I don't have anything to tell you that you don't already know."
"What do you mean?" I asked innocently, putting on my best doe eyes for him.
"You know perfectly well what I mean. You look at me like that and you think I'll spill, but the truth is I don't have anything to spill. We don't know where the assassin is, and I still have no idea what to think about this whole situation."
I sighed and plopped into an oversized chair.
"Want some coffee?" Colt asked.
"No, thanks. I think I'm gonna try my luck at Coffee Cove later. You might not know anything, but that doesn't mean no one else does. Lucy likes to gossip with the best of them. And William Carney knows everything that goes on around this island."
I let out a sigh.
"Has anyone talked to Mayor Thomas lately?" I asked.
Colt sat across from me, next to his dad. "No."
Russell said, "I thought Mayor Thomas went into hiding after the Witch's Council decided to recall him." He looked confused.
The Witch's Council and the Council on Magic and Human Affairs were both powerful organizations with overlapping duties. However, the Witch's Council generally handled things local to Heavenly Haven, while COMHA handled things not just related to Heavenly Haven, but throughout the whole witching and wizarding community.
Colt pressed his hands to his temples. "Yeah, Dad. Thanks. We're trying not to spread that around."
"Oh. Sorry." Russ looked embarrassed but the color of his cheeks never changed. I guess it was hard to blush when you were a vampire.
"Wait," I said, sitting upright. "What are you talking about? You mean that no one's seen Mayor Thomas? In how long? And when did the Witch's Council officially decide to recall him? I thought that was just talk. I thought you told me you didn't have any new information." I glared at Colt, the little sneaky liar. Too bad he looked so adorable when he blushed, it prevented me from staying angry with him.
"Well..." Colt said, searching for something to say that wasn't going to get him in any more trouble with me. I batted my lashes at him and alternated between scowling and pouting. "Fine," he said, sighing loudly. "No. No one's seen Mayor Thomas since Tazzie was arrested. The Witch's Council is making their announcement late this afternoon. No one else knows about the recall yet. Well, except Mayor Thomas and his staff."
"Why does your dad get to know about all this but I don't?" I didn't mean to offend Russell, but I wanted to know why I was being kept out of the loop.
"Because he was here when I found out," Colt said, frustrated.
"So? I won't tell anyone."
Colt shot me a look. "Ava, you can gossip almost as well as Lottie Mudget when you want to."
My jaw dropped open. "Investigating is not the same as gossiping. They are two completely separate things." I folded my arms across my chest and made my best "you're in trouble now" face.
"You're right," Colt said almost immediately. "I should have told you." He looked at his hands, and I knew my angry face had worked its magic over him. His father looked sympathetically in his direction. I could tell that he knew better than to try and hide things from the woman you're dating. Colt, apparently, was still learning.
I decided to let him off the hook. This time. "It's okay," I told him. "I understand. I'm sure Sheriff Knoxx doesn't want you spreading things around. So if Mayor Thomas is in hiding, then who's running the office?"
Colt lifted his eyes to mine and shook his head, groaning. "Megan Lockwood."
"What?!" I screeched, jumping out of my chair. "You can't be serious! Are we talking about the same Megan Lockwood? Lucy's sister?"
"That's right."
"How can she be running anything? She just started working for him. She's like, nineteen years old. She's supposed to be in charge of all of Sweetland Cove? Does Lucy know about this?"
Colt shrugged. "No idea. It's not really my business. I've got enough to do trying to track down this assassin."
I started pacing the room. I was definitely gonna have to talk to Lucy about this. How could she not tell me Megan was in charge of Sweetland Cove right now? The thought was terrifying. I mean, Megan made a decent cup of coffee, but what did she know about politics?
"Any luck with the assassin?" I asked.
"Not so far."
"Would you tell me if there was?"
Colt smiled. "Maybe."
Colt's phone rang just then. He picked it up just as mine rang, too. I stepped off to the side to answer it. It was Trixie.
"Hey," I said, "what's up?" Behind me, I could hear Colt talking. Something he said caught my attention and I listened closer. He was using words like "attacked" and "hospital." My heart started to race.
"What's wrong?" I asked my aunt.
"How do you know something's wrong?" Trixie asked.
I let out an exasperated sigh. "Because I can hear Colt talking on his phone. It sounds like someone was attacked."
"Not attacked," Trixie said. "Robbed."
"Robbed! Who? Was it Tazzie again?"
"No, Wilma Trueheart. Someone broke into her shop and ransacked the place. Took all her money and dozens of pastries."
"Is she okay?"
"She's fine. She wasn't there when it happened. But she's petrified. Eleanor and I are at the station with her right now. Sheriff Knoxx asked us to come by to see if we could calm her down."
"Why you? You're not even friends with Wilma."
I could almost hear her shrug. "I think he figured that since we're all bakers, we must be friends. I'm not reall
y sure, but Eleanor and I couldn't just say no to someone in trouble."
I bet that's what Sheriff Knoxx was counting on.
"I'll be right there," I told her.
"Don't bother. We're taking her back to our place. Meet us there."
"Yeah, okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."
We hung up, and I turned to Colt, hands on my hips. "What do you think?" I asked. "Think it was the assassin?"
"Most likely," he said. "I've gotta get over to Mistmoor right away." He turned toward Russell. "Dad, I'll let Mark Waters know I'm leaving. Just keep the door open, okay?"
"Sure." Russ nodded, frowning. I was sure he hated the fact that he needed a constant chaperone. At least Colt had been able to get his neighbor on the list of approved babysitters. That certainly made it easier for him.
"Why do you need to go to Mistmoor?" I asked. "Is that where you think the assassin is?"
"I don't know, "Colt said, putting on his jacket and grabbing a few items to take with him. "But that's where Kayla is, and I need to talk to her. Lincoln's already with her."
"Why do you need to talk to Kayla?" I asked, confused.
Colt paused and looked at me. "Because she was just attacked. Isn't that what your phone call was about?"
"No," I said. "Kayla was attacked? Is she okay?"
"She's fine, just a little bruised up. If you weren't talking about Kayla just now, then what were you talking about?"
"Wilma Trueheart," I said. "Her bakery was robbed. She's with Sheriff Knoxx right now."
Colt's eyes widened. "Two attacks on opposite sides of the island?"
"Sheriff Knoxx isn't sure it was the assassin who robbed Wilma. It could've been anyone."
"How about we make a deal?" Colt asked. "From now on, no more secrets. You tell me what you know, and I'll do the same. I think that's the only way we're going to catch this guy."
"Agreed," I said. Instead of shaking on it, we kissed on it.
* * *
2 4
* * *
I didn't trust Wilma Trueheart.
She sat on our couch crying, shaking, and acting terrified that the assassin was coming after her next, and all I could think was that it was all an act. A very good act, but an act nevertheless. For some inexplicable reason, my aunts had invited her to spend the night. When I asked them what they were thinking, Eleanor had told me that we were all bakers and had to stick together. I wondered if she really felt that way or if she was just mimicking Sheriff Knoxx's own thoughts. I suspected she may have been trying to make up for breaking their engagement when she was angry with him.
Part of me had been hoping that Eleanor might tell me something that made more sense, like she found Wilma as suspicious as I did and wanted the opportunity to spy on her. But I knew that wasn't the case. They may not have liked her or thought much of her pastries but they showed no outward signs that they found her in the least bit suspicious. Which meant it was up to me to find out the truth about her.
"So, Wilma," I said, trying to sound casual. She was sitting at our kitchen table sipping tea. "What did Mayor Thomas say when you told him about the robbery?"
She paused, took another sip of tea, then looked up at me with a blank expression. "Mayor Thomas? I haven't spoken with him. Why should I?"
"Oh," I said, feigning surprise. "I'm sorry, I assumed you'd want to fill him in on what happened since you two are dating."
Wilma almost choked on her tea this time. "Dating?" she screeched. "Me and Mayor Thomas?" She laughed much too loudly, must too erratically. Even Trixie and Eleanor exchanged a look.
"Oh, heavens no," Wilma said. "The mayor and I aren't dating. Where in the witching world did you hear that rumor?" She tried to make it seem as if she wasn't dying for me to give her a name. To rat out the gossip monger who'd actually learned the truth.
I had to make a decision. Did I tell her what I'd seen and try to drag the truth out of her, or let it go and play dumb?
"I don't remember," I said, finally deciding to play dumb. It would be better to make her think I wasn't onto her; that way, I might be able to get information out of her without her knowing it. Plus, if she was too suspicious of me, she'd never leave me alone with her stuff, and I needed to do a little snooping.
"You know, it's been a long day," Wilma suddenly said. "I think I'll go to bed, if you don't mind."
"Of course not," said Eleanor.
Trixie offered to show her to her room while Eleanor stayed downstairs with me.
"What are you doing?" Elanor hissed at me when they were gone.
"What do you mean?"
"You're questioning Wilma like she's a criminal."
"Maybe she is."
Eleanor narrowed her eyes. "Just because you saw Wilma with Mayor Thomas doesn't mean she's hiding something."
"Well, she's hiding their relationship. Why is that?"
"I don't know. Maybe they just want to take things slow. Mayor Thomas has been under a lot of pressure lately. Maybe he doesn't want to drag Wilma into it with him."
"That's awfully nice of him," I said sarcastically.
Eleanor sighed.
"I'm going to bed, too, I think," she finally said and shuffled toward the stairs. "It's been a long day."
The second she was gone, I tracked down Snowball and Tootsie. Rocky was already asleep in Eleanor's room, and I thought it might be better if he stayed there. He was extremely loyal to her and if he knew I was planning to spy on Wilma against Eleanor's wishes, he might rat me out.
"Snowy, you can have extra tuna tonight if you do something for me. You, too, Tootsie."
Their mouths hung open, salivating at the mention of tuna. Tootsie was getting almost as bad as Snowball.
"What, Mama? Snowball will help, tuna or no tuna."
I appreciated my familiar's allegiance. "Thanks, Snowy," I said, patting her head. She purred loudly as she nuzzled her nose against my hand. "I just need you to keep an eye on Wilma tonight. Let me know if she leaves her room for any reason or if she does anything you think is suspicious."
"Okay, Mama," Snowball said.
"Tootsie and Snowball are good at spying," said Tootsie. "Tootsie taught Snowball everything she knows."
Snowball head butted Tootsie for saying that, even though I suspected there was some truth to it.
Snowball and Tootsie ran upstairs to stake out Wilma's bedroom. I stayed downstairs, wondering what to do. Should I wait until she was asleep and sneak into her room? Go through her things? She had one small suitcase she'd packed and taken with her. It was in her room now. Maybe that was pushing it too far, though. Searching her bag was crossing a line. Still... what if she had something in there that proved she was involved with all this somehow? Everything with the assassin had started after she'd come to Sweetland Cove.
I paced around the kitchen a little—it was my new bad habit—and checked my messages. Lucy had sent me a text saying that Megan had only told her about taking charge of the mayor's office this evening, around the same time I'd found out. She knew nothing about it until then. As for Wilma's attack, she didn't know anything about that either, though Lottie had been into Coffee Cove and apparently spread the idea that Wilma had done it herself to garner sympathy from a town that no longer liked her pastries.
Snowball came racing into the room all of a sudden. "Wilma Trueheart is on the phone. She is suspiciously talking. Snowball gets tuna now?" She looked at me hopefully.
"Let me hear what she's saying first," I said, running upstairs and stopping outside her door where Tootsie was listening in.
I could hear Wilma's voice, muffled but clear enough to make out what she was saying. "No, they don't suspect a thing."
I held my breath. Was she talking about me and my family?
"Yes, I'm here now. I don't know where Quinn is, but I'm sure he'll be in touch. He's being recalled, you know."
There was another long pause. I wished I could hear who she was talking to. "Yes, they'll never know what hit them.
I'll make sure of it." It was the last thing Wilma said before hanging up. I went back downstairs, trying to piece together her conversation. Who could she have been talking to? It wasn't the mayor. I guess she was telling the truth about that one thing—not knowing where he was.
What did Wilma mean when she said, "they'll never know what hit them?" Who wouldn't know? Me? Eleanor? Trixie? All of the above. I had a bad feeling about all this. I almost tripped on the bottom stair I was so distracted. That's when I saw it. Wilma's purse was sitting on the end table in the living room. Going through it would really be crossing a line, but what choice did I have?
I thought about calling Lucy and seeing what she thought I should do, but then fate stepped in. I went to see if I could just peek inside the purse—it wasn't zipped up—without actually touching it, and accidentally knocked it off the table, spilling its contents.
"Oh, dear," I said as if someone was watching me. I bent down to put the items back in her purse. There was nothing particularly interesting. A nail file. A hair brush. A letter.
I paused with the letter in my hand. It was older but not old. Something someone had written within the last year. The paper was slightly stained and had been folded and refolded. Something told me to open it. I felt like I was in one of those cartoons where the main character has a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, both of them trying to tell the character what to do. Open it. Don't open it. Open it. Don't open it. I opened the letter.
Hey Sis,
Wish you were here. Polly's in prison, thanks to that awful Ava Fortune and her family. I'm not sure if I'll ever find a way to get her out. I could sure use your help. Think you could make time for a visit?
Love you,
Anastasia Peacock
My heart skipped a beat. I grabbed my Witchmobile and snapped a picture of the letter before stuffing it back into Wilma's purse. No one was going to believe me otherwise. I could hardly believe it myself.
Wilma Trueheart was Anastasia Peacock's sister. Polly Peacock's aunt. Polly had tried to kill me months before and was now sitting in Swords and Bones maximum security prison because of it.
Wilma Trueheart had been lying since the moment she arrived on Heavenly Haven. Now I had to find out why.